Priced out?

[jrb]

I love the Club. That’s mainly us the fans who I see as a tribe, the owners who’ve transformed our lives and the team to an extent. Not City Execs, management, admin etc.

That said, it has always been when I’ve been to rugby league that I’ve felt a closer connection with the players. I don’t expect us to/ City to have the likes of Kevin Sinfield, Rob Burrow etc (except Vinny Kompany) but this debate ignores one of the main factors driving up ticket prices. Namely player salaries. Phil Foden, great player, was going to leave unless his salary offer of 275 grand per week was increased substantially. Yes the players will maximise their income and there’s not a lot we can do about that.

In a nutshell, every time someone slags off Soriano without mentioning players’ salaries, they really aren’t interested in addressing route causes. FWIW, I read Napoli’s star player is moving to PSG and his annual salary will increase from
2 to 12 million Euros.

I'm sorry Tim, PL clubs have bottled a player wage cap time and time again. So has the PL.

Clubs are paying player agents fees. Why aren't the players paying their agent fees instead?

Why haven't the PL clubs introduced a wage cap? What is stopping them? Nothing!

Where will all these top PL players go to play football? Real Madrid or Barcelona in Spain? They can't all go to those 2 clubs. La Liga has now got new and much tighter financial rules.(unless the club is Barcelona)

Germany? No. The wages aren't better. Italy? No, the wages aren't better. Saudi? What player in their prime wants to play in the Saudi league? America, the same.

When Soriano was CEO of Barcelona he was buying the best players in the world, paying the players the wages they wanted, and driving up player wages not only in Spain, but in the PL. How much was Messi on? And the other Barcelona players?

City have wasted well over £100mill on two midfield players. 1 is on loan and will never play for the City 1st team again. The other warms City's first team bench. Whilst City's transfer team waste good money after bad money on poor player transfers, the club claws back a few million pounds a season by constantly increasing season ticket prices season after season.

As others have posted, including you, we will probably see the first £100 match day ticket next season thanks to Soriano and the other club directors.

 

[Tim of the Oak]

It's been evident for a long reading comments in this thread city fans are

I'm sorry Tim, PL clubs have bottled a player wage cap time and time again. So has the PL.

Clubs are paying player agents fees. Why aren't the players paying their agent fees instead?

Why haven't the PL clubs introduced a wage cap? What is stopping the? Nothing!

Where will all these top PL players go to play football? Real Madrid or Barcelona in Spain? They can't all go to those 2 clubs. La Liga has now got new and much tighter financial rules.(unless the club is Barcelona)

Germany? No. The wages aren't better. Italy? No, the wages aren't better. Saudi? What player in their prime wants to play in the Saudi league? America, the same.

When Soriano was CEO of Barcelona he was buying the best players in the world, paying the players the wages they wanted, and driving up player wages not only in Spain, but in the PL. How much was Messi on? And the other Barcelona players?

City have wasted well over £100mill on two midfield players. 1 is on loan and will never play for the City 1st team again. The other warms City's first team bench. Whilst City's transfer team waste good money after bad on poor player transfers, the club claws back a few million pounds a season by constantly increasing season ticket prices season after season.

As others have posted, including you, we will probably see the first £100 match day ticket next season thanks to Soriano and the other club directors.

We seem to be in agreement on a lot of this stuff.

Without wage restraint we won’t see a see a widespread reduction in ticket prices but there are targeted measures the Club could take. These have been discussed on here with several posters but to recap include:

- cheap family tickets for home cup Games
- cheaper tickets for juniors for Prem games
- Scrap value gold annual fees or halve them. The £35/£20 match day members fees may be enough
- cheap match day tickets and season cards in the expanded North Stand, particularly for 16-21s
- tackle season card hoarding and 3rd party “owned” seats.
- make a few hundred unsold / returned tickets available in the days before the game available for £30 adults / £15 concessions

 

[chesterbells]

As a matchday purchaser, with long points history, a few years ago I could buy our 5 seats together in the July window for the chosen games, and the prices particulary for kids and concessions were significant, but not extortionate.

Now, every July is a shit show, multiple devices open trying to get tickets, no big games available (even with the 5 attendances requirement met), can't get any decent seats together. I get it that demand has increased, so prices are up and availability is down.

