St Mary's Stadium

[Weston Super Saint]

36 minutes ago, warsash saint said:

Merry Christmas - what a bunch of miserable c***s on here!!

On what is your claim of a merry Christmas based?

[Weston Super Saint]

2 minutes ago, Matthew Le God said:

Apart from the other two relegated clubs, who would have a better squad than us?

We definitely won't sell a single one of our current squad. No sir. No way. They're all staying even if we have to kidnap them.

[The Kraken]

9 minutes ago, It's There said:

I think it’s great! 40000 plus on a good day… it will happen folks…the good day that is.

Yep, it should do. I’ve long thought that 40k is a reasonable target capacity. Won’t sell out against the bottom half sides but should get close IMO against the top tier lot. Being in the same division as them is obviously the major challenge.

Good move for the club to go after. Don’t think it’ll make an enormous difference to revenues / spending capabilities, but good to see anyway.

[Whitey Grandad]

17 minutes ago, Matthew Le God said:

Have you decided to ignore extra corporate revenue, refreshment revenue, merchandise revenue, non football event revenue, sponsorship increase due to extra spaces etc etc?

More than the current amounts? Don't bank on it. Especially in the lower divisions. 

[Weston Super Saint]

19 minutes ago, Matthew Le God said:

Have you decided to ignore extra corporate revenue, refreshment revenue, merchandise revenue, non football event revenue, sponsorship increase due to extra spaces etc etc?

And the extra programme sales, don't forget them.

[Whitey Grandad]

15 minutes ago, Matthew Le God said:

Crystal Palace announced plans to redevelop Selhurst Park, and were given planning permission 4 months later!

4 months for planning! Hardly a long time. 

And you somehow think that our case would be similar? 

Any planning enquiry is out of the hands of the Local Authority. 

[Matthew Le God]

4 minutes ago, Weston Super Saint said:

We definitely won't sell a single one of our current squad. No sir. No way. They're all staying even if we have to kidnap them.

Of course some will go, but how many would be an attractive purchase for better clubs?

Walker-Peters, Dibling, Ramsdale... who else?

Armstrong, Brereton Díaz, Archer are all capable of scoring for fun in the Championship and won't be of interest to PL clubs.

Edited Friday at 19:26 by Matthew Le God

[Weston Super Saint]

Just now, Matthew Le God said:

Of course some will go, but how many would be an attractive purchase for better clubs?

Walker-Peters, Dibling, Ramsdale... who else?

On what are you basing your claim of better clubs?

Maybe some worse clubs will want to buy them to improve their squads...

[Weston Super Saint]

1 minute ago, Matthew Le God said:

Of course some will go, but how many would be an attractive purchase for better clubs?

Walker-Peters, Dibling, Ramsdale... who else?

THB, Fernandes, Sugawarra, maybe even Janny B.

That doesn't leave a squad that's way better than all but 2 other clubs...

[Matthew Le God]

1 minute ago, Weston Super Saint said:

On what are you basing your claim of better clubs?

Maybe some worse clubs will want to buy them to improve their squads...

A club where the player will see the benefit in moving to.

For example Armstrong, Brereton Díaz and Archer are all capable of scoring for fun in the Championship and won't be of interest to PL clubs. Or do you disagree on that?

 

Edited just now 

[trousers]

55 minutes ago, Football Special said:

Anyone got the picture of the old plans with the chicken petting zoo or whatever it was? 

 

[Matthew Le God]

1 minute ago, Weston Super Saint said:

THB, Fernandes, Sugawarra, maybe even Janny B.

That doesn't leave a squad that's way better than all but 2 other clubs...

Yes, it does. Our squad is packed full of top Championship players. That is a problem this season. But if relegated, we'll have a squad instantly ready to be a top club in the lower league. Even without those you listed the remaining players have already shown themselves to be more than capable of that level.

[Weston Super Saint]

Just now, Matthew Le God said:

A club where the player will see the benefit in moving to.

For example Armstrong, Brereton Díaz and Archer are all capable of scoring for fun in the Championship and won't be of interest to PL clubs. Or do you disagree on that?

 

Edited just now 

I dont disagree.

But for them to move, by your own admission, they would have to move to a worse club, as you've already said there would be two other teams with a better squad than ours.

Or do you now think there would be more clubs that are better, rather than just two?

[Matthew Le God]

13 hours ago, Weston Super Saint said:

I dont disagree.

But for them to move, by your own admission, they would have to move to a worse club, as you've already said there would be two other teams with a better squad than ours.

Or do you now think there would be more clubs that are better, rather than just two?

