Heroes & Villains, the Aston Villa fanzine
Heroes & Villains => Heroes Discussion => Topic started by: wittonwarrior on July 18, 2022, 11:08:28 AM
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Villa's 2nd window sell for Bournemouth went to 18 aways from last season even though they openly admitted to me in an email the allocation was insufficient for people with 19/20 away credits - so why did they drop it to 18?
Can see the same issue arising from now until November (when the criteria will change) as the 1st window sale now for all aways from Palace until the world cup break is 18 plus
Why do people who have 3 or 4 extra credits have to scramble for the same tickets as someone who has been to 18 games. (total number if someone had, had a ticket for every game last season 22 (19 league plus Barrow, Chelsea and Manure)
I suppose getting rid of the tickets as quickly as possible will be the answer.
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Interesting to note there are people who have never been to an away match and have no chance of going to one in the future.
This can't be good for our younger fans.
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And yet when we drew Man Utd away they only took the lowest allocation because it was Monday and they couldn’t take the risk the spineless twats in the ticket office
I’d sack every one of the top managers in ticket office, just fuck them off and bring in people that will get behind the fans
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And yet when we drew Man Utd away they only took the lowest allocation because it was Monday and they couldn’t take the risk the spineless twats in the ticket office
I’d sack every one of the top managers in ticket office, just fuck them off and bring in people that will get behind the fans
It wasn't that, it was because Man Utd wanted to charge more if we took more tickets or something like that.
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And yet when we drew Man Utd away they only took the lowest allocation because it was Monday and they couldn’t take the risk the spineless twats in the ticket office
I’d sack every one of the top managers in ticket office, just fuck them off and bring in people that will get behind the fans
It wasn't that, it was because Man Utd wanted to charge more if we took more tickets or something like that.
Whatever, lots of fans were scraping round for spares
Middlesborough went up there in the next round and took loads more than us
Fucking Middlesborough, you can make excuses for them all you like but they need turfing out the useless wankers
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Interesting to note there are people who have never been to an away match and have no chance of going to one in the future.
This can't be good for our younger fans.
You are spot on AlexAlexCropley and I get that 110% but with such high interest in the Villa @2022 what would be your alternative.
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And yet when we drew Man Utd away they only took the lowest allocation because it was Monday and they couldn’t take the risk the spineless twats in the ticket office
I’d sack every one of the top managers in ticket office, just fuck them off and bring in people that will get behind the fans
It wasn't that, it was because Man Utd wanted to charge more if we took more tickets or something like that.
Whatever, lots of fans were scraping round for spares
Middlesborough went up there in the next round and took loads more than us
Fucking Middlesborough, you can make excuses for them all you like but they need turfing out the useless wankers
From what I know if Villa had taken a larger allocation at OT then tickets would have been £46 each (not sure about the initial allocation) but definitely all extras and Villa would have had to stand the cost of any unsold. Massive game for a lower division club 4th round at OT - we have been there enough times for some people to scroff at paying £46.
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And yet when we drew Man Utd away they only took the lowest allocation because it was Monday and they couldn’t take the risk the spineless twats in the ticket office
I’d sack every one of the top managers in ticket office, just fuck them off and bring in people that will get behind the fans
It wasn't that, it was because Man Utd wanted to charge more if we took more tickets or something like that.
Whatever, lots of fans were scraping round for spares
Middlesborough went up there in the next round and took loads more than us
Fucking Middlesborough, you can make excuses for them all you like but they need turfing out the useless wankers
From what I know if Villa had taken a larger allocation at OT then tickets would have been £46 each (not sure about the initial allocation) but definitely all extras and Villa would have had to stand the cost of any unsold. Massive game for a lower division club 4th round at OT - we have been there enough times for some people to scroff at paying £46.
Big difference between playing Monday or Friday night, the former means most people having to go to school or work next day, the latter less so plus 1 round later bound to generate more interest.
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Interesting to note there are people who have never been to an away match and have no chance of going to one in the future.
This can't be good for our younger fans.
You are spot on AlexAlexCropley and I get that 110% but with such high interest in the Villa @2022 what would be your alternative.
Firstly,no block tickets to lions clubs and affiliates.
Secondly, doing away with criteria.
