FA Cup Semi Final draw - Brighton

I have mixed feelings on this. I'm glad we don't have millions of half and half scarf-wearing tourists who watch the game through the camera lens of their phones like the rags and Liverpool do.

On the other hand, we do need the match day income as that's where London-based clubs like Arsenal, United, Chelsea and Spurs have a distinct advantage over us.

But where I really am concerned is, compared with Liverpool and United, the relentless tsunami of negative publicity deliberately poured out by the media. Anyone who thinks it doesn't have an adverse effect on our commercial income and attraction to new supporters denies the power of advertising.
 
Newman Noggs said:
I have mixed feelings on this. I'm glad we don't have millions of half and half scarf-wearing tourists who watch the game through the camera lens of their phones like the rags and Liverpool do.

On the other hand, we do need the match day income as that's where London-based clubs like Arsenal, United, Chelsea and Spurs have a distinct advantage over us.

But where I really am concerned is, compared with Liverpool and United, the relentless tsunami of negative publicity deliberately poured out by the media. Anyone who thinks it doesn't have an adverse effect on our commercial income and attraction to new supporters denies the power of advertising.
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We can’t just blame the media when there are people queueing up on this thread to give lazy journalists an easy job.
 
Newman Noggs said:
I have mixed feelings on this. I'm glad we don't have millions of half and half scarf-wearing tourists who watch the game through the camera lens of their phones like the rags and Liverpool do.

On the other hand, we do need the match day income as that's where London-based clubs like Arsenal, United, Chelsea and Spurs have a distinct advantage over us.

But where I really am concerned is, compared with Liverpool and United, the relentless tsunami of negative publicity deliberately poured out by the media. Anyone who thinks it doesn't have an adverse effect on our commercial income and attraction to new supporters denies the power of advertising.
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I think if it had that much of an impact the club would do something about it. Instead of continuously raising prices and giving tickets to corporates who either don't go or sit in the bar all game.
 
Newman Noggs said:
I'd say it's the other way around. Those people have been subject to so much shit they've started to believe it.
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It’s a good job the tens of thousands of us weren’t put off during our years of failure and the rags period of dmoninance.

I don’t disagree that the negative media can make it harder to attract new match going fans.
 
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cyberblue said:
The vast majority of games we have empty seats,many of those are season tickets holders who don't go anymore, some of those try to resell the tickets either through the club or various City face book sites, many go unsold because we don't have a big enough fan base wanting them. Big problem is the thousands of fans disillusioned weather they been moved from there seat to make way for hospitality or simply priced out, also the pricing for some games is just barmy.You correct though hardly suprising we not sold out Wembley with the amount of times we have been plus all the games we have played .Respect to the fans that have made most of the games
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Selling through the club is the nonsense part. They charge full whack and give the fan the season ticket price back, 1/19th.

This puts fans off. The individual match day price. That is why the sites like this and others are better for selling tickets on if someone cannot go.

Most just ask for the 1/19th or say £30.

As an aside , nobody on here knows what we have sold for Saturday. Different figures being banded about.

Some real low ones in a type of despair mode.

If someone cannot afford to go then that is no concern of mine, if someone chooses not to because they cannot be arsed, well they can be accused if not being fully committed in my opinion.

If take up is as low as some have suggested then maybe it is games like this and especially games at home in the carabou cup for instance that loyalty is actually rewarded for.
 
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I disagree that our fan base hasn’t grown. You only have to look at cup and champions league games to see the difference from 10 years ago. City have a growing support in the under 18 category and it will probably take another 10 years of success to really see the benefit of that.Rags and dippers have grown their support over decades and decades of post war success. It will take time to get anywhere near that level
 
Football clubs have a lot to answer for in regards how fans now support their clubs. They sold their souls for the tv money. As a result kick off times are changed at short notice and often to ridiculous times. They then started calling fans customers and marketing it like going to a one off treat like a concert or a show. Your hard core fans then kind of got shoved to one side. Moved out of seats for corporates, treated with a little bit of contempt. Who wants fans who stay in the pub until five minutes before kick off, turn up and go home without spending £50-100 on food, drink and souvenirs? The huge revenues now in the game aren't trickling down to the people coming through the turnstiles. Prices go up and up while for the majority of people their income stays the same or depreciates due to no wage rises and inflation. A disconnect then occurs, people drift away and don't come back. We also due to over three decades of mediocrity have an ageing fan base. People are dying off, not going as often due to health, problems with transport and financial issues. Not all older people have a great income. Sure I think at 65 you get reduced tickets but a lot of people are made redundant or have to take early retirement so are in a financial limbo until they can boost it with the state pension and get these discounts.

I know the tv deal is a necessary evil and allows clubs to buy better players but they have to introduce cheaper tickets, I am sure it can be done. We have also lost the spontaneity of going to a game. If we have ten thousand tickets left for Saturday and some people suddenly wake up on the day and want to go they can't, which is nuts.

I think someone else mentioned it earlier that we are attracting worldwide and younger fans but it is going to take another ten years of success to really build it up. I watch Cheesey's blog and he is interviewing fans from the States and elsewhere attending their first City games which is great. Until that happens and prices and transport drop and kick off times are sensible we are going to struggle to sell 35,000 tickets for a semi final 200 miles away that kicks off at 17:30.
 