My point was they won't move because for players like Armstrong,  Brereton Díaz,  Archer and many others of our players we are the best club they can play for. They won't be coveted by PL clubs and if we use them in the Championship they will be stand out players at that level.

Edited Saturday at 08:56 by Matthew Le God

[Gloucester Saint]

50 minutes ago, Matthew Le God said:

Not working with these players in the PL does not mean it wouldn't vs Championship teams. Our squad is packed full of top level Championship players who are in the gap between too good for one league but not good enough for the next league. If we go down with Martin we'd be big favourites for promotion. Especially given we'd be a year 1 parachute money team.

Take out the ‘with Martin in charge’ I’d agree with you. With the way he’s chucked this season away and the fact his tactics were hit and miss last time the atmosphere around the club and in the squad would be as toxic as one of the original reactors at Calder Hall (now Sellafield).

[Matthew Le God]

25 minutes ago, Weston Super Saint said:

And the extra programme sales, don't forget them.

Every little helps

[Whitey Grandad]

1 hour ago, Matthew Le God said:

Yes, it does. Our squad is packed full of top Championship players. That is a problem this season. But if relegated, we'll have a squad instantly ready to be a top club in the lower league. Even without those you listed the remaining players have already shown themselves to be more than capable of that level.

"More than capable"?

Capable perhaps. 

[Suhari]

Wow. It's going to happen isn't it? In our lifetimes even. Some said he was mad to predict it, some said it was genius.

We're actually going to realise the dream that is:

Monkey -.........

[FarehamSaintJames]

4 hours ago, Matthew Le God said:

@Turkish

BBC News - Southampton FC expansion and riverside plans revealed - BBC News
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c623v4dd26eo

 

Got to admire Sports Republic’s ambition to build a large stadium ready for the EFL.

[Whitey Grandad]

Just a reminder here that PSR stands for 'Profit and Sustainability Rules' and not 'Turnover and Spending'.

As the old saying goes,

Turnover's vanity, Profit is sanity.

[Matthew Le God]

21 minutes ago, Whitey Grandad said:

Just a reminder here that PSR stands for 'Profit and Sustainability Rules' and not 'Turnover and Spending'.

As the old saying goes,

Turnover's vanity, Profit is sanity.

Just a reminder here that the PSR are scrapped.

The new system is aligned with the squad cost-to-revenue ratio contained within UEFA's Financial Sustainability Regulations (FSR).

Those regulations will eventually limit clubs to only spend 70 per cent of revenue on transfer fees, player wages and so on.

That is why increasing turnover through infrastructure investment and increasing commercial revenue is important.

Edited Friday at 21:28 by Matthew Le God

[The Left Back]

MLG, you are trying to win an argument using rational thinking (for which I applaud you). The problem is you are arguing with people who don’t want to hear anything other than variations of “we’re dooooooomed”

[EssEffCee]

4 hours ago, Matthew Le God said:

We averaged over 29k in the Championship last season. A lot of the empty seats were due to the 3k away end not selling out in the Championship. If we go down this season I don't see why the attendances would drop below our last Championship season. We'd be big favourites for promotion again.

I think crowds will definitely be lower next season than last. For one ticket prices will be much higher as they're not going to significantly reduce them.

[miserableoldgit]

https://www.southampton.gov.uk/news/article/southampton-football-club-and-southampton-city-council-announce-collaborative-vision-for-st-mary-s-and-itchen-riverside/?fbclid=IwY2xjawHJlOBleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHR44nSUYeHfquUw1QIbqVfneOAFX-aEuh03GnRAFvmoBnwaHEAMxmx9HHQ_aem__SdheuxTq_FhsA2EySqlNA

[obelisk]

9 minutes ago, The Left Back said:

MLG, you are trying to win an argument using rational thinking (for which I applaud you). The problem is you are arguing with people who don’t want to hear anything other than variations of “we’re dooooooomed”

What part of 5 points from 45 on offer so far this season would make you think that Saints are not doomed to relegation? It's also perfectly rational to argue that extreme optimism about an RM led campaign in the Championship next season might not be the bed of roses expected by the dewey-eyed now that opponents are well versed in how to counter Rustyball.

[Andrew Watson]

Averaging between 35,000 and 40,000 it will be then, even in the championship. Love to see it,but doubt it will happen.

[The Kraken]

3 hours ago, Matthew Le God said:

My point was they won't move because for players like Armstrong,  Brereton Díaz,  Archer and many others of our players we are the best club they can play for. They won't be coverted by PL clubs and if we use them in the Championship they will be stand out players at that level.

