“City Matters” fan committee

[Andyleg]

We ask all members who have the sufficient points to make their own applications directly to the club.Those who apply via our Branch are NOT based on their individual City points,but the number of Meetings they have attended.3 points for a visit and 1 point for apologies (a maximum of 3 apologies in any one season).All are treated equally.If you are successful in obtaining a ticket from the Branch then you lose 1 point.Therefore giving other members a chance for the next games.
Its worked very well for 3 seasons and is the wish of its Members NOT our Committee.

Late to the debate ….. do all members that qualify meet the selling criteria that mcfc put down? Does your system allow queue jumping?

Not getting arsey at all but given the 18-25 proposal is to take the 150 from those of us with a genuine purchase history I'm merely curious as to why SC members should still be able to jump the queue?

 

[Andyleg]

I'll bet that the overwhelming majority of supporters club members who get tickets through their branch use them to attend a game rather than passing them on. To me, that's a ticket going to where it should.

Even where they have less points than one applying for the 60%. You represent too many members Colin and it impacts on your opinions. OSC has its own rep!!!

 

[Andyleg]

I'll answer this as you seem to have some misconceptions.

1) The only game that sold out above 18k last season was Bournemouth. United & Liverpool both sold out at 16k. Huddersfield, Burnley & the CL game at Anfield were 17k.

2) We've agreed, or are still talking about, measures that we believe will discourage people buying away tickets just for the points. The most reliable quantitative evidence we have is from the Shakhtar game where about 300 people bought tickets & didn't go to the game. If that's typical of the average away game (and I reckon it's at least that many, probably more) then people like you will be better off as there will be more tickets going to SC holders, even after giving some to 18-25 year olds. So we believe we're tackling that side of things, like you suggested.

3) My lad is about your age and we went to away games together when he hit his teens. Had he not gone off to live in the USA in 2012, he'd probably have around the same points as you now. But getting tickets for the vast majority of games was a lot easier before 2012 and he could get them on his own card. Anyone turning 18 and getting an adult SC since 2012 that hasn't built up points as an U18 ticket holder has virtually no chance these days as demand is higher and people have accumulated even more points.

4) The club know who's buying the tickets originally and it seems there's not many younger supporters doing that so the obvious conclusion is that they're either getting them via SC's or second-hand. That takes us back to (2).

5) We'll be looking at ways in which we can "flatten out" the points system rather than have people simply accumulate points ad infinitum. That will also help you if you're a regular.

6) Both the City Matters and club representatives are firmly agreed that the most loyal supporters should still be at the top of the pecking order.

4) So take them out of the 40% rather than the ever diminishing 60%
6) Most loyal 1600 is what you mean …. the next 1400 most loyal can fuck right off

 

[oakiecokie]

Late to the debate ….. do all members that qualify meet the selling criteria that mcfc put down? Does your system allow queue jumping?

Not getting arsey at all but given the 18-25 proposal is to take the 150 from those of us with a genuine purchase history I'm merely curious as to why SC members should still be able to jump the queue?

Points from individuals ST and Card Schemes are NOT taken into account when we apply for tickets.
We distribute them based on a points system,according to how many Branch Meetings those individuals have attended.We give 3 points for an attendance at a Branch Meeting and 1 point for sending apologies,but only a maximum of three apologies in a season.We also deduct 1 point each time a Member is successful in getting an away ticket,thus giving more people an opportunity.
It works extremely well and gives our Branch Members an opportunity of going to an away game,when in reality they would never get a ticket.We have approx 12 Members who will "fight it out" for tickets as we usually only get 4-6 tickets.
We have 81 Members and out of those a good 60/70 % are long standing ST Holders who apply directly to the club,as they will have sufficient points on their cards.
As a Committee for the Branch we only suggest rules which are in the best interest of the Membership,but at the end of the day all proposed rules are voted for or against by the Membership.
As a Committee we are only the Custodians of said rules.
Each new Member upon joining is given a sheet with the rules,especially for tickets and how we operate,so from day one they fully understand how the system operates.

 

[Tim of the Oak]

4) So take them out of the 40% rather than the ever diminishing 60%
6) Most loyal 1600 is what you mean …. the next 1400 most loyal can fuck right off

Where have you come from with your 7 messages Andy?

 

[Ric]

Hopefully City Matters have moved on from discussing tickets for away games but there’s another blot on the ballot landscape.

