Away Tickets - What's the magic?

[Towser]

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.

[RamboandBruno]

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.

[VillaTim]

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.

[Marlon From Bearwood]

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.

[Clampy]

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.

[Flamingo Lane]

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.'

[Ads]

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.

[Chico Hamilton III]

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?

[Nev]

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.

[algy]

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.

[frankmosswasmyuncle]

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.

[VillaTim]

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

[Chico Hamilton III]

It’s not selfish to want to go to every Villa game, home and away. Let’s not blame the fans for this situation

[SoccerHQ]

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.

[chrisw1]

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.