Atmosphere 2024/25

[johnnytapia]

With you 100% mate. I do slightly fear the horse has bolted and those in charge of matchday revenue, or whoever set their targets are too greedy and envious of the money made at United, Liverpool, Arsenal, Spurs and want to see the same. They’re determined to turn our ground into a theme park that will enable them to get closer with match day revenue. I pretty much heard Roel de Vries say so at a branch meeting a few years ago, I just didn’t realise how bad it would be.

We need to keep the pressure up though and hope that some reasonable middle ground can be negotiated. Like you say season tickets would be a good start, blocks for 18-25 or 18-30, high numbers in strategically placed areas. Lower match day ticket prices which aren’t going to put off local fans on lower incomes buying. It may seem small but it would make a huge difference - ban half and half scarves from the ground. If they’re going to allow tourists in then don’t make it so easy for them to wear colours of other teams. They see others wearing the same, think “I’m not on my own here”, and next thing they think they can celebrate goals in our end. Whatever online sites the greedy fuckers use should clearly stipulate that you’re getting kicked out if you do anything to identify as an away fan. Put these tickets in the gods away from areas which should be filled with home fans.

There are plenty of options, it’s just if the club are willing to prioritise us over the new fans / tourists with wedges of money (I have my doubts)

Blame PSR / FFP. We are light years behind other clubs with our matchday revenue and, if we’re to compete under the current rules, we’re going to monetise everything to the absolute max when it comes to ticketing.

 

[Cheadle_hulmeBlue]

I go to all the home games and Wembley games. And in my opinion we have got loads of young people coming to see City now. More than I have ever known but the South Stand is not very noisy at the moment. Yesterday there were loads of families and children in EL3. The CL crowd is very local and young. The fans around me would sing I think but they need a prompt.

Not for league games we don’t. I rarely if ever see groups of young city fans at the game, unless it’s in the south stand.

When you say young people, young kids sure, but young adults - people aged 18-30 - that age group is missing from a lot of our games. I think it’s mainly because of pricing.

 

[Tim of the Oak]

Blame PSR / FFP. We are light years behind other clubs with our matchday revenue and, if we’re to compete under the current rules, we’re going to monetise everything to the absolute max when it comes to ticketing.

True mate.

That said, I think we could do a few things differently though and get back to about the same match day revenue. I’ve mentioned some of these ideas before but they include:
- Selling remaining Level 3 tickets cheap on the day of the game or last 48 hours.
- Re-establish the Junior Blues.
- Encourage more Manchester schools to apply for the heavily discounted junior tickets
- Either scrap the G/A tickets at the bottom of the new North Stand L2 or are least try to encourage singers who can afford it to move there.
- scrap or half the the flexi-gold set up fees.
- charge fans who use the ticket exchange more than half a dozen times.
- offer matchday members £10 off Prem games.

City could do the maths but it wouldn’t break the bank and some things would increase income

 

[GOULDYBOBS]

Not for league games we don’t. I rarely if ever see groups of young city fans at the game, unless it’s in the south stand.

When you say young people, young kids sure, but young adults - people aged 18-30 - that age group is missing from a lot of our games. I think it’s mainly because of pricing.

Pricing and not being able to sit near your mates

 

[.db.]

Blame PSR / FFP. We are light years behind other clubs with our matchday revenue and, if we’re to compete under the current rules, we’re going to monetise everything to the absolute max when it comes to ticketing.

I wouldn’t say light years behind United and Liverpool. We are running at about 79% of Liverpool’s matchday revenue (not too bad) and 71% of United’s.

But we are a fair way behind Arsenal and Spurs. We get about 59% of Arsenal’s matchday revenue and 57% of Spurs’.

But City are chasing it too greedily and quickly. Liverpool and United built their glory hunters up over decades, Arsenal and Spurs are in London… wildly different to City’s mainly local north west working class fanbase.

City have tried to get what they’ve all got in the last six or seven years (and especially the last two years) and all it’s done is ruin our stands, priced too many out too sharply after too short a time to adjust to price rises, with a fanbase nothing like any of those other four clubs.

 

[BringBackSwales]

Are the club that thick that they don’t recognise the relationship between good passionate home support and points/trophies? The money on from winning the league dwarfs the Matchday revenue from day trippers but they don’t seem to get the link.

Out of interest how many do we now have on season ticket waiting lists? Let them buy season tickets instead of the half and half twats and we may still be able to rescue our atmosphere before it’s fucked for good

 

[Marvin.]

Not for league games we don’t. I rarely if ever see groups of young city fans at the game, unless it’s in the south stand.

When you say young people, young kids sure, but young adults - people aged 18-30 - that age group is missing from a lot of our games. I think it’s mainly because of pricing.

The crowd around me vs Real Madrid was young and has been so for all the CL games. I am confident it's the same around the ground because it's what I see on the bus, around the ground, and in the queues etc.

 

[There is a Light]

I wouldn’t say light years behind United and Liverpool. We are running at about 79% of Liverpool’s matchday revenue (not too bad) and 71% of United’s.

But we are a fair way behind Arsenal and Spurs. We get about 59% of Arsenal’s matchday revenue and 57% of Spurs’.

But City are chasing it too greedily and quickly. Liverpool and United built their glory hunters up over decades, Arsenal and Spurs are in London… City have tried to get what they’ve all got in the last six or seven years (and especially the last two years) and all it’s done is ruin our stands, priced too many out too sharply after too short a time to adjust to price rises, with a fanbase nothing like any of those other four clubs.

