Away tickets and points?

[Stephen230]

Getting away tickets now is similar to getting a season ticket. A little over 10 years ago, you could phone the ticket office and get a season ticket same day. Not so anymore. And that's because City are massive now.

I wouldn’t say over 10 years ago. I’ve bought two extra season tickets from scratch, one last year and the other about 3/4 years ago.

 

[wolfie1988]

To answer your questions, the club understandably aren't too forthcoming even to us about the work they do in monitoring ticket sales but I know they do have people dealing with these issues and it would be foolish to dismiss their figures of 25-30% of tickets changing hands prior to the change. It was clearly something they WERE concerned about so they do give a shit.

The only way people will catch up is if we ditch most of the hitoric points, and only go on more recent ones. So a 3 or 5 year rolling system. I think it just goes on the previous season at Liverpool. However there's the danger that the genuine hardcore support, who have been going to 90% or more of the games for many years, could be impacted so it's one the club and City Matters have to handle very carefully if we ever plan to implement this.

Each ticket they send out in the post costs money, whether that's to hospitality or OSC's, although I suspect the original benefit for introducing the OSC applications all those years ago was to save time and effort, when we had fewer branches and less restriction on the numbers of travelling fans.

I would genuinely love to know how they came to that figure. I, nor anybody I know, have ever been approached by anybody at an away game asking how I got my ticket or anything else. Besides the collect in destination in Madrid, Glasgow etc. it's very rare you see a member of City staff at an away game unless they are there as a fan or around the pitch as media.

I just think it's a very high %

 

[Stephen230]

They always mention a proportion of the allocation going to owner, players, board members etc. But if these people are going to the game, they’re sat in the directors box or a private box, not in the away end. I’ve occasionally seen an ex player in the away end but I’m pretty sure if Mansour and his family fancy taking in Palace away one year, they ain’t gonna be sat down near the corner flag with us. So don’t see why they all need to cream off the allocation for fans?

 

[Blue Mist]

I don't know the answer but it will be a lot more than 100-500. If guess at 10,000+ which would be 500k+ a year.

Which is a lot of money so they won't get rid of it. :-(
(Oh and I am shit at maths so was struggling to work out what figure to put in :-) )

 

[Originals]

I didn't know that - that's pretty rubbish to be honest. Would work a lot better if it was on a game-by-game basis. Would also be interesting for the club to know how many people actually want to go to each game.

A ballot really would never work.

We'd get the usual, oversubscribed for United, Liverpool Everton and any big games at the end of the season.

Soon as the midweek games and the Southampton or Palace away come round theyll be the same people (top level points who'd go) and the rest would end up on general sale like how the points system works now.

The points system surely shows who wants to go every game as they are top of the leader for going every game.

 

[Blue Mist]

I have an idea, let's all jib in or print our own, it seems to work for others.

 

[Corky]

They always mention a proportion of the allocation going to owner, players, board members etc. But if these people are going to the game, they’re sat in the directors box or a private box, not in the away end. I’ve occasionally seen an ex player in the away end but I’m pretty sure if Mansour and his family fancy taking in Palace away one year, they ain’t gonna be sat down near the corner flag with us. So don’t see why they all need to cream off the allocation for fans?

Brighton away 2019, families friends and minders even - it shows what happens if they all want to go, they get as many as they want.

 

[Originals]

Brighton away 2019, families friends and minders even - it shows what happens if they all want to go, they get as many as they want.

Each club should give areas for families and friends and just charge the club for the tickets.
Similar to what uefa do stick them in the posh seats near the directors/give them a box. Clubs could afford the cost of it all

 

[Corky]

Each club should give areas for families and friends and just charge the club for the tickets.
Similar to what uefa do stick them in the posh seats near the directors/give them a box. Clubs could afford the cost of it all

The cat a allocation, think it is 200 "between the 16 metre lines". Probably closer to a block for brighton like 500, and normally a tenth of that.

It would be better to have any extra allocation as you say, players and sponsors, if it doesn't into the 3k/10%.

 

[Prestwich_Blue]

I would genuinely love to know how they came to that figure. I, nor anybody I know, have ever been approached by anybody at an away game asking how I got my ticket or anything else. Besides the collect in destination in Madrid, Glasgow etc. it's very rare you see a member of City staff at an away game unless they are there as a fan or around the pitch as media.

I just think it's a very high %

I don't work for MI6 but I can take a guess that, among other things, they monitor social media channels and third-party ticket sites. Who knows; Daz Clarke could be Danny Wilson's pseudonym.

I once worked out on the Ticket forum on here that well over 30 tickets changed hands for one away game. And that was just the ones that were obvious.

 

[Prestwich_Blue]

Getting away tickets now is similar to getting a season ticket. A little over 10 years ago, you could phone the ticket office and get a season ticket same day. Not so anymore. And that's because City are MASSIVE now.

Sniff, sniff....

 

[Manchester33]

A ballot really would never work.

We'd get the usual, oversubscribed for United, Liverpool Everton and any big games at the end of the season.

Soon as the midweek games and the Southampton or Palace away come round theyll be the same people (top level points who'd go) and the rest would end up on general sale like how the points system works now.

The points system surely shows who wants to go every game as they are top of the leader for going every game.

I disagree.

Firstly, the people at the top are there because they were at the right ages/positions at the right point in time. I know a fair few blues who went home and away in the 80s/90s, stopped going in the early 00s, and now struggle to get tickets because they missed the key years. I'm not saying those at the top don't deserve to be there, but we do have to offer opportunities to other (especially younger) fans for numerous reasons. I only started going week in, week out around 2012/2013 (I'm 28). I have managed to get 20k points, but an 18-year-old starting today has very little chance of getting there.