Thirdly, do an online away fan random pick.
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And yet when we drew Man Utd away they only took the lowest allocation because it was Monday and they couldn’t take the risk the spineless twats in the ticket office
I’d sack every one of the top managers in ticket office, just fuck them off and bring in people that will get behind the fans
It wasn't that, it was because Man Utd wanted to charge more if we took more tickets or something like that.
Whatever, lots of fans were scraping round for spares
Middlesborough went up there in the next round and took loads more than us
Fucking Middlesborough, you can make excuses for them all you like but they need turfing out the useless wankers
From what I know if Villa had taken a larger allocation at OT then tickets would have been £46 each (not sure about the initial allocation) but definitely all extras and Villa would have had to stand the cost of any unsold. Massive game for a lower division club 4th round at OT - we have been there enough times for some people to scroff at paying £46.
Big difference between playing Monday or Friday night, the former means most people having to go to school or work next day, the latter less so plus 1 round later bound to generate more interest.
I don't give a shit
When you get the chance of taking more tickets so people who never get the chance to go can go you take that opportunity no matter what the cost to the club might be
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It’s not the first time either it’s happened before
they’re spineless in that dept
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It was Man U who were pricks, not Villa.
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It was Man U who were pricks, not Villa.
Both
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Interesting to note there are people who have never been to an away match and have no chance of going to one in the future.
This can't be good for our younger fans.
A lot of the regulars at away games seem to be fairly young. And a very high proportion are absolute massive fucking twats.
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The problem is that the higher number of games you need now to get a ticket means that any of us with such a high level are all scared of missing a game because we will end up dropping down the ranks.
In 19/20 my mates GF wanted to take him away for his birthday and we reluctantly missed Bournemouth away. That meant I couldn't get a ticket for Barrow in the league cup last season. Not getting a ticket for Barrow meant I didn't qualify for first dibs to Bournemouth this season, and was very lucky in the ridiculous 3 minute scramble to get tickets in the second lot.
There needs to be a balance between rewarding long term followers and allowing everyone a realistic shot at going now and then. The current system encourages people to buy tickets even when they know they can't go just to keep their position.
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The combination of Bournemouth so early in the season and that midweek away at Barrow last season - as well as including cup games into the mix for league away criteria for the first time (unless I'm mistaken) made for an ideal opportunity to cut a swathe through the top bracket of away followers.
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It’s a closed shop nowadays with pretty much the same faces at away games and little chance of any new joiners.
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It was Man U who were pricks, not Villa.
Both
I don't know about that. I do wish that, if Villa had decided not to take the higher allocation at rip off prices, they should have gone very public with why. Shame those Man U twats for ripping off fans.
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It was Man U who were pricks, not Villa.
Both
I don't know about that. I do wish that, if Villa had decided not to take the higher allocation at rip off prices, they should have gone very public with why. Shame those Man U twats for ripping off fans.
Not sure it would have been worth it with Wilma moaning on here about the 'ordinary fan' being priced out of football.
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Take the allocation
Put free coaches on to negate the cost
Pack the end out with fans that can never normally go
Support and back the team in a cup we haven’t won for over 60 years
it might cost what a weeks pay for one of our top earners in other words nothing in the overall scheme of things
But no let’s limp out to a controversial decision with limited backing
what’s worse and even more annoying is we had a opportunity here to do good by the fans but even some of you on here take the cowardly ticket office side, it’s pathetic
No wonder they’ll never take a risk
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The decision wasn't "cowardly", it was out of a desire not to rip off Villa fans. Whether they made the right decision is open to debate but I see no reason to doubt their intentions.
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Interesting to note there are people who have never been to an away match and have no chance of going to one in the future.
This can't be good for our younger fans.
You are spot on AlexAlexCropley and I get that 110% but with such high interest in the Villa @2022 what would be your alternative.
Firstly,no block tickets to lions clubs and affiliates.
Secondly, doing away with criteria.
Thirdly, do an online away fan random pick.
My 12 year old has had a season ticket holder since he was 8 and ive took him to games since he was 4. I took him to a few away games in the championship years. I took him to the Man U cup game last year, and by some miracle managed to get away tickets for Everton away. He’s Villa mad and wants to go to more away games, but it is pretty much impossible, a shame he’s missing out on the away day experience.
