Fleecing.

[Nev]

My ticket for Everton is £30 on the Holte which I think is ok but can understand how others feel.

The season ticket hike was hard to swallow once you factored in the state of the ground we had to use on the first day of the season, no cleaning or maintenance regime appeared to be in place, it was an absolute fucking shithole and totally unacceptable. Then there is in the unavailability of the HS which was announced at the last minute and was still out of bounds for the Hibs game. The HS is in use tomorrow for a private event advertised by the Aston Inn so I assume is fit for use on the 16th??

There has been zero effort in improving anything facilities wise and it does smack of "if you don't like it, there are plenty more that will".

[wince]

I’ve been priced out for years now even if I could get a ticket. Lesser fan perhaps than the diehards but simply can’t justify prices these days.

[Drummond]

I don't like it, I don't want it, but I genuinely don't see that it will change. Success brings demand, and that pushes prices up, not because it has to, but because it can. It was ever thus.

The Premier League want money, the FA need money, the clubs want money (and some need it) grassroots football needs the money.  None of them will change it.

So that responsibility either sits with governing bodies, who all want the money, or with government. Government won't change it unless there is huge public outcry, and since when did that ever happen? It won't. So the cash cow keeps chewing that grass and dropping pats all over everything else by way of replica kits and exorbitant ticket prices.

I don't agree with trying to make it a class war, because that will alienate a bunch of politicians, or voters. Fans should all be in it together, because no fan likes paying silly prices.

[RamboandBruno]

I don't like it, I don't want it, but I genuinely don't see that it will change. Success brings demand, and that pushes prices up, not because it has to, but because it can. It was ever thus.

The Premier League want money, the FA need money, the clubs want money (and some need it) grassroots football needs the money.  None of them will change it.

So that responsibility either sits with governing bodies, who all want the money, or with government. Government won't change it unless there is huge public outcry, and since when did that ever happen? It won't. So the cash cow keeps chewing that grass and dropping pats all over everything else by way of replica kits and exorbitant ticket prices.

I don't agree with trying to make it a class war, because that will alienate a bunch of politicians, or voters. Fans should all be in it together, because no fan likes paying silly prices.

I agree with all of this and agree about the class ear thing. The whole class element is so complex. I see myself as working class because my parents were both manual workers all their lives, I grew up in an inner city council estate, my parents never owned their own car never mind house, I always vote Labour through thick and thin and i have spent most of my working life in and around the trade union movement. But the reality is, I live in a nice middle class area of Birmingham, i have a reasonably well paid job etc.

I would guess Im just a microcosm of the backgrounds of many Villa match day attendees.

In the end, the price hikes are unreasonable and will unfairly price some out, myself included eventually. What also grates is what Nev mentioned, the continuing pretty awful facilities in and around the club and the feeling that the club couldn’t give two shits.   

[Ads]

The pricing is wrong and we won't see 30,000 on the gate as a result.

There's been a real drift away for any semblance of engagement with supporters, likely since Purslow knew his gig was up.

The Terrace View ought to have been a general upgrade of the entire lower concourse section of the Upper Holte. Instead, as has been pointed out, we have dirty, hot, limited facilities at an increased price.

Heck and the new Cheif Op Officer will have a remit to significantly increase commercial activity, but the current path of alienation of the match going fan is poor and also unnecessary.

[nick harper]

It's not long ago I was sitting in the Witton Lane looking across at an empty upper tier Trinity. Things have changed very quickly.
I wonder how many on the waiting list put their names down before the more recent price hikes, and would still swallow them if offered the chance. I guess the Everton game may test that if season ticket holder opt for the european game.

And of course, it's the waiting list that's contributing to the complacency around the facilities for the majority of fans.

[Ads]

I very much agree with Drummond though. People shouldn't be talking about class or making distinctions between waiting listers. It's definitely a factor, the huge surge in popularity; our waiting list is bigger than any other West Midlands ground, that's quite the boast.

But we are not a London club with London workers wages across the board. We are not a tourist club like Man United or Liverpool. There's a ceiling on price, until wages change in the UK and those that run us have a responsibility to know their customers. That the Terrace View was built at all would suggest that Purslow did not or worse and probably more likely, did know us, but didn't care.

[VillaTim]

i regret renewing my ST, £875 Witton Upper, it's too much. And all these Sunday games i won't be able to make . The midweek cup games i can't make either .

[kippaxvilla2]

As I said in my OP the regular attendees are being fleeced more and more but the facilities are getting worse.  I can only compare that to the trains maybe.  I think it was Nev who said the screen at the top of the holte was filthy and had cobwebs.  Where’s the Fcukin pride gone.  I used to look forward to a nice glistening newly painted railing back in the day.

[boozey182]

What's really sad is the constant argument on Twitter between those who've had enough and the ones who think everyone should hand their money over without complaint, "because we want to sign players and win things."

Yeah, I see a lot of that, usually from people that like to say "cry more" a lot - one of the many helpful red flags that people wave to indicate they lack both empathy and wit.  It does make me wonder what the general attitude is, though. Are we the minority, thinking that the club is taking the piss? Or is there just a few very vocal people that will defend any action the club takes?

It was the same with the season tickets. Any complaint about the price increases were met from two angles: one group saying that we're lucky to be able to afford one, and another saying we should be happy to pay more as it means we'll start competing with the 'big boys'. Like so much on social media, Twitter especially, a tiny bit of logic (for there is some behind each of these arguments) creates a militant view, with no room for debate in the middle. I am grateful to be able to afford a season ticket every year, but I don't like feeling that my loyalty is being taken advantage of. I do want us to compete with the 'big boys', but I would expect that sorting out basic services in the ground would contribute much more towards that than the price increase in my tickets, and that would also provide a better overall 'product' that they are charging me for. But they have taken the easiest route of just charging us ageing cash cows more, and removed some of the (very) basic services that we had before to accommodate the fatter cash cows

I think what I'm trying to say is: I should just stop looking at Twitter.

[chrisw1]

i regret renewing my ST, £875 Witton Upper, it's too much. And all these Sunday games i won't be able to make . The midweek cup games i can't make either .

Hopefully you won't regret having it if we start pushing top 4-6.  Also when the North Stand redev starts there will be virtually no seats available nor non ST holders.  This is the problem, FOMO will have people clinging onto ST they can't really afford because if you give it up you won't get one back in the foreseeable future.

[London Villan]

I think the evidence will be in the attendance. My gut feel is that we'll be lucky to get 25000 at those prices. But if we push 35000 then the club have got it right...

How much are the Everton fans paying? Twitter seems to think £15... but I've not seen that anywhere?

[dorsetvillian]

Like many on hear I won't be doing the Everton game. The club have got this wrong. The communication from the club seems to be nonexistent these days.

[Martyn Smith]

All I know is this. I counted down the hours to the Palace tickets going on general sale and when they finally did so I eagerly  jumped to the patch of Upper Holte tickets that were still available..

£45?!...that's £10 more than last season... sorry, just not paying it. It's above my VFM line. I have a ticket fir Chelsea away the following week for £15 less than that...

[Brend'Watkins]

Yes, they've got it wrong or will be proved to have got it wrong with the relatively poor attendance.  I doubt i will go, not so much because of the cost but the fact that they are charging a lot for what will effectively be two weakened sides in the early rounds of the least important cup competition.  They're all important I know but this one ranks least in the importance metric.