tourists yesterday

[JohnMaddocksAxe]

what point are you trying to make?

He isn't. He's trying to pretend there's a serious issue with real fans getting tickets when the reality is you can get away tickets to almost any away game on pretty meagre points, including Arsenal which sold out at 3,500 points, and yet everyone was decrying tourists everywhere. The only issue is whether it's better to have empty seats or a full end with tourists for London games.

It is a fair point, no matter what the point level goes down to.

A genuine City fan with 2000 points is still 1,000 times more deserving of a ticket than some dick who rocks up with their camera and half and half scarfs and somehow, cos they are gifted them by the club or shell out a load of money, end up sitting in a seat that that City fan could have had.

Now, you might argue that that City fan (and others) probably didn't want to go. Well, you and I don't know that for sure. But we do know that it is possible for nobs who have no real feeling for City to be in the away end (not the home end, remember, the away end, where traditionally you don't get such gloryhunters) for big games. And that is bullshit.

No doubt some tosser will brand that 'small time' and want to touch himself whilst getting off on the non issue that the club can sell a few bedspreads in Malaysia.

 

[Wilmslow Road]

Two behind me.
Couldnt tell the difference between Zab and Kompany.
Then one was singing we lost today and we lost last week.
Bless em

 

[beehive_bob]

Two behind me.
Couldnt tell the difference between Zab and Kompany.
Then one was singing we lost today and we lost last week.
Bless em

Clarkie?

 

[Skashion]

It is a fair point, no matter what the point level goes down to.

A genuine City fan with 2000 points is still 1,000 times more deserving of a ticket than some dick who rocks up with their camera and half and half scarfs and somehow, cos they are gifted them by the club or shell out a load of money, end up sitting in a seat that that City fan could have had.

Now, you might argue that that City fan (and others) probably didn't want to go. Well, you and I don't know that for sure. But we do know that it is possible for nobs who have no real feeling for City to be in the away end (not the home end, remember, the away end, where traditionally you don't get such gloryhunters) for big games. And that is bullshit.

No doubt some tosser will brand that 'small time' and want to touch himself whilst getting off on the non issue that the club can sell a few bedspreads in Malaysia.

Alright, so we don't know for sure. Neither you, Bill nor I, know, so our opinions are all equally valid at this point. We could assume empty seats, or that they would go to keen younger blues who haven't got many points yet but have the money and means to travel to London. The calculation I'm making is that anyone with less than 3,500 points probably doesn't go to many aways, if at all. I'm also making the further calculation that Arsenal is one of the most expensive days out and therefore those who don't go away a lot are even less likely to go due to travel costs, potentially hotel costs, plus £51 on top for the ticket itself. You could make an argument for exiles in London who are proper blues, and they deserve tickets more than tourists. Yes, they do, and this is why we have such thing as Supporters Clubs (among other reasons). I bet the allocation for the London branch was quite big. tueartsboots could tell us no doubt. How many requests and how big was the allocation?

As for money buying tickets, it's always going to happen unless you introduce photo ticketing, which would be a massive pain in the arse for many genuine blues who want to bring mates along on occasions, or if someone needs to sell a ticket that was bought with a genuine intention to go but the circumstances have changed. It's also a bit rich to talk about money buying tickets when the only reason demand is increasing for away games which we previously struggled, or failed, to sell out, is because we have a quality side now, bought with...

 

[CtidBlueMooner]

did anyone see any, i didn't. all the usual faces were there and for me you could easily see and feel the difference.

so did the players.

Well I did see a dodgy looking bearded bloke loitering near the Ladies toilets at half time !

 

[Bill]

did anyone see any, i didn't. all the usual faces were there and for me you could easily see and feel the difference.

so did the players.

Well I did see a dodgy looking bearded bloke loitering near the Ladies toilets at half time !

were you the guy that said liverpool were 7-1 up and i fell for it if only for a second or two :)

*crimson*

 

[JohnMaddocksAxe]

It is a fair point, no matter what the point level goes down to.

A genuine City fan with 2000 points is still 1,000 times more deserving of a ticket than some dick who rocks up with their camera and half and half scarfs and somehow, cos they are gifted them by the club or shell out a load of money, end up sitting in a seat that that City fan could have had.

