City Fans Leaving Early/Empty seats

[Deleted member 77198]

Somethings got to be done about the family stand/North stand lower tier. Yesterday was rammed other than this stand(AGAIN )Pockets of empty seats all over, yet trying to get tickets for this game for the last two weeks was like pulling teeth with very limited availability. Why would people buy season tickets then not bother going to 60-70 % of the games and not even pass them on to friends or family if they know they can't go??? I wonder if it's the same kind of fans who were smiling as Steptoe reeled away after he scored ?? Or similar fans to the ones who couldn't be arsed standing up after Sergio slammed his 2nd goal in because their brews were more important( check MOTD) Just so many robotic fans with absolutely no passion have infiltrated our ground in the last few seasons and I ******* hate it !! Rant over. CTIFD

It’s all been the clubs fault. They’ve done so much right but when it’s come to the fans and the ground they’ve done a hell of a lot wrong.

They did everything in the wrong order.

They firstly fucked off - with no consultation - 6000 fans from the North Stand and created an un-needed (in its size) Family Stand. Other than the two title winning games the Family Stand has never been full despite games being “SOLD OUT” and fans not being able to buy tickets even though many want to. The fans who were evicted were moved to different parts of the ground, some were moved to seats that were £100 more expensive than they were paying in the North Stand, some were told they couldn’t sit next to friends or family they’d sat next to for years, some were so disillusioned with the move they never came back to the stadium.

Then - with no consultation - they upped SeasonCard prices by something like £75, £65, £50 and £50 season-on-season. Then froze it for a year. Then upped them by £50 again. Since that Agüerooooo moment my card has gone up from (IIRC) £560 to £800. For a large number of people the conintual rises made them decide to give up their SC. For me (combined with the growth of the number of cup games we’ve had over the years) it’s stopped me being able to afford go to as many away games as I used to.

Then they moved the Singing Section to the single worst place in the ground it could possibly be. It’s isolated between the away fans to its right, a corporate area above and the quiet CBell stand to its left. This is especially worse for cup games where they may as well not even bother turning up when there’s 7000 away fans above them. And it is the smallest Singing Section I relation to capacity of any ground anywhere. Plymouth Argyle’s (just one example plucked from thin air) Singing Stand holds 5000 in a 16,388 stadium; Stockport County’s Cheadle End holds 5400 in a 10,841 stadium. You can pick any ground in any league in any country and find everyone has a bigger Singing Section either in its own capacity or percentage of overall capacity. SSL1 only holds about 3000!

Then they started putting tickets on foreign travel package sites and we have groups of non-City fans going to games. Tourists who don’t give a shit about the club and smile when the opposition score (that’s even happened with United and Rooney scoring once at our ground when we had people in the home stand smiling and taking pictures of Rooney sliding on his knees).

Then they started the eviction process again with the rise of corporate areas. With the same outcome as when they did it in the North Stand.

The very first thing they should have done was target the Singing Section and make that the priority. Liverpool Kop 12000, Villa Holt 14000, SheffU Kop 145000. That’s what we should be aiming for. We should have done that first before anything else was ever done. Any City Sq, any CFA, any SSL3, any New York/Melbourne etc., anything at all. Number one should have been a proper singing stand. Then the rest should have followed but the Family Stand should be half the size, it has not worked.

There are cheaper tickets available but that came after the big price rises came in and people had already left the match going support and there aren’t actually that many. It’s not like Bayern and other German clubs who have 12000 cheap tickets. If we have more than a few hundred I’d be surprised.

 

[yeseye]

I have never seen my seat at the top of south stand.
Me and my pal couldn’t get 2 season tickets together after relocating from the East stand so we just look for 2 empty seats together , now and again we will be moved on, but more often then not nobody shows up, maybe they’re in my seat !
I’m fucked if i’m walking up to the top again anytime soon, need a escalator up there ffs!

 

[Groke]

unless they are trying to profit,then they shouldn't lose their right.that's probably the only point we would agree on.

So you're happy to have loads of empty seats when people are desperate to get tickets for the game - just because people are buying a SC for half a dozen games a season? Not sure why any city fan would not agree with my point.

 

[skiddypants]

You are correct.
SS will be next,a lot of the non english speaking spectator have arrived.
Must be selling these in a package deal.
On a plus we might dominate for 10 years.

 

[franksinatra]

So you're happy to have loads of empty seats when people are desperate to get tickets for the game - just because people are buying a SC for half a dozen games a season? Not sure why any city fan would not agree with my point.

Chasing people and removing their cards would be a logistical nightmare for the club and only create animosity with the supporters base which is happy to commit and pay for every home league match in a season.

Do you think the club should be checking bereavements, requesting doctors notes, changes in work circumstances? Its unmanageable and that is why the club sensibly will not do it.

No system is perfect but the way things work now is probably as good as it gets.

As for people desperate to get tickets I do not think that sort of demand is there at the minute that vast numbers of people are being locked out.

 

[chedinho]

So you're happy to have loads of empty seats when people are desperate to get tickets for the game - just because people are buying a SC for half a dozen games a season? Not sure why any city fan would not agree with my point.

i don't believe people are buying season cards for half a dozen games,one or two possibly. the rest will have a reason and i don't think its anyone's place to whinge about it.

people are not that desperate or they would have sourced the tickets.i said that at the beginning.

 

[Millwallawayveteran1988]

It’s all been the clubs fault. They’ve done so much right but when it’s come to the fans and the ground they’ve done a hell of a lot wrong.

They did everything in the wrong order.

They firstly fucked off - with no consultation - 6000 fans from the North Stand and created an un-needed (in its size) Family Stand. Other than the two title winning games the Family Stand has never been full despite games being “SOLD OUT” and fans not being able to buy tickets even though many want to. The fans who were evicted were moved to different parts of the ground, some were moved to seats that were £100 more expensive than they were paying in the North Stand, some were told they couldn’t sit next to friends or family they’d sat next to for years, some were so disillusioned with the move they never came back to the stadium.

