Away the lads... at a price

[The Boleyn Hound]

On the plus side, market forces will determine the price they can get away with selling tickets for.
But, on the downside, market forces will determine the price they can get away with selling tickets for.

For example, this weekend Man City have returned 2,000 unsold tickets to Arsenal. This means Arsenal are trying to shift them to home fans instead, which means those Arse fans who bought season tickets and don't go to every game - hoping to sell on the spares, are unable to do so (meaning I get a free ticket to the game from my gooner brother!!).
This is a far cry from the days just a few seasons ago when tickets to this game would have gone for £500. I guess a lot of that is down to the fact that Arsenal v Man City is no longer a title race game, but a lot of it is down to the excessive price they're charging away fans in January.

I suspect/hope that the next few years will see things evening out a bit. They'll still be beyond the reach of many, but I suspect the top prices will drop down to about £45 rather than 60 odd.

[The Boleyn Hound]

What it comes down to is the the supporters are just window dressing, there to add a bit of atmosphere for the people watching in Thailand or Abu Dhabi. TV rules the roost. If you asked any Premier League chief exec which they would rather lose, every supporter from every game this season or their TV cash, I reckon I know which they'd choose.

The fact is they keep charging high prices because they can get away with it. If crowds dropped, so would prices. Lower league clubs are different, they are more heavily dependant upon fans coming through the gate which is why a season ticket for Wigan in the Premier League is cheaper than many season tickets in League One.

In a way we're very lucky in this country, despite what Sky has done to our traditional football league system.

On the one hand we get to enjoy the best football in the world - games that people are going crazy for in Asia and Africa. We have the majority of the best players in the world on our doorstep - and if we can afford it, can go and watch. Some people around the world would give anything for the opportunity to just see one Prem game.

On the other hand this has changed dramatically our traditional football experience.

But we're lucky as if we do want this traditional experience we still have a strong lower-league system that is largely untouched by the Sky glossiness.

What's annjoying is that we shouldn't have to switch football teams to get this experience back. Many of us still want to support West Ham, but how it used to be.
However...the choice is ours to go and start watching the Daggers instead, should we wish.

[Pop Robson]

Just had a look at Arsenal's prices, thankfully away supporters are in the lower tier as the upper tier for a Cat A game is £81 or £87

http://www.arsenal.com/membership/buy-tickets

[Wembley1966]

For example, this weekend Man City have returned 2,000 unsold tickets to Arsenal. This means Arsenal are trying to shift them to home fans instead, which means those Arse fans who bought season tickets and don't go to every game - hoping to sell on the spares, are unable to do so (meaning I get a free ticket to the game from my gooner brother!!).

Arsenal's attendances have been dropping for the last 12 months or so. Like your brother, many of their season ticket holders couldn't shift spare tickets and neither could the travel companies that have large blocks of them. Towards the end of last season at each home match the crowd would boo whenever the 60,000+ (tickets sold not people there) attendance figure was announced and they could visibly see the numbers of empty seats. When they did it for the final home game it was met with a chant of "5% you're having a larf" - referring to the 5% increase for their next season ticket. This season they no longer announce the attendance at home games!

[the polecat]

Wembley 66: That's what WHU have been doing this season - counting seats sold rather than numbers through the turnstiles. The last 4 or 5 home league attandances have all been 35005.

[De Niro]

Not sure if this has already been highlighted...

http://www.goal.com/en-gb/news/2896/pre ... offer-free

Clubs discussing whether to provide free travel for all aways fans.

[btajim - mcfc]

BUT ........... for just 1 game of the season,just imagine the fallout THE MISSING WEEKEND would create.

It's a nice idea but I'm extremely confident you will never get it to work. All the fashionable Clubs will do to shift tickets is advertise them through external agencies and watch tourists snap them up. Then there's freebies for Schools etc.

For what it's worth, I'm beginning to think live football for me will finish. Almost every weekend is spent travelling the Country at huge personal expense and I simply have no social life outside of football. I love music but the next two gigs I fancy clash with City and I've bought nothing for myself for a good few months.

I'd also go to Upton Park a little more often as it's live football on my doorstep but I can't find the money.

[Wembley1966]

If you want to go to Arsenal v West Ham - as they are struggling to sell tickets - there are seats in their Club level for £40 - or £80 if you want the buffet:
http://www.tickets4arsenal.co.uk/competition-Arsenal+v+West+Ham-tickets-2512

You even get a £5 voucher to spend in their shop included

They were selling the same seats for Man City at £170 but sold out - you can still get some for Arsenal v Man Utd at £420 though!

[btajim - mcfc]

They were selling the same seats for Man City at £170 but sold out - you can still get some for Arsenal v Man Utd at £420 though!

Do you want to go together? You buy the tickets and I'll buy the split scarves.

[Hampshire Hammer]

That's what WHU have been doing this season - counting seats sold rather than numbers through the turnstiles.

As I posted previously on this thread that is what most (if not all) clubs do, and have done for years, STH are therefore always counted and boxes are full.

Nothing underhand introduced recently, just common practice.

[Ricardo]

Bit more on the proposals, previously mentioned by De Niro

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2013/jan/11/premier-league-away-ticket-pricing

[Hammertapp]

http://soccerlens.com/man-utd-liverpool ... ap/100788/

More clubs getting behind the idea of a proposed away ticket price cap.

Would love if this happened, would benefit away followings massively. £25 is a big difference to £45!

[btajim - mcfc]

http://www.change.org/en-GB/petitions/the-english-fa-and-the-premier-league-cap-away-ticket-prices-in-the-premier-league-at-30 - Is doing the rounds on Twitter at the moment with #awaypricecap as the hashtag.

[Antwerp_Lad]

What surprises me in all of this is how long it took for this to hit home with some people.

Prices have been going up in rapidly increasing speed for the better part of a decade now, people from outside the UK have said that the normal, working class fan is being priced out more and more.

Good to see that a lot of people in the UK itself are starting to finally stand up against it too.

[Rocketron]

When I was a teenager (1970s) the cost of going to a game was roughly the same as going to the pictures.
I have recently paid £8 to go to the pictures.

[Pop Robson]

When I was a teenager (1970s) the cost of going to a game was roughly the same as going to the pictures.
I have recently paid £8 to go to the pictures.

North Bank was 25p back in the mid 70's, just after the 75 FA Cup win

Kids only pay a £1 now !!

[Denbighammer]

Allocation for Man Utd's game is only 1,400 according to the official site. Is this right? I thought the home teasm had to give at least 10% to the opposition for FA Cup games?

[Pop Robson]

Allocation for Man Utd's game is only 1,400 according to the official site. Is this right? I thought the home teasm had to give at least 10% to the opposition for FA Cup games?

Yes 1400 and 15% can be requested

[e17]

Absolute top marks to the official

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/21006202

[Denbighammer]

Yes 1400 and 15% can be requested

Who decides this though Pop? Is it West Ham only asking for that amount?