Bradford Away - 2nd Leg Thursday 14th May

[desperado]

1 minute ago, Johnnyrotten said:

I'm agreeing with you by the way - but can't really class PNE and Blackburn with Burnley.  Small away end at Turf Moor, not like the good old days of thousands of us stood on that massive terrace.  I've virtually accepted I probably won't go there again due to demand, it used to be my favourite away game in the 80s/early 90s.

TBH I threw that in without knowing the allocations there, I thought it was decent, but I stand to be corrected.

[Johnnyrotten]

4 minutes ago, Ani said:

I remember that game , MK also put the away fans into blocks that were seperated. 
 

But let’s be honest there are not 10s of thousands watching that game let alone switching it off. I really do not understand why Sky pay to broadcast so many League 1 and 2 games on the ‘red button’ do they ever publish the viewing numbers ? 

I agree the red button games - Salford v Cheltenham on a Tuesday night etc - must have absolutely tiny viewing figures.  Even a Boro v Southampton on a Tuesday would be smallish, given that there are probably 20 other games on the same night.  But I bet the potential viewing figures for play offs are substantial - with very few games to choose from, and Sky bars all across Europe showing that game and that game only.  There will be millions watching across Europe for nearly every play off game I bet.

[Ani]

9 minutes ago, Johnnyrotten said:

I agree the red button games - Salford v Cheltenham on a Tuesday night etc - must have absolutely tiny viewing figures.  Even a Boro v Southampton on a Tuesday would be smallish, given that there are probably 20 other games on the same night.  But I bet the potential viewing figures for play offs are substantial - with very few games to choose from, and Sky bars all across Europe showing that game and that game only.  There will be millions watching across Europe for nearly every play off game I bet.

Out of interest I looked at the games that clash with league one play off games this season. Real Madrid are at Oviedo when we play second leg. 
Copied games from BBC for the other semi 

City, Barcelona and Italian Cup final ! Plus Scottish games (and Arsenal in WSl 😂)

Your millions watching Stockport Stevenage might be ambitious 😎👍🤣😋 Stockport fans will be watching City ! 

Edited 13 hours ago by Ani

[barrycowdrill]

7 hours ago, Ani said:

Ironically if that is the case next season it is the ideal time to launch a priority scheme, so people build up points at a time when you can get a ticket if you want. Then when the tickets are limited the people who turned up week in week out get first dibs. 

And that’s exactly my point, currently with broadly much lower allocations and relative success (you’d say we win 6 or 7 out of every 10) the demand is already there so alls a points system does is churn the same names out and gives no one else a look in. It becomes a restricted and insular group 

however, promotion, larger allocations and we go to losing / drawing 6 or 7 out of 10, interest reduces, more people have the opportunity to apply and get tickets. 
 

so rather than say i don’t know, 10% of the fanbase having all the points and going everywhere, you get a much more even spread of points which goes deeper in to the fanbase 

Edited 6 hours ago by barrycowdrill

[desperado]

10 minutes ago, barrycowdrill said:

And that’s exactly my point, currently with broadly much lower allocations and relative success (you’d say we win 6 or 7 out of every 10) the demand is already there so alls a points system does is churn the same names out and gives no one else a look in. It becomes a restricted and insular group 

however, promotion, larger allocations and we go to losing / drawing 6 or 7 out of 10, interest reduces, more people have the opportunity to apply and get tickets. 
 

so rather than say i don’t know, 10% of the fanbase having all the points and going everywhere, you get a much more even spread of points which goes deeper in to the fanbase 

Unless I’m missing the point, I just don’t get this.

To me, it’s like you’re saying we’ve got some kind of closed shop. Or that a points system for BWFC would create a closed shop.

It isn’t now and nor would it become one.

I’ve just had a quick look. I reckon, this year you could have quite easily gone to 17 league away games (and any of the cup games) A points system wouldn’t have restricted you.

As we’ve been discussing, if we go up next year, bigger allocations, some trips with hefty mileage etc, there will also be lots of opportunity for away tickets.

We’re not England or United where we’ll sell out every away ticket for every game.