But then they do this second drop nonsense, which is repeat of July. You'll pick up the odd single but rarely together or where you want it. Then, a week or so before the lesser games, all these unsold hospitality and agency returns appear, so you can get some seats together up the back of the 300's, shite athmosphere up there, it's too late for travel plans, and flight prices are excessive.

And in the week of the game the ticket exchange ones appear, no issue with that, be better if it was earlier, but people decide late that they can't go.

The club has turned what were a very enjoyable 5/6 annual trips to Manchester for a group of longstanding loyal blues, into a flipping nightmare.

It is genuinely not worth it anymore.

Apart from your last sentence, I agree with all of that.

Getting seats together as a citizen member has proved next to impossible this season. The current system is the worst of both worlds it seems to me.

Either:
(1) go back to the original system of scrapping the date in July and just put all non-season ticket seats up for sale 4 weeks before the date of each of the games through the season (my ideal preference), or
(2) go back to the more recent system of making them all available on the July date - yes still a bunfight, online connectivity lottery etc, but at least there were more seats on sale and a chance to buy 2 or 3 seats together.

 

[mexico1970]

I have properly ranted this before lol.
But I can feel the City fire in me going out, something I thought would never happen. Manchester is my birthplace City are my club but I don't feel part of City anymore. Going to matches with my lad was a big part of my life. It's always been expensive because we live in SE Kent, but I always found the money.

Our greatest season was the 22/23 went to around 15 plus matches home & away. Hugging my lad so tight when Gundo got the 3rd against villa, the whole area around us in the SS3 going bonkers. I really felt part of that season, silly I know but we thought we played our part. Going home after every game with a horse throat ! The laughs in the car great times.

Now I feel this has gone and it's abit sad. I wanted to stop going when my body said enough is enough, on my terms. I never thought I would stop going because we can't sit together or even warrant paying 70quid per game. I could afford it but I won't pay it 70quid to watch 60 minutes of football at best with all the time wasting. The emotional feeling has gone

It's been great following City around England for the last 4 decades and the last decade and abit with my lad. Great father and son time.

We have won more than I could have dreamt of, wished my dad was still here to see it. I guess we all must stop going at sometime.

I feel sad at the way I have stopped going regularly, it's been great

View attachment 143272

Cracking picture mate.

 

[philiph20]

View attachment 143231

The prices are disgusting and the powers that be at City should be absolutely hammered for this, stop the fawning over the end of season speech and bullshit about being a well run club, they are a disgrace and if we had anything about us as a fanbase (those of us who can afford to attend) we'd be letting them know what we think at the games.

 

[jrb]

We seem to be in agreement on a lot of this stuff.

Without wage restraint we won’t see a see a widespread reduction in ticket prices but there are targeted measures the Club could take. These have been discussed on here with several posters but to recap include:

- cheap family tickets for home cup Games
- cheaper tickets for juniors for Prem games
- Scrap value gold annual fees or halve them. The £35/£20 match day members fees may be enough
- cheap match day tickets and season cards in the expanded North Stand, particularly for 16-21s
- tackle season card hoarding and 3rd party “owned” seats.
- make a few hundred unsold / returned tickets available in the days before the game available for £30 adults / £15 concessions

You're 101% right, Tim.

As fans we've been discussing those things and more season after season on BM. And we know the club, and certain directors read this and other threads relating to ticket prices.

Yet season after season the directors and their managers do completely the opposite. Season after season they keep on increasing season ticket and match day ticket prices. They make buying tickets more difficult and a lottery. They palm tickets off to ticket touting websites hoping to cash in on them, and then the put the tickets back on the official City ticket website if the ticket touting websites can't sell them. They use a whole host of ticket tricks to try and squeeze as much money out of the fans as possible. They make sitting with family and friends almost impossible. Season after season it' gets worse, rather than stopping, and getting better. When is it going to end? How much more money can they honestly squeeze out of every match going City fan? Do they even care?(no they don't!)

The next watershed will be the £100 match day ticket, and the release of only Flexi-Gold season tickets.

 

[mexico1970]

You're 101% right, Tim.

As fans we've been discussing those things and more season after season on BM. And we know the club, and certain directors read this and other threads relating to ticket prices.

