Printer-friendly pageTuesday, May 23, 2006
As Saints stock has fallen in the past two years, so has membership of London Saints, the annual general meeting heard last night.
The number of LSSC members has fallen to 265, down 54 on the year - and around half what the figure was at its peak five years ago. The ease of obtaining match tickets at St Mary's is seen as the main reason for the fall: LSSC's allocation at The Dell having always been highly prized by members.
But despite the fall in numbers, the AGM heard that London Saints has had one of its busiest and most successful years with 32 travelling to Sri Lanka on a cricket tour and 33 competing in the combined darts/pool/golf day in Salisbury. London Saints currently heads the top flight of the pool league, and the third division in darts.
There has been a rush on tickets to hear Lawrie McMenemy speak to London Saints on Friday, with more than 35 now booked to attend (contact Mick Strickland for tickets).
Funds have also remained stable, with £3,377 in the kitty - although £1,044 is accounted for by forward membership funds (the committee last year introduced three-year memberships). But following a debate, the AGM voted to approve an increase in subscriptions for next season - to £13 for individuals (up £1), £17 for families (£2) and £6 for concessions (£1).
Martyn Brockwell called for a price freeze for a year "if we're trying to stop the erosion of membership"
The figures compare favourably with other Apfscil memmbers - Sunderland, the lowest, charges members £10 but Plymouth costs £18. Having said that, Plymouth members receive 11 newsletters a year, compared with six from London Saints. The newseletter remains the biggest cost, and is expected to cost £250 an issue (unlike at Wolves, where one member is a printer..... Do we have anyone in the trade?!)
But there were objections to the price hike. Former LSSC chairman Martyn Brockwell called for a price freeze for a year "if we're trying to stop the erosion of membership. Then hopefully we can increase the fees in a year on the back of a successful season...."
The AGM heard that Southampton FC has again refused to let us present the Player of the Year season trophy on the pitch at St Marys. Instead, the club has invited members down to watch the team training! In another debate, Brockwell decried the "erosion of contact" with the club and promised to use contacts to push for recognition of LSSC's 28 years history.
Mick Strickland is also in dialogue with the club on behalf of LSSC to try and rebuild links that historically included regular presentations on the pitch, end of season parties with the players and meetings with the manager and fans in London.
The committee was re-elected en masse and unopposed before a presentation from Chris Brown of Southampton Trust, who told LSSC that ST now has 554 members, owns 15,000 shares in the club and has proxy votes for a further 500,000 - including 60,000 from Leon Crouch and 60,000 from major shareholder Michael Wilde.
The ST's AGM, held last week, passed five resolutions - including a call to remove chairman Rupert Lowe and a resolution to seek a seat on the board to represent fans' interests. A full report is available on its website - www.saintstrust.co.uk
The ST is looking for support from London Saints, either by taking a corporate membership at £50 or taking the proxy of the 337 Saints shares we hold. No decision was taken last night.
On a personal note, I join chairman Mick Strickland at being disappointed in last night's turnout - only four LSSC members alongside the seven on the LSSC committee. Thanks to David Smith, Mick Stanley, Eric Shadick and Martyn Brockwell for turning out. Perhaps even worse is that only three LSSC members bothered to record his/her apologies for absence. Thanks also to Adam Grapes, Alan Willis and Pete Berkeley. At least last year, 14 LSSC members took the time and effort to send their apologies for absence.