I just don’t, at the moment, see a situation for BWFC where away followings become insular or elitist.

What a points/reward system would do, is ensure that for the odd away match, where demand is stupidly high, those who’ve put the money, miles and effort into travelling around the country get a fair opportunity to purchase a ticket for these odd massive games with small allocations. 

The away ST is one valid layer - fair play if folk can afford and commit to this. But having another layer for those who get into double figures would IMO be fair, reasonable and achievable, without creating a restrictive closed shop for the majority of away games. 

 

 

[barrycowdrill]

39 minutes ago, desperado said:

Unless I’m missing the point, I just don’t get this.

To me, it’s like you’re saying we’ve got some kind of closed shop. Or that a points system for BWFC would create a closed shop.

It isn’t now and nor would it become one.

I’ve just had a quick look. I reckon, this year you could have quite easily gone to 17 league away games (and any of the cup games) A points system wouldn’t have restricted you.

As we’ve been discussing, if we go up next year, bigger allocations, some trips with hefty mileage etc, there will also be lots of opportunity for away tickets.

We’re not England or United where we’ll sell out every away ticket for every game.

I just don’t, at the moment, see a situation for BWFC where away followings become insular or elitist.

What a points/reward system would do, is ensure that for the odd away match, where demand is stupidly high, those who’ve put the money, miles and effort into travelling around the country get a fair opportunity to purchase a ticket for these odd massive games with small allocations. 

The away ST is one valid layer - fair play if folk can afford and commit to this. But having another layer for those who get into double figures would IMO be fair, reasonable and achievable, without creating a restrictive closed shop for the majority of away games. 

 

 

So, at this current level we’re at, say the average away allocation is 2k? 
 

from that take out the away ST number which is c.600? Then hospitality, club tickets and any other little group, you’re probably talking about 1300? Going on sale to the general fanbase

our average away following this season has been 1800 (less the c.600 away ST holders) means we’ve got around 1100 of the general fanbase base going to each away game (if you then deduct the the club tickets, hospitality etc - for arguments sake I used the number of 100) 

Of that 1100 I would say half of that are supporters who have done double digit away games this season? But again we’ll use the average which is 15. So for half of the away games this season we would have c.550 tickets that were available to supporters who did less than double digits 

the numbers might be off but the principle is right in my head 🤣

Therefore pretty much 75% of an allocation goes to the same people each away game. And you left with the remaining 25% split out over the remaining supporters. 
 

appreciate there will be variances within that and some allocations are higher but many are lower but you get the jist of what I’m trying to say 

Now I’m not saying that those repeat attendees shouldn’t be rewarded and given the first priority however it in theory does create this closed shop element. I’ve seen it happen within the England membership scheme of which I am part of. Granted to a lesser extent with us 

layer in our “success” this season and it becomes a mad scramble by far more than 550 people to snap up the remaining tickets. Inevitably meaning the majority are pissed off 

Edited 5 hours ago by barrycowdrill

[desperado]

16 minutes ago, barrycowdrill said:

So, at this current level we’re at, say the average away allocation is 2k? 
 

from that take out the away ST number which is c.600? Then hospitality, club tickets and any other little group, you’re probably talking about 1300? Going on sale to the general fanbase

our average away following this season has been 1800 (less the c.600 away ST holders) means we’ve got around 1100 of the general fanbase base going to each away game (if you then deduct the the club tickets, hospitality etc - for arguments sake I used the number of 100) 

Of that 1100 I would say half of that are supporters who have done double digit away games this season? But again we’ll use the average which is 15. So for half of the away games this season we would have c.550 tickets that were available to supporters who did less than double digits 

the numbers might be off but the principle is right in my head 🤣

Therefore pretty much 75% of an allocation goes to the same people each away game. And you left with the remaining 25% split out over the remaining supporters. 
 

appreciate there will be variances within that and some allocations are higher but many are lower but you get the jist of what I’m trying to say 

Now I’m not saying that those repeat attendees shouldn’t be rewarded and given the first priority however it in theory does create this closed shop element. I’ve seen it happen within the England membership scheme of which I am part of. Granted to a lesser extent with us 

Good debate and I do hear/see what you’re saying.

