Are You Doing Anything To Protest About The Latest Season Ticket Price Increase?

You don't know why. Exactly. And neither did the podcast you listened to.



When you go into Tesco or Asda, there will be staple grocery products at close to or even less than cost price. Typically things like milk, eggs, bread etc. Because when you buy those things (and you rarely just buy one and walk out the store) you'll buy other things that have a higher margin. So if you buy bread, you might well buy butter, jam, ham, peanut butter, pickles, cheese, crisps, etc. So Tesco may lose 5p on a loaf of bread but they'll make 50p on something else. They won't put that 50p margin on the bread because people would either say "I'm not buying that here when it's 50p cheaper at Asda" and walk out or they might buy it but cut down somewhere else by buying the cheaper, lower-margin own-brand jam or sandwich spread. Or they might say that they're going to be 10% cheaper than their competitors on some key items in order to drive footfall into the stores. That's a strategic decision they've taken. They might lose a bit on those items but they reckon they'll gain it by getting people into the store who'll buy other stuff. They look at it holistically, swings & roundabouts and all that.

Now I know football clubs aren't like supermarkets, in terms of loyalty. If City put my season ticket up £20, I'm not going to suddenly decide to watch Wigan or Bolton. But the point is that the supermarkets want to get people in and they're prepared to sacrifice something to do that. Same applies to all sorts of other businesses. Just swapped my TV from BT to Sky as I got a cracking deal that lowered my overall cost and gave me a couple of advantages. My phone contract is up so I'm looking at the combination of upfront and monthly cost that gives me the lowest overall contract cost. When my car insurance renews, I'll be looking to get the features I want at the lowest price. And there will be loads of companies looking to attract new customers like me and who have invested in a marketing budget to do that.

When I was a kid, my dad wasn't into football but eventually I persuaded him to take me to games and he became a fanatical Blue. But it was cheap in those days. If a dad wants to take his two boys to tomorrow's game, it'll cost him £100 minimum for tickets alone. And as a consequence we'll have empty seats as we have most games, even yesterday. Partly that'll be because some can't travel for a midweek game but partly it's because the demand simply isn't there yet and we're giving loads of tickets away that we can't sell and some of them aren't getting used. So if I was running that business I'd be saying "Sell those tickets. Get the price down to a level where we create demand and then, when there's more demand than supply for game like tomorrow, then start to think about edging prices up to manage the demand.

In the same way that you or I probably aren't going to jump ship to watch another club, neither are fans of other clubs going to jump ship to watch us. But there is are opportunities there. Maybe for dads who take their kids to watch the local club but who maybe aren't passionate fans of that club. The kid wants to watch us but the dad won't pay those prices I talked about above. So offer that dad a deal that, for 5 years, he can have a child season ticket priced at £5 a game if he pays for an adult ticket and maybe an additional one at £10 a game. So for £285 a season he can bring his two kids for 5 years. The kids will want food and kits, which are high margin. I know people who started supporting us as students, when they came to Manchester Uni or MMU. Give them a deal on season cards and tie them in so that if they stay in Manchester after they graduate, they'll become loyal fans. There's no fucking imagination at the club re ticketing.

And to go back the retail analogy, if I run a shop I buy stock from a supplier and sell it for for than I buy it for, which generates cash that allows me to re-stock, pay my overheads and earn something for myself. Sometimes I'll have to take a pinch to make room for more stock so I'll have a sale or sell particular lines cheaper but better to bring in some cash than have the stock sitting there getting old and out-dated. So. like deliberate loss-leaders, sometimes I'll take a hit but overall, as long as I sell other items at the right price, I'll be alright. The club have never come out and explained where our ticket money goes. It's the least significant of our 3 major income streams but we need to bring something in as we can't afford to give all our tickets away for nothing. I realise that we have match-day costs. There's power, police, stewards, catering staff, etc. If the club were to say that they'd price tickets to cover match-day costs and nothing more, then we'd understand. If they said that tickets really don't cover all direct match-day costs, then we'd understand why they had to go up. But the feeling is that they're doing it just because they can or because they want to be comparable with Liverpool or the rags.