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The decision wasn't "cowardly", it was out of a desire not to rip off Villa fans. Whether they made the right decision is open to debate but I see no reason to doubt their intentions.
yeah whatever mate
Ticket office haven’t got a fucking clue and if you think they made the decision for fans and not because they themselves might be a few quid out of pocket taking a minimum risk of backing the team 100% then you need to give your head a wobble as well
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Calm down, John. You'll hurt yourself.
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The problem is that the higher number of games you need now to get a ticket means that any of us with such a high level are all scared of missing a game because we will end up dropping down the ranks.
In 19/20 my mates GF wanted to take him away for his birthday and we reluctantly missed Bournemouth away. That meant I couldn't get a ticket for Barrow in the league cup last season. Not getting a ticket for Barrow meant I didn't qualify for first dibs to Bournemouth this season, and was very lucky in the ridiculous 3 minute scramble to get tickets in the second lot.
There needs to be a balance between rewarding long term followers and allowing everyone a realistic shot at going now and then. The current system encourages people to buy tickets even when they know they can't go just to keep their position.
Spot on !
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Calm down, John. You'll hurt yourself.
ha ha Bang….whoops
You heads just wobbled off
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Take the allocation
Put free coaches on to negate the cost
Pack the end out with fans that can never normally go
Support and back the team in a cup we haven’t won for over 60 years
it might cost what a weeks pay for one of our top earners in other words nothing in the overall scheme of things
But no let’s limp out to a controversial decision with limited backing
what’s worse and even more annoying is we had a opportunity here to do good by the fans...
.
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Calm down, John. You'll hurt yourself.
ha ha Bang….whoops
You heads just wobbled off
I'd hope you wouldn't be so callous as to laugh if it had. ☹️
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I can see why the club did what they did. Besides, not everyone can do away games on a Monday night.
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Calm down, John. You'll hurt yourself.
ha ha Bang….whoops
You heads just wobbled off
I'd hope you wouldn't be so callous as to laugh if it had. ☹️
No your a good-un really
Raging against the ticket office is my pet hobby horse
I just don’t think they do enough to support the club
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I agree the current way of selling away tickets does seem to be a closed shop - there needs to be a way of ensuring that if you buy a ticket for an away game then you must attend and not just sell the ticket on to a friend etc..
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I can see why the club did what they did. Besides, not everyone can do away games on a Monday night.
Nah they bottled it. I know why they bottled it but it doesn’t excuse it.
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I agree the current way of selling away tickets does seem to be a closed shop - there needs to be a way of ensuring that if you buy a ticket for an away game then you must attend and not just sell the ticket on to a friend etc..
I think that's what they do with the ballot tickets. If you are successful, you have to fetch them from the away clubs ticket office I think.
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A timely thread. As a season ticket holder for many years, living in London meant that I was able to attend a large proportion of away games without the hassle of a whole day devoted to home games. Hammers, Spurs, Palace, Charlton (a while ago now), Chelsea, Fulham, Arsenal, were all regulars, until I was obliged to miss a few due to circumstances beyond my control and since then have simply not had a look in. The result is I've never been to the new Spurs ground (would love to), nor the West Ham ground (not so keen) and am denied on average five or six away games a season, on my doorstep. This is something the club should look into in order to give devoted fans (myself included) a fair crack at securing a ticket.
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I agree with Martin, it should not be the preserve of the few.
There has to be a fairer way.
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I do get why they do it like that rewarding the loyal ones. I presume it's why they brought the ballot in.
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I don't suppose writing an email to the club would make the slightest difference, but might be worth a try.
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Someone enlighten me about the ballot - I was not aware.
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I think season ticket holders can enter a ballot for a certain away game and if successful, they give you the opportunity to buy a pair of tickets.
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I don't suppose writing an email to the club would make the slightest difference, but might be worth a try.
Depends if it’s a strongly worded one or not
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The thing with the ballot is it's only a handful of tickets, so your chances are very low.
I appreciate they need to reward the loyal fans, but the closed shop is a problem. I think every ST holder should get an opportunity to buy a ticket for at least one away match per season should they wish to do so. It shouldn't be beyond the wit of the sales team to come up with a method for this and still keep the majority of tickets based on history.
