Given that the prices are so low and on the back of the first win at St Mary's in a while, it is strange that so few have bought advance tickets for the visit of Wolvherhampton Wanderers on Wednesday.

After pricing the tickets so competively for this game Saints could be excused for being a little disappointed at the slow advance sales for the visit of Wolves on Wednesday evening.

The last League Cup game that Saints took part in was at Wembley and 35,000 got tickets with thousands more desperate to go, however at the moment a look at the online ticketing system shows that we have sold barely a third of the stadium so far.

Perhaps it is a throwback to the lack of goals at St Mary's before Saturday's game against West Ham, perhaps the change of name of the Competition has confused some fans who think this is one of the games in the Checkatrade trophy that our U23 team is taking part in, whatever the reason the take up so far has been poor.

One reason it cannot be is the cost, at £10 for an adult ticket, £8 for concessions,, £5 for under 18's and £3 for under 11's this should be a game affordable to most, a family of four with a 13 & a 10 year old could go for a total of £28, when you compare that it would have cost £88 for the same seats against West Ham at the weekend that highlights what a good deal it is.

In the past we have had some good crowds for early League Cup games last season against Palace we had 14,000 rising to just under 22,000 for the visit of Sunderland, so why the poor take up this time

The hope will be that there will be a late surge for tickets on line in the next days, but with the time for posting out the tickets past this could cause disruption on the night if there is a big walk up as there usually is on these occasions.

The low take up so far should perhaps ring a few alarm bells in the club in that a large percentage of the fan base are still rightly or wrongly disenchanted by last season's performances under Claude Puel as well as the issues with Virgil Van Dijk, there is still a lot of negativity towards the club and they need to work hard at dispelling this.

Whilst certainly the marketing and ticket office have worked hard to do this hence the low prices for this game, ultimately fans turn up for what is happening on the field and these low sales so far are almost certainly largely due to Saints lack of activity in the transfer market this summer with many supporters worried that the failure to even sign a replacement for Jose Fonte sold 8 months ago, let alone Virgil Van Dijk will cost the club dearly.

Photo: Action Images

abingdonsaint added 10:38 - Aug 21 As one of five season ticket holders from Abingdon, I can only speak for our family, but the reason we are not going is much more simple! At this time of year, the traffic on the A34 is horrendous, and despite leaving early for the Swansea game, it took us 3 and a half hours to travel 50 miles, and we only just made kick-off. For night games, this means leaving work early along with with all the associated hassle. There are a fair number of regular supporters I know of who do not live in the immediate Southampton area, and obviously there will be many more I don't, so I'm sure this is a significant factor. As regards the football, I'm encouraged by what I've seen so far this season, and whilst I'm sure there will be an addition or two to come, assuming we keep VVD the squad is pretty strong without major surgery in my opinion. Just a matter of Pellegrino getting more out of what we already have.....

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A1079 added 10:57 - Aug 21 Not sure whether it is a factor, but if where I live and work and if it is anything to go by, then it seems like just about everyone is on holiday this week and next.
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saintnige added 11:49 - Aug 21 Echoing AbingdonSaint... set of from Ashby de la Zouch at 10.30 for the Swansea game. Arrived at St marys at 3.15pm having been diverted round the A34 as far as M25 and M3. I love my days out at Southampton but 5 or 6 times a year is enough for me!
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SanMarco added 12:07 - Aug 21 As well as travel issues I would want to see the teamsheets. This would be very interesting as a 'full strength' game but the managers will decide who wins by the teams they put out.
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helpineedsomebody added 12:24 - Aug 21 give the tickets for a pound / uni students / schools / + send a ticket to the new owner where ever he is
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SaintNick added 12:42 - Aug 21 I can understand why those that live outside of say a 30 mile radius of the City might not want to come, but at these prices there should be plenty who live within that zone who can go, there were 28,000 Saints fans at St Mary's for the last two saturdays, whilst i can understand that three home games is a lot in a 12 day period, this game is only a tenner it wont be breaking many banks

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leighsaint added 13:29 - Aug 21 Those fans who live just outside the city limits who travel by bus can't get a bus home after an evening game. There are no late buses even when Saints are at home
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TimSaint added 13:53 - Aug 21 I've got tickets and our lot will be going - but it is a bit of a hassle with travel etc, with the roads particularly bad at the moment, despite it supposedly being holiday season !! The club have priced the game fairly - perhaps with some input from Wolves and as the kids are off, then it is an ideal opportunity to take the whole family for a good price. What we would like to see though, is something from the club to suggest that they will take this competition seriously and put out a decent side, rather than the teams we put out against Palace and Sunderland in our home fixtures last year. Yes it is good to blood the kids, but with the success in this competition last season, the club should be looking to achieve similar results, as this competition again represents our best chance of reaching a domestic final !!

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SaintBrock added 14:00 - Aug 21 There are no excuses for people not attending but mark these words, Nick, if next February we make it to the Final again all the missing "loyal fans" will soon be on here with their sense of entitlement in full angry man mode moaning about why they do not qualify for tickets for the Final. Tickets at give-away prices? Worth buying even if you don't go just to get the quality points. All I hope is Wolves play in their traditional old-gold strip, am I the only one who is growing a little weary of opposition teams turning out in Black? Three in a row, Yuck!

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SaintBrock added 14:05 - Aug 21 abingdonsaint, whatever happened to that mega-million scheme to sort out the M3/A34 junction at Winnall where all your troubles begin and end? http://roads.highways.gov.uk/projects/m3-junction-9-improvements/
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LoisDeem added 18:23 - Aug 21 I expect the eventual 'walk up' figure will be reasonable yet still criticised in some quarters, but it will be down to a number of factors, some of which have been touched upon. The third home game on the trot, and so early in the season, difficult travel/access for evening games, the minimal publicity for this tournament /match suggests the club may understate the line up too, so something has to give. The shame for me is that it's not showcasing some new exciting talent too, so maybe Saints could benefit more from any revised transfer window next time around. There are clearly still too many flaunting their 'disposable' income with suggestions on here of purchasing tickets whether you go or not. Now call me old fashioned, but that's not how I chose to support the team, even if I could afford it.

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