Season Tickets

[AV82EC]

There’s no right or wrong answer here. They’ll be people pissed off and they’ll be people who just shrug their shoulders and get on with it.

Modern football is here for the Villa in all its overblown grotesque and sometimes brilliant way. By being predominantly shit for the best part of 20 years means we’ve been somewhat protected from it but it’s here now and you’ll either have to go with it or decide it’s not for you.  Your loyalty means nothing, that dismal defeat away at Wigan you endured means nothing to the club hierarchy, they’re distant memories and the reality is maximum money for your viewing pleasure in the here and now.

It’s sad, change is never easy but we move on. Pp   

[dalians umbrella]

An analogy might be that my favourite wine was owned by an old french family for hundreds of years and you could pick a bottle up for a reasonable price (in my opinion). In 2012 they got bought out by Francois Pinault's Artemis Group to go with their portfolio of luxury brands. the price doubled overnight.
Did you find me on here moaning? Did I get an £80 voucher? No because I am not precious.

A better wine analogy is that you are no longer considered good enough to even buy your favourite wine regardless of the price but will, in a few weeks, be given the opportunity to rummage around the bargain basement section for a new brand, after everyone else has had first dibs, possibly ending up with the Liebraumilch that is left, which will now become your regular wine of choice which you will have to drink while simultaneously watching others drink your old favourite brand.

[chrisw1]

So mapping the seats taken, it seems that so far it's been confirmed that it's parts of:

A2 upper Trinity - I can only assume this is to have a dedicated section for lower grounds
The back few rows of the Witton Lower - to open up the boxes behind?
The back few rows of the North Lower - again to open up the boxes?
Some in the north lower corners - adding more seats / reconfiguring away fans slightly?

Any others?

[pablo_picasso]

Personally, I think those that loyally sat through the last decade of dross deserve a little more respect now it has come to a more successful time in our history.

Albeit, brief success, so far.

And not just from the club...

Isn't that what the Pride Rewards scheme is/was doing. Rewarding loyalty?
(not trying to start a fire here, just posing the question)

👍

I suppose it depends on whether you think a marketing campaign that involves taking surveys & gaining points on pounds to be able to exchange for a reward is anything other than a marketing campaign that is aimed at getting you to spend more pounds.

I have one of those with Tesco. And the Co-op. And used to have one with my xbox when I played it. And Boots. Etc. Etc.

Im not sure people who have had a seat for the past decade & beyond, would consider that a fair swap though, lol.

But I suppose its a form of loyalty reward, purely because thats what they label it as...

In the context of what we are talking about though, I don't think it's the kind of loyalty that decades of support deserves.

And it certainly doesn't come from other fans saying that it's "no big deal" or "the price of progress".

For the latter, Im reminded of the split in the fanbases that is happening at clubs like Liverpool, etc, where the outside global fans are arguing for a stadium move, bringing in the likes of Qatar as owners, etc, & the loyal local supporters are fully against losing the the soul of the club they have supported for decades, in most cases.

I suppose at some point we have to all look at ourselves & think at what point do we accept the changes & lose the spirit of the club we fell in love with, or whether we cling to our principles & walk away...

[dalians umbrella]

So mapping the seats taken, it seems that so far it's been confirmed that it's parts of:

A2 upper Trinity - I can only assume this is to have a dedicated section for lower grounds
The back few rows of the Witton Lower - to open up the boxes behind?
The back few rows of the North Lower - again to open up the boxes?
Some in the north lower corners - adding more seats / reconfiguring away fans slightly?

Any others?

I thought that the first ones we heard of yesterday were several front rows across the entire upper north stand?

I also heard it was the entire middle Witton lower?

[Ads]

I just don't quite get the R2 block getting letters. Curious.

[Bad English]

Every week we swallow
Viognier and Condrieu
We even had an old one, from 1982
The boys from Château Grillet
We make wine every year
But now Pinault has bought us
You'll all be drinking beer!
Ale! Ale! Ale!

[chrisw1]

I just don't quite get the R2 block getting letters. Curious.

I presume they'll be taking the rows in front of the boxes in the away end too, so maybe the need some of R2 corner to reallocate those as away seats?  If not, maybe they are building some more seating in that corner?

Dalian Umbrella - I think you may be right about front of North upper.  That seems to be a big change in that stand if it's all about opening up the boxes.  Seems like a lot of money to spend on a stand that is well past it's shelf life.

[chrisw1]

Every week we swallow
Viognier and Condrieu
We even had an old one, from 1982
The boys from Château Grillet
We make wine every year
But now Pinault has bought us
You'll all be drinking beer!
Ale! Ale! Ale!

excellent.

[dalians umbrella]

Every week we swallow
Viognier and Condrieu
We even had an old one, from 1982
The boys from Château Grillet
We make wine every year
But now Pinault has bought us
You'll all be drinking beer!
Ale! Ale! Ale!

Brilliant!

[UK Redsox]

I just don't quite get the R2 block getting letters. Curious.

I presume they'll be taking the rows in front of the boxes in the away end too, so maybe the need some of R2 corner to reallocate those as away seats?  If not, maybe they are building some more seating in that corner?

Dalian Umbrella - I think you may be right about front of North upper.  That seems to be a big change in that stand if it's all about opening up the boxes.  Seems like a lot of money to spend on a stand that is well past it's shelf life.

Not sure that having open boxes/seats in between the upper/lower away sections is the smartest plan

[VillaTim]

I just don't quite get the R2 block getting letters. Curious.

I presume they'll be taking the rows in front of the boxes in the away end too, so maybe the need some of R2 corner to reallocate those as away seats?  If not, maybe they are building some more seating in that corner?

Dalian Umbrella - I think you may be right about front of North upper.  That seems to be a big change in that stand if it's all about opening up the boxes.  Seems like a lot of money to spend on a stand that is well past it's shelf life.

Not sure that having open boxes/seats in between the upper/lower away sections is the smartest plan

They can market those corporate packages as 5D fully immersive experiences .

[amfy]

The club should be doing a lot more than an £80 voucher which converts into buying £15 worth of tat for those people that are going to be moved.

Free or discounted access to the Terrace View or Lower Grounds would be an idea.

Yeah, take someone's seat off them so you can make more money out of it by making it GA+, then give them GA+ for free. Genius.

You might think that alongside the options that have been offered, they could have offered the opportunity to buy a GA ST in the same seat at a discount this season. There may be people who could afford to do that to retain the seat they would prefer to stay in. After a season they may either have decided to find the money for the full deal, or at least would have had a transitional season of getting used to the idea of moving?
Im

[AV82EC]

Every week we swallow
Viognier and Condrieu
We even had an old one, from 1982
The boys from Château Grillet
We make wine every year
But now Pinault has bought us
You'll all be drinking beer!
Ale! Ale! Ale!

Chapeau, had me giggling over my Caprese salad this lunchtime.

[VillaTim]

The club should be doing a lot more than an £80 voucher which converts into buying £15 worth of tat for those people that are going to be moved.

Free or discounted access to the Terrace View or Lower Grounds would be an idea.

Yeah, take someone's seat off them so you can make more money out of it by making it GA+, then give them GA+ for free. Genius.

You might think that alongside the options that have been offered, they could have offered the opportunity to buy a GA ST in the same seat at a discount this season. There may be people who could afford to do that to retain the seat they would prefer to stay in. After a season they may either have decided to find the money for the full deal, or at least would have had a transitional season of getting used to the idea of moving?
Im

Agree a significant discount off the padded seat for a season .