Didn't go because quite frankly I'm pissed off. Cannot park, cannot speak with anyone to fix issues, constantly on hold for hours, never get a response to e-mails, chasing rules and impositions at the last minute, and piss poor communication for everything they attempt to do. Can't be arsed with the faff around mobile ticketing. Even in the stadium you get bent over dry-fucked for a bottle of water.
Can't believe I'd ever come to the point of considering this - it seemed almost impossible a year ago - but me and the lad are now on the verge of cancelling the £2000 worth of direct debits for the season tickets.
It's not the team, its not Pep or the experience of watching City play. We love it and always have.
However it feels more and more like we are trying to support our team DESPITE the best efforts of the corporate clusterfuck being imposed on us, and it's grinding us down. We've gone from attending every game in all Tournaments with high enthusiasm to feeling rather disenfranchised and undervalued.
Just as an example I've spent 4 hours on hold today trying to resolve an issue that should never have been a problem. I'm still only 62 in the queue and have been for the duration of typing this response.
We will always support City but match attendance is now harder than ever, cannot transfer to friends without a load of hassle. cannot move seats easily, cannot buy tickets for friends to accompany us without hassle. Cannot park easily in our usual carpark. It's a complete clusterfuck and has represented a significant deterioration in our match day experience.
It's not one single thing that's pissed us off, but a succession of screw-ups, and a complete lack of respect for the fans over the years. Feels like as fan we are completely undervalued by the corporate fuckery that stands between us and our team.
Maybe after I have had a bit of kip and some time to think I might change my mind, but right now I'm pissed off.
So yeah - I get it. We want to be there but until they sort out the monumental clustefuck they are creating by screwing with our matchday experience, we won't be bothering.