Mate, that is brilliant. I've just sang it through twice. ;-)
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Season Tickets - 2023/24
- Thread starter MAG
- Start date
Nailed it.The club’s business strategy is clear. They have a very attractive product that is in demand across the world. The problem is that the legacy supporters have most of the seats and they do not spend as much as tourists. The question is how do you reduce the number of legacy supporters, and free up seats for the higher paying tourists.
The problem with a stadium full of tourists is the effect on the atmosphere but when you have your manager criticising the fans then maybe that doesn't look like such a problem. Hopefully, they may have realised how important that is from recent games.
- Increase the SC and match day tickets every year. Each year some legacy supporters will be shaken loose and free up seats. A financial crisis? Excellent! Should be a bumper crop of non renewals.
- Relocate people from the best seats and sell them to corporate.
- Tempt people to downgrade to silver and don’t tell them it is a one way journey. Added plus that you then can charge them full price for the top six, and if they don’t buy them then it is more for the tourists.
- Don’t sell any new SC. Why would you undermine your own strategy.
- Ignore ticket points when selling the big glamour games to Cityzens. More chance of tourists attending plus more memberships sold.
The other problem is what happens if Pep leaves and the trophies dry up. We don’t have to be talking relegation here, we just need to become like the rags and North London. Top six but never really challenging. Then the tourists may drift away and suddenly you have empty seats. Will the loyal fans you priced out come back? Not unless the prices are reduced which of course will never happen.
They see us as customers not fans. If you can sell to higher paying customers that is a win.
JGL07
Well-Known Member
I have had to consider giving up my season ticket, but this has nothing to do with ticket prices.
It costs me £19 per match for the season ticket. The main expense is travel and hotels.
We used to be able to travel down from Edinburgh and back in a day for most weekend matches unless it was a 17:30 Saturday match. Obviously all midweek matches involved a night in a hotel.
Until two or three years back you could get a train ticket for less than £50 each. Now it is costing £70 or more. You are also far less likely to manage to get there and back in a day with last minute train cancellations.
Travel via the West Coast has become a nightmare since Virgin Trains pulled out. There is now a choice between TPE (owned by First) and Avanti West Coast (also owned by First). They are the worst rail companies in the country. In the past if the last train to Edinburgh was cancelled, they would put a bus or even taxis to get those stranded back. Now they just tell you to get a train to Glasgow. The worst one was getting turfed off the Edinburgh bound train (staff shortages) at Preston and told to go via Glasgow. The first train to Glasgow was cancelled and the last one got us into Glasgow Central too late to catch the final train from Queen Street to Edinburgh. We had to wait an hour and travel via the night bus arriving home at 3:30 am.
Mid-week matches were more expensive but you could book something like the Ibis Budget for £30 or so. Now it can cost up to £150 a night and more if there is something big going on in Manchester that weekend.
Now we generally travel East Coast to avoid the West Coast chaos and that ups the cost considerably and makes a night in a hotel almost inevitable.
I am sorry but the moaning about a £20 or £30 hike in season ticket prices does not convince me.
It costs me £19 per match for the season ticket. The main expense is travel and hotels.
We used to be able to travel down from Edinburgh and back in a day for most weekend matches unless it was a 17:30 Saturday match. Obviously all midweek matches involved a night in a hotel.
Until two or three years back you could get a train ticket for less than £50 each. Now it is costing £70 or more. You are also far less likely to manage to get there and back in a day with last minute train cancellations.
Travel via the West Coast has become a nightmare since Virgin Trains pulled out. There is now a choice between TPE (owned by First) and Avanti West Coast (also owned by First). They are the worst rail companies in the country. In the past if the last train to Edinburgh was cancelled, they would put a bus or even taxis to get those stranded back. Now they just tell you to get a train to Glasgow. The worst one was getting turfed off the Edinburgh bound train (staff shortages) at Preston and told to go via Glasgow. The first train to Glasgow was cancelled and the last one got us into Glasgow Central too late to catch the final train from Queen Street to Edinburgh. We had to wait an hour and travel via the night bus arriving home at 3:30 am.
Mid-week matches were more expensive but you could book something like the Ibis Budget for £30 or so. Now it can cost up to £150 a night and more if there is something big going on in Manchester that weekend.
