Away tickets/Loyalty Points

[Corky]

The random date when it started (when was it around 2001?), is what doesn't make sense.

So if you were unfortunate enough to be in a situation where you couldn't afford to be going home and away from that very date - whether you had been going every week since the 70's but had just got a mortgage or a family, or you were just a kid around 2001 (or worse not even born yet) - then you will always be behind the people who were just lucky to be of an age and money situation right at the time LPs were introduced.

These people are no more loyal than someone with fewer points who, if they were by chance in the same situation as the others, would have just as many points as them.

Anything else to do with LPs i don't have a problem with. I've got a good number of points and don't have to worry about things. But i don't feel i deserve to go to Old Trafford for a derby any more than a 17 year old blue who has no points because his parents have never been into football or have never had the money to buy tickets. But it's a fair-ish system in other ways is at least it stops tourists just taking up tickets (although the club don't help with that when they take away part of our away allocation and put them on sale to corporates!).

It's the 2001 thing. Why 2001? The first few years of the LP system were fantastic years to follow City; promotion under Keegan, last season at Maine Road, first season at the CoMS - they were really exciting compared to the late 90s. LPs weren't around in the late 90s though, when loyalty was really tested. So why 2001? Why are the people who were just in the right situation in 2001 - purely by chance and nothing else at all - so special?

-- Thu Oct 10, 2013 4:03 pm --

Go to all the games possible for ten years whether we win or lose and you'll easily have enough points for any game.

In the current situation, yes. As it's only been running about 11-12 years. But that won't work at all in another 15 years. People starting out from scratch in 15 years time will never have the chance to ever get to be in that situation.

They will if you get 4 x as many points for an away as you do now. This is what happens now compared to 2001/02 and the following early seasons.

 

[Bill]

The random date when it started (when was it around 2001?), is what doesn't make sense.

So if you were unfortunate enough to be in a situation where you couldn't afford to be going home and away from that very date - whether you had been going every week since the 70's but had just got a mortgage or a family, or you were just a kid around 2001 (or worse not even born yet) - then you will always be behind the people who were just lucky to be of an age and money situation right at the time LPs were introduced.

These people are no more loyal than someone with fewer points who, if they were by chance in the same situation as the others, would have just as many points as them.

Anything else to do with LPs i don't have a problem with. I've got a good number of points and don't have to worry about things. But i don't feel i deserve to go to Old Trafford for a derby any more than a 17 year old blue who has no points because his parents have never been into football or have never had the money to buy tickets. But it's a fair-ish system in other ways is at least it stops tourists just taking up tickets (although the club don't help with that when they take away part of our away allocation and put them on sale to corporates!).

It's the 2001 thing. Why 2001? The first few years of the LP system were fantastic years to follow City; promotion under Keegan, last season at Maine Road, first season at the CoMS - they were really exciting compared to the late 90s. LPs weren't around in the late 90s though, when loyalty was really tested. So why 2001? Why are the people who were just in the right situation in 2001 - purely by chance and nothing else at all - so special?

-- Thu Oct 10, 2013 4:03 pm --

Go to all the games possible for ten years whether we win or lose and you'll easily have enough points for any game.

In the current situation, yes. As it's only been running about 11-12 years. But that won't work at all in another 15 years. People starting out from scratch in 15 years time will never have the chance to ever get to be in that situation.

I had to give my season ticket up in 2002, I paid 250 quid back then to watch the last game at maine road. when we came over from the old ground I had zero points. none of us did. we all have around 12k. it CAN be done. I had to rely on other blues getting me rag tickets and some aways but when ever I qualified for a game I went, I took the wife and kid with me. poor things followed me round the country watching us lose more often than not, they of course had to endure the stuart pearce era to boot. now of course that blind loyaly has paid off, on and off the field.

 

[flipmode]

just trying to gauge an opinion totally agree that those with most points get first dibs on aways .but this means going forward the same ie 3000 will get the tickets .many such as myself season ticket holder at maine road and etihad but with low points ie 1500 have no chance of ever going to a normal away excepted that stupid games cardiff monday, norwich wednesday etc will go on open sale even then 20 points wont make a blind bit of difference ,would it be a fair idea if we got ie 3000 that say 10% or 5% went to a ballet for low points season ticket /blue members ? under this present system todays teenage season ticket holders can only dream of going to a "normal away " and may lose interest and walk away from the club ?

I hate threads like this. People wanting the perks of being a seasoncard holder without actually putting the work in.

I don't go to as many as I used to now as my personal circumstances have changed and my money needs to go elsewhere now, but when I did, I used to go to any that I could. I'd be on the 23.30 Megabus coming back from Chelsea, getting in Manchester at 5.30am then in work for 7 after a few hours of interrupted sleep on the M6. The same for pretty much any of the London aways.
I'd be on the day trips to Madrid, Dortmund and Munich.
Tell me why you should be placed in the same bracket as all the people who haven't missed a single game for over 10 years? You shouldn't, simple as. You don't deserve to.

When i first started going to the aways I was on about 2500/3000, after a number of seasons as a "Citycard holder". Over the past 3/4 years I've been able to get mine up to nigh on 8,000! That's including all cup schemes (which are a great way of increasing your LP's and pre season friendlies too).

Your argument about "teenage seasoncard holders" only "dreaming" of a "normal away" is complete fucking bullshit too, you'd know this, if you actually went to an away game. There is a large percentage of the attending fans at away games who are -19.

 

[welcometomanchester]

Go to as many games as you can and get the points.

It's not hard.