I had been under the impression that corporates at the swamp take their chances in ballots for sways like other rags. Unfortunately, some diehard rags have informed me this ain’t the case and about a quarter of Utd’s allocation for PSG has been allocated for Tommy Cook’s corporate packages. The rags don’t have a ticket points system so the corporates don’t need to be time served fans.

I can understand Tommy cook’s being confirmed a certain number of tickets to guarantee a flight is full for low demand games eg Shahktar vs City but 600 and odd tickets for Utd vs PSG is laughable!

Yeah, this doesn't seem fair to me. I know they've said it's only the first aircraft (about 200 tickets) but what happens when we play someone like Plzen, where our allocation was about 600 last time we played them? That'd be a third of the allocation gone straight away.

 

[squirtyflower]

Yeah, this doesn't seem fair to me. I know they've said it's only the first aircraft (about 200 tickets) but what happens when we play someone like Plzen, where our allocation was about 600 last time we played them? That'd be a third of the allocation gone straight away.

It would put a lot of pressure on independent firms such as spike’s trips

 

[bluetoby]

Yeah, this doesn't seem fair to me. I know they've said it's only the first aircraft (about 200 tickets) but what happens when we play someone like Plzen, where our allocation was about 600 last time we played them? That'd be a third of the allocation gone straight away.

Plzen away was weird sold out couldn’t get a ticket when you got there only 400 city fans and loads of spares ???

 

[Andyleg]

Where have you come from with your 7 messages Andy?

I'm not sure if the implication is that I have nothing to add to the debate having only contributed 7 posts to date?
Beside that I'm a SC holder who is concerned at the continuing decline of available away tickets for supporters with a checkable purchase history; those with what the club used to call 'loyalty' points.
That just 60% of allocated away tickets go to those supporters is scandalous in itself. That those supporters will see a further reduction in that number to accommodate further enabling schemes for others tells you exactly what the club feels about loyalty. That we have supporters reps also targeting the 60% rather than the real problem (the 40%) is disappointing to say the least.
To put it into context; those that did qualify with their own points for a derby ticket on the last day of sale now no longer will as their ticket will be one of the 5% going to ballot for 18-25 year olds.
Interestingly the CM minutes suggest movement towards a rolling 3 year scheme with just home attendance counting towards your qualifying points (unless you buy an away ticket for a game going to general sale). I may be missing the point but that will eventually lead to the levelling out of all supporters points and erode any element of loyalty whatsoever? What happens then? Will the current top points earners then be pushed out? Will the club put the 60% to ballot as there will be little to separate anyone in terms of home points?
I know there is a lot of self interest as far as away tickets are concerned and trust me that's what drives my concerns. However if supporters are happy to continue on this path we will see a continual erosion of tickets for loyalty. Yes young people need to be included but perhaps we should be identifying where they currently obtain their tickets (there are plenty at away games) and ring fencing those tickets rather than taking further cuts from the dwindling allocations.
The Thomas Cook decision is ludicrous and is merely adding another 100-200 tickets into the hands of those that can afford inflated travel prices.
I've read it elsewhere that the club want absolute control over who it hands tickets to. Sadly I think we are all enabling this by our own selfishness when we should be fighting for fair distribution of tickets as a collective.
That's 8 posts now ....

 

[Ardwick Green Blue]

I've got no axe to grind regarding tickets for away matches as my days of going to nearly all of them were in the 70s & 80s. Work and raising a family then reduced my away attendance other than games at places like Wigan & Blackburn where we received a big allocation. When Platinum was introduced I gave up entirely trying to boost my points as I thought that the option to buy extra ones was a disgrace. Now in my 60s I'm still driving around 50k miles a year with my job so the thought of extra travel doesn't appeal anyway. With that bit of background information I'd like to make a few points (not loyalty ones either):

I think it's both shocking and disgraceful that only 60% of the allocation goes to supporters with the most points.

There seems to be a subtle attempt to smear big points holders with a 'points whores' tag.

Enabling other groups of supporters to have the chance to get to away games seems to be aimed at reducing the 60% allocation to longstanding away supporters rather than from the 40% going to corporate, SCs etc.

I have a feeling that the club have decided older supporters who have been going for years are dispensable as they clearly aren't the future so they want to reduce their numbers in favour of younger fans, corporates, tourists etc etc.

It's hard to see how any fan representative can obtain a majority view based on the relatively tiny proportion of supporters posting on here.