Now we generally travel East Coast to avoid the West Coast chaos and that ups the cost considerably and makes a night in a hotel almost inevitable.
I am sorry but the moaning about a £20 or £30 hike in season ticket prices does not convince me.
arcademik70
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- 3 Jun 2009
- Messages
- 69
There are 3 different views that people are mixing up in my opinion.
1. Talking about value and affordability. That's an individual choice and it's a bit crude unless you spend time in someone else's shoes.
2. There's the idea that inflation is silly so obviously costs have gone up. Yep. No arguments. But not all clubs are increasing their season ticket prices even though they have the same inflation. Point is dead though as we were increasing season ticket prices when inflation was low. Current owners of the organisation have increased season ticket prices every year no matter what has happened to inflation and the economy.
3. This is my perspective. The club has made a moral choice to charge me extra when it doesn't need to. This isn't about costs. It isn't about ffp need. It isn't about new stands. It's about greed. I accept people with blue tinted glasses are blind. I get some people don't prioritise morals. So I accept people will disagree with my view. But for me, the owners of my club don't need the extra cash from me to achieve what they want but they choose to take it. They don't force me to buy the ticket but their actions clearly demonstrate they see me as a customer rather than a fan.
Bottom line is surely we can understand the different perspectives.....but you reap what you sow
1. Talking about value and affordability. That's an individual choice and it's a bit crude unless you spend time in someone else's shoes.
2. There's the idea that inflation is silly so obviously costs have gone up. Yep. No arguments. But not all clubs are increasing their season ticket prices even though they have the same inflation. Point is dead though as we were increasing season ticket prices when inflation was low. Current owners of the organisation have increased season ticket prices every year no matter what has happened to inflation and the economy.
3. This is my perspective. The club has made a moral choice to charge me extra when it doesn't need to. This isn't about costs. It isn't about ffp need. It isn't about new stands. It's about greed. I accept people with blue tinted glasses are blind. I get some people don't prioritise morals. So I accept people will disagree with my view. But for me, the owners of my club don't need the extra cash from me to achieve what they want but they choose to take it. They don't force me to buy the ticket but their actions clearly demonstrate they see me as a customer rather than a fan.
Bottom line is surely we can understand the different perspectives.....but you reap what you sow
PragueBlue
Well-Known Member
As I said, a lot (not all) are putting them up. From what I can see Spurs are staying the same next season but are considerably higher than our prices and if you want to pay monthly it's nearly 6% extra. Brentford are also freezing prices and they look very decent prices for London.What did Google say Spurs and Brentford are doing next year with prices? Good to have balance week?
Did Google also say how many teams have had year on year increases every single year like we have since the takeover?
dickie davies
Well-Known Member
As a protest we should choose one home game next season against a team with a smallish following, Fulham as an example, and we all do the ticket exchange thing and get our money back
Let's see if the club can shift 30 odd thousand tickets for one of the less attractive fixtures
Let's see if the club can shift 30 odd thousand tickets for one of the less attractive fixtures
BlueMoonRisin’
Well-Known Member
I suspect the club are selling ticket agencies a lot more tickets than that, especially for CL games. When i had my SC in 110 which is only a gentle meat pie throw from you in 109, CL nights were full of selfie stick waving tourists all around me.I've no idea to be honest. I know we used to have a deal with Ryanair whereby we let them have tickets, plus we used to have a commercial partnership with Viagogo, which would presumably have involved letting them have a certain number of tickets.
There are also a number of authorised ticket & travel partners they use. https://www.mancity.com/ticketing-and-hospitality/safe-ticket-buying/
There are ten of those listed so let's say each gets 50 tickets, which means 500 in total. If it's 100 tickets then it's 1,000.
We did have a discussion with them early on in the life of City Matters about this, and the fact that unauthorised agencies were also advertising packages to home matches and claiming or implying they were authorised.
City are flavour of the month every month right now and for the foreseeable future but it won't last forever. And if/when we fall from grace, what then, and where will our JCLs be then? They won't be anywhere near.
