citymad said:The problem is we're all revelling in the wonderful signings weve made but bottom line is our income probably doesnt even come close to our outgoings. The club seems to be doing their best to help reduce the price of seasoncards and cup games in the hope of enticing the regulars to keep coming.....but it hasnt worked out, there are still thousands of empty seats at certain games, its no wonder they're trying the corporate route. You cant keep blaming the "no money left at the end of the month" arguement (although they are many that literally cant afford it ) all the time beacuse the swamp dwellers are in the same region and still manage to nearly sell out every game. I reckon too many fans have gotten used to watching games in pubs and comfort of the own home due to so many false dawns on the pitch. It will take time to get those attitudes changed but by then the percentage given to the corporate sector will be greater and the average fan may be priced out due to demand.
Then again this maybe a load of crap.
*singingtheblues* said:Hospitality get a record number of tickets for the derby a few weeks ago, and the tickets sell out at a record points criteria for a derby. Coincidence?
Marseilles fans are seen in the away end (actually wearing the replica kit), group after group of the dreaded 'football tourists' (complete with cameras and half and half City/Scum scarves), and even rags themselves.
Today, Chelsea sells out at 5750 points. Despite this, the club are still selling hospitality packages with tickets in the away end, funny that.
The club are setting a precedent, one which will be considered the norm in the coming years. Quite simply, the club are beginning to put the 'suits' before the fans, even in away fixtures. The club are making a conscious effort to change the demographic of fans at CoMS, at the expense of the rest of us. The "Old Trafford model" if you like.
Don't believe me?
Look at how our prices for individual games have soared in the past two years, to the point where in some games you'll be expected to pay £48 for the cheapest seats in the ground.
Everything continues to get more expensive, from food and drink to alcohol. All the while the club continue to tell us that we matter and we'll be consulted about any planned changes.
Last year the club introduced a new Family Stand, doubling the size of the existing one, which, has widely been regarded as a failure - due in no small part to never being full regardless of the fixture. The demand wasn't there, but the club made the plans, and then tried to convince us all that we were consulted by reminding us of a "survey" that was sent out via email. The sole purpose of the supposed "survey" was to provide the club with that very excuse. The plans were already made, yet we were told that the plans were as a direct result of a survey very few people completed.
If you've ever completed one of these surveys you'll be familiar with the words "match day experience", and "supporter satisfaction". I give you - the Old Trafford demographic.
The club are making conscious changes to make this a reality, all while trying to convince us otherwise.
Next season, the club will evict everyone from the East and West level 2 who aren't willing to see the price of their seasoncards increase by a margin of around 50% for a "premium experience". In other words, nothing more than padded seats and the introduction of an enforced passive audience. A "corporate experience" for those who are willing to be shafted for it.
And some people wonder why there has been a crackdown on "bad language" in these areas of the ground this season?
They're preparing for the change next season; a passive, middle-class audience with money to spend and little qualms about with parting with it.
So where does that leave us?
Ticket prices increasing, corporates being given priority access to away games, you name it. All I'll say is, the seasoncard renewal process could prove to be very interesting.
Curlie said:Agree with above poster re UEFA rules and posters who talk about the price of success.
And remember, as a "Northern Irish tourist" who has supported City since 1970, it costs me anywhere between 2 and 3 hundred quid to go to a game.
And I have as much right as someone from Manchester to follow our ever growing global giant.
If you want a cheap game, mediocre team, local fellow fans and no chance of success, fuck off and support Stockport. They need your money too.
Sheikh Mansour will never, and I repeat, never make a return from City. And I'm sure that isn't lost on him.
Also, I think when you get the whole argument of FFP and "value for money" nonsense, it's worth remembering that just by reducing the wage bill by the smallest of percentages the club would save more money per annum than they'd ever generate from an increase in ticket prices. The biggest flaw to that argument.
*singingtheblues* said:As I've said previously;Sheikh Mansour will never, and I repeat, never make a return from City. And I'm sure that isn't lost on him.
Also, I think when you get the whole argument of FFP and "value for money" nonsense, it's worth remembering that just by reducing the wage bill by the smallest of percentages the club would save more money per annum than they'd ever generate from an increase in ticket prices. The biggest flaw to that argument.
The FFP couldn't have come at a more convenient time for the club, and as far as I'm concerned it's an irrelevance and provides nothing more than a excuse for the club to raise the price of anything and everything City related.
Do you honestly believe the increases in prices wouldn't have come in the absence of the nonsense that is FFP?
It was always coming, the supposed "FFP" is an irrelevance.
m20-benny said:we know it's disgraceful but garry cook will come out and spin some bullshit about meeting the 'criteria'.
season tickets and match tickets have gone up considerably this year. pull a stunt like that again this year and we'll just fuck it off. there aren't enough cheshire nobheads to fill our ground when we're not there.