Heroes & Villains, the Aston Villa fanzine
Heroes & Villains => Heroes Discussion => Topic started by: Nii Lamptey on November 07, 2023, 05:42:55 PM
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On the rare occasions I'm able to get to away games, and it drops to Season Ticket holder allocation, it's nigh on impossible to act quickly enough on the website.
I was primed and ready to go to try and snag one of the last remaining Spurs away tickets at 5pm, but they were gone within like 2-3 seconds?! I'm on top tier Virgin Media internet connection so speed isn't the issue, and I was 'in' the second it switched back to 'on sale', so what's the crack??
I'm guessing some fans have ways of cheating the system, as there's no way they could have gone through the button clicks required to add to cart within that timeframe.
Anyone able to shed any light on this?
I've only been able to snag Newcastle away, and that was after about 20mins of refreshing the site, after what I guess was a failed purchase went back into the pot. Really frustrating.
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I clicked on buy when it turned to 5pm, knew most tickets were in Block 114, clicked it, clicked the first single seat I saw. Buying multiple tickets is a guarantee of failure in the fastest finger first scenario
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I clicked on buy when it turned to 5pm, knew most tickets were in Block 114, clicked it, clicked the first single seat I saw. Buying multiple tickets is a guarantee of failure in the fastest finger first scenario
I did the same - No cigar. :(
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Me neither.
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I was primed and ready to go to try and snag one of the last remaining Spurs away tickets at 5pm, but they were gone within like 2-3 seconds?! I'm on top tier Virgin Media internet connection so speed isn't the issue, and I was 'in' the second it switched back to 'on sale', so what's the crack??
Anyone able to shed any light on this?
You need to borrow PWS' computer.
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It's a bit mad.
And I don't think the TO (is there even a TO anymore?) helps?
I have got tickets for my mate and his disabled daughter for the last 10 years...all of a sudden last week I'm told they don't qualify in the first batch even though I have got their tickets in the first batch for every previous away game this season.
When I was told "they must have got their tickets from somewhere else" - they didn't, I get them - I was furious.
Then told "those are the rules"....basically, "TOUGH SHIT!"
It's a clear and obvious error.
should I consult VAR?
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I can only speak for the European aways this season but they must not be releasing the entire batch in one go at the start of the window. It frequently says "sold out" but then after a refresh another set have been released into the wild. I've given up on league away games unless I pick one up second hand. I used to go to 5-10 a season but now many seem to be taken by people who attend those kinds of numbers of games but buy every one and resell most.
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They clearly know how many qualify for each batch and I think they release that number each time. Inevitably, a few people return tickets for various reasons and they become available again. When I've struggled the TO has told me to phone as often as I can as tickets are returned every day.....unless they decide to sell them via twitter/Facebook etc.....which is exactly what the club is trying to cut down on!
It's still mad.
Never had this problem for a cold, wet Tuesday night in Rotherham!
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My tactic when it gets down to season ticket holders is to frantically click on the worst block - I.e. a block in the corner, as I assume that's where most of the tickets will be, then just randomly click on a blue dot immediately. Sometimes this fails and sometimes it works. Managed to get a Spurs ticket through this strategy.
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I can only speak for the European aways this season but they must not be releasing the entire batch in one go at the start of the window. It frequently says "sold out" but then after a refresh another set have been released into the wild. I've given up on league away games unless I pick one up second hand. I used to go to 5-10 a season but now many seem to be taken by people who attend those kinds of numbers of games but buy every one and resell most.
This is quite widespread. A lot of fans with full allocation who just buy up every game to keep themselves top of the pile, then sell the games they can’t be arsed to go to.
Fair enough if they DO go to every game, but this is gatekeeping away games for themselves. The PL need a better way of policing this to stop people and their @&tish ways and give everyone a shot at attending away games.
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The away ticketing fiasco is a joke and the closed shop needs cracking open.
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I can only speak for the European aways this season but they must not be releasing the entire batch in one go at the start of the window. It frequently says "sold out" but then after a refresh another set have been released into the wild. I've given up on league away games unless I pick one up second hand. I used to go to 5-10 a season but now many seem to be taken by people who attend those kinds of numbers of games but buy every one and resell most.
This is quite widespread. A lot of fans with full allocation who just buy up every game to keep themselves top of the pile, then sell the games they can’t be arsed to go to.
Fair enough if they DO go to every game, but this is gatekeeping away games for themselves. The PL need a better way of policing this to stop people and their @&tish ways and give everyone a shot at attending away games.
I also used to attend 5-10 away games a season, but due to cost, the year we got promoted, I couldn't get to as many, and since then it's been impossible.
The funny thing is, the argument is that they've been there through thick and thin - well I never had any issues getting tickets in the relegation season, and the seasons prior to our promotion...
Something does need to be done about it.
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There's a couple of them who post pics of every away ticket they get on social media and come out with shit like "fastest finger first" which it definitely isn't . Then proceed to get absolutely bollocksed at every away game and I doubt they even remember the game itself ! Just go to Wetherspoons FFS
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If we get to the final of the European competition in Athens, it will be interesting to see how many tickets we get and the criteria for buying a ticket.
There are going to be a lot of very angry Villa fans who do not get a ticket.
I have been told there is a facebook site where Villa fans sell away tickets, these fans should have their away history deleted.
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Is it people who have a the criteria (and already having a ticket) buying for mates? By this I mean as they have the criteria they can log onto the site and add tickets to their basket before the deadline, then complete the purchase at the deadline whilst others are trying to log on?
I'm not sure if it works this way, just guessing.
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Is it people who have a the criteria (and already having a ticket) buying for mates? By this I mean as they have the criteria they can log onto the site and add tickets to their basket before the deadline, then complete the purchase at the deadline whilst others are trying to log on?
I'm not sure if it works this way, just guessing.
I certainly know of someone who does this.
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I often wondered how folks can afford to go to all these away games, then I realised that they don’t, they pick and choose and sell the spares. I don’t blame em for using “the system” to their advantage as I imagine you can’t pick and choose without losing your history.
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You're talking about a tiny minority. The folks milling around in Alkmaar are the same people you see everywhere.
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Maybe they should allow people an allotment of so many away games a season (I dunno 6 max maybe) vouchers they can use for whatever games they wish. This could then mean more tickets for other fans. Just thinking out loud here, feel free to pick this apart 😂 im sure it’s got more holes than a colander
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You're talking about a tiny minority. The folks milling around in Alkmaar are the same people you see everywhere.
Mm dunno about that of the mates I know that go away there isn’t t one that doesn’t pick and choose. I’m sure you have the regulars too
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For me, the website went straight from 'On Sale Soon' to 'Sold Out'
Annoying because I'm up in that there London anyway that weekend
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I'm not saying this is a bad thing, but when watching a game and the cameras pan in on our away support, I am often surprised by the number of teenagers in groups, and wonder how it is that they have been apparently able to acquire the right to tickets over as many seasons as would be required. As I say, not necessarily a bad thing, but just wondering.
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It's a vicious circle of miss one and you miss a lot more. There's no easy answer - you can't exactly tell someone who hasn't missed a match for decades that they have to give someone else a chance now.
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I've entered the ballot for Spurs.
Has anyone here ever been successful via that route ?
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i entered the ballot for Bournemouth, I have previously entered the ballot a fair few times with no luck.
I do know someone who won a ticket through the ballot last season
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It's a vicious circle of miss one and you miss a lot more. There's no easy answer - you can't exactly tell someone who hasn't missed a match for decades that they have to give someone else a chance now.
Fans that go to ALL games but miss the odd one a season would still be top of the list in priority sales though Dave. That's not the issue.
The issue is the fuck tonne of fans who buy them up to stay top of the pile, then sell them on to their crack head mates. Saw someone posting on here about spares for Bournemouth... Any spares should go back into the pot, and the fan that originally bought that ticket should get that allocation chalked off their booking history, to make it fair for all fans, and not such a locked off exclusive club.
It will still give preference to fans that go to nearly all away games, but fairer for everyone else who can only get to a smattering of away days due to cost/work commitments.
There was uproar about checking ID on matchdays against purchased tickets. Some of it warranted, as it would make it a bit of a pain trying to get into the ground, but the biggest opposition to it would have been the arseholes who sell the tickets on, as they'd rightly get exposed.
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Is that really a major problem? Most of the time spares on here are down to unforeseen work/family commitments.
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Is that really a major problem? Most of the time spares on here are down to unforeseen work/family commitments.
For people who are next in line, frustrated at the inability to get away tickets, I'd say yes it is a problem. Unless it's so last minute, they can't be refunded/resold, they should absolutely go back into the pot imo.
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I think Villa are trying to get on top of the situation by bringing in rules and bans for selling tickets on. They will probably never say but it would be interesting to know how many people have been caught. There will always be people trying to play the system and I'm quite happy to see them caught if they are playing it.
The rules don't seem particular onerous, in my experience. The caveat is that I only ever have had to upload a photo and reassign my home ticket if I can't make it.
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Is it people who have a the criteria (and already having a ticket) buying for mates? By this I mean as they have the criteria they can log onto the site and add tickets to their basket before the deadline, then complete the purchase at the deadline whilst others are trying to log on?
I'm not sure if it works this way, just guessing.
I certainly know of someone who does this.
I think this is what has been happening and the club seem to be trying to fix it for Bournemouth.
To give everyone eligible under today's window the same chance of securing a ticket, the AFC Bournemouth game will be temporarily taken off sale at 1pm.
The game will go back on sale at 5pm when the new window opens.
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Is it people who have a the criteria (and already having a ticket) buying for mates? By this I mean as they have the criteria they can log onto the site and add tickets to their basket before the deadline, then complete the purchase at the deadline whilst others are trying to log on?
I'm not sure if it works this way, just guessing.
I certainly know of someone who does this.
I think this is what has been happening and the club seem to be trying to fix it for Bournemouth.
To give everyone eligible under today's window the same chance of securing a ticket, the AFC Bournemouth game will be temporarily taken off sale at 1pm.
The game will go back on sale at 5pm when the new window opens.
But does that clear people’s baskets?
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They also cleared the baskets for Spurs. It used to be standard procedure until this season when the downsizing of the ticket office clearly led to it being dropped. I imagine they'll continue to do this now. I do wonder what the benefit of this versus just doing a ballot is though.
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I'm caught as somebody who does go everywhere and having an 8 and half year old son who is a season ticket holder and who is equally desperate to go to away games, but we cannot get him tickets.
Last year he managed Newcastle away off his own card, Leeds as my dad was in Singapore for his 60th, Bolton and Man United in the cups. Season before he did Anfield, Goodison and Man City as we got him spares off here.
He's not managed one yet this term and it was a bit annoying the other day to have 5 returns for Forest but you couldn't purchase as they remain at the group it sold out at.
I'm resigned to keeping our other season ticket going in perpetuity and using the aways on that.
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If I were king of the ticket office, I'd count 'number of away games in the last 12 months', rather than for the season, widen the group for the 1st set of tickets to '50% of away games'. Then there's no advantage to someone buying and reselling tickets for more than 10 away games a season. Take away the incentive and people won't do it.
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You would punish loyalty that way.
The only genuine way to stop people selling on, would be the way tickets for Hibs and Alkmaar were sorted.
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You would punish loyalty that way.
The only genuine way to stop people selling on, would be the way tickets for Hibs and Alkmaar were sorted.
This but it’s quite labour intensive so costs the club. There are no easy answers in my view but loyalty must be rewarded as the first benchmark and it just so happens those who went to all the shitty aways in our last season in the Championship now get the priority which in my view is how it should be. I’m not one of them which means I’ve pretty much given up on going to away games unless I can get tickets from people I know who do have full away records, it’s not ideal but if I can get to 1 or 2 aways a season that’s grand.
I’ve been lucky on the European front that it went to STHs only for Legia away and I was able to afford it/get time off work which meant I was in tranche 2 for Alkmaar and got a ticket there as well. I’m hopeful that’ll get me some priority for any potential R16/Qtr/Semi away games as there’s no way I’ll get a ticket for Mostar.
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You would punish loyalty that way.
The only genuine way to stop people selling on, would be the way tickets for Hibs and Alkmaar were sorted.
This but it’s quite labour intensive so costs the club. There are no easy answers in my view but loyalty must be rewarded as the first benchmark and it just so happens those who went to all the shitty aways in our last season in the Championship now get the priority which in my view is how it should be. I’m not one of them which means I’ve pretty much given up on going to away games unless I can get tickets from people I know who do have full away records, it’s not ideal but if I can get to 1 or 2 aways a season that’s grand.
I’ve been lucky on the European front that it went to STHs only for Legia away and I was able to afford it/get time off work which meant I was in tranche 2 for Alkmaar and got a ticket there as well. I’m hopeful that’ll get me some priority for any potential R16/Qtr/Semi away games as there’s no way I’ll get a ticket for Mostar.
Im pretty much here in terms of thought process around loyalty and also subsequent difficulties getting away tickets. I think loyalty should be rewarded and I’ve no problem with it.
Its a shame we don’t get more away tickets as my teenage son is mad to go. Last year i took him to Bolton and Man utd in the cups and managed two pass me on tickets to spurs on new years day from a mate who couldn’t go. I got a passed down ticket for Liverpool in May but couldn’t get him one.
This season proving more difficult. Its a shame for the next generation of supporters like my boy, but Im not sure there are any easy answers.
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The best answer is all digital tickets in an app that is attached to you personally and non-transferable. It seems that most away grounds are transitioning to QR codes so that should be possible in the not to distant future.
There's the potential for issues occurring with password sharing, but those are surely surmountable.
This should mean that nobody can transfer and the tickets will reflect actual loyalty/attendance.
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I actually think many of the ‘most loyal’ are as trapped in a cycle as we are trapped out of it.
It has become pretty much all or nothing. There are a small hardcore of supporters who want to go to absolutely every game, but there are loads more who want to go to 12-15, 6-12 etc.
Those who want to go to most but not all, are now stuck with going to all whether they want to or not, and living in fear of a ban if they pass the odd ticket on.
Many say ‘where were you all in The Championship?’ But I am not alone in having gone to about a dozen games that season and 6-10 for years before that. I always had enough aways to get myself a ticket for the last away of the season.
Not a chance now. My only away tickets are passed on to me on someone else’s history, and by taking that route at perpetuate the very problem that I am a victim of.
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You would punish loyalty that way.
The only genuine way to stop people selling on, would be the way tickets for Hibs and Alkmaar were sorted.
This but it’s quite labour intensive so costs the club. There are no easy answers in my view but loyalty must be rewarded as the first benchmark and it just so happens those who went to all the shitty aways in our last season in the Championship now get the priority which in my view is how it should be. I’m not one of them which means I’ve pretty much given up on going to away games unless I can get tickets from people I know who do have full away records, it’s not ideal but if I can get to 1 or 2 aways a season that’s grand.
I’ve been lucky on the European front that it went to STHs only for Legia away and I was able to afford it/get time off work which meant I was in tranche 2 for Alkmaar and got a ticket there as well. I’m hopeful that’ll get me some priority for any potential R16/Qtr/Semi away games as there’s no way I’ll get a ticket for Mostar.
I'm basically the same (nice to meet you on the way to Warsaw btw) but I'm hoping that the horrible travel arrangements will mean that enough will drop out for me to get me a ticket for Mostar. I have a very slim chance I think. I have booked flights already so I'll be there in some capacity.
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I agree Amfy.
I actually think as Algy suggested having the first criteria as 10 aways in the previous 12 months would take this pressure off. Of course, people who go to every game would lose out a bit, but still have a very good chance of securing tickets for most games, but there would be no need to cheat the system and buy for every game.
Obviously then being able to get to a PC at 5pm on the sale day becomes an issue for those who work. There's no perfect system.
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The system is too binary - go to ALL away games or go to NONE.
Totally impractical , discriminatory and unfair.
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If we get to the final of the European competition in Athens, it will be interesting to see how many tickets we get and the criteria for buying a ticket.
There are going to be a lot of very angry Villa fans who do not get a ticket.
The venue for the final seats 32,500.
Take a few thousand off for perimeter advertising, then factor in that the sponsors will want tickets for their clients, etc, I reckon each finalist will be lucky to see 10,000 tickets. I'm resigned to the fact I won't get a ticket if we make it to the final. There's going to be a lot of frustrated fans.
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Making a system that makes it impossible or incredibly difficult for fans who do want to go to all away games, do go to all away games and have done for decades, isn't a solution.
ID is the only way.
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If we get to the final of the European competition in Athens, it will be interesting to see how many tickets we get and the criteria for buying a ticket.
There are going to be a lot of very angry Villa fans who do not get a ticket.
The venue for the final seats 32,500.
Take a few thousand off for perimeter advertising, then factor in that the sponsors will want tickets for their clients, etc, I reckon each finalist will be lucky to see 10,000 tickets. I'm resigned to the fact I won't get a ticket if we make it to the final. There's going to be a lot of frustrated fans.
European final tickets are a quarter for each team and half for Uefa.
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I've been getting away tickets for my family and friends group for years but had never heard of this putting seats in the basket until someone mentioned it with regard to the Hibs game this season....then I wasn't even sure if/how that could work, as passport details/photo id etc was required...and I do know some who obtained their tickets in Edinburgh and immediately passed them on to AN Other waiting outside.
I simply don't understand that mentality.
I've been to almost every away game for the last 10/12 years or so and find it difficult to accept that some folk say I should give up my chance to go to further away games because a few people cheat the system.
Of all the fans who I go with and meet at away games I don't know of anyone who willingly sells on their ticket on for the sake of it. The usual scenario is that for some reason (illness, medical treatment etc) they can't go so pass their ticket on to a friend, just as most do with their ST if they can't make a home game.
It's a difficult one, in a number of ways, but I'd be massively pissed off if I wasn't able to go to any away game because someone else simply fancied going to the odd game now and again because it suited their whim for the OT, The Emirates or Anfield "matchday experience".
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If we get to the final of the European competition in Athens, it will be interesting to see how many tickets we get and the criteria for buying a ticket.
There are going to be a lot of very angry Villa fans who do not get a ticket.
The venue for the final seats 32,500.
Take a few thousand off for perimeter advertising, then factor in that the sponsors will want tickets for their clients, etc, I reckon each finalist will be lucky to see 10,000 tickets. I'm resigned to the fact I won't get a ticket if we make it to the final. There's going to be a lot of frustrated fans.
European final tickets are a quarter for each team and half for Uefa.
So lucky to get 8,000 then.
For the good of the game?
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Agree with ultimately ID like the European seats is the only way. I'm sure this will become the norm. Also saw the same old faces in Alkmaar but for once didn't bump into Ads. He hangs with the cool kids..
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Haha! I spent most of the time outside the marquee chatting with Bladen and fellow Villa northern oiks. Got a few good videos of the atmosphere from inside the marquee. I wish I was technically minded so I could share on here.
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I went off into Alkmaar for a few hours. Lovely place. You wouldn't have known there was a game on that evening.
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They clearly know how many qualify for each batch and I think they release that number each time. Inevitably, a few people return tickets for various reasons and they become available again. When I've struggled the TO has told me to phone as often as I can as tickets are returned every day.....unless they decide to sell them via twitter/Facebook etc.....which is exactly what the club is trying to cut down on!
It's still mad.
Never had this problem for a cold, wet Tuesday night in Rotherham!
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Funnily enough the last away game I managed to get an away ticket (without a little help) was back at Rotherham in 2019. Don't think it was raining though
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Funnily enough the last away game I managed to get an away ticket (without a little help) was back at Rotherham in 2019. Don't think it was raining though
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After Grealish's goal it was definitely moist. ;-)
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Strange to think, what used to be such a way of life without any thought of ticket nerves, I may never attend an away match again.
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Strange to think, what used to be such a way of life without any thought of ticket nerves, I may never attend an away match again.
As my comment a few pages ago, Alex, it's a bit mad.
It never used to be mad.
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Strange to think, what used to be such a way of life without any thought of ticket nerves, I may never attend an away match again.
Yeah frozen out . Not good. As a ST holder of over 20 years it feels very unfair
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Incredible how near impossible it is to get away tickets now.
Go back a decade and I could get to the likes of Everton and West Ham away fairly easily and I was a non season ticket holder going to 6-7 home games a season in those times. Those were mid ranking away games but zero chance now of going to either fixture this season (even if we draw either away in the FA cup) and that's not going to change unless we get really rubbish again at prem level and even then they'll be loyalty for a few seasons.
Getting promotion really did re-energise our support home and away in terms of numbers.
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Getting good relegated impacted away support. 4200 for a game live on Sky, on a Sunday, paying the most expensive away ticket prices in English football that year at Hillsborough, 2016. 5000 to Preston, 4000 to Barnsley, 4,000 to Reading to see our first away win in 16 months. 4200 to the Molineux. Huge numbers everywhere and that was consistent across all 3 seasons down there.
Dean Smith got the Villa Park numbers consistently back and Purslow knew how to cut elasticity from supply. Now here we are, 7 months away from demolition of the North.
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The only away matches I attend are the pre-season frendlies
Season ticket holder for the last 35 seasons and i realise that I will have little chance of getting a ticket for the European final if we get there!
When we won the European Cup, it was so easy to get a ticket.
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Hopefully there'll be loads of touts in Athens
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First match in 1972, season ticket holder since 1976, with a short break from 2005 until 2007 then every season since (excluding covid times) used to go home and away everywhere, however, haven't been away now for some years (other than Rotherham in championship when I had a corporate invite from a friend who has a business just outside the ground, also the various Wembley trips if that counts as away?) and feel I will now never see us away again.
Pretty sure I wont get a ticket for Athens if we get there.
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I've been getting away tickets for my family and friends group for years but had never heard of this putting seats in the basket until someone mentioned it with regard to the Hibs game this season....then I wasn't even sure if/how that could work, as passport details/photo id etc was required...and I do know some who obtained their tickets in Edinburgh and immediately passed them on to AN Other waiting outside.
I simply don't understand that mentality.
I've been to almost every away game for the last 10/12 years or so and find it difficult to accept that some folk say I should give up my chance to go to further away games because a few people cheat the system.
Of all the fans who I go with and meet at away games I don't know of anyone who willingly sells on their ticket on for the sake of it. The usual scenario is that for some reason (illness, medical treatment etc) they can't go so pass their ticket on to a friend, just as most do with their ST if they can't make a home game.
It's a difficult one, in a number of ways, but I'd be massively pissed off if I wasn't able to go to any away game because someone else simply fancied going to the odd game now and again because it suited their whim for the OT, The Emirates or Anfield "matchday experience".
I agree with virtually everything you have said here. The only thing I would say is that not everyone who wants to go to some away games, but can’t get tickets, only want to have the matchday experience at Arsenal, Liverpool etc. Sure my 13 year old loved going to Spurs last season, but he enjoyed Bolton as much as Man Utd and was absolutely mad to go to Forest but no chance. To be honest money would dictate that even if I could get away tickets I wouldn’t be able to go to every away game as well as maintain three season tickets for me, my son and daughter. I just think think that loyalty like yours absolutely has to be rewarded, but where are the away supporters that come after you going to come from if they can never build up that history in the current system.
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I don't think a bad idea is 50% go to booking history and 50% go to first come first serve for every away game. That would be a healthier mix of fans rather than the same old faces each and every week controlling who goes.
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I don't think a bad idea is 50% go to booking history and 50% go to first come first serve for every away game. That would be a healthier mix of fans rather than the same old faces each and every week controlling who goes.
This is how England have distributed away and tournament tickets for many years now. But 70/30 which I think is fairer than 50/50.
70% based on previous history, 30% into a ballot.
Worth noting, no one complains that this is unfair.
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We more or less knocked away games on the head just before the pandemic so being out the loop is self inflicted I suppose but it would be nice to do the odd away game now and again but it's not looking likely anytime soon unless I get lucky in the ballot.
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Oh for the days when I was little, the family would be sitting around at home on a Saturday morning, with nothing planned, and Dad would suddenly say those magic words. 'Oh come on, we might as well go. Get the scarves.'
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For games like Bournemouth and Brentford, where the allocation is tiny, the 70/30 would be unfair.
There's 2400 with 11+ aways; so you could with your ~3000 allocations have 19+, 15+, 11+ categories and then open up the last 20% to season ticket holders for a ballot and you probably wouldn't be changing too much, just giving folks the chance to do 4 or 5 aways a season rather than none.
I still don't think the problem of people passing on tickets is too wide spread and I really don't agree with the "don't want to go but have to buy tickets" thinking at all. I don't think there's any basis for that.
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It’s a really tricky one innit. On one hand, those who have demonstrated their loyalty (following us, watching some really bleak stuff, home and away, through thin and thinner) do deserve to be first in line for away tickets. The trouble starts when it becomes impossible for “new” people to get the opportunity to build up such a record of loyalty. Like others on here, my teenage son would happily go to every home and away game. Problem is that he’s about 10,000th in the ST queue so will be unlikely to be a season ticket holder for a while, although he goes to all home games as a member. I do manage to beg, steal and borrow away tickets for him whenever I can ( and I’m really grateful for those who regularly help me out) and he came to about 6 league aways with me last season and a few already this season and he absolutely loves the away “experience”. I remember (just about) when I was his age and how much it meant to me to be able to watch Villa playing away and I can’t imagine how frustrating it must be for those who are unable to get any sort of foothold into the away-supporting community.
And there’s 8 of us flying to Mostar next month with no tickets and very little chance of getting any. What can you do?
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In our lot, if tickets do become available, the kids come first. They're both 19 and I remember when I was their age following us absolutely everywhere and how great it was and the memories we made. I like to go with them but I've been there and done that so it's their turn.
It's just a pity that they don't have the opportunity we had to attend every game.
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Incredible how near impossible it is to get away tickets now.
Go back a decade and I could get to the likes of Everton and West Ham away fairly easily and I was a non season ticket holder going to 6-7 home games a season in those times. Those were mid ranking away games but zero chance now of going to either fixture this season (even if we draw either away in the FA cup) and that's not going to change unless we get really rubbish again at prem level and even then they'll be loyalty for a few seasons.
Getting promotion really did re-energise our support home and away in terms of numbers.
Yep, me too. There was a few seasons on the trot in the late 00s where I went to more away games than I did home games! Seems mad really that it's become basically impossible for a standard season ticket holder to be able to get to any.
Also remember my dad taking a huge gang of us - 12 kids - on his own to watch Us Vs Wimbledon at Selhurst Park. God knows how he managed to get all those tickets himself, cos we were the only ones really who went to watch Villa very often (if at all).
For games like Bournemouth and Brentford, where the allocation is tiny, the 70/30 would be unfair.
There's 2400 with 11+ aways; so you could with your ~3000 allocations have 19+, 15+, 11+ categories and then open up the last 20% to season ticket holders for a ballot and you probably wouldn't be changing too much, just giving folks the chance to do 4 or 5 aways a season rather than none.
I still don't think the problem of people passing on tickets is too wide spread and I really don't agree with the "don't want to go but have to buy tickets" thinking at all. I don't think there's any basis for that.
Yep, I think for me - I don't really mind that I'm not able to get tickets to go to away games now, cos I don't really go to enough home games to be in a position to say that I ought to be put above someone who goes every week.
However, I do think that season ticket holders at least should get the opportunity to go to a handful of away games.
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I've been getting away tickets for my family and friends group for years but had never heard of this putting seats in the basket until someone mentioned it with regard to the Hibs game this season....then I wasn't even sure if/how that could work, as passport details/photo id etc was required...and I do know some who obtained their tickets in Edinburgh and immediately passed them on to AN Other waiting outside.
I simply don't understand that mentality.
I've been to almost every away game for the last 10/12 years or so and find it difficult to accept that some folk say I should give up my chance to go to further away games because a few people cheat the system.
Of all the fans who I go with and meet at away games I don't know of anyone who willingly sells on their ticket on for the sake of it. The usual scenario is that for some reason (illness, medical treatment etc) they can't go so pass their ticket on to a friend, just as most do with their ST if they can't make a home game.
It's a difficult one, in a number of ways, but I'd be massively pissed off if I wasn't able to go to any away game because someone else simply fancied going to the odd game now and again because it suited their whim for the OT, The Emirates or Anfield "matchday experience".
I agree with virtually everything you have said here. The only thing I would say is that not everyone who wants to go to some away games, but can’t get tickets, only want to have the matchday experience at Arsenal, Liverpool etc. Sure my 13 year old loved going to Spurs last season, but he enjoyed Bolton as much as Man Utd and was absolutely mad to go to Forest but no chance. To be honest money would dictate that even if I could get away tickets I wouldn’t be able to go to every away game as well as maintain three season tickets for me, my son and daughter. I just think think that loyalty like yours absolutely has to be rewarded, but where are the away supporters that come after you going to come from if they can never build up that history in the current system.
