A hell of a lot of people I know are either deferring or sacking it off, cannot help but feel if the club had dropped prices more people would have committed again and the impact to City's turnover would have been minimal
The waiting time on the phones last week, hours on end versus what seems to be short waits since (once the defer form went live) seems to suggest a high level of deferment that the club perhaps did not expect.
If so, the club needs to have a good look at how it engages with its longer term fans.
It needs to look at the impact that the match day experience is, the cumulative impact of things in and out of City's control (travel, late announcements of pricing, points, VAR, the impact of the ESL announcement and dire apology). It's not just a price thing, but all those things rolled together (and more) that for some have meant a pause this season and possibly for good.
As a season ticket holder since 1980 I've never felt so disconnected and who knows, perhaps some at City can't wait to see the back of people like me. I'll still go to games but will be far more selective. Doesn't make me less loyal to the team as a supporter but I can see clearly now that City do not regard me as loyal, or they are happy to cast that loyalty aside.
Until City engage and fully understand the reasons behind decisions, I fear those deferring will quit for good next season.