Away ticketing arrangements 23/24

[Zico]

30 minutes ago, gonzo said:

Clubs like United have had a black market built on this kind of stuff for decades.

Like you say theres nothing you can do bar photo ID. 

 

got a mate who is a Spurs ST and has been for years

moved up to Manc when they were still at WHL but he kept his ST as if he let it go, he wouldn't get another

so he rented his ST out and the lad could use it for home games and to buy for away games

the condition was my mate got Arsenal and something like two other home games a season, plus if he got first dibs on away tickets, and if the he or the lad weren't going away, there was always someone else waiting in the wings to try and get a ticket using their loyalty points

wasn't an issue in that there were plenty folk willing to do rent STs in that way

[green genie]

43 minutes ago, gonzo said:

Clubs like United have had a black market built on this kind of stuff for decades.

Like you say theres nothing you can do bar photo ID. 

 

Technology can get around it.

Twickenham you have to use their App and the QR code isn’t updated until gates open

[Marc505]

On 11/05/2023 at 12:35, gonzo said:

If its as bent as who wins lifeline every week, no thanks

Funny you should say that, just seen same name on there drawn today that's won £25 6 times since Christmas 😂😂

[Leyther_Matt]

1 hour ago, Marc505 said:

Funny you should say that, just seen same name on there drawn today that's won £25 6 times since Christmas 😂😂

Tbf he does have about £60 worth of entries every week 😅

[Ani]

I have not heard a sensible or logical argument why we do not need a priority scheme. 

[Arrested development]

30 minutes ago, Ani said:

I have not heard a sensible or logical argument why we do not need a priority scheme. 

How do you view loyalty. Is it just season by season ? Who is the most loyal....the person who has been to every game for 6 years or the 60 year old who has been to 6 games a year for 60 years?

What about the students at uni who can't make every away, what about people with small children who used to go away all the time but can't now due to circumstances. Are they less loyal? Because according to a points system , they are less loyal. 

Me personally , loyalty lasts longer than one season. Just because someone went to Exeter or peterboro shouldn't give you any advantage on going to any other game. 

Edited May 12, 2023 by Arrested development

[DazBob]

6 minutes ago, Arrested development said:

How do you view loyalty. Is it just season by season ? Who is the most loyal....the person who has been to every game for 6 years or the 60 year old who has been to 6 games a year for 60 years?

What about the students at uni who can't make every away, what about people with small children who used to go away all the time but can't now due to circumstances. Are they less loyal? Because according to a points system , they are less loyal. 

Me personally , loyalty lasts longer than one season. Just because someone went to Exeter or peterboro shouldn't give you any advantage on going to any other game. 

Of course, folk will have different opinions,  but surely everyone agrees that the currently it's shite that there is nothing at all.

[Leyther_Matt]

6 minutes ago, Arrested development said:

How do you view loyalty. Is it just season by season ? Who is the most loyal....the person who has been to every game for 6 years or the 60 year old who has been to 6 games a year for 60 years?

What about the students at uni who can't make every away, what about people with small children who used to go away all the time but can't now due to circumstances. Are they less loyal? Because according to a points system , they are less loyal. 

Me personally , loyalty lasts longer than one season. Just because someone went to Exeter or peterboro shouldn't give you any advantage on going to any other game. 

But if they went to Exeter and Peterborough. And Fleetwood. And Morecambe. And Cambridge. And the rest, then they really should have an advantage on getting hold of tickets before others. IMO of course. Yes inevitably there will be “I went to every game in Division Four and paid on the gate, what’s the problem” but clearly there IS a problem, and any issues around a cut off date would sort themselves out soon enough.

As I posted earlier in the week, Hibs used to have a priority scheme but binned it. Hearts away tickets sell out in 5 mins and right on cue there are calls to bring back the priority scheme.

Yes people can’t make every game cos of work or family commitments. But you’ll still have your place in the queue ahead of people who go to one game a season. I’d say students at uni will be front of the queue, mind 😄

[Ani]

27 minutes ago, Arrested development said:

How do you view loyalty. Is it just season by season ? Who is the most loyal....the person who has been to every game for 6 years or the 60 year old who has been to 6 games a year for 60 years?