I'm relating a scenario that I witness on a reasonably regular basis and in chat with Villa fans, including family, who rarely go to games home or away....they want to go to the "big" games - perfectly understandable - but have no intention of making any consistent commitment. I have various anecdotes and many of us on here will know similar stories. The system that the club runs atm is the only one I know and I go along with it as honestly as possible, in spite of some of the baffling things thrown our way by the TO every now and again.
I think you make a really good point about "inheriting" the opportunity to go to away games, Bruno, and I don't have any answers. I will simply go to away games for as long as I can, if and when I can. The Villa is a massive part of my life and while I am able to go , I will. But unless the club has a big shift in policy...and it has become similar with STs now (grandson is 33,000th on the waiting list) ...I don't know how we can open it up to those outside the regulars. I tell some of my family to simply get on to anything and everything you can and build up a history. The fact that we returned tickets to Forest without putting them on open sale is a perfect example of how ridiculous the TO system and policy is.
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I get loyalty etc BUT i don't think it's fair that some fans hog all the tickets and go to EVERY away game - that's quite selfish in my opinion.
I think 50/50 would be fair , the hardcore would probably still get 10+ away games a season in and it would open it up nicely for other hardcore fans who are unable to go to every game every week due to all sorts of family / work / social reasons etc
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It’s not selfish to want to go to every Villa game, home and away. Let’s not blame the fans for this situation
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Getting good relegated impacted away support. 4200 for a game live on Sky, on a Sunday, paying the most expensive away ticket prices in English football that year at Hillsborough, 2016. 5000 to Preston, 4000 to Barnsley, 4,000 to Reading to see our first away win in 16 months. 4200 to the Molineux. Huge numbers everywhere and that was consistent across all 3 seasons down there.
Dean Smith got the Villa Park numbers consistently back and Purslow knew how to cut elasticity from supply. Now here we are, 7 months away from demolition of the North.
I went to Preston in early part of our first season down there, 6k behind the goal shouting Di Matteo out.
Our first season in championship we had some decent home crowds but largely in 30-35k as our capacity was capped by closing Upper Trinity for majority of games. That feels like decades ago now. DS coming in got the crowds back up to 40k.
Thinking about Preston and another factor is losing some clubs in prem who were happy to give big ends to away fans. In the 2000s you had Wigan, Blackburn and Bolton who had limited home support so didn't mind 5k away fans behind the goal to boost attendance.
They've now been replaced by Brentford, Bournemouth and Luton who all have very limited capacities for this level in terms of away allocation.
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For games like Bournemouth and Brentford, where the allocation is tiny, the 70/30 would be unfair.
There's 2400 with 11+ aways; so you could with your ~3000 allocations have 19+, 15+, 11+ categories and then open up the last 20% to season ticket holders for a ballot and you probably wouldn't be changing too much, just giving folks the chance to do 4 or 5 aways a season rather than none.
I still don't think the problem of people passing on tickets is too wide spread and I really don't agree with the "don't want to go but have to buy tickets" thinking at all. I don't think there's any basis for that.
I think you're wrong. Infact I know you're wrong.
You have a very extreme view as you are in the club and can be for as long as you like. Everyone in your position will buy 19 away tickets so they can do the same. I'd say the vast majority sell a few on.
I understand your point of view. In your mind you did the hard yards and will benefit forever more because your circumstances meant you could go to away matches when we were in the championship. Anyone else can fuck off because they didn't go to 19 away matches 4 years ago.
I get it. Why would you want redistribution of your wealth when you are the one with the wealth?
As many have said, there's no easy answers. Of course loyalty should be rewarded, but but I don't think the same 2-3,000 buying all the tickets in perpetuity can or should be the answer. There should be opportunities for other fans, particularly younger fans. Personally I think 50/50 would do this. I don't think there should be a '19 games' criteria. You'd still get to most games but because you don't HAVE to buy a ticket for every game then more will trickle down.
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I've missed a handful of games in 30 years, home, away, Europe. I don't really like the way you characterise me to be honest. I want my loyalty to keep going for another 30 years and if I live long enough, whatever comes after that. The idea of not going fills me with teeth aching anxiety. I want to go, I love to go.
The only games I've ever missed are when I've been ill and have never sold my ticket on and never would.
I've dedicated decades of my life to this thing of ours and you're snarling in resentment. That's a you a problem.
The idea that I should give that credit up, quite frankly, fucking no. Not now, not ever. Your last sentence is the biggest load of wrongness I've ever read on here. You don't get it at all, so no wonder you don't think loyalty matters.
Edit: "Being in a club" as if it's so fucking easy to follow this past time. So bitter and snide. The miles travelled, the thousands upon thousands of pounds that I don't even want to really think about, the hammering my cars have taken. Getting back at 3am from Millwall on a Friday night, having driven from Penrith to London and then back to the North West, having to dig your way through snow to get the car back on the estate. Having to have watched Lambert ball. Getting a puncture on the way back from Brighton on a Friday night as some berk has left laughing gas cannister on the M40. The 6 weeks it takes to get from the North West to Selhurst Park. Going on a stag do and leaving your car in Maidenhead, hiring one in Bournemouth, driving to Newcastle, driving back to Maidenhead, to then drive to the North West. I've fucking earnt my guarantee. "4 years" or a "cosey club". I'm loyal, there's hundreds more in that 19+ bracket who could tell you the same story.
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I'm not sure anything you say changes the validity of my point. Yeah, your personal attendance goes back further and I commend your loyalty.
That doesn't change the overarching point that the '19 aways' have to buy 19 this season and will do so whether they want to attend or not. And of course the vast majority won't have a track record anything like yours and I would wager a large portion will sell some on.
And it's not snarling resentment. I wouldn't be able to get to more than a handful of away games either way, so it doesn't make much difference to me. I just observe that a system where the same 3,000 people will go for the next 10 years without any prospect of younger fans breaking into that cycle is clearly flawed.
But as I said, I get it. Jack's alright.
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Its oozing bitter resentment and you don't commend fuck all, as you're having a go at me because I'm loyal. How about Goughie? He's been going since Jesus was in short trousers and will still be going when the Rapture comes. If you commend loyalty, then you have to recognise it for the valuable currency that it is. For Goughie, for me or for anybody like that, the reality is that the currency has no equivalent value; it cannot be traded away.
There is a problem, Ive recongnised it. But I am not that problem and i am.not the reason you cannot get tickets. The solution isn't to dilute loyalty from the most die hard of Villa.
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I've missed a handful of games in 30 years, home, away, Europe. I don't really like the way you characterise me to be honest. I want my loyalty to keep going for another 30 years and if I live long enough, whatever comes after that. The idea of not going fills me with teeth aching anxiety. I want to go, I love to go.
The only games I've ever missed are when I've been ill and have never sold my ticket on and never would.
I've dedicated decades of my life to this thing of ours and you're snarling in resentment. That's a you a problem.
The idea that I should give that credit up, quite frankly, fucking no. Not now, not ever. Your last sentence is the biggest load of wrongness I've ever read on here. You don't get it at all, so no wonder you don't think loyalty matters.
I'm not going to take sides over this, there's no easy answer. Maybe keep the criteria the same but reserve a larger pool of tickets for ballot to give more people a chance? I don't know. I am the beneficiery of this system a few times a season if our kid can't go, which suits me fine.
Ads, the bit I've highlighted would have been me back in the day, I refused to consider moving away to uni as it would impact following the Villa, but once you 'break the seal' by missing a big game that anxiety goes. I think the first I missed (thankfully) was the FA Cup semi under O'Neill as my eldest was due any moment, I didn't go to either game at Wembley in the 2015 run and I couldn't get a ticket for the winning play off (did for the shit one though).
The thought of missing something like that in my youth would've have killed me, but I had an epic day anyway. I've zero chance of getting at ticket should we get to the final in Europe but I'm totally relaxed about it now.
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There's probably more chance of sorting out Israel/Palestine than resolving the Villa away ticket allocation :)
It's only the past couple of years where getting away tickets has been a problem.
Previously I picked and chose my away games and was always able to the tickets from Villa.
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I'm not having a go at you ADS. I'm saying the system is flawed and I think it could be better.
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I'm not sure anything you say changes the validity of my point. Yeah, your personal attendance goes back further and I commend your loyalty.
That doesn't change the overarching point that the '19 aways' have to buy 19 this season and will do so whether they want to attend or not. And of course the vast majority won't have a track record anything like yours and I would wager a large portion will sell some on.
And it's not snarling resentment. I wouldn't be able to get to more than a handful of away games either way, so it doesn't make much difference to me. I just observe that a system where the same 3,000 people will go for the next 10 years without any prospect of younger fans breaking into that cycle is clearly flawed.
But as I said, I get it. Jack's alright.
Those last two words really do completely convey your feelings of resentment, despite your protestations to the contrary.
Away tickets aren't any different in theory to home tickets in my view. There's a big waiting list for home season tickets, and there's no realistic prospect of somebody new getting one for several years. Should season ticket holders be turfed out at random to give new supporters a chance? Away tickets are obviously further constrained by the massively smaller allocation, but I'm absolutely fine with the fact that people who have been following Villa away for years get tickets and I don't. I'd have loved to have gone to Newcastle, but couldn't get tickets, so there we are, we can't have everything we want in life.
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The one thing that irks me slightly is the way they split up the criteria - I know it changes a bit based on the fixture but I think it's broadly 19 aways, 15 aways, 11 aways then season ticket holders.
By frantically clicking every time it came down to season ticket holders last season I managed to get to 6 league aways (and Man United in the cup), but I stand no chance of ever breaking into the 11 aways criteria unless I win the ballet 50% of the time I enter it.
Would it not be fairer to do 19, 10, 5 as opposed to 19, 15, 11? Or even to add more levels - 19, 15, 12, 8, 5 for example?
I appreciate this view is probably somewhat distorted by the fact that it would improve my own chances of getting tickets and that the latter would create more admin work for the club but surely this would enable season ticket holders to gradually build up their history and move up the ladder over seasons?
I suppose the counter argument to this is that all games would sell out before it reached season ticket holders and so season ticket holders with less than 5 games would stand no chance of getting any tickets ever but I definitely think they could divide up the criteria in a fairer way without the huge drop from 11 to zero.
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Some tickets, maybe a lot more than some might be freed up if they were to weed out the charlied up, pissed morons who seem to be ever present away followers. It might make the experience a bit more enjoyable to everyone else who follows too.
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I think I disagree with Ads on just about every subject except this one.
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Some tickets, maybe a lot more than some might be freed up if they were to weed out the charlied up, pissed morons who seem to be ever present away followers. It might make the experience a bit more enjoyable to everyone else who follows too.
I noticed the three bellends behind me at Anfield, who were spoken to by the police at half time and were also being gobshites outside after the game, in the front row at Chelsea shortly after.
I doubt I'd manage to get through another game in their proximity without saying/doing something.
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Fair enough Risso. As I said I don't feel it's resentment as it's not really me who's suffering from the situation. I genuinely respect ADS's long-term loyalty.
But there are an awful lot of 'fuck you you weren't there in the Championship' type posts and tweets out there and I thought it was reasonable to express a counterpoint. And there's an awful lot of people buying 19 because they can and they have to.
Something as simple as reducing the first criteria to 15 or 17 would take this pressure off. The vast majority of the loyal away fans would still get tickets to the vast majority of away games, but there would be less need to buy and sell on. This probably wouldn't help younger fans trying to get on the train, but it would resolve the selling on issue. The outcome would probably be rewarding loyalty more not less, as there would be fewer tickets floating around for more casual followers.
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I missed a couple of away games at the start of last season and I tumbled down the list and haven’t been able to recover since. Ive only been to a few away games since then, and that’s with the help of friends with spare tickets etc. I haven’t got a problem with this system because it’s always been the same. The demand for Villa tickets has never been higher in my lifetime and its bloody great, if a little frustrating. Better than having a half empty Villa Park and a mini bus of fans at away games.
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Some tickets, maybe a lot more than some might be freed up if they were to weed out the charlied up, pissed morons who seem to be ever present away followers. It might make the experience a bit more enjoyable to everyone else who follows too.
During the years when I was attending away games, it amazed me how many people were more interested in getting pissed and taunting home fans than they were in watching the football.
There's got to be way cheaper ways of acting an arsehole than forking out on away tickets, travel and overpriced stadium beer.
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Some tickets, maybe a lot more than some might be freed up if they were to weed out the charlied up, pissed morons who seem to be ever present away followers. It might make the experience a bit more enjoyable to everyone else who follows too.
I could fully get behind that proposal. One of the reasons I'm not that bothered about away game attendance these days is that a large percentage of the travelling Villa fans are absolute wankers who make the experience deeply unpleasant. Making a mosh pit in the concourse before the game and chucking beer around, and then doing nothing but flap their hands at the home supporters during the match. Absolute scrotes.
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Incredible how near impossible it is to get away tickets now.
Go back a decade and I could get to the likes of Everton and West Ham away fairly easily and I was a non season ticket holder going to 6-7 home games a season in those times. Those were mid ranking away games but zero chance now of going to either fixture this season (even if we draw either away in the FA cup) and that's not going to change unless we get really rubbish again at prem level and even then they'll be loyalty for a few seasons.
Getting promotion really did re-energise our support home and away in terms of numbers.
I was probably similar to this, don't warrant an ST due to location and not even on the waiting list, would regularly get to 20 games home and away a season, only away I have been able to get since promotion was Man U away in the cup last year, literally because we got 7k on a Thursday night
I don't believe there will ever be a perfect system to suit all and I do think genuine loyalty deserves rewarding, but we do have to try and come up with something to enable other supporters to experience the away days
I've seen suggested a 70/30 split on booking history and a ballot, that could be worth a try
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Some tickets, maybe a lot more than some might be freed up if they were to weed out the charlied up, pissed morons who seem to be ever present away followers. It might make the experience a bit more enjoyable to everyone else who follows too.
I could fully get behind that proposal. One of the reasons I'm not that bothered about away game attendance these days is that a large percentage of the travelling Villa fans are absolute wankers who make the experience deeply unpleasant. Making a mosh pit in the concourse before the game and chucking beer around, and then doing nothing but flap their hands at the home supporters during the match. Absolute scrotes.
More reasons for 70/30 split. Get some new people on board.
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Some tickets, maybe a lot more than some might be freed up if they were to weed out the charlied up, pissed morons who seem to be ever present away followers. It might make the experience a bit more enjoyable to everyone else who follows too.
I could fully get behind that proposal. One of the reasons I'm not that bothered about away game attendance these days is that a large percentage of the travelling Villa fans are absolute wankers who make the experience deeply unpleasant. Making a mosh pit in the concourse before the game and chucking beer around, and then doing nothing but flap their hands at the home supporters during the match. Absolute scrotes.
This is my view of England fans, only been to one England game and it put me off for life.
Spilling/chucking pints should be grounds for a ban
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I missed a couple of away games at the start of last season and I tumbled down the list and haven’t been able to recover since. Ive only been to a few away games since then, and that’s with the help of friends with spare tickets etc. I haven’t got a problem with this system because it’s always been the same. The demand for Villa tickets has never been higher in my lifetime and its bloody great, if a little frustrating. Better than having a half empty Villa Park and a mini bus of fans at away games being Blues.
FTFY.
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Some tickets, maybe a lot more than some might be freed up if they were to weed out the charlied up, pissed morons who seem to be ever present away followers. It might make the experience a bit more enjoyable to everyone else who follows too.
I noticed the three bellends behind me at Anfield, who were spoken to by the police at half time and were also being gobshites outside after the game, in the front row at Chelsea shortly after.
I doubt I'd manage to get through another game in their proximity without saying/doing something.
Yeah i wish they'd just spend the day in the pub
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Some tickets, maybe a lot more than some might be freed up if they were to weed out the charlied up, pissed morons who seem to be ever present away followers. It might make the experience a bit more enjoyable to everyone else who follows too.
I could fully get behind that proposal. One of the reasons I'm not that bothered about away game attendance these days is that a large percentage of the travelling Villa fans are absolute wankers who make the experience deeply unpleasant. Making a mosh pit in the concourse before the game and chucking beer around, and then doing nothing but flap their hands at the home supporters during the match. Absolute scrotes.
More reasons for 70/30 split. Get some new people on board.
Probably just end up with a new group of cretins.
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Some tickets, maybe a lot more than some might be freed up if they were to weed out the charlied up, pissed morons who seem to be ever present away followers. It might make the experience a bit more enjoyable to everyone else who follows too.
I could fully get behind that proposal. One of the reasons I'm not that bothered about away game attendance these days is that a large percentage of the travelling Villa fans are absolute wankers who make the experience deeply unpleasant. Making a mosh pit in the concourse before the game and chucking beer around, and then doing nothing but flap their hands at the home supporters during the match. Absolute scrotes.
More reasons for 70/30 split. Get some new people on board.
Probably just end up with a new group of cretins.
yeah but at least they'd be rotating
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For games like Bournemouth and Brentford, where the allocation is tiny, the 70/30 would be unfair.
There's 2400 with 11+ aways; so you could with your ~3000 allocations have 19+, 15+, 11+ categories and then open up the last 20% to season ticket holders for a ballot and you probably wouldn't be changing too much, just giving folks the chance to do 4 or 5 aways a season rather than none.
I still don't think the problem of people passing on tickets is too wide spread and I really don't agree with the "don't want to go but have to buy tickets" thinking at all. I don't think there's any basis for that.
I think you're wrong. Infact I know you're wrong.
You have a very extreme view as you are in the club and can be for as long as you like. Everyone in your position will buy 19 away tickets so they can do the same. I'd say the vast majority sell a few on.
I understand your point of view. In your mind you did the hard yards and will benefit forever more because your circumstances meant you could go to away matches when we were in the championship. Anyone else can fuck off because they didn't go to 19 away matches 4 years ago.
I get it. Why would you want redistribution of your wealth when you are the one with the wealth?
As many have said, there's no easy answers. Of course loyalty should be rewarded, but but I don't think the same 2-3,000 buying all the tickets in perpetuity can or should be the answer. There should be opportunities for other fans, particularly younger fans. Personally I think 50/50 would do this. I don't think there should be a '19 games' criteria. You'd still get to most games but because you don't HAVE to buy a ticket for every game then more will trickle down.
I think this is the key - I don’t think taking out the 19+ criteria will stop those who want to go to all 19 games from going.
It’ll just mean that when you don’t want to go, you just don’t, and give someone else a chance. If each of 2,500 fans missed just ONE game a season because of a wedding, funeral, special birthday party, illness, etc and put that ticket back in the pot instead of selling it on to keep their ‘19+’ record, they would still get tickets for every game they wanted to go to, and (for example) 416 more Villa fans could go to 6 games.
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But if they're selling it on, then presumably a different Villa fan is going, anyway.
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I 100% agree with rewarding loyalty. I go to about 6 always a season but during the mid 80’s for about 20 years I’d go to nearly all of them. I would’ve hated it if I’d been told I couldn’t go.
Maybe up the ballot to 200 tickets per away game.
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But if they're selling it on, then presumably a different Villa fan is going, anyway.
But not on their own record, and only if they are somehow linked with a seller. What’s wrong with people wanting to build their own booking history instead of someone else’s?
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I 100% agree with rewarding loyalty. I go to about 6 always a season but during the mid 80’s for about 20 years I’d go to nearly all of them. I would’ve hated it if I’d been told I couldn’t go.
Maybe up the ballot to 200 tickets per away game.
Ballot 1500 would be fair
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I 100% agree with rewarding loyalty. I go to about 6 always a season but during the mid 80’s for about 20 years I’d go to nearly all of them. I would’ve hated it if I’d been told I couldn’t go.
Maybe up the ballot to 200 tickets per away game.
Ballot 1500 would be fair
Agreed. Loyalty or not, the away support needs reinvigorating .
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I 100% agree with rewarding loyalty. I go to about 6 always a season but during the mid 80’s for about 20 years I’d go to nearly all of them. I would’ve hated it if I’d been told I couldn’t go.
Maybe up the ballot to 200 tickets per away game.
Ballot 1500 would be fair
Agreed. Loyalty or not, the away support needs reinvigorating .
I agree with this too. It’s not that the most dedicated fans don’t support the team well, but those who are on a massive adventure because they don’t do it often, rather than in a routine, do bring a different energy.
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Yes an alternate energy to 10 pints of Carling and a couple of lines
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I think the perfect solution is that no one can do more than 6 aways a year. Anyone found trying to go to more are made to walk around the pitch at half time as the crowd shout "shame" at them and then they are banned from football grounds worldwide for life. Strikes me as fair and just.
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I think the perfect solution is that no one can do more than 6 aways a year. Anyone found trying to go to more are made to walk around the pitch at half time as the crowd shout "shame" at them and then they are banned from football grounds worldwide for life. Strikes me as fair and just.
Isn't that the penalty for drinking on the official coaches
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https://www.avfc.co.uk/news/2024/january/03/Away-ticket-criteria-and-on-sale-dates-for-remainder-of-2023-24-season/
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The top category has now changed from full card, down to 2 less than whatever game it is.
No category decision on Luton, but if they follow the same pattern, it will make it a lottery, which would be unfair.
I'm not sure how this addresses anything other than making it less likely that those who've always gone, can still always go.
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Good start by the club this in cracking the "closed shop club" .
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Doesn't help me. Up to and including Everton I'll have 5 so I'll never meet the second last criteria of 7 and upwards - unless we have a run in the cup and they're all away ties I guess.
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If you couldn't get a ticket for Everton as a season ticket holder, then this does absolutely nothing.
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I'm not sure it does much other than probably making away cup matches harder to get.
But in terms of knocking the top criteria down a couple, I assume that evens the playing field for people who go to virtually every match but one year missed the cut for a tiny ground like Bournemouth or Luton and would then be locked out the following season.
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I'm not sure if I am reading the criteria correctly, but if 11 or more away attendances are needed for the top criteria for Sheffield United, would that only be taking the level down by one at most?
We have played 10 away league games and then there is Everton which makes 11 and if Middlesbrough now counts as well, then the maximum someone could have up to applying for Sheff Utd would be 12?
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It's been done so effectively you get no benefit for going to Luton or Bournemouth in terms of your history. This in turn makes the top tier bigger, essentially 1700 people which was the capacity of the Brentford away end. The onward impact of this I don't know, unless we get someone with a Brentford sized stadium in an away tie in the FA Cup?
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In Naples even for a home match, I needed to be a member, with a local address and have my name on the ticket with ID (passport or Italian ID card) and got checked 3 times. For a match which they didn't sell out. You guys don't know you're born.
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The top category has now changed from full card, down to 2 less than whatever game it is.
No category decision on Luton, but if they follow the same pattern, it will make it a lottery, which would be unfair.
I'm not sure how this addresses anything other than making it less likely that those who've always gone, can still always go.
This.
I am struggling to work out how this makes things any better.
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Totally pointless.
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Are the Away Ticket Consultation group all in the top criteria??
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Are the Away Ticket Consultation group all in the top criteria??
It looks like it because they have retained the Closed Shop.
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The top category has now changed from full card, down to 2 less than whatever game it is.
No category decision on Luton, but if they follow the same pattern, it will make it a lottery, which would be unfair.
I'm not sure how this addresses anything other than making it less likely that those who've always gone, can still always go.
This.
I am struggling to work out how this makes things any better.
Imagine you go to every away game but last season you didn't make the cut for Bournemouth because of the tiny allocation. This season you then have no chance of Bournemouth or Luton as you don't have 19 aways. Next season you are two down and will never be able to catch up because of a ballot you had no real control over 2 seasons before.
I think that's what they're trying to address. It's fiddling around the edges, but I guess important to those who attend most aways.
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The top category has now changed from full card, down to 2 less than whatever game it is.
No category decision on Luton, but if they follow the same pattern, it will make it a lottery, which would be unfair.
I'm not sure how this addresses anything other than making it less likely that those who've always gone, can still always go.
This.
I am struggling to work out how this makes things any better.
Imagine you go to every away game but last season you didn't make the cut for Bournemouth because of the tiny allocation. This season you then have no chance of Bournemouth or Luton as you don't have 19 aways. Next season you are two down and will never be able to catch up because of a ballot you had no real control over 2 seasons before.
I think that's what they're trying to address. It's fiddling around the edges, but I guess important to those who attend most aways.
I know the situation perfectly well as that describes the exact situation my mate and his daughter find themselves in...I have got their away tickets for them for the last 10/12 years...this just seems to make it more of a lottery rather than knowing they can't make the first cut but definitely make the second, which means I know exactly what I am doing, including booking coach travel and they can plan around the games they can't make!
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They clearly know how many qualify for each batch and I think they release that number each time. Inevitably, a few people return tickets for various reasons and they become available again. When I've struggled the TO has told me to phone as often as I can as tickets are returned every day.....unless they decide to sell them via twitter/Facebook etc.....which is exactly what the club is trying to cut down on!
It's still mad.
Never had this problem for a cold, wet Tuesday night in Rotherham!
Yes a small minority do but the majority go each and every away - same faces everywhere.
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Good start by the club this in cracking the "closed shop club" .
if you had been going when our chips were down in the Championship then it wouldn't be an issue for you. Harsh yes but 100% as well.
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Our away support in the three Championship seasons was just as strong as it is now, the only difference being that it’s been cheaper most games since promotion. I wouldn’t call those seasons doing the hard yards - not like days of having a few hundred of us stuck in pens and behind fences etc back in the day.
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Good start by the club this in cracking the "closed shop club" .
if you had been going when our chips were down in the Championship then it wouldn't be an issue for you. Harsh yes but 100% as well.
I wen to 33 away games in the 3 seasons we were in the championship...I can't get near an away ticket now and im fine with that, im happy with my season ticket and done my stint going to every away game for most seasons. I think it's totally fair that the people who go to every away game are rewarded for their loyalty, but this 'where we're you in the championship ' line we see regularly on many platforms is getting a bit boring now.
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They clearly know how many qualify for each batch and I think they release that number each time. Inevitably, a few people return tickets for various reasons and they become available again. When I've struggled the TO has told me to phone as often as I can as tickets are returned every day.....unless they decide to sell them via twitter/Facebook etc.....which is exactly what the club is trying to cut down on!
It's still mad.
Never had this problem for a cold, wet Tuesday night in Rotherham!
Yes a small minority do but the majority go each and every away - same faces everywhere.
Exactly.
I'm in the Ads camp and have hardly missed an away game for about 12/14 years.
Almost all of my regular away game mates simply go to every game with no thought of not going.
Why would you?
My favourite banner on our European tour...
8+ YEARS & 19 AWAYS
SAME OLD FACES!
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They clearly know how many qualify for each batch and I think they release that number each time. Inevitably, a few people return tickets for various reasons and they become available again. When I've struggled the TO has told me to phone as often as I can as tickets are returned every day.....unless they decide to sell them via twitter/Facebook etc.....which is exactly what the club is trying to cut down on!
It's still mad.
Never had this problem for a cold, wet Tuesday night in Rotherham!
Yes a small minority do but the majority go each and every away - same faces everywhere.
Exactly.
I'm in the Ads camp and have hardly missed an away game for about 12/14 years.
Almost all of my regular away game mates simply go to every game with no thought of not going.
Why would you?
My favourite banner on our European tour...
8+ YEARS & 19 AWAYS
SAME OLD FACES!
Yeah I've seen that, a bit childish and odd i thought tbh. We must be the only fan base in history that has has flags displaying thinly veiled digs at its own supporters.
Each to their own I suppose..
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They clearly know how many qualify for each batch and I think they release that number each time. Inevitably, a few people return tickets for various reasons and they become available again. When I've struggled the TO has told me to phone as often as I can as tickets are returned every day.....unless they decide to sell them via twitter/Facebook etc.....which is exactly what the club is trying to cut down on!
It's still mad.
Never had this problem for a cold, wet Tuesday night in Rotherham!
Yes a small minority do but the majority go each and every away - same faces everywhere.
Exactly.
I'm in the Ads camp and have hardly missed an away game for about 12/14 years.
Almost all of my regular away game mates simply go to every game with no thought of not going.
Why would you?
My favourite banner on our European tour...
8+ YEARS & 19 AWAYS
SAME OLD FACES!
Yeah I've seen that, a bit childish and odd i thought tbh. We must be the only fan base in history that has has flags displaying thinly veiled digs at its own supporters.
Each to their own I suppose..
A bit like knocking loyal fans for wanting to attend every game.
I feel a bit grubby tbh.
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Are the Away Ticket Consultation group all in the top criteria??
Haha yeah i think so
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50% of all away tickets should go to an open ballot. In my opinion. Keeps it fresh and prevents the same old faces each time
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50% of all away tickets should go to an open ballot. In my opinion. Keeps it fresh and prevents the same old faces each time
That's equally as childish as the banners....there's no way that will ever happen and nor should it.
