What do you think? You can have your say by posting below.
If you do not already have an account Click here to Register.

From the Chron

Now that is one clever idea.!

For the club its win win they get to keep the donated money and sell a extra shirt because if your name is on it you have no choice at all but to buy one, apparently its the law.

Fab idea I had already made that decision, with following NB - I am lucky (for now!?) to be in a position to do this I appreciate others may not be so fair play all round. Now where did I put that fake ID with my pseudonym of Rudolf Hucker?

Brilliant idea on all fronts. Just completed the "Donate" forms for myself and my wife.

Makes you feel even prouder to be a Saints supporter and to be part of such a great community.

Club have played this one perfectly - option to help support the club if you can, no judgement or difficulties in getting a refund if you can't...

Not quite as positive a response from me I'm afraid..
Your name being on the away shirt strikes me as being a bit, we can double our money, we dont sell *many away shirts and this will boost those sales.
If it was the home shirt I would feel better about it tbh.
It kind of feels like a decision made my a marketing/accountant team trying to milk it a bit, rather than a genuine nice gesture to thank those who choose to support the club in difficult times.

Keeping it in perspective, I like the general idea and I am not annoyed by this so much as just thinking it could be better.

Good on the club for getting out early and making the offer and options clear.

The reasons why it's on the away shirt are explained in the FAQ section...

Why will the names of Season Ticket Holders be on the 2021/22 shirt, rather than the 2020/21 version?
The 2020/21 home and away jerseys are already midway through production, meaning the earliest the Club can place the names of donators on the away jersey is for the 2021/22 season.

How will the names appear on the 2021/22 shirt?
All names submitted by those who donate will be sublimated into the fabric of the 2021/22 away jersey. This jersey will be worn by Northampton Saints for away matches and available for supporters to purchase.

Why will the names of Season Ticket Holders be on the away shirt, rather than the home?
The Club’s recent ‘King of the Kits’ competition made it clear that Northampton supporters love watching Saints play in traditional, hooped jerseys. In order to commit to placing names of supporters on the Club’s home jersey, we would have put a traditional, hooped design in jeopardy. This was not an acceptable option, so the names of Season Ticket Holders who donate will instead appear on the away jersey in 2021/22, and Saints will take those supporters with them in spirit as they compete on the road.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2020:06:19:11:28:13 by Saint Ted.

Speaking as one born pre-WW2 and of a generation of "coarse rugby" players, when you only wore the shirt when you actually played rugby, and never one for a club or national side for which you didn't play, I have never bought a shirt whether home or away. I have no problem with others doing so, and for our names to be on a shirt, but it's so ingrained in me that it would feel really odd to wear a shirt to which I was not entitled.

As I may not be around for the 21-22 season it is great to know that the players will carry a tiny part of me when they play away, though.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 2020:06:19:11:36:05 by ancient mariner.

Quote:

NottsSaint
...
Your name being on the away shirt strikes me as being a bit, we can double our money, we dont sell *many away shirts and this will boost those sales.
If it was the home shirt I would feel better about it tbh.
It kind of feels like a decision made my a marketing/accountant team trying to milk it a bit ....

Or it could just be the practicalities of etching onto a light grey away shirt rather than a predominantly black and dark green home shirt.

Good on the club for getting out early and making the offer and options clear.

Quote:

ancient mariner
Speaking as one born pre-WW2 and of a generation of "coarse rugby" players, when you only wore the shirt when you actually played rugby, and never one for a club or national side for which you didn't play, I have never bought a shirt whether home or away. I have no problem with others doing so, and for our names to be on a shirt, but it's so ingrained in me that it would feel really odd to wear a shirt to which I was not entitled.

I love this sentiment, I wouldn't go as far as to not wear a club shirt but to be honest I only wear it to matches, I don't wear one as a day to day item.

For me I draw the line at club ties, you never really own your club jersey, there will be multiple versions of your club jersey worn by many many people over the years. But your club tie is yours, you have earned that by representing the club, could be once, could be 200 times, but it's yours and you earned it and the right to wear it.

I am well aware that may seem odd to some!

I thought that a number of other clubs had already announced plans for donations and refunds.

I am more than happy for the club to put my name on any shirt they like. I have never bought or worn a shirt and probably never will. As ever, nobody is obliged to buy anything. My main concern is that they get to keep my ST cash and that's what I want them to do.

As I say, I wouldn't go as far as saying I was annoyed by it, but stand by, it would be better on the home shirts, if not possible, then its not possible, maybe I should be less cynical about things than my first jumped to conclusion was.

Quote:

Aberavon Wizard
I thought that a number of other clubs had already announced plans for donations and refunds.

I know it’s been widely discussed because it obviously affects every club but I guess we’re the first to confirm the situation- unless you have what I believe the youth refer to as the receipts?

Having your name on a shirt is pretty cool. I’m still proud to have my name on the stadium wall as a Pledge supporter from our last relegation. I didn’t have the disposable income at the time for the shareholder issue that preceded that. I suspect some posters on here have their name in both places...?

Having been away onCovid Ops for some months and not up to date with current schedules does this refund offer mean that there will definately be no more games this season where ST supporters Will be able to attend??

Quote:

JohnI
Having been away onCovid Ops for some months and not up to date with current schedules does this refund offer mean that there will definately be no more games this season where ST supporters Will be able to attend??

Mark Darbon says:

"Should crowds be allowed, in any form, at any of the remaining fixtures in our 2019/20 season, we will outline a specific process for obtaining tickets closer to those matches. For now though, all existing 2019/20 Season Tickets and match tickets will become invalid with immediate effect. This decision allows us to begin processing all donations, credits, vouchers and refunds from today."