I understand that a lot of little price increases seems better than a few big ones. But until I'm told why they need to go up, apart from vague mumblings about inflation of match-day costs then I'll carry on questioning the need for a rise at all. Particularly when those rises are against the backdrop of an increase in revenue of nearly £100m in PL media income (up £55m) and Commercial revenue (up £40m).

I'll tell you why I think they've gone up. Because, overall, ticket revenue went down slightly last financial year by £650k and they want to claw that back. But hospitality really isn't selling that well. On Sunday, from where I sit, I could see 4 executive boxes on the Colin Bell side that were empty so I reckon we're bearing some of the brunt of that.

I asked someone in corporate why the exec boxes were always empty this weekend. She said they were completely sold out before the season starts - owned by players and or big companies. People just don't use them. The cprporate seems pretty popular to me. Often need to buy extra tickets and cant - Huddersfield was sold out weeks in advance as was United.
 
No, I'd love that. ;-)

I definitely come across as a moaning miserable bastard, but deep down I want the best for our fans, and that includes affordable season tickets and matchday tickets.

I've accepted the club has to increase prices, make a profit, and generate revenues, after all it is a business now, but with all the £100's of millions, sorry £billions, sloshing around the PL, the CL, and sponsorship deals, is another 3% rise, or £800k, really necessary from the fans next season?

As I've already pointed out, nothing against Yaya, as I love the guy to bit's, but why give him a final farewell season contract of £X, if he is going to sit on the bench for most of this season?

Guessing, Yaya's one season farewell contract is probably in the region of £5.2 million(pay, bonuses, etc) Even if it was half that, it would still be £2.6 million. So what exactly is the £800k from the fans paying for next season, minus Yaya's wages? Inflation? More Stewards? A better matchday experience? More stadium display's? Security scanners that actually work? Etc?
You aren't coming across as anything negative mate, it's just that people in this country keep quiet and pay up then moan after the fact instead of being proactive like you're trying to do, like German fans do en-mass in total union with each other across the league. While this country's idiots are empty seat spotting and using it as a stick to beat fans with, they lose sight of the real thing that is going on - almost £400 price rises in eight years at City, less at other clubs, more at some others, but none of them are right, all have priced people out!
 
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You don't know why. Exactly. And neither did the podcast you listened to.



When you go into Tesco or Asda, there will be staple grocery products at close to or even less than cost price. Typically things like milk, eggs, bread etc. Because when you buy those things (and you rarely just buy one and walk out the store) you'll buy other things that have a higher margin. So if you buy bread, you might well buy butter, jam, ham, peanut butter, pickles, cheese, crisps, etc. So Tesco may lose 5p on a loaf of bread but they'll make 50p on something else. They won't put that 50p margin on the bread because people would either say "I'm not buying that here when it's 50p cheaper at Asda" and walk out or they might buy it but cut down somewhere else by buying the cheaper, lower-margin own-brand jam or sandwich spread. Or they might say that they're going to be 10% cheaper than their competitors on some key items in order to drive footfall into the stores. That's a strategic decision they've taken. They might lose a bit on those items but they reckon they'll gain it by getting people into the store who'll buy other stuff. They look at it holistically, swings & roundabouts and all that.

Now I know football clubs aren't like supermarkets, in terms of loyalty. If City put my season ticket up £20, I'm not going to suddenly decide to watch Wigan or Bolton. But the point is that the supermarkets want to get people in and they're prepared to sacrifice something to do that. Same applies to all sorts of other businesses. Just swapped my TV from BT to Sky as I got a cracking deal that lowered my overall cost and gave me a couple of advantages. My phone contract is up so I'm looking at the combination of upfront and monthly cost that gives me the lowest overall contract cost. When my car insurance renews, I'll be looking to get the features I want at the lowest price. And there will be loads of companies looking to attract new customers like me and who have invested in a marketing budget to do that.