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Good start by the club this in cracking the "closed shop club" .
if you had been going when our chips were down in the Championship then it wouldn't be an issue for you. Harsh yes but 100% as well.
unfortunately for me, I usually went to about 8 aways a season in the championship and the last few years before relegation, but have only ever been a member for about the last 10 years or so, no chance now, they don’t even bother showing when they would be due for members on the website
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50% of all away tickets should go to an open ballot. In my opinion. Keeps it fresh and prevents the same old faces each time
That's equally as childish as the banners....there's no way that will ever happen and nor should it.
I only saw one banner, and it's absolutely fine, put together by a very young Villa fan who I chatted with in Alkmaar, and no, it shouldn't happen.
I have no idea how things can be made "better", whatever that means, but I'd be a bit miffed if the two guys who used to sit next to me and dropped their STs as soon as we were relegated ( and have been back to a few games this season) got tickets for an away game because Strictly had reached its conclusion.
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Good start by the club this in cracking the "closed shop club" .
if you had been going when our chips were down in the Championship then it wouldn't be an issue for you. Harsh yes but 100% as well.
I went to as more aways in the Championship than I ever did, and I pretty much always went to about 6-10 a season and that was enough to get one for the last away game. It’s not about people not wanting to be there when we were shit, it’s about the fact that it didn’t used to be ‘all or nothing’.
The fact that people anecdotally see the ‘same faces everywhere’ is meaningless. I know a lot of people who go to every game, I also know loads who go to all but a handful, and they’d probably count in the people you see ‘everywhere’ as well. Some weeks you might see some of the ‘same faces’ and they’ve turned up with their son this week because their mate is on holiday/at a wedding/got covid. Funnily enough, come to think of it, his son has been at quite a few games with him hasn’t he?
If all those people who can’t make the odd game, for entirely genuine reasons, felt able to just not buy a ticket for that game instead of live in fear of losing the magic number of bookings, then there’d be enough tickets for loads more fans to go, & even for people like that bloke who actually CAN ONLY take his son when his mate can’t go, to maybe just get his son a ticket for half a dozen games a season down the normal channels.
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It’s a known fact that many of the top tier buy tickets regardless of their ability to attend the game or not, purely to safeguard their eligibility. There’s nothing that club can do in order to prevent this as it stands, it’ll only be addressed once tickets have names on and ID is needed to gain entry. Until then, it’ll be the same, it’s just how it is.
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50% of all away tickets should go to an open ballot. In my opinion. Keeps it fresh and prevents the same old faces each time
That's equally as childish as the banners....there's no way that will ever happen and nor should it.
I only saw one banner, and it's absolutely fine, put together by a very young Villa fan who I chatted with in Alkmaar, and no, it shouldn't happen.
I have no idea how things can be made "better", whatever that means, but I'd be a bit miffed if the two guys who used to sit next to me and dropped their STs as soon as we were relegated ( and have been back to a few games this season) got tickets for an away game because Strictly had reached its conclusion.
You’ve made similar comments before on this and its quite a smug attitude that supporters who don’t go to every away games for years are effectively tourists. My starting position is that you and supporters like you that have bern going to all away games for years, should have priority. However, at some point you were a younger supporter who started going to away games. Maybe there were just bigger allocations then, more likely fewer supporters were going so it was easier to go and we were more than likely shite for much of this time so again less people wanting to go.
The point is you could get tickets. Im not as bothered myself as I used to be, my season ticket and a few away games here and there does me. However, my soon to be 14 year old son has been a season ticket holder since he was 5, is mad to go to more away games, how does he possibly build up enough history over the next few years to go the way things are. So where are the next generation of away supporters coming from?
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Good start by the club this in cracking the "closed shop club" .
if you had been going when our chips were down in the Championship then it wouldn't be an issue for you. Harsh yes but 100% as well.
I went to as more aways in the Championship than I ever did, and I pretty much always went to about 6-10 a season and that was enough to get one for the last away game. It’s not about people not wanting to be there when we were shit, it’s about the fact that it didn’t used to be ‘all or nothing’.
The fact that people anecdotally see the ‘same faces everywhere’ is meaningless. I know a lot of people who go to every game, I also know loads who go to all but a handful, and they’d probably count in the people you see ‘everywhere’ as well. Some weeks you might see some of the ‘same faces’ and they’ve turned up with their son this week because their mate is on holiday/at a wedding/got covid. Funnily enough, come to think of it, his son has been at quite a few games with him hasn’t he?
If all those people who can’t make the odd game, for entirely genuine reasons, felt able to just not buy a ticket for that game instead of live in fear of losing the magic number of bookings, then there’d be enough tickets for loads more fans to go, & even for people like that bloke who actually CAN ONLY take his son when his mate can’t go, to maybe just get his son a ticket for half a dozen games a season down the normal channels.
this is exactly how it should be
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Until the PL introduces identical entrance turnstiles as a condition of league membership, with identical season tickets, with photos on, to be used at all stadiums home and away then it won’t change.
That said I speak as a ‘same old face’ and passing on tickets is not as widespread as perceived. Of the 1700 most do go everywhere and spend their holiday entitlements and disposable incomes doing it. A lot of us can’t afford to do other stuff in between games!
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It’s a known fact that many of the top tier buy tickets regardless of their ability to attend the game or not, purely to safeguard their eligibility. There’s nothing that club can do in order to prevent this as it stands, it’ll only be addressed once tickets have names on and ID is needed to gain entry. Until then, it’ll be the same, it’s just how it is.
It's not many.
It's a few. In my experience.
There is inevitably a "fear" of not being able to get tickets for games, and I would say the vast majority have every intention of going to the games they get tickets for, but that fear drives the "closed shop" nature of the system we have.
We used to have an away season ticket system which was rightly binned.
So what do we do?
I agree, it will only be resolved when specific tickets are attributed to specific owners, but how do we decide who is eligible and who isn't?
A few recent away situations have been interesting...admission was by NFC tickets only...fair enough. But when my mate's daughter was poorly a few days before the game her ticket for the match, nor the coach, could be returned or refunded, and my mate couldn't go either as he is her PA. In the old days their tickets could have been passed on to grateful friends or family, but this simply couldn't happen, which meant two empty coach seats and two empty seats in the stadium. A genuine case with a very unsatisfactory outcome.
I have no idea what the answer is.
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Bosnian stewards is the answer. We bought a home end ticket off a Villa fan in Opera for my good lady and they let her in the away end with it.
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50% of all away tickets should go to an open ballot. In my opinion. Keeps it fresh and prevents the same old faces each time
That's equally as childish as the banners....there's no way that will ever happen and nor should it.
I only saw one banner, and it's absolutely fine, put together by a very young Villa fan who I chatted with in Alkmaar, and no, it shouldn't happen.
I have no idea how things can be made "better", whatever that means, but I'd be a bit miffed if the two guys who used to sit next to me and dropped their STs as soon as we were relegated ( and have been back to a few games this season) got tickets for an away game because Strictly had reached its conclusion.
You’ve made similar comments before on this and its quite a smug attitude that supporters who don’t go to every away games for years are effectively tourists. My starting position is that you and supporters like you that have bern going to all away games for years, should have priority. However, at some point you were a younger supporter who started going to away games. Maybe there were just bigger allocations then, more likely fewer supporters were going so it was easier to go and we were more than likely shite for much of this time so again less people wanting to go.
The point is you could get tickets. Im not as bothered myself as I used to be, my season ticket and a few away games here and there does me. However, my soon to be 14 year old son has been a season ticket holder since he was 5, is mad to go to more away games, how does he possibly build up enough history over the next few years to go the way things are. So where are the next generation of away supporters coming from?
For years and years there were no tickets....you just went to games, home and away, and paid on the turnstile...It's how we used to take 6 or 7 thousand to games in the old 3rd division.
I just got into the habit of going to all games, home and away, and planned my life around The Villa.
It's not being smug, it's a choice I have made, including planning my working days, weeks, locations and holidays around Villa games and the football season.
I've had a season ticket for about 20/22 years.
In more recent years I have made every effort to get tickets for games for myself and my mate and his daughter, which again, includes planning to fit in with times when tickets go on sale and sometimes ending up out of pocket. I accept it as part of what I have to do if I want to go to games.
I don't see any other Villa fan as a "tourist" as you seem to think I do....I am just reporting my personal experience of people who want to go to games now who didn't want to 5/6 seasons ago, for instance, when I think the big demand for away tickets really started in earnest.
I rarely missed so was able to build a strong booking history.
As I say to everyone else, the best thing to do is to build up as big a booking history as possible, as we all have, and simply get to as many games as humanly possible....what is difficult is dropping everything to get to the games....eg Boro...when they come along. Not everyone can do that. I could because I made it happen within my own limitations/constraints etc.
That's not being smug. That's me not doing other things so I can do Villa things.
I genuinely wish your lad, and every Villa fan, the very best of experiences in following our club. Like any other membership of any "club", old buggers like me will not be able to go any longer and younger fans will take our place. Or just put all the tickets in a hat? Or collect vouchers from the programme? I have no answer to satisfy everyone, and I don't know of any club that has.
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More sniffer dogs at turnstiles and banning orders from away games is the simple and effective way to eradicate the bell end contingent of our away following.
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50% of all away tickets should go to an open ballot. In my opinion. Keeps it fresh and prevents the same old faces each time
That's equally as childish as the banners....there's no way that will ever happen and nor should it.
I only saw one banner, and it's absolutely fine, put together by a very young Villa fan who I chatted with in Alkmaar, and no, it shouldn't happen.
I have no idea how things can be made "better", whatever that means, but I'd be a bit miffed if the two guys who used to sit next to me and dropped their STs as soon as we were relegated ( and have been back to a few games this season) got tickets for an away game because Strictly had reached its conclusion.
You’ve made similar comments before on this and its quite a smug attitude that supporters who don’t go to every away games for years are effectively tourists. My starting position is that you and supporters like you that have bern going to all away games for years, should have priority. However, at some point you were a younger supporter who started going to away games. Maybe there were just bigger allocations then, more likely fewer supporters were going so it was easier to go and we were more than likely shite for much of this time so again less people wanting to go.
The point is you could get tickets. Im not as bothered myself as I used to be, my season ticket and a few away games here and there does me. However, my soon to be 14 year old son has been a season ticket holder since he was 5, is mad to go to more away games, how does he possibly build up enough history over the next few years to go the way things are. So where are the next generation of away supporters coming from?
For years and years there were no tickets....you just went to games, home and away, and paid on the turnstile...It's how we used to take 6 or 7 thousand to games in the old 3rd division.
I just got into the habit of going to all games, home and away, and planned my life around The Villa.
It's not being smug, it's a choice I have made, including planning my working days, weeks, locations and holidays around Villa games and the football season.
I've had a season ticket for about 20/22 years.
In more recent years I have made every effort to get tickets for games for myself and my mate and his daughter, which again, includes planning to fit in with times when tickets go on sale and sometimes ending up out of pocket. I accept it as part of what I have to do if I want to go to games.
I don't see any other Villa fan as a "tourist" as you seem to think I do....I am just reporting my personal experience of people who want to go to games now who didn't want to 5/6 seasons ago, for instance, when I think the big demand for away tickets really started in earnest.
I rarely missed so was able to build a strong booking history.
As I say to everyone else, the best thing to do is to build up as big a booking history as possible, as we all have, and simply get to as many games as humanly possible....what is difficult is dropping everything to get to the games....eg Boro...when they come along. Not everyone can do that. I could because I made it happen within my own limitations/constraints etc.
That's not being smug. That's me not doing other things so I can do Villa things.
I genuinely wish your lad, and every Villa fan, the very best of experiences in following our club. Like any other membership of any "club", old buggers like me will not be able to go any longer and younger fans will take our place. Or just put all the tickets in a hat? Or collect vouchers from the programme? I have no answer to satisfy everyone, and I don't know of any club that has.
Apologies, i shouldn’t of used the word smug, I think there were comments a few weeks or months back about some supporters only wanting to go to the big draw away games, but nevermind, just me being an arse.
I’ve being going to Villa home games since 82 and had season tickets for the majority of seasons since 86-87, apart from a few years in the mid 90s when living away. Ive only ever gone to a handful of away games for various reasons and to be fair admire the sacrifices you and others have made. Unfortunately its past the stage of me being able to make these sacrifices every other week now, so it'll up to my lad when he’s old enough to go on his own to try and get himself that history if he still wants to.
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Good start by the club this in cracking the "closed shop club" .
if you had been going when our chips were down in the Championship then it wouldn't be an issue for you. Harsh yes but 100% as well.
i did about 8 a season back then . I don't have the option to go to EVERY bloody game nor would i want to ! Now its a case of attend them ALL or nothing. Its a pathetic system.
Just the other day one of the "closed shop group" offered me 2 for Everton , i told him to shove them where the sun don't shine
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It’s a known fact that many of the top tier buy tickets regardless of their ability to attend the game or not, purely to safeguard their eligibility. There’s nothing that club can do in order to prevent this as it stands, it’ll only be addressed once tickets have names on and ID is needed to gain entry. Until then, it’ll be the same, it’s just how it is.
It's not many.
It's a few. In my experience.
There is inevitably a "fear" of not being able to get tickets for games, and I would say the vast majority have every intention of going to the games they get tickets for, but that fear drives the "closed shop" nature of the system we have.
We used to have an away season ticket system which was rightly binned.
So what do we do?
I agree, it will only be resolved when specific tickets are attributed to specific owners, but how do we decide who is eligible and who isn't?
A few recent away situations have been interesting...admission was by NFC tickets only...fair enough. But when my mate's daughter was poorly a few days before the game her ticket for the match, nor the coach, could be returned or refunded, and my mate couldn't go either as he is her PA. In the old days their tickets could have been passed on to grateful friends or family, but this simply couldn't happen, which meant two empty coach seats and two empty seats in the stadium. A genuine case with a very unsatisfactory outcome.
I have no idea what the answer is.
Forgive my ignorance but what’s a NFC ticket
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Until the PL introduces identical entrance turnstiles as a condition of league membership, with identical season tickets, with photos on, to be used at all stadiums home and away then it won’t change.
not true .
I recently went to a concert where etickets were issued that were 100% not transferrable . The only way anyone else would get in would be by taking your phone
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No, you're right Rambo, I did make comments about SOME people only wanting to go to the big stadiums etc, but as I say, I am only going on personal experience...one saying they wanted to go to Spurs because they'd never been and commentators said it was a great stadium...supporting The Villa was never mentioned!
I only had breaks from going regularly in the late 70s....I was playing most Sat afternoons....and mid 80s when my lad was born. Simply never had a ST until about 20 odd years ago, just habit I think.
I got the away bug at about your lad's age and just loved it, made great friends and had some wonderful days with the Villa faithful. The last 12/14 or so years I've hardly missed a game...my last 3 holidays have been during the International breaks...the love just grows and I don't want to miss any of it the way we're going atm!!!
I know full well many simply can't organise their lives the way I could/can but I am sure your lad will get the chance of away games now and again and, however the club chooses to do things in future, that he will get to many more.
Well done with sharing the love with your boy! UTV!
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It’s a known fact that many of the top tier buy tickets regardless of their ability to attend the game or not, purely to safeguard their eligibility. There’s nothing that club can do in order to prevent this as it stands, it’ll only be addressed once tickets have names on and ID is needed to gain entry. Until then, it’ll be the same, it’s just how it is.
It's not many.
It's a few. In my experience.
There is inevitably a "fear" of not being able to get tickets for games, and I would say the vast majority have every intention of going to the games they get tickets for, but that fear drives the "closed shop" nature of the system we have.
We used to have an away season ticket system which was rightly binned.
So what do we do?
I agree, it will only be resolved when specific tickets are attributed to specific owners, but how do we decide who is eligible and who isn't?
A few recent away situations have been interesting...admission was by NFC tickets only...fair enough. But when my mate's daughter was poorly a few days before the game her ticket for the match, nor the coach, could be returned or refunded, and my mate couldn't go either as he is her PA. In the old days their tickets could have been passed on to grateful friends or family, but this simply couldn't happen, which meant two empty coach seats and two empty seats in the stadium. A genuine case with a very unsatisfactory outcome.
I have no idea what the answer is.
Forgive my ignorance but what’s a NFC ticket
Near Field Communication.
Like paying for stuff with your phone.
YOUR ticket is on YOUR phone...you can't pass it on and there are no alternatives.
It only works when interracting with another device...ie the ticket reader.
It's not a QR code.
You can't screenshot it....you simply won't get in.
A few typical FAQs...
Q. What if I don't have a smart phone?
A. You can't have a ticket.
Q. How do I pass my ticket on to my friend?
A. You don't. You contact us, we cancel it and we resell it.
A few clubs/venues have the facility for sharing tickets but only to a named recipient with an account/id etc.
It's the future!
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Until the PL introduces identical entrance turnstiles as a condition of league membership, with identical season tickets, with photos on, to be used at all stadiums home and away then it won’t change.
not true .
I recently went to a concert where etickets were issued that were 100% not transferrable . The only way anyone else would get in would be by taking your phone
This is NFC!
Cheers VT!
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It’s a known fact that many of the top tier buy tickets regardless of their ability to attend the game or not, purely to safeguard their eligibility. There’s nothing that club can do in order to prevent this as it stands, it’ll only be addressed once tickets have names on and ID is needed to gain entry. Until then, it’ll be the same, it’s just how it is.
It's not many.
It's a few. In my experience.
There is inevitably a "fear" of not being able to get tickets for games, and I would say the vast majority have every intention of going to the games they get tickets for, but that fear drives the "closed shop" nature of the system we have.
We used to have an away season ticket system which was rightly binned.
So what do we do?
I agree, it will only be resolved when specific tickets are attributed to specific owners, but how do we decide who is eligible and who isn't?
A few recent away situations have been interesting...admission was by NFC tickets only...fair enough. But when my mate's daughter was poorly a few days before the game her ticket for the match, nor the coach, could be returned or refunded, and my mate couldn't go either as he is her PA. In the old days their tickets could have been passed on to grateful friends or family, but this simply couldn't happen, which meant two empty coach seats and two empty seats in the stadium. A genuine case with a very unsatisfactory outcome.
I have no idea what the answer is.
Forgive my ignorance but what’s a NFC ticket
Near Field Communication.
Like paying for stuff with your phone.
YOUR ticket is on YOUR phone...you can't pass it on and there are no alternatives.
It only works when interracting with another device...ie the ticket reader.
It's not a QR code.
You can't screenshot it....you simply won't get in.
A few typical FAQs...
Q. What if I don't have a smart phone?
A. You can't have a ticket.
Q. How do I pass my ticket on to my friend?
A. You don't. You contact us, we cancel it and we resell it.
A few clubs/venues have the facility for sharing tickets but only to a named recipient with an account/id etc.
It's the future!
Oh thanks for the info
I didn’t know that
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No, you're right Rambo, I did make comments about SOME people only wanting to go to the big stadiums etc, but as I say, I am only going on personal experience...one saying they wanted to go to Spurs because they'd never been and commentators said it was a great stadium...supporting The Villa was never mentioned!
I only had breaks from going regularly in the late 70s....I was playing most Sat afternoons....and mid 80s when my lad was born. Simply never had a ST until about 20 odd years ago, just habit I think.
I got the away bug at about your lad's age and just loved it, made great friends and had some wonderful days with the Villa faithful. The last 12/14 or so years I've hardly missed a game...my last 3 holidays have been during the International breaks...the love just grows and I don't want to miss any of it the way we're going atm!!!
I know full well many simply can't organise their lives the way I could/can but I am sure your lad will get the chance of away games now and again and, however the club chooses to do things in future, that he will get to many more.
Well done with sharing the love with your boy! UTV!
Cheers, great memories being made for all of us at the moment, one of the best years of my Villa supporting life. Well hopefully we’ll beat Boro on Saturday, which I cant even watch on TV as its the wifes bhday meal out, then get another away draw.
Anyway, keep on enjoying this great ride under Emery, UTV.
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It’s a known fact that many of the top tier buy tickets regardless of their ability to attend the game or not, purely to safeguard their eligibility. There’s nothing that club can do in order to prevent this as it stands, it’ll only be addressed once tickets have names on and ID is needed to gain entry. Until then, it’ll be the same, it’s just how it is.
It's not many.
It's a few. In my experience.
There is inevitably a "fear" of not being able to get tickets for games, and I would say the vast majority have every intention of going to the games they get tickets for, but that fear drives the "closed shop" nature of the system we have.
We used to have an away season ticket system which was rightly binned.
So what do we do?
I agree, it will only be resolved when specific tickets are attributed to specific owners, but how do we decide who is eligible and who isn't?
A few recent away situations have been interesting...admission was by NFC tickets only...fair enough. But when my mate's daughter was poorly a few days before the game her ticket for the match, nor the coach, could be returned or refunded, and my mate couldn't go either as he is her PA. In the old days their tickets could have been passed on to grateful friends or family, but this simply couldn't happen, which meant two empty coach seats and two empty seats in the stadium. A genuine case with a very unsatisfactory outcome.
I have no idea what the answer is.
Forgive my ignorance but what’s a NFC ticket
Near Field Communication.
Like paying for stuff with your phone.
YOUR ticket is on YOUR phone...you can't pass it on and there are no alternatives.
It only works when interracting with another device...ie the ticket reader.
It's not a QR code.
You can't screenshot it....you simply won't get in.
A few typical FAQs...
Q. What if I don't have a smart phone?
A. You can't have a ticket.
Q. How do I pass my ticket on to my friend?
A. You don't. You contact us, we cancel it and we resell it.
A few clubs/venues have the facility for sharing tickets but only to a named recipient with an account/id etc.
It's the future!
What about if your phone breaks or you lose your phone ?
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I guess you would need to get in touch with the club in the same way you might if you lost your ticket.
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I guess you would need to get in touch with the club in the same way you might if you lost your ticket.
Without a phone?
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I guess you would need to get in touch with the club in the same way you might if you lost your ticket.
Without a phone?
Can you imagine the fun at the turnstile?
I think the answer on the ManU site was something like..."Tough shit".
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There's Villa stewards at the turnstile for precisely this reason, they can direct you to the Away ticket office, also open for this reason.
Separately on the NFC's, it was only within google wallet you couldn't transfer them. Absolutely nothing stopped you forwarding the email and opening them on another phone
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I guess you would need to get in touch with the club in the same way you might if you lost your ticket.
Without a phone?
client ref number and some ID with photo and they might be able to sort something
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There's Villa stewards at the turnstile for precisely this reason, they can direct you to the Away ticket office, also open for this reason.
Separately on the NFC's, it was only within google wallet you couldn't transfer them. Absolutely nothing stopped you forwarding the email and opening them on another phone
Yes there is....and they can. But there is nothing they can do about NFC tickets.
My mate's daughter tried to do exactly that. It wouldn't forward to another email address.
She contacted the TO after the horse had bolted and she was told that had she been in time she could have returned to ticket to the TO who would have then sold it on to someone who was eligible/in the queue. She had no say on who it went to.
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It’s a known fact that many of the top tier buy tickets regardless of their ability to attend the game or not, purely to safeguard their eligibility. There’s nothing that club can do in order to prevent this as it stands, it’ll only be addressed once tickets have names on and ID is needed to gain entry. Until then, it’ll be the same, it’s just how it is.
It's not many.
It's a few. In my experience.
There is inevitably a "fear" of not being able to get tickets for games, and I would say the vast majority have every intention of going to the games they get tickets for, but that fear drives the "closed shop" nature of the system we have.
We used to have an away season ticket system which was rightly binned.
So what do we do?
I agree, it will only be resolved when specific tickets are attributed to specific owners, but how do we decide who is eligible and who isn't?
A few recent away situations have been interesting...admission was by NFC tickets only...fair enough. But when my mate's daughter was poorly a few days before the game her ticket for the match, nor the coach, could be returned or refunded, and my mate couldn't go either as he is her PA. In the old days their tickets could have been passed on to grateful friends or family, but this simply couldn't happen, which meant two empty coach seats and two empty seats in the stadium. A genuine case with a very unsatisfactory outcome.
I have no idea what the answer is.
It depends on which version you are on about, the 1st version where you were automatically sent the ticket and had to send it back if you couldn't go. Which then meant it eventually did go back on sale but possibly after it was already sold out so people had stopped looking which meant people did miss out so that was rightly binned. But the 2nd version of it was OK imo, i was in it, i think it was £40 pound to join (also think it was capped at around 1k) all that meant was you was 1st in line for all league away games you had to buy them the same way as everyone you wasn't automatically sent them so if you didn't buy the ticket, which meant if i didn't go the ticket i was eligible for filtered down to the next tier for someone to buy. so there was no Sold Out then randomly bunches of tickets becoming available because those on the scheme had returned the ticket.
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There's Villa stewards at the turnstile for precisely this reason, they can direct you to the Away ticket office, also open for this reason.
Separately on the NFC's, it was only within google wallet you couldn't transfer them. Absolutely nothing stopped you forwarding the email and opening them on another phone
Yes there is....and they can. But there is nothing they can do about NFC tickets.
My mate's daughter tried to do exactly that. It wouldn't forward to another email address.
She contacted the TO after the horse had bolted and she was told that had she been in time she could have returned to ticket to the TO who would have then sold it on to someone who was eligible/in the queue. She had no say on who it went to.
There's no mechanism to block forwarding of an email to another email address. However, there can be notifications to original sender, and the subsequent sending can be tracked. No idea whether Villa will have done that.
I was able to send both to my work phone on a different email as a backup. They QR/NFC thingy then was on both phones. I know of others who bought off people who just forwarded the email to them.
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There's Villa stewards at the turnstile for precisely this reason, they can direct you to the Away ticket office, also open for this reason.
Separately on the NFC's, it was only within google wallet you couldn't transfer them. Absolutely nothing stopped you forwarding the email and opening them on another phone
Yes there is....and they can. But there is nothing they can do about NFC tickets.
My mate's daughter tried to do exactly that. It wouldn't forward to another email address.
She contacted the TO after the horse had bolted and she was told that had she been in time she could have returned to ticket to the TO who would have then sold it on to someone who was eligible/in the queue. She had no say on who it went to.
There's no mechanism to block forwarding of an email to another email address. However, there can be notifications to original sender, and the subsequent sending can be tracked. No idea whether Villa will have done that.
I was able to send both to my work phone on a different email as a backup. They QR/NFC thingy then was on both phones. I know of others who bought off people who just forwarded the email to them.
I can only report what my, and others', experience was.
I purchased the NFC tickets - QR code is completely different - for my mate and his daughter. The emails were sent directly to them, individually. When they realised they couldn't go she tried to forward the email to her Dad....it wouldn't go. My mate and his daughter tried to forward the emails to me...they wouldn't forward.
I've said what happened when she contacted the TO...they made it very clear that the NFC tickets were not transferable to any other individual. It goes to the owner's email to be downloaded on to the owner's phone. There are exceptions but they have to be made well in advance and with the full say so of the club.
You can imagine my mate's dissatisfaction re: the whole thing....he'd paid £30 for each match ticket and about the same for coach tickets, which are non-refundable.
I think if he could simply have forwarded an email to save £120, he'd have done it.
And several other people I know had identical experiences.
QR codes can be transferred easily to phones and for printing off...in fact The Villa advise you to print them off in advance of the game to avoid mobile phone issues at the turnstile.
You can't print NFC tickets, photoshop them or blag a copy of the email with no ticket thing.
I'm only stating what the TO told me and my experiences above.
If you know of any ways round it, you're on to a winner!
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It’s a known fact that many of the top tier buy tickets regardless of their ability to attend the game or not, purely to safeguard their eligibility. There’s nothing that club can do in order to prevent this as it stands, it’ll only be addressed once tickets have names on and ID is needed to gain entry. Until then, it’ll be the same, it’s just how it is.
It's not many.
It's a few. In my experience.
There is inevitably a "fear" of not being able to get tickets for games, and I would say the vast majority have every intention of going to the games they get tickets for, but that fear drives the "closed shop" nature of the system we have.
We used to have an away season ticket system which was rightly binned.
So what do we do?
I agree, it will only be resolved when specific tickets are attributed to specific owners, but how do we decide who is eligible and who isn't?
A few recent away situations have been interesting...admission was by NFC tickets only...fair enough. But when my mate's daughter was poorly a few days before the game her ticket for the match, nor the coach, could be returned or refunded, and my mate couldn't go either as he is her PA. In the old days their tickets could have been passed on to grateful friends or family, but this simply couldn't happen, which meant two empty coach seats and two empty seats in the stadium. A genuine case with a very unsatisfactory outcome.
I have no idea what the answer is.
