Has Support For the Albion Dwindled so badly that......

[British Bulldog]

Also where does the the travel voucher cover you from?

And why can't you use it before midday on the day of the match when your paying for the thing in the first place? Maybe people would like to get they're train ticket at a convenient time to them and not have to queue up at an alloted time?.

 

[British Bulldog]

People are pretty fickle though. Yes high cost of tickets, crap facilities, no exciting new signings all play a part - but if we do get off to a good start then I'm sure attendances will pick up.

I do though think it's unlikely we will sell out many games this season which is probably another reason people don't feel the need to rush and get a season ticket. I'm sure some will pick and chose depending on how we are doing or the attractiveness of the match.

We've allways been a fickle bunch at the best of times but the lack of season ticket sales this year is worrying. maybe it's down to the increased capacity or maybe it's down to a lack of trust in the way the club is being run?

Time maybe the club sent out questionaire's to the fans to get some answers?

 

[Garry Nelson's Left Foot]

We've allways been a fickle bunch at the best of times but the lack of season ticket sales this year is worrying. maybe it's down to the increased capacity or maybe it's down to a lack of trust in the way the club is being run?

Time maybe the club sent out questionaire's to the fans to get some answers?

I'm sure the slow down in season ticket sales can be attributed to a number of causes, not the least of which is the increased capacity. when we first came to withdean to ensure you could see a game you pretty much had to have a season ticket. That's not true now. The larger capacity means that if you want to go to a game you can, you don't have to worry about being in the ballot for one of a few hundred spare tickets. Maybe we'll see a return to pay on the gate?(or is there some kind of 'withdean law' that says we can't?)

 

[British Bulldog]

I'm sure the slow down in season ticket sales can be attributed to a number of causes, not the least of which is the increased capacity. when we first came to withdean to ensure you could see a game you pretty much had to have a season ticket. That's not true now. The larger capacity means that if you want to go to a game you can, you don't have to worry about being in the ballot for one of a few hundred spare tickets. Maybe we'll see a return to pay on the gate?(or is there some kind of 'withdean law' that says we can't?)

No pay on the gate is the Withdean law. Part of the planning permision for playing there.

 

[Garry Nelson's Left Foot]

No pay on the gate is the Withdean law. Part of the planning permision for playing there.

 

[Kent Seagull]

No pay on the gate is the Withdean law. Part of the planning permision for playing there.

But if you do what i do it's not far off. If I want to go I often ring the ticket office before I leave home and pick up my ticket at the ground. It's usually pretty easy to get a ticket on the day like that.

 

[Stinky Kat]

Its too expensive - on 20th August you can go to Charlton v Bolton on a coach from Hastings for £20 inclusive - we cost £23.50 to see Crewe. Where is the floating supporter going?


Plus the opposition are rarely going to be attractive enough to grab the floating supporter in the coming season. The board should have invested in the team and not started saying we will lose a million now we are down.

Our board are not business men they are fans and 3rd tier football is the price we pay

 

[Kinky Gerbil]

I again agree, last time there was real hope that the side would bounce back up with the likes of Knight, Rodger, Henderson and in form Chippy.

This time more people are looking at the other end of the table.

 

[silky1]

All down to cost I think. Withdean prices are ridiculous. I always loved going to the first game of the season, but with visits to Forest and Bristol City just round the corner, I can't afford the expense of Rotherham as well, especially with a young family.

A few years ago I wouldn't have thought twice, but that was whenwe were paying no more than £15 for a game.

 

[Les Biehn]

I think the general mode is due to the on going Falmer saga. Its just been rolling on for to long and there has been to many hiccups. The disillusionment has seen a lot of fans vent their frustation in other directions which is kind of understandable.

 

[JJ McClure]

I think it's because we've come off the back off a season where we've been absolute pony.
No fight, no backbone, no galant and heroic effort that saw us almost survive.
Just total caving in and sinking without trace.
For me that is one of the main reason I'm finding it hard to get excited about this season, because I'm struggling to think what's going to improve.

 

[BHA Jordan]

There are so many restrictions on everything, and the fact there appears to be no real light at the end of tunnel it's hardly surprising that some are losing interest.

I'm just gutted that I probably wont be able to go to any games this month as those bastards from British Gas have stung me for £400 this month, and there is nothing that could be done to get out of paying it

Oh well looking forward to Millwall away

 

[hans kraay fan club]

All down to cost I think. Withdean prices are ridiculous. I always loved going to the first game of the season, but with visits to Forest and Bristol City just round the corner, I can't afford the expense of Rotherham as well, especially with a young family.