When I was a kid, my dad wasn't into football but eventually I persuaded him to take me to games and he became a fanatical Blue. But it was cheap in those days. If a dad wants to take his two boys to tomorrow's game, it'll cost him £100 minimum for tickets alone. And as a consequence we'll have empty seats as we have most games, even yesterday. Partly that'll be because some can't travel for a midweek game but partly it's because the demand simply isn't there yet and we're giving loads of tickets away that we can't sell and some of them aren't getting used. So if I was running that business I'd be saying "Sell those tickets. Get the price down to a level where we create demand and then, when there's more demand than supply for game like tomorrow, then start to think about edging prices up to manage the demand.

In the same way that you or I probably aren't going to jump ship to watch another club, neither are fans of other clubs going to jump ship to watch us. But there is are opportunities there. Maybe for dads who take their kids to watch the local club but who maybe aren't passionate fans of that club. The kid wants to watch us but the dad won't pay those prices I talked about above. So offer that dad a deal that, for 5 years, he can have a child season ticket priced at £5 a game if he pays for an adult ticket and maybe an additional one at £10 a game. So for £285 a season he can bring his two kids for 5 years. The kids will want food and kits, which are high margin. I know people who started supporting us as students, when they came to Manchester Uni or MMU. Give them a deal on season cards and tie them in so that if they stay in Manchester after they graduate, they'll become loyal fans. There's no fucking imagination at the club re ticketing.

And to go back the retail analogy, if I run a shop I buy stock from a supplier and sell it for for than I buy it for, which generates cash that allows me to re-stock, pay my overheads and earn something for myself. Sometimes I'll have to take a pinch to make room for more stock so I'll have a sale or sell particular lines cheaper but better to bring in some cash than have the stock sitting there getting old and out-dated. So. like deliberate loss-leaders, sometimes I'll take a hit but overall, as long as I sell other items at the right price, I'll be alright. The club have never come out and explained where our ticket money goes. It's the least significant of our 3 major income streams but we need to bring something in as we can't afford to give all our tickets away for nothing. I realise that we have match-day costs. There's power, police, stewards, catering staff, etc. If the club were to say that they'd price tickets to cover match-day costs and nothing more, then we'd understand. If they said that tickets really don't cover all direct match-day costs, then we'd understand why they had to go up. But the feeling is that they're doing it just because they can or because they want to be comparable with Liverpool or the rags.

I understand that a lot of little price increases seems better than a few big ones. But until I'm told why they need to go up, apart from vague mumblings about inflation of match-day costs then I'll carry on questioning the need for a rise at all. Particularly when those rises are against the backdrop of an increase in revenue of nearly £100m in PL media income (up £55m) and Commercial revenue (up £40m).

I'll tell you why I think they've gone up. Because, overall, ticket revenue went down slightly last financial year by £650k and they want to claw that back. But hospitality really isn't selling that well. On Sunday, from where I sit, I could see 4 executive boxes on the Colin Bell side that were empty so I reckon we're bearing some of the brunt of that.
They upped the prices of food and drink at the start of the 2016-17 season (£3 for a bottle of Coke, THREE FUCKING QUID! It comes to about £10 for a burger, a Twix and a bottle of Coke), i bet loads of people have stopped buying food and drink at City, i know i have, the queues don't seem as bad as they used to. Some decent eateries in Town do good offers where you can get two sit down meals for £20 some midweek nights. People not paying those prices for food and drink anymore might have made a dint in the revenue.
 
In the same way that you or I probably aren't going to jump ship to watch another club, neither are fans of other clubs going to jump ship to watch us. But there is are opportunities there. Maybe for dads who take their kids to watch the local club but who maybe aren't passionate fans of that club. The kid wants to watch us but the dad won't pay those prices I talked about above. So offer that dad a deal that, for 5 years, he can have a child season ticket priced at £5 a game if he pays for an adult ticket and maybe an additional one at £10 a game. So for £285 a season he can bring his two kids for 5 years. The kids will want food and kits, which are high margin. I know people who started supporting us as students, when they came to Manchester Uni or MMU. Give them a deal on season cards and tie them in so that if they stay in Manchester after they graduate, they'll become loyal fans. There's no fucking imagination at the club re ticketing.