It depends on which version you are on about, the 1st version where you were automatically sent the ticket and had to send it back if you couldn't go. Which then meant it eventually did go back on sale but possibly after it was already sold out so people had stopped looking which meant people did miss out so that was rightly binned. But the 2nd version of it was OK imo, i was in it, i think it was £40 pound to join (also think it was capped at around 1k) all that meant was you was 1st in line for all league away games you had to buy them the same way as everyone you wasn't automatically sent them so if you didn't buy the ticket, which meant if i didn't go the ticket i was eligible for filtered down to the next tier for someone to buy. so there was no Sold Out then randomly bunches of tickets becoming available because those on the scheme had returned the ticket.
Spot on HL4!
I didn't do the first one for exactly that reason of the inconvenience of having to send the ticket back...the 2nd one worked much better for me and for almost everyone I knew.
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Without wanting to be too much of a prick Frank, haven't you previously said you believe very few people sell on away tickets?
Now you're giving an example of two people plus several others you personally know who have had the same experience. And this is just for aways with NFC tickets, which I think is a very small minority.
Apologies if it wasn't you, but doesn't this prove the point that many people have been making?
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Without wanting to be too much of a prick Frank, haven't you previously said you believe very few people sell on away tickets?
Now you're giving an example of two people plus several others you personally know who have had the same experience. And this is just for aways with NFC tickets, which I think is a very small minority.
Apologies if it wasn't you, but doesn't this prove the point that many people have been making?
I joined a facebook page for Villa tickets earlier this week and loads are looking to get rid of them for Middlesbrough, even a batch of 5 who are all now working, if this is true and not just a load of scammers, it is ridiculous the amount of tickets that seem to be available, why couldn't they just leave them for the next in line
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Without wanting to be too much of a prick Frank, haven't you previously said you believe very few people sell on away tickets?
Now you're giving an example of two people plus several others you personally know who have had the same experience. And this is just for aways with NFC tickets, which I think is a very small minority.
Apologies if it wasn't you, but doesn't this prove the point that many people have been making?
I joined a facebook page for Villa tickets earlier this week and loads are looking to get rid of them for Middlesbrough, even a batch of 5 who are all now working, if this is true and not just a load of scammers, it is ridiculous the amount of tickets that seem to be available, why couldn't they just leave them for the next in line
its a joke and the system needs sorting. Same old faces
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Without wanting to be too much of a prick Frank, haven't you previously said you believe very few people sell on away tickets?
Now you're giving an example of two people plus several others you personally know who have had the same experience. And this is just for aways with NFC tickets, which I think is a very small minority.
Apologies if it wasn't you, but doesn't this prove the point that many people have been making?
Yes, absolutely me. In MY experience, regarding the people I know.
A few seem to be claiming some kind of massive conspiracy, yet everyone I know who goes regularly wants to be there.
It's inevitable that at some point regular away goers can't get to a game...I would say it's pretty standard practice to pass a ticket on, just as most people do with their ST if they can't make a home game. It's not planned or contrived imho.
The problem I described above has happened with me and my mate and his daughter about two or three times in about 10 years...in the past we could could move paper tickets on...my mate's son and grandson are both STHs and rarely get to away games and they had them, and an old college friend had them on another occasion. The galling thing about the NFC tickets for ManU a few weeks ago was that the deadline for refunds had passed and the TO just said tough. If they had been paper tickets I have no doubt they would have gone to family or friends. It's not something that happens regularly....they want to go to the games!
The other example was a friend whose nephew goes to almost every away game but went down with Covid...she contacted the TO and they refunded the match ticket and put it back on sale I suppose...but had it been a paper ticket she would have passed it on to another Villa fan. No refund for the travel. I don't know of anyone who regularly moves tickets on as a matter of course or for profit or whatever.
And I was behind two lads at the Spurs game who said they had the emails on their phones but the ticket wouldn't open. They didn't get in.
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Without wanting to be too much of a prick Frank, haven't you previously said you believe very few people sell on away tickets?
Now you're giving an example of two people plus several others you personally know who have had the same experience. And this is just for aways with NFC tickets, which I think is a very small minority.
Apologies if it wasn't you, but doesn't this prove the point that many people have been making?
I joined a facebook page for Villa tickets earlier this week and loads are looking to get rid of them for Middlesbrough, even a batch of 5 who are all now working, if this is true and not just a load of scammers, it is ridiculous the amount of tickets that seem to be available, why couldn't they just leave them for the next in line
I was lucky enough to meet an ex player on the car park last season who was going to an away with the same old faces...he said he couldn't get tickets for games at Villa Park, never mind away games....but someone had put him in touch with someone locally who could guarantee him a ticket for any game he wanted to go to...and that is where he'd got the ticket from for this particular game.
It happens, but I have no idea how.
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you missed the point though, they do it to keep the booking history intact and keep the shop closed . rather than fall down the pecking order which would be fair.
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you missed the point though, they do it to keep the booking history intact and keep the shop closed . rather than fall down the pecking order which would be fair.
I'm not missing the point you are making.
They didn't do it to keep the booking history....until two days before the game they were going to the game!
As the tickets weren't used is that removed from their booking history? I don't know.
I understand, SOME may do it, I just don't know of anyone who does it systematically. All the people I travel with to away games are there almost every week, very rarely not. They get their tickets and go to the games.
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I think the facebook page for Villa tickets is exactly the thing the club/TO is concerned about tbh.
That's definitely taking the piss.
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Point is the tickets are snapped up by those able to purchase regardless of availability to attend (which may or may not be known at the time of purchase) and then they use them if they can and sell them on / pass them on if they can't go .
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I think the facebook page for Villa tickets is exactly the thing the club/TO is concerned about tbh.
That's definitely taking the piss.
Yeah I've not seen that but that does sound like a epic piss take
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Point is the tickets are snapped up by those able to purchase regardless of availability to attend (which may or may not be known at the time of purchase) and then they use them if they can and sell them on / pass them on if they can't go .
They are "snapped up" at the time set by the TO, sometimes a month in advance.
If you don't, you don't get a ticket.
Sending them back, as we tried to do, failed. Instead of somebody going, nobody went. Two empty seats.
Were we penalised for that?
I have no idea.
I know what you mean Tim, but I don't know of anyone who does it systematically...a few games a season perhaps, and I agree that's a few games too many.
I think we are probably saying pretty much the same thing but from different angles.
Perhaps the new eligibility system will help to even things out, but like most things it will take some time.
Unless they come up with a completely different system eg: lottery.
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you missed the point though, they do it to keep the booking history intact and keep the shop closed . rather than fall down the pecking order which would be fair.
I'm not missing the point you are making.
They didn't do it to keep the booking history....until two days before the game they were going to the game!
As the tickets weren't used is that removed from their booking history? I don't know.
I understand, SOME may do it, I just don't know of anyone who does it systematically. All the people I travel with to away games are there almost every week, very rarely not. They get their tickets and go to the games.
I appreciate that there are times when the inability to attend is very last minute, but there are many more when people know days or weeks in advance. You can return home or away match tickets for a full refund up to 24 hours before kick off.
When Villa are playing in the north west, I and many others who live up here are still looking out for a ticket and able to make the game at short notice.
We don’t get the chance because these people pass their tickets on instead of return them. So if we don’t know any of those people, then we won’t get a sniff, and if we do, then we might get a ticket, but we’ll never have a booking history.
It might not be planned, but it isn’t fair. I appreciate that a huge number of people go to all or most games, but loads more of us could be doing one game, a handful, half a dozen, if each of them felt able to return their ticket when they couldn’t go, but they are as trapped as the rest of us because actually, it’s not just about convenience or inconvenience of returning tickets, it’s also that no one dares lose their magic number.
Just for info - if you email ticketsalesAF@AVFC.co.uk to return tickets - you’ll get a message back saying it might take them 10 days to respond, but in my experience they get back to you inside 3 hours to confirm you want to return a ticket.
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Hi amfy!
We tried to return the ManU tickets 2 and a half days before the game but it was a Saturday and TO closed....by Monday, when they were open, deadline had passed.
The person I spoke to in the TO gave me the email address but said if the deadline has gone, it's gone....and it's usually TWO days before the game.
Regarding away tickets generally, I'm really looking forward to them coming up with the perfect system.
Launched alongside the new perfect crest?
;-)
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Good start by the club this in cracking the "closed shop club" .
if you had been going when our chips were down in the Championship then it wouldn't be an issue for you. Harsh yes but 100% as well.
i did about 8 a season back then . I don't have the option to go to EVERY bloody game nor would i want to ! Now its a case of attend them ALL or nothing. Its a pathetic system.
Just the other day one of the "closed shop group" offered me 2 for Everton , i told him to shove them where the sun don't shine
And there we have it from the great entitled one who cant be bothered to attend all games as a season ticket holder or not cause he don't want to & wants to sit at any game that befits his mighty status above all and sundry.
Well Golden Muppet takes this grip to the club oh mighty one if you hold the moral high ground.
The terrace view brigade get away tickets after que jumping the season ticket waiting list.
And i dare say the lower grounds will be sold to season tickets squatters next season and a bestowed allocation of away tickets
tickets.
Hark can we hear the mighty Tim carping about that to the club, NO cant hear him.
Speak up please the can't be bothered part timer.
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Just checked my phone records...I contacted the TO on Friday before the weekend.
That bloody Christmas thing got in the way of returning the tickets!
Bah humbug....with bloody knobs on!
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Good start by the club this in cracking the "closed shop club" .
if you had been going when our chips were down in the Championship then it wouldn't be an issue for you. Harsh yes but 100% as well.
i did about 8 a season back then . I don't have the option to go to EVERY bloody game nor would i want to ! Now its a case of attend them ALL or nothing. Its a pathetic system.
Just the other day one of the "closed shop group" offered me 2 for Everton , i told him to shove them where the sun don't shine
And there we have it from the great entitled one who cant be bothered to attend all games as a season ticket holder or not cause he don't want to & wants to sit at any game that befits his mighty status above all and sundry.
Well Golden Muppet takes this grip to the club oh mighty one if you hold the moral high ground.
The terrace view brigade get away tickets after que jumping the season ticket waiting list.
And i dare say the lower grounds will be sold to season tickets squatters next season and a bestowed allocation of away tickets
tickets.
Hark can we hear the mighty Tim carping about that to the club, NO cant hear him.
Speak up please the can't be bothered part timer.
Can we please have less of that?
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Just seen we had 4393 official away attendance today, thought we had nearly 5k allocation, that looks like a lot didn’t actually bother going, tickets that could have gone to the next in line rather than just purchased to get extra history
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Just checked my phone records...I contacted the TO on Friday before the weekend.
That bloody Christmas thing got in the way of returning the tickets!
Bah humbug....with bloody knobs on!
I would say the club need to maybe be a bit more pro active in enabling the re-allocation of tickets if they are going to be so punitive. I have no problem with someone passing on a ticket they tried to return. There a large extent to which I have no problem with people passing on a ticket they didn’t try to return (that’d be hypocritical because I’ve accepted one often enough). I have a problem with how we got here. A couple of thousand fans who can’t even appear to miss a game, while many others can’t get to a single one unless they pretend to be someone else.
Looking at the last post - 700 odd tickets not used today apparently - there were people who wanted to go and couldn’t.
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Just seen we had 4393 official away attendance today, thought we had nearly 5k allocation, that looks like a lot didn’t actually bother going, tickets that could have gone to the next in line rather than just purchased to get extra history
Where does the official away attendance come from ?
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Just seen we had 4393 official away attendance today, thought we had nearly 5k allocation, that looks like a lot didn’t actually bother going, tickets that could have gone to the next in line rather than just purchased to get extra history
Where does the official away attendance come from ?
Police.
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I’m annoyed as I know a guy from middlesvilla and thought I would struggle to get a ticket so didn’t bother getting one in the home end. What a pathetic turnout from them.
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When I asked "how many of us are here today?" I was told our allocation was 4,500, maybe 4,800.
Do we have an "official" figure?
If so, verified by who?
The police?
But not the club(s)?
How's that work?
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I’m annoyed as I know a guy from middlesvilla and thought I would struggle to get a ticket so didn’t bother getting one in the home end. What a pathetic turnout from them.
Lots and lots of empty seats in the home area, predictably high up and in the corners.
Saving themselves for Tuesday?
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Crowd was bigger than we had against Everton in the LC.
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Crowd was bigger than we had against Everton in the LC.
They only came to see The Villa! ;-)
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The WMP that deal with Villa games have given 4393 as the number, and yet the according to 3 lots of tickets we were given they totaled 4960 and all 3 batches sold out. And if you look at the away end there's no way it was 10% empty. The only empty seats apart from maybe the odd one here and there were the buffer seats between home and away fans at either side of our support.
And on the plus side, WMP reported no arrests or ejections for our support.
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Anyone think there's 500 empty seats?
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GDLg7tnXsAAv7kY?format=jpg&name=small)
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GDMONzxWQAAqTkt?format=jpg&name=small)
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GDLQYzyXgAAAAoj?format=jpg&name=small)
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There was one empty seat between me and the other Old Villa Fart next to me. Other than that I didn't see any.
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I swapped with a bloke when I first got in so's he could be by his kid. I then had two empty seats next to me, and I could see a few odd ones around. I went up to join my brother in the second half as he hadn't got anybody within 3 seats either side of him.
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The figure was from WMP, presume that was from how many actually went through the turnstiles, I have noticed before when he has tweeted a safe journey to x amount of fans, it does usually seem to be a lot less than the allocation, but don’t quote me on actual figures as this is just from memory
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I couldn’t make it as I’d bought a ticket which arrived in the post yesterday at 1.30pm. As it was on the TV quite frankly I couldn’t be arsed to drive 3 odd hours up to Boro from where I live. So that’s one of the “missing 500”.
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Hopefully you can get a refund if it arrived that late
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Hopefully you can get a refund if it arrived that late
Honestly I can’t be arsed with the admin for £20.
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I swapped with a bloke when I first got in so's he could be by his kid. I then had two empty seats next to me, and I could see a few odd ones around. I went up to join my brother in the second half as he hadn't got anybody within 3 seats either side of him.
sounds like quite a few gaps. You can't really tell off the pics as people spread out slightly so if its the odd seat here and there it won't get picked up on pics from a distance
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Hopefully you can get a refund if it arrived that late
Honestly I can’t be arsed with the admin for £20.
I get that, but it still poor service the ticket arriving the day of the game so worth a complaint
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Hopefully you can get a refund if it arrived that late
Honestly I can’t be arsed with the admin for £20.
I get that, but it still poor service the ticket arriving the day of the game so worth a complaint
Just send a quick email to ticketsalesAF@avfc.co.uk
It’ll only take a couple of minutes. You might get a refund and at least you’ll have registered a complaint.
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Hopefully you can get a refund if it arrived that late
Honestly I can’t be arsed with the admin for £20.
I get that, but it still poor service the ticket arriving the day of the game so worth a complaint
I'd ask for a full refund + compensation
Just send a quick email to ticketsalesAF@avfc.co.uk
It’ll only take a couple of minutes. You might get a refund and at least you’ll have registered a complaint.
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Fair enough.
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The ticket office have previous for sending tickets out too late, they’re absolutely hopeless in that regard.
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Fair enough.
Whilst you're at it, can you also tell them the proposed badge is sh!t? Cheers!
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Fair enough.
Whilst you're at it, can you also tell them the proposed badge is sh!t? Cheers!
It’s enough admin to complain re late tickets, I’m not getting involved in badge talk, though I am tempted to include a link to the Crest review thread so they can be bored senseless with page after page of waffle we’ve all had to sit through and which can be fairly summarised as “It’s shit”.
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The WMP that deal with Villa games have given 4393 as the number, and yet the according to 3 lots of tickets we were given they totaled 4960 and all 3 batches sold out. And if you look at the away end there's no way it was 10% empty. The only empty seats apart from maybe the odd one here and there were the buffer seats between home and away fans at either side of our support.
And on the plus side, WMP reported no arrests or ejections for our support.
I have enlarged the photo of us and could count 9 obviously empty seats. 3 of those must have been because the 3 seats in front of me were occupied by 6 teenagers. If you count up the number of empty seats between where our fans ended at the side and the stewards stood, it could account for the difference. As an aside, nice comments from their fans.
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The WMP that deal with Villa games have given 4393 as the number, and yet the according to 3 lots of tickets we were given they totaled 4960 and all 3 batches sold out. And if you look at the away end there's no way it was 10% empty. The only empty seats apart from maybe the odd one here and there were the buffer seats between home and away fans at either side of our support.
And on the plus side, WMP reported no arrests or ejections for our support.
I have enlarged the photo of us and could count 9 obviously empty seats. 3 of those must have been because the 3 seats in front of me were occupied by 6 teenagers. If you count up the number of empty seats between where our fans ended at the side and the stewards stood, it could account for the difference. As an aside, nice comments from their fans.
you won't be able to see the empty singles etc
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Last season the tickets for Wolves arrived over a week after the game took place. When I enquired a few days before the game, the ticket office insisted they would arrive as they had apparently sent them out, but we had to collect them from the Wolves ticket office.
Also has anyone received their Everton tickets yet? I haven't.
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Last season the tickets for Wolves arrived over a week after the game took place. When I enquired a few days before the game, the ticket office insisted they would arrive as they had apparently sent them out, but we had to collect them from the Wolves ticket office.
Also has anyone received their Everton tickets yet? I haven't.
i got offered 2 for Everton over a week ago now from a friend of a friend of the away club so i assume tickets are in hand now
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Just received my Arsenal cup final tickets. Hopefully Sherwood has us bang at it for this one.
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Last season the tickets for Wolves arrived over a week after the game took place. When I enquired a few days before the game, the ticket office insisted they would arrive as they had apparently sent them out, but we had to collect them from the Wolves ticket office.
Also has anyone received their Everton tickets yet? I haven't.
Tickets for Everton are "digital" apparently.
Not received anything with regard to them....email etc or even paper coach tickets which I purchased at the same time.
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Just received my Arsenal cup final tickets. Hopefully Sherwood has us bang at it for this one.
sell them on ebay fast
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Just received my Arsenal cup final tickets. Hopefully Sherwood has us bang at it for this one.
I wish I'd only just got mine.
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Just seen on the facebook ticket exchange page that 2 adult tickets are available for Chelsea already, not sure if it is a scam or not, but if it's legit then why don't they just leave the tickets for the next in line
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They'll buy them to secure the history in case we get to the final.
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Just discovered this very useful thread started by Nil Lamptey back in November. I've been banging on about this on other threads whenever I feel sufficiently moved. Living in London I used to go to all six or seven London away games every season until my 'history' lapsed for reasons beyond my control. As I'm pretty near the Chelsea ground I thought I would be sure to get a ticket for the cup game, but they were all gone by 9 minutes after 5pm while I wrestled with 'error' and 'no tickets available' pages. Let's keep this thread going and keep writing to Villa admin (I've done it on a number of occasions) to see if they can come up with something a bit more practical than 'try the ballot'
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Just discovered this very useful thread started by Nil Lamptey back in November. I've been banging on about this on other threads whenever I feel sufficiently moved. Living in London I used to go to all six or seven London away games every season until my 'history' lapsed for reasons beyond my control. As I'm pretty near the Chelsea ground I thought I would be sure to get a ticket for the cup game, but they were all gone by 9 minutes after 5pm while I wrestled with 'error' and 'no tickets available' pages. Let's keep this thread going and keep writing to Villa admin (I've done it on a number of occasions) to see if they can come up with something a bit more practical than 'try the ballot'
Totally agree. The away club "closed shop" needs dismantling and parity restored
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If you stopped going for a bit, then other people started/maintained at a time of extreme popularity, then I'm not sure you can really complain.
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If you stopped going for a bit, then other people started/maintained at a time of extreme popularity, then I'm not sure you can really complain.
That's more or less what happened to us. We had enough to do a fair few a season then we stopped. I don't mind in the slightest.
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The problem then becomes that you have an ageing customer base and a generation growing up who don't experience away games.
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I remember a very well known rock band saying how they got tired of seeing the same faces on the rail at every show wherever they played. So they did something about it
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If you stopped going for a bit, then other people started/maintained at a time of extreme popularity, then I'm not sure you can really complain.
There was a 5 year old pictured in the front row when we were on TV against Everton. Not sure when he built up his away history.
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If you stopped going for a bit, then other people started/maintained at a time of extreme popularity, then I'm not sure you can really complain.
There was a 5 year old pictured in the front row when we were on TV against Everton. Not sure when he built up his away history.
he must have won the ballott.....
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If you stopped going for a bit, then other people started/maintained at a time of extreme popularity, then I'm not sure you can really complain.
There was a 5 year old pictured in the front row when we were on TV against Everton. Not sure when he built up his away history.
How do you know they were 5? My 8 year old will be at Chelsea legitimately from a season ticket he's had for half his life and having gone to Boro.
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It’s an impossible task to make it fair
Fairer maybe but you’re never going to get a system that suits everyone when you have demand outstripping supply by a few thousand
I don’t know what the answer is because there isn’t one really
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50% of all tickets into a ballot , would be fairer imo .
At the moment the model is go to all games or none which is ridiculous .
Many of us would be happy to do 3 or 4 a season and let others have a go .
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50% in a ballot is nonsense.
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50% in a ballot is nonsense.
Only to those who don't want it
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I’m in the band of people who is a season ticket holder but has no significant away history. Even I can’t agree with 50% off tickets going to ballot. If you’ve got the history, you must be rewarded with priority.
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I’m in the band of people who is a season ticket holder but has no significant away history. Even I can’t agree with 50% off tickets going to ballot. If you’ve got the history, you must be rewarded with priority.
No problem with that.
The club have to make it easier for people to return tickets until as near as possible to the game so that when people can’t go, they can return them instead of pass them on. Then everyone’s history is their legitimate history.
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The current policy is the fairest, they just need to add ID. The club already have it anyway.
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The club have said they are looking into the system anyway so lets wait and see.
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Ballot idea at 50% is bunkum. How does that work? How does that changes the age profile of our away fans? How does that ensures “winners” are freshies?
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Ballot idea at 50% is bunkum. How does that work? How does that changes the age profile of our away fans? How does that ensures “winners” are freshies?
Cooper's Injury for you.
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Ballot to all ST holders. Break up the unhealthy stranglehold on away tickets . Ballot would mix things up nicely, allow fresh faces to attend every now and then. Of course those in the away club will try and debunk the idea of more open fairness why wouldn't they . And anyone caught selling tickets on / ringfencing should have their history wiped .
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The current policy is the fairest, they just need to add ID. The club already have it anyway.
I think the policy is fair too. I do think that those that go to most games should get the first refusal on tickets. I’d maybe put a small proportion as more random, but it’d be 5% & no more.
I’m a hypocrite because I’ll take those ‘passed on’ tickets because it’s the only way of going most of the time, and actually keep myself out of the loop by doing so, but we can’t pretend it’s not happening when there’s a thread on this very message board that does just that. I believe there’s a small group of people who go to every single game, and a large group who go to about 90-95% but have a booking history for every game.
I don’t know how anyone will ever get round that because if you are going to the match with someone, and one of you can’t go, it’s human nature to pass it on to someone you know, not least so that you still go with someone you know!
Even for someone locked out of the current system for the vast majority of games, if I’m honest I’d probably rather take a ‘passed on’ ticket which will probably be with someone I know, than a single returned ticket and go on my own!
I only really have a problem with people who, even for the odd game, never had any intention of going, but buy tickets just to keep up their booking history. They do exist.
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^^^ Agree with this.
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Ballot to all ST holders. Break up the unhealthy stranglehold on away tickets . Ballot would mix things up nicely, allow fresh faces to attend every now and then. Of course those in the away club will try and debunk the idea of more open fairness why wouldn't they . And anyone caught selling tickets on / ringfencing should have their history wiped .
don’t forget members
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Got speaking to someone over Christmas. He’s been in the away scheme since it was introduced so is always guaranteed an away ticket. Due to his circumstances changing though he rarely goes away and sells his ticket to his mate just to keep his history should it be required. I’ve no idea how many others do this but it’s certainly part of the problem.
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Ballot to all ST holders. Break up the unhealthy stranglehold on away tickets . Ballot would mix things up nicely, allow fresh faces to attend every now and then. Of course those in the away club will try and debunk the idea of more open fairness why wouldn't they . And anyone caught selling tickets on / ringfencing should have their history wiped .
don’t forget members
Yes absolutely , members also should not be excluded from ticket access
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I genuinely want to know where all these fans that complain about the closed shop when we were in the championship? it's a closed shop because the fans that go away now were the ones that went in the championship. I remember Burton away who have a smaller away end than Luton but I never had a problem getting a ticket despite being in the 2nd criteria but now I'm in the same criteria won't get one for Luton. Those that are upset about not getting tickets for Liverpool, Man Utd, Arsenal etc... really should have thought about that when they turned their noses up at Burton, Barnsley, Rotherham etc...
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I genuinely want to know where all these fans that complain about the closed shop when we were in the championship? it's a closed shop because the fans that go away now were the ones that went in the championship. I remember Burton away who have a smaller away end than Luton but I never had a problem getting a ticket despite being in the 2nd criteria but now I'm in the same criteria won't get one for Luton. Those that are upset about not getting tickets for Liverpool, Man Utd, Arsenal etc... really should have thought about that when they turned their noses up at Burton, Barnsley, Rotherham etc...
That was five years ago. Circumstances change, kids leave school and have the money to go away. I was sixteen when I started; if I couldn't have gone then I might not have bothered at all and perhaps drifted away altogether.
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I genuinely want to know where all these fans that complain about the closed shop when we were in the championship? it's a closed shop because the fans that go away now were the ones that went in the championship. I remember Burton away who have a smaller away end than Luton but I never had a problem getting a ticket despite being in the 2nd criteria but now I'm in the same criteria won't get one for Luton. Those that are upset about not getting tickets for Liverpool, Man Utd, Arsenal etc... really should have thought about that when they turned their noses up at Burton, Barnsley, Rotherham etc...
That was five years ago. Circumstances change, kids leave school and have the money to go away. I was sixteen when I started; if I couldn't have gone then I might not have bothered at all and perhaps drifted away altogether.
Good points in both cases,I would dearly love a away ticket but wouldn't be disappointed if I didn't get one, think it because of my age being over 21
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I genuinely want to know where all these fans that complain about the closed shop when we were in the championship? it's a closed shop because the fans that go away now were the ones that went in the championship. I remember Burton away who have a smaller away end than Luton but I never had a problem getting a ticket despite being in the 2nd criteria but now I'm in the same criteria won't get one for Luton. Those that are upset about not getting tickets for Liverpool, Man Utd, Arsenal etc... really should have thought about that when they turned their noses up at Burton, Barnsley, Rotherham etc...
I went to Burton, Barnsley and Rotherham with my lad. And Yeovil in the cup on a Tuesday night. It’s pretty difficult to get anything these days (large cup allocations aside).
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I genuinely want to know where all these fans that complain about the closed shop when we were in the championship? it's a closed shop because the fans that go away now were the ones that went in the championship. I remember Burton away who have a smaller away end than Luton but I never had a problem getting a ticket despite being in the 2nd criteria but now I'm in the same criteria won't get one for Luton. Those that are upset about not getting tickets for Liverpool, Man Utd, Arsenal etc... really should have thought about that when they turned their noses up at Burton, Barnsley, Rotherham etc...
Genuinely sick of this. We had bigger allocations in The Championship. Loads who went then can’t get a ticket now. Yes people who go to more games get the tickets, but please quit the glory hunter bollocks.
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I genuinely want to know where all these fans that complain about the closed shop when we were in the championship? it's a closed shop because the fans that go away now were the ones that went in the championship. I remember Burton away who have a smaller away end than Luton but I never had a problem getting a ticket despite being in the 2nd criteria but now I'm in the same criteria won't get one for Luton. Those that are upset about not getting tickets for Liverpool, Man Utd, Arsenal etc... really should have thought about that when they turned their noses up at Burton, Barnsley, Rotherham etc...
We pretty much sold out every away game in the Championship and over each season took more fans away than we can in the Premier League - big allocations at places like Preston, Blackburn, Sheffield Wed, Wigan and got more for Wolves then we do now. Many fans who went to a lot of those games still missed out on tickets for Blues & the Albion play off semi because of the low allocations.
Probably the fans you refer to as suddenly now wanting to go to Anfield, OT, etc were too young to go before - or maybe even followed us all around the Championship but couldn’t go every week back in the Prem. Everybody’s circumstances are different and I’m sure that most of those who go to every game now have had times in their life when they couldn’t. It’s just the luck of timing really.
Anyway, I have no issue with the reasoning behind the way tickets are allocated, just those few who abuse the system.
