With plenty of tickets still available for the FA Cup Final against Chelsea on Sunday, the big question is why Saints fans would want to miss one of the few matches in their lives that offer a chance of glory.

Before we start I would like to qualify the article in that there will always be those that cannot go to a game for various reasons, including holiday's, family events, work and affordability, we all have those things crop up in our lives sometimes at the most inopportune moments, however in a supporter base as big as Saints, this would still only account for a relatively small number in the grand scheme of things.

So let's quantify just what an FA Cup semi final is, whether it is played at Wembley or anywhere else for that matter.

For fans of club like Saints, ie those who are not in the Big Six, there are actually very few occasions when your club actually plays a game that actually has a meaning on the day it is being played, yes in a league season they all matter, but in a collective basis, very few actually come down to a single game meaning something, the result being final and no chance in the next game to rectify it.

In league games that usually means the final game of the season, or at least near to it, when you cross the points total that means glory or if you are at the wrong end of the table when you play the game where defeat means you are down, but unless that is the final game of the season, even those sort of games do not have the finality that a Cup final or indeed a Semi final has.

I have been following Saints for 46 years now and in that time there are very few actual games I can put my finger on that come down to judgement day, in terms of League games I would guess at a dozen or so , mostly either a few last day scrapes around relegation and a few on qualifying for Europe.

In the Cup's I would say that if you take the FA Cup semi and final of 1976, the League Cup semi final(2nd leg) and final of 1979, FA Cup semi finals in 1984 & 86, the League cup semi final (2nd leg) of 1987, FA cup semi and Final of 2003, the League cup semi and final of last year, up to now that is about it.

So in 46 years in cup games I have seen 11 games that have actually mattered, please don't bring up the Johnstones Paint Trophy here, I have yet to meet a Saints fans with a JPT winners tattoo, it was a good day out nothing more than that.

So there we have it, in 46 years of supporting Saints , probably a total of around 2,300 games played in all competitions that mattered, only about 25 of them have actually mattered, been do or die so to speak, that is barely 1% of the total.

At least in my time I have seen shots at glory, but even in the last 30 years in the cups they have been rare, indeed since the League cup semi final 2nd leg of 1987 at Liverpool some 31 years ago, this is only our 3rd semi final in either the FA or League cup, again to quantify it, up to last season any Saints fan under 40 would have had the chance to watch only 1 semi of final that being 15 years ago in 2003.

You get my gist by now, when you are a Saints fan you don't sign up for glory, if you want that there are the likes of the Big Six who will give you varying degrees of that.

You sign up because in the main you are born to it, it is more than supporting a football team, it is about pride in ones City and indeed the area around it, you know that glory does not come around very often, you don't need to look at the record books to list our trophy wins, your own memory tells you we haven't spent much time challenging for even a cup final appearance let alone being in one.

So why on earth when one of those chances comes along as it has this weekend, would you want to cut your nose off to spite your face and miss it !

I hear to reasons why Saints supporters (with no valid other reason as detailed before) are not going to Wembley.

The first is cost, I agree with you some of the seats are expensive, but these are the seats that are now all sold out, the tickets left are mainly £30, less than the cost of watching Saints at St Mary's.

Yes that could be dear for a father to take his kids to Wembley and yes there will be those that can't afford it, but for a father and two kids the tickets add up to £70 for the three, add the cost of driving and it is still less than £100.

If my son was a Saints fan I would want him to go to Wembley and experience the chance of glory, God knows when he may get another opportunity to do so.

The second reason is about entertainment and the club's performances this season, sorry I don't buy that, yes I want to be entertained, but I also want to see us grab some glory once in a while.

The reason I endured around 2,275 games that have nothing really on them is for the other 25 that come along so rarely, the opportunity to say "I was there" the feeling of euphoria when the final whistle went at Anfield last season was something everyone there had not truly felt since Villa Park 14 years earlier and before that you had to go back to 1979 when we beat Leeds in the 2nd leg of the League Cup semi Final.

Supporting Southampton Football Club is not about winning all the time, it is not about entertainment, it is not about individual players, if that is your basis for supporting a football club, then I would say Saints is not the team for you, I would suggest Manchester City would be a better fit.

It is about pride, if you have that pride then you would be at the semi final on Sunday, wild horses would not drag you away from the turnstiles at Wembley, I know I have that pride, I know a large proportion of our supporter base also have it and will be at Wembley on Sunday, some of them scraping together money they can ill afford to do so, some have had to walk that extra mile to be there.

But too many have either lost that pride or perhaps never had it, in tough times supporters rally around the team, get that siege mentality, now the days of social media mean that many would prefer to make snide jokes for a cheap laugh than actually go to Wembley on Sunday.

In 1999 it was one of those years that came down to the death and a final do or die game, it is known as the Great Escape season, then we had that pride, we had that siege mentality, we also had in Rupert Lowe perhaps our most hated Chairman of all time and at the height of his unpopularity, yet we did not use that as an excuse to abandon the team as many use Gao, Krueger and Reed now.

It is not too late to find your pride again, there are plenty of tickets left for Sunday at £30, why would anyone want to miss an FA Cup semi final !

Photo: Action Images

SanMarco added 10:21 - Apr 18 All very true - I like the use of the word 'endured', it does rather sum it up. Football itself has devalued the cup competitions. If that 76 semi happened now we would probably rest players for the promotion push. Also a lot of us are probably having difficulty getting fully back into the 'underdog' mentality. We feel like miserable failures rather than proud underdogs. Once the whistle blows at 3pm that feeling of dread, hope and excitement will be there for me though - and I will 'endure' it, as I always will...

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SNAILOB added 11:03 - Apr 18 A great perspective. Personally I am no fan of semi finals at Wembley. That said, two of the best days i've had as a Saints fan were the 2nd leg at Anfield in the League Cup & at Villa Park v Watford. Days like these are the reason for being a fan, they live with you forever. Regardless of the opposition, current form etc. you have to believe.
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DorsetIan added 11:07 - Apr 18 I should start by saying that I have already got tickets for me and my two sons for the semi... ...but I can understand why its not sold out. There is cost and entertainment value, yes but there are two things you haven't mentioned. First, the FA Cup has lost much of its glamour. And therefore an FA Cup semi-final is just not as interesting a tie as it once would have been. Secondly, its at Wembley. We went to went Wembley last year, and again for Spurs. It's not as big a deal for Saints fans this years, as it would have been in say 2016. Thirdly, its against Chelsea. When I left St Mary's last weekend, I did think - bloody hell I might have to see them beat us next week too! I think if we'd beaten Chelseas last Saturday the numbers would be up. But, you are right, FA Cup semi appearances will come along once in a blue moon, we can beat Chelsea (we nearly did last week), and we have been playing well in the Cup. Fans should go if they can afford it - you never know, it might be fun.

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saintstowin added 11:14 - Apr 18 I appreciate the rallying cry. I also appreciate it's hard for some fans to get there for the reasons stated. And it is certainly hard for most of us to accept how generally awful we've been for the past two seasons, and to move past how most of feel about how avoidable it all was, this must be an acceptable factor in fans' decision making whether you like it or not. For me, I was due to take my son to Bournemouth and actually thought we had no chance of semi final tickets. When the chance came we chatted about what we wanted to do and made a quick decision. We've refunded the Bournemouth game (can't afford both - there's one of those reasons again!) and are heading to Wembley. I was at Villa Park in 2003 and it was wonderful. I agree in an ideal world it'd be played elsewhere, the FA wouldn't have raised lots of prices, and we'd be heading in to the game feeling positive. But even in this season's awful world I'm really excited at taking my son to his first huge game, and hoping he'll see his first Saints win! We're in the £30 seats but I had a similar view for the JPT and that was some day. Saints to win!

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dirk_doone added 11:26 - Apr 18 I am going, Nick, but I understand why a lot of fans feel disaffected and alienated by the board and owners. Our best players have been sold and we know that if any of those left can be sold to another Premier League team, they'll be sold too. To make matters worse, every managerial and coaching appointment seems to be worse than the previous one. It almost seems like we are supporting greed and stupidity.

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saintmark1976 added 11:56 - Apr 18 Nick, unless I missed it in your well thought out views you do not mention the influence of TV. In years gone by if you wanted to see a semi final in real time you had to be there.Now you can watch from the comfort of your own home or local pub or club. You save the cost of a ticket,travel and food.Whats not to like?
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SaintNick added 12:02 - Apr 18 I take into account all of the things, but clubs like Stoke, Bolton, Sunderland etc have all been in similar situations and had the same issues yet they sold out. I dont compare us with Manchester United, but I do compare us with the clubs who we aspire to be considered better than and we are not cutting the mustard even against them. Are we supporters of Southampton Football Club or do we just want a good day out as we did at the JPT

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SonicBoom added 12:05 - Apr 18 I'm prepared to bet that the reasons are two fold. It's expensive and a lot of "fans" think we are going to lose so are not bothering to go.
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REEDYREEDOREEDZ added 12:08 - Apr 18 The main reason tickets haven't sold out is we've been really awful to watch for 18 months. Everyone's pi55ed off with it. If we were top half of the table, scoring goals, playing nice football then the tickets would've all been snapped up last week regardless of price/time of the game. This season we've been so utterly hopeless, casual supporters have become apathetic and will just watch it on tv. Its a shame, and I don't really understand it. I'll be going on Sunday. The league cup final last year was brilliant. A great day out. The Saints supporters were superb that day. I hope Sunday is a similar experience, but this time we get the result we deserve.

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LordDZLucan added 12:36 - Apr 18 The definition of a club is 'an association of two or more people united by a common interest or goal'. You've got your answer to your question right there. Are the owners, players and supporters united by a common goal? Answer, clearly not. Hence the apathy. We will only get back on even keel once the owners stop using the club for their own selfish long-term financial interests and invest some proper money in the team and the players stop focusing on their next move. The supporters live in the present; the owners and the players have got to start doing the same otherwise football fans across this country will fall out of love with the Premier League.

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ChristchurchSaint added 12:43 - Apr 18 Nick, whilst I agree with your sentiments and also your comment about Stoke, Bolton etc, I also totally agree with Dirkdoone’s comments re the owners. If, and it’s a very big If, we did get to the final, I can already visualise Reed, Krueger and our 2 uninspiring owners sat there with big smiles on their faces, self-centred, and self congratulating about what a wonderful achievement it is, and what a wonderful end to the season it is. What they should be doing, is self analysing as to why they have allowed themselves to get our wonderful club into this position in the space of 2 seasons. I have been to some of our big occasions over the last 56 years of supporting my beloved team, but sadly, this time, enough is enough.

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LoisDeem added 12:53 - Apr 18 Another reason is perhaps that the club do not communicate -or understand -the 'fanbase' as well as they think. There are still 'disenfranchised' fans (even within the city boundaries) that are not aware that they are even on the database, they do need to hear a very loud clarion call. Where did I found first that there might be some tickets left? Why, on here, when I would expect the club to communicate this to us more directly and sooner, though regrettably this is diluted through the too many seemingly inadequate modes of communication. I have other friends on the club's Family and Friends 'set up' still awaiting more information. Like most things the club do lately, it's all too little too late.

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saintpp added 13:33 - Apr 18 It will be amazing if we dont sell most of our tickets .Some are not going because they say we will lose,seems they have lost grip of the underdog philosphy. They play they may win they may lose but thats called supporting and as you say once in blue moon these games come around. I think and have allways thought (being a pessimist) we will probably lose every game we play but never stopped me going. Some have become so obseessed with hating Reed that it overules any logic or realism and they by not going will miss out on memory be it good or bad.

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onedannywallace added 13:40 - Apr 18 Completely agree, Nick. As a lifelong Saints supporter, I've tried to go to every semi-final and final and they don't happen that often so you have to make the most of the opportunities when they arise. Was gutted not to be able to get tickets for the EFL final last year, hopefully if we get to the final they will prioritise tickets for people who went to the semi. And I think we have a better chance of winning this one than many of our previous semis and finals. Chelsea were very lucky to win last weekend and are not on good form, we definitely got the best draw. And in the final anything can happen. Based on the last two performances, I haven't given up. If we could win the next 3 games, which is not impossible, everything would change - we would probably stay up and might even win the cup and get into Europe. :-)

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robhythe added 14:37 - Apr 18 What about the Southampton marathons going on ??? 10.000 taking part so thats all there families going to watch them aswell !!! Takes a big chunk of Saints fans !
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the_saint added 15:49 - Apr 18 Nick you forgot the zeneth data and charity shield off 77
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oldeastterrace added 17:13 - Apr 18 Nick can you confirm that there are 13.000 tickets left? If so that is unbelievable. I thought we'd struggle to sell them all but not to that extent!!!
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arfurdent added 18:08 - Apr 18 perhaps the "customers" are reflecting the contempt they appear to be held in by the club. Yes, I will be thare as for every other semi and final (1902 excepted)
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densham41 added 18:37 - Apr 18 I was at Anfield last year for the league cup semi. You can't beat that feeling when we scored the winner. I'm hoping for that feeling Sunday. That's the reason I'll be there. Supporting Saints you do not expect success , you hope for it. But when it comes it does feel bloody good
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skiptonsaint added 18:42 - Apr 18 I am going but maybe fans are making a bit of a protest here both at the tickets prices and our club being taken over by people who are clearly now just here to make money. The ones that have hollowed out the club as someone said on here or a podcast recently. I think we are also on one of the worst ever runs in Saints history , certainly at home, so it could be said we have done pretty well to sell what have....

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bstokesaint added 19:59 - Apr 18 Nick, you’ve not really mentioned the biggest factor for me, which is even if we beat Chelski and possibly even win the cup it’s all a bit hollow if we end up getting relegated. What’s more like Dirk and a couple of others have rightly pointed out there’s a lot of disenfranchisement right now. It’s all very well saying you support the Saints through thick and thin, but at what point does that actually just make you a total mug? Giving all that devotion, passion, time and money to a board who appear to have sold everything positive for a pot of gold and a bunch of players who lack any kind of loyalty or commitment is hard to take. As I’ve said before give me the team of the 90’s because they were all committed players who we could be truly proud of. It’s not just about silverware for me, otherwise I’d just support Chelski. It’s about being proud of your club and not embarrassed. I’m fed up with hearing how you’ve sold our chance of success and are happy to just be a feeder club. That’s not the Southampton FC I’ve supported for three decades.

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simmo400 added 20:51 - Apr 18 Just don’t feel it anymore. Lost I interest along while back and I know a few who just can’t be bothered to travel. As most have said it on tv 📺 so just too easy to watch. Save the money for the final no brainer.
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halftimeorange added 21:17 - Apr 18 Truth is when you see your side collapsing like a pack of cards, when officials nowadays seem to invariably favour the glamour clubs - I don't just mean against the Saints - when the media openly urges better players to move to their preferred teams - one becomes disaffected but, worst of all is when clubs such as Bournemouth (who should have had two penalties thus far tonight against Man U), Burnley and Brighton show more determination and togetherness both on and off the pitch than ours does then you really can't blame supporters, many of whom are ST holders, for not bothering to go to an overpriced event in a really poor and inaccessible location. I think many fans are simply sick of Saints, perhaps temporarily, and that will be reflected in the gates for the opening set of games next season whichever division we're in. The fire is barely flickering.

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ItchenNorth added 22:56 - Apr 18 There's no excuse imo. These are the games that we live for. Oh well, quality not quantity on Sunday it is then.
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SanMarco added 00:32 - Apr 19 oldeastterrace: I reckon 13000 could be right - all the upper sections have huge blocks unsold. That is certainly a huge comment on something or other....
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