Knew well before this game was even arranged that should we get to the semi-final our support there would be hit simply because we've been there twice this season already. There's only so many times you can go to the well.

It's disappointing but understandable.

City's fanbase has grown perhaps more than any other club is English football over the last decade but you'd have to be a London club, or a Man Utd or Liverpool to sell Wembley out 3 times in a season and we aren't there yet. I'm not even sure Utd would have sold Wembley out at a 5.30pm Kick off. In their treble season, 30,000 made it to Villa Pk for their semi-final replay with Arsenal where Giggs scored that famous goal.
 
gkmcfc said:
I disagree that our fan base hasn’t grown. You only have to look at cup and champions league games to see the difference from 10 years ago. City have a growing support in the under 18 category and it will probably take another 10 years of success to really see the benefit of that.Rags and dippers have grown their support over decades and decades of post war success. It will take time to get anywhere near that level
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Of course the fan base has grown 15 years ago we were getting 32.000 .now 54.000 but it has not grown big enough and fast enough to take up the slack ,that's why some cup games European games night games and of course Wembley semi finals we struggle to sell out
 
paulchapo said:
Football clubs have a lot to answer for in regards how fans now support their clubs. They sold their souls for the tv money. As a result kick off times are changed at short notice and often to ridiculous times. They then started calling fans customers and marketing it like going to a one off treat like a concert or a show. Your hard core fans then kind of got shoved to one side. Moved out of seats for corporates, treated with a little bit of contempt. Who wants fans who stay in the pub until five minutes before kick off, turn up and go home without spending £50-100 on food, drink and souvenirs? The huge revenues now in the game aren't trickling down to the people coming through the turnstiles. Prices go up and up while for the majority of people their income stays the same or depreciates due to no wage rises and inflation. A disconnect then occurs, people drift away and don't come back. We also due to over three decades of mediocrity have an ageing fan base. People are dying off, not going as often due to health, problems with transport and financial issues. Not all older people have a great income. Sure I think at 65 you get reduced tickets but a lot of people are made redundant or have to take early retirement so are in a financial limbo until they can boost it with the state pension and get these discounts.

I know the tv deal is a necessary evil and allows clubs to buy better players but they have to introduce cheaper tickets, I am sure it can be done. We have also lost the spontaneity of going to a game. If we have ten thousand tickets left for Saturday and some people suddenly wake up on the day and want to go they can't, which is nuts.

I think someone else mentioned it earlier that we are attracting worldwide and younger fans but it is going to take another ten years of success to really build it up. I watch Cheesey's blog and he is interviewing fans from the States and elsewhere attending their first City games which is great. Until that happens and prices and transport drop and kick off times are sensible we are going to struggle to sell 35,000 tickets for a semi final 200 miles away that kicks off at 17:30.
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This is why the bread and butter of the league is the only one which means the most,every home game I see thousands of fans just going about their business,travel to the ground,make their way to their entrance,go in,watch the match,then go home,rinse and repeat 19 times.

Most season ticket holders won't spend a penny at the ground,for the over priced shite food and drink neither

The bonus,if you like,is the cup comps,but that is optional as to whether you choose to go or not,take this weekend for example,people still moaning about it being at Wembley,well as much as I don't agree with it,even though I am going,we all know that gaff cost an absolute fortune,spent well over budget,and was told that games would be played there for a lot of years,including the semi finals,to claw revenue back,if you buy a cheap ticket or a dear one,the fact remains you are paying Wembley debt off.

TV has ruined the game,but to contradict myself,I'm more than happy when we are on tv away from home if I don't go or can't get a ticket
 
So what if we only take 22,000 for our 5th trip to Wembley this season !

It’s still 4000 more than what attended the fa cup semi final replay at villa park between Crystal Palace and Utd in the 90s!, and that was with around 6000 palace fans included as well !

Just get ur local div red to explain that one when going on about our following?
 
We're about to enter unchartered territory this week. The hitherto impossible may become real, and if it does, debates like this will overnight be made irrelevant.
 
Francis Crawford said:
So what if we only take 22,000 for our 5th trip to Wembley this season !

It’s still 4000 more than what attended the fa cup semi final replay at villa park between Crystal Palace and Utd in the 90s!, and that was with around 6000 palace fans included as well !

Just get ur local div red to explain that one when going on about our following?
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Likewise the most replayed goal in the history of English football. Giggs at VP v Arsenal
 
Francis Crawford said:
So what if we only take 22,000 for our 5th trip to Wembley this season !

It’s still 4000 more than what attended the fa cup semi final replay at villa park between Crystal Palace and Utd in the 90s!, and that was with around 6000 palace fans included as well !

Just get ur local div red to explain that one when going on about our following?
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This will be our 4th trip if I'm not mistaken.
 
Shirley said:
This will be our 4th trip if I'm not mistaken.
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Yes but the games that make the impact are the ones where 20,000 plus go.

We did well to sell the League Cup Final out. A lot of those fans will not be going again unfortunately. I can't criticise them because I didn't go to that game for the same reasons many have missed this one.
 
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