But I do feel for the youngsters who are now at the age most of us were when we started out on the adventure of away days and gigs - particularly if their mates who support other clubs are able do so whenever they want and are coming back with all the stories. It’s nobody’s fault, just one of the many drawbacks of supporting a big club getting bigger.
When I started going away in the 70s the majority of us were kids (apart from coaches 1 & 2 of the Travellers Club!).
I remember reading the post match thread on this site after the FA Cup semi at Wembley against Liverpool where there were comments about the Liverpool fan forum discussing the noise made by the Villa fans compared to theirs. One of the reasons they put across was that the Villa support was far more youthful.
We have to find a way of staying young!
(I’ve finished now nurse, don’t forget to to tell me when it’s Friday - I’ve got a train to London to catch)
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Barnsley away was horrendous, night match freezing cold lost as usual, as De Mateo walked to the changing rooms they were right by the away fans and he got pelters, I knew it was all over for him that night
I thought that was the low point but my lad was at Preston a week or two later for the 2 nil battering and he still says that’s the worst performance he’s ever seen
And we took 6000 there
Then we bought in that football genius Steve Bruce
Bloody hell it was grim back then
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Plenty of seats available for Spurs away in November 2011. I took an Albion mate and the Lord condemned me with the realisation that "my God, its over" and a speeding ticket at 2am on the Thelwall Viaduct. Though it would get worse, much worse, that was the date we knew or ought to have known it was lost. A when, not if. 21st November 2011, complete football nihilism. Away attendances were by and large iffy from that season. Small allocations taken to places, easy to get tickets.
Relegation is an errant starting point, as it was that event which rejuvenated support. I can't recall a full allocation not taken, extra tickets clamoured for by the club, in the past 7.5 years.
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Barnsley away was horrendous, night match freezing cold lost as usual, as De Mateo walked to the changing rooms they were right by the away fans and he got pelters, I knew it was all over for him that night
I thought that was the low point but my lad was at Preston a week or two later for the 2 nil battering and he still says that’s the worst performance he’s ever seen
And we took 6000 there
Then we bought in that football genius Steve Bruce
Bloody hell it was grim back then
I was at Preston, that was a bad one, Westwood giving the ball away on the edge of the box and Calum Robinson scoring (pretty sure it was him). At least Di Matteo got the boot after.
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That Spurs game is a great example of a low point. An example of just knowing we were fucked, so depressing.
In terms of availability of away tickets, when I first started going away around 1999/2000, you could write to the club with a cheque knowing you were guaranteed a seat.
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That Spurs game is a great example of a low point. An example of just knowing we were fucked, so depressing.
In terms of availability of away tickets, when I first started going away around 1999/2000, you could write to the club with a cheque knowing you were guaranteed a seat.
Ha ha, yes I remember those days, only reason I had a cheque book and a card that got stamped
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Plenty of seats available for Spurs away in November 2011. I took an Albion mate and the Lord condemned me with the realisation that "my God, its over" and a speeding ticket at 2am on the Thelwall Viaduct. Though it would get worse, much worse, that was the date we knew or ought to have known it was lost. A when, not if. 21st November 2011, complete football nihilism. Away attendances were by and large iffy from that season. Small allocations taken to places, easy to get tickets.
Relegation is an errant starting point, as it was that event which rejuvenated support. I can't recall a full allocation not taken, extra tickets clamoured for by the club, in the past 7.5 years.
I was at the Spurs game too. My Mrs at the time finished with me the night before too. She was a stunner as well. What a grim 24 hours that was.
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One win in the last sixteen games that season.
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Like many I am concerned that the younger fans are unable to follow Villa home and away as I have done for over 30 years but there isn’t an answer to suit everyone. If a retail outlet had a problem with supply and demand they would buy in more stock but that isn’t possible.
I would be very upset though if I had to stop after missing 1 game home and away for more than this century (family illness). This has included Bolton in the snow, losing 8-0 at Chelsea, Fulham the day Gerrard was fired and mainly disappointment and frustration as we went from being at Rotterdam to mocked at grounds we didn’t think that we would ever play at.
I do wonder if we would have more than the stipulated minimum allocation if the £30 cap wasn’t in force. Home fans can be charged much more so why reduce their income? A guaranteed 5K Villa fans may please the accountants. Controversial I know and no one wants to pay more than they need to. I don’t have an answer but if it’s any consolation we are all getting older!
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I genuinely want to know where all these fans that complain about the closed shop when we were in the championship? it's a closed shop because the fans that go away now were the ones that went in the championship. I remember Burton away who have a smaller away end than Luton but I never had a problem getting a ticket despite being in the 2nd criteria but now I'm in the same criteria won't get one for Luton. Those that are upset about not getting tickets for Liverpool, Man Utd, Arsenal etc... really should have thought about that when they turned their noses up at Burton, Barnsley, Rotherham etc...
Genuinely sick of this. We had bigger allocations in The Championship. Loads who went then can’t get a ticket now. Yes people who go to more games get the tickets, but please quit the glory hunter bollocks.
I'm genuinely sick of hearing people accusing the fans that have been going away for years of selling on their ticket to stay at the top. I'm also genuinely sick of people that all of a sudden are desperate for tickets want to be given equal opportunity to get tickets as these same people that have been going for years.
I get what you're saying but in all out time in the championship there wasn't a single post on here saying anything like this one does.
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I went to loads of away games in the Championship and in the seasons we circled the drain, but I didn't go to all of them all because I chose not to. I don't really have a problem with those that chose to go, and gave up more than I am prepared to, now having a priority over me.
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I genuinely want to know where all these fans that complain about the closed shop when we were in the championship? it's a closed shop because the fans that go away now were the ones that went in the championship. I remember Burton away who have a smaller away end than Luton but I never had a problem getting a ticket despite being in the 2nd criteria but now I'm in the same criteria won't get one for Luton. Those that are upset about not getting tickets for Liverpool, Man Utd, Arsenal etc... really should have thought about that when they turned their noses up at Burton, Barnsley, Rotherham etc...
Genuinely sick of this. We had bigger allocations in The Championship. Loads who went then can’t get a ticket now. Yes people who go to more games get the tickets, but please quit the glory hunter bollocks.
I'm genuinely sick of hearing people accusing the fans that have been going away for years of selling on their ticket to stay at the top. I'm also genuinely sick of people that all of a sudden are desperate for tickets want to be given equal opportunity to get tickets as these same people that have been going for years.
I get what you're saying but in all out time in the championship there wasn't a single post on here saying anything like this one does.
Because we were getting allocations if 5 or 6000.
& I’m not accusing any particular individual, I’ve always said that there are some that literally never miss a game, I know some of them, but there’s no denying that some do. It might only be a few games, but I believe it potentially adds up to keeping out the fans who used to go to ‘a few’ aways a season. It just didn’t used to be the case that it was ‘all or nothing’ as it is now.
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I'm lucky to be in the top category for away tickets. However, I'm now in my early sixties and having recently moved to West Wales no longer have the option of travelling with my mates in the Bournemouth Lions. It's very expensive to travel alone, time-consuming, and I must say not so enjoyable. So I'm wondering if this will sadly be my last season of travelling away to watch Villa. If so, I hope it allows a younger Villa fan to experience the highs and lows of watching us away in the future and get the same pleasure that I've had the past 45 years....UTV
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Had no idea you were in your 60s! All that sea breeze keeping you youthful.
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There's no answer that will please everybody, but I'm very much in the camp of people who went every week when we were shit getting first dibs and keeping those rights. I was still on the IOM for most of our Championship years and never once had an issue getting an away ticket, despite not having any sort of season ticket.
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Cheers Ads. Only 61 but a bit of poetic licence adds drama!!
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I'm lucky to be in the top category for away tickets. However, I'm now in my early sixties and having recently moved to West Wales no longer have the option of travelling with my mates in the Bournemouth Lions. It's very expensive to travel alone, time-consuming, and I must say not so enjoyable. So I'm wondering if this will sadly be my last season of travelling away to watch Villa. If so, I hope it allows a younger Villa fan to experience the highs and lows of watching us away in the future and get the same pleasure that I've had the past 45 years....UTV
I'll be 70 in a few weeks and i feel the same, i generally travel alone on coach 2 from VP, but i now have bought a static caravan up by Barmouth and try to spend as much time up there as i can. I will keep my ST but may not bother with away games....i daresay how we finish this season off may have a bearing on my decision.......part of me wants to keep going for as long as i can......but i got knocked flying by a pissed up Villan at Boro....i'm not great on my feet....so thats become issue......fcuk knows what i'll fo
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I probably did 4 or 5 aways a season in the Championship. I’m quite happy for those with better attendance records from those times to take up the current away tickets. I have a couple of contacts who are in that full away record camp and if they can’t go I’m usually offered the opportunity which I may take up 1 or 2 times a season and sometimes not at all. It’s not ideal but at least most of these recycled tickets are going to genuine Villa fans in all likelihood STHs or members and not ending up with touts etc. it’s not great that younger lads and lasses who are in their late teens and want to start travelling away can’t access things but I can’t see a solution and all you can do is try in the ballots and the online scramble as it drops to lower categories.
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They need to totally eradicate this selling on tickets whilst keeping a perfect booking history intact routine. I went to a concert recently where the tickets were etickets and fully non transferrable so if you wanted to pass on you had to hand over the phone .
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That's what they do at Anfield, touts pass on the phones that have tickets in little bags before the game, so it stops nothing.
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That's what they do at Anfield, touts pass on the phones that have tickets in little bags before the game, so it stops nothing.
what they walk you in through the turnstyle and then you hand the tout the phone back ? normal fans wont do that , so it does stop something
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No, you go to the pub where you used to collect your tickets from the tout and instead of a ticket they give you a phone, which you return after the game. Touting continues, stops nothing.
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That's what they do at Anfield, touts pass on the phones that have tickets in little bags before the game, so it stops nothing.
what they walk you in through the turnstyle and then you hand the tout the phone back ? normal fans wont do that , so it does stop something
You bring the phone back, after the game. My cousin from Dublin does it regularly.
There's a way around everything & if there isn't the scousers will find one.
Fingerprint or facial recognition would be an extreme solution but I'm sure this will be how it's done someday.
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I genuinely want to know where all these fans that complain about the closed shop when we were in the championship? it's a closed shop because the fans that go away now were the ones that went in the championship. I remember Burton away who have a smaller away end than Luton but I never had a problem getting a ticket despite being in the 2nd criteria but now I'm in the same criteria won't get one for Luton. Those that are upset about not getting tickets for Liverpool, Man Utd, Arsenal etc... really should have thought about that when they turned their noses up at Burton, Barnsley, Rotherham etc...
That was five years ago. Circumstances change, kids leave school and have the money to go away. I was sixteen when I started; if I couldn't have gone then I might not have bothered at all and perhaps drifted away altogether.
I'm an example of this as well. I've had a season ticket since 1995 and went to loads of aways from 1998-2012. My eldest was born in 2012 so I gave up my season ticket. She started coming with me regularly in 2018 so we got a season ticket. By then, the away tickets were a closed shop. I cant and wont complain but it makes games like Friday at Chelsea, where I did manage to get a ticket, even more memorable.
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No, you go to the pub where you used to collect your tickets from the tout and instead of a ticket they give you a phone, which you return after the game. Touting continues, stops nothing.
That's touts. We are talking about those Villa fans in the "away club" keeping up a booking history and not going, they aren't going to be doing that. So yes it does make a start in stopping this behaviour.
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I am in the camp of usually doing about 6 - 8 aways per season for most of the 2010's, including the championships years, but haven't had a look in since the return to the Premier League with the exception of Man U away in the LC last season, I have only been a member in this time, but it generally wasn't too much of an issue getting a ticket as long as I wasn't looking at the high profile aways
I don't think there is an easy way of reforming the ticketing system, acknowledging the substantial time, money and effort put in by the majority of people in the top tier, whilst also making sure the tickets are shared around to give more people a chance of experiencing away games, but different ways should be at least trialled
I do think that something should be done to allow people who can't make away games in the top tier, not be penalised to much for handing them back to the club for the next in line, rather than them having to take them and sell on
As a member, I currently appreciate that I am that far down the line for a ticket, nothing will help my situation, but hopefully it will give others a chance of the experience
I'm at the point now, where I actually plan to do things with the family on days we are away as I know I won't be able to go anymore, I just hope that others who are missing out don't give up on the hope of going to an away game and turn to other things as there will eventually be opportunities
Although, my 6 year old did say that if I wanted an away ticket, just ask Santa as he was able to get us tickets for the Burnley game and England v Brazil!!!
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Simple solution is ID is linked to the ticket and you have to show ID at the turnstile.
Fans who go every game will still get to go to every game, fans who are bending the rules will be rightly outed.
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Simple solution is ID is linked to the ticket and you have to show ID at the turnstile.
Fans who go every game will still get to go to every game, fans who are bending the rules will be rightly outed.
That's a terrible idea. It just wouldn't work.
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A bloke working for pin money on a turnstile isn't going to give a tinker's cuss about checking ID for away fans, it's a non starter.
Does anyone know what works (or doesn't) for other clubs who must have exactly this thorny issue?
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Whatever system used will cause unfairness.
My away games in the 70's, 80's and 90's count for nothing now?! Disgraceful!!! If you weren't at Highbury watching Pele walk around you shouldn't be allowed an away ticket! Absolute nonsense.
Supporting Villa home or away is and always has been a transient thing. Life changes and gets in the way. You get kids, have to support your partner with depression, build a business on a Saturday, make sure you have a roof over your head, become ill, a myriad of other reasons. Add to that supporting the Villa "live" has been made more difficult since the re-invention of football in 1992. All ticket games were a rarity then ... but then again so was fan safety and not wading through the piss of others.
My lad who turned 19 a few months ago would love to go both home and away games. He can't because those who watched the dross we served up in the 2010's claim their tickets week in week out. Thats ok, properly deserved. But there has to be some way of breaking into that sanctum, otherwise we kill the enthusiasm, he goes off, settles down and can't be bothered to go to Fulham on a wet Wednesday in February. It cannot be just Deadman's shoes.
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How about a system where the people who actually go to the game after getting a ticket off the away regulars bring the ticket stub to Villa Park ticket office and get the history banked on their ref?
Then the guys passing tickets don't accumulate bogus history and organically drop down the ranks. And the people who make the journey get rewarded.
The only floor in this obviously some people might buy tickets and not go to preserve their status.
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I'd like a system where every ST holder / Member gets a chance to go to at least 1 Prem away game a year . i used to do 6 or 7 on average , though some seasons did +15 .
That system they had at Warsaw seemed quite good and did catch a couple of hundred out who bought tickets with no intention of attending.
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Simple solution is ID is linked to the ticket and you have to show ID at the turnstile.
Fans who go every game will still get to go to every game, fans who are bending the rules will be rightly outed.
That's a terrible idea. It just wouldn't work.
They did this in Warsaw.
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How many people pass on their references? How many people pass on their references regularly? What is your definition of regularly.
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I'd like a system where every ST holder / Member gets a chance to go to at least 1 Prem away game a year . i used to do 6 or 7 on average , though some seasons did +15 .
That system they had at Warsaw seemed quite good and did catch a couple of hundred out who bought tickets with no intention of attending.
Maybe give an opportunity to fans who live more local to whoever we are playing away an opportunity. I can't get a ticket for Sheff Utd in Feb from either Villa or Sheffield. Would love to go as I'm only 12 miles north of there.
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I'd like a system where every ST holder / Member gets a chance to go to at least 1 Prem away game a year . i used to do 6 or 7 on average , though some seasons did +15 .
That system they had at Warsaw seemed quite good and did catch a couple of hundred out who bought tickets with no intention of attending.
Maybe give an opportunity to fans who live more local to whoever we are playing away an opportunity. I can't get a ticket for Sheff Utd in Feb from either Villa or Sheffield. Would love to go as I'm only 12 miles north of there.
there's probably a good Sustainability PR opportunity there too
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Simple solution is ID is linked to the ticket and you have to show ID at the turnstile.
Fans who go every game will still get to go to every game, fans who are bending the rules will be rightly outed.
That's a terrible idea. It just wouldn't work.
They did this in Warsaw.
They checked the ID at the turnstile or when you picked up the tickets?
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Simple solution is ID is linked to the ticket and you have to show ID at the turnstile.
Fans who go every game will still get to go to every game, fans who are bending the rules will be rightly outed.
That's a terrible idea. It just wouldn't work.
They did this in Warsaw.
They checked the ID at the turnstile or when you picked up the tickets?
Turnstiles. They couldn't do the ticket collection over there with what a bunch of throbbers their fans are. Alkmaar, Hibs and Mostar it's all been collected from the Villa with your ID. In Mostar they were insistent on passports, which was annoying as I'd left it in the hotel. Would have been quite the ruse for tickets to have fake driving licence, bank cards, season tickets etc to go with the pic of my passport.
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I think there should be more tickets available for ballots, particularly at the larger grounds. That gives more people an opportunity to go to a few away games.
I think corporate customers should be judged as normal fans are and have to build up and maintain a history like everybody else. I know a couple of people who hardly go to away games yet got tickets to european away games via corporate connections when I couldn't go to any because my mate couldn't do the first one.
As someone who genuinely goes to all the away games, you do sometimes feel a bit trapped that if you miss a game or so you may find yourself screwed. I'm lucky in that I don't have kids and have flexibility at work and disposable income, but some must really struggle to go to every one and I can see why it's tempting to cheat the system. The same if you're ill, you could be shooting yourself in the foot by handing your ticket back.
I'd like to see an amnesty where people with a full history can give up their place for a game every now and then and let others go instead. I'd also like to see more checks done on IDs where you have to collect your tickets at the ground.
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Simple solution is ID is linked to the ticket and you have to show ID at the turnstile.
Fans who go every game will still get to go to every game, fans who are bending the rules will be rightly outed.
That's a terrible idea. It just wouldn't work.
They did this in Warsaw.
They checked the ID at the turnstile or when you picked up the tickets?
It was while you were being sexually molested by the turnstile security team.
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Simple solution is ID is linked to the ticket and you have to show ID at the turnstile.
Fans who go every game will still get to go to every game, fans who are bending the rules will be rightly outed.
That's a terrible idea. It just wouldn't work.
They did this in Warsaw.
They checked the ID at the turnstile or when you picked up the tickets?
It was while you were being sexually molested by the turnstile security team.
Another thing I missed. >:(
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How about a system where the people who actually go to the game after getting a ticket off the away regulars bring the ticket stub to Villa Park ticket office and get the history banked on their ref?
Then the guys passing tickets don't accumulate bogus history and organically drop down the ranks. And the people who make the journey get rewarded.
The only floor in this obviously some people might buy tickets and not go to preserve their status.
There isn't a physical TO at VP anymore!
Bonkers!
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How about a system where the people who actually go to the game after getting a ticket off the away regulars bring the ticket stub to Villa Park ticket office and get the history banked on their ref?
Then the guys passing tickets don't accumulate bogus history and organically drop down the ranks. And the people who make the journey get rewarded.
The only floor in this obviously some people might buy tickets and not go to preserve their status.
There isn't a physical TO at VP anymore!
Bonkers!
whats that space next to the club shop now then ? Or is this going to be the extended club shop (i think Heck mentioned an extension)
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I think there should be more tickets available for ballots, particularly at the larger grounds. That gives more people an opportunity to go to a few away games.
I think corporate customers should be judged as normal fans are and have to build up and maintain a history like everybody else. I know a couple of people who hardly go to away games yet got tickets to european away games via corporate connections when I couldn't go to any because my mate couldn't do the first one.
As someone who genuinely goes to all the away games, you do sometimes feel a bit trapped that if you miss a game or so you may find yourself screwed. I'm lucky in that I don't have kids and have flexibility at work and disposable income, but some must really struggle to go to every one and I can see why it's tempting to cheat the system. The same if you're ill, you could be shooting yourself in the foot by handing your ticket back.
I'd like to see an amnesty where people with a full history can give up their place for a game every now and then and let others go instead. I'd also like to see more checks done on IDs where you have to collect your tickets at the ground.
They definitely should allow you to miss a game or 2 without being penalised
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I think corporate customers should be judged as normal fans are and have to build up and maintain a history like everybody else. I know a couple of people who hardly go to away games yet got tickets to european away games via corporate connections when I couldn't go to any because my mate couldn't do the first one.
There are no special privileges in terms of away tickets for corporate clients any more, and they are treated exactly the same as everybody else in terms of booking history this season. It was a bit easier in previous seasons, but not any more.
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How about a system where the people who actually go to the game after getting a ticket off the away regulars bring the ticket stub to Villa Park ticket office and get the history banked on their ref?
Then the guys passing tickets don't accumulate bogus history and organically drop down the ranks. And the people who make the journey get rewarded.
The only floor in this obviously some people might buy tickets and not go to preserve their status.
There isn't a physical TO at VP anymore!
Bonkers!
whats that space next to the club shop now then ? Or is this going to be the extended club shop (i think Heck mentioned an extension)
Good question Tim!
The bit at the end is where you pick up your Pride Rewards, aka yet another drawstring bag.
Rumour has it that Mr Heck wants all TO operatives back "on site" but most not keen.
All "home" tickets at VP are now QR codes, sent via email etc, so no need for collection points, staff etc
Still bonkers!
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I think corporate customers should be judged as normal fans are and have to build up and maintain a history like everybody else. I know a couple of people who hardly go to away games yet got tickets to european away games via corporate connections when I couldn't go to any because my mate couldn't do the first one.
There are no special privileges in terms of away tickets for corporate clients any more, and they are treated exactly the same as everybody else in terms of booking history this season. It was a bit easier in previous seasons, but not any more.
I thought they had a pot of tickets skimmed off the top? Wasn't there furore about it earlier in the season with regard to the terrace view or something?
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I think corporate customers should be judged as normal fans are and have to build up and maintain a history like everybody else. I know a couple of people who hardly go to away games yet got tickets to european away games via corporate connections when I couldn't go to any because my mate couldn't do the first one.
There are no special privileges in terms of away tickets for corporate clients any more, and they are treated exactly the same as everybody else in terms of booking history this season. It was a bit easier in previous seasons, but not any more.
This.
Our Coach steward explained this to us very clearly on our way to the Newcastle game.
Admit I was surprised but reassured that that is what the procedure is.
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I think corporate customers should be judged as normal fans are and have to build up and maintain a history like everybody else. I know a couple of people who hardly go to away games yet got tickets to european away games via corporate connections when I couldn't go to any because my mate couldn't do the first one.
There are no special privileges in terms of away tickets for corporate clients any more, and they are treated exactly the same as everybody else in terms of booking history this season. It was a bit easier in previous seasons, but not any more.
I thought they had a pot of tickets skimmed off the top? Wasn't there furore about it earlier in the season with regard to the terrace view or something?
i remember when they launched TV they alluded to members getting special access to away tickets
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How about a system where the people who actually go to the game after getting a ticket off the away regulars bring the ticket stub to Villa Park ticket office and get the history banked on their ref?
Then the guys passing tickets don't accumulate bogus history and organically drop down the ranks. And the people who make the journey get rewarded.
The only floor in this obviously some people might buy tickets and not go to preserve their status.
There isn't a physical TO at VP anymore!
Bonkers!
whats that space next to the club shop now then ? Or is this going to be the extended club shop (i think Heck mentioned an extension)
Good question Tim!
The bit at the end is where you pick up your Pride Rewards, aka yet another drawstring bag.
Rumour has it that Mr Heck wants all TO operatives back "on site" but most not keen.
All "home" tickets at VP are now QR codes, sent via email etc, so no need for collection points, staff etc
Still bonkers!
The ticket office open on match day as I go in ask them to print off a physical ticket for my lad as he wants to keep them
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How about a system where the people who actually go to the game after getting a ticket off the away regulars bring the ticket stub to Villa Park ticket office and get the history banked on their ref?
Then the guys passing tickets don't accumulate bogus history and organically drop down the ranks. And the people who make the journey get rewarded.
The only floor in this obviously some people might buy tickets and not go to preserve their status.
There isn't a physical TO at VP anymore!
Bonkers!
whats that space next to the club shop now then ? Or is this going to be the extended club shop (i think Heck mentioned an extension)
Good question Tim!
The bit at the end is where you pick up your Pride Rewards, aka yet another drawstring bag.
Rumour has it that Mr Heck wants all TO operatives back "on site" but most not keen.
All "home" tickets at VP are now QR codes, sent via email etc, so no need for collection points, staff etc
Still bonkers!
The ticket office open on match day as I go in ask them to print off a physical ticket for my lad as he wants to keep them
That makes more sense C+B!
Thanks for that.
I just know that there is no physical TO at other times though Heck wants it back in place.
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I think corporate customers should be judged as normal fans are and have to build up and maintain a history like everybody else. I know a couple of people who hardly go to away games yet got tickets to european away games via corporate connections when I couldn't go to any because my mate couldn't do the first one.
There are no special privileges in terms of away tickets for corporate clients any more, and they are treated exactly the same as everybody else in terms of booking history this season. It was a bit easier in previous seasons, but not any more.
I thought they had a pot of tickets skimmed off the top? Wasn't there furore about it earlier in the season with regard to the terrace view or something?
We were told that "corporate" had 10% of the allocation but were subject to the same eligibility rules as us plebs...any remaining tickets went back into the pot.
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I think corporate customers should be judged as normal fans are and have to build up and maintain a history like everybody else. I know a couple of people who hardly go to away games yet got tickets to european away games via corporate connections when I couldn't go to any because my mate couldn't do the first one.
There are no special privileges in terms of away tickets for corporate clients any more, and they are treated exactly the same as everybody else in terms of booking history this season. It was a bit easier in previous seasons, but not any more.
I thought they had a pot of tickets skimmed off the top? Wasn't there furore about it earlier in the season with regard to the terrace view or something?
I don't know what they're doing with TV, but I know that "proper" corporate don't get any special privileges, which is how it should be. And if they're not prioritising people who have paid thousands for their corporate packages and boxes, I'm pretty sure they're not for people who buy the odd top up GA+ package.
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I don't know what they're doing with TV, but I know that "proper" corporate don't get any special privileges, which is how it should be. And if they're not prioritising people who have paid thousands for their corporate packages and boxes, I'm pretty sure they're not for people who buy the odd top up GA+ package.
We'll, I'm going on a mission to spot all the tiaras and diamond cufflinks at Bramall Lane, I'll see what's wot.
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I think corporate customers should be judged as normal fans are and have to build up and maintain a history like everybody else. I know a couple of people who hardly go to away games yet got tickets to european away games via corporate connections when I couldn't go to any because my mate couldn't do the first one.
There are no special privileges in terms of away tickets for corporate clients any more, and they are treated exactly the same as everybody else in terms of booking history this season. It was a bit easier in previous seasons, but not any more.
I thought they had a pot of tickets skimmed off the top? Wasn't there furore about it earlier in the season with regard to the terrace view or something?
I don't know what they're doing with TV, but I know that "proper" corporate don't get any special privileges, which is how it should be. And if they're not prioritising people who have paid thousands for their corporate packages and boxes, I'm pretty sure they're not for people who buy the odd top up GA+ package.
I also know people who have corporate who got offered tickets to European away games and Premier league games and their away attendance record would not have qualified them to go, so that would suggest there is an 'improper' corporate system going on somewhere.
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I think corporate customers should be judged as normal fans are and have to build up and maintain a history like everybody else. I know a couple of people who hardly go to away games yet got tickets to european away games via corporate connections when I couldn't go to any because my mate couldn't do the first one.
There are no special privileges in terms of away tickets for corporate clients any more, and they are treated exactly the same as everybody else in terms of booking history this season. It was a bit easier in previous seasons, but not any more.
There was a guy on twitter who converted to Terrace View this season (having previously been a HE ST holder) He was fuming as he couldn't buy a Chelsea ticket when the window opened despite having a 9 game away history last season. He couldn't even buy one when the general season ticket holder window opened as he is no longer considered a standard ST holder now he's moved to the corporate side. I do think this is a mistake for people who just wanted to bolt the TV onto their existing ST.
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I think corporate customers should be judged as normal fans are and have to build up and maintain a history like everybody else. I know a couple of people who hardly go to away games yet got tickets to european away games via corporate connections when I couldn't go to any because my mate couldn't do the first one.
There are no special privileges in terms of away tickets for corporate clients any more, and they are treated exactly the same as everybody else in terms of booking history this season. It was a bit easier in previous seasons, but not any more.
I thought they had a pot of tickets skimmed off the top? Wasn't there furore about it earlier in the season with regard to the terrace view or something?
I don't know what they're doing with TV, but I know that "proper" corporate don't get any special privileges, which is how it should be. And if they're not prioritising people who have paid thousands for their corporate packages and boxes, I'm pretty sure they're not for people who buy the odd top up GA+ package.
