Away fans / tourists in home sections

[Beaker]

Great idea, but I suspect that the vast majority of tickets appearing on the Ticket Exchange will always be for the less attractive fixtures.

I've got a mate who bought a Value Gold seasoncard a few seasons ago and his first comment was "Now I can miss those 12:30 kick offs against crap teams"

He's also in the FA Cup scheme, but didn't attend v Salford or Plymouth. He's only in the scheme because it guarantees him a Wembley Ticket if we reach the Final

I agree; there are probably hundreds, if not thousands of tickets for these type of games that end up on the exchange because people can't be bothered. If 1/19th of a season ticket cost works out at £45.00, match day tickets will have to cost £50 or more (I’m aware that value golds are much cheaper). However, if the refunds were categorised, City could return £20 for certain games while selling match day tickets for £30.00, for example.

Regarding the cup schemes, I would remove the first refusal on final tickets for those that join them and sell them using ticket points. The concept is sound, but some have abused it by signing up and leaving seats empty.

 

[Goater101]

Got a dvd of our return to the premiership 2002/03 last season at Maine road. Nothing will top the atmosphere and match going fans we had there it was top. Granted on the pitch wasn’t great

 

[M18CTID]

Stood with you, that many blues they cordoned us off and held us in at the end, brilliant night

Yep, I was in there too. I couldn't believe how many of us there were. Thing is, United were going for the title as well and we'd done them a huge favour dicking Leeds 4-0 a few days earlier yet there were still several hundred City fans who had managed to get tickets in their end, and we basically took the piss all night as it has to be said that at no point did I feel threatened by their fans, even when they surged down the paddock into us when they celebrated Giggs opening the scoring.

As you say, they kept us in after the game. Loads of us boarded a bus afterwards that was going into town. I don't think there was a single United fan on it but City fans who had been in the actual away end in the Scoreboard Paddock were walking past and banging on the windows, chanting "You couldn't beat ten men!" as they assumed we were all Rags!

 

[Tim of the Oak]

I don't have a problem with a group of friends or family sharing the odd ticket. We've all done that. As long as it's not on a significant scale and doesn't deny people who would have been eligible for tickets.

You quote the Face Value Ticket pages but I have a problem with these. For one thing they're technically committing a criminal offence. For another, they have no more control over who the ticket is going to then the club does.

And finally, if I have a season ticket that costs me £760 (so £40 per game pro data) let's say the club is selling that seat for £60 on the open market. If I sell it to someone for £60 that buyer has paid 'face value' but I've made a £20 profit. To me, that's equivalent to touting.

I think a lot of this comes back to the proverbial, “what is the problem that we are trying to solve.” I’m not against anyone using the Ticket Exchange but is hasn’t solved the problem of loads of empty seats nor some away fans getting hold of tickets in our end or ticket affordability. Issues 2 and 3 are harder to solve but I can never understand people not attending who’ve bought tickets, unless they have a crisis. The FV pages do a lot to limit the number of empties btw.

I thought the flexi-golds would result in a batch of more affordable tickets being available for the less popular games (assuming the FG holders want to go to the bigger games) but that hasn’t happened (to encourage sell out for the less popular games). I’ve also said many times that remaining 3rd tier tickets for lower profile games could be discounted in the day or two before the game.

On your FV point. I don’t think there’s a right or wrong answer. Loads of Blues will let their spare ticket go for 1/19th of season cards. That’s the best approach wherever possible. That said, if we had Brentford or Bournemouth at home one Wednesday night and Liverpool the next, I can sort of understand the Dippers ticket being sold for £50 and the lower profile game for £30 to get back to the £40 average. That’s said, I was looking forward to the Plymouth game more than Real Madrid and I don’t really care who we are playing.

Obviously PSR doesn’t help but I think excessive player wages are the biggest challenge to affordable ticket prices. It’s very difficult for the Club to sort that in a highly competitive Prem and CL context:

 

[Scaring Europe to Death]

I think a lot of this comes back to the proverbial, “what is the problem that we are trying to solve.”

Empty Seats are a slightly different issue, but when the CL Draw for the Group Stage was made, it was obvious to anyone with a bit of football nous that whilst Inter Milan was the most lucrative and marketable fixture, it was the Feyenoord game that posed the biggest security risk.

Meanwhile Sparta Prague and Bruges would be the most difficult to sell.

