Breaking News Season card prices for next season announced!!!

[C C Csiders]

Great email Steven, let us know if you get knee-capped

Edited for accuracy.

 

[Dick Bate's Protege]

Email just sent to Tara:

Tara,

I hope you are thoroughly ashamed of yourself! £350 to watch this standard of football is a Joke. Who were these Various Supporters Groups that were consulted on the price? There are Championship teams that don’t charge that kind of money for a season ticket and the standard of football is significantly better. In this league the standard of football is diabolical and we are no exception to that.

You mention that we are losing £100k a month, well isn’t this down to gross mismanagement by the Chairman over the last 5/6 years. He tried to be Billy Big Bollocks and spend beyond his means whilst in the Championship and we are still paying for his utter recklessness. This coupled with huge expensive legal wrangles with HMRC have left us in an utter mess. Yet, he still lives it large in a multi million pound house in Benfleet Road and has Mercedes Cars and the infamous Bentley on his Driveway. He’s not feeling the pinch at all!

For your information £350 is a 16.666% increase on the £300 paid last season, I notice you mention a 20% decrease (£380 to £300) last season but this was soley down to relegation we was told. This rise is almost above 3 times the rate of inflation and is disgraceful. We are in a time where fans are turning their back on football (especially inferior football that we play) because people know it is a luxury and not a necessity. People are tightening their money belts because of the rise in the cost of living (Petrol, Gas, Electricity, Food etc.) and you have the gall to come out with this. Even Councils are freezing their rates bills this year. This just makes me sick and I along with a group of friends are seriously considering not renewing my season ticket next season because supporters are constantly being taken for a ride. Given the amount of special deals offered throughout the season, a season ticket has not got the benefits it should. Would it not have been better to keep the prices lower and attract more Season Ticket supporters? I feel a fuller stadium adds to a better atmosphere in the stadium and therefore more encouragement for the team. Perhaps that is not the intention. Also, how about keeping the matchday price down so those who pay on the day will more easily get the football bug and potentially spend more on programmes, food, drink, merchandise whilst at games!

You also say in your spiel on the website that fans have the choice of paying up front or by 10 month direct debit with no set up fee (but a sneaky 9% interest charge). On closer inspection of the leaflet attached, it is only 8 months with a £10 Set up fee (like last season). Which is correct??? Are fans going to be screwed into having to pay a 9% interest charge, I bet we are (Supporters are just treated like dirt by this club)!!!

Many Thanks and Regards
Steven

Heroic post, you should be SZ's official spokesman.

 

[wiggy]

Great email Steven, let us know if you get a reply

The reply........

Dear Steve,

Sorry to hear of your disapointment that we have increased season ticket prices. Have had a word with Ron and he reckons that he has groomed Southend fans over the years to put up with anything and they would rather see Southend United than there wives. He also states that they shout and moan a lot but at the end of the day still come back. As a gesture when you come into the office to renew, pick up a voucher which will enable you to purchase a scarf, bobble hat and rattle at a very reasonable £40. If our price plan backfires and we only get 2000 renewals then hopefuly the extra noise created can spur on the players/misfits to geat things.

keep rattling,

Tara.

 

[chadded]

Great email Steven, let us know if you get a reply

I'd say it's a rant, not a letter, and a poor one at that. If someone wrote me a letter of complaint, calling the football 'a joke' and using phrases such as 'Billy Big Bollocks,' then I'd be far less inclined to take the comments seriously as opposed to someone who stared off say,

Dear Tara,

I write this letter to show my disappointment at the recent announcement regarding season ticket prices. As I sure you are aware, there is a growing number of supporters who are increasingly disillusioned with the way the club appears to be run, and I fear that the new season ticket prices will only make these supporters further disillusioned, and I think that the club are at risk of permanently driving them away. I realise the club is struggling for money, but I feel the need to point out that so are many of the supporters of Southend United Football Club.

Roots Hall is an 11000 (exact figure?) stadium and yet this year the average have been X. Whilst I and all other fans appreciate the club needs more money, I fail to see how an increase on prices is going to attract further support than this year. May I ask the club to explain the reasoning behind increasing the price when a reduction could have resulted in higher attendances, greater matchday sales and greater support for the team?

I also feel that I should point out that there are a number of discrepancies between the announcement on the offical website and the brochure that I recently received. I would be grateful if the club could clarify this error, so that I and other supporters can make our decisions on how to pay.

Kind Regards,

A Supporter.