Now, you might argue that that City fan (and others) probably didn't want to go. Well, you and I don't know that for sure. But we do know that it is possible for nobs who have no real feeling for City to be in the away end (not the home end, remember, the away end, where traditionally you don't get such gloryhunters) for big games. And that is bullshit.

No doubt some tosser will brand that 'small time' and want to touch himself whilst getting off on the non issue that the club can sell a few bedspreads in Malaysia.

Alright, so we don't know for sure. Neither you, Bill nor I, know, so our opinions are all equally valid at this point. We could assume empty seats, or that they would go to keen younger blues who haven't got many points yet but have the money and means to travel to London. The calculation I'm making is that anyone with less than 3,500 points probably doesn't go to many aways, if at all. I'm also making the further calculation that Arsenal is one of the most expensive days out and therefore those who don't go away a lot are even less likely to go due to travel costs, potentially hotel costs, plus £51 on top for the ticket itself. You could make an argument for exiles in London who are proper blues, and they deserve tickets more than tourists. Yes, they do, and this is why we have such thing as Supporters Clubs (among other reasons). I bet the allocation for the London branch was quite big. tueartsboots could tell us no doubt. How many requests and how big was the allocation?

As for money buying tickets, it's always going to happen unless you introduce photo ticketing, which would be a massive pain in the arse for many genuine blues who want to bring mates along on occasions, or if someone needs to sell a ticket that was bought with a genuine intention to go but the circumstances have changed. It's also a bit rich to talk about money buying tickets when the only reason demand is increasing for away games which we previously struggled, or failed, to sell out, is because we have a quality side now, bought with...

Unlike a lot, it seems, I make absolutely no connection between the club's financial circumstances and ticketing policy.

To connect the two is totally immoral and incorrect. All this, "we are rich so we should encourage gloryhunting" or "we are rich and doing well so we should all pay more" are both immoral, nonsensical and ridiculous attitudes that are repeated time and again on here.

The ONLY link I would ever make between club finances and ticket policy is that I would consider paying substantially more if the club were in circumstances where it was going bust. But to gleefully see it as a badge of honour to be paying more and more when the club is loaded or to say that the club spends money so we should be welcoming dicks taking up away tickets for the biggest games of the season is nonsense.

We can argue all you like about the individual circumstances of this game, none of us know for sure. What I do know though is that there were reports of very similar things at recent games at Old Trafford and no-one can claim that there wouldn't be legions of proper blues wanting those tickets over some day tripping nob.

 

[M18CTID]

Some good points raised on both sides here.

The main criticism I have with regards to away games and tourists are those games that sell out at a high number of points yet when you arrive at the ground, you notice plenty of people in the away end that can hardly be described as regular away game attendees. I'm talking the likes of Arsenal, Chelsea - where we always take the smaller allocation despite the fact that it often sells out almost straight away - Liverpool, and of course United. These are games where the club appear to be selling a high number of tickets as corporate packages regardless of how many loyalty points one has. Games that are attractive to your average tourist as they involve big name opposition and this in turn denies hundreds of dyed in the wool City fans a ticket (of course, it isn't an issue for those away games that don't sell out). Funny how Norwich away yesterday saw plenty of old faces in attendance with these tourists pretty much conspicuous by their absence, probably because they don't see Norwich away as an attractive fixture. As it happens, Norwich has been one of my favourite away days down the years and pisses all over Chelsea and Liverpool.

 

[Skashion]

We need corporates. We cannot expect Mansour to subsidise us indefinitely and one of the big areas for improvement will be the amount of money made by corporate hospitality. We make peanuts from it whereas the rags and Arsenal make a very high percentage of their match day income through a disproportionately small section of their crowd. They should be welcomed as it will enable us to create a sustainable successful club whilst keeping ticket prices low enough so the traditional fanbase is not forced out.

This is a different issue from away day tourists, not totally unrelated, but different. I think away day tourists is a non-issue. The only time where they appear on away days is London games where the hardcore can still get tickets and the less hardcore don't bother going - the gaps filled by tourists. I argue that is better than an empty seat.

 

[CtidBlueMooner]

did anyone see any, i didn't. all the usual faces were there and for me you could easily see and feel the difference.

so did the players.

Well I did see a dodgy looking bearded bloke loitering near the Ladies toilets at half time !

were you the guy that said liverpool were 7-1 up and i fell for it if only for a second or two :)

*crimson*

No Bill, North East Blue...and tell your brother that the woman in 104 is still doing my f**king head in !!