11/12 P-A-Y Go v ST comparison

[amfy]

I am also sorry if I came over arsy, I guess I feel the club are hamstrung here. Whats done is done. They sold the season tickets for those prices, and now are struggling to fill the ground within that pricing structure. As a season ticket holder, I don't want to pay over the odds for my ticket, but neither do I want to sit in an empty stadium, or see the club continue to lose money that they don't need to be losing - I need that money in the club for the team too. I do think that they need to give some serious thought as to how they sell it next year, because the perception is definitely that the ST no longer provides value for money (for a whole range of reasons - some of which aren't money!)

Don't get me wrong - I'm not so well off that I couldn't do with saving £50, but financially the season ticket works for me because it allows me to plan. It's a bit like that plan you can have for your gas boiler that covers the servicing and any repairs - it may work out a bit more expensive - but I know where I stand and I've planned for it. As long as it's roughly within range of the same price, a season ticket is less of a financial roller coaster for me if that makes sense?

I also work and I'm in a meeting at 9.30 every day so "tick tick" Thursdays don't really work for me.
Basically, I am neither cash nor time rich, but enjoy meeting the same set of friends in the same place for every home game - this is the value of a season ticket to me.

For people who don't mind where they sit, or whether they go with anyone, and have the time and financial flexibility to take advantage of all the best deals, there is no reason why they shouldn't find a match by match deal works better, but I'm not sure how many of us are really in that catagory (this is what I mean by a fantastic set of prevailing conditions - the word "fantastic" is probably overstating it - but those are 4 conditions that don't apply to me).

Also - lets compare like with like - if you seriously don't mind where you sit match by match, then lets compare that with the cheapest season ticket in the ground at £360 - and then for all that time and trouble you've saved £4.

[Dave Clark Five]

When I talk to people who don't watch football about the ticket prices, they can't believe how people can afford to go.
Then there are those who are interested but only go on Boxing Day and talk about it until the next time such a home fixture comes around.
Those who always go, then suddenly miss one or two,may never return.
However, we are still getting far greater crowds than the grim mid 80s.  The club are treading a fine line. You don't just get half a dozen not renewing in times like these. You get hundreds. Once someone's mates or season ticket neighbours have thrown the towel in, it becomes an epidemic. Then it is thousands not renewing.
Season ticket prices need slashing.

[Percy McCarthy]

Didn't renew this season, but only because I'm skint. Same next year barring some luck with money.

[lennythekad]

I take on board what you're saying and agree with it. I should have perhaps also said that I have to work every other weekend, and if home games fall on my weekend to work, I have to find someone to cover for me and then pay them back on another weekend, which then cocks up another game somewhere. I could use ad hoc holiday days, but that doesn't go down well with the wife, as then I've got no holiday left for anything else we want to do. It's a continual juggling act, and to be honest, for the last twelve months, I've lost the motivation to try and cover all the neccessary shifts for games. If I'd got the ST, I'd feel obliged to cover them to go. Paying as I go removes that obligation, hence me missing a few homes this season. Reading other threads, it seems quite a few people feel the same re. an obligation/sense of duty to attend, especially in the current situation.
Re. the cheapest ST, I can't remember where that is (Nth Lower?). I've only sat there twice, early in the season, and couldn't be doing with the almost non existent leg room, and as a consequence, have used Viagogo more and more as the season goes on. Their tickets nearly always seem to be in Trinity Upper A1, which is fine, as I mentioned earlier, I just move to a better seat before kick off.
Bottom line I guess is that everyone's got their own reasons for how they pay and how often they go. 

[lennythekad]

When I talk to people who don't watch football about the ticket prices, they can't believe how people can afford to go.
Then there are those who are interested but only go on Boxing Day and talk about it until the next time such a home fixture comes around.
Those who always go, then suddenly miss one or two,may never return.
However, we are still getting far greater crowds than the grim mid 80s.  The club are treading a fine line. You don't just get half a dozen not renewing in times like these. You get hundreds. Once someone's mates or season ticket neighbours have thrown the towel in, it becomes an epidemic. Then it is thousands not renewing.
Season ticket prices need slashing.

You're right about an epidemic Jon. Our groups of ST's has gone from six to one in two seasons, and they're not all casual fans either. Some of them were with us in Moscow, Lovech and several other Euro aways besides the away Lge games. When these people stop buying ST's, the club should be seriously worried.

[pauliewalnuts]

When I talk to people who don't watch football about the ticket prices, they can't believe how people can afford to go.
Then there are those who are interested but only go on Boxing Day and talk about it until the next time such a home fixture comes around.
Those who always go, then suddenly miss one or two,may never return.
However, we are still getting far greater crowds than the grim mid 80s.  The club are treading a fine line. You don't just get half a dozen not renewing in times like these. You get hundreds. Once someone's mates or season ticket neighbours have thrown the towel in, it becomes an epidemic. Then it is thousands not renewing.
Season ticket prices need slashing.

I agree entirely with you, especially the bit about mates throwing the towel in.

re season ticket prices needing slashing, this is something that needs to happen across the board at all clubs, and not just ST prices, individual match tickets, too.

If those running the game in this country had any brains, they'd look at how it is going to survive and prosper in the future, and with the way ticket prices are in general, it is hard to see how we're going to breed another generation as obsessed by the game (in a participatory sense, ie actually going to them rather than watching on telly) as we are.

