Atmosphere - 2023/24

[M18CTID]

Black bin-bag flags, Real Madrid's kit colour. Most left them alone, seemed like an odd thing for the club to do.

It wasn’t a club display. It was an 1894 display

 

[paulchapo]

fair enough. Maybe I’ve been on that bus too many times..what did you think the black flags were?

As I've quite clearly explained I didn't have a clue. I can guarantee nobody else did amongst the ten regulars in the vicinity of where I stand. It was as clear as mud.

 

[M18CTID]

Quick question: Is it possible a large number of City fans who aren't on the scheme decided to wait until the result of the first leg was known before committing to the second leg, by which time many tickets had gone to tourists and touting sites?

The home match officially sold out before the away leg was played Ged. I don’t know what’s going on but I guess it’s a combination of City fans selling their tickets on for a profit (I don’t think this is a large number but I’m sure it goes on), City selling batches of tickets to third party ticketing agencies, and City flogging hospitality packages to anyone prepared to cough up the ridiculous hospitality prices for a game of that magnitude without bothering to check who the purchaser supports. Those hospitality packages come with seats in different areas of the stadium so it would go some way to explaining groups of Real Madrid fans popping up in certain sections of the ground.

 

[Nethermoor]

Can we not get ahead of this and the club put the tourists in a certain part of the ground and have a specific partner who they sell via. But block fans from selling their tickets on, now I don't know how it would work as I'm not an expert on ticketing systems. But since you have to add someone to friends and family to transfer there must be a way.

I don't mind tourists. I once was one (however, I came and joined in and got hooked and here we are years later and I come to more games each season). BUT it would be better if they and the youtubers were out of the way somewhere.

Probably one to look at with the North Stand Expansion, and not to put them there but there will be a lot of moving about of ST holders etc.

Just my two pence worth

 

[M18CTID]

Genuine question, are the club not appointing a ticket compliance officer ?, if so is that not because they are also pissed at situations like last night and want it to stop? I cant understand them paying to bring someone in if their remit will be to stop something we are accusing the club of profiteering from?, could this not just be fans racking up the £ by reselling to 3rd parties for big games.

The ticket compliance officer will only clamp down on individual fans selling tickets on for a profit. They’ll totally ignore all the legalised touting that the club is involved in.

 

[Cheadle_hulmeBlue]

As I've quite clearly explained I didn't have a clue. I can guarantee nobody else did amongst the ten regulars in the vicinity of where I stand. It was as clear as mud.

Again that’s fair enough. I saw the 192 bus, the mcvities factory and I thought it was pretty clear that was a road/the a6. Anyone who lives in or near Manchester would recognise that bus and where it is. That might just be me though and maybe the black flags weren’t that obvious.

 

[paulchapo]

Again that’s fair enough. I saw the 192 bus, the mcvities factory and I thought it was pretty clear that was a road/the a6. Anyone who lives in or near Manchester would recognise that bus and where it is. That might just be me though and maybe the black flags weren’t that obvious.

I didn't see the banner. Was it in the south stand? If so I wouldn't have seen it as I'm in there. I don't pay much attention to such stuff, although I like them and appreciate the effort involved. It was far too cryptic, the black flag thing. If long standing City fans didn't have a clue what it signified the watching world had no chance.

 

[East Level 2]

You'd get a priority window of a day or two before matchday members for CL games. Obviously you have to monitor the sales windows closely so you don't miss out.

Wouldn't know about aways as don't have anywhere near that amount of points.

Perhaps the club should extend the window for ST holders, however you can't blame them for taking the attitude that if ST holders don't join the scheme then they don't want tickets so a short window is adequate. I appreciate many don't join the CL scheme as they struggle to get to home games after work, but some are probably only interested in knock-out games against glamour teams in which case I wonder why they have season tickets as half our home games are against less glamourous opponents.

 

[Big Joe Corrigan]

Perhaps the club should extend the window for ST holders, however you can't blame them for taking the attitude that if ST holders don't join the scheme then they don't want tickets so a short window is adequate. I appreciate many don't join the CL scheme as they struggle to get to home games after work, but some are probably only interested in knock-out games against glamour teams in which case I wonder why they have season tickets as half our home games are against less glamourous opponents.

I don’t get it, I go to watch City not the opposition, whether it’s Real Madrid or Reading.

 

[East Level 2]

Thought the atmosphere was very good last night. It was on a knife edge, and incredibly tense. I felt a chill down my spine hearing the roar of the crowd urging Jack on as he sprinted down the wing in that second half. 24 hrs on and I’m still gutted we’ve gone out. Very proud of this team and over the two legs we deserved to go through.

The atmosphere reflected the game and that's how it should be. Had we equalised towards the end of the first half the crowd would have turned up the volume to eleven. But we didn't so the tension continued. The roof would have come off had KDB kept that shot down soon after he scored, but he didn't.
I sit in the north east corner (still east stand as I have a padded seat!!) and there were plenty of songs started by the north stand.

 

[East Level 2]

I don’t get it, I go to watch City not the opposition, whether it’s Real Madrid or Reading.