Kids tickets are £135 in the family stand so £270 for 2 kids which is cheaper than your idea of one for £5 a game and one for £10 a game. I pay £150 each for my two lads but my season ticket is only £310. £610 is amazing for all 3 of us.
 
When you go into Tesco or Asda, there will be staple grocery products at close to or even less than cost price. Typically things like milk, eggs, bread etc. Because when you buy those things (and you rarely just buy one and walk out the store) you'll buy other things that have a higher margin. So if you buy bread, you might well buy butter, jam, ham, peanut butter, pickles, cheese, crisps, etc. So Tesco may lose 5p on a loaf of bread but they'll make 50p on something else. They won't put that 50p margin on the bread because people would either say "I'm not buying that here when it's 50p cheaper at Asda" and walk out or they might buy it but cut down somewhere else by buying the cheaper, lower-margin own-brand jam or sandwich spread. Or they might say that they're going to be 10% cheaper than their competitors on some key items in order to drive footfall into the stores. That's a strategic decision they've taken. They might lose a bit on those items but they reckon they'll gain it by getting people into the store who'll buy other stuff. They look at it holistically, swings & roundabouts and all that.

Now I know football clubs aren't like supermarkets, in terms of loyalty. If City put my season ticket up £20, I'm not going to suddenly decide to watch Wigan or Bolton. But the point is that the supermarkets want to get people in and they're prepared to sacrifice something to do that. Same applies to all sorts of other businesses. Just swapped my TV from BT to Sky as I got a cracking deal that lowered my overall cost and gave me a couple of advantages. My phone contract is up so I'm looking at the combination of upfront and monthly cost that gives me the lowest overall contract cost. When my car insurance renews, I'll be looking to get the features I want at the lowest price. And there will be loads of companies looking to attract new customers like me and who have invested in a marketing budget to do that.

When I was a kid, my dad wasn't into football but eventually I persuaded him to take me to games and he became a fanatical Blue. But it was cheap in those days. If a dad wants to take his two boys to tomorrow's game, it'll cost him £100 minimum for tickets alone. And as a consequence we'll have empty seats as we have most games, even yesterday. Partly that'll be because some can't travel for a midweek game but partly it's because the demand simply isn't there yet and we're giving loads of tickets away that we can't sell and some of them aren't getting used. So if I was running that business I'd be saying "Sell those tickets. Get the price down to a level where we create demand and then, when there's more demand than supply for game like tomorrow, then start to think about edging prices up to manage the demand.

In the same way that you or I probably aren't going to jump ship to watch another club, neither are fans of other clubs going to jump ship to watch us. But there is are opportunities there. Maybe for dads who take their kids to watch the local club but who maybe aren't passionate fans of that club. The kid wants to watch us but the dad won't pay those prices I talked about above. So offer that dad a deal that, for 5 years, he can have a child season ticket priced at £5 a game if he pays for an adult ticket and maybe an additional one at £10 a game. So for £285 a season he can bring his two kids for 5 years. The kids will want food and kits, which are high margin. I know people who started supporting us as students, when they came to Manchester Uni or MMU. Give them a deal on season cards and tie them in so that if they stay in Manchester after they graduate, they'll become loyal fans. There's no fucking imagination at the club re ticketing.

And to go back the retail analogy, if I run a shop I buy stock from a supplier and sell it for for than I buy it for, which generates cash that allows me to re-stock, pay my overheads and earn something for myself. Sometimes I'll have to take a pinch to make room for more stock so I'll have a sale or sell particular lines cheaper but better to bring in some cash than have the stock sitting there getting old and out-dated. So. like deliberate loss-leaders, sometimes I'll take a hit but overall, as long as I sell other items at the right price, I'll be alright. The club have never come out and explained where our ticket money goes. It's the least significant of our 3 major income streams but we need to bring something in as we can't afford to give all our tickets away for nothing. I realise that we have match-day costs. There's power, police, stewards, catering staff, etc. If the club were to say that they'd price tickets to cover match-day costs and nothing more, then we'd understand. If they said that tickets really don't cover all direct match-day costs, then we'd understand why they had to go up. But the feeling is that they're doing it just because they can or because they want to be comparable with Liverpool or the rags.