Then - with no consultation - they upped SeasonCard prices by something like £75, £65, £50 and £50 season-on-season. Then froze it for a year. Then upped them by £50 again. Since that Agüerooooo moment my card has gone up from (IIRC) £560 to £800. For a large number of people the conintual rises made them decide to give up their SC. For me (combined with the growth of the number of cup games we’ve had over the years) it’s stopped me being able to afford go to as many away games as I used to.

Then they moved the Singing Section to the single worst place in the ground it could possibly be. It’s isolated between the away fans to its right, a corporate area above and the quiet CBell stand to its left. This is especially worse for cup games where they may as well not even bother turning up when there’s 7000 away fans above them. And it is the smallest Singing Section I relation to capacity of any ground anywhere. Plymouth Argyle’s (just one example plucked from thin air) Singing Stand holds 5000 in a 16,388 stadium; Stockport County’s Cheadle End holds 5400 in a 10,841 stadium. You can pick any ground in any league in any country and find everyone has a bigger Singing Section either in its own capacity or percentage of overall capacity. SSL1 only holds about 3000!

Then they started putting tickets on foreign travel package sites and we have groups of non-City fans going to games. Tourists who don’t give a shit about the club and smile when the opposition score (that’s even happened with United and Rooney scoring once at our ground when we had people in the home stand smiling and taking pictures of Rooney sliding on his knees).

Then they started the eviction process again with the rise of corporate areas. With the same outcome as when they did it in the North Stand.

The very first thing they should have done was target the Singing Section and make that the priority. Liverpool Kop 12000, Villa Holt 14000, SheffU Kop 145000. That’s what we should be aiming for. We should have done that first before anything else was ever done. Any City Sq, any CFA, any SSL3, any New York/Melbourne etc., anything at all. Number one should have been a proper singing stand. Then the rest should have followed but the Family Stand should be half the size, it has not worked.

There are cheaper tickets available but that came after the big price rises came in and people had already left the match going support and there aren’t actually that many. It’s not like Bayern and other German clubs who have 12000 cheap tickets. If we have more than a few hundred I’d be surprised.

You are right in everything you say but for me the biggest issue is the access to and from the stadium. It is horrendous. It puts a lot of people off going, particularly for night games.

 

[Stevieatlasblue]

We must have a lot of out of town support now in their thousands..thats why they are leaving early. I'm puzzled as to why I don't see coaches from London Birmingham to take them all back..or is is just thousands of locals just wanting to leave early? I'm so puzzled when we have such an amazing team. It is very embarrassing. Folk come on here excusing themselves for leaving early which is fine but why are the thousands leaving? I genuinely want to know.

 

[bluesoup]

Left early to catch the tram on a wet and miserable night! Have no problems with this... until the metro can service our game properly, shall continue to leave early.

 

[Stevieatlasblue]

It’s all been the clubs fault. They’ve done so much right but when it’s come to the fans and the ground they’ve done a hell of a lot wrong.

They did everything in the wrong order.

They firstly fucked off - with no consultation - 6000 fans from the North Stand and created an un-needed (in its size) Family Stand. Other than the two title winning games the Family Stand has never been full despite games being “SOLD OUT” and fans not being able to buy tickets even though many want to. The fans who were evicted were moved to different parts of the ground, some were moved to seats that were £100 more expensive than they were paying in the North Stand, some were told they couldn’t sit next to friends or family they’d sat next to for years, some were so disillusioned with the move they never came back to the stadium.

Then - with no consultation - they upped SeasonCard prices by something like £75, £65, £50 and £50 season-on-season. Then froze it for a year. Then upped them by £50 again. Since that Agüerooooo moment my card has gone up from (IIRC) £560 to £800. For a large number of people the conintual rises made them decide to give up their SC. For me (combined with the growth of the number of cup games we’ve had over the years) it’s stopped me being able to afford go to as many away games as I used to.

Then they moved the Singing Section to the single worst place in the ground it could possibly be. It’s isolated between the away fans to its right, a corporate area above and the quiet CBell stand to its left. This is especially worse for cup games where they may as well not even bother turning up when there’s 7000 away fans above them. And it is the smallest Singing Section I relation to capacity of any ground anywhere. Plymouth Argyle’s (just one example plucked from thin air) Singing Stand holds 5000 in a 16,388 stadium; Stockport County’s Cheadle End holds 5400 in a 10,841 stadium. You can pick any ground in any league in any country and find everyone has a bigger Singing Section either in its own capacity or percentage of overall capacity. SSL1 only holds about 3000!

Then they started putting tickets on foreign travel package sites and we have groups of non-City fans going to games. Tourists who don’t give a shit about the club and smile when the opposition score (that’s even happened with United and Rooney scoring once at our ground when we had people in the home stand smiling and taking pictures of Rooney sliding on his knees).

Then they started the eviction process again with the rise of corporate areas. With the same outcome as when they did it in the North Stand.

The very first thing they should have done was target the Singing Section and make that the priority. Liverpool Kop 12000, Villa Holt 14000, SheffU Kop 145000. That’s what we should be aiming for. We should have done that first before anything else was ever done. Any City Sq, any CFA, any SSL3, any New York/Melbourne etc., anything at all. Number one should have been a proper singing stand. Then the rest should have followed but the Family Stand should be half the size, it has not worked.

There are cheaper tickets available but that came after the big price rises came in and people had already left the match going support and there aren’t actually that many. It’s not like Bayern and other German clubs who have 12000 cheap tickets. If we have more than a few hundred I’d be surprised.

Very good post indeed and makes great points.