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I don't think its every away game though and it's only normally 50 tickets up for grabs.
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I honestly don’t know what the answer is to the longer term problem of fans getting away Tickets
I can appreciate it is a difficult conundrum
My point and the one I’m raging about is when they get the chance ie Man Utd last season they should move heaven and earth to get as many fans there as possible even if they have to think a little bit of how best to do it
But as a AV8 says they bottled it
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What do other clubs do, anyone know? I assume Man U, Liverpool, Arsenal and quite a few other teams must sell out every game they play away from home. Is it the same fans going to each away match?
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Father in law is a Chelsea fan and they have some kind of scheme that allows all season ticket holders to attend at least a couple of away games a season, he complains that it's not great but definitely better than the closed shop we have.
I love an away game and there's so many grounds I'd love to go to but feels like a complete impossibility these days.
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We’ve discussed this before and whilst you’ll never get a system that keeps everyone happy, I think the way the FA distribute England away tickets is just about the fairest. 80% of tickets are sold on a loyalty / attendance history basis, with the other 20% going to a random ballot that anyone (ST holders in our case ) could enter.
If Villa did the same, around 600 new fans would get the chance to attend most away games. Much fairer than the current 50 (and I say that as someone who would benefit more personally from the current system).
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I'd be up for that, but with the rule if you win the ballot you're banned from the next three or four, to guarantee a more even spread. Ideally you would be able to apply as a block so if you have five or six friends who want to attend, either you all get a ticket in the ballot or none of you do.
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I’m alright for next season I’m getting all Risso’s spares cus he’s my bff on here
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Can't see why a similar approach is not taken to the home tickets, ie have away season ticket holders/members - limited to a sensible number (say 2/3 of average allocation). The remaining 1/3rd allocated to those that apply on a lottery basis.
For those games where the allocation is less that the number of members, then the tickets could be allocated to the members only on a lottery basis.
Obviously how you decide on who could be members of the away scheme in the first season might be an issue.
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Father in law is a Chelsea fan and they have some kind of scheme that allows all season ticket holders to attend at least a couple of away games a season, he complains that it's not great but definitely better than the closed shop we have.
I love an away game and there's so many grounds I'd love to go to but feels like a complete impossibility these days.
I think this is sensible.
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You cannot simply drop people who have been going every away game, that would be cruel. The away scheme from the last season in the Championship is still causing some issues with resale of tickets under the table. One possible solution would be for all aways to be collected - would mean a lot of moans but would stop some of the resales that goes on. Would be a bind for the club as they would have to go down and deal with it every week (its not full proof a few years ago I couldn't go to Burnley had just had operation on my foot - ticket got lost in post/got a replacement to be collected at the Turf as they call it - anyway simply posted him my driver's license no way do people ever check the photos on the cards)
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Bournemouth a bit of a cock up with distribution - the next one where people will be moaning and judging by Villa's low first sale window will be Forest only 2,000 away tickets.
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I went to lots of away games in the seasons leading up to relegation and in the championship, I understand that people want to go, but did all those moaning want to go to Rotherham, or some of the away games in the premiership when we got a good hiding each week?
Although it wouldn’t help me, I do understand we need a better way of doing this and I quite like the idea of maybe an 80 / 20 split so people get a chance to go to an away game.
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A timely thread. As a season ticket holder for many years, living in London meant that I was able to attend a large proportion of away games without the hassle of a whole day devoted to home games. Hammers, Spurs, Palace, Charlton (a while ago now), Chelsea, Fulham, Arsenal, were all regulars, until I was obliged to miss a few due to circumstances beyond my control and since then have simply not had a look in. The result is I've never been to the new Spurs ground (would love to), nor the West Ham ground (not so keen) and am denied on average five or six away games a season, on my doorstep. This is something the club should look into in order to give devoted fans (myself included) a fair crack at securing a ticket.
You can't expect a ticket for spurs away any more than I can expect a ticket for the derbys just because I live in Brum.
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It’s not the same people every week but an away season ticket offer to 100% attendees would probably take 800 or so I’d guess. As one of those I’d be up for that, but there’s still people who go to 90% who’d be hard done by.
