Atmosphere - 2023/24

[MCFC Wirral]

They'll probably still sell out, but it'll be ambitious pricing when Pep goes back to the sun.

That’ll upset the Scousers.

 

[Edghill OG]

That’ll upset the Scousers.

What doesn't?

 

[Lavinda Past]

This is where a proper supporters trust would come in and stand up for our fans. Right now we have no way of standing up to the club on the ridiculous match day ticket prices

Can't see it happening at any elite level club.

The big money is in football tourism and hospitality. The sooner legacy fans are gone the better as far as foreign investors are concerned.
Next step will be reducing the number of season cards through natural wastage, i.e. not reissuing when people give them up.

 

[jimmygrimblesboots]

Can't see it happening at any elite level club.

The big money is in football tourism and hospitality. The sooner legacy fans are gone the better as far as foreign investors are concerned.
Next step will be reducing the number of season cards through natural wastage, i.e. not reissuing when people give them up.

This all day , its great watching a successful football club but there is a trade off , the club has to maximise its match day profits to support the massive costs of being the best team in the world.
We use to laugh at the Rags and their commercial view of football but we are becoming them , its a neccesary evil in my view , i keep it real by watching Southport F.C. a few times a season , crap football but a good day out , just like we used to have :)

 

[BrianW]

I remember Swales saying, years ago, that football was priced too cheaply and ought to be similar to a theatre ticket.

I just looked at the Royal Exchange, and under-30s can go in for £7. There are some ultra-cheap seats for those on low incomes that can be had, incredibly, for £5. The most basic ordinary seat is £10. The best seats are £40-£50.

So the theatre is now cheaper than football. Going to the theatre used to be a treat like going out for a full Monty scran in a posh restaurant. Something you might do for your wife's birthday or whatever. Football used to be like going for a pint, an everyday thing.

How times have changed!

 

[Bluemoon2393]

This all day , its great watching a successful football club but there is a trade off , the club has to maximise its match day profits to support the massive costs of being the best team in the world.
We use to laugh at the Rags and their commercial view of football but we are becoming them , its a neccesary evil in my view , i keep it real by watching Southport F.C. a few times a season , crap football but a good day out , just like we used to have :)

It's sad that the greed of the Premier League has priced out genuine supporters. Also other clubs have struggled with the costs of running a football club.

Any Non League club will be greatful to have anyone coming down to go out and support them.

 

[Invisible Man's Bandage]

Can't see it happening at any elite level club.

The big money is in football tourism and hospitality. The sooner legacy fans are gone the better as far as foreign investors are concerned.
Next step will be reducing the number of season cards through natural wastage, i.e. not reissuing when people give them up.

That isn't the next step it is right now.

No new full seasoncards have been issued for the last two years and none will be next summer either (confirmed to me by the club in a call about another issue). Any non renewals have gone straight to match day sales and we obviously have a lower number of SC holders than previously. As even CM reps don't know that figure it could be that they have been quietly keeping some non renewals back for several years before too..

I've said it previously but I highly doubt that the total number of SC holders will increase by much when the expanded NS opens as seats vacated by people moving into it will go to match day sales. My thoughts are an overall increase of 2-3000 at most. As an example, Liverpool do publish both their season ticket numbers (and how many are on the long closed waiting list) and they have less than 50% even when you take off the 3000 away allocation. I'm sure the club would love to get close to that sort of percentage.

I'm luckily a SC holder and my advice to anyone who considers not renewing is to think long and hard before doing so as there is little chance of getting one again unless we end up in the National League North :)

 

[East Level 2]

I do yes, but I also like to be entertained. Watching us passing it around an 18 yard box for 85 minutes against a side playing anti-football doesn't really represent value for money to me. Those that have a spare hundred pound of disposable income every game may disagree.

Season ticket holders know over half the games we shell out for will be against parked buses. We just don't know which games.

 

[Edghill OG]

Season ticket holders know over half the games we shell out for will be against parked buses. We just don't know which games.

I know mate. I am one. And with the ticket transfer, guaranteed refunds and exchange platforms its a no-brainer to keep re-newing -regardless of your circumstances- so you don't end up paying £61 for Burnley at home.

 

[Jazzyblue]

Of course it is, I accept that, but I'm fortunate I'm not paying £100 a game. What I'm saying is I'd be questioning it if I had to. I'm especially sympathetic for those having to pay for a family. At least when we do it against teams like Spurs there's always a threat with the likes of Son on the break. Burnley don't possess such quality and I think £61 or whatever the price quoted is too much. They'll probably still sell out, but it'll be ambitious pricing when Pep goes back to the sun.

It cost me £112 for me and the kids yesterday for SS1 with Cityzens discounts. Ironically that made it a bit more bearable, as I can tell myself I paid '34 quid a ticket' rather than paid £61. What the club has basically got regular matchday fans like myself doing is paying out the cost of a season ticket for half the games. It is a kick in the nuts, especially at this time of year, but we all find ways to justify it to ourselves. For me, it's that a) I missed games when I left Manchester, before coming back, and had less money (so saved back then) b) I want my kids to see as much as possible not just of City, good or bad, but of what may go down in history as our greatest era, and the greatest team and greatest manager the world has seen, rather than look back thirty years from now only having watched it on the telly c) every matchgoing City fan, one way or another, ends up spending tens of thousands over the years on this love affair, whether its on away travel, kits, books, TV, beer, pies, years and years of recurring STs, or inflated matchday pricing.

I do fear that the club is playing with fire in the long term, because having sat all over the ground, I don't actually think there's as many 'new fans' in the ground as some people think. I don't doubt there's a lot of new Insta fans who never actually go to games, certainly a lot of demand for marquee fixtures from touts, scalpers, bots and people who are more fans of the game than fans of the club, but don't get the sense the matchgoing fanbase or the numbers of tourists is growing exponentially. Tickets can be tough to come by because right now we're the best team, with a relatively small ground and a high proportion of ST holders. But if we're going to add 9,000 seats - and remember that Pep won't be with us forever, you'd hope there will come a point where a bit of realism sets in about making prices sustainable.