TheYellowBox

My view of those in hampden killing game is the spl/sfa and sfl. We have all known the game is on the slide for ages. They have the authority to set out rules over financial fair play and governance. The deals negotiated with TV companies gave away the power over fixtures schedules. Splits etc are a joke. Yes clubs set prices etc, but every good industry needs 'impartial' regulation to force it's members to do things for the greater good etc , simply the authorities have failed the people.

Aye, principled lot the new ****. Too stupid to notice that there sponsor is owned by an Irish firm. If their fans can't behave, then don't allow them the privilege, however The Rangers have never played Celtic before, so history shouldn't be an issue there.

Buckfast - 'official tonic wine provider of Motherwell FC'

You can though. Just don't open the bar on those games. May need to categorise games etc, but 'should' be easy to do. However, people in scotland will find a way to over complicate it.

Which is kind of my point. Can saints work it in within the current law or does it require a law change? I just think that if we are trying to do something to increase interest in Scottish football, clubs need to have the shackles taken off a bit to try things like these. Grant licences to clubs for certain games only if needs be. How successful would a pie and pint deal be in the east for example if say £3.50? Club should be looking at these kind of things.

Genuine question. What is the law/ rule that stops the sale of alcohol inside football stadiums? Murrayfield and firhill can sell drink at rugby games but not football. Is it a law thing, police thing or spl/sfl/sfa thing? I ask as I was speaking to someone who is neither an aberdeen or dundee fan who is going to be in aberdeen this weekend and was going to go to the Friday night game, but was put off by the price. Said that he and mates would have gone if it was cheaper and could at least get a drink at the game, but pub was better option. Must be loads of folk like this up and down the country. And before anyone starts, I know we have the muirton suite, but I am talking about 'inside' the ground proper.

Would make it worse. If they dropped the prices (for all) and then fans didn't turn up, then fair enough. Many folk when talking about scottish football are deluded. Without being proactive the drain will continue. We aren't loosing fans to the OF or other Scottish teams, it is to sky/epl and other activities. Terry butcher has a point in that fans should attend more, but he needs to direct that to his boardroom and those knob jockeys at Hamden who are slowly killing out game. Midweek game for ict vs killie in February with Man U v Real Madrid on the tele and they wonder why fans don't turn up!!?!!

Ah, looked at our website, saw we had 3 games before we play them and assumed they would have the same, my mistake. Should have known spl doesn't work that way!! ;-)

Looking at the fixtures and table, is there a chance we can mathematically relegate dundee when we play them at the end of the month? IF they loose all their games between now and then and we beat them, they can only get 38 points max. Given the next team up is on 29 at the moment..... How sweet would it be.

Utter pish! Perth being the town it is has a lot of fans who have moved away and don't regularly go, but come back for special occasions. Fans who can't afford to go week in week out etc When was the last time saints fans moaned about not getting tickets? Really???? Quite frankly this is typical of many on here, "I'm a better fan than you because......." FFS we are all saints fans who support the club in many different ways!

Totally agree, but will never happen as that is not the way saints roll. Instead of wasting thousands on washed up injured players, spend £20k on a marketing graduate and tell them to go out and spread the word and come up with ideas. Doesn't matter much what folk say on her though, club lacks direction. Fans can see that, they are not stupid.

No, I am a 'floating' fan in that I pick and choose and only go about 10 games a season now max. Had a season ticket for over 10 years so saints have my details on record, yet I have never been asked by the club why I go less. Years ago the debate was about whether lowering prices would bring in enough fans and that was when home fans were c4k. For years fans have been increasingly priced out and if the club had been bold then, the crowds would still be higher now. If I was picking a team now, I honestly don't think I'd chose saints or any other Scottish team for that matter, which is really sad, but the truth. Solution? Wherever it takes to make it habitual going to the football again. Get it over say 4k every week and others will come to see what it is all about.

Whatever the club do in terms of prices, it has to come down in real terms from where it is now. I'd like to see us with a squad of say 15 senior pros and the rest as kids. Spl/sfa/sfl/CIA or whoever should centralise and regulate squad sizes so clubs can do this. Benefits should be passed onto fans. Also, if I was speaking to the club, I'd ask them to get the spl to check out the viability if giving away the terrestrial tv rights in exchange for Saturday night highlights guaranteed and uk wide coverage, say bbc2 replay on Sunday morning. Get the interest in spl up. Anyone got an idea of how much we get from bbc for the rights?

Cheers, It would be good to know as a fan and customer what the clubs plans are for this. I'd expect them to have thought all if these things through and let the fans know in plenty of advance what these are as if they still don't know, it will play to fans concerns that this is an ill conceived and poorly thought through solution. I personally am not for the split, but for saints and Scottish footballs sake really hope it works.

Exactly what I was thinking. This split idea is totally stupid, but IF we are to be stuck with it, then it pretty much makes a season ticket pointless to me, unless, you make have a full season ticket so attractive that it is a no brainier. At the moment, I can see a situation whereby most clubs fans will not buy a season ticket as a large portion of the season may be in 'semi-relegation' On that, would these games be lower pay at the gate than top 8 games?

Anyone got an idea as to what happened to PECO on hospital street?