For the Feyenoord farce, it was easier to find peace in Palestine than buy a ticket for my partner to sit next to me in Block 219, and to my utter frustration, the seat was empty on the night.

However, it was evidently too easy for an occasional supporter to buy a ticket, especially when that supporter is Dutch and regularly travels to the UK for PL Football (the rags suffered a similar problem v Rangers etc)

Frankly, Feyenoord should have initially been offered more tickets (as should most Dutch and German teams), but instead it was our only CL home game with less than 50,000 and dozens (if not hundreds) of their fans all over the ground.

That was City's biggest avoidable cock-up this season, and slightly different to the problems v Madrid/Liverpool/Plymouth

Meanwhile our two two less attractive matches drew 3,000 more spectators.

 

[El Gringo]

Stood with you, that many blues they cordoned us off and held us in at the end, brilliant night

they did, plod cordon :)- i remember a few Blakley blues being there - i reckon there may have been about 50 or so of us altogether

 

[Micky Blue]

Got a dvd of our return to the premiership 2002/03 last season at Maine road. Nothing will top the atmosphere and match going fans we had there it was top. Granted on the pitch wasn’t great

Wasn’t it?
I could be wrong but I thought we won an award for best pitch in the league in our last season at Maine Road.

 

[Greenandblue]

Personally, I believe (and I'm willing to be shot down on this) that there would be some advantage to the club categorising the refunds that they offer season ticket holders through the exchange. For instance, you would receive more money back against teams like United, Liverpool, etc., where the club will always try to maximise match day prices, but less money would be returned against Fulham, Crystal Palace etc., allowing the club to lower match day prices against those kind of teams.

I think Arsenal have a similar policy to this, which results in their lower category matches having better prices than ours.

That's far too sensible....it'll never catch on. Agree, people would be much more inclined to return big games to the Exchange if they were getting £45. Club can still sell for £75, making an extra £30 on a ticket they already sold as a season ticket. Punters would also be far less likely to be lured into the hassle of finding a FV buyer themselves if they were getting a fair refund.

But.....the club would be more likely to just add in a shitty off-site buffet, and sell it for £350 to an opposition fan....

 

[Tim of the Oak]

And you've hit the nail on the head with "what is the problem that we are trying to solve"

The problem he was trying to solve with removing loyalty points was personal to him and a beef he had with a poster (mod) using his daughter's ticket for away games and shifting them on here (points whoring)

Then the stick we were getting for empty seats, he took it upon himself to create a product to fix that and generate revenue for the club. None of his business as SC rep to worry about the club's revenue but he went ahead and as has been proven, FG was so short sighted we now have dads who can't get their kids a SC as they come of age. I'd rather have empty seats and the M.E.N red circling our crowd than what happens now

Both down to anecdotal, personal "problems" he was trying to solve

People’s intentions can be worthy and then it falls on its arse. I recall a dozen or so years ago filling out a survey agreeing that we needed to do more to get more youngsters into the ground. Then I was booted out of the North Stand Lecel 1 to make room for the Family Stand. I didn’t mind it so much but I’m told there’s hardly any young families in there for Prem and CL games.

FWIW, I am concerned the “clampdown on touts” will be a smokescreen to attack the people who help to make affordable tickets available for fellow Blues.

 

[fathellensbellend]

Yep, I was in there too. I couldn't believe how many of us there were. Thing is, United were going for the title as well and we'd done them a huge favour dicking Leeds 4-0 a few days earlier yet there were still several hundred City fans who had managed to get tickets in their end, and we basically took the piss all night as it has to be said that at no point did I feel threatened by their fans, even when they surged down the paddock into us when they celebrated Giggs opening the scoring.

As you say, they kept us in after the game. Loads of us boarded a bus afterwards that was going into town. I don't think there was a single United fan on it but City fans who had been in the actual away end in the Scoreboard Paddock were walking past and banging on the windows, chanting "You couldn't beat ten men!" as they assumed we were all Rags!

It was a complete piss take all night long, not in the least bit intimidating

 

[Scaring Europe to Death]

People’s intentions can be worthy and then it falls on its arse. I recall a dozen or so years ago filling out a survey agreeing that we needed to do more to get more youngsters into the ground. Then I was booted out of the North Stand Lecel 1 to make room for the Family Stand. I didn’t mind it so much but I’m told there’s hardly any young families in there for Prem and CL games.