There is an issue with people flogging on tickets and there should be a one or two tickets a season amnesty on that to stop it. Why should someone lose a ticket the following season if he has to miss a game for the first time in years due to a family bereavement for example and why should he/she be ‘criminalised’ for giving his ticket to a mate. Anymore than that and there should be penalties.
It’s tricky, but I would be in favour of a bigger draw to get people an opportunity to go, the current 25 isn’t enough.
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but did all those moaning want to go to Rotherham, or some of the away games in the premiership when we got a good hiding each week?
Not all obviously, but I did for one. I saw us thrashed at Everton and Spurs for a couple of examples in the seasons leading up to relegation, and specifically Rotherham (amongst a few other less than glamorous Championship aways) - I was there. It’s not fair to imply that those who aren’t in the closed shop weren’t up for it when times were worse.
Lots of us just used to do half a dozen to a dozen aways regardless, there didn’t used to do this pressure (on everyone - those in & out of the closed shop) to do ALL of them.
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Don't expect any fairness under the current regime.
I was there at Barnsley,Norwich City and the like on Cold winters evenings in the Championship along with many others . It seems those who were loyal in the championship are no longer required as we have an influx of new supporters who may just well be Premier League fans. It's NOT RIGHT.
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but did all those moaning want to go to Rotherham, or some of the away games in the premiership when we got a good hiding each week?
Not all obviously, but I did for one. I saw us thrashed at Everton and Spurs for a couple of examples in the seasons leading up to relegation, and specifically Rotherham (amongst a few other less than glamorous Championship aways) - I was there. It’s not fair to imply that those who aren’t in the closed shop weren’t up for it when times were worse.
Lots of us just used to do half a dozen to a dozen aways regardless, there didn’t used to do this pressure (on everyone - those in & out of the closed shop) to do ALL of them.
So you didn’t quote the end of my post, just the first part. I finished by saying although it would or may work against me, I think a fairer way of selecting fans for away games should be in place.
However there will be fans who want to go away who didn’t in the past, the same as fans didn’t go to VP in the championship, and I’m not saying I’m a better fan or anything like that!
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but did all those moaning want to go to Rotherham, or some of the away games in the premiership when we got a good hiding each week?
Not all obviously, but I did for one. I saw us thrashed at Everton and Spurs for a couple of examples in the seasons leading up to relegation, and specifically Rotherham (amongst a few other less than glamorous Championship aways) - I was there. It’s not fair to imply that those who aren’t in the closed shop weren’t up for it when times were worse.
Lots of us just used to do half a dozen to a dozen aways regardless, there didn’t used to do this pressure (on everyone - those in & out of the closed shop) to do ALL of them.
So you didn’t quote the end of my post, just the first part. I finished by saying although it would or may work against me, I think a fairer way of selecting fans for away games should be in place.
However there will be fans who want to go away who didn’t in the past, the same as fans didn’t go to VP in the championship, and I’m not saying I’m a better fan or anything like that!
That’s fine, but the bit I quoted was because that particular sentence is very much of the tone that those wanting to go to any games now were some kind of bandwagon jumpers. That particular sentence wasn’t necessary to your overall point that there should be a fairer way.
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If they reduced the criteria to, say, 10 aways, then it would reduce the amount of people needing to cheat the system and buy whether they were going to attend or not - that in itself could free up a few more tickets as it would take the pressure off having to go to every game. I realise this would then introduce an element of 'fastest finger' when they go on sale which itself often isn't fair due to working hours etc - there's no perfect answer, but I'm not sure the 'closed shop' works either.
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A timely thread. As a season ticket holder for many years, living in London meant that I was able to attend a large proportion of away games without the hassle of a whole day devoted to home games. Hammers, Spurs, Palace, Charlton (a while ago now), Chelsea, Fulham, Arsenal, were all regulars, until I was obliged to miss a few due to circumstances beyond my control and since then have simply not had a look in. The result is I've never been to the new Spurs ground (would love to), nor the West Ham ground (not so keen) and am denied on average five or six away games a season, on my doorstep. This is something the club should look into in order to give devoted fans (myself included) a fair crack at securing a ticket.