Yet season after season the directors and their managers do completely the opposite. Season after season they keep on increasing season ticket and match day ticket prices. They make buying tickets, more difficult, and a lottery. They palm tickets off to ticket touting websites hoping to cash in on them, and then the put the tickets back on the official City ticket website if the ticket touting websites can't sell them. They use a whole host if ticket tricks to try and squeeze as much money out of the fans as possible. Season after season it's git worse and worse, rather than stopping and getting better. When is it going to end? How much more money can they honestly squeeze out if the fans? The next watershed will be the £100 match day ticket, and the release only Flexi-Gold season tickets.

Next year it'll be flexi silver and flexi bronze, fleecing fans actually works.

 

[Mifred]

When youve shagged Miss World six nights out of seven ,had double,trebles and quimtruples along with masses of excitement you could never of imagined, the novelty might wear off a little.

Thats how i fee,l but fuck me its been fun !!

What did you do on day seven?

 

[its a Barm]

It would be interesting to find out how much the club makes out of all the changes that have been made over the last few years, is it millions doubt it.

 

[Tim of the Oak]

It would be interesting to find out how much the club makes out of all the changes that have been made over the last few years, is it millions doubt it.

It probably does add up to £millions mate when you include the Tunnel Club, the new pub / bars in the grounds etc.

 

[Edghill OG]

Funnily enough I was talking about stewards when walking up JMW after the last game, they're fucking everywhere with 90% doing fuck all apart from keeping orange jacket manufacturers in business.

Not much better at the gates must be 20+ outside M2 & 3/4 inside to look at tickets colours.

Then inside, they stand in the tunnels blocking movement to seats and when tourists have no idea where to find their seats they either look the other way or have no idea where to direct them to & don't get me started on how a 18 year old girl would cope if it kicked off big time.

It's the staff that do the parking down near the COOP arena that annoy me. Literally do fuck all and there's loads of them. They must go to the local colleges, unis etc and request the most gormless individuals they have at their disposal. Hands in pockets, on phones and barely looking at the traffic coming in. Generally all chatting in groups of 6 or 8 (sometimes more) in areas they're not really required in instead of being spread out and leave like one on their own dealing with the coach parking.

Last time we went the coach driver wound his window down and had a go at one of them as he had to slam on the brakes as they hadn't stopped pedestrians crossing whilst our coach was moving forward. Last year we reversed into another coach as one half-heartedly watched us back up. There's seldom ever enough room for the coaches to turn without any issues and hold ups. Nobody has the brain power to ensure this is taken care of beforehand so the issue just resurfaces every game.

 

[asahartford1]

Our matchday income is about 2.1million, the same as Chelsea, who have 10,000 less supporters at games, the same as Newcastle who last won a Trophy half a century ago.
Mufc, Liverpool, Arsenal and the mighty Tottenham Hotsur all have matchday incomes a million or so more than City. Nearer 3 million to our 2 million.

I cannot seethe club drastically reducing match day income while investing massive amounts on infrastructure and players.

 

[BlueMonkey79]

I have properly ranted this before lol.
But I can feel the City fire in me going out, something I thought would never happen. Manchester is my birthplace City are my club but I don't feel part of City anymore. Going to matches with my lad was a big part of my life. It's always been expensive because we live in SE Kent, but I always found the money.

Our greatest season was the 22/23 went to around 15 plus matches home & away. Hugging my lad so tight when Gundo got the 3rd against villa, the whole area around us in the SS3 going bonkers. I really felt part of that season, silly I know but we thought we played our part. Going home after every game with a horse throat ! The laughs in the car great times.

Now I feel this has gone and it's abit sad. I wanted to stop going when my body said enough is enough, on my terms. I never thought I would stop going because we can't sit together or even warrant paying 70quid per game. I could afford it but I won't pay it 70quid to watch 60 minutes of football at best with all the time wasting. The emotional feeling has gone

It's been great following City around England for the last 4 decades and the last decade and abit with my lad. Great father and son time.

We have won more than I could have dreamt of, wished my dad was still here to see it. I guess we all must stop going at sometime.

