Garry.Cook said:
JohnMaddocksAxe said:
The only thing that it puts into perspective is to clarify that you are a) under the foolish misapprehension that the footballing spending at the club is in anyway related to the matchday revenue/prices charged to fans.
Well, that's not strictly true.
It also confirms that we have another member of the "I'm alright, Jack. I can afford the prices" bandwagon and an apologist for the two faced ramblings of certain people at the club claiming to be 'fan's men.'
Face it, last season someone at the club, possibly your name sake, sat down and decided that they could, in their opinion, squeeze an awful lot more money out of Manchester City fans.
Therefore they decided to increase the prices of season tickets, normal tickets, corporate tickets, food , drink, parking, etc almost across the board.
This was not an attempt to allow the club to compete in the transfer market. It was not an attempt to raise funds to attract players. It was not an attempt, no matter what innumerate clowns tell you, to meet pie in the sky UEFA rules.
It was purely an attempt by someone to show what a super businessman they are and how they can squeeze the fans for an awful lot more than they previously were.
Now, if that isn't a problem to you and you view MCFC as purely a business, designed to get money from customers, then fair enough. I don't share that view, but it is a valid one.
However, FFS, if the club hold that view, then please spare me the bullshit rhetoric that certain people have come out with over the last two years about how they personally respect and love the fans so much.
Sorry if I touched a nerve John but all am suggesting is that, in my opinion, it's a bit disrespectful for the fans to expect a price-freeze when our owners are ploughing so much money into the club in all areas.
I am NOT an "alright Jack, I can afford the prices" chap, I saved hard for my ticket and I expected it to be more expensive than last year because of how the club is progressing, just as I would expect it to be cheaper if we got relegated.
Times are hard, some people won't be able to renew their tickets and some will probably blame the owners but the simple fact of the matter is generosity only gets you so far, there was no way in hell the Sheikh was going to throw money at City and not expect ANYTHING back.
If you really detest paying the prices then get the cheapest season ticket you can find and eat a sandwich before you go to the game, but you can't have the best of both worlds and expect prices to stay the same whilst the club is having a facelift of this magnitude!
Firstly, I apologise for the slightly aggressive nature of my post. It is a subject that winds me up and I have a tendency to go off on one when what might be people taking a blasé attitude towards it.
Secondly, how is it disrespectful to not be happy with all prices going up, for all sorts of things, just because the owners are loaded and spraying money about everywhere?
Was it part of the deal? "Look, we are going to break every record under the sun for being unconcerned about money, but we will only do so if you, the fans, agree to pay extra for everything associated with going to the match."
No, it wasn't. In fact, it actually contradicts the noises that the club have made on such issues.
I cannot stress this enough. My opinion is that the price I pay to watch my football team bears no relation to the quality of team assembled (perhaps other than if they drop a division).
I'm sick of people suggesting that the quality of the team on the pitch reflects the amount of cash that you should pay to watch them. That just isn't how being a football fan works for people. Apart from gloryhunters.
In fact, if the club were in the financial $hit, like someone like Pompey, and they said, "look, we are fecked, we have to put prices up" I would be a lot more accepting of it as it would be serving a genuine need within the club. When the club is so careless with money throughout the rest of the business though, then I think it is a joke.
And just let me clarify, you state that the owners wouldn't invest and not expect anything back. Well, in terms of financial reward, linked directly to the football club and fans, you are completely wrong. They will never get anything back in that respect from the club, so again, that point, when related to ticket/food/drink/parking/box prices is totally wrong.
As for the definition of an 'I'm alright Jack' attitude. I don't take into account whether you can afford a ticket or not. I can easily afford my ticket. That isn't the point. If you can't empathise with people who are being squeezed out, then that is the attitude you, or anyone else, has imo. If you don't know blues who used to go who can no longer afford to (whether they specifically spell out that reason to you or not), then you must move in different circles to me.
As I've said, the excuses for the price increases across the board are many, but none of them add up, unless you view the club purely as a business designed to extract as much from people as physically possible.
Someone has authorised all these increases to show that their business acumen is shrewd and that they are a revenue increasing commodity.
As I said, fine, if you see the club as purely being that sort of organism. But, if that is the case, spare me the shite about having the fans interests at heart.
THE most important issue to fans, by a country mile, is being able to afford to go and watch their team on a regular basis. Everything else falls a long way behind. And on that matter, developments in the past year have made that more expensive. So at least spare us the rhetoric from certain areas/people (who, completely uncharacteristically, have been silent on commenting about all the price increases).