But I still don’t see this situation you describe that “no one gets a look-in” for away games?

As I said, loads of opportunity now and next year for lots of different folk to attend away games if they want to. 

This year: 

Away league games you could relatively easily of attended/got tickets for, season 25/26

Barnsley, Leyton Orient, Northampton, Burton, Huddersfield, Mansfield, Wycombe, Doncaster, Peterborough, Wigan, Stevenage, Reading, Exeter, Rotherham, Port Vale, Plymouth, Cardiff

Cup games

Oldham, Swindon, 

Ones that went in a few minutes 

Stockport, Blackpool, Luton, Wimbledon, Lincoln, (actually not sure on these last two!), Bradford. 

I don’t see a situation anytime soon where watching BWFC away becomes a closed shop. 

 

Edited 5 hours ago by desperado

[barrycowdrill]

2 minutes ago, desperado said:

Good debate and I do hear/see what you’re saying.

But I still don’t see this situation you describe that “no one gets a look-in” for away games?

As I said, loads of opportunity now and next year for lots of different folk to attend away games if they want to. 

This year: 

Away league games you could relatively easily of attended season 25/26

Barnsley, Leyton Orient, Northampton, Burton, Huddersfield, Mansfield, Wycombe, Doncaster, Peterborough, Wigan, Stevenage, Reading, Exeter, Rotherham, Port Vale, Plymouth, Cardiff

Cup games

Oldham, Swindon, 

Ones that went in a few minutes 

Stockport, Blackpool, Luton, Wimbledon, Lincoln, (actually not sure on these last two!), Bradford. 

I don’t see a situation anytime soon where watching BWFC away becomes a closed shop. 

 

Ultimately we’re just talking about the pro’s and cons of both, personally whilst I recognise something else does need to be done (like many not sure what the answer is?) I do think a reward system would work better in the league above where on the whole allocations would be bigger and I think after the initial promotion bounce, our form and subsequent interest would plateau meaning wider access to all. 
 

I know the club have discussed why they didn’t go with a loyalty scheme before (think it was when Hart was here?) but I don’t think they ever came out with any solid rationale other than it’s been spoken about and didn’t feel it was right? 

[Leyther_Matt]

23 minutes ago, barrycowdrill said:

I know the club have discussed why they didn’t go with a loyalty scheme before (think it was when Hart was here?) but I don’t think they ever came out with any solid rationale other than it’s been spoken about and didn’t feel it was right? 

Had they known we’d have been at this level for so long then I think it would have come in, but the main policy was generally fingers in ears and “we won’t need it in the Championship”

[desperado]

15 minutes ago, barrycowdrill said:

Ultimately we’re just talking about the pro’s and cons of both, personally whilst I recognise something else does need to be done (like many not sure what the answer is?) I do think a reward system would work better in the league above where on the whole allocations would be bigger and I think after the initial promotion bounce, our form and subsequent interest would plateau meaning wider access to all. 
 

I know the club have discussed why they didn’t go with a loyalty scheme before (think it was when Hart was here?) but I don’t think they ever came out with any solid rationale other than it’s been spoken about and didn’t feel it was right? 

Yeh that’s my understanding.

Couple of seasons ago, post season, they started messing around with points on your profile, think they thought about it.

But I get it from their perspective. For 90% of the season it works, so why bother with the extra work and hassle it would cause them. 

[freds dad]

I’ve had a quick peek on StockportWays and if you think our ticket sales is a shit show you should count yourself lucky.

They received 1360 tickets for Stevenage and they are being sold to people with various amounts on loyalty points on different days. 
They are having the same issues as we have have around a slow site, tickets not in baskets and unable to pay when they are.

Once they have got through all that they then have to go to Edgeley Park to pick the tickets up but the office is only open 10 til 4 and there are no collections after 10 am on Friday although any unsold tickets will be on open sale on Friday.

Also any uncollected tickets won’t be taken to Stevenage for pick up on match day.