What about the students at uni who can't make every away, what about people with small children who used to go away all the time but can't now due to circumstances. Are they less loyal? Because according to a points system , they are less loyal. 

Me personally , loyalty lasts longer than one season. Just because someone went to Exeter or peterboro shouldn't give you any advantage on going to any other game. 

Ok fair points.... my views;

I repeat it is an away ticket priority scheme, so not trying to measure loyalty. It might sound pedantic but I do think it makes sense

Any scheme is new and so has to start from a given date in the future, from there the schemes rollover year on year. Clubs such as Sunderland and Sheff Weds with higher away followings with us do this.

There will be numerous reasons why people have to miss games, I could not go to Morecambe away due to a family wedding, I also missed Oxford , Cheltenham and FGR because I could not be arsed. The club has no way of knowing why people miss games so can not use that as a factor.

The point of a scheme is to reward those fans who can be arsed with Oxford, Cheltenham and FGR, it is not meant to be punishing people.

You say just because someone went to Peterborough (I did) or Exeter (I did not) they do not get first dibs on next away game. But the idea of the scheme should be to say if you have been to the last  15 games you do get priority over someone who has not been to an away game all year. 
 

The scheme needs to be fair , easy to understand and manage for the club. If it becomes over complicated it will cost ££s to run. Loads of clubs have such schemes it is quite strange we do not. 
There is a priority scheme in place now if you believe the rumours that certain groups get allocations now, the club needs to  be honest and open about that.

The away season tickets are fair enough as people are committed to buying some many tickets. All I am saying is that their needs to be an extra step in the process that avoids scrambles like today and people who have done 90% of games in a season miss out on a play off ticket.

[Smiley]

Maybe the clubs/pubs should go into a ballot each away game. So, for instance, if they have combined “members” of around 500. The club allocates 100 tickets to these groups to be balloted. Keeps them in the priority list - but doesn’t smash the entire allocation for every away.

Loyalty is impossible to measure. As folk say, there’s lads who’ve had season tickets for 40-50 years consecutively. They only do 6-7 away games each season. Are they less loyal than someone who goes to every away game for the past 2-3 seasons?

I think the club WILL introduce a scheme that includes purchases at the club shop, in the ground, match day programmes. Maybe a club credit card will come into play. Those who purchase bonds may jump up the ladder also.

As for other “back doors” - can we really deny our sponsors and advertisers tickets? Someone who pays £18K for a box and a hell of a lot more on LED advertising - should they have to queue up with the rest or get priority? For me they have to be at the front of the queue.

[Leyther_Matt]

4 minutes ago, Smiley said:

Loyalty is impossible to measure. As folk say, there’s lads who’ve had season tickets for 40-50 years consecutively. They only do 6-7 away games each season. Are they less loyal than someone who goes to every away game for the past 2-3 seasons?

In the context of getting tickets for away games then I would have to say the answer is yes, unfortunately. But similarly they would still have their place in the queue ahead of someone who has had a season ticket for 40-50 consecutive years but only goes to 2-3 away games a season. Unlike the closed shop of some of the bigger clubs/England etc, we’ll never sell out for every game so we would benefit from actually having plenty of opportunity for people to build up their credit and get themselves further up the queue.

[DaisyHWanderer]

46 minutes ago, Smiley said:

Maybe the clubs/pubs should go into a ballot each away game. So, for instance, if they have combined “members” of around 500. The club allocates 100 tickets to these groups to be balloted. Keeps them in the priority list - but doesn’t smash the entire allocation for every away.

Loyalty is impossible to measure. As folk say, there’s lads who’ve had season tickets for 40-50 years consecutively. They only do 6-7 away games each season. Are they less loyal than someone who goes to every away game for the past 2-3 seasons?

I think the club WILL introduce a scheme that includes purchases at the club shop, in the ground, match day programmes. Maybe a club credit card will come into play. Those who purchase bonds may jump up the ladder also.

As for other “back doors” - can we really deny our sponsors and advertisers tickets? Someone who pays £18K for a box and a hell of a lot more on LED advertising - should they have to queue up with the rest or get priority? For me they have to be at the front of the queue.