The club are milking us regulars for every last drop while they can but this is short sighted. There'll come a time when the glory hunting tourists won't attend because there'll be no glory in watching mediocrity. Hopefully we won't get relegated again but it could happen, then what? Ok, we'll still attract good crowds but not at current prices, especially when supporters can stay at home and watch every game on IPTV.
I had to give up my SC when i became a carer for my elderly mother, something i didn't want to do but my mum came first. She's been deceased since July last year and I've been out of work since due to an industrial injury (long story). I've managed 8 games this season. 2 of those games my mate in 110 kindly gave me his ticket when he couldn't attend. 3 games i attended were because i cheekily asked for a freebie on the tickets forum, and @Blue Smarties, @Didsbury Dave @metalblue gave me theirs( a big thanks guys), and your mate @Ducado kindly let me have his. I've bought 2 tickets for face value and will try for one against Madrid but being on Universal Credit means i now struggle to make ends meet nevermind attending games.
If my circumstances change i may be able to buy a SC card and afford to keep it but if i can't buy one for all 19 PL games i most probably won't bother. I've followed this club home and away since being a youngster for 50 years but i think my match attending games are numbered due to ever increasing match day cost.
I'll always be a blue and I'll continue to watch every game on my IPTV app but watching on TV isn't the same as being there.
We used to mock United with "You're the pride of Singapore". Little did we know back then that we are now the pride of Singapore and other far flung places. We've slowly morphed into a sky blue version of the worldwide monster we hated across town, sadly.
And the bottom line is if you don't pay then fuck you because someone else will pay and they'll pay more than you even though they have no affinity or understanding of what being a blue is like. The club are rolling a dice that may not land favourably in the long term but the club don't give a fuck that i and many blues have been priced out or cash strapped blues about to get priced out!
blueparrot
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- 7 Jun 2012
- Messages
- 29,738
Not a chance you could get 30,000 fans to do that though. Lucky if you could get 3000.As a protest we should choose one home game next season against a team with a smallish following, Fulham as an example, and we all do the ticket exchange thing and get our money back
Let's see if the club can shift 30 odd thousand tickets for one of the less attractive fixtures
BlueMoonRisin’
Well-Known Member
3000 would be a good start though.Not a chance you could get 30,000 fans to do that though. Lucky if you could get 3000.
The only way the club will listen is if we protest our anger at at games in getting tickets capped and possibly reduced, like Liverpool fans did. Venting our spleen on a fans forum is not the answer because the club won't bother. Demonstrating our frustration of SC and match day tickets at games with banners and protests chants may be the answer because they can't turn a blind eye.
Saddleworth2
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- 27 Jan 2014
- Messages
- 21,876
Preaching to the converted here mate. It easily costs £200 a pop now, per match.I have had to consider giving up my season ticket, but this has nothing to do with ticket prices.
It costs me £19 per match for the season ticket. The main expense is travel and hotels.
We used to be able to travel down from Edinburgh and back in a day for most weekend matches unless it was a 17:30 Saturday match. Obviously all midweek matches involved a night in a hotel.
Until two or three years back you could get a train ticket for less than £50 each. Now it is costing £70 or more. You are also far less likely to manage to get there and back in a day with last minute train cancellations.
Travel via the West Coast has become a nightmare since Virgin Trains pulled out. There is now a choice between TPE (owned by First) and Avanti West Coast (also owned by First). They are the worst rail companies in the country. In the past if the last train to Edinburgh was cancelled, they would put a bus or even taxis to get those stranded back. Now they just tell you to get a train to Glasgow. The worst one was getting turfed off the Edinburgh bound train (staff shortages) at Preston and told to go via Glasgow. The first train to Glasgow was cancelled and the last one got us into Glasgow Central too late to catch the final train from Queen Street to Edinburgh. We had to wait an hour and travel via the night bus arriving home at 3:30 am.
Mid-week matches were more expensive but you could book something like the Ibis Budget for £30 or so. Now it can cost up to £150 a night and more if there is something big going on in Manchester that weekend.
Now we generally travel East Coast to avoid the West Coast chaos and that ups the cost considerably and makes a night in a hotel almost inevitable.
I am sorry but the moaning about a £20 or £30 hike in season ticket prices does not convince me.