Good appointment. Not fantastic record, but then if he did, he wouldn't be here! Bar Celtic, none of the teams he managed have ever really been successful and are still mince now, so a bit unfair to blame him for much there. I think tactically he is decent. The massive plus for me though is the guy himself. I like that he is a bit of a d*** in press conferences to the media, we pretty much dislike them all, so why does he need to be nice to them. He doesn't shy away from much. Would the fletcher thing have been sorted sooner with gs in charge? Damn right! Been there, seen it, got the t-shirt. Ticks all the boxes for me.

I'm not the spl in saying that I have a complete plan that is set in stone ;-) just throwing an idea out there. It would be for saints to work up. I just think it would be something fairly cheep to set up, but might have a lot of benefits to the club. I take your point on season tickets etc, but I think saints need to do something to get the part time, lapsed and far flung fans feeling part of the club. On the lotto, surely saints have the details of who buys tickets, can they not target them? Surely they are people most likely to attend if the don't regularly do already. Possibly getting the agents to sell match day tickets also? Like I say, I don't have the answers, but we the fans can help the club with good ideas.

A good idea for saints to create a bit of revenue would be to introduce a members scheme whereby fans could sign up for say £10. Local businesses could get on board to offer members discounts eg 10% off in campus in a spree book style. Club would get the money and also can build up a database of fans, so can find out from them time to time how the club can improve things. Fans who either live abroad or can't afford a season ticket can still be a part of it and contribute. Season ticket holders could maybe get £10 off the cost of their season ticket if they are a member. Club could then target the member fans for deals etc as well as maybe do offers such as £1 off the walk up gate price for members or a free pie at one game and a drink at another etc. Thoughts?

Was it ray Stewart who never missed a penalty?

While it looks quite bad, take a look at our crowds this season vs last season. The like for like game vs killie last season (28th dec) was 500-600 less than vs ict this year. That is quite a big increase in % terms. I suppose the worry might be the £ lost thru deals etc...

No I don't want heated seats or a roof, well I do but that is not what I am getting at :-) if I am to pay £20+ to go to the game, I want to be able to wander down in early afternoon. Go into the stadium area (beyond turnstiles) where I can get entertainment away from the pitch, probably spend more money on food and beer etc, with the game being the centrepiece. If you have been to Scotland rugby games then you will know what I am getting at. I'd like the club to make the game experience longer. Maybe have a youth game before the main game? Yes, I do want summer football. I personally don't mind the cold, but kids etc don't like it and they are the future. I want to be treated as a valued customer. If there are some idiots who act up the by all means turf them out, but let people enjoy the game. I want a successful saints, but more so I want my kids and their kids to still have a team to support. I want saints to lead the way with more great deals for fans and innovative ideas, which they are doing more of. What I don't think helps though I'd for folk to bury their heads and say that there is not much wrong and that all is Rosy and that is just the way football has been and should always be.

I think we get treated like sh1te not because of stewards, but more by the fact that you are sitting in freezing stadiums watching football at the wrong time of the year for it and that little is done by any of the Scottish clubs to improve any of this. Like most, I have been to games in other countries and the event is much better than in scotland. Even rugby in Scotland do it well. If folk want to stand and shout, then give the the opportunity to do that (safely). Why are adults allowed to drink in pubs and rugby stadiums yet not football? With regards to the ticket deal, hats off to saints for the initiative, however, they have let themselves down by not advertising it well. You have to go looking for info for saints. I was speaking to someone last week from ireland who has been to perth loads of times this year and never realised we even had a football team as had no need to go along creiff road. Clearly we don't advertise in the right way or places.

I admire your loyalty, but its not fair to have a go at "fans" who choose not to go. Saints are my team and always will be, but if I choose not to go to the games as much as some, it doesn't make me or anyone else less of a fan. Maybe I choose to spend that amount of money on other things that week. The fact that I don't see it as value for money shouldn't detract from me being a saints fan. I choose to follow my team in a different way for now. It's all relative. £20+ to some may not seem to bad, but for most, it is frankly obscene for Scottish football. I suspect that there is virtually none of the lapsed saints fans out there support other clubs or ever would and almost all will still follow the club in some capacity, but it is clear that very many saints "fans" have similar views to me. Oh and I do think the quality on the pitch (that I have seen) has not been very good. Especially not £22 worth. You could argue that we are under achieving as we probably have the best team and squad bar Celtic.

With the greatest if respect, you are wrong. In an ideal world, there would be no decision to be made to go to the football or not, but the reality is that folk have to make a call on what they can afford and whether they this it is worth it or not. I like many are one of those who used to go regularly with a season ticket and now I am down to only a few games a season. For me, it is the cost of a ticket vs other things for the same value, being out if the habit, belief the Scottish football is a list cause, but most of all the 'experience' at mcd is shockingly bad. You over pay for what you get on the pitch and inside the stadium. The customers/fans are treated like sh1t3 and while saints can try to promote the games, they are quite frankly shocking at PR! It takes a collective approach to get Scottish football working again and unfortunately saints along with the rest are too self centred to make a real effort to appease the dwindling supports. I worry that it is too late and that we have reached a point if no return in that we have lost too many fans to ever regain the support we had unless the is something really radical tried.