Do they realise it’s basically a different economy in London? More business links to utilise hospitality, far more tourism (hence why Spurs filled Wembley for CL nights) and generally more disposable income.

I heard scruffy Jim saying it’s not right Fulham pay more than United fans - these execs must know London based fans are far wealthier, they can’t be that stupid. Or perhaps they just act naive to get what they want - tbh I have 0% trust in them any more. That is a massive swing from how I felt 3 or 4 years ago.

 

[.db.]

Do they realise it’s basically a different economy in London? More business links to utilise hospitality, far more tourism (hence why Spurs filled Wembley for CL nights).

I heard scruffy Jim saying it’s not right Fulham pay more than United fans - these execs must know London based fans are far wealthier, they can’t be that stupid. Or perhaps they just act naive to get what they want - tbh I have 0% trust in them any more (that is a massive swing from how I felt 3 or 4 years ago)

They don’t live in the real world. Board members like the CEO are probably earning £2-4m a year, never mind the billionaire owners.

That quote from Jim Gummidge says it all. An affluent West London suburb, compared to Stretford. Yeah good one, Worzel!

I feel the same about the club, or should I say boardroom (I’ll always love the club). I actually feel quite down about the boardroom and its relationship to the fans. After what Mansour said in his original Mission Statement to fans in 2008 and what we’re seeing now… then after the Istanbul car park situation, I have no connection or positive feeling towards the boardroom. I view them as short term employees who have nothing to do with me or the wider fanbase. They aren’t the club and the club isn’t them.

EDIT-
Just found this, which I think says a lot as well (from a three years ago):

 

[Tim of the Oak]

You are never going to get an atmosphere in a game like that. There has to be some jeopardy.

The Wish Haaland put them one nil up

 

[Marvin.]

Post a poll asking if City have a problem with tourists at home CL ties Marvin. I’m pretty sure that will confirm you’re in the minority with this one.

True, but that doesn't make that view correct. There are a lot of locals coming to CL games but they come smothered in half and half scarves and are misinterpreted. You look at the kids in the crowd vs Plymouth. Half and half scarves everywhere.

 

[Cheadle_hulmeBlue]

The crowd around me vs Real Madrid was young and has been so for all the CL games. I am confident it's the same around the ground because it's what I see on the bus, around the ground, and in the queues etc.

I agree, but I’m talking about league games. The average age of attending fans must be 50 and over. Those same young fans or families you see for cup games, you don’t see them in the league

 

[There is a Light]

True, but that doesn't make that view correct. There are a lot of locals coming to CL games but they come smothered in half and half scarves and are misinterpreted. You look at the kids in the crowd vs Plymouth. Half and half scarves everywhere.

TBH I’d be chuffed to see more local Asians if they were proper Blues. I just don’t see it tbh. If they were singing, wearing City colours, non half and halves, then maybe. Anyway, my point was I don’t think you’re getting anywhere with your theory.

 

[deafmanstevo]

True, but that doesn't make that view correct. There are a lot of locals coming to CL games but they come smothered in half and half scarves and are misinterpreted. You look at the kids in the crowd vs Plymouth. Half and half scarves everywhere.

Yes that's true , noticed a lot of half and half scarves yesterday more than normal for a game like this .

 

[Lovebitesandeveryfing]

If you get 7000 fans all coming from a long way away, all very determined, acting as one, and for whom this is by far the marquee match of the season, then they're probably going to outsing the home support, which is diffuse, fragmented into singing pockets scattered round the ground, and for whom it's just another match and a not very glamorous one at that. Hell, if it were 7000 City supporters who'd travelled several hundred miles, and supporting a team in serious danger of relegation into the third tier, with a free-hit match against a giant in a still venerable cup competition, you'd get the same thing.
There's no way round it. It's just human. What is much more worrying to me is how passive the crowd can be for PL matches at the Etihad, sometimes. Still hoping that the North Stand extension will go some way to rectifying that. But it's not certain.

 

[bluemc]

Does anyone know what the mobile flashlights thing is all about? Usually see it at Champions League games but around the 60th minute last night loads in the 3rd tier were waving their phones around with the flashlights on.

From an atmosphere point of view it doesn't add much but there seems to be something choreographed about it that I'm yet to understand.

 

[mancityvstoke]

Does anyone know what the mobile flashlights thing is all about? Usually see it at Champions League games but around the 60th minute last night loads in the 3rd tier were waving their phones around with the flashlights on.

From an atmosphere point of view it doesn't add much but there seems to be something choreographed about it that I'm yet to understand.

I think it's small children waving across to other small kids in the 3rd tiers?

Modern football support mate. It's not changing anytime soon and premier league games will be the same eventually when we all pop.

 

[Cheadle_hulmeBlue]

Does anyone know what the mobile flashlights thing is all about? Usually see it at Champions League games but around the 60th minute last night loads in the 3rd tier were waving their phones around with the flashlights on.

From an atmosphere point of view it doesn't add much but there seems to be something choreographed about it that I'm yet to understand.

It’s mainly school kids

 

[mancityvstoke]

It’s mainly school kids

I think it started in the USA about 10 years ago.

 

[Strangerepublic]

I agree, but I’m talking about league games. The average age of attending fans must be 50 and over. Those same young fans or families you see for cup games, you don’t see them in the league

It's a big risk for the future that the muppets running football are too brain-dead to recognise.
The young - not just kids, but those under 30 - are being priced out. We risk having an entire generation who are weaned off live sports.

They really should have a rule such as x% of all all EPL game home end tickets being reserved for under-15s for token fees say £1, discounts for those in the twenties, etc.

But the media and league bosses would rather go on about 115 charges, much easier.