They'd still be guaranteed a ticket for nearly all aways on that basis. Just the really small allocations, those that go to more than 6 - 7 would get first dibs

It makes sense

[Zico]

2 hours ago, Arrested development said:

How do you view loyalty. Is it just season by season ? Who is the most loyal....the person who has been to every game for 6 years or the 60 year old who has been to 6 games a year for 60 years?

What about the students at uni who can't make every away, what about people with small children who used to go away all the time but can't now due to circumstances. Are they less loyal? Because according to a points system , they are less loyal. 

Me personally , loyalty lasts longer than one season. Just because someone went to Exeter or peterboro shouldn't give you any advantage on going to any other game. 

It's not about questioning someone's loyalty, that's too subjective 

You can call such a scheme whatever you want but the vast majority of clubs have something similar in place 

I don't understand the objection to it 

We even used to have one ourselves in our early PL days with the voucher system 

It's a priority scheme, those putting in the miles to support the team week in week out should get priority when demand is high, because they are there when demand is low

We probably wouldn't need one in the championship or even PL if we get back there 

But we've needed one this season 

So best we get something implemented now and everyone knows the score  

Even port vale have one 

I assume the only reason we don't is because we have the away season ticket

[Arrested development]

14 minutes ago, Zico said:

It's not about questioning someone's loyalty, that's too subjective 

You can call such a scheme whatever you want but the vast majority of clubs have something similar in place 

I don't understand the objection to it 

We even used to have one ourselves in our early PL days with the voucher system 

It's a priority scheme, those putting in the miles to support the team week in week out should get priority when demand is high, because they are there when demand is low

We probably wouldn't need one in the championship or even PL if we get back there 

But we've needed one this season 

So best we get something implemented now and everyone knows the score  

Even port vale have one 

I assume the only reason we don't is because we have the away season ticket

My point is people put their miles in at different times, not necessarily this season. I've had seasons when I was younger when I only missed one or two games, had a season ticket for over 25 years, I only missed besiktas in Europe, did every other. The idea that priority is based on solely X amount of games from that season IMO is wrong. Every game is a separate entity that has no weight on any other game. Season ticket holders get first shot , and then members etc. 

Your going to end up with 17 year olds who are in their first season watching Bolton away being given priority over people they have had season tickets for 50 years. It just seems a bit OTT for me. 

[Leyther_Matt]

21 minutes ago, Arrested development said:

My point is people put their miles in at different times, not necessarily this season. I've had seasons when I was younger when I only missed one or two games, had a season ticket for over 25 years, I only missed besiktas in Europe, did every other. The idea that priority is based on solely X amount of games from that season IMO is wrong. Every game is a separate entity that has no weight on any other game. Season ticket holders get first shot , and then members etc. 

You’re going to end up with 17 year olds who are in their first season watching Bolton away being given priority over people they have had season tickets for 50 years. It just seems a bit OTT for me. 

It has to start at some point though. And, although others will likely disagree, but we’ve had two seasons of being instructed to assign the right people to the right tickets so there’s plenty of data to backdate it at least a couple of years. It doesn’t have anything extravagant, just a few hours priority for 20+, 15+, whatever. Tweak the number of games required based on the allocation and how many people are in that bracket. Simples. 

[DaisyHWanderer]

29 minutes ago, Arrested development said:

My point is people put their miles in at different times, not necessarily this season. I've had seasons when I was younger when I only missed one or two games, had a season ticket for over 25 years, I only missed besiktas in Europe, did every other. The idea that priority is based on solely X amount of games from that season IMO is wrong. Every game is a separate entity that has no weight on any other game. Season ticket holders get first shot , and then members etc. 

Your going to end up with 17 year olds who are in their first season watching Bolton away being given priority over people they have had season tickets for 50 years. It just seems a bit OTT for me. 

Get the sentiment but you can't go to games before you were born, so inevitably, it will be biased towards older folk 

 

Those 17 year olds are the now and the future of the club, although I can understand the frustration of those who have been loyal for a much longer period missing out on occasions

Edited May 12, 2023 by DaisyHWanderer

[Zico]

50 minutes ago, Arrested development said:

My point is people put their miles in at different times, not necessarily this season. I've had seasons when I was younger when I only missed one or two games, had a season ticket for over 25 years, I only missed besiktas in Europe, did every other. The idea that priority is based on solely X amount of games from that season IMO is wrong. Every game is a separate entity that has no weight on any other game. Season ticket holders get first shot , and then members etc. 