I understand that a lot of little price increases seems better than a few big ones. But until I'm told why they need to go up, apart from vague mumblings about inflation of match-day costs then I'll carry on questioning the need for a rise at all. Particularly when those rises are against the backdrop of an increase in revenue of nearly £100m in PL media income (up £55m) and Commercial revenue (up £40m).

I'll tell you why I think they've gone up. Because, overall, ticket revenue went down slightly last financial year by £650k and they want to claw that back. But hospitality really isn't selling that well. On Sunday, from where I sit, I could see 4 executive boxes on the Colin Bell side that were empty so I reckon we're bearing some of the brunt of that.

Completely agree with all of that, just trying to rationalise how a big business might decide to raise its prices. Modern business is ruthless, it's how rich people stay rich. And yes, the drop in ticket revenue last year is likely all the justification they need.

I don't take price rises lightly, either. I'm constantly watching my outgoings - I've got two tickets to buy and likely to be three for 19/20. My opinion - if they price me out, they price me out - I'll spend the money on holidays instead. The way I look at it is I was there for the Aguero moment - 30 yds away - it won't get better than that.
 
Kids tickets are £135 in the family stand so £270 for 2 kids which is cheaper than your idea of one for £5 a game and one for £10 a game. I pay £150 each for my two lads but my season ticket is only £310. £610 is amazing for all 3 of us.
It is and that's the sort of price it should be. The club do lots of things right but I think they've got blinkers on when it comes to tickets.
 
You don't know why. Exactly. And neither did the podcast you listened to.



When you go into Tesco or Asda, there will be staple grocery products at close to or even less than cost price. Typically things like milk, eggs, bread etc. Because when you buy those things (and you rarely just buy one and walk out the store) you'll buy other things that have a higher margin. So if you buy bread, you might well buy butter, jam, ham, peanut butter, pickles, cheese, crisps, etc. So Tesco may lose 5p on a loaf of bread but they'll make 50p on something else. They won't put that 50p margin on the bread because people would either say "I'm not buying that here when it's 50p cheaper at Asda" and walk out or they might buy it but cut down somewhere else by buying the cheaper, lower-margin own-brand jam or sandwich spread. Or they might say that they're going to be 10% cheaper than their competitors on some key items in order to drive footfall into the stores. That's a strategic decision they've taken. They might lose a bit on those items but they reckon they'll gain it by getting people into the store who'll buy other stuff. They look at it holistically, swings & roundabouts and all that.

Now I know football clubs aren't like supermarkets, in terms of loyalty. If City put my season ticket up £20, I'm not going to suddenly decide to watch Wigan or Bolton. But the point is that the supermarkets want to get people in and they're prepared to sacrifice something to do that. Same applies to all sorts of other businesses. Just swapped my TV from BT to Sky as I got a cracking deal that lowered my overall cost and gave me a couple of advantages. My phone contract is up so I'm looking at the combination of upfront and monthly cost that gives me the lowest overall contract cost. When my car insurance renews, I'll be looking to get the features I want at the lowest price. And there will be loads of companies looking to attract new customers like me and who have invested in a marketing budget to do that.

When I was a kid, my dad wasn't into football but eventually I persuaded him to take me to games and he became a fanatical Blue. But it was cheap in those days. If a dad wants to take his two boys to tomorrow's game, it'll cost him £100 minimum for tickets alone. And as a consequence we'll have empty seats as we have most games, even yesterday. Partly that'll be because some can't travel for a midweek game but partly it's because the demand simply isn't there yet and we're giving loads of tickets away that we can't sell and some of them aren't getting used. So if I was running that business I'd be saying "Sell those tickets. Get the price down to a level where we create demand and then, when there's more demand than supply for game like tomorrow, then start to think about edging prices up to manage the demand.