I think a ballot system that includes the following would work quite well:

- Weighted in favour of season card holders with more ticket points.
- Credits 'ticket points' to everyone who applies (regardless of whether they were successful or not).
- Tiered 'ticket points' depending on the opposition (Palace on a Monday night earns more points than United at 5:30 pm on a Sat).
- Allows fans to enter the ballot in groups.
- Only ticket points accumulated in the past 5 years are valid. Older points remain on the supporter's account for reference but don't increase the chance of qualifying for a ticket.
- Scraps platinum membership.
- Open and transparent figures released (number of supporters in ballot. % of fans with X points received tickets etc).

That would mean:

- fans at the top now would stay there (as long as they keep going)
- younger fans only have a 5-year period to catch up (rather than 22 years currently and growing - they might not get loads of tickets in that time, but by showing their intent and applying, they climb the ladder).
- fans with more ticket points are still rewarded with a much greater chance of getting away tickets.
- every City fan, no matter how old they are, starts in the same position of needing to build their points over 5 years rather than the continuously growing gap we have now.

 

[Bigg Bigg Blue]

Brighton away 2019, families friends and minders even - it shows what happens if they all want to go, they get as many as they want.

To be honest with you mate, that day Peps wife and kids were sat near us in the away end. ( I didn't know until someone pointed the out )

 

[Manc Born & Bred]

To be honest with you mate, that day Peps wife and kids were sat near us in the away end. ( I didn't know until someone pointed the out )

Noel Gallagher and his entourage were in a box above the away fans, wonder how many points he has or is he a seasonal corporate bloke?

 

[Blue Mist]

To be honest with you mate, that day Peps wife and kids were sat near us in the away end. ( I didn't know until someone pointed the out )

Was that her dancing in that club you know......that club ?

 

[Project1]

When they have been taking money for platinum for years and still selling it they will never go into a ballot. People have already invested too heavily in the hope of moving up the points ladder.
Someone say I am lucky I have 24,5k points. My reply is always the same. While you spend £5k on your 2 week summer holidays I will spend it watching City.

 

[Deleted member 77198]

Would fans back a reciprocal agreement among the big 6 clubs to double away allocations? It would mean more City fans get to go to the big away games where tickets are in high demand.

It would also mean though, that we have to be fair and offer an extra 3k tickets to their fans at the Etihad.

It would improve the atmosphere tremendously and make those games an even bigger spectacle for TV audiences around the world.

I loved watching the Old Firm derbies when they did this. They aren't quite as special anymore with fewer away fans.

We need bigger stadiums.

Not piddly little 50-60,000 efforts. We were smashing the shit out of attendances that big in the 1920s with just local fans (from Gary James’ blog the other day: https://player.bfi.org.uk/free/film/watch-million-spectators-welcome-return-of-football-1923-online)

All the big clubs in this country should have 80-100,000 stadiums. With the right ticketing policy, mainly from pricing, we’d all sell that (say City at 80,000 and United at 100,000).

Dortmund is only about the size of Sheffield, yet they have the biggest average attendance in Europe. They built big and sell tickets cheaply.

All away allocations could be 9,000 in stadiums like that.

For the biggest and richest sports league in the world, it’s so fucking pathetic how small we think in the Premier League. We’re still lagging behind the stadiums built 100 years ago.

 

[Bigg Bigg Blue]

Was that her dancing in that club you know......that club ?

No mate, the girl in " that club " was much younger.....

 

[Deleted member 77198]

Definitely. That'd be quality. Doubt the police would think so though...

They’re fine with it for FA Cup and EFL Cup games.

 

[Deleted member 77198]

I disagree.

Firstly, the people at the top are there because they were at the right ages/positions at the right point in time. I know a fair few blues who went home and away in the 80s/90s, stopped going in the early 00s, and now struggle to get tickets because they missed the key years. I'm not saying those at the top don't deserve to be there, but we do have to offer opportunities to other (especially younger) fans for numerous reasons. I only started going week in, week out around 2012/2013 (I'm 28). I have managed to get 20k points, but an 18-year-old starting today has very little chance of getting there.

I think a ballot system that includes the following would work quite well:

- Weighted in favour of season card holders with more ticket points.
- Credits 'ticket points' to everyone who applies (regardless of whether they were successful or not).
- Tiered 'ticket points' depending on the opposition (Palace on a Monday night earns more points than United at 5:30 pm on a Sat).
- Allows fans to enter the ballot in groups.
- Only ticket points accumulated in the past 5 years are valid. Older points remain on the supporter's account for reference but don't increase the chance of qualifying for a ticket.
- Scraps platinum membership.
- Open and transparent figures released (number of supporters in ballot. % of fans with X points received tickets etc).

That would mean:

- fans at the top now would stay there (as long as they keep going)
- younger fans only have a 5-year period to catch up (rather than 22 years currently and growing - they might not get loads of tickets in that time, but by showing their intent and applying, they climb the ladder).
- fans with more ticket points are still rewarded with a much greater chance of getting away tickets.
- every City fan, no matter how old they are, starts in the same position of needing to build their points over 5 years rather than the continuously growing gap we have now.

Indeed.

My Dad has easily been to more City games than me in his life but I’ve got about double the amount of loyalty points as he has.

My Grandad was going to watch City in the 1940s yet has ZERO loyalty points as he hasn’t gone much this century and doesn’t have a supporter number.

Just because I was an the right age at the right time when I started going home and away regularly when points first came in, doesn’t mean I’m more worthy of tickets for United and Liverpool away than my Dad and Grandad.