Pep: 'The players deserve a full stadium, we need our fans!'

[john@staustell]

I guess all this goes some way to explaining why Arsenal and the Greedy Rags made it all-inclusive and compulsory? They have probably been down the same road many years before? (As well as being greedy - I think one SHOULD have a choice!)

 

[Prestwich_Blue]

This never works, the club has tried everything for the smaller games and it is the same everytime. Even if it was a fiver I reckon the attendance would be pretty much the same but the club would then make far less money.

There is nothing they can do beyond changing how the cup scheme works so fans are more willing to sign up for it. Clearly many don't join the scheme and instead pick and choose the games they do want to attend. At this point if someone has £100 to spend they aren't going to give up the Barcelona game for the BMG game.

As for UEFA well any apathy has nothing to do with attendances, we have had poor attendances in the early stages of every other competition bar the league for years.

You're not wrong but you're thinking about it from existing fans' perspective. You can't force people who already have season tickets to attend games, particularly midweek ones, but what you can do is try to attract new fans. We know we don't have the level of demand that clubs like Liverpool or the rags have (and even they don't sell out some games) so we have to work a bit harder to fill the stadium.

Cheap tickets that are quick & easy to buy, free tickets to local schools and colleges, ticket booths in town or places like Bury Market or even Post Offices. There are so many kids supporting City these days that we have to capitalise on.

People will attend once then they'll come again if they like it. They'll maybe start to come to 3 or 4 games a season, then they may even get season tickets.

When Soriano ran Spaniards, I wonder if he said "I don't think this flight will sell very well so I'll shut the back half of the plane"? Or did he say" Right, let's drop prices and do some promotions"?

 

[ayrshire_blue]

Really find it a bit weird that this thread has become totally dominated by the Booing issue - which is just about personal choice - probably happens that fans can take up positions and start arguing which is increasingly the trend,

FWIW as Pep has asked the booing to stop I will make the choice to do so and, as I do not want to show any respect to the UeFA fuckers, I will sing Bluemoon or another CITY song instead.

I suspect this is what an increasing majority will do and it will take over - win - win for me as we demonstrate a lack of respect for UeFA and make a positive noise for our team.

Then the thread debates people not attending - with lots of posters taking the opportunity to put their 'biggest blue' credentials forward - also not really the point - if people are SC holders and paid - then if they do not attend or get someone to take their place then there must be a pretty good reason as, no matter what they can afford, nobody will want to see a ticket wasted.

For me the issue that should be debated is the very large number of fans that just fuck off early - making the place look half-empty

Yes there will be some genuine reasons - but I suspect only for a small percentage with the rest just showing a lack of respect for the team - FFS can it really cause such inconvenience to wait for the whistle?

Good post. To me, the booing issue was a footnote to Pep's remarks but it seems to have taken over this thread as a number one issue. If we were to have a sold out (or as close to sold out as possible) stadium with 48,000 fans booing the champions league anthem and then getting right behind the team, I reckon not only would Pep not complain but he and the team would absolutely love it.

His biggest concern is those who don't turn up when they can. Those who can't be arsed.

The Barcelona game will take care of itself but the Celtic game isn't for another 3 months. With the calibre of staff we have working behind the scenes at the club these days, it would be an absolute travesty if they were unable to ensure the game is marketed properly and the place is sold out.

As has said before, every other champions league club in the league would sell out against Celtic and to be honest, if we had drew them in the Europa league/UeFA cup prior to 2008 there's a great chance that we would have too. Has the novelty worn off to the extent that some of us take such ties for granted?

The attendance and level of support is where Pep wants improvements. The booing is a side show to the lot of it, imo.

 

[borassic]

As I said...add £50 to the ST...throw in the group games...problem solved

i genuinely wouldn't mind this, make the group stage compulsory

 

[TBooksbluearmy]

I agree with Ian BishopsHaircut charge £50/£60 more and throw in all the group games, and the problem is solved. However this would have to be voluntary. The reason for this is that some fans near me who are season ticket holders are sometimes working away from home on the European Match Nights and can't get to the games.

 

[Cheadle_hulmeBlue]

As I said...add £50 to the ST...throw in the group games...problem solved

so make season tickets even more expensive and make fans pay for games they might not want to go too.

if you want a full ground making tickets more expensive isn't going to help. fans should have the choice and not be forced to pay even more or forced to go i.e. like united. you want a full ground just charge cheaper prices.

 

[IanBishopsHaircut]

so make season tickets even more expensive and make fans pay for games they might not want to go too.

if you want a full ground making tickets more expensive isn't going to help. fans should have the choice and not be forced to pay even more.

I think you'd find the majority would pay it even if it meant taking a little hit, especially if it was within the 10 monthly DD. Work out as an extra fiver a month...far better than trying to persuade someone to fork out nearer the game

 

[Cheadle_hulmeBlue]

I think you'd find the majority would pay it even if it meant taking a little hit, especially if it was within the 10 monthly DD. Work out as an extra fiver a month...far better than trying to persuade someone to fork out nearer the game

the same is said about season tickets - they have gone up a lot, but only by a bit each season ( 'its only 20 quid thats nothing'), but it still adds up and people more then ever are struggling to afford it. imo people should be allowed a choice and not charged more money.

make the group games a tenner and we would sell out no problem.

 

[IanBishopsHaircut]

the same is said about season tickets - they have gone up a lot, but only by a bit each season ( 'its only 20 quid thats nothing'), but it still adds up and people more then ever are struggling to afford it. imo people should be allowed a choice and not charged more money.

make the group games a tenner and we would sell out no problem.

This isn't the 1970s...a tenner for a CL game?!

 

[Cheadle_hulmeBlue]

This isn't the 1970s...a tenner for a CL game?!

why not ? fa cup games are charged around that price 10-20 quid. 3 group games at a tenner each and then increase the prices each round. i paid 17.50 against bmg which was fantastic. just trying to think of different ways of getting the stadium packed out and rocking, like the hamburg game.