I also know people who have corporate who got offered tickets to European away games and Premier league games and their away attendance record would not have qualified them to go, so that would suggest there is an 'improper' corporate system going on somewhere.
The only person I know who has the TV thing hasn't been offered anything at all....except more TV packages!
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I thought this was all clarified a while back? TV is part of the corporate allocation which (I seem to recall) is 10% of away tickets. That 10% is allocated on the usual criteria but to corporate members. But I guess that gives them a bit more chance than standard away tickets as there's probably a lower relative percentage demand to stand amongst pissed-up coke-sniffing away fans from those who's home match experience is mostly silver service tables.
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I thought this was all clarified a while back? TV is part of the corporate allocation which (I seem to recall) is 10% of away tickets. That 10% is allocated on the usual criteria but to corporate members. But I guess that gives them a bit more chance than standard away tickets as there's probably a lower relative percentage demand to stand amongst pissed-up coke-sniffing away fans from those who's home match experience is mostly silver service tables.
Spot on!
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I thought this was all clarified a while back? TV is part of the corporate allocation which (I seem to recall) is 10% of away tickets. That 10% is allocated on the usual criteria but to corporate members. But I guess that gives them a bit more chance than standard away tickets as there's probably a lower relative percentage demand to stand amongst pissed-up coke-sniffing away fans from those who's home match experience is mostly silver service tables.
Glad to see they’ve taken my recommendations onboard. 8)
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I'm lucky to be in the top category for away tickets. However, I'm now in my early sixties and having recently moved to West Wales no longer have the option of travelling with my mates in the Bournemouth Lions. It's very expensive to travel alone, time-consuming, and I must say not so enjoyable. So I'm wondering if this will sadly be my last season of travelling away to watch Villa. If so, I hope it allows a younger Villa fan to experience the highs and lows of watching us away in the future and get the same pleasure that I've had the past 45 years....UTV
I'll be 70 in a few weeks and i feel the same, i generally travel alone on coach 2 from VP, but i now have bought a static caravan up by Barmouth and try to spend as much time up there as i can. I will keep my ST but may not bother with away games....i daresay how we finish this season off may have a bearing on my decision.......part of me wants to keep going for as long as i can......but i got knocked flying by a pissed up Villan at Boro....i'm not great on my feet....so thats become issue......fcuk knows what i'll fo
Boro was terrible for pissed up people, I was surrounded by new faces and every single one of them was extremely pissed 1 couldn't go 5 mins without falling over, whilst the rest of them were constantly going to the toilet, left 10 mins before half time then came back 15 mins into the second half. They must have only seen 50% of the match at best and given how pissed they were they won't have remembered it the next day. Absolutely ridiculous to have so little chances of away tickets and when they got the opportunity they ended up like that.
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I'm lucky to be in the top category for away tickets. However, I'm now in my early sixties and having recently moved to West Wales no longer have the option of travelling with my mates in the Bournemouth Lions. It's very expensive to travel alone, time-consuming, and I must say not so enjoyable. So I'm wondering if this will sadly be my last season of travelling away to watch Villa. If so, I hope it allows a younger Villa fan to experience the highs and lows of watching us away in the future and get the same pleasure that I've had the past 45 years....UTV
I'll be 70 in a few weeks and i feel the same, i generally travel alone on coach 2 from VP, but i now have bought a static caravan up by Barmouth and try to spend as much time up there as i can. I will keep my ST but may not bother with away games....i daresay how we finish this season off may have a bearing on my decision.......part of me wants to keep going for as long as i can......but i got knocked flying by a pissed up Villan at Boro....i'm not great on my feet....so thats become issue......fcuk knows what i'll fo
Boro was terrible for pissed up people, I was surrounded by new faces and every single one of them was extremely pissed 1 couldn't go 5 mins without falling over, whilst the rest of them were constantly going to the toilet, left 10 mins before half time then came back 15 mins into the second half. They must have only seen 50% of the match at best and given how pissed they were they won't have remembered it the next day. Absolutely ridiculous to have so little chances of away tickets and when they got the opportunity they ended up like that.
Bet you can't wait for Chelsea, there will be 2000 more
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How many people pass on their references? How many people pass on their references regularly? What is your definition of regularly.
It's a very small percentage, not regular by same people, and usually done as a favour to a friend/family member but amazing how it is percieved as the root of all evil.
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I'm lucky to be in the top category for away tickets. However, I'm now in my early sixties and having recently moved to West Wales no longer have the option of travelling with my mates in the Bournemouth Lions. It's very expensive to travel alone, time-consuming, and I must say not so enjoyable. So I'm wondering if this will sadly be my last season of travelling away to watch Villa. If so, I hope it allows a younger Villa fan to experience the highs and lows of watching us away in the future and get the same pleasure that I've had the past 45 years....UTV
I'll be 70 in a few weeks and i feel the same, i generally travel alone on coach 2 from VP, but i now have bought a static caravan up by Barmouth and try to spend as much time up there as i can. I will keep my ST but may not bother with away games....i daresay how we finish this season off may have a bearing on my decision.......part of me wants to keep going for as long as i can......but i got knocked flying by a pissed up Villan at Boro....i'm not great on my feet....so thats become issue......fcuk knows what i'll fo
Boro was terrible for pissed up people, I was surrounded by new faces and every single one of them was extremely pissed 1 couldn't go 5 mins without falling over, whilst the rest of them were constantly going to the toilet, left 10 mins before half time then came back 15 mins into the second half. They must have only seen 50% of the match at best and given how pissed they were they won't have remembered it the next day. Absolutely ridiculous to have so little chances of away tickets and when they got the opportunity they ended up like that.
Bet you can't wait for Chelsea, there will be 2000 more
i could understand to a degree the ridiculously excessive drinking under the Lambert/Sherwood/Garde/Di Matteo era's but now !? , dear oh dear just enjoy the football
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How many people pass on their references? How many people pass on their references regularly? What is your definition of regularly.
It's a very small percentage, not regular by same people, and usually done as a favour to a friend/family member but amazing how it is percieved as the root of all evil.
I agree. My lad came to Leeds last season because my parents were celebrating my old man's 60th abroad. He came to Old Trafford the other week because a kind soul who goes everywhere couldn't make it...but then ended up going too. I don't think it's anywhere near as big a problem as is made out and in any event, there's no ability for anybody to prove the claim that its endemic. There's little more than anecdotal evidence which is not persuasive.
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If 2000 people miss one away league game a season, that’s just over 100 tickets a week. Or about 5% of a 2000 allocation. Not the root of all evil or endemic, but enough for around 1000 Villa fans to get to a couple of aways each during a season, so not entirely insignificant either for those who are shut out.
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amfy Technically you are right but there is no evidence that there are fans waiting and willing to take the call of tickets that may be leftover on a short notice to an away ground. In fact you could argue that “passing on” does facilitate exactly what you’re saying.
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I thought this was all clarified a while back? TV is part of the corporate allocation which (I seem to recall) is 10% of away tickets. That 10% is allocated on the usual criteria but to corporate members. But I guess that gives them a bit more chance than standard away tickets as there's probably a lower relative percentage demand to stand amongst pissed-up coke-sniffing away fans from those who's home match experience is mostly silver service tables.
For at least the last two seasons, 10% has been skimmed off away allocations, but that's for everything across player friends and family, away ballot, lions clubs and corporate.
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I think Lions Clubs getting tickets is not on personally and smacks of people jumping the queue.
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I disagree. I am fortunate enough to have lived most of my life close to Villa Park so I greatly admire those who live a bit further away and follow Villa home and away. Club needs to encourage and preserve our support outside Midlands.
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I think the passing off is not the issue.
The problem is the closed shop which does not enable other supporters to go to an away game at all.
There needs to be an allocation held back for other Season Ticket holders and members.
I would think that 25% seems like a reasonable amount.
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that would certainly be a start and much better than 50 tickets in a ballot
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Taking Sheffield United with that approach:
~1100 full cards
~715 for ST ballot
~ 1046 left for the next category down after the full cards- seems a little low to me given these people only miss 2 or 3 games a season. Long term it reinforces the passing on that some think is such a problem.
Maybe a scheme where the ballot is capped at a maximum of 400/450 for ~15% when the allocation is >2800. Then when you have your diddy allocations like Brentford/Luton/Bournemouth, there's no ballot at all.
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I think the passing off is not the issue.
The problem is the closed shop which does not enable other supporters to go to an away game at all.
There needs to be an allocation held back for other Season Ticket holders and members.
I would think that 25% seems like a reasonable amount.
I think I would agree with this
I can’t be hypocritical because I’ve had away tickets this season passed over to me and I’m very grateful for it
even on our own site we have people asking for any spare tickets and I am someone who has taken advantage of this from site members who will remain nameless for obvious reasons
Also being honest if I was someone who had an away history and couldn’t make a game I would do exactly the same as others do in keeping that history intact
But I think we do need see others get the chance of an away ticket so Chicago’s idea of a bigger percentage going to Newbie’s is probably the only option
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Taking Sheffield United with that approach:
~1100 full cards
~715 for ST ballot
~ 1046 left for the next category down after the full cards- seems a little low to me given these people only miss 2 or 3 games a season. Long term it reinforces the passing on that some think is such a problem.
Maybe a scheme where the ballot is capped at a maximum of 400/450 for ~15% when the allocation is >2800. Then when you have your diddy allocations like Brentford/Luton/Bournemouth, there's no ballot at all.
I think it makes sense that there's no ballot (or a very limited ballot) for the smaller allocations.
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Do you have to be a season ticket holder to be a member of the away scheme?
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Great thread which has brought the issue into plain sight. Not sure how we bring this more fully to the attention of the club officials who deal with these things, but it would be good to make it clear that something needs to be done to update the system to make it a bit fairer. From attending London away games (local to me) for many years on a regular basis, I lost my history through circumstances well beyond my control and now the only games I can attend as a ST holder are two or three hours away at Villa Park!
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Do you have to be a season ticket holder to be a member of the away scheme?
There is no away scheme.
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I think the passing off is not the issue.
The problem is the closed shop which does not enable other supporters to go to an away game at all.
There needs to be an allocation held back for other Season Ticket holders and members.
I would think that 25% seems like a reasonable amount.
I think I would agree with this
I can’t be hypocritical because I’ve had away tickets this season passed over to me and I’m very grateful for it
even on our own site we have people asking for any spare tickets and I am someone who has taken advantage of this from site members who will remain nameless for obvious reasons
Also being honest if I was someone who had an away history and couldn’t make a game I would do exactly the same as others do in keeping that history intact
But I think we do need see others get the chance of an away ticket so Chicago’s idea of a bigger percentage going to Newbie’s is probably the only option
I would also agree that the very small allocation should not be in the ballot.
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That’s a fair point but the could be no evidence because there aren’t any to resell. I appreciate ‘passing on’ does facilitate other people going as I have been one of them and I am grateful when I get one.
I guess it’s just hard to accept that after many years of being able to build a sufficient away history to always get tickets under my own steam, it’s quite hard to believe that I’m not just missing out by a whisker, but am miles off - & it happened really suddenly.
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I think Lions Clubs getting tickets is not on personally and smacks of people jumping the queue.
As a member of a Lions Club I can say it certainly isn't.
The clubs all enter a ballot to see if they are one of the lucky clubs. The club itself then has to do a ballot of their members to see who might get one.
I think our club has won one ballot this season and got two, maybe three, tickets.
It maintains interest and loyalty from fans who often go to a lot of games from a fair old distance away,sinfans traveling a lot of miles even to attend home games.
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The system currently only recognises relatively recent loyalty . Where is the recognition for fans who went through years of stress following the team all over the place under the likes of O'Leary Lambert & McLeish.
I agree with some of the points above , recognise loyalty but maybe a larger % goes to ballot so that more people get a realistic chance. Also maybe when someone has won a ballot maybe they then can't enter another ballot for 3 months for example.
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The system currently only recognises relatively recent loyalty . Where is the recognition for fans who went through years of stress following the team all over the place under the likes of O'Leary Lambert & McLeish.
I agree with some of the points above , recognise loyalty but maybe a larger % goes to ballot so that more people get a realistic chance. Also maybe when someone has won a ballot maybe they then can't enter another ballot for 3 months for example.
Ah, so you want to reward the people who aren't loyal any more at the expense of the ones who are.
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What about us who saw us lose at Halifax in 1970?
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The system currently only recognises relatively recent loyalty . Where is the recognition for fans who went through years of stress following the team all over the place under the likes of O'Leary Lambert & McLeish.
I agree with some of the points above , recognise loyalty but maybe a larger % goes to ballot so that more people get a realistic chance. Also maybe when someone has won a ballot maybe they then can't enter another ballot for 3 months for example.
i was at Mansfield Town one night in 1972 do you think that will count ?
(1-1 Geoff Vowden, att 12400)
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The system currently only recognises relatively recent loyalty . Where is the recognition for fans who went through years of stress following the team all over the place under the likes of O'Leary Lambert & McLeish.
I agree with some of the points above , recognise loyalty but maybe a larger % goes to ballot so that more people get a realistic chance. Also maybe when someone has won a ballot maybe they then can't enter another ballot for 3 months for example.
I definitely went to a game in the 59/60 season when we were promoted...my older brother never shuts up about how he looked after me! I should be playing at this rate!
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Does seeing Gerry Hitchens in the F A Cup at Peterborough 1 Feb 1961 count?
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Does seeing Gerry Hitchens in the F A Cup at Peterborough 1 Feb 1961 count?
Only if you had a cardboard cut out of the Cup wrapped in silver foil. ;-)
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I'm lucky to be in the top category for away tickets. However, I'm now in my early sixties and having recently moved to West Wales no longer have the option of travelling with my mates in the Bournemouth Lions. It's very expensive to travel alone, time-consuming, and I must say not so enjoyable. So I'm wondering if this will sadly be my last season of travelling away to watch Villa. If so, I hope it allows a younger Villa fan to experience the highs and lows of watching us away in the future and get the same pleasure that I've had the past 45 years....UTV
I'll be 70 in a few weeks and i feel the same, i generally travel alone on coach 2 from VP, but i now have bought a static caravan up by Barmouth and try to spend as much time up there as i can. I will keep my ST but may not bother with away games....i daresay how we finish this season off may have a bearing on my decision.......part of me wants to keep going for as long as i can......but i got knocked flying by a pissed up Villan at Boro....i'm not great on my feet....so thats become issue......fcuk knows what i'll fo
Boro was terrible for pissed up people, I was surrounded by new faces and every single one of them was extremely pissed 1 couldn't go 5 mins without falling over, whilst the rest of them were constantly going to the toilet, left 10 mins before half time then came back 15 mins into the second half. They must have only seen 50% of the match at best and given how pissed they were they won't have remembered it the next day. Absolutely ridiculous to have so little chances of away tickets and when they got the opportunity they ended up like that.
Are you sure they weee pissed or were they heading off to the toilets regularly to powder their noses?
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Barnsley away was horrendous, night match freezing cold lost as usual, as De Mateo walked to the changing rooms they were right by the away fans and he got pelters, I knew it was all over for him that night
I thought that was the low point but my lad was at Preston a week or two later for the 2 nil battering and he still says that’s the worst performance he’s ever seen
And we took 6000 there
Then we bought in that football genius Steve Bruce
Bloody hell it was grim back then
Correction, in fact we coughed up a late equaliser as usual. Some child needlessly windmilling in the concourse knocked my pie out of my hand before the game and the guy sitting next to me on the coach spewed up all over himself on the return journey before we'd even hit the motorway. And you're all moaning about denied nights like these, I dunno...
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Barnsley away was horrendous, night match freezing cold lost as usual, as De Mateo walked to the changing rooms they were right by the away fans and he got pelters, I knew it was all over for him that night
I thought that was the low point but my lad was at Preston a week or two later for the 2 nil battering and he still says that’s the worst performance he’s ever seen
And we took 6000 there
Then we bought in that football genius Steve Bruce
Bloody hell it was grim back then
Correction, in fact we coughed up a late equaliser as usual. Some child needlessly windmilling in the concourse knocked my pie out of my hand before the game and the guy sitting next to me on the coach spewed up all over himself on the return journey before we'd even hit the motorway. And you're all moaning about denied nights like these, I dunno...
You probably got your pie back in an unwanted fashion
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The system currently only recognises relatively recent loyalty . Where is the recognition for fans who went through years of stress following the team all over the place under the likes of O'Leary Lambert & McLeish.
I agree with some of the points above , recognise loyalty but maybe a larger % goes to ballot so that more people get a realistic chance. Also maybe when someone has won a ballot maybe they then can't enter another ballot for 3 months for example.
We are the ones in the closed shop mate, you know the ones that you want cut in half so that new fans can replace.... Finally Heck has revealed himself on this site.
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I'm lucky to be in the top category for away tickets. However, I'm now in my early sixties and having recently moved to West Wales no longer have the option of travelling with my mates in the Bournemouth Lions. It's very expensive to travel alone, time-consuming, and I must say not so enjoyable. So I'm wondering if this will sadly be my last season of travelling away to watch Villa. If so, I hope it allows a younger Villa fan to experience the highs and lows of watching us away in the future and get the same pleasure that I've had the past 45 years....UTV
I'll be 70 in a few weeks and i feel the same, i generally travel alone on coach 2 from VP, but i now have bought a static caravan up by Barmouth and try to spend as much time up there as i can. I will keep my ST but may not bother with away games....i daresay how we finish this season off may have a bearing on my decision.......part of me wants to keep going for as long as i can......but i got knocked flying by a pissed up Villan at Boro....i'm not great on my feet....so thats become issue......fcuk knows what i'll fo
Boro was terrible for pissed up people, I was surrounded by new faces and every single one of them was extremely pissed 1 couldn't go 5 mins without falling over, whilst the rest of them were constantly going to the toilet, left 10 mins before half time then came back 15 mins into the second half. They must have only seen 50% of the match at best and given how pissed they were they won't have remembered it the next day. Absolutely ridiculous to have so little chances of away tickets and when they got the opportunity they ended up like that.
Are you sure they weee pissed or were they heading off to the toilets regularly to powder their noses?
Could have been either tbh, either way it was a ridiculous way to behave after waiting so long to get a chance of an away ticket.
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Be careful what you wish for or away tickets will inevitably end up in corporate hands.
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The system currently only recognises relatively recent loyalty . Where is the recognition for fans who went through years of stress following the team all over the place under the likes of O'Leary Lambert & McLeish.
I agree with some of the points above , recognise loyalty but maybe a larger % goes to ballot so that more people get a realistic chance. Also maybe when someone has won a ballot maybe they then can't enter another ballot for 3 months for example.
We are the ones in the closed shop mate, you know the ones that you want cut in half so that new fans can replace.... Finally Heck has revealed himself on this site.
I think a fair system would be 70% based on booking history / 30% ballott .
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That makes it inherently unfair to people that might have been going to every away game for 30 years, suddenly denying them a ticket to Bournemouth next time because the ballot swallows it.
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They can’t ALL have been going to every game for more than about 5 years because this problem didn’t exist before we got relegated.
Prior to & during the championship years people could easily buy tickets for any number of games and only struggle with a few popular fixtures.
In the Championship we had a big allocations and a larger number of people started going to all the games. When we came back up, we started selling out on a full booking history where we hadn’t previously, & it’s been that way ever since.
Of course there are people who’ve been to every game for 30 years - but not enough to sell
out every away allocation. The ‘going to every game’ is a fairly recent development for a significant number.
They should still have priority though - 5 years or 30, people have put the hard yards in. I just wish there was a way back.
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They can’t ALL have been going to every game for more than about 5 years because this problem didn’t exist before we got relegated.
Prior to & during the championship years people could easily buy tickets for any number of games and only struggle with a few popular fixtures.
In the Championship we had a big allocations and a larger number of people started going to all the games. When we came back up, we started selling out on a full booking history where we hadn’t previously, & it’s been that way ever since.
Of course there are people who’ve been to every game for 30 years - but not enough to sell
out every away allocation. The ‘going to every game’ is a fairly recent development for a significant number.
They should still have priority though - 5 years or 30, people have put the hard yards in. I just wish there was a way back.
The £30 price cap has probably made a big difference.
I myself used to be a regular away fan until it got just too expensive for me.
Now on the odd times I do go away I rely on my Villa circle of mates to sort me a ticket.
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The people I see at Bournemouth are the same people I've been seeing going for years and years and years. We didn't have the problem before because more people picked and chose. We took smaller allocations, but made up of those that have always gone. If we had something daft like 30% of the ballot for Bournemouth then people who've been going decades are at risk of not having that loyalty rewarded so somebody else jumps the metaphoric queue.
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I think you make a good point Luke.
Pre Championship we were paying £55 or £60 for Chelsea away...with transport you were looking at £100 quid just to get there and through the door.
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That makes it inherently unfair to people that might have been going to every away game for 30 years, suddenly denying them a ticket to Bournemouth next time because the ballot swallows it.
that's more of a Bournemouth issue for having a poxy tinpot ground/ away end. Many fans had been going to away games for 30 years just not EVERY SINGLE ONE !!! not everyone can do that and in no way should they be penalised and excluded as is the case currently
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Of course there are people who’ve been to every game for 30 years - but not enough to sell
out every away allocation.
EVERY away game for 30 years , i doubt there are many at all in that criteria , a small handful perhaps
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That makes it inherently unfair to people that might have been going to every away game for 30 years, suddenly denying them a ticket to Bournemouth next time because the ballot swallows it.
that's more of a Bournemouth issue for having a poxy tinpot ground/ away end. Many fans had been going to away games for 30 years just not EVERY SINGLE ONE !!! not everyone can do that and in no way should they be penalised and excluded as is the case currently
So who do you exclude so that you include someone else.
How organised/random should that be?
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That makes it inherently unfair to people that might have been going to every away game for 30 years, suddenly denying them a ticket to Bournemouth next time because the ballot swallows it.
that's more of a Bournemouth issue for having a poxy tinpot ground/ away end. Many fans had been going to away games for 30 years just not EVERY SINGLE ONE !!! not everyone can do that and in no way should they be penalised and excluded as is the case currently
So who do you exclude so that you include someone else.
How organised/random should that be?
My suggestion was 70% to those with the best booking history on a first come first serve basis .
then 30% to a ballot to those in the above pool who missed out + ST holders + members.
I think that is more than fair.
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Until "The Bournemouth Element" kicks in!
Luton allocation will probably be lower.
It's fair until you don't get a ticket I suppose.
Which is what this whole thread seems to be about!
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Of course there are people who’ve been to every game for 30 years - but not enough to sell
out every away allocation.
EVERY away game for 30 years , i doubt there are many at all in that criteria , a small handful perhaps
Of course there are people who’ve been to every game for 30 years - but not enough to sell
out every away allocation.
EVERY away game for 30 years , i doubt there are many at all in that criteria , a small handful perhaps
Way more than a small handful, I good couple of 100 at a guess .
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Until "The Bournemouth Element" kicks in!
Luton allocation will probably be lower.
It's fair until you don't get a ticket I suppose.
Which is what this whole thread seems to be about!
exactly , no wonder those in the "away club" don't want the system changed
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Until "The Bournemouth Element" kicks in!
Luton allocation will probably be lower.
It's fair until you don't get a ticket I suppose.
Which is what this whole thread seems to be about!
exactly , no wonder those in the "away club" don't want the system changed
I'm probably firmly rooted in the "away club", whatever that means, and I can't honestly say I don't want the system changed because there's no proposal to change it to something else.
Good luck to whoever comes up with the perfect solution to that one!
They've already made a few slight adjustments which should make it slightly better, but people are still complaining about it because they want to go NOW! Bollocks to all that building up a booking history etc, let's just get to the front....or whatever.
Whatever "system" they bring in - if they do - will simply be unfair to a different group of fans.
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Of course there are people who’ve been to every game for 30 years - but not enough to sell
out every away allocation.
EVERY away game for 30 years , i doubt there are many at all in that criteria , a small handful perhaps
Of course there are people who’ve been to every game for 30 years - but not enough to sell
out every away allocation.
EVERY away game for 30 years , i doubt there are many at all in that criteria , a small handful perhaps
Way more than a small handful, I good couple of 100 at a guess .
can't see it. That's 600 odd games , no illness, no holiday clash, no weddings funerals bhamitzvas, no travel problems, just cant see it.
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Until "The Bournemouth Element" kicks in!
Luton allocation will probably be lower.
It's fair until you don't get a ticket I suppose.
Which is what this whole thread seems to be about!
exactly , no wonder those in the "away club" don't want the system changed
But it’s fair by the same token to say that’s why those that aren’t in it do want it changed! It’s only the same self-interest on the other side of the coin.
There aren’t easy answers, & 30% is far too big a ballot in the current circumstances. It would exclude too many who have made a lot of sacrifices to build perfect booking histories.
Even those who have bought 19 and only personally attended 16, are still way ahead of me.
Maybe making the criteria slightly lower, (e.g starting at 16, or even a little less) would actually still provide first dibs to the same people, because there is virtually no one between all & nothing….
……but this could potentially have a spin off effect of reducing the number of people who feel they need to go to every away game because they wouldn’t lose their priority, and free up some tickets for the more casual, or new, away supporter again.
…& Frank…it’s not about not being bothered to build up a booking history… we simply can’t. We might be able to get one on big cup allocations, but nothing thats going to get you to a league game, ever, on our own booking history under the current system. The last season in the championship I went to about 6-10 games as I had for years, and I haven’t had a look in since.
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Until "The Bournemouth Element" kicks in!
Luton allocation will probably be lower.
It's fair until you don't get a ticket I suppose.
Which is what this whole thread seems to be about!
exactly , no wonder those in the "away club" don't want the system changed
But it’s fair by the same token to say that’s why those that aren’t in it do want it changed! It’s only the same self-interest on the other side of the coin.
There aren’t easy answers, & 30% is far too big a ballot in the current circumstances. It would exclude too many who have made a lot of sacrifices to build perfect booking histories.
Even those who have bought 19 and only personally attended 16, are still way ahead of me.
Maybe making the criteria slightly lower, (e.g starting at 16, or even a little less) would actually still provide first dibs to the same people, because there is virtually no one between all & nothing….
……but this could potentially have a spin off effect of reducing the number of people who feel they need to go to every away game because they wouldn’t lose their priority, and free up some tickets for the more casual, or new, away supporter again.
…& Frank…it’s not about not being bothered to build up a booking history… we simply can’t. We might be able to get one on big cup allocations, but nothing thats going to get you to a league game, ever, on our own booking history under the current system. The last season in the championship I went to about 6-10 games as I had for years, and I haven’t had a look in since.
amfy, I didn't say people couldn't be bothered....they just seem to want to overlook it, pretend it doesn't exist, doesn't matter, shouldn't be a factor.
I know the system very well and how it works but I simply don't know how it can be "improved", and for who exactly? If we choose to include a certain group of fans then you do so by excluding others. The fact that the demand is there is great, but the supply just can't meet it.
As a good mate said a few weeks ago, "All this was much easier when we were shit".
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There's not only the issue of the closed shop but also those within the ringfence who are abusing the system .
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That makes it inherently unfair to people that might have been going to every away game for 30 years, suddenly denying them a ticket to Bournemouth next time because the ballot swallows it.
that's more of a Bournemouth issue for having a poxy tinpot ground/ away end. Many fans had been going to away games for 30 years just not EVERY SINGLE ONE !!! not everyone can do that and in no way should they be penalised and excluded as is the case currently
Your idea would exclude the most loyal fans at the expense of others at the smaller allocation grounds. You seem to post solely to try and wind up on this subject, which is no surprise really given you've been banned twice before.
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Until "The Bournemouth Element" kicks in!
Luton allocation will probably be lower.
It's fair until you don't get a ticket I suppose.
Which is what this whole thread seems to be about!
exactly , no wonder those in the "away club" don't want the system changed
But it’s fair by the same token to say that’s why those that aren’t in it do want it changed! It’s only the same self-interest on the other side of the coin.
There aren’t easy answers, & 30% is far too big a ballot in the current circumstances. It would exclude too many who have made a lot of sacrifices to build perfect booking histories.
Even those who have bought 19 and only personally attended 16, are still way ahead of me.
Maybe making the criteria slightly lower, (e.g starting at 16, or even a little less) would actually still provide first dibs to the same people, because there is virtually no one between all & nothing….
……but this could potentially have a spin off effect of reducing the number of people who feel they need to go to every away game because they wouldn’t lose their priority, and free up some tickets for the more casual, or new, away supporter again.
…& Frank…it’s not about not being bothered to build up a booking history… we simply can’t. We might be able to get one on big cup allocations, but nothing thats going to get you to a league game, ever, on our own booking history under the current system. The last season in the championship I went to about 6-10 games as I had for years, and I haven’t had a look in since.
amfy, I didn't say people couldn't be bothered....they just seem to want to overlook it, pretend it doesn't exist, doesn't matter, shouldn't be a factor.