Just join the lions club, they have a reserved allocation and you’ll get to at least one of them
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A timely thread. As a season ticket holder for many years, living in London meant that I was able to attend a large proportion of away games without the hassle of a whole day devoted to home games. Hammers, Spurs, Palace, Charlton (a while ago now), Chelsea, Fulham, Arsenal, were all regulars, until I was obliged to miss a few due to circumstances beyond my control and since then have simply not had a look in. The result is I've never been to the new Spurs ground (would love to), nor the West Ham ground (not so keen) and am denied on average five or six away games a season, on my doorstep. This is something the club should look into in order to give devoted fans (myself included) a fair crack at securing a ticket.
Just join the lions club, they have a reserved allocation and you’ll get to at least one of them
Which in itself is wrong
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It must be difficult to come up with a system that recognises the supporters who go to every game regardless and it not be a closed shop
I’m someone who used to go to around 8 aways a season prior to relegation and in the championship, as I’m only a member, I don’t even look at the away sale dates as I have absolutely no chance
I appreciate some might say that you could have gone to Chelsea away in the cup or other examples, but it also not practical to plan for this as you generally don’t get the chance of a ticket until a few days before, which means you probably can’t go due to work commitments
We definitely need something better than 50 ballot tickets as I suspect there will be a lot who had previously the same type of away history as mine and all love a good away day
UTV
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I’ve got the luck of Legion on them flipping ballots
Entered loads not been picked for a single ticket yet
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There must be the data at the club on the numbers/percentages involved in away ticket buyers. I think something along the lines of Marlon's 80/20 rule can be set up and operated without too much difficulty, and like him, this would impact my chances of getting tickets, but it does seem fair, possibly using the Lions allocation too.
One thing I would like to see would be less young dickheads acting like idiots, but sadly I don't think that's a realistic wish!
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I found this very interesting as I hadn't realised they publish this information;
https://tickets.avfc.co.uk/usercontent/documents/pdf/A2223%20Bournemouth%20Info.pdf (https://tickets.avfc.co.uk/usercontent/documents/pdf/A2223%20Bournemouth%20Info.pdf)
You can see the number of us who qualify for each category. So 2,404 fans have 18 or more away game credits for last season. I suspect that would take up the majority of tickets for most games.
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I found this very interesting as I hadn't realised they publish this information;
https://tickets.avfc.co.uk/usercontent/documents/pdf/A2223%20Bournemouth%20Info.pdf (https://tickets.avfc.co.uk/usercontent/documents/pdf/A2223%20Bournemouth%20Info.pdf)
You can see the number of us who qualify for each category. So 2,404 fans have 18 or more away game credits for last season. I suspect that would take up the majority of tickets for most games.
And so it will go on, because they'l be the only ones who can get 18 this season too. That's why they'll continue to buy them and sell them on when they can't go. The criteria is self defeating.
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There's no system that will keep everyone happy.
As we become more successful there will be more demand too. Lots of people buy and sell tickets to maintain histories etc too.
My preference is a mixed system, one that reflects the loyalty if those who go all the time with the ballot that's open to others too. The question is what ratio Xand again that's hard to define.
I've added nowt.
The Lions clubs do get some, but not every club does, and they only get a couple when there are clubs with a lot of fans.
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Hmm, if those Bournemouth figures are right, then it would seem that 13,985 people went to at least 6 home games last year. Fuck knows how they managed it, but if that is really the case then maybe the problem isn't as bad as I thought?
I still think if they lower the threshold for the first tier it would reduce the jeopordy of not going to every single game and may have a positive overall effect?
Hmm, if those Bournemouth figures are right, then it would seem that 13,985 people went to at least 6 home games last year. Fuck knows how they managed it, but if that is really the case then maybe the problem isn't as bad as I thought?
I still think if they lower the threshold for the first tier it would reduce the jeopordy of not going to every single game and may have a positive overall effect?
<edit> - as pointed out by Dave my assumpion was entirely wrong and only 3,158 people managed to go to 6 aways or more.
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I think those figure are a total i.e. 600 have been to every game and then 1804 are in the next group, including the 600. Therefore 3158 went to 6+ aways last season. That shows the closed shop it is.
