That family stand empty section post half time

[Ban-jani]

It was bizarre, the rest of the stadium was absolutely full but these few rows in the same block, it’s obvious one big group left together at half time.

I reckon it’s a local football team the club has given the tickets away too.

It can’t be Chelsea fans buying tickets all together, as there was too many in the same spot.

 

[Ban-jani]

6-0 to the empty seats got an airing near the end on Sunday too!

Hundreds leave the SS3 early. They should have designed that better with stairs at the back rather than having to wait 15 mins to get to an exit. Doesn’t affect me as I’m close to the exit but I’m sure that’s why people do it up there.

I’m up there, I wait until full time as the crowd has gone by then!

 

[Gareth Barry Conlon]

Good point mate but you would first need to convince the thousands of season card holders who don’t show up for lower profile games to donate the tickets. The Club have already sold the vast majority of the tickets that don’t get used.

There should be a compulsory system where if you cant get someone to take your seat then you can alert the club and they can sort out someone else. Reward those that use it and some form of sanction for those that miss loads of games without using it.

 

[FootballSense]

I agree that it’s not working but I strongly suspect me and you are too short termist. We have very switched on people in charge of things and they’re probably playing the long game. A sizeable percentage of the 6 and 7 yr olds who don’t want to go to every game now and who would rather be eating hotdogs and drinking coke than be back in their seat for the start of the 2nd half will, in ten years time, absolutely live for the thrill of watching us win things and will be screaming their lungs out every home game.

City are looking at the long term, growing the fan base locally and across the world, and capturing the new generations of young fans having substantially `lost` so many during some of the less glorious moments in our long history. Naturally, this has to be the way forward. The Family `Stand` principle and concept is absolutely right. The club should be recognised for another initiative. Many aspects of the club`s executive and administration are now much improved and we are reaping the benefits especially with input from fans however, as an organisation which constantly wants to learn and get better, it is timely for the Family `Stand` (and Groups, free tickets etc. in the current North Stand), for the reasons many have highlighted, to be reviewed. Options are probably limited at the moment but City Matters is now an appropriate forum for this to be raised.

 

[shevtheblue]

I did collections for The Red Cross at a game a couple of years ago and the club were nice enough to give the charity a load of tickets in the family stand. 3/4 of the volunteers had only come to help out and had no interest in the football so they left at kick off, a few people came and sat with me to watch the game but barely understood football and left at half time. I was the only one left out of a block of at least 30 tickets. Don't mind the club giving tickets away for things like this, it's the right thing to do, but put them in the 3rd tier out of view at least.

 

[Marvin]

It's only intriguing because it's right in front of your eyes. I am sure other clubs do this. They must have staff, players, partners, local schools etc with whom they have arrangements. City seem to have put all these seats in the lower tier of the FS right behind the goal, and when they don't show it's very obvious whereas if you distributed them around the ground no one would know. It will be money that is behind this. SL1 will probably be some of the cheapest seats and City wont want to give away prime L2 seats.

Utd used to sell cheap tickets at Manchester Uni because I'd see the leaflets everywhere.

 

[CWMCFC]

It needs properly looking into. I personally feel the club don't take a harsh enough stance on people not turning up and picking and choosing which games to attend. I'm sure it would upset some people, but for the good of the atmosphere, something needs to give. You can never make everyone happy and I feel the fans attending every game and actually making a proper effort are being let down by a significant number. The club should be making an effort to reward these fans i.e cheaper season tickets in certain areas and move around the stands that currently add very little.

I don't think it's just the family stand, but by and large it's where the worst culprits are with regards to the empty seat issue. The club always gives off a vibe that image is important to them and it's quite frankly embarrassing that this is such a consistent problem, especially with a large waiting list for ST's. It's seemingly getting worse at times as well, despite us being an elite club nowadays. Genuinely baffling at times.

If it's a case of free tickets being given out and people not turning up, these seats need to be relocated to somewhere in the upper tiers away from sight.

 

[meeesh]

, these seats need to be relocated to somewhere in the upper tiers away from sight.

Nail on head,it is absolutely as simple as that,shuts all the emptihad jibes up and everything,although Sky would no doubt have a camera pointing at level 3

 

[The Lightbowne Cowboy]

Right, I have read so many complaints about the FS stand over the years and never bothered to post a reply but this arrant nonsense has really got my goat. Yes there is an issue with the blocks of seats the CLUB decide to make available only to certain groups but the idea that the FS stand doesn't celebrate goals is complete rubbish. Just look at the coverage of any of the goals scored at that end and you will see how wrong you are. I also want to take issue with the idea that the FS "hasn't worked" by using my own example. I live in London and have 3 kids and we have all had seats in the FS from when I figured my youngest could stand a 400 mile round trip and 2 hours at the game - which was aged 4 nine years ago. We get to every game we can (despite for example getting home at 22:00 after Arsenal with school the next day) but yes we do miss many of the midweek games as I either have to drive there and back and get home at 01:30 or stay over and get a train at 05:30. But what the club has now got is 3 teenage fans who are regular match goers, have also been to every away ground we can get to (points allowing but let's not go there) and, in my daughter's case, are now used to travelling independently to watch City. She is now at Uni in Nottingham and still comes up by train on her own for the games. Isn't this the very demographic we keep saying the club needs? It clearly hasn't all been down to the FS but it has certainly been facilitated by it, not least because of the affordability (my 4 tickets still cost less than the 1 that a lot of the Arsenal fans round here have). I appreciate a lot of us think that only seeing 10% of any game and standing ankle deep in piss in the Kippax is a rite of passage but times have changed. The ability to know your kid can sit down and still see the game, can get food/drink on their own, can go to the loo etc made the years when the kids were 4/5/6 etc much much easier and now means the family has their 4th generation of Blues who have been to 10X the games compared to their mates round here who support Arse, Spurs and Chelsea. Rant over.

NO !! I didn't say the FS don't celebrate goals. I said around 20 feet radius around me sat there like f****** statues! ! Sick of what exactly? ? Somebody who says it like it is ? So you're now telling me what I see and hear around me are you ? What a guy you are! ! Well done for travelling so far by the way, but if you don't think we've got a problem in that stand then you are a very blinkered person . It's awful around me.

 

[The Lightbowne Cowboy]

Rubbish I am in 238 and the atmosphere was excellent on Sunday indeed the family stand started a few of the songs that the ground joined in!! (although that is a first I admit)

OK. We'll swap places next game then you can form an opinion on what it's like down where I am pal.