Casino Posted February 1, 2010 Posted February 1, 2010 The whole idea of cut-price kids' season tickets is to get kids into the season ticket habit. Now tell me how someone earning 200 quid a week (before tax) can afford tickets at up to 35 quid a go. It's a once or twice a season thing for them. This town has more than its fair share of minimum wage workers- most of whom have to work hours incompatible with football. Sunday and midweek games come as a blessing. Even though season tickets are relatively affordable, a lot of people are unable to get one as they wouldn't get value for money out of it. If you read the corporate brochure, it stades that "75% of attending supporters are abc1", i.e. middle class. The wage for such workers starts at 20k (500 a week) all the way up to the CEOs of major corporations earning millions. This may be inflated by call centre workers, who are not manual workers, so are put into C1 along with junior management. Even so, the population of Bolton is more like 45% ABC1 with the remainder at C2 (skilled manual worker) and below. At least 15% fall into category E (lowest level of subsistence- benefits, casual and part time unskilled workers), with the vast majority in category d, thus earning the national minimum wage or just above; i.e 200-300 a week. It is the deliberate policy of every club to engineer the highest income support base possible, as this attracts higher sponsorship revenue. most 49 quid kids attend with their parents seeing as youve decided all our adult fans are middle class i put it to you again we may as well charge kids 200+
DeaneWhite Posted February 1, 2010 Posted February 1, 2010 I don't think you can make such a sweeping generalisation. Man City for example probably don't really care when you have a sheikh pumping hundreds of millions in. You can also create an case that shows how the "man on the street" has been priced out of football, but I fucking well bet you they've got a fuck off massive LCD TV and every Sky channel under the sun. You've been able to watch the last 2 FA Cup games for ??10 for an adult and no fucker turned up, BWFC can't be accused of pricing people out of those games. The conventional wisdom for all cup games is that they play the reserves. As erroneous as this has been this season, no-one wants to pay a tenner to watch the reserves. Successive managers have killed the appetite for the cups, although that may return. As for the generalisation, if a club uses its class of attending support as a selling point, it is either fiddling the figures (illegal) or pricing lower earners out (legal)- especially when the advertised demographic bears little resemblance to what we see of the town's demographics. Whether that is through deliberately pricing C2's and below out of the game, or just purely reacting to market forces, the point remains. Clubs charge way over the odds- especially as gate receipts are such a small proportion of a club's income these days.
only1swanny Posted February 1, 2010 Posted February 1, 2010 The conventional wisdom for all cup games is that they play the reserves. As erroneous as this has been this season, no-one wants to pay a tenner to watch the reserves. Successive managers have killed the appetite for the cups, although that may return. As for the generalisation, if a club uses its class of attending support as a selling point, it is either fiddling the figures (illegal) or pricing lower earners out (legal)- especially when the advertised demographic bears little resemblance to what we see of the town's demographics. Whether that is through deliberately pricing C2's and below out of the game, or just purely reacting to market forces, the point remains. Clubs charge way over the odds- especially as gate receipts are such a small proportion of a club's income these days. the cup games are the only ones i've been able to afford to go to, and because i work retail, I only managed to get to the Sheffield game, As someone said earlier on, Night matches would be fine but 80 quid for 2 tickets is well out of our budget, Bolton have priced people out, but they wont reduce tickets for league games.. 20k fans @ ??35 > 27k fans @ ??25
DeaneWhite Posted February 1, 2010 Posted February 1, 2010 most 49 quid kids attend with their parents seeing as youve decided all our adult fans are middle class i put it to you again we may as well charge kids 200+ The club has decided that 75% of our attending supporters are middle class, not me. I can only go off official club figures. I am not saying that the kids don't attend with their parents. As a parent, I certainly wouldn't let my son have a season ticket on his own- at least not until he has attended a large number of games with me and then old enough to look after himself. If you are male, over 21 and under 65, supported the club all your life, you subsidise these cheap kids' tickets and ladies' day schemes. Not that I have a problem with bringing new blood into games- far from it. The trouble is, standard adult admissions seem to remain while tickets for other classes are slashed all around you. it doesn't exactly make one feel appreciated, does it? The generation that links the Burnden and Reebok eras is being lost. That is the saddest part of all this. This is why so few of the old songs survive and we get the same chant over and over again. The club needs to give something back to the section of the support that has fared worst in all this. The Fulham game will be the test on this one. Although, work commitments will prevent many from being able to attend, as many have had to take jobs where they are required to work some saturdays since they last came to the Reebok.