So do I, but I'm sure some City fans will go on about packing the ground in the third division but now turn up their noses about watching Copenhagen, Rag Star Belgrade, Young Boys and Leipzig.
Having said that, I accept pricing for knock-out games takes the piss. If I can be arsed joining the scheme and paying for group games, I shouldn't be paying almost full price for the glamour games.

 

[Scaring Europe to Death]

Where were all these new fans at York and Macclesfield, and don't give me all this "I wasn't even born" bollocks

Seriously I know the prices were high for the Madrid game, but they were reasonable for the Group Matches so anyone in the cup scheme would have paid a reasonable average price of around £30-£35.

This week saw the 13th anniversary of the Yaya Semi Final, so that's roughly the same time frame as the gap between my first proper football memory (1970 League Cup Final) and my first footballing trauma (Raddy Antic)

I respect all those people who dislike the CL, but City have now been successful for longer than the entire period of mid 1990s dress, and our average attendance has doubled

I'll be 60 in August and I recognise the sad reality that my demographic is being marginalised and will soon be irrelevant

However the new generation of City fans are more optimistic and might soon outnumber their raggish rivals.

 

[East Level 2]

Can we not get ahead of this and the club put the tourists in a certain part of the ground and have a specific partner who they sell via. But block fans from selling their tickets on, now I don't know how it would work as I'm not an expert on ticketing systems. But since you have to add someone to friends and family to transfer there must be a way.

I don't mind tourists. I once was one (however, I came and joined in and got hooked and here we are years later and I come to more games each season). BUT it would be better if they and the youtubers were out of the way somewhere.

Probably one to look at with the North Stand Expansion, and not to put them there but there will be a lot of moving about of ST holders etc.

Just my two pence worth

The problem with trying to lump tourists together is that ST holders who don't join the scheme are spread all over the ground so spare tickets (for touts, tourists and blues who don't have STs) are equally spread.

 

[Citizen of Legoland]

Yes I got it, but I doubt non Mancs would get it. Hence the ignorant ‘ridicule’

I didn’t get it at the time. Knowledge of the 192 isn’t universal around GM, although I did used to catch it when temporarily working near Levenshulme. (The only place I have ever been attacked whilst waiting for a bus, although it was only a raw egg thrown at me!).

I didn’t realise it was supposed to be a bus nor what Wembley Express meant so couldn’t work out what was going on. I thought at the time that the black bags was to counteract the white clothing of the Madrid fans and was something the club had arranged.

Preferred the ship floating across the fans myself that was done some time back.

A fair effort though.

 

[East Level 2]

Nice to know they got tickets because I didn't...and yet I hear there were Madrid fans all over our ground.

Why didn't you get a ticket? Which bit of the purchase criteria stopped you buying one? You'll have matchday membership at least if you're a City fan so what stopped you buying a ticket?
I'm genuinely interested in this, I have no idea of the requirements as I'm on the scheme.

 

[Citizen of Legoland]

Again that’s fair enough. I saw the 192 bus, the mcvities factory and I thought it was pretty clear that was a road/the a6. Anyone who lives in or near Manchester would recognise that bus and where it is. That might just be me though and maybe the black flags weren’t that obvious.

Central and South Manchester maybe. I’d guess half the population don’t know the routes of the 135, 8 and X41/X43 which go north. And I never knew McVities even had/have a factory in Manchester.

 

[bennyboy]

All these fans that could not get tickets what part of the critera stopped you getting one.

 

[paulchapo]

All these fans that could not get tickets what part of the critera stopped you getting one.

I'm a season ticket holder on the cup scheme so I got mine automatically. I believe the criteria was you had to have attended five champions league games. Where I am in the south stand there was loads of new faces. Although some regulars were there many more weren't.

 

[M18CTID]

I didn’t get it at the time. Knowledge of the 192 isn’t universal around GM, although I did used to catch it when temporarily working near Levenshulme. (The only place I have ever been attacked whilst waiting for a bus, although it was only a raw egg thrown at me!).

I didn’t realise it was supposed to be a bus nor what Wembley Express meant so couldn’t work out what was going on. I thought at the time that the black bags was to counteract the white clothing of the Madrid fans and was something the club had arranged.

Preferred the ship floating across the fans myself that was done some time back.

A fair effort though.

Surely you could see that it was a bus? As for the Wembley Express, well that one's as obvious as it gets given where this season's CL Final is being held. I don't think you can get any less cryptic than that!

Maybe we over-estimated the knowledge of the legend of the 192 bus though so I get your point there

Rumours that a future display - involving a huge dropdown banner depicting Piccadilly Gardens complete with assorted spice heads, piss pots, and other interesting characters with the caption "THIS IS THE REAL MANCHESTER" - have yet to be refuted ;)

 

[M18CTID]

I'm a season ticket holder on the cup scheme so I got mine automatically. I believe the criteria was you had to have attended five champions league games. Where I am in the south stand there was loads of new faces. Although some regulars were there many more weren't.

Every season ticket holder was entitled to buy a ticket mate, regardless of whether they were on the cup scheme or not. The number of CL games attended only applied to members when it went on sale to them.

I was in SS1 too - Block 115 - and normally it's a lot of different faces for CL games (well group stage games at least). On Wednesday near me it was full of the usual season ticket holders who can't be arsed turning up for the group stage games.