All of those players you listed have played in the premier league before this season. So, no, we are perhaps not the best club they can play for. Nonsense to suggest they categorically won’t play there again after we get relegated. Especially Archer, who has just turned 23.

And ‘coverted’ isn’t a word. At least not in English.

 

Edited Friday at 23:30 by The Kraken

[Nordic Saint]

48 minutes ago, Andrew Watson said:

Averaging between 35,000 and 40,000 it will be then, even in the championship. Love to see it,but doubt it will happen.

It will inevitably happen in future, but obviously not next season and hopefully not in the Championship. Southampton's population within the city limits has increased by more than 30,000 since St Mary's was built, in the area around it by a lot more and it's still growing.  Of course, that's true for most of the country, which is why so many clubs are building bigger stadiums.

We'd still be playing at the Antelope Ground if we'd wanted to freeze time.

Edited Friday at 23:38 by Nordic Saint

[Andrew Watson]

My comment was tongue in cheek,Nordic Saint,we will be lucky to get 22,000 in the championship the way we are playing at present.

[The Left Back]

9 hours ago, obelisk said:

What part of 5 points from 45 on offer so far this season would make you think that Saints are not doomed to relegation? It's also perfectly rational to argue that extreme optimism about an RM led campaign in the Championship next season might not be the bed of roses expected by the dewey-eyed now that opponents are well versed in how to counter Rustyball.

I agree relegation is very likely. 3 teams get relegated every season, they’re not doomed. We’ve been relegated 4 times in my tenure, each time we came back. 
 

The volume and level of catastrophising and doom mongering on here goes well beyond relegation and is at odds with a couple of points I think MLG was trying to make. That our ‘real world’ fans keep attending in huge numbers despite the situation we are in and also that this was the same in the Championship last season. I’d also add that the atmosphere in the ground remains very different to the one on this forum. 

[Convict Colony]

Already been spell checked

Edited Saturday at 08:10 by Convict Colony

[Convict Colony]

Ah, the Championship conundrum: where our players are "too good" for the league yet not quite good enough for the Premier League.  I am not even sure the squad we had last year was "too good" for the league.

If we're to bounce back, we need more than just the gravitational pull of parachute payments; we need the kinetic energy of tactical innovation, something to galvanise both the team and probably more importantly the fans.

We were fortunate last year in the championship that only a few of the team's high pressed enough into mistakes leading to goals, next time round everyone will be doing it next year, we need a different approach.

[S-Clarke]

As long as there is a monkey petting zoo, then I'm on board.

[Matthew Le God]

1 hour ago, Convict Colony said:

We were fortunate last year in the championship that only a few of the team's high pressed enough into mistakes leading to goals, next time round everyone will be doing it next year, we need a different approach.

There isn't a high enough quality of player in the Championship for that to be a major issue. It I'd an issue this season as Martin is using it vs a significantly higher level of opponent in the PL.

Edited Saturday at 09:26 by Matthew Le God

[Pamplemousse]

The other thing about having a ground 40k plus is that it puts us in a good position to host tournament games if England ever gets the World Cup again

[saintant]

We are clearly not going to increase capacity when we'll be back in the Championship next season with the prospect of a probable long wait until we get back to the Premier League under the current owners. The current capacity suits this shit show just fine. 

[Matthew Le God]

2 hours ago, saintant said:

We are clearly not going to increase capacity when we'll be back in the Championship next season with the prospect of a probable long wait until we get back to the Premier League under the current owners. The current capacity suits this shit show just fine. 

We have sold out every game whilst being terrible this season. That shows thd stadium is too small. A decent Sainrs side would sell more tickets than the current terrible one.

Even in the Championship last season we averaged 29k+, with a lot of those empty seats being in the away end when Championship opponents didn't sell the away end.

Expanding the stadium allows for an increase in revenue which allows Saints to better compete under new financial regulations that restrict spending to a % of turnover.

How you've determined 'a probable long wait to get back to the Premier League' under the owners I'd also unclear. Given they've already had one promotion,  will have full parachute money and a squad of top Championship players if relegated this season.

Edited Saturday at 17:51 by Matthew Le God

[saintant]

It will cost far too much money to extend the stadium - if not why didn't we do it when we were reasonably successful in the Premier League? Who do you think is going to be willing to pay for it.

I have zero confidence in the current bunch of clowns running the club getting us promoted again - more likely we are on a downward spiral with them. If you feel differently you are entitled to your opinion but they give me no sense that they know how to run a football club hence my doubts that they'll preide over another promotion anytime soon.