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I think those figure are a total i.e. 600 have been to every game and then 1804 are in the next group, including the 600. Therefore 3158 went to 6+ aways last season. That shows the closed shop it is.
Well spotted!
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One of the issues that nobody seems to have touched on yet is the £30 price cap is actually self defeating in some ways.
It means that clubs have no incentive to increase the size of the away allocation, as they can sell the seats to their own fans at whatever price they like.
On top of this, it keeps the tickets to a price that people are happy to 'eat' the ticket to keep their booking history up.
I think the solution would be similar to what I've seen at twickenham and at concerts, your ticket is a QR code which refreshes every 15 seconds. You can't screenshot or transfer it, unless through the App (presumably the App owner can block a transfer). That way you can also track if people aren't actually using the tickets. Of course, this would require each team to agree on a unified ticketing system for away tickets, but would solve many of the problems listed here.
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One of the issues that nobody seems to have touched on yet is the £30 price cap is actually self defeating in some ways.
It means that clubs have no incentive to increase the size of the away allocation, as they can sell the seats to their own fans at whatever price they like.
On top of this, it keeps the tickets to a price that people are happy to 'eat' the ticket to keep their booking history up.
I think the solution would be similar to what I've seen at twickenham and at concerts, your ticket is a QR code which refreshes every 15 seconds. You can't screenshot or transfer it, unless through the App (presumably the App owner can block a transfer). That way you can also track if people aren't actually using the tickets. Of course, this would require each team to agree on a unified ticketing system for away tickets, but would solve many of the problems listed here.
I think you are right about the price cap. Though be prepared for accusations of pricing out the common man!
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One of the issues that nobody seems to have touched on yet is the £30 price cap is actually self defeating in some ways.
It means that clubs have no incentive to increase the size of the away allocation, as they can sell the seats to their own fans at whatever price they like.
On top of this, it keeps the tickets to a price that people are happy to 'eat' the ticket to keep their booking history up.
I think the solution would be similar to what I've seen at twickenham and at concerts, your ticket is a QR code which refreshes every 15 seconds. You can't screenshot or transfer it, unless through the App (presumably the App owner can block a transfer). That way you can also track if people aren't actually using the tickets. Of course, this would require each team to agree on a unified ticketing system for away tickets, but would solve many of the problems listed here.
Not self defeating I remember pay £57 at Stamford bridge so good riddance to that
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Surely the away ticket price will rise. It's now cheaper to see us away than it is at home, and every other week thousands of fans of other clubs are coming to Villa Park and paying less than our own Zone 6 survivors are being physically forced to pay.
The away fans are in Zone 2 seats, so that's £9.50-14.50 per adult we're not recouping.
How many Premier League clubs charge casual home fans £30 a ticket?
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Well yes exactly, if the £57 was still the price for Chelsea then we probably wouldn't sell out! Now we're in a position where it's £30 but it's almost impossible to get a ticket. The PL have agreed to freeze the £30 price for at least two more seasons I believe.
I still think the QR code system I outlined above would solve the problem, as nobody would be able to game the system without giving their phone to someone! The PL could also step in to increase the size of the allocations from the current 3000 max
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The FA won't increase allocations when many clubs are already selling out home tickets.
I agree the QR code could be a step in the right direction, but is it an issue clubs are really invested in tackling?
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The FA won't increase allocations when many clubs are already selling out home tickets.
I agree the QR code could be a step in the right direction, but is it an issue clubs are really invested in tackling?
Not if they are selling the tickets, no.
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I found this very interesting as I hadn't realised they publish this information;
https://tickets.avfc.co.uk/usercontent/documents/pdf/A2223%20Bournemouth%20Info.pdf (https://tickets.avfc.co.uk/usercontent/documents/pdf/A2223%20Bournemouth%20Info.pdf)
You can see the number of us who qualify for each category. So 2,404 fans have 18 or more away game credits for last season. I suspect that would take up the majority of tickets for most games.
And so it will go on, because they'l be the only ones who can get 18 this season too. That's why they'll continue to buy them and sell them on when they can't go. The criteria is self defeating.
This is the exact problem. Every fan who travels away that I know personally will buy their ticket for every match , and many sell them on for a good proportion of the matches. They're too scared of losing their allocation for the ones they DO want to go to, not to buy one for the ones they don't. Thus it's a self defeating system.
