Season ticket prices announced - merged thread.

[holtepaul]

Er

How about this, done a few weeks ago when we were away at West Ham

Taxi to airport - er nowt -

However, it did cost me £10 to park my car at Airparks Garretts green - Friday - Sunday
Flights - Ryan Air - Bham to Alicante - £10 return - no taxes , no baggage fee (my clothes are there)
Car hire from Alicante £22 - paid for Smart car - upgraded to a Merc.
Petrol - negligable - only 25 minute drive - £5 most

Total cost of going Friday evening, spending a few hours in a nice bar, walking on a beach in 22 degrees on the morning, sitting watching the Villa in a bar with mellberg shirts, pics of Holte End , and full of Villa fans with a few San Miguels , spend a nice evening eating tapas, get up Sunday , go in the pool for a few hours , get ready, drive back to Airport , get home for around 9pm.

Cost £47

Cost of Villa game ST Holte Lower works out £23.50 a game , £1 to get in club , £5 to park car - very least £30
Away game at Man City - cost £100

Now, don't get me wrong - I am not saying the above to give the "I am considerably more richer than yow" speech.
What I am saying is, at the moment, I agree, there is nowt better than being on the Holte.

But put the price up much more than what it is - and are you telling me you wouldn't go for option B.

I am now 40 yrs old, I've done it, I remember having not missed a game, home , away , europe for 8 years, sitting crying my heart out on the M1 near Nottingham the day we played Sheff Wed away. My car broke down and I was sobbing coz I thought I was going to miss a game.

Sorry, but those days are gone for me - I have other things in life now as well !

[Chris Smith]

Shouldn't you factor in the cost of the apartment you're buying Paul?

I'm not criticising you by the way, getting away to the sun for a weekend sounds great, but if you hadn't spent £x on the place you wouldn't be able to do it. It would be like me claiming it will cost me nothing to watch the game on Saturday as my season ticket is paid for.

[holtepaul]

Without going totally off the subject the cost to buy the apartment is paid for out of the money we used to go on holiday with anyway

Yeah - you are right.

And dont get me wrong, home games at least, at this point, I am 75% certain to be sitting in my seat on the Lower holte come August instead of La Plaza , but.

What I am getting at , it is not getting far from the point in time that I won't be - and if there is a significant increase come Friday, that could be sooner than I thought.

I think the prices will go up by 2.5% and they will blame the VAT increase and hide it that way - to be honest, I'll be peed off, but as I always have, I'll take that. But I reckon I wouldn't be far off if I said I reckon the majority of Villa fans would not renew if there was anything more than a 20 quid increase.

And lets face it - we should have a reduction - they cannot justify even freezing the prices.

reasons they have given in past - value for money - well the deals they offer is an argument for that one

It guarentees you a cup final ticket (probably) - well we all know the clubs thinking on that one dont we

It gives you 10% discount in the shop - however when I tried to use it I was told "non Nike items only" thus my shirt was full price

It gives you the same seat with your mates - BINGO - thats where they have us, coz they know we (and I include myself here) are so small minded that we hate the fact of someone elses fat butt being in "MY" seat.

ST's for most people I know are now "out of habit" rather than "coz I love it"

[Shrek]

Yeah but sitting in Spain is not supporting your club.

There is no comparisent to being at Villa and absorbing a great atsmosphere.

[TheSandman]

Oh good we are playing Villaer than you today.

[holtepaul]

And when was that then

The last great atmosphere I can remember down Villa Park was the Blackburn semi final - what was that , last January ?

And I can tell you exactly when the next one will be - Mid June - Take That !!

You aren't selling it really Shrek

[Legion]

Yeah but sitting in Spain is not supporting your club.

Utter rubbish.

[CJ]

Think the cost will go up slightly plus an extra bit for the VAT increase. My ST in K4 was £495 this season - I expect it to be around £520 next season.

I'm not working at the minute and I'm having to really drive down my spending, but I'll renew out of a) force of habit, and b) spending time with people I've sat with for years.