 

[ldnfatso]

I'd say it's a rant, not a letter, and a poor one at that. If someone wrote me a letter of complaint, calling the football 'a joke' and using phrases such as 'Billy Big Bollocks,' then I'd be far less inclined to take the comments seriously as opposed to someone who stared off say,

Dear Tara,

I write this letter to show my disappointment at the recent announcement regarding season ticket prices. As I sure you are aware, there is a growing number of supporters who are increasingly disillusioned with the way the club appears to be run, and I fear that the new season ticket prices will only make these supporters further disillusioned, and I think that the club are at risk of permanently driving them away. I realise the club is struggling for money, but I feel the need to point out that so are many of the supporters of Southend United Football Club.

Roots Hall is an 11000 (exact figure?) stadium and yet this year the average have been X. Whilst I and all other fans appreciate the club needs more money, I fail to see how an increase on prices is going to attract further support than this year. May I ask the club to explain the reasoning behind increasing the price when a reduction could have resulted in higher attendances, greater matchday sales and greater support for the team?

I also feel that I should point out that there are a number of discrepancies between the announcement on the offical website and the brochure that I recently received. I would be grateful if the club could clarify this error, so that I and other supporters can make our decisions on how to pay.

Kind Regards,

A Supporter.

Well perhaps you should write to Tara Brady with such an email/letter rather than having a dig at me!

 

[shrimperian]

Thats my lot Im afraid! After 44 years of following SUFC through thin and thinner, I am now going to hang up my ticket! I have missed perhaps a dozen games home and away in the last 10 or so seasons but this season has finally worn me down! It isnt just the issues surrounding the club, in all honesty, I am quite used to them, or even the poor on the field performances....believe me I ve seen a lot worse. Its really all to do with the whole experience of being a fan. SUFC have never had the most passionate of fan base (some will argue this, but overall, there are more dissenters and knockers in RH on a match day than people willing to back the team). Dont get me wrong, I dont hold back in venting my frustration at times, but even 4-0 up against Herefored, there were people around me moaning about cetain players. However, this in itself isnt the reason for my apathy towards the coming season.......in all truth its a combination of everything! The ground is tired, the staff are miserable, the entitre matchday build up thing lacks passion, in a nutshell, its grim! To cap it all, we now have an increase in price when, along with many, my pay has been frozen so, sorry guys but thats my lot!

 

[EastStandBlue]

The reply........

Dear Steve,

Sorry to hear of your disapointment from the city I work in that we have increased season ticket prices. Have had a word with Ron from the City and he reckons that he has groomed Southend fans, in the city, over the years to put up with anything and they would rather see Southend United than there wives. I live in the City. As a city worker, he also states that they shout and moan a lot but at the end of the day still come back. As a gesture when you come into the office from the city to renew, pick up a voucher which will enable you to purchase a scarf, bobble hat and rattle at a very reasonable £40 from the city. If our price plan backfires and we only get 2000 renewals then hopefuly the extra noise created can spur on the players/misfits to geat things in the city.

keep rattling,

Tara from the city.

Amended for accuracy.

 

[chadded]

Well perhaps you should write to Tara Brady with such an email/letter rather than having a dig at me!

I'm not having a dig, I'm just saying that I think if I was in his position, and received that, it would be water off a ducks back, whereas a more reasoned letter I would be more inclined to reply to. FWIW, I'll be paying the new price, I understand the reasoning behind it, whether I like it, or agree with it is another matter however.



P.S. To those that don't renew. Just remember if you don't, and we get Man U in the Cup, you'll only have yourselves to blame if you don't get a ticket.

 

[wiggy]

I'm not having a dig, I'm just saying that I think if I was in his position, and received that, it would be water off a ducks back, whereas a more reasoned letter I would be more inclined to reply to. FWIW, I'll be paying the new price, I understand the reasoning behind it, whether I like it, or agree with it is another matter however.


P.S. To those that don't renew. Just remember if you don't, and we get Man U in the Cup, you'll only have yourselves to blame if you don't get a ticket.

...think i'ii take a chance Ron!

 

[Suffolk Shrimper In Dorset]

Gut reaction:

£50 increase + rising petrol costs in getting there + some matches I cannot attend + some matches are discounted for non season ticket holders + mistrust of Ron + low prospects of decent footie at present = no season ticket renewal.

There is convenience in getting a card and I am worried that in taking the above stance I am not in effect supporting the Club, but harsh reality is that this is another stupid decision by the Club that forces out another season ticket holder, and I won't be the only one.

