Away Tickets - What's the magic?

[AV82EC]

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?

[artvandelay]

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.

[Ads]

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.

[algy]

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.

[Ads]

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.

[AV82EC]

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.

[RamboandBruno]

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.

[artvandelay]

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.

[amfy]

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.

[rjp]

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.

[chrisw1]

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.

[VillaTim]

The system is too binary - go to ALL away games or go to NONE.
Totally impractical , discriminatory and unfair.

[Chris Harte]

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.

[Ads]

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.

[dave.woodhall]

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.