I know the system very well and how it works but I simply don't know how it can be "improved", and for who exactly? If we choose to include a certain group of fans then you do so by excluding others. The fact that the demand is there is great, but the supply just can't meet it.
As a good mate said a few weeks ago, "All this was much easier when we were shit".
What you did say was something along the lines of ‘they want it now….bollocks to building up a booking history, they just want to get to the front’ which is where I inferred the implication people couldn’t be bothered to build up a booking history. I don’t want to get to the front, I understand why the people who are at the front are at the front & I think most people in my position would say the same.
I am wondering though whether they actually need a starting point for sales to be set so high, when they could set the first sale lower, and everyone who goes now would still be at the front, but with an option of missing a few games without losing their place at the front. In turn, this could free up some tickets for less frequent or new away fans.
-
The system currently only recognises relatively recent loyalty . Where is the recognition for fans who went through years of stress following the team all over the place under the likes of O'Leary Lambert & McLeish.
I agree with some of the points above , recognise loyalty but maybe a larger % goes to ballot so that more people get a realistic chance. Also maybe when someone has won a ballot maybe they then can't enter another ballot for 3 months for example.
We are the ones in the closed shop mate, you know the ones that you want cut in half so that new fans can replace.... Finally Heck has revealed himself on this site.
I think a fair system would be 70% based on booking history / 30% ballott .
Oh so only 30% of the fans who went through the years you mentioned instead of the original 50%. Give up Chris Heck leave and take TV and LG with you
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It’s obvious, the small allocation grounds should not be balloted.
There is no perfect system but there are too many disadvantages with the current set up.
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The system currently only recognises relatively recent loyalty . Where is the recognition for fans who went through years of stress following the team all over the place under the likes of O'Leary Lambert & McLeish.
I agree with some of the points above , recognise loyalty but maybe a larger % goes to ballot so that more people get a realistic chance. Also maybe when someone has won a ballot maybe they then can't enter another ballot for 3 months for example.
We are the ones in the closed shop mate, you know the ones that you want cut in half so that new fans can replace.... Finally Heck has revealed himself on this site.
I think a fair system would be 70% based on booking history / 30% ballott .
Oh so only 30% of the fans who went through the years you mentioned instead of the original 50%. Give up Chris Heck leave and take TV and LG with you
I'm trying to think what might be a fair system given the obvious flaws in the current regime ? Personally i'd just rip it all up and start again, have an away membership scheme which anyone registered with a booking history can subscribe to and then just go with first come first served each game . Some fans it seems feel like they are entitled to attend EVERY game and are more than happy that others get to ZERO games .
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But who is really being disadvantaged? I'm all for more balloting and giving more people an opportunity to experience away matches now and then.
But the reality is the majority of people seem to only want to go to away games when we are either doing really well, or when it's convenient for them.
While some people may 'cheat' the system, I get tickets because I've been going to pretty much every away game since mid-2010. The same complaints were being raised then, but I was able to get my history up at the end of that season by taking any away ticket I could get to the point that the following season I only missed the european away leg.
The way some people talk, you'd think I'm on some sort of gravy train and getting loads of advantages while laughing at everyone else. But going to every away game is bloody hard work. It's expensive and time consuming. People moan about season ticket prices, well it costs me an extra £1.2k a season in tickets and petrol. That's not including any hotels or matchday parking or food on top.
The amount of times we've had to sneak out of work to travel to some god-awful place in rush hour traffic, getting changed in the car in a street somewhere and not getting anything to eat till we are on our way back, not getting home till the early hours but still getting up at 6am for work, having to arrange holidays and family stuff outside the season, saving holidays at work for matches, birthdays and anniversaries on the road, boxing day and new years days in places like bloody Swansea!
Me and my mate have spent so much time cooped up together in a car that his missus is forbidden to adjust my seat!
And for a large chunk of my 14 years going away, it's been absolutely soul destroying.
So I'm sorry if some people think it's not fair that I get to keep going, and Joe Bloggs who gave up his season ticket when we got relegated and now wants back in can't. But I'm not going to lose any sleep over it just yet. 8)
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But who is really being disadvantaged? I'm all for more balloting and giving more people an opportunity to experience away matches now and then.
But the reality is the majority of people seem to only want to go to away games when we are either doing really well, or when it's convenient for them.
While some people may 'cheat' the system, I get tickets because I've been going to pretty much every away game since mid-2010. The same complaints were being raised then, but I was able to get my history up at the end of that season by taking any away ticket I could get to the point that the following season I only missed the european away leg.
The way some people talk, you'd think I'm on some sort of gravy train and getting loads of advantages while laughing at everyone else. But going to every away game is bloody hard work. It's expensive and time consuming. People moan about season ticket prices, well it costs me an extra £1.2k a season in tickets and petrol. That's not including any hotels or matchday parking or food on top.
The amount of times we've had to sneak out of work to travel to some god-awful place in rush hour traffic, getting changed in the car in a street somewhere and not getting anything to eat till we are on our way back, not getting home till the early hours but still getting up at 6am for work, having to arrange holidays and family stuff outside the season, saving holidays at work for matches, birthdays and anniversaries on the road, boxing day and new years days in places like bloody Swansea!
Me and my mate have spent so much time cooped up together in a car that his missus is forbidden to adjust my seat!
And for a large chunk of my 14 years going away, it's been absolutely soul destroying.
So I'm sorry if some people think it's not fair that I get to keep going, and Joe Bloggs who gave up his season ticket when we got relegated and now wants back in can't. But I'm not going to lose any sleep over it just yet. 8)
Absolutely this
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I am entitled to attend every away game by virtue of loyalty being a currency valued by the way every club in the 92 operates tickets. I get to sit in the same seat in the Holte because I pay for it, travel to it and have done for an accumulation of years. If I stopped, I go to the back and couldn't complain. That's the system, for us, for everybody. So it is for away games. If you value it by how quick your broadband is or how quickly you can operate a clunky IT system, then I'd drop down the list I suspect. Thankfully for me, whose intention it is to go to every game till I can't, its not.
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So I'm sorry if some people think it's not fair that I get to keep going, and Joe Bloggs who gave up his season ticket when we got relegated and now wants back in can't. But I'm not going to lose any sleep over it just yet. 8)
Other than Cooper's Tim, I'm not sure many people have said that tbf.
I've seen some pretty sensible suggestions that the top criteria is dropped by 2-3 games to take away some of the the pressure of 'all or nothing' (to reduce reselling) and for a reasonably increased ballot (but to exclude the smaller allocations).
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So I'm sorry if some people think it's not fair that I get to keep going, and Joe Bloggs who gave up his season ticket when we got relegated and now wants back in can't. But I'm not going to lose any sleep over it just yet. 8)
Other than Cooper's Tim, I'm not sure many people have said that tbf.
I've seen some pretty sensible suggestions that the top criteria is dropped by 2-3 games to take away some of the the pressure of 'all or nothing' (to reduce reselling) and for a reasonably increased ballot (but to exclude the smaller allocations).
Agree, I don’t see the logic or fairness in that the only way you get to an away game is go to every away game.
Loyalty should be rewarded but that does not equal a closed shop.
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That was my point. It's a closed shop and needs to be opened up somewhat . We are not agreeing on how far that door is opened
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I totally get the sacrifices people make to go to that number if away games & that it’s not something I’m prepared to do. I & I am sure many others in my position, don’t pick and choose on whether we’re doing well, but will admit to not doing the most difficult ones, or maybe only doing them as a once a season adventure rather than a routine.
However, I believe you yourself have talked on this thread about being worried about giving any game a miss due to the impact on your booking history. (I hope I haven’t got that wrong) I am pretty sure there’s a reasonable chunk of the ‘every game’ group that wouldn’t mind being able to miss up to about half a dozen without losing everything.
My problem isn’t people who’ve put the hard miles in having priority, it’s that the ‘all or nothing’ set up actually only really suits a relatively small number of people.
-
Until "The Bournemouth Element" kicks in!
Luton allocation will probably be lower.
It's fair until you don't get a ticket I suppose.
Which is what this whole thread seems to be about!
exactly , no wonder those in the "away club" don't want the system changed
But it’s fair by the same token to say that’s why those that aren’t in it do want it changed! It’s only the same self-interest on the other side of the coin.
There aren’t easy answers, & 30% is far too big a ballot in the current circumstances. It would exclude too many who have made a lot of sacrifices to build perfect booking histories.
Even those who have bought 19 and only personally attended 16, are still way ahead of me.
Maybe making the criteria slightly lower, (e.g starting at 16, or even a little less) would actually still provide first dibs to the same people, because there is virtually no one between all & nothing….
……but this could potentially have a spin off effect of reducing the number of people who feel they need to go to every away game because they wouldn’t lose their priority, and free up some tickets for the more casual, or new, away supporter again.
…& Frank…it’s not about not being bothered to build up a booking history… we simply can’t. We might be able to get one on big cup allocations, but nothing thats going to get you to a league game, ever, on our own booking history under the current system. The last season in the championship I went to about 6-10 games as I had for years, and I haven’t had a look in since.
amfy, I didn't say people couldn't be bothered....they just seem to want to overlook it, pretend it doesn't exist, doesn't matter, shouldn't be a factor.
I know the system very well and how it works but I simply don't know how it can be "improved", and for who exactly? If we choose to include a certain group of fans then you do so by excluding others. The fact that the demand is there is great, but the supply just can't meet it.
As a good mate said a few weeks ago, "All this was much easier when we were shit".
What you did say was something along the lines of ‘they want it now….bollocks to building up a booking history, they just want to get to the front’ which is where I inferred the implication people couldn’t be bothered to build up a booking history. I don’t want to get to the front, I understand why the people who are at the front are at the front & I think most people in my position would say the same.
I am wondering though whether they actually need a starting point for sales to be set so high, when they could set the first sale lower, and everyone who goes now would still be at the front, but with an option of missing a few games without losing their place at the front. In turn, this could free up some tickets for less frequent or new away fans.
My point is that those who are wherever they are on the eligibility list are still on it....whether that's 19 aways or 5 aways...and that should have some influence. To ignore the booking histories of those who are trying hard to build them up just doesn't seem right to me.
I think a more open and honest system would probably be best but atm it works against the regular hardcore who go to (almost) every game.
As I mentioned a little while ago I tried to return my friends' away tickets the "proper" way but was told I had missed the deadline for a refund etc...so, no one had the tickets that were paid for and 2 seats on the coach went empty. I assume my friends will be "penalised" for non attendance but no one was allowed to take advantage of the situation. That's crazy. Someone with a booking history would have "qualified" for them, surely.
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Missing a game would make my teeth itch.
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But who is really being disadvantaged? I'm all for more balloting and giving more people an opportunity to experience away matches now and then.
But the reality is the majority of people seem to only want to go to away games when we are either doing really well, or when it's convenient for them.
While some people may 'cheat' the system, I get tickets because I've been going to pretty much every away game since mid-2010. The same complaints were being raised then, but I was able to get my history up at the end of that season by taking any away ticket I could get to the point that the following season I only missed the european away leg.
The way some people talk, you'd think I'm on some sort of gravy train and getting loads of advantages while laughing at everyone else. But going to every away game is bloody hard work. It's expensive and time consuming. People moan about season ticket prices, well it costs me an extra £1.2k a season in tickets and petrol. That's not including any hotels or matchday parking or food on top.
The amount of times we've had to sneak out of work to travel to some god-awful place in rush hour traffic, getting changed in the car in a street somewhere and not getting anything to eat till we are on our way back, not getting home till the early hours but still getting up at 6am for work, having to arrange holidays and family stuff outside the season, saving holidays at work for matches, birthdays and anniversaries on the road, boxing day and new years days in places like bloody Swansea!
Me and my mate have spent so much time cooped up together in a car that his missus is forbidden to adjust my seat!
And for a large chunk of my 14 years going away, it's been absolutely soul destroying.
So I'm sorry if some people think it's not fair that I get to keep going, and Joe Bloggs who gave up his season ticket when we got relegated and now wants back in can't. But I'm not going to lose any sleep over it just yet. 8)
Absolutely this
Yep.
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Missing a game would make my teeth itch.
Haha yep, but there are times when it might be for the best.
You can actually see me on some of the videos of us celebrating the win at Old Trafford. I had a fever from tonsillitis and I look like I'm about to keel over. I'm quite lucky that I've not had anything serious happen or been very ill. And very, very lucky to have a partner who understands.
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Missing a game would make my teeth itch.
Haha yep, but there are times when it might be for the best.
You can actually see me on some of the videos of us celebrating the win at Old Trafford. I had a fever from tonsillitis and I look like I'm about to keel over. I'm quite lucky that I've not had anything serious happen or been very ill. And very, very lucky to have a partner who understands.
A partner who understands?! If my wife had a hobby that took her out of the house for a guaranteed 10 hours every fortnight I'd think I was in heaven! I bet he's fucking delighted!
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I totally get the sacrifices people make to go to that number if away games & that it’s not something I’m prepared to do. I & I am sure many others in my position, don’t pick and choose on whether we’re doing well, but will admit to not doing the most difficult ones, or maybe only doing them as a once a season adventure rather than a routine.
However, I believe you yourself have talked on this thread about being worried about giving any game a miss due to the impact on your booking history. (I hope I haven’t got that wrong) I am pretty sure there’s a reasonable chunk of the ‘every game’ group that wouldn’t mind being able to miss up to about half a dozen without losing everything.
My problem isn’t people who’ve put the hard miles in having priority, it’s that the ‘all or nothing’ set up actually only really suits a relatively small number of people.
You're right, I have.
I don't like the idea of it being a closed shop either. I don't think it's healthy, a club has to attract new fans and away days can be a great experience that I think everyone should be able to experience at some point. I'd like to see more checks via ticket collections (I've never been checked) and I'd like to see more ballots and mechanisms for people to have an opportunity.
I just don't like the implication that we're all cheating.
It would be interesting if they did something like the mighty waiting list for those with no away history, but a paid upfront version. You sign up, say how many tickets you'd want together, and pay your money. A certain number of tickets are given over to it and you get offered a ticket first come first served. Once you've been, you drop back again. And if you don't get offered one that season you have the option to withdraw and get your money back the next season.
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Missing a game would make my teeth itch.
Haha yep, but there are times when it might be for the best.
You can actually see me on some of the videos of us celebrating the win at Old Trafford. I had a fever from tonsillitis and I look like I'm about to keel over. I'm quite lucky that I've not had anything serious happen or been very ill. And very, very lucky to have a partner who understands.
A partner who understands?! If my wife had a hobby that took her out of the house for a guaranteed 10 hours every fortnight I'd think I was in heaven! I bet he's fucking delighted!
Haha, yes. We had this conversation the other week as I commented how nice it is to have the house to yourself and just relax and do what you want. He said I can do what I want whenever, why do I need the house to myself? (You'd think a fellow male would be able to think of at least one answer to that question! ;D)
He works shifts so he gets loads of time to himself when I'm at work and at the footie, so he doesn't really appreciate it. He used to go to Silverstone with his mates every year which was a little holiday at home for me too!
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The way some people talk, you'd think I'm on some sort of gravy train and getting loads of advantages while laughing at everyone else. But going to every away game is bloody hard work. It's expensive and time consuming. People moan about season ticket prices, well it costs me an extra £1.2k a season in tickets and petrol. That's not including any hotels or matchday parking or food on top.
The amount of times we've had to sneak out of work to travel to some god-awful place in rush hour traffic, getting changed in the car in a street somewhere and not getting anything to eat till we are on our way back, not getting home till the early hours but still getting up at 6am for work, having to arrange holidays and family stuff outside the season, saving holidays at work for matches, birthdays and anniversaries on the road, boxing day and new years days in places like bloody Swansea!
Me and my mate have spent so much time cooped up together in a car that his missus is forbidden to adjust my seat!
And for a large chunk of my 14 years going away, it's been absolutely soul destroying.
So I'm sorry if some people think it's not fair that I get to keep going, and Joe Bloggs who gave up his season ticket when we got relegated and now wants back in can't. But I'm not going to lose any sleep over it just yet. 8)
I get what you are saying but if you don't enjoy it don't do it, nobody is forcing you and you won't get a medal for doing it. I would like to think that those that go to all the games enjoy it and get pleasure from it.
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The mad thing is that it’s not even cheating because someone who’d missed 3 games would (rightly) still be well ahead in priority of all of those who can’t get tickets (from the club) for any.
I don’t think everyone’s cheating, I think there’s a good number of people who do go to every away game, but not as many as it looks like, & a load of others on both sides who have got trapped into working the system as it stands.
Motivation for handing on tickets isn’t just to keep a booking history, it’s to give a mate a chance of a game that wouldn’t otherwise get one.
Honestly, if I really tried I could still get a ticket for most aways, because when I do try I usually do get one, it just won’t be ‘my’ ticket. I think that’s a bit bonkers but I don’t really know the answer.
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I didn't say I didn't enjoy it, just that it's hard work.
The same can be said for a lot of worthwhile things in life!
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The mad thing is that it’s not even cheating because someone who’d missed 3 games would (rightly) still be well ahead in priority of all of those who can’t get tickets (from the club) for any.
I don’t think everyone’s cheating, I think there’s a good number of people who do go to every away game, but not as many as it looks like, & a load of others on both sides who have got trapped into working the system as it stands.
Motivation for handing on tickets isn’t just to keep a booking history, it’s to give a mate a chance of a game that wouldn’t otherwise get one.
Honestly, if I really tried I could still get a ticket for most aways, because when I do try I usually do get one, it just won’t be ‘my’ ticket. I think that’s a bit bonkers but I don’t really know the answer.
Yep, the same thing will now be happening on season tickets and home history.
Bournemouth has been causing an issue, but I believe they've taken that out of the considerations now. I know they're now including cup matches, but I'm not sure if that helps long term as it will bring those games into the can't miss bracket too.
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Absolutely - I’m pretty much there on the home history thing. I was going to give up my ST & see how many games I got to when I moved north, but at that exact moment we got a waiting list so I kept it.
With each season it gets more difficult to get to games as kick offs move all over the place, and at the same time more and more difficult to get one off tickets so it remains an ongoing dilemma.
I always pass my ST via the club by either naming the person I’m giving it to, or selling it back. I asked the other week whether there was a limit on how many times you can do this, & the ticket office said not at the moment but that might change with the waiting list being what it is.
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If I were the club, when we expand capacity I would look to keep the season ticket numbers capped, but add a number of 'half' season tickets where you can go to 9/10 games or so spread out over the season. It would suit a lot of people who can't get to every game while opening up the opportunity for others to get in.
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Absolutely - I’m pretty much there on the home history thing. I was going to give up my ST & see how many games I got to when I moved north, but at that exact moment we got a waiting list so I kept it.
With each season it gets more difficult to get to games as kick offs move all over the place, and at the same time more and more difficult to get one off tickets so it remains an ongoing dilemma.
I always pass my ST via the club by either naming the person I’m giving it to, or selling it back. I asked the other week whether there was a limit on how many times you can do this, & the ticket office said not at the moment but that might change with the waiting list being what it is.
slight aside but picking up on your point re selling the ST seat back to the club, i've had to do this a few times this season due to the KO time moving and work / family stuff colliding etc, never ceases to piss me off how the club only give you 80% back of what you paid then go on to sell at Full Price. I wish someone would raise this at the FAB
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Absolutely - I’m pretty much there on the home history thing. I was going to give up my ST & see how many games I got to when I moved north, but at that exact moment we got a waiting list so I kept it.
With each season it gets more difficult to get to games as kick offs move all over the place, and at the same time more and more difficult to get one off tickets so it remains an ongoing dilemma.
I always pass my ST via the club by either naming the person I’m giving it to, or selling it back. I asked the other week whether there was a limit on how many times you can do this, & the ticket office said not at the moment but that might change with the waiting list being what it is.
slight aside but picking up on your point re selling the ST seat back to the club, i've had to do this a few times this season due to the KO time moving and work / family stuff colliding etc, never ceases to piss me off how the club only give you 80% back of what you paid then go on to sell at Full Price. I wish someone would raise this at the FAB
We do. Regularly. ⁰
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Absolutely - I’m pretty much there on the home history thing. I was going to give up my ST & see how many games I got to when I moved north, but at that exact moment we got a waiting list so I kept it.
With each season it gets more difficult to get to games as kick offs move all over the place, and at the same time more and more difficult to get one off tickets so it remains an ongoing dilemma.
I always pass my ST via the club by either naming the person I’m giving it to, or selling it back. I asked the other week whether there was a limit on how many times you can do this, & the ticket office said not at the moment but that might change with the waiting list being what it is.
slight aside but picking up on your point re selling the ST seat back to the club, i've had to do this a few times this season due to the KO time moving and work / family stuff colliding etc, never ceases to piss me off how the club only give you 80% back of what you paid then go on to sell at Full Price. I wish someone would raise this at the FAB
We do. Regularly. ⁰
Thanks appreciated
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It’s obvious, the small allocation grounds should not be balloted.
There is no perfect system but there are too many disadvantages with the current set up.
So instead disadvantage the fans that have been going up and down the country for years no matter how bad we were at the time
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The system currently only recognises relatively recent loyalty . Where is the recognition for fans who went through years of stress following the team all over the place under the likes of O'Leary Lambert & McLeish.
I agree with some of the points above , recognise loyalty but maybe a larger % goes to ballot so that more people get a realistic chance. Also maybe when someone has won a ballot maybe they then can't enter another ballot for 3 months for example.
We are the ones in the closed shop mate, you know the ones that you want cut in half so that new fans can replace.... Finally Heck has revealed himself on this site.
I think a fair system would be 70% based on booking history / 30% ballott .
Oh so only 30% of the fans who went through the years you mentioned instead of the original 50%. Give up Chris Heck leave and take TV and LG with you
I'm trying to think what might be a fair system given the obvious flaws in the current regime ? Personally i'd just rip it all up and start again, have an away membership scheme which anyone registered with a booking history can subscribe to and then just go with first come first served each game . Some fans it seems feel like they are entitled to attend EVERY game and are more than happy that others get to ZERO games .
I've put the miles in when we were crap so yes I do feel I'm entitled to do the same now we are good after suffering for so long spending so much for very little return. But hey now we are good rip it up and start again to help out the "fans" that have come out of the woodwork now we are good and will probably disappear as fast if we go back to being rubbish again.
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It’s obvious, the small allocation grounds should not be balloted.
There is no perfect system but there are too many disadvantages with the current set up.
So instead disadvantage the fans that have been going up and down the country for years no matter how bad we were at the time
The disadvantage of having a closed shop has been done ad infinitum on here.
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It’s obvious, the small allocation grounds should not be balloted.
There is no perfect system but there are too many disadvantages with the current set up.
So instead disadvantage the fans that have been going up and down the country for years no matter how bad we were at the time
The disadvantage of having a closed shop has been done ad infinitum on here.
Where were these people complaining when we had Mcliesh, Lambert, Sherwood and Garde... Same allocations that we get now and the tickets were sold using the same system they do now, but strangely no one was complaining about it being a closed shop then?
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It’s obvious, the small allocation grounds should not be balloted.
There is no perfect system but there are too many disadvantages with the current set up.
So instead disadvantage the fans that have been going up and down the country for years no matter how bad we were at the time
The disadvantage of having a closed shop has been done ad infinitum on here.
Where were these people complaining when we had Mcliesh, Lambert, Sherwood and Garde... Same allocations that we get now and the tickets were sold using the same system they do now, but strangely no one was complaining about it being a closed shop then?
So you think it’s ok that lots of Villa fans , some not old enough to have any chance of getting a booking history will never get to see Villa away?
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It’s obvious, the small allocation grounds should not be balloted.
There is no perfect system but there are too many disadvantages with the current set up.
So instead disadvantage the fans that have been going up and down the country for years no matter how bad we were at the time
The disadvantage of having a closed shop has been done ad infinitum on here.
Where were these people complaining when we had Mcliesh, Lambert, Sherwood and Garde... Same allocations that we get now and the tickets were sold using the same system they do now, but strangely no one was complaining about it being a closed shop then?
those eras above are when i used to do a fair few away games then more recently had to dip out due to personal circumstances. Personally i'd only like to do 2 or 3 aways a season but it's pretty much impossible now unless you go behind enemy lines or get a ticket via the inner circle
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I went away when 200 of us would be huddled around some open terrace watching Billy McNeill's Hapless Heroes. I win.
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I went away when 200 of us would be huddled around some open terrace watching Billy McNeill's Hapless Heroes. I win.
Charlton away? I gave that one a miss as did pretty much everybody, just under 5,600 there. Thirty seven years ago to the day I was at White Hart Lane in a crowd of just over 19,000 watching us get stuffed to Spurs. just when you thought you couldn't hate Steve Hodge any more he scored two against us.
A few days earlier I'd seen us knocked out of the cup at Chelsea, less than 13,500 there. Not the best few days in London I ever had.
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i was at McNeills debut at Highfield Road , i know this is a bit far fetched but we won the game
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It’s obvious, the small allocation grounds should not be balloted.
There is no perfect system but there are too many disadvantages with the current set up.
So instead disadvantage the fans that have been going up and down the country for years no matter how bad we were at the time
The disadvantage of having a closed shop has been done ad infinitum on here.
Where were these people complaining when we had Mcliesh, Lambert, Sherwood and Garde... Same allocations that we get now and the tickets were sold using the same system they do now, but strangely no one was complaining about it being a closed shop then?
So you think it’s ok that lots of Villa fans , some not old enough to have any chance of getting a booking history will never get to see Villa away?
How do you think we got where we are, none of us have been around since 1874, it's called waiting your turn, that's what I did so why should it be different for the younger generation. The younger generation need to learn the art of waiting in line and not expect to get what they want right now.
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It’s obvious, the small allocation grounds should not be balloted.
There is no perfect system but there are too many disadvantages with the current set up.
So instead disadvantage the fans that have been going up and down the country for years no matter how bad we were at the time
The disadvantage of having a closed shop has been done ad infinitum on here.
Where were these people complaining when we had Mcliesh, Lambert, Sherwood and Garde... Same allocations that we get now and the tickets were sold using the same system they do now, but strangely no one was complaining about it being a closed shop then?
So you think it’s ok that lots of Villa fans , some not old enough to have any chance of getting a booking history will never get to see Villa away?
How do you think we got where we are, none of us have been around since 1874, it's called waiting your turn, that's what I did so why should it be different for the younger generation. The younger generation need to learn the art of waiting in line and not expect to get what they want right now.
And just to add to the 1950s narrative the Government are thinking of bringing back conscription
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It’s obvious, the small allocation grounds should not be balloted.
There is no perfect system but there are too many disadvantages with the current set up.
So instead disadvantage the fans that have been going up and down the country for years no matter how bad we were at the time
The disadvantage of having a closed shop has been done ad infinitum on here.
Where were these people complaining when we had Mcliesh, Lambert, Sherwood and Garde... Same allocations that we get now and the tickets were sold using the same system they do now, but strangely no one was complaining about it being a closed shop then?
those eras above are when i used to do a fair few away games then more recently had to dip out due to personal circumstances. Personally i'd only like to do 2 or 3 aways a season but it's pretty much impossible now unless you go behind enemy lines or get a ticket via the inner circle
That's life I'm afraid you dip out you go to the back of the line.... Due to my circumstances I can't be in the 100% tier so can't get tickets for Bournemouth, Luton etc... But I don't come in here crying about how unfair and hard done by I am because of my circumstances I will never get into the criteria to get those tickets, because I understand that they deserve to get tickets ahead of me.
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It’s obvious, the small allocation grounds should not be balloted.
There is no perfect system but there are too many disadvantages with the current set up.
So instead disadvantage the fans that have been going up and down the country for years no matter how bad we were at the time
The disadvantage of having a closed shop has been done ad infinitum on here.
Where were these people complaining when we had Mcliesh, Lambert, Sherwood and Garde... Same allocations that we get now and the tickets were sold using the same system they do now, but strangely no one was complaining about it being a closed shop then?
So you think it’s ok that lots of Villa fans , some not old enough to have any chance of getting a booking history will never get to see Villa away?
How do you think we got where we are, none of us have been around since 1874, it's called waiting your turn, that's what I did so why should it be different for the younger generation. The younger generation need to learn the art of waiting in line and not expect to get what they want right now.
It isn't about waiting your turn at all. I started going away in the early eighties when I left school. You turned up at the away turnstiles and paid to get in. You can't do that now.
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It’s obvious, the small allocation grounds should not be balloted.
There is no perfect system but there are too many disadvantages with the current set up.
So instead disadvantage the fans that have been going up and down the country for years no matter how bad we were at the time
The disadvantage of having a closed shop has been done ad infinitum on here.