 

[CAPTAIN BIRDSEYE]

add chadded to those who will wail at rons funeral!! what will it take these ppl to realise this man and his sidekick are by degrees killing this club

 

[Yorkshire Blue]

One night I dreamed I was walking along the beach with the Lord. Many scenes from my life flashed across the sky.

In each scene I noticed footprints in the sand. Sometimes there were two sets of footprints, other times there was one only.

This bothered me because I noticed that during the low periods of my life, when I was suffering from anguish, sorrow or defeat, I could see only one set of footprints, so I said to the Lord,

“You promised me Lord,
that if I followed you, you would walk with me always. But I have noticed that during the most trying periods of my life there has only been one set of footprints in the sand. Why, when I needed you most, have you not been there for me?”

The Lord replied, “The years when you have seen only one set of footprints, my child, is when I carried you.”

 

[Beefy]

In the thread that Smiffy started the other week about the prospective price I predicted an increase, although personally this doesn't go as high as I'd have put them. Higher prices allows the Club to squeeze more revenue out of those of us who will go regardless and allows them to push other people onto paying on a 'per game' basis. Presuming that most of those who don't renew end up going to most of the games, that should reduce our cashflow deficit on a monthly basis by increasing the amount of money coming through the turnstiles.

It's obviously an emotive topic but cutting prices, or even keeping them at the same level, would have been another example of the sort of financial mismanagement which I thought we were all so critical of.

As for who they consulted - the Club don't do themselves any favours when they claim that this was done in consultation with fans, but the bottom line is that it isn't the fans who get to make this call. The stock answer people give when you ask how they have the cheek to criticise the Club for making signings in 06/07 and 07/08 when back then they were calling for that investment (and more) is that we as fans aren't in a position to make those calls. If that is the case then it's the same story here.

All this moaning and complaining about how much the tickets will be and who, if anyone, was asked all masks the bigger question mark in all this; which is why is the Club so keen to get the bulk of this money in in the next couple of weeks? Whether it's £300k, £500k or £900k raised most/all will have been spent on running costs before a penny can be spent on a budget for next season. If I was being cynical I'd suggest that RM & TB are gambling that we'll be on site at FF early Summer (by which point we'd be able to hopefully get outside investment) and are trying to get enough cash in now to get us through until then. If that is the case then God forbid that there are any further delays.

 

[Clinton Baptiste]

Even the Lord couldnt turn Louie Soares into a decent footballer.

 

[E for B and Billy Best]

They are really pushing my loyalty to the limit , anyone of sound mind would press the "you are having a laugh,NO!" option, but in reality the heart rules so I will renew.

 

[Swiss Tony]

One night I dreamed I was walking along the beach with the Lord. Many scenes from my life flashed across the sky.

In each scene I noticed footprints in the sand. Sometimes there were two sets of footprints, other times there was one only.

This bothered me because I noticed that during the low periods of my life, when I was suffering from anguish, sorrow or defeat, I could see only one set of footprints, so I said to the Lord,

“You promised me Lord,
that if I followed you, you would walk with me always. But I have noticed that during the most trying periods of my life there has only been one set of footprints in the sand. Why, when I needed you most, have you not been there for me?”

The Lord replied, “The years when you have seen only one set of footprints, my child, is when I carried you.”

Aaaaaaaaaaaa men.

 

[tottenham541]

I'm not having a dig, I'm just saying that I think if I was in his position, and received that, it would be water off a ducks back, whereas a more reasoned letter I would be more inclined to reply to. FWIW, I'll be paying the new price, I understand the reasoning behind it, whether I like it, or agree with it is another matter however.



P.S. To those that don't renew. Just remember if you don't, and we get Man U in the Cup, you'll only have yourselves to blame if you don't get a ticket.

dream on those days are well gone and wont be back for a loing time, even if we got drawn against someone like bolton ron martin would put tickets up to somewhere around the £30 mark, anyway the last man utd and tottenham games were more than enough for for me and dont come around every other season so its worth the risk i think.

 

[Cricko]

They are really pushing my loyalty to the limit , anyone of sound mind would press the "you are having a laugh,NO!" option, but in reality the heart rules so I will renew.

But who are you watching?..have you ever felt so distanced from the club in your life? has any of this been caused by the fanbase?

 

[Cricko]

Actually....

Well then you are more of a complete nob than I thought you were.:smiles:

 

[BluesMike61]

I will be renewing because I am a fan. That said, I hope that all the Season Card revenue doesn't go to a factoring company, like last year:unsure: