Southampton are certainly impressing on the pitch this season, but club CEO Phil Parsons has this week been talking about how things can improve in the stands at St Mary’s.
The club have been engaged in consultation with fan groups regarding potential changes to their home stadium with a view to improving the match day experience.
It is an exciting time at the Saints. Russell Martin‘s side are currently on a 20 game unbeaten run, and were responsible for a 4-0 drubbing of Sheffield Wednesday last time out. On loan Ryan Fraser scored in that game and looks determined to make his signing permanent, Adam Armstrong is in by far the best form in his time at the club with 14 Championship goals and 11 assists, and Joe Rothwell has just joined the club’s ranks on loan from Bournemouth.
With little concern arising from the transfer window so far – aside from the potential cut-price sale of Che Adams – Southampton are very much on the up; their stadium plans reflecting a club on the right trajectory.
The plans revolve primarily around safe-standing and making the Northam stand for home fans only, therefore moving away fans from their current position within the stadium. The idea behind this being to improve the atmosphere, with away fans benefitting from their position near the most vocal Southampton fans as they are wedged between the Southampton section of the Northam and the Itchen North.
These changes will be music to the ears of many Saints fans, with safe standing and a home-fans-only Northam something that a lot of fans have been requesting for a long time.
What is the latest on St Mary’s plans?
The atmosphere at St Mary’s has improved drastically this season, with much of this down to the performances and the work done by Martin to mend the fractured relationship between team and fans after a tough few seasons at home.
However, it has clearly been identified by the club that this can continue to improve and the proposed measures seek to build upon this. Parson’s spoke to BBC Sounds on Thursday to explain the changes and the reasons behind them.
The Saints CEO explained that the pressure to implement safe standing does not come solely from the club’s supporters, as he said that: “The league is pushing for a lot of the safe standing areas. You will see some of the sections closed…so we lose around 1,000 seats a game because we don’t have safe standing in place. So by doing this it actually allows us to reopen some of those seats.”
The potential safe standing is currently proposed to be for the upper tier of the Northam only, with the lower tier to remain seated.
Parsons explained further the thought process behind the changes, as he confirmed that acoustic experts have been consulted and concluded that St Mary’s is “one of the best stadiums in the country for noise, it was classed around sixth-best for the sound and atmosphere”.
The problem is, though, as Parsons explains: “The noise goes straight down the pitch from behind the goal – so we are looking at a space where their fans don’t get that advantage over our team”.
How can Southampton fans have their say on St Mary’s future?
The exciting thing for Southampton fans is that these plans are not a pipe dream, with Parsons confirming that the club plan on starting the implementation of safe standing as soon as the season finishes.
The Fan Advisory Board have been very involved in discussions around the future of St Mary’s and fans are now being encouraged to provide feedback on the proposals that have emerged this week during the current consultation period.
Southampton fans have been advised to check their emails in the coming weeks as the club will be asking its supporters to complete a survey to express their views on the proposals. There will also be opportunity for willing fans to join small focus groups to be involved in ongoing discussions.
Parsons has urged fans to make their voices heard and complete the survey, saying: “A lot of work has already taken place behind the scenes to get us to this stage and I would encourage all fans to complete the survey or take part in a focus group if they can to share their views with us.”
With the form Southampton are showing, the introduction of a Northam end filled entirely with home fans and safe standing could coincide with a return to the Premier League in the summer.