I'm getting more and more disillusioned with the way football is going and that view is starting to percolate down to the 'next generation' of fans. My eldest son - who had a season ticket since the age of 5 - now prefers to watch lower league games though he does come to Villa with me when he's back home. The bottom line is, though, I can't imagine sitting at home knowing Villa have a game at VP. Yet.

[Shrek]

Oh good we are playing Villaer than you today.

No, but if you'd rather watch on TV, that makes you a fan, rather than a supporter doesn't it?

@ holtepaul, you are using this dire experience as an example, if Villa Park was full every week the atmosphere would be alot better more often.

[Shrek]

Yeah but sitting in Spain is not supporting your club.

Utter rubbish.

No it's not.

[Legion]

Why?

[Clampy]

And when was that then

The last great atmosphere I can remember down Villa Park was the Blackburn semi final - what was that , last January ?

And I can tell you exactly when the next one will be - Mid June - Take That !!

You aren't selling it really Shrek

Paul, if you don't want to re-new, then don't re-new. It really sounds to me like you don't want to. Just buy your Take That ticket instead.

[The Moose]

I've sat in Upper Holte since it was built, had season tickets way back to the 70's, and been a fan from the Docherty years.
But I'm not renewing.
There will still be a few home and away games which will attract me, but the days of just turning up because it's expected are over.
The money, the cynicism, the cheating, the corruption, the hypocrisy of the modern game have finally got to me.
Randy has done a fantastic job in rekindling the spirit in a new generation of fans, and I'm sure that the future is bright. It's just that the assumption that we will always stump up the cash no matter what, seems a little out of sync with the real world.
The "working-class" has already been priced out of most of the game, especially at top-level games. I know there are special offers, but once you lose a whole section of society as regular attenders, they are difficult to retrieve.
The Villa are my club, always will be, and are in my blood, but it's time to step away and take a breather.
 

[Shrek]

Why?

Some people can't afford to go to football, but going to sit in Spain every week instead of going to Villa Park is not supporting you club really is it?

I'm not trying to pick fights with anyone, I just want Villa Park full, hopefully bringing the great atmospheres back which can only be an encouragement to the players.

[holtepaul]

Dont worry I have - only in the Millenium instead.

If you want the honest truth, no I don't, I will out of habit and still having enough of the Shrek in me. But it is out of habit, it is out of the ridiculous notion that one day we might actually win something and after watching utter tripe for the best part of 30 years I dont want to bloody miss it if we do.

But I will stand up and admit - if someone had said to me 10 yrs ago - miss the Villa this Saturday and I'll give you £1000 quid - I can honestly say I would have told them to stick it (and did in a way at the 2000 Cup final)

Ask me now to miss it for £50 - I'd take it.

Funnily enough it is Randy that has disheartened me through no fault of his own. For years upon years (and I bet I am not the only one here) I honestly thought it was Ellis that was keeping us from greatness, Every year I thought, yeah , we are crap now, but as soon as that geriatric old fart goes, we will be there challenging Man U.

That thought got me through the dark days of GT2 (especially when he said it as well !!), DOL and others

Then came Randy - and I honestly thought this was it. There was "that" speech from the Chief Exec at the time (cant remember the name) about the "Villa were champions of Europe and we will put them back there" or whatever the words were.
The "Proud History Bright Future" stuff - god it was great

I believed it - my enthusiasm was never higher, I was going around spouting to all and sundry how we were back. Basically doing what man City fans are doing now.

And here we are , 5 yrs on nearly, and we are in the exact same situation we were 5 yrs ago, players leaving us as they want silverware, us fighting relegation and the fans wanting blood.

But to me, it isn't just the present I am let down with, I have lost the dream for the future.

But yeah, I'll be there probably in August, but as I say , mainly now out of habit and the fact it is a way of bonding me, my kids with my 64 yr old dad - not because I love anyone who puts on the colours I love - coz to be honest, I hate a lot of them now and everything they stand for.

There you go - heartfelt and honest !