Don’t Blame Fans For The Empty Seats

Anyone moaning about empty seats will fall into a few different categories and either can't empathise or won't.

1. Local. Basic 9-5 job, no kids (or wife or family who just gets dumped with the kids on match days), never had to leave Manchester for work, family, or otherwise.

2. Foreign fan who sees all the circled seats and empty spaces on twitter and *knows* they'd be there every game if they lived closer and the locals are letting down the club.

3. No responsibility to speak of - job serves a purpose of funding city, lives in shared accomodation or with family.

Or a combination of each. I myself have fallen into each of these categories and had similar thoughts about fans not turning up or leaving early.

I've lived and worked in the city centre with my wife, no kids, good jobs, and we've made every game several seasons in a row.

I've moved abroad, for family and then work when I was in my 20s. Looked at attendances on Tele and thought, I'd be there every day if/when I move back.

I've lived with family when younger, with a disposable income that just went on city and booze. Couldn't understand why people would miss a game.

Well this year we moved 30 minutes out of the city centre. Decent house prices, nice area, decent schools. We stayed to the end last night as we usually do, and a combination of the redundant 4 minutes added on and ambling fans more concerned with their phones and smoking caused us to miss our train by a minute. So we got home half an hour later than we could have done - I have to be up at 5:45 for work and she's 20 weeks pregnant. We don't mind missing a train at the moment, but it's going to get to a point where a midweek fixture in what's a dead rubber of a title race and almost guaranteed top four just isn't the priority it once was. When the baby comes we'll have to take it in turns going to the games because our parents have moved away from Manchester and we accept the responsibility of having a kid comes before football (until it's old enough to appreciate it!).

And that's not even going into cost of going! We're lucky enough that we have money and savings. Not everyone can afford it.

Anyone moaning about attendances is ignorant to real life and responsibilities or just fucking thick.
4. truck overturned junction 12 m62. sat in traffic last night over an hour still at birchwood 6.45 gave up went home first match missed at home in the league for years
Was going to go on train as well changed my mind last minute because of rain, never driving on a midweek night match again.
 
Travel last night was in fact much better than normal for me.
  • Easily got a parking space at Navigation Road Metrolink as commuters had already started coming home from work
  • Tram to Cornbrook arrived quickly and a minimum wait for the Ashton tram.
  • Got to Etihad Campus at 6:30 and it had stopped raining so no need for my portable brolly.
  • Left after 2 minutes of extra time and had a longish wait at the Campus Metrolink stop.
  • Got Eccles tram and hopped off at Piccadilly Station where minimum wait for Altrincham tram, empty double unit a bloody miracle.
  • Back home just after 10:00pm.
I personally hate night matches but was not missing that one because the next game for me is Burnley at home on the 14th March.
 
Did I miss it, but were there any snide media comments about the turnout last night. I certainly didn't here any,
 
Trouble is you will be filling it with Blues that currently have a season ticket in other parts of the ground who currently pay a lot more for a ST. Who is going to take their more expensive seats up once they have moved to the North Stand? It really wouldn't solve the problem at all.
Not unless you say 50% has to be new holders only or it’s safe standing, not many do want to stand anymore particularly our older supporters.
 
4. truck overturned junction 12 m62. sat in traffic last night over an hour still at birchwood 6.45 gave up went home first match missed at home in the league for years
Was going to go on train as well changed my mind last minute because of rain, never driving on a midweek night match again.

I mean, same sentiment I was making. The 3 numbered points I made were describing people moaning about empty seats who have no perspective.

You could add a 4th - those who never drive to a match and don't understand road conditions during the worst flooding the country has ever seen.
 
I think the premier league is trying to kill the golden goose.

When it was a 3 o`clock kick off on Saturday every week whether home or away. or a Wednesday night at 7-30 you set the rest of life around football. Now they change kick off times and days to suit TV companies, not giving a fuck about the fans.

Sometimes you can`t make games because they have it at 5.30 on a Saturday or Sunday or 7-30 on on a Monday, Tuesday Wednesday or a Friday. If you have to miss a few because you cant go, missing a few more becomes easier.

What I`m struggling to say is, going to the game is an addiction. I`d feel devastated to miss a match. The Premier League fucking about with days and time has the effect of trying to break that addiction.

CTID
I agree, it's definitely more difficult to go to midweek games for the majority of fans and even more so if you live distant from Manchester. Then you throw in a last minute change of date like last night. Then it's at half term when many folks are away. Then it's 7.30 instead of 8pm or 7.45 making it just that little bit harder to get to for some. And even the heavy rain which would have put a few off. Its on TV so why should I bother no doubt a few thought. Then it's west Ham, no disrespect to them but they are not currently exciting to watch and most would have expected us to beat them. And finally although we are second I am sure some fans think this PL season is petering out. We won't win it and we have little to play for apart from pride. I thought that also showed in some of the players last night, it just want clicking and we were off the pace as so many times this season. As for us, my eldest was working and wife and youngest away so we could only fill 2 of our 3 seats last night. We have good support, a core of 35-40 k which has grown since Maine Road. My guess is we have another 5k who come whenever they can but likley travel some distance. Then I guess the rest are day sales tickets. Most clubs aside from Liverpool and dare I say it United have nights like last night. United still have their fair share. They still have thousands of empty seats for midweek games especially Europa games, it's just most are not easily seen on the camera angles as they are high up.
 
Did I miss it, but were there any snide media comments about the turnout last night. I certainly didn't here any,
The BBC did comment before kick off that there were big traffic issues in the region and that could affect attendance, but I heard Sky made a negative comment during or after. As I don't give a flying f**k about what they think, I didn't investigate further as to who said what.
 
It's almost as if it was hurriedly rearranged for midweek in halfterm, and City's next matches are

Leicester - a
Real Madrid - a
Villa - Wembley
SheffWeds - a
Utd - a
 

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