I feel sad at the way I have stopped going regularly, it's been great

View attachment 143272

Brilliant photo mate

 

[jrb]

Our matchday income is about 2.1million, the same as Chelsea, who have 10,000 less supporters at games, the same as Newcastle who last won a Trophy half a century ago.
Mufc, Liverpool, Arsenal and the mighty Tottenham Hotsur all have matchday incomes a million or so more than City. Nearer 3 million to our 2 million.

I cannot seethe club drastically reducing match day income while investing massive amounts on infrastructure and players.

We discussed this before.

London clubs have always charged more for tickets.
Old Trafford’s capacity is roughly 1/3rd bigger than the Etihad's.
Liverpool have more match day ticket sales than season ticket sales.(something City want)
With an extra 8000 seats, a 400 room hotel, more hospitality, bars, restaurants, retail, offices to let, bigger and better venues for conferences, events, meetings, a sky walk, a new museum, a new stadium tour, etc, the match day and weekly income at the Etihad will rocket. Give it at least 2 years after everything is up and running and let’s see where City’s match day revenue is compared to the other big 5 clubs.

 

[mexico1970]

Our matchday income is about 2.1million, the same as Chelsea, who have 10,000 less supporters at games, the same as Newcastle who last won a Trophy half a century ago.
Mufc, Liverpool, Arsenal and the mighty Tottenham Hotsur all have matchday incomes a million or so more than City. Nearer 3 million to our 2 million.

I cannot seethe club drastically reducing match day income while investing massive amounts on infrastructure and players.

Ohhhh you're most definitely right mate they aren't going to reduce anything in fact it'll keep going up.

And as it goes up real fans will drop off because many can't afford the price of entrance, to me it sounds like we are not feeling very worthy of supporting a sport with only money.money, money in mind.

 

[jrb]

Going back to match day ticket prices. If I didn’t have season ticket I wouldn’t pay the adult match day ticket prices for a match ticket.

 

[asahartford1]

We discussed this before.

London clubs have always charged more for tickets.
Old Trafford’s capacity is roughly 1/3rd bigger than the Etihad's.
Liverpool have more match day ticket sales than season ticket sales.(something City want)
With an extra 8000 seats, a 400 room hotel, more hospitality, bars, restaurants, retail, offices to let, bigger and better venues for conferences, events, meetings, a sky walk, a new museum, a new stadium tour, etc, the match day and weekly income at the Etihad will rocket. Give it at least 2 years after everything is up and running and let’s see where City’s match day revenue is compared to the other big 5 clubs.

Yes , the club have spent 350 million to increase income, but also provide an incredible stadium, wonderful destination facilities and a great team.
Reading this thread and others some want hundreds of millions spent on the stadium, and players but also cheap tickets, isn't going to happen.

 

[mexico1970]

Yes , the club have spent 350 million to increase income, but also provide an incredible stadium, wonderful destination facilities and a great team.
Reading this thread and others some want hundreds of millions spent on the stadium, and players but also cheap tickets, isn't going to happen.

I don't think that fans wanted more seats they can't afford or facilities they didn't ask for that they can't see because matchday tickets are excruciatingly expensive.

Nobody I know wanted that at all.

 

[Tim of the Oak]

Our matchday income is about 2.1million, the same as Chelsea, who have 10,000 less supporters at games, the same as Newcastle who last won a Trophy half a century ago.
Mufc, Liverpool, Arsenal and the mighty Tottenham Hotsur all have matchday incomes a million or so more than City. Nearer 3 million to our 2 million.

I cannot seethe club drastically reducing match day income while investing massive amounts on infrastructure and players.

City won’t do things to reduce matchday income but they can make targeted decisions that would help to sustain our support. For example, there’s often a few hundred single tickets left unsold that could be made available at cheap prices. Also, more, cheap junior tickets could be available for lower profile games. The cost impact would be negligible, especially if more families were visiting the Club shop.

The expanded North Stand will deliver a big increase in match day revenue, as long as ticket prices aren’t excessive.

 

[Tim of the Oak]

Going back to match day ticket prices. If I didn’t have season ticket I wouldn’t pay the adult match day ticket prices for a match ticket.

There’s no need if your circumstances mean you can wait until 24 hours before the game to buy your ticket. Prices fall dramatically on the forums / face value ticket pages.