[Matthew Le God]

6 minutes ago, saintant said:

It will cost far too much money to extend the stadium - if not why didn't we do it when we were reasonably successful in the Premier League? Who do you think is going to be willing to pay for it.

I have zero confidence in the current bunch of clowns running the club getting us promoted again - more likely we are on a downward spiral with them. If you feel differently you are entitled to your opinion but they give me no sense that they know how to run a football club hence my doubts that they'll preide over another promotion anytime soon.

The owners have already invested a lot of money in the club as the accounts on Companies House show.

Infrastructure spending is not included in financhial rules so it allows them to spend big. It ultimately makes sense financially for the reasons I mentioned regarding the change in financhial rules switching to % of turnover.

Increasing the turnover increases the amount we can spend under the rules on transfers and wages, so if spent well increases our chances of doing better in the PL. 

Edited Saturday at 17:52 by Matthew Le God

[saintant]

1 minute ago, Matthew Le God said:

The owners have already invested a lot of money in the club as the accounts on Companies House show.

Infrastructure spending is not included in financhial rules so it allows them to spend big. If ultimately makes sense financially for the reasons I mentioned regarding the change in financhial rules switching to % of turnover.

Increasing the turnover increases the amount we can spend under the rules on transfers and wages, so if spent well increases our chances of doing better in the PL. 

Not happening.

[Matthew Le God]

Rather than just laughing @saintant try addressing the points and questions in my previous two posts that you avoided  

Edited Saturday at 17:54 by Matthew Le God

[Matthew Le God]

Just now, saintant said:

Not happening.

How have you come to that conclusion? Are they in talks about it for a laugh?

[saintant]

4 minutes ago, Matthew Le God said:

Rather than just laughing @saintant try addressing the the points and questions in my previous two posts that you avoided  

They spend the bare minimum on maintaining the existing stadium so if you believe they're going to spend a fortune on increasing capacity when we're on a downward spiral you knock yourself out. Let me know when the workmen arrive to carry out the changes - I'll not hold my breath.

Edited Saturday at 17:57 by saintant

[johnnyboy]

5 minutes ago, Matthew Le God said:

 

Infrastructure spending is not included in financhial rules so it allows them to spend big. It ultimately makes sense financially for the reasons I mentioned regarding the change

It’s fucking financial you pedant !!

[Matthew Le God]

Just now, saintant said:

They spend the bare minimum on the existing stadium so if you believe they're going to spend a fortune on increasing capacity when we're on a downward spiral you knock yourself out. Let me know when the workmen arrive to carry out the changes - I'll not hold my breath.

Yet again... you ignored all the points I made and questions I asked.

The post above is bizarre. Your logic appears to be that them not previously expanding the stadium means they won't in the future! That is daft.

Plus in any case they have spent quite a lot of money on stadiums projects up to this point.

[saintant]

1 minute ago, Matthew Le God said:

Yet again... you ignored all the points I made and questions I asked.

The post above is bizarre. Your logic appears to be that them not previously expanding the stadium means they won't in the future! That is daft.

Plus in any case they have spent quite a lot of money on stadiums projects up to this point.

As I said...let me know when the work starts. It's not going to happen until we are having a lot more success on the field - sometime never under the current manager and owners is my best guess.

[Lighthouse]

Clearly there’s a case now for expanding the stadium that wasn’t there a few years ago. When we’re consistently selling out whilst playing this badly in the PL and basically sold out the home end in most of our championship matches, it would seem like we’d be able to sell a fair few more tickets if we had the seats.

[Matthew Le God]

1 minute ago, saintant said:

As I said...let me know when the work starts. It's not going to happen until we are having a lot more success on the field - sometime never under the current manager and owners is my best guess.

That is the issue you aren't getting. The purpose of expanding is to allow under the rules for more spending so we can do well. Plus we have sold out every game this season despite not doing well. That shows current capacity is too small. 

[saintant]

1 minute ago, Lighthouse said:

Clearly there’s a case now for expanding the stadium that wasn’t there a few years ago. When we’re consistently selling out whilst playing this badly in the PL and basically sold out the home end in most of our championship matches, it would seem like we’d be able to sell a fair few more tickets if we had the seats.

Why wasn't there a case a few years ago when we had good seasons under Pochettino, Koeman and Ralph and were regularly selling out.

[saintant]

1 minute ago, Matthew Le God said:

That is the issue you aren't getting. The purpose of expanding is to allow under the rules for more spending so we can do well. Plus we have sold out every game this season despite not doing well. That shows current capacity is too small. 

Ok, let's agree to disagree on this one. You'll not convince me and vice versa.