Let’s have this right.
City effectively have two ticket offices - the official one and the one run by high points fans who have historically bought tickets for every game, regardless of whether they plan to go or not, to keep their high points status (aware points aren’t awarded for aways now).
At a guess, I reckon we have a hardcore of say (presumably quite wealthy) 50-100 fans who don’t miss a game home or away. They’re only ones who can really moan about this situation, although they will all get tickets for Istanbul no problem.
How does this play out for the rest of us?
I’m a born and bred Manc who had a season ticket at Maine Road but had to move south to seek my fortune around the time of the move to the Etihad, meaning my points total is very modest - less than 1k (partly because I shared a seasoncard with my brother not in my name, which is no one’s problem but my own). I’d estimate I’ve been to about 300-400 games.
Yet I have never missed a final and go away regularly, nor paid over face value, and don’t expect that to change in Istanbul. How? OSCs, entertainment industry connections (a byproduct of moving south to seek my fortune), tickets off BM, tickets off social media (there are some reliable pages on this, albeit at least one of them takes it far too seriously and sees himself as the ticket police). When you love a club you leave no stone unturned when it comes to getting to matches, albeit without bankrupting your family.
If you’re an exiled blue the OSCs are vital for not just tickets but also having other fans to watch matches with, sort lifts etc.
They all run a bit differently and have their issues, but in the main are a force for good, run voluntarily by die hard blues who get a lot of grief, not just on here but also from their own members. It’s much easier to moan about OSCs than get involved in one and reform it from within.
Right, rant over *puts on tin hat*
