Good times for Ipswich Town supporters as Mick McCarthy’s cut-price side continue to defy the odds at the top of the Championship and a 4,700-strong army prepares to travel to Southampton for the FA Cup Third Round tie at St Mary’s on Sunday 4 January.
The numbers making the trip are a testament to the two clubs working together to ensure as big a crowd as possible goes to the game for as affordable a price.
Agreement between the clubs meant that Southampton could charge the minimum adult price of £10 (£5 concessions and £3 juniors) and when that caught the imagination of Ipswich fans, who sold out their initial 3,100 allocation, the Blues of Suffolk asked about the possibility of another batch of tickets.
Away clubs are entitled to 10% of the tickets for an FA Cup tie on a ‘sale or return’ basis but a further allocation usually requires payment in full with the visitors taking the chance that they may not shift every seat.
The potential financial cost of this is what stopped Coventry City taking further tickets for their trip to Arsenal last season but here the two clubs have worked together as Lee Hyde, Town’s director of retail operations told the official Ipswich website.
"They've moved a number of conditions which are usually in place that can restrict a club’s reluctance to 'gamble' financially when taking the extra five per cent that away Club’s are entitled to in the Cup."
"Southampton have also agreed to move around 1,200 Season Ticket Holders to accommodate the increased allocation from Town."
Good work from the Saints and one that will hopefully boost the number of their own fans going to the game as they realise a big away following will be there to banter with and whip up an atmosphere.
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