In the same way that you or I probably aren't going to jump ship to watch another club, neither are fans of other clubs going to jump ship to watch us. But there is are opportunities there. Maybe for dads who take their kids to watch the local club but who maybe aren't passionate fans of that club. The kid wants to watch us but the dad won't pay those prices I talked about above. So offer that dad a deal that, for 5 years, he can have a child season ticket priced at £5 a game if he pays for an adult ticket and maybe an additional one at £10 a game. So for £285 a season he can bring his two kids for 5 years. The kids will want food and kits, which are high margin. I know people who started supporting us as students, when they came to Manchester Uni or MMU. Give them a deal on season cards and tie them in so that if they stay in Manchester after they graduate, they'll become loyal fans. There's no fucking imagination at the club re ticketing.

And to go back the retail analogy, if I run a shop I buy stock from a supplier and sell it for for than I buy it for, which generates cash that allows me to re-stock, pay my overheads and earn something for myself. Sometimes I'll have to take a pinch to make room for more stock so I'll have a sale or sell particular lines cheaper but better to bring in some cash than have the stock sitting there getting old and out-dated. So. like deliberate loss-leaders, sometimes I'll take a hit but overall, as long as I sell other items at the right price, I'll be alright. The club have never come out and explained where our ticket money goes. It's the least significant of our 3 major income streams but we need to bring something in as we can't afford to give all our tickets away for nothing. I realise that we have match-day costs. There's power, police, stewards, catering staff, etc. If the club were to say that they'd price tickets to cover match-day costs and nothing more, then we'd understand. If they said that tickets really don't cover all direct match-day costs, then we'd understand why they had to go up. But the feeling is that they're doing it just because they can or because they want to be comparable with Liverpool or the rags.

I understand that a lot of little price increases seems better than a few big ones. But until I'm told why they need to go up, apart from vague mumblings about inflation of match-day costs then I'll carry on questioning the need for a rise at all. Particularly when those rises are against the backdrop of an increase in revenue of nearly £100m in PL media income (up £55m) and Commercial revenue (up £40m).

I'll tell you why I think they've gone up. Because, overall, ticket revenue went down slightly last financial year by £650k and they want to claw that back. But hospitality really isn't selling that well. On Sunday, from where I sit, I could see 4 executive boxes on the Colin Bell side that were empty so I reckon we're bearing some of the brunt of that.

I think the main motivation was to close the gap on Rags and Liverpool. We're still way behind most of our rivals in terms of season ticket pricing. In terms of revenue being down last season on tickets, couldn't that be attributed to us having hardly any home cup games last season? Both League Cup games were away and all FA Cup games were too bar the Huddersfield replay? Different picture this season I would think.
 
The new kit.

From the general and negative reaction on the new kit thread, it's probably bombed even before it hits the shelfs.

Yes, there will always be fans who buy it regardless

But there are many wavers who wait on the design and won't buy it if it's a poor design.

As the sale figures come in, perhaps those who sanctioned this kit and design can explain why the revenues from it are much lower than they should be.

Johnny Ball, think of a number

10,000(more shirts sold) x £65 = £650,000.

There's your 3% rise taken care of. Or wasted.
 
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The new kit.

From the general and negative reaction on the new kit thread, it's probably bombed even before it hits the shelfs.

Yes, there will always be fans who buy it regardless

But there are many wavers who wait on the design and won't buy it if it's a poor design.

As the sale figures come in, perhaps those who sanctioned this kit and design can explain why the revenues from it are much lower than they should be.

Johnny Ball, think of a number

10,000(more shirts sold) x £65 = £650,000.

There's your 3% rise taken care of. Or wasted.

They won't be lower, it doesn't matter how shit the shirt looks people will still buy it. There might be the odd person who buys it if it is nice but everyone else buys it because its a City shirt. There's a negative reaction to the new kit on here most years.
 

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