It has not been a great few years for Southampton, and things this season simply got worse for them as they head into the final Premier League clash of the 2022/23 campaign already knowing they are going to finish bottom of the top tier table and will return to the Championship for the coming campaign.
There remains plenty for the St Mary’s Stadium outfit to sort out before the start of the 2023/24 season, there are managerial issues to sort, playing squad questions, finances to deal with as well as, ultimately, the price of next season’s season tickets and the match day pricing setup.
The aim will be to have the stadium as packed as possible, both to offset the loss of PL revenue, but also to try and help drive the team on to promotion at the first time of asking. Fans, however, have concerns of their own right now, given the current financial issues at play in the country, and the cost of event tickets, in general, is becoming quite a hot topic. A recent study by ExpressVPN revealed that some tickets are being sold at a 2000% increase compared to their original price. Not just in football and sport, but cinema prices, stand-up comedy shows and music gigs are all being looked at when it comes to value for money and then, the inevitable reselling markets at play where fans are basically forced to pay well over market value for tickets and the problems caused by ticket scalpers.
Whilst this is not as big a problem as it used to be in football, with many clubs handling reselling of tickets themselves, it is still something for fans to be aware of.
With tickets prices yet to be announced, Southampton supporters will at least be pleased to know that steps are underway to secure their new gaffer, and it is being reported that a deal is now almost very close for Swansea City head coach, Russell Martin, to make the switch as Ruben Selles replacement. The club have previously announced that his contract will not be renewed, although he remains in place until the end of the season.
The Saints will have to pay the Swans compensation for Martin’s services as he is under contract at the Liberty Stadium until 2024, and it is also believed that he will be bringing some of his backroom staff with him to the south coast as well, so fans will be interested in what the compensation total comes to even though their board are clearly convinced he is the man to get them back to the top flight at the first time of asking.
Having stepped up from MK Dons, Martin guided Swansea to a 15th place finish in his first season with them in the Championship, and he has taken them to 10th place this season. On paper, despite the improvement, that is not a great record at face value if the aim is promotion at the first time of asking, but he is known for possession football and it is believed that this was very appealing to Southampton’s hierarchy given the players already on their books.
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