Loyalty Points - Time For Change?

[Bill]

I have been going all my life home away Europe etc etc and I am in the top tier of points and I know a lot of blues who don't have as many points and if for any reason I cant attend a game, I will always check with my mates first too see if anyone wants it. Not for the points because they are blues and would have no chance of getting a ticket to arsenal away or Liverpool away. Yes they may have been blues for all there lives 40+ years but financially cant afford to do an away game every fortnight so cant accumulate as many points as others, they are no less deserving to watch city because they have less points. do people see this as a bad thing?

I don't but some will. I'd rather help a mate than let a stranger or even worse a tout get my spare.

 

[mancitymick]

de niro - I have read your post, and would ask that you read mine again....

The amount of tickets available to away fans is considerably reduced from when you had your "waiting phase". The "waiting in turn" you refer to isn't working as it's the same people who are eligible first and will always get the tickets, hence widening the gap still further. There isn't a mechanism for them to build up enough loyalty points to have a chance of joining that elite, no matter how keen they were to go. I've been a regular ST holder for 30 years or so, go to maybe 5-10 aways a year (but less now) and know that with my 9k loyalty points, I've no chance of a ticket to matches at say OT or big Euro aways. And I think I'm probably in the top half of loyalty point holders. I don't consider myself a JCL. Yet I can't get tickets for many aways I'd like to go to. I dont think I have an automatic right, but the way the scheme works is starting to put an artificial barrier in place on some of these games, which would be a shame. Dont get me wrong, the Loyalty scheme's great - it just needs a bit of tweaking. People with solid 10 year records will still be ahead of newcomers but it allows people to have a chance.

I'm afraid that's not true and the argument you can't catch up isn't right and is argued down easily because even last season and for every season nearly half of the away games went down to all seasoncard holders and many of those to open sale.

That's how you get your points total up, there's no secret to it, go to the games, not just the big and popular ones. As half the games were open to every seasoncard holder ANY seasoncard holder could have caught up with many above them as not everyone was buying the tickets, hence open sale.

In the years before we were successful apart from OT virtually every away game went to open sale. There are not fewer available tickets now than previous, the 3K rule has been in place for 10 yrs, it's just that more people now fancy the bigger games and don't think they should have to wait. So all those people who went in the shit times should now miss out?

on the money.

I would say nearly bang on the money. Out of the 3k allocation rule there a lot less of those available to fans, So many more have gone corporate and to the over seas fans

 

[Corky]

There was high demand for aways in the past hence the system was brought in triggered by smaller allocations new grounds in 1998/99. You needed to take all your away clubs to be stamped as evidence at the end of that season for every away ticket purchase.

There were many high demand away seasons in the recent past particularly promotion and first seasons back in the prem, but after the first season demand drops. The low point in demand was 2006/07, but there has been a steady increase most seasons since then.

A lot of post "super fans" were not so keen before the 2007 takeover.

 

[Tonster]

I'm afraid that's not true and the argument you can't catch up isn't right and is argued down easily because even last season and for every season nearly half of the away games went down to all seasoncard holders and many of those to open sale.

That's how you get your points total up, there's no secret to it, go to the games, not just the big and popular ones. As half the games were open to every seasoncard holder ANY seasoncard holder could have caught up with many above them as not everyone was buying the tickets, hence open sale.

In the years before we were successful apart from OT virtually every away game went to open sale. There are not fewer available tickets now than previous, the 3K rule has been in place for 10 yrs, it's just that more people now fancy the bigger games and don't think they should have to wait. So all those people who went in the shit times should now miss out?

on the money.

I would say nearly bang on the money. Out of the 3k allocation rule there a lot less of those available to fans, So many more have gone corporate and to the over seas fans

I would concede the point that there maybe less initially available due to corporates than in the past but even if that is the case over half the aways in this last premier league winning season still made sale to ALL season-card holders thus allowing people to catch up should they want to.

 

[mancitymick]

on the money.

I would say nearly bang on the money. Out of the 3k allocation rule there a lot less of those available to fans, So many more have gone corporate and to the over seas fans

I would concede the point that there maybe less initially available due to corporates than in the past but even if that is the case over half the aways in this last premier league winning season still made sale to ALL season-card holders thus allowing people to catch up should they want to.

Would never dispute there are opportunities for people to catch up. Yes half of the games did go to low points. The bigger games the bar has shifted due to more corporate. Arsenal away, how many does that attract!

 

[Bill]

I would say nearly bang on the money. Out of the 3k allocation rule there a lot less of those available to fans, So many more have gone corporate and to the over seas fans

I would concede the point that there maybe less initially available due to corporates than in the past but even if that is the case over half the aways in this last premier league winning season still made sale to ALL season-card holders thus allowing people to catch up should they want to.

Would never dispute there are opportunities for people to catch up. Yes half of the games did go to low points. The bigger games the bar has shifted due to more corporate. Arsenal away, how many does that attract!

arsenal away is unmissable. yes full of plastics but fuck em I'm goin.

 

[Eccles Blue]

I would concede the point that there maybe less initially available due to corporates than in the past but even if that is the case over half the aways in this last premier league winning season still made sale to ALL season-card holders thus allowing people to catch up should they want to.

Would never dispute there are opportunities for people to catch up. Yes half of the games did go to low points. The bigger games the bar has shifted due to more corporate. Arsenal away, how many does that attract!

arsenal away is unmissable. yes full of plastics but fuck em I'm goin.

And I will be there, but not in corporate unless someone feels like funding me for it!! ;-)

 

[liamctid]

Thanks for taking the time to reply,
just wanted to clear a couple of things up as m8 of mine has joined the local branch and was asking me about it..

So in effect the osc could use my ticket then give it to whomever they wanted leaving me unable to get one at my criteria ? Dose this not cause a lot of friction at branches, and could I for example choose to get my own ticket rather then let the branch use it ? Or do you have to declare it when joining and hope your face fits with the bloke deciding on who gets the tickets ( guess that bloke is the most popular at the branch and early buys a drink)

Thanks

If this actually goes on then any branch operating a system like that should be closed down by the club. My branch certainly doesn't do anything like that, the branch secretary would double check that the member didn't want a ticket before using a member's details to get a ticket for someone else. Your membership details don't become the property of the branch to use as they see fit when you join a SC.

Thanks for the update, just asking as some one said earlier in the thread that it was up to the secretary or whoever who got the tickets, seems there is posable different rules for different branches, iv asked my m8 who has joined a branch and he said he get to use his ticket if he wants, but the branch will give it to another member should he not want to go. Maybe I'll join if it don't cost to much and I'm guaranteed to use my ticket when I want to.. Cheers

Yeah I doubt the secretary would use your ticket without asking you first (unless he's a right knob). Last season when we played Fulham away, my uncles mate, who shares his season ticket with a guy who was planning on going to Fulham too, asked me to get him a ticket, I asked someone from the branch if I could use his card, and got a ticket through it. I know the lad not going got 40 points for no reason, but it was a one off.

 

[bainy]

Up here in Scotland, Hearts do a similar thing where your points drop off after 2 years. This means that you need to keep going to matches to build your points up, but anyone starting from fresh, can usually begin to pick up tickets for the 'big' games end of year 2 and beyond. I think 2 years is too short and my Hearts mates dont agree with it, but they agree with the principle but should be more like 5 years.

I like this idea - perhaps every 5 years and not two.
This will give the young un's a chance to catch up and make sure that those that go away regularly keep getting the tickets.
After all many years ago you became a 'full season ticket holder' after 5 years