 

[Newtoncc]

Go to as many games as you can and get the points.

It's not hard.

or get to as many as possible, like I can only do even though S/T holder, and accept that those that go home and away and capital cup games etc get priority which I do totally.

 

[True_Blue69]

The random date when it started (when was it around 2001?), is what doesn't make sense.

So if you were unfortunate enough to be in a situation where you couldn't afford to be going home and away from that very date - whether you had been going every week since the 70's but had just got a mortgage or a family, or you were just a kid around 2001 (or worse not even born yet) - then you will always be behind the people who were just lucky to be of an age and money situation right at the time LPs were introduced.

These people are no more loyal than someone with fewer points who, if they were by chance in the same situation as the others, would have just as many points as them.

Anything else to do with LPs i don't have a problem with. I've got a good number of points and don't have to worry about things. But i don't feel i deserve to go to Old Trafford for a derby any more than a 17 year old blue who has no points because his parents have never been into football or have never had the money to buy tickets. But it's a fair-ish system in other ways is at least it stops tourists just taking up tickets (although the club don't help with that when they take away part of our away allocation and put them on sale to corporates!).

It's the 2001 thing. Why 2001? The first few years of the LP system were fantastic years to follow City; promotion under Keegan, last season at Maine Road, first season at the CoMS - they were really exciting compared to the late 90s. LPs weren't around in the late 90s though, when loyalty was really tested. So why 2001? Why are the people who were just in the right situation in 2001 - purely by chance and nothing else at all - so special?

-- Thu Oct 10, 2013 4:03 pm --

Go to all the games possible for ten years whether we win or lose and you'll easily have enough points for any game.

In the current situation, yes. As it's only been running about 11-12 years. But that won't work at all in another 15 years. People starting out from scratch in 15 years time will never have the chance to ever get to be in that situation.

Everything has to start somewhere, it just turned out that with the move to the new stadium they brought a new system in rather than 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th and regular season tickets. Maybe it was due to lower allocation away fixtures due to all seater stadiums or maybe they just needed a manageable system rather than saving ticket stubs and queuing for hours. One thing for certain is the current system is by fair the fairest and I doubt there is a better system in the country than ours. If you are a season ticket holder and have been for 4 or 5 seasons and a member of cup schemes, platinum etc you will get tickets for 90% + of all away games. If you havent, why should you go over someone that has?

Those on low points make out they cant get to any game and the system is unfair. No, you cant get to the big popular games which you want to go to and there is a reason for that, there are others that deserve tickets more than you.

 

[fathellensbellend]

I wonder why west ham is still on sale, and been on open sale for a week, surely the scramble for tickets would ensure this sold out instantly, oh I get it, London, 5-30pm, expensive tickets, awkward travelling, on sky tv, I guess it doesn't suit those desperate for priority for the big games.

 

[lancs blue]

The random date when it started (when was it around 2001?), is what doesn't make sense.

So if you were unfortunate enough to be in a situation where you couldn't afford to be going home and away from that very date - whether you had been going every week since the 70's but had just got a mortgage or a family, or you were just a kid around 2001 (or worse not even born yet) - then you will always be behind the people who were just lucky to be of an age and money situation right at the time LPs were introduced.

These people are no more loyal than someone with fewer points who, if they were by chance in the same situation as the others, would have just as many points as them.

Anything else to do with LPs i don't have a problem with. I've got a good number of points and don't have to worry about things. But i don't feel i deserve to go to Old Trafford for a derby any more than a 17 year old blue who has no points because his parents have never been into football or have never had the money to buy tickets. But it's a fair-ish system in other ways is at least it stops tourists just taking up tickets (although the club don't help with that when they take away part of our away allocation and put them on sale to corporates!).

It's the 2001 thing. Why 2001? The first few years of the LP system were fantastic years to follow City; promotion under Keegan, last season at Maine Road, first season at the CoMS - they were really exciting compared to the late 90s. LPs weren't around in the late 90s though, when loyalty was really tested. So why 2001? Why are the people who were just in the right situation in 2001 - purely by chance and nothing else at all - so special?

-- Thu Oct 10, 2013 4:03 pm --

Go to all the games possible for ten years whether we win or lose and you'll easily have enough points for any game.

In the current situation, yes. As it's only been running about 11-12 years. But that won't work at all in another 15 years. People starting out from scratch in 15 years time will never have the chance to ever get to be in that situation.

Yes points were added from the start of the 2001/02 season - at the start of your loyalty points record you'll see a "tracking" figure added in July 2002, that was the points total from the 01/02 season for away or home cup purchases. As I recall it wasn't a random starting point at all, it was simply that no reliable electronic records existed before that point for individual match ticket purchases and the handwritten S/T records going back through the 90s, 80s etc were found to be incomplete and so points couldn't fairly be allocated retrospectively.

There are plenty of fans including myself who could moan about losing out for all those years pre-2001 but that starting point is as fair as the club could manage under the circumstances.

 

[Paulpowersleftfoot]

I wonder why west ham is still on sale, and been on open sale for a week, surely the scramble for tickets would ensure this sold out instantly, oh I get it, London, 5-30pm, expensive tickets, awkward travelling, on sky tv, I guess it doesn't suit those desperate for priority for the big games.

Your mistaken
Tickets for 5-30pm away games on TV in London are only on sale to those with 8k + point

 

[RegMuffin]

"regular" ST holders were given a head start with loyalty points at the time (2001?) to best reward our patience for seeing some utter crap in the 1990s. New or 2nd year got less or nothing or a head start. Least that's how I remember it.