Where were these people complaining when we had Mcliesh, Lambert, Sherwood and Garde... Same allocations that we get now and the tickets were sold using the same system they do now, but strangely no one was complaining about it being a closed shop then?
So you think it’s ok that lots of Villa fans , some not old enough to have any chance of getting a booking history will never get to see Villa away?
How do you think we got where we are, none of us have been around since 1874, it's called waiting your turn, that's what I did so why should it be different for the younger generation. The younger generation need to learn the art of waiting in line and not expect to get what they want right now.
It isn't about waiting your turn at all. I started going away in the early eighties when I left school. You turned up at the away turnstiles and paid to get in. You can't do that now.
But it's years and years since you could do that.
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It’s obvious, the small allocation grounds should not be balloted.
There is no perfect system but there are too many disadvantages with the current set up.
So instead disadvantage the fans that have been going up and down the country for years no matter how bad we were at the time
The disadvantage of having a closed shop has been done ad infinitum on here.
Where were these people complaining when we had Mcliesh, Lambert, Sherwood and Garde... Same allocations that we get now and the tickets were sold using the same system they do now, but strangely no one was complaining about it being a closed shop then?
So you think it’s ok that lots of Villa fans , some not old enough to have any chance of getting a booking history will never get to see Villa away?
How do you think we got where we are, none of us have been around since 1874, it's called waiting your turn, that's what I did so why should it be different for the younger generation. The younger generation need to learn the art of waiting in line and not expect to get what they want right now.
It isn't about waiting your turn at all. I started going away in the early eighties when I left school. You turned up at the away turnstiles and paid to get in. You can't do that now.
& on the odd occasion it was ticket only , you had to physically queue at the ticket office to get one over the counter.
Wonder how many would do that today if they had too .
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Some of us have still got the away attendance card that was stamped for every game you went to late 80s/early 90s ... 😁
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Queuing up for tickets in the early hours was part and parcel of the whole football experience and got me to such glamorous places as Swindon. I've still got my away stamp cards.....I wonder if my old mates still got the stamp we had made 😃
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For better or worse it's a different world now. Back in the 80s we had what, 4 home sell outs all decade? Albion and Ipswich in 81 and then Liverpool in the FAC and Juventus in the EC. You didn't really need advance tickets for any game outside of the occasional big cup game, home or away. You could wake up, decide you were going and if it was an away just get to New Street and hop on a train and pay in. Away allocations didn't exist back then, outside of the big cup games, and we were rarely involved in those. 23k at home for the LC semi with Oxford, 20k at home to Blues in the LC.
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We're talking about an era when season ticket holders were given a discount for renewing....can we have that back as well please along with the season ticket book.
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Some of us have still got the away attendance card that was stamped for every game you went to late 80s/early 90s ... 😁
And I am thinking that’s quite remarkable for someone borne in 95😊
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Pretty sure ST holders used to get all home cups games free for a while in the early 80s. The special vouchers at the back of the ST book.
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Some of us have still got the away attendance card that was stamped for every game you went to late 80s/early 90s ... 😁
And I am thinking that’s quite remarkable for someone borne in 95😊
I was on about my 12th ST by 95 & my names not Luke ....😁
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Pretty sure ST holders used to get all home cups games free for a while in the early 80s. The special vouchers at the back of the ST book.
Remember the vouchers at the back of the book…think I used one to attend a reserve game at VP when we beat Liverpool 7-1, the Beinlich and Brietkreutz show
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Away grounds were always welcoming places with the locals asking you for the time, and even just throwing money in your direction presumedly so you had enough for the bus home
Racism, sexism and homophobia and the very real threat of violence in open display on most match days
But you could always get in without any booking history whatsoever and no one moaned about the legroom
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anyone else at that game at Old Trafford (late 80's / early 90's) when that Fog descended on the way home. My uncle drove into a potato field somewhere near Knutsford he was that stubborn and wouldn't pull over even though nobody could see anything out the windscreen
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What you have to consider when it goes to STH’s at 5pm is that there could be 27,000 fans trying to purchase a remaining 100 odd tickets. So it’s always going to sell out with what would appear to be 2-3 seconds.
My lad was 7 when we got promoted, he was on 0 aways, I tried for Spurs, Arsenal, Palace no joy, and then got Norwich by tickets being returned on the Thursday. Back then ticket office was open, so I placed in my basket, purchased and drove straight to Villa Park to collect.
I started like that, it would always sell out, but I’d be on the site every day and different times. I managed to get about 7 aways in. We lost every game apart from Norwich & Burnley. We went to Etihad knowing full conclusion that we’d lose. But I decided, win draw or lose, we’re going. It’s a day out.
I did all the cups, missed out on barrow, it is what it is.
By the 2022 my now 9 year old has been to every away game.
I work most weekends so I book them off, we travel on school nights much to his Mums disapproval. Our holidays are all planned around Villa games. We travel from holiday to the game and then go back.
We’ve even caught a flight back to watch a game. This is what you do if you want to go each week. Should all aways be back to zero to give a fan who has just decided he/she wants to go…? No they shouldn’t.
Is it a closed shop? - well no if a 7 year old had 0 aways, it’s clearly not.
My advice is to monitor the site all the time, often tickets drop. The only thing I will say, is they drop to the criteria it sells out which I disagree as I recall palace away where Lansbury scored & it got cancelled, I remember tickets dropping but it had sold out to the category above (I’m sure it was that game) but I recall being prevented on that basis. Phoned Villa, said I’d booked the day off, would like to go, nothing they could do. And even on the day of the game, tickets were still available. So I think come 3 days before a game, any returns should go out simply to anyone with booking history, STH/Members.
The ballots work too - I managed to get Watford in the ballot. Lost miserably 3-0 but again, you can’t pick and choose, we were crap and lost each week but I just wanted to go away with the lad.
I used to go u set MON days, stopped to have a family, kids grew old enough where I could take one.
Keep the faith guys, it’s a life circle. There will become a time where I stop going, and my son and the next fan. UTV
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Great first post mate
Hope your son gets to see us lift some silverware but if not it’s still a great Parent bonding thing which they will remember forever
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That's a great first post 👊
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It’s obvious, the small allocation grounds should not be balloted.
There is no perfect system but there are too many disadvantages with the current set up.
So instead disadvantage the fans that have been going up and down the country for years no matter how bad we were at the time
The disadvantage of having a closed shop has been done ad infinitum on here.
Where were these people complaining when we had Mcliesh, Lambert, Sherwood and Garde... Same allocations that we get now and the tickets were sold using the same system they do now, but strangely no one was complaining about it being a closed shop then?
Well I don’t know about anyone else but I wasn’t complaining because I had some fantastic awaydays with a great group of mates during those times. It was pretty straightforward to get tickets so there was no reason to complain. I used to find that going to about half a dozen over the course of the season was good enough to go to the last awayday of the season every year. You didn’t used to have to go to them all to get a ticket.
I don’t argue with the right to priority for those who have gone to the most games, but please don’t presume that those of us that can’t go now didn’t bother when we were shit.
The first season it became pretty much an all or nothing deal was the first season back after the Championship, but that wasn’t because we were glory hunting Premier League, it was because there’d been twice as many away tickets most weeks the year before.
Actually, that was when a lot of people who’d been occasional attenders developed a regular habit, and when the market shrunk back down again when we got promoted, we suddenly had an entire allocation full of people who went every week. We had never had this before when we were circling the drain in the Premier League, but when we were on the march in The Championship, we suddenly had a load of new regular away fans who have kept the habit, some of them possibly as much out of necessity as desire.
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It’s obvious, the small allocation grounds should not be balloted.
There is no perfect system but there are too many disadvantages with the current set up.
So instead disadvantage the fans that have been going up and down the country for years no matter how bad we were at the time
The disadvantage of having a closed shop has been done ad infinitum on here.
Where were these people complaining when we had Mcliesh, Lambert, Sherwood and Garde... Same allocations that we get now and the tickets were sold using the same system they do now, but strangely no one was complaining about it being a closed shop then?
So you think it’s ok that lots of Villa fans , some not old enough to have any chance of getting a booking history will never get to see Villa away?
How do you think we got where we are, none of us have been around since 1874, it's called waiting your turn, that's what I did so why should it be different for the younger generation. The younger generation need to learn the art of waiting in line and not expect to get what they want right now.
It isn't about waiting your turn at all. I started going away in the early eighties when I left school. You turned up at the away turnstiles and paid to get in. You can't do that now.
Early 80s wasn't that the time when everyone who turned up and paid on the door got in. Now we have all seated and a maximum amount of people can go in that won't happen again.
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I’ve been at many, many away games where I’d have paid to get out.
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I’ve been at many, many away games where I’d have paid to get out.
Same here, Wigan away in our promotion season springs to mind, I'm still having therapy for the trauma of that game.
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I’ve been at many, many away games where I’d have paid to get out.
Same here, Wigan away in our promotion season springs to mind, I'm still having therapy for the trauma of that game.
I like to think my decision to fuck off back to the pub when they got awarded their penalty helped relieve some of the trauma.
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It’s obvious, the small allocation grounds should not be balloted.
There is no perfect system but there are too many disadvantages with the current set up.
So instead disadvantage the fans that have been going up and down the country for years no matter how bad we were at the time
The disadvantage of having a closed shop has been done ad infinitum on here.
Where were these people complaining when we had Mcliesh, Lambert, Sherwood and Garde... Same allocations that we get now and the tickets were sold using the same system they do now, but strangely no one was complaining about it being a closed shop then?
So you think it’s ok that lots of Villa fans , some not old enough to have any chance of getting a booking history will never get to see Villa away?
How do you think we got where we are, none of us have been around since 1874, it's called waiting your turn, that's what I did so why should it be different for the younger generation. The younger generation need to learn the art of waiting in line and not expect to get what they want right now.
And just to add to the 1950s narrative the Government are thinking of bringing back conscription
...just as visionaries The Clash predicted 47 years ago.
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I went away when 200 of us would be huddled around some open terrace watching Billy McNeill's Hapless Heroes. I win.
I went away when 200 of us would be huddled around some open terrace watching Billy McNeill's Hapless Heroes. I win.
Charlton away? I gave that one a miss as did pretty much everybody, just under 5,600 there. Thirty seven years ago to the day I was at White Hart Lane in a crowd of just over 19,000 watching us get stuffed to Spurs. just when you thought you couldn't hate Steve Hodge any more he scored two against us.
A few days earlier I'd seen us knocked out of the cup at Chelsea, less than 13,500 there. Not the best few days in London I ever had.
That game at Selhurst Park was traumatic. For a long time it was the worst I’d ever seen us play, particularly as it was a relegation 6 pointer. Losing 3-0 at home to Wigan in 2012-13 reminded me so much of that Easter Monday in 1987, though coming just 6 days after the Chelsea 8-0 game it wasn’t even the worst result of the week.
RCF mentions that 3-0 drubbing at Spurs when twat boy Hodge scored twice, and the away end that day was boosted by a small group of Pompey fans who had become mates with some Villa. There really were some awful away followings during that season, and even trekking up to Villa Park from London was often a desperate experience.
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It’s obvious, the small allocation grounds should not be balloted.
There is no perfect system but there are too many disadvantages with the current set up.
So instead disadvantage the fans that have been going up and down the country for years no matter how bad we were at the time
The disadvantage of having a closed shop has been done ad infinitum on here.
Where were these people complaining when we had Mcliesh, Lambert, Sherwood and Garde... Same allocations that we get now and the tickets were sold using the same system they do now, but strangely no one was complaining about it being a closed shop then?
So you think it’s ok that lots of Villa fans , some not old enough to have any chance of getting a booking history will never get to see Villa away?
How do you think we got where we are, none of us have been around since 1874, it's called waiting your turn, that's what I did so why should it be different for the younger generation. The younger generation need to learn the art of waiting in line and not expect to get what they want right now.
I got my answer, thanks.
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What you have to consider when it goes to STH’s at 5pm is that there could be 27,000 fans trying to purchase a remaining 100 odd tickets. So it’s always going to sell out with what would appear to be 2-3 seconds.
My lad was 7 when we got promoted, he was on 0 aways, I tried for Spurs, Arsenal, Palace no joy, and then got Norwich by tickets being returned on the Thursday. Back then ticket office was open, so I placed in my basket, purchased and drove straight to Villa Park to collect.
I started like that, it would always sell out, but I’d be on the site every day and different times. I managed to get about 7 aways in. We lost every game apart from Norwich & Burnley. We went to Etihad knowing full conclusion that we’d lose. But I decided, win draw or lose, we’re going. It’s a day out.
I did all the cups, missed out on barrow, it is what it is.
By the 2022 my now 9 year old has been to every away game.
I work most weekends so I book them off, we travel on school nights much to his Mums disapproval. Our holidays are all planned around Villa games. We travel from holiday to the game and then go back.
We’ve even caught a flight back to watch a game. This is what you do if you want to go each week. Should all aways be back to zero to give a fan who has just decided he/she wants to go…? No they shouldn’t.
Is it a closed shop? - well no if a 7 year old had 0 aways, it’s clearly not.
My advice is to monitor the site all the time, often tickets drop. The only thing I will say, is they drop to the criteria it sells out which I disagree as I recall palace away where Lansbury scored & it got cancelled, I remember tickets dropping but it had sold out to the category above (I’m sure it was that game) but I recall being prevented on that basis. Phoned Villa, said I’d booked the day off, would like to go, nothing they could do. And even on the day of the game, tickets were still available. So I think come 3 days before a game, any returns should go out simply to anyone with booking history, STH/Members.
The ballots work too - I managed to get Watford in the ballot. Lost miserably 3-0 but again, you can’t pick and choose, we were crap and lost each week but I just wanted to go away with the lad.
I used to go u set MON days, stopped to have a family, kids grew old enough where I could take one.
Keep the faith guys, it’s a life circle. There will become a time where I stop going, and my son and the next fan. UTV
Exactly! 8)
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Some of our away followings in the 1980s were embarrassingly small, I remember in particular standing behind the goal at Highbury the season we were relegated, and just wondering what had happened to everyone.
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Charlton was my second ever away game. I recall us singing the funeral march, doing a conga on the terrace and the few fans in the seats in the Arthur Waite stand joining in.
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Charlton was my second ever away game. I recall us singing the funeral march, doing a conga on the terrace and the few fans in the seats in the Arthur Waite stand joining in.
is this Charlton game the one we lost 0-3 at Selhurst Park around 86 ? I was at that one , pretty much knew we were down after that. Plus on the way home to cap off a cracking day, my Uncle decided he knew a short cut home that involved driving through central London. Think we got in about 10pm
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Charlton was my second ever away game. I recall us singing the funeral march, doing a conga on the terrace and the few fans in the seats in the Arthur Waite stand joining in.
is this Charlton game the one we lost 0-3 at Selhurst Park around 86 ? I was at that one , pretty much knew we were down after that. Plus on the way home to cap off a cracking day, my Uncle decided he knew a short cut home that involved driving through central London. Think we got in about 1am
Easter Monday '87.
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Charlton was my second ever away game. I recall us singing the funeral march, doing a conga on the terrace and the few fans in the seats in the Arthur Waite stand joining in.
is this Charlton game the one we lost 0-3 at Selhurst Park around 86 ? I was at that one , pretty much knew we were down after that. Plus on the way home to cap off a cracking day, my Uncle decided he knew a short cut home that involved driving through central London. Think we got in about 1am
Easter Monday '87.
Wasn’t it a morning kick off? I was at that game - my dad came up with the bonkers idea of a) driving to Selhurst Park and b) attending two matches in one day by going to watch Oxford United on the way home (that must have been a 3pm ko I think).
By the time we got to the Manor Ground it was half time but we still went in to watch the 2nd half.
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Yeah i think it was noon KO. The only part of the game i can really remember is Andy Gray going for a diving header missing it completely and the ball ended up lodged under his chest and the turf.
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It’s obvious, the small allocation grounds should not be balloted.
There is no perfect system but there are too many disadvantages with the current set up.
So instead disadvantage the fans that have been going up and down the country for years no matter how bad we were at the time
The disadvantage of having a closed shop has been done ad infinitum on here.
Where were these people complaining when we had Mcliesh, Lambert, Sherwood and Garde... Same allocations that we get now and the tickets were sold using the same system they do now, but strangely no one was complaining about it being a closed shop then?
Well I don’t know about anyone else but I wasn’t complaining because I had some fantastic awaydays with a great group of mates during those times. It was pretty straightforward to get tickets so there was no reason to complain. I used to find that going to about half a dozen over the course of the season was good enough to go to the last awayday of the season every year. You didn’t used to have to go to them all to get a ticket.
I don’t argue with the right to priority for those who have gone to the most games, but please don’t presume that those of us that can’t go now didn’t bother when we were shit.
The first season it became pretty much an all or nothing deal was the first season back after the Championship, but that wasn’t because we were glory hunting Premier League, it was because there’d been twice as many away tickets most weeks the year before.
Actually, that was when a lot of people who’d been occasional attenders developed a regular habit, and when the market shrunk back down again when we got promoted, we suddenly had an entire allocation full of people who went every week. We had never had this before when we were circling the drain in the Premier League, but when we were on the march in The Championship, we suddenly had a load of new regular away fans who have kept the habit, some of them possibly as much out of necessity as desire.
Great post amfy.
You've hit it spot on.
There was a noticeable surge when we went down because, I think, we all thought we'd bounce back...it eased off because we were a bit shit but that 3rd season saw a big increase and we sold out almost every way game, regardless of venue, time, day.
And that's when my mate from Tewkesbury bought his ST....there was no waiting list etc, he just went to VP, had a look round and bought one.
Since then we often get about 2,500 instead of as many as we want and there is a list of 30,000 for STs apparently.
A simple case of supply and demand but massively influenced by the system we have in place.
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You could see what was about to happen in the promotion season with STs, we averaged over 40k for the last 6 or 7 matches that season. I sorted my ST as soon as we got back from Wembley which proved to be a good move as the ST waiting list started about 5 or 6 weeks later.
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What you have to consider when it goes to STH’s at 5pm is that there could be 27,000 fans trying to purchase a remaining 100 odd tickets. So it’s always going to sell out with what would appear to be 2-3 seconds.
My lad was 7 when we got promoted, he was on 0 aways, I tried for Spurs, Arsenal, Palace no joy, and then got Norwich by tickets being returned on the Thursday. Back then ticket office was open, so I placed in my basket, purchased and drove straight to Villa Park to collect.
I started like that, it would always sell out, but I’d be on the site every day and different times. I managed to get about 7 aways in. We lost every game apart from Norwich & Burnley. We went to Etihad knowing full conclusion that we’d lose. But I decided, win draw or lose, we’re going. It’s a day out.
I did all the cups, missed out on barrow, it is what it is.
By the 2022 my now 9 year old has been to every away game.
I work most weekends so I book them off, we travel on school nights much to his Mums disapproval. Our holidays are all planned around Villa games. We travel from holiday to the game and then go back.
We’ve even caught a flight back to watch a game. This is what you do if you want to go each week. Should all aways be back to zero to give a fan who has just decided he/she wants to go…? No they shouldn’t.
Is it a closed shop? - well no if a 7 year old had 0 aways, it’s clearly not.
My advice is to monitor the site all the time, often tickets drop. The only thing I will say, is they drop to the criteria it sells out which I disagree as I recall palace away where Lansbury scored & it got cancelled, I remember tickets dropping but it had sold out to the category above (I’m sure it was that game) but I recall being prevented on that basis. Phoned Villa, said I’d booked the day off, would like to go, nothing they could do. And even on the day of the game, tickets were still available. So I think come 3 days before a game, any returns should go out simply to anyone with booking history, STH/Members.
The ballots work too - I managed to get Watford in the ballot. Lost miserably 3-0 but again, you can’t pick and choose, we were crap and lost each week but I just wanted to go away with the lad.
I used to go u set MON days, stopped to have a family, kids grew old enough where I could take one.
Keep the faith guys, it’s a life circle. There will become a time where I stop going, and my son and the next fan. UTV
Exactly! 8)
Thirded.
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When we went down the surge was also boosted by A) some new grounds to go to B) more traditional KO times
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I remember that Easter Monday game at Selhurst. We were beyond awful and everyone knew that we would be down. Depressing times ..
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Never been to an away day (yep terrible fan) would like to, probably never get chance to. Villa not important enough to revolve my life around and I’m sure my interests are not important to others. I was there for most of the lambert years but priced out and happy to listen to radio.
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Some of our away followings in the 1980s were embarrassingly small, I remember in particular standing behind the goal at Highbury the season we were relegated, and just wondering what had happened to everyone.
I remember that game too. IIRC it was 2 May 1987 so exactly 5 years to the day that we had won the league on the same pitch, though in reality we were in a different universe by then. We had the left section of the Clock end and i reckon there were a few hundred of us - compare that to the 20k ish who were there in 1981.
We all knew what was coming and when we lost at home to Sheff Weds two days later I had the most to drink I have ever had before a Villa game in the Crown & Cushion. It still didn't dull the pain.
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arriving back at Villa Park on Saturday morning at 1am - made me realise that the supporters who go to every away game, deserve all the praise.
The effort, commitment, time and money that goes to watching Villa away is unbelievable - well done to all who do it.
I enjoy the odd away journey to watch the team, but I would not be able to do that on a regular basis.
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arriving back at Villa Park on Saturday morning at 1am - made me realise that the supporters who go to every away game, deserve all the praise.
The effort, commitment, time and money that goes to watching Villa away is unbelievable - well done to all who do it.
I enjoy the odd away journey to watch the team, but I would not be able to do that on a regular basis.
depends how you plan it out and your own time constraints etc. In more recent years pre-pandemic we were doing 2 or 3 away per season but making a trip of it and staying over . Totally agree on midweek games though if you have work the next day it can be a real challenge
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Just been told by a Newcastle fan - that they have a new way of issuing away tickets.
You are sent /print off the away ticket - however when you get to the away ground a random selection of the away tickets will not work due to being a dud ticket (scanning of the ticket at the turnstile will fail) - you then have to go to a designated area to collect the real ticket, but you have to produce your ID to get this ticket.
If you don't collect the ticket you lose loyalty points and if on numerous occasions you fail to collect the ticket then you will lose your season ticket.
If you fail to collect your away ticket the club contact you the following day to ask for the reason why the ticket was not collected.
Also for home games due to demand for tickets, you have to pay an annual £37.00 membership fee - you will then be entered into a ballot / lottery for a home ticket, for some games you may get a ticket but for other games you will not.
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Just been told by a Newcastle fan - that they have a new way of issuing away tickets.
You are sent /print off the away ticket - however when you get to the away ground a random selection of the away tickets will not work due to being a dud ticket (scanning of the ticket at the turnstile will fail) - you then have to go to a designated area to collect the real ticket, but you have to produce your ID to get this ticket.
If you don't collect the ticket you lose loyalty points and if on numerous occasions you fail to collect the ticket then you will lose your season ticket.
If you fail to collect your away ticket the club contact you the following day to ask for the reason why the ticket was not collected.
Also for home games due to demand for tickets, you have to pay an annual £37.00 membership fee - you will then be entered into a ballot / lottery for a home ticket, for some games you may get a ticket but for other games you will not.
For the record, I don't know how you sort this, however whenever Villa try something a bit outside the box I'm always dubious as there always seems to be an issue
I was one of the fans under Gerrard when we had Arsenal away on a Tuesday night who only received 1 of my 2 purchased tickets, a letter was sent saying one of the tickets had been held back and needed to be collected from Arsenal due to abuse of tickets and I was one of the unlucky guinea pigs, the letter said the collection point was next to the away end.
This was not the case, I arrived in plenty of time and asked the steward on the away end where the collection point was, who had no idea. 3 or 4 different stewards later, one recommended I visited the ticket office, which was roughly a 5 minute walk back on myself and in fact next to the club shop, when I questioned the Villa staff member working on the counter why the letter said to go next to the away end, I was met with a shrug of the shoulder from the girl working behind the window.
I also remember there being an issue at Chelsea away a few seasons ago now, where tickets were not released to fans who had to use the Chelsea ticket office to collect their held back
Spurs on Sunday, walking to the Doug Ellis stand, just past the small club shop there was a bloke stood in the middle of the road with around 10 people around him distributing tickets via his phone, couldn't work out if he was selling on tickets in the home or away end, but we both thought it looked dodgy
That said I don't really get where this boom has come from, in the ten years up until relegation, I never once struggled to get away tickets, Blues and Albion used to get to season ticket holder only, places like United, Liverpool, Arsenal, Everton we would barely take half the allocation. Spurs and Chelsea in particular always seemed to sell poorly
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The boom has come from
-£30 cap on prices making the tickets more affordable than they've been at any point in the last 25 years or so
-£30 cap on prices disincentivising host clubs from giving anything more than the minimum required allocation, as they can sell to their home fans for a higher prices
-Unprecedented demand for match tickets for all clubs in general post pandemic
-A virtuous circle, where the above factors make the tickets coveted, so those at or near the top of the 'rankings' feel the need to protect their ranking, by buying a ticket and not showing up, if needs be (a £30 hit to ensure you're able to go to any away game you want to is worth it to many)
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The boom has come from
-£30 cap on prices making the tickets more affordable than they've been at any point in the last 25 years or so
-£30 cap on prices disincentivising host clubs from giving anything more than the minimum required allocation, as they can sell to their home fans for a higher prices
-Unprecedented demand for match tickets for all clubs in general post pandemic
-A virtuous circle, where the above factors make the tickets coveted, so those at or near the top of the 'rankings' feel the need to protect their ranking, by buying a ticket and not showing up, if needs be (a £30 hit to ensure you're able to go to any away game you want to is worth it to many)
The £30 cap was in place during our first season back in the PL yet I still managed to get tickets for me and my son for several away games before the pandemic. Now? No chance.
The last two points are spot on.
Post pandemic everything has gone nuts, not just football - gigs have never been more expensive yet demand has never been higher (despite the obvious - cost of living crisis, economy fucked etc).
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People still have some residue cash from not being able to do anything during the pandemic so feel flush and will spend stupid money on gigs / sport etc. This will run out soon and the bubble will burst.
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Our away following in Europe has surprised me - it’s not cheap to travel anywhere these days, yet our away numbers are incredible. It’s the same with England - I know lads who follow them round the world, even for friendly matches, yet they don’t have particularly brilliant jobs, they’re always there. Impressive.
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Our away following in Europe has surprised me - it’s not cheap to travel anywhere these days, yet our away numbers are incredible. It’s the same with England - I know lads who follow them round the world, even for friendly matches, yet they don’t have particularly brilliant jobs, they’re always there. Impressive.
They must have a side hustle (if you know what i mean).
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An idea. A ballot whereby the number of entries you get is the number of league away games you went to last season plus one. So if you went to all 19, 20 entries. If you went to none, one. Your entries withdrawn from the ballot once you have been picked out. At least that gives everybody who wants to go some chance of being able to and prevents it all becoming a self-preserving close shop
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People still have some residue cash from not being able to do anything during the pandemic so feel flush and will spend stupid money on gigs / sport etc. This will run out soon and the bubble will burst.
😂
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People still have some residue cash from not being able to do anything during the pandemic so feel flush and will spend stupid money on gigs / sport etc. This will run out soon and the bubble will burst.
😂
Didn't they all spend it helping out by eating out?
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The craic are the magic moments when we win away at grounds like WHL. OT, even Goodison
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Do we think that Members will be given away points, I can't see anything showing on my account
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Do we think that Members will be given away points, I can't see anything showing on my account
How do you mean ?
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Do we think that Members will be given away points, I can't see anything showing on my account
How do you mean ?
I believe ST's have been given points for attending away games, will Members who have attended away games receive points too??
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It's 10 points per away game and 1000 for a season ticket.
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Do we think that Members will be given away points, I can't see anything showing on my account
How do you mean ?
I believe ST's have been given points for attending away games, will Members who have attended away games receive points too??
Ah Reward Points , i'm with you now .
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Do we think that Members will be given away points, I can't see anything showing on my account
How do you mean ?
I believe ST's have been given points for attending away games, will Members who have attended away games receive points too??
Ah Reward Points , i'm with you now .
Not the pride rewards, the points that ST's are getting from this season for attending away games?
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I really don't get how the points system is any different to saying 'ST holders with x away games' I don't get what they're trying to achieve
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I really don't get how the points system is any different to saying 'ST holders with x away games' I don't get what they're trying to achieve
I’d imagine they’ll introduce points for Home and away Cup games and European games and eventually merge the two. I think that’s happened at other clubs but can’t be sure.
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If it helps break the away fan cartel i'm all for it .
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I think they should give them to people who drink the most pints.
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If it helps break the away fan cartel i'm all for it .
It won't make any difference.