FWIW, I am concerned the “clampdown on touts” will be a smokescreen to attack the people who help to make affordable tickets available for fellow Blues.

How does that work with the age limit?

My brother and his mate were original North Stand Seasoncard holders and allowed to stay when it converted to the Family Stand

Occasionally he'd take his two kids, but those "kids" are now 22 and 19 and still tend to sit there when attending

Do City still class them as a family or have they genuinely got no idea?

 

[Tim of the Oak]

How does that work with the age limit?

My brother and his mate were original North Stand Seasoncard holders and allowed to stay when it converted to the Family Stand

Occasionally he'd take his two kids, but those "kids" are now 22 and 19 and still tend to sit there when attending

Do City still class them as a family or have they genuinely got no idea?

All I know is City use a lot of discretion with kids in their 20s lol. I don’t know what the official policy is.

 

[East Level 2]

It was a complete piss take all night long, not in the least bit intimidating

It was very noticeable from the paddock at the other end where we were crammed in like sardines.

 

[Tarzan Pancake]

It was a complete piss take all night long, not in the least bit intimidating

Not to do a "I was at York away" (I wasn"t), but I was in the Stretford Paddick that night. Jumped around like a lunatic when we equalised. I wasn't in the big mob of City fans in there, but saw a few Wythenshawe lads I knew. David White should have got the winner if I remember right. Would have been glorious.

 

[johnnytapia]

You can judge someone’s age within a few years going off which boxer’s name they insert in the line … Looks like he’s gone 12 rounds with ******* when someone’s had a hiding.

Or you know it’s a seriously old fucker if they’re still saying… 15 rounds.

Or “That’s not fair.” “Neither’s Ken Norton’s arse but you’re going to bed. Now.”

 

[Mifred]

It was or is normal if you can’t get a ticket in the away end then take a chance and go in the home end
And also expect hassle if you show your colours

 

[TheGhost]

Great idea, but I suspect that the vast majority of tickets appearing on the Ticket Exchange will always be for the less attractive fixtures.

I've got a mate who bought a Value Gold seasoncard a few seasons ago and his first comment was "Now I can miss those 12:30 kick offs against crap teams"

He's also in the FA Cup scheme, but didn't attend v Salford or Plymouth. He's only in the scheme because it guarantees him a Wembley Ticket if we reach the Final

I’d make it. If you miss two games and the seat isn’t filled you lose your season ticket.

 

[Edghill OG]

How does that work with the age limit?

My brother and his mate were original North Stand Seasoncard holders and allowed to stay when it converted to the Family Stand

Occasionally he'd take his two kids, but those "kids" are now 22 and 19 and still tend to sit there when attending

Do City still class them as a family or have they genuinely got no idea?

You used to be able to get 18-21 tickets in the family stand. Don't know whether it's still a thing? I got pulled once (this is going back maybe 15 years ago) as it must have flashed up as a concession. Then when they looked at ticket on their machine they just let me in when they realised it was an 18-21.

 

[El Gringo]

If we ever couldn't make an away trip, or if City weren't playing (and the storms in 1987 spring to mind with Ipswich away), then we'd often go in the away end at the swamp, as you could back in the day, turn up pay on the gate. That Ipswich game for example, Norwich were playing at the swamp and i thinking remember Ruel Fox scoring . Also have fond memories of being in the West Ham end when Geoff Pike scored in an FA cup match being called out by the ICF as having a " funny east end accent", yet not getting filled in as they admired the hatred we had for the rags when we told them we were blues. Happy, simpler, yet more violent days. But at least you felt alive

 

[Maccblue]

If we ever couldn't make an away trip, or if City weren't playing (and the storms in 1987 spring to mind with Ipswich away), then we'd often go in the away end at the swamp, as you could back in the day, turn up pay on the gate. That Ipswich game for example, Norwich were playing at the swamp and i thinking remember Ruel Fox scoring . Also have fond memories of being in the West Ham end when Geoff Pike scored in an FA cup match being called out by the ICF as having a " funny east end accent", yet not getting filled in as they admired the hatred we had for the rags when we told them we were blues. Happy, simpler, yet more violent days. But at least you felt alive

I made it to Ipswich that day. Booked on the special train however all the lines were down so they put coaches on. Made it bang on ko for a 0-3 !!! Went back this season for the first time since