There is easily enough television money in the game to significantly reduce the average ticket price across the board, but instead the money goes straight into the pockets of player or, even worse, agents.

Also, look at some of the people who manage to be declared "fit" to own clubs in this country. Shady Russians at Arsenal, those two cowboys who left Liverpool last year, and, worst of the lot, the various owners of Portsmouth, who redefine dodginess, the people at Leeds, who nobody can actually identify ...

English football right now reminds me of Italian football in the late 80s / early 90s - self proclaimed biggest league in the world, clubs spending money they haven't got, increasing divide between supporters and clubs, and a firm believe on the part of the clubs that nothing is ever going to change. Look how that turned out in Italy.

English football really does need a "year zero" style rebuilding from the bottom up, because it is entirely out of touch with the fans and reality, and seems to be getting worse.

Of course, the sad thing is that we (as in those already sucked in) will largely carry on handing out money for years yet, because that's what we do. The dangerous thing is, where does the next generation come from?

[Marlon From Bearwood]

Similar to the above, our group of 7 ST holders two years ago, is now just 3, and next season will probably be zero. I'm not renewing, and I've had a ST for probably 90% of the seasons in the last 30 years since I started going.

Sitting in a different seat every game doesn't bother me, therefore I'll just get my tickets through one of the cheap deals on a match by match basis and save money. I'll also have the choice of deciding not to bother with the games that Sky move to a silly Kick Off time, and those that feel like a chore to attend, which is a feeling I've had a lot this season.

I still enjoy the away games though (mainly the day out more than the 90 minutes), and think I'll always want to keep attending a fair few every season, and you can easily get tickets for most aways without needing a ST now anyway.

[Dave Clark Five]

I'm not getting into any McLeish arguments here but the current unrest coincides with the recession. We have been talking about the bubble bursting for years. The poor attendances at home this season are masked by the season ticket sales. Next year that is unlikely to be the case. Judging by the vibes, we could be looking at losing 5000 season ticket holders. That would give us an average crowd of less than 30000. That is a bad threshold  to cross. Villa can offer all the cheap seats they like but the overall attendance needs bolstering by ST sales to look reasonable. I think they should knock a big chunk off next season's STs now, for purchase before the end of the season. They can't cut the price after they have started to sell them. If they did, they would get hell.

[amfy]

I think they should offer a discount to existing season ticket holders, regardless of when they renew (up to the deadline) in order to send the message that they have noted ST holders concerns around value for money against a match by match purchase. That would give ST holders confidence that they are to be looked after by the club.

I also think long service discounts for ST holders should be brought in, this would mean that once you have had your season ticket for a few years, you have something to lose by giving it up. Maybe 5% off after 5 years, 10 % after 10 years etc. 20% may be a big discount, but once you've had a season ticket for 20 years you probably deserve it, and they are giving bigger discounts than this for a match ticket to people who turn up once a season.

As it stands now, we could all have a couple of seasons off from having a season ticket whilst it's a bit shit, and come back to the same deals as those who sat through it. At today's prices, Villa need to offer incentives for sticking with the club through thick & thin, as 'thin' just isn't as easy to do now as when it was £1.50 a game!

This is speaking as someone who has every intention of renewing anyway - doesn't mean I don't think they could do better, or that they don't need to look a bit harder at how to keep those who are wobbling.

[Vanilla]

When I first saw the PAYG heading, I thought you meant pay for as much of the game as you can stand i.e. pay per minute. As such for most home games this season a number of fans would probably have left at half-time.

Or conversely to keep fans there, the longer you stay, the less you pay on average (I jest!). 

[Dave Clark Five]

You're on my wavelength on that Amfy.

[amfy]

Well yours would probly be free by now!

[adrenachrome]

When I talk to people who don't watch football about the ticket prices, they can't believe how people can afford to go.
Then there are those who are interested but only go on Boxing Day and talk about it until the next time such a home fixture comes around.
Those who always go, then suddenly miss one or two,may never return.
However, we are still getting far greater crowds than the grim mid 80s.  The club are treading a fine line. You don't just get half a dozen not renewing in times like these. You get hundreds. Once someone's mates or season ticket neighbours have thrown the towel in, it becomes an epidemic. Then it is thousands not renewing.
Season ticket prices need slashing.

Bang on the money.

[JUAN PABLO]

Excellent thread this .I have not had a season ticket since BFR days and now pick my games , which is getting less with the clown as manager .

 My GF asked me If I was going to get a season ticket next season as my son is 7 now and has asked about going ,( I always said I would get one when my son gets into it )  I also have to pay about £35 for staff to cover me when I go to match , so I have to add this on . This thread has made up my mind.  I will stick to PAYG and have a look at it If we sack the clown.

[SoccerHQ]

I actually don't think our season ticket prices are that bad. Yes in an ideal world they'd all be under 400 quid and the ones over 500 quid need to be looked at but the ones at around £450 worked out at less than 25 quid a game so for a season of prem football that's not too bad.

It's our matchday ticket prices that seriously need to be looked at imo. If you're a casual fan then you'll probably be scared away if you want to sit in the upper witton or trinity and you see the price is 39 quid (42 for the top games).

I see on the website they've started doing early bird deals for these sections but they still start at 29 quid.