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Flybe considers move to axe Southamptn FC shirt sponsorship deal (From This is Hampshire)
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Flybe considers move to axe Southamptn FC shirt sponsorship deal
4:40pm Saturday 4th April 2009
SAINTS sponsor Flybe has guaranteed its support to the club until the end of the season.
However the Daily Echo understands the low-cost airline is considering whether to axe its £250,000-a-year support for next year, a contract only signed in December.
It is feared that company bosses have grown tired of the tide of grim news from St Mary’s.
The regional flights giant is also angry after the club left it to find out about the suspension of its shares via the pages of the Daily Echo.
It may now be examining break clauses in its contract with Saints, which could be activated by the parent company being placed in administration.
Flybe has limited itself to a terse official statement, but those close to its management reported an “irretrievable breakdown” in relations between the club and its biggest sponsor.
They said the airline, the biggest at Southampton Airport and Europe’s largest regional airline, felt “very poorly treated”.
A succession of bad news from the club, from players being arrested to boardroom and managerial changes, has left Flybe concerned at the impact on its brand.
The airline was said to be “infuriated” that its logo was shown at a press conference about the woes of Saints’ parent Southampton Leisure Holdings, which it does not sponsor.
A statement read: “Flybe have loyally stood by Southampton FC over the past three years, despite relegation, boardroom and managerial upheaval, and like all Saints fans, we want only the best for the club.
“However, as the club’s primary sponsor, Flybe was very disappointed to have learnt from the media about the suspension of sharetrading in Southampton L e i s u r e Holdings Plc.
This, combined with the almost constant drip-drip of negative publicity, is frankly not conducive to a good working relationship, or the positive brand values Flybe has worked very hard to build in Southampton.”
It is unlikely the club could find another such lucrative sponsor for the shirt in time for next season, given the uncertainty currently surrounding its future.
As previously reported by the Daily Echo, Saints parent company Southampton Leisure Holdings has called in the administrators over its financial crisis and may be shut down in under four weeks if a buyer cannot be found.
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Your Say YourHampshire
Boris Remmington, Wellow says...
6:27pm Sat 4 Apr 09
Don't see the so called team going onto minimum wages.
gorf, Southampton says...
6:35pm Sat 4 Apr 09
any news on the riots in the parks in town after the game?
Condor Man, Southampton says...
6:50pm Sat 4 Apr 09
My perfect cousin, says...
7:03pm Sat 4 Apr 09
To be honest, I wouldn't blame them if they walked. What sponsor wants to be associated with the shambles we've had in the boardroom and the negative publicity of four player arrests?
Glen Wiffen, Holbury says...
8:52pm Sat 4 Apr 09
jaspm7, Totton says...
9:32pm Sat 4 Apr 09
Stubs, Eastleigh says...
10:00pm Sat 4 Apr 09
UTS, says...
10:34pm Sat 4 Apr 09
It would appear they are just trying to wriggle out of the extra one year they added last December.
fatboy, Southampton says...
7:30am Sun 5 Apr 09
She only goes down every couple of years!
lorriep, southampton says...
9:26am Sun 5 Apr 09
didn't see flybe mentioned when certain players got in trouble. or during boardroom battles.
seems to me they're just rats leaving a sinking ship.
Tobeblunt, Southampton says...
2:13pm Sun 5 Apr 09
Neilsaintsfan, Bitterne Park says...
8:03pm Sun 5 Apr 09
The new billionair owner will want to promote one of his own companies anyway.
Irate Wintonian, says...
8:09pm Sun 5 Apr 09
Now you know how the fans have been feeling for years!
Agree with Condor man re Draper Tools.
I also remember another airline, KLM, sponsoring Saints. I think they were before Rank Xerox.
sotonbusdriver, Southampton says...
8:31pm Sun 5 Apr 09
Use the stadium to house an ICE RINK...
Cannot loose more money than this football have.
RNsaint, Totton says...
9:13am Mon 6 Apr 09
After watching the game on saturday the only thing i could think of was,In the words of Blackadder "BUGGER"
Tomorrow night is definatly do or die.How many players are about to jump ship i think some have already decided on Saturdays peformance.
RNsaint, Totton says...
9:13am Mon 6 Apr 09
After watching the game on saturday the only thing i could think of was,In the words of Blackadder "BUGGER"
Tomorrow night is definatly do or die.How many players are about to jump ship i think some have already decided on Saturdays peformance.
Major Sir Jerry Pending, Ward 10 says...
1:16pm Mon 6 Apr 09
c0rsa28, Southampton says...
8:44pm Mon 6 Apr 09
derek james, gosport says...
7:20am Tue 7 Apr 09
Geoff Beattie, Debden says...
1:14pm Tue 7 Apr 09
Rudi Skacel with flybe across the chest of the Saints' shirt
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Costa Baz, Southampton says...
4:52pm Sat 4 Apr 09
Weren't they sponsors of Birmingham when they were relegated a few years back?
And Exeter when they dropped out of the leagues?
Still, better their teams go down, rather than their planes.