Smiffs Posted February 1, 2010 Posted February 1, 2010 In my day it was all R2D2's and C2PO's. Now its abc1's the worlds gone to shit.
mick ramsden Posted February 1, 2010 Posted February 1, 2010 I went to Anfield on Sat. 6 lads on the lash since 9, and really up for a good laugh. few drinks, good atomopshere and a bit of banter with the Liverpool fans. How wrong! We were sat down all match surrounded by a load off middle aged toffs with their kids playing on their Nintendo DS. Is it that the normal working class have been priced out (??37) or Bolton do actually have a set of Boring Bastard Fans??? me and my pal were there too,in the ground we were surrounded by loads of over jelous stewards and police,they all seemed to wish you to blink so they could chuck you out,they must be bored
Alf Hartigan Posted February 1, 2010 Posted February 1, 2010 me and my pal were there too,in the ground we were surrounded by loads of over jelous stewards and police,they all seemed to wish you to blink so they could chuck you out,they must be bored Who were they jealous of Mick?
Notlob Downunder Posted February 2, 2010 Posted February 2, 2010 Over here we have a new class of people called 'Cashed up Bogans'. They are the same as the Chaves in the UK and the Red Necks in the US. Difference is they have more money than the middle class'. Due to the mining boom in Western Australia all the Bogans who work on the sites are raking in massive amounts of money and spending it big on bling. They all have a V8 ute's and the biggest houses in the burbs!
Prestonwhite Posted February 2, 2010 Posted February 2, 2010 I went to Anfield on Sat. 6 lads on the lash since 9, and really up for a good laugh. few drinks, good atomopshere and a bit of banter with the Liverpool fans. How wrong! We were sat down all match surrounded by a load off middle aged toffs with their kids playing on their Nintendo DS. Is it that the normal working class have been priced out (?37) or Bolton do actually have a set of Boring Bastard Fans??? Went Saturday with 3 other lads with similar ideas and came away with much the same thoughts, wasn't just the Bolton fans there though. Anfield is rapidly turning into Old Trafford the 2nd in terms of folk going who aren't what you would class as your 'traditional footy fan'. After Saturday for me the overall experience just isn't worth going there anymore. It's a better day out going on a jolly boys outing to Fulham than either Man Utd or Liverpool now, something I never ever thought I'd say when we got promoted to the prem. Saturday was 37 notes to get in, atmosphere like a library (made the Reebok look positively boisterous!), no beer on sale in the ground, more police and stewards under the stand at half time than Bolton fans and in general they were hitching to throw anyone out who showed anything resembling getting slightly excited or heaven forbid stood up and sang during the game! Even the Liverpool fans of old can't be happy with that as a 'match day experience', number of cameras going off in the kop during the first half when they got a free kick down the bottom corner was unbelievable and sums up the folk they're getting in there these days. Best bit was when we asked an unfriendly steward why there was no beer on sale to Bolton fans inside the ground, answer was ?we had trouble with you lot a few years back and the police had categorised it a high risk game?!!....Must have meant when we played them back in?t late seventies I think!
bolty58 Posted February 3, 2010 Posted February 3, 2010 Over here we have a new class of people called 'Cashed up Bogans'. They are the same as the Chaves in the UK and the Red Necks in the US. Difference is they have more money than the middle class'. Due to the mining boom in Western Australia all the Bogans who work on the sites are raking in massive amounts of money and spending it big on bling. They all have a V8 ute's and the biggest houses in the burbs! You forgot to mention bull horns; check shirts, stubbie shorts, thongs, Slim Dusty country & western; Colonel Bogey air horn; truck mud flaps (WTF is all that about?), 15 spotlights on the roll bar etc. I think I would rather wear a fcuking turkey on my head.
Winchester White Posted February 3, 2010 Posted February 3, 2010 You forgot to mention bull horns; check shirts, stubbie shorts, thongs, Slim Dusty country & western; Colonel Bogey air horn; truck mud flaps (WTF is all that about?), 15 spotlights on the roll bar etc. I think I would rather wear a fcuking turkey on my head. How the fuck would you know what underwear they are wearing Bolty?
frank_spencer Posted February 3, 2010 Posted February 3, 2010 You forgot to mention bull horns; check shirts, stubbie shorts, thongs, Slim Dusty country & western; Colonel Bogey air horn; truck mud flaps (WTF is all that about?), 15 spotlights on the roll bar etc. I think I would rather wear a fcuking turkey on my head. Aye 15 Wing mirrors would look much better!
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