Thanks tedge 👍

Quote:

Saint Ted
The reasons why it's on the away shirt are explained in the FAQ section...
Why will the names of Season Ticket Holders be on the 2021/22 shirt, rather than the 2020/21 version?
The 2020/21 home and away jerseys are already midway through production, meaning the earliest the Club can place the names of donators on the away jersey is for the 2021/22 season.

How will the names appear on the 2021/22 shirt?
All names submitted by those who donate will be sublimated into the fabric of the 2021/22 away jersey. This jersey will be worn by Northampton Saints for away matches and available for supporters to purchase.

Why will the names of Season Ticket Holders be on the away shirt, rather than the home?
The Club’s recent ‘King of the Kits’ competition made it clear that Northampton supporters love watching Saints play in traditional, hooped jerseys. In order to commit to placing names of supporters on the Club’s home jersey, we would have put a traditional, hooped design in jeopardy. This was not an acceptable option, so the names of Season Ticket Holders who donate will instead appear on the away jersey in 2021/22, and Saints will take those supporters with them in spirit as they compete on the road.

There is another reason why the away shirt is better.
The shirts are now printed using a dye sublimation method, that's why there's nothing embroidered or stuck on any more (apart from the badge). To have these names on the home shirt with standard GBB colours the names would probably have to be white or another lighter colour, so the home shirt would appear almost colourless with all the names I expect will be on there. Using a light grey colour for the away kit allows the names to be printed without changing the overall colour too much.

If any matches actually get played in front of a real crowd, should those that "donated" get first option in the ticket ballot?

Thoughts?

Quote:

NobbyClarke
If any matches actually get played in front of a real crowd, should those that "donated" get first option in the ticket ballot?
Thoughts?

I'm sure me and other wheelchair season ticket holders could attend, even under current restrictions. We bring our own chair, we have allocated space with a gap between and our carers could sit almost anywhere in the stadium easily maintaining a 2m gap.

Quote:

NobbyClarke
If any matches actually get played in front of a real crowd, should those that "donated" get first option in the ticket ballot?
Thoughts?

Whatever the club do in this situation, people are going to kick off.

In my opinion, those who donated shouldn’t get first refusal.

It’s clear in all the articles on the matter that this is a donation and as a thank you, you get a scarf and your name in the Fabric of the away shirt.

I’ve happily donated, but my situation lets me do that, It’s probably not right that I should be given preferential treatment over somebody else that through reasons beyond their control they aren’t in that position.

I’m concerned that in the unlikely event that matches are open to some supporters, despite the fact it clearly says tickets would be resold to people, some people who have donated will kick off at having to shell out again.

In my view, season ticket holders, regardless of the option they chose should be able to opt into a ballot for tickets and I would hope those tickets aren’t at the usual prices, but at the price they would have been prorated on a season ticket. At the minute the club are expecting no money from those matches, so any income is a bonus.

I don't think that those who "donated" should get first option in any ticket ballot. All season ticket holders should have equal chance regardless of the option they chose (they are no less a supporter or entitled to attend in my view).

Quote:

fleetg
I don't think that those who "donated" should get first option in any ticket ballot. All season ticket holders should have equal chance regardless of the option they chose (they are no less a supporter or entitled to attend in my view).

Absolutely correct - just because I am in the position to donate does not make me a better class of season ticket holder. The club are very clear the peoples circumstances are very different.

Quote:

Saint Tim

Quote:

fleetg
I don't think that those who "donated" should get first option in any ticket ballot. All season ticket holders should have equal chance regardless of the option they chose (they are no less a supporter or entitled to attend in my view).

Absolutely correct - just because I am in the position to donate does not make me a better class of season ticket holder. The club are very clear the peoples circumstances are very different.

+1

Quote:

Saint Tim

Quote:

fleetg
I don't think that those who "donated" should get first option in any ticket ballot. All season ticket holders should have equal chance regardless of the option they chose (they are no less a supporter or entitled to attend in my view).

Absolutely correct - just because I am in the position to donate does not make me a better class of season ticket holder. The club are very clear the peoples circumstances are very different.

Saint Tim, not suggesting that any supporter is better than another, but assuming the balloted tickets are to be paid for, those credited or refunded have been given the money back to pay. Those that donated would effectively be paying twice! While the donaters may all be in a position to waive a refund, being asked to pay twice puts them at a disadvantage.

Thats made quite clear though in the email and article, any monies that you could get back have been donated, anything that happens after this re being able to watch the matches is entirely separate

What about offering some form of priority to any ST holders who are NHS staff or key workers?

That would serve to be a bit of a problem for the club as you would either have to trust everybody entering the ballot is telling the truth about there profession or they would have to get proof, but checking that is time consuming.

Straight ballot from 2019/20 season ticket holders is the easiest and fairest method.

(I would get in the ballot for NHS and key workers, so no bias by the way)

Quote:

Saint Ted

Straight ballot from 2019/20 season ticket holders is the easiest and fairest method.

+1

Quote:

ThornbySaint

Quote:

NottsSaint
...
Your name being on the away shirt strikes me as being a bit, we can double our money, we dont sell *many away shirts and this will boost those sales.
If it was the home shirt I would feel better about it tbh.
It kind of feels like a decision made my a marketing/accountant team trying to milk it a bit ....

Or it could just be the practicalities of etching onto a light grey away shirt rather than a predominantly black and dark green home shirt.

Good on the club for getting out early and making the offer and options clear.

you don't have to buy it?