Your going to end up with 17 year olds who are in their first season watching Bolton away being given priority over people they have had season tickets for 50 years. It just seems a bit OTT for me. 

I did loads in the 00s 

Never missed out on a ticket 

I'd have been pissed off missing out after putting a shift in all season to some 60 year old who decided to turn out for their first away because it was a big match, just because they used to go all over in the 80s 

Likewise I can see why a young un who's been every away this season missed out to me who has done 2 or 3, but I went to Plovdiv and they didn't 

There has to be a starting point 

Why should a kid with their first season ticket get priority over a member who was an ST for years but not got one this season? 

May as well not give priority to STs if watching the team on a regular basis doesn't count for anything 

[Ani]

1 hour ago, Arrested development said:

My point is people put their miles in at different times, not necessarily this season. I've had seasons when I was younger when I only missed one or two games, had a season ticket for over 25 years, I only missed besiktas in Europe, did every other. The idea that priority is based on solely X amount of games from that season IMO is wrong. Every game is a separate entity that has no weight on any other game. Season ticket holders get first shot , and then members etc. 

Your going to end up with 17 year olds who are in their first season watching Bolton away being given priority over people they have had season tickets for 50 years. It just seems a bit OTT for me. 

These schemes usually work that once you reach XXX points you are in the elite group and to retain that you have to go to a specific number of games.

So you have to still be going on a very regular basis. Unfortunately for you this would you move into a lower tier. 
 

As it stands anyone who has done every game home and away this season is treated the same as someone who bought a £45 kids season ticket which is totally unfair. 
 

(tbf unless they bought an away season ticket) 

[MickyD]

3 hours ago, Ani said:

There is a priority scheme in place now if you believe the rumours that certain groups get allocations now, the club needs to  be honest and open about that.

Or the recipients of such benevolence from the club ought to learn to keep their fucking gobs shut rather than boast how they were sorted for tickets the day they went on sale.

[tomski]

7 hours ago, MickyD said:

Or the recipients of such benevolence from the club ought to learn to keep their fucking gobs shut rather than boast how they were sorted for tickets the day they went on sale.

I imagine it’s a usp for getting people to

sign up to said groovy gangs.

[barrycowdrill]

“Loyalty” in this day and age and relating to football is a short term view. 
 

the club isn’t really arsed whether you hadn’t missed a game in 10 years but couldn’t make a game this season. Whatever the reason. That doesn’t help their budgets. Loyalty is based on the here and now. So any scheme that comes in will Be based on games done this season as a starting point. To remain “loyal” and keep yourself in the higher points bracket you’ll need to remain active at away games from the start of next season. 
 

spend your money now, tomorrow and next week in order for you to spend more on us in the future. Simple as that 

[ex_midlandwhite]

And this is also part of the challenge for the club. The season ticket holders put money into BWFC. Away tickets go to our rivals.

So any away ticket scheme can't really about money for the club, other than the sense of not wanting to upset season ticket holders who do most of the away games.

[barrycowdrill]

8 minutes ago, ex_midlandwhite said:

And this is also part of the challenge for the club. The season ticket holders put money into BWFC. Away tickets go to our rivals.

So any away ticket scheme can't really about money for the club, other than the sense of not wanting to upset season ticket holders who do most of the away games.

Agreed 

 

it’s the principle more than anything though I was meaning. But chances are the majority of away fans are ST holders In the current climate. Very few go on gen sale. So you’re back to square one aren’t you cos all ST holders technically pay the same to the club.. 🤷🏻‍♂️

[gonzo]

Talking to a Sheff United fan yesterday. Hes on 24,000 points and wont stand a chance for prem away games next season. They do 100 points for your Norwich aways on a Tuesday night and 50 for locals and all that caper.

 

[Leyther_Matt]

2 minutes ago, gonzo said:

Talking to a Sheff United fan yesterday. Hes on 24,000 points and wont stand a chance for prem away games next season. They do 100 points for your Norwich aways on a Tuesday night and 50 for locals and all that caper.

 

Now that’s something I really wouldn’t be a fan of.