As an aside, I went away lots in the champ years and when we first got promoted back. Started not to enjoy it so much due to the increasingly large dickhead contingency - I like a beer as much as the next man, but there's drunkenness on an industrial scale , people spewing in the seats, Villa fans fighting each other, that annoying display on the concourse of every ground before kick off where its impossible to get a drink or anything to eat without being covered in beer etc etc. I feel like some variation in the people going from week to week would dilute this down a bit maybe.
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As an aside, I went away lots in the champ years and when we first got promoted back. Started not to enjoy it so much due to the increasingly large dickhead contingency - I like a beer as much as the next man, but there's drunkenness on an industrial scale , people spewing in the seats, Villa fans fighting each other, that annoying display on the concourse of every ground before kick off where its impossible to get a drink or anything to eat without being covered in beer etc etc. I feel like some variation in the people going from week to week would dilute this down a bit maybe.
Spot on. Plus the very open taking of coke, leading to aggressive baiting of opposition fans.
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Let’s hope for an away tie against MK Dons for 2 reasons
1 - you get whatever allocation you want 10K if you like
Although knowing our lot will probably just take the minimal allocation again the twats ( see I’m still raging)
2 - It’s dead easy for me to get to
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The FA won't increase allocations when many clubs are already selling out home tickets.
I agree the QR code could be a step in the right direction, but is it an issue clubs are really invested in tackling?
Not if they are selling the tickets, no.
Agreed, there's no incentive to them other than trying to increase 'fairness', and it would cost them money. They won't do it, the whole cycle will just continue.
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It must be difficult to come up with a system that recognises the supporters who go to every game regardless and it not be a closed shop
I’m someone who used to go to around 8 aways a season prior to relegation and in the championship, as I’m only a member, I don’t even look at the away sale dates as I have absolutely no chance
I appreciate some might say that you could have gone to Chelsea away in the cup or other examples, but it also not practical to plan for this as you generally don’t get the chance of a ticket until a few days before, which means you probably can’t go due to work commitments
We definitely need something better than 50 ballot tickets as I suspect there will be a lot who had previously the same type of away history as mine and all love a good away day
UTV
I'm similar, living outside the area away games probably accounted for 50% of the games I went to. Didn't particularly pick out the popular ones, just ones that were closer to me than Villa Park & there were tickets available given my booking history ... Wigan away on a weeknight, things like that.
They've dried up, which is a pity. From what I gather, even having a season ticket would make the chances getting tickets to aways remote.
I dunno, I think it's absolutely fair that the loyalist supporters get rewarded. Maybe have a guaranteed trickle down, so 65% of tickets released for supporters with 18+ games, but then reserve another 10% to release for 15+ games, release a further 5% for 12+ games, ..., 5% for 3+ games, and 5% based on home attendance. You're still giving two thirds of tickets to the most loyal supporters, and 75% of tickets to anyone who's been to three quarters of the games ...
I dunno, just a thought. :)
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The only solution is ID. And that's not palatable.
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I’d be up for some sort of ID scheme, it would be interesting because if it was the same 2k or so of us going every week then I’d recognise an awful lot more faces than I do.
Unfortunately, an ID scheme would need support and standardisation across all of the clubs and therefore Premier League enforcement. The fans are not the main concern for them though, and as long as the tickets are getting sold to someone they couldn’t give a toss.
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The fans are not the main concern for them though, and as long as the tickets are getting sold to someone they couldn’t give a toss.
You’d think so from the way fans are treated generally as consumers these days, but the small measures they have taken in terms of devising some penalties for selling tickets on (home and away), and randomly selecting a sample to pick up their tickets from away grounds with ID, would indicate it is something they have some will to tackle.
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The fans are not the main concern for them though, and as long as the tickets are getting sold to someone they couldn’t give a toss.
You’d think so from the way fans are treated generally as consumers these days, but the small measures they have taken in terms of devising some penalties for selling tickets on (home and away), and randomly selecting a sample to pick up their tickets from away grounds with ID, would indicate it is something they have some will to tackle.
I think the club has some will yes, but the Premier League itself doesn't unfortunately.