A few years ago I wouldn't have thought twice, but that was whenwe were paying no more than £15 for a game.

If you look at when tickets were last £15, then look at how prices of everthing else are rising, I don't think that today's £23.50 represents that much of an increase in real terms.

I think that the general despondancy regarding Falmer, coupled with a lack of a 'star' player for people to rally round are far more important.

Can you imagine the difference to general morale you would see, if we had a Garry Nelson / BZ figure to worship.

Let's hope its Revell!

 

[Albion Rob]

As others have said, I think it's down to a variety of things.

1. Falmer. Dates are looking so wishy washy. Can LDC appeal again? How far can they take it? Would there be any further hold ups? Nothing's cut and dried - maybe a few years ago we were a bit naive and thought that the end of the PI would be the end of our woes, clearly not so. Seriously, you could ask 100 fans when they think Falmer will be built and you'd probably get answers ranging from 2008 to 2020, and that's those who think it will be built at all. When you've had to sit with the pissing rain down the back of your neck for eight seasons, it gets harder to justify.

2. Last season. Whatever those who are pro-McGhee say, we were totally spineless. How many games did we see where things were going ok for 20 minutes then the other side stepped up a gear and we were found wanting. As stated earlier, there were no heroics, no breathtaking wins and no grit. People can accept when we're not good enough but we need to go down kicking and screaming. A lot of people felt we were down after we lost at Crewe. That was in February. Depressing.

3. Withdean. Dont't really need to add to what has already been said. Everything is expensive in this part of the country. Younger fans are getting tied up in heavy mortgages, kids can't get tickets in big groups (how many of us started out on the terrace away from our parents in a gang of kids from school etc) and the older fans have got their own kids to pay for. When money's tight, leisure is the first thing to go.

4. Football in general. The game seems to have finally eaten itself. The Premiership is uncompetitive, the World Cup left a sour taste with a lot of people. Everyone in the Football League knows that the best they can hope for in the next 10 years is to 'do a Charlotn' and they're struggling for fans so much that they're probably making a loss on their buses to Hastings.

Having said that, 15 points from the first six games may well change all this....

 

[Napper]

we've always had a harcore of 3- 4k , withdean feel good / albion coming home / promotion etc merely delayed this

we are not massive as some think

 

[Rougvie]

Have to agree with everything that ROB says, Falmer to me is something that looks like it was a bad idea from day one now, I cant be arsed anymore with being told that it is not the party line, but as apathy for the club increases, so does the apathy about Falmer, its hardly a talking point for the majority of Brighton residents most of whom will take it or leave it.

Ask most of the people who have not renewed and most will tell you that they dont believe Falmer will be built anyway.

Money has priced so many people out of the game, there was a time when an away day to the Midlands, even 6 years ago in a car with 4 of you would cost you £30 each, now you are very unlikely to get much change out of £70-£80 each by the time you have something to eat. In fact in the last L1 season when I missed only one game I calculated I spent £250 on the Albion a month, if I did that this season I reckon the figure would be nearer £320 and I just cant justify that anymore.

How many of us really have £320 a month after our other commitments ??

No I am afraid the Albion and football in general is going very much the way of the showboater who picks the big games just as long as they dont clash with the Champions League/Premiership, or anything better to spend £25 on.

 

[sully]

Or someone like me who works on the railway & travels for free.

Since when?

Or is that a misleading statement, and it's that you CAN travel for free.

When I was working on the railway, you could only travel free when on the business of the railway company (e.g. for me, travelling to a site for a meeting or the like). Other than that, I got a certain number of free tickets to use in the course of a year. Whilst I used some for away games, I certainly wouldn't have used it for a ticket I could otherwise buy for under a tenner (bearing in mind the staff discount, that's quite a long journey, even now).


On the main point of this thread, the fact that tickets are more available now accounts for the lack of sales of season tickets. I wonder how many we used to have in the Goldstone days?

 

[Tony Meolas Loan Spell]

On the main point of this thread, the fact that tickets are more available now accounts for the lack of sales of season tickets. I wonder how many we used to have in the Goldstone days?

Thats probably a good point. I reckon that its about the same as the latter years at the Goldstone. Regarding season ticket sales.

 

[countrygull]

For me it's the capitulation of last season and the lack of any real hope for something better this season. I will go but more away than home: because the atmosphere at Withdean is dreadful.

 

[Seagull Stew]

But if you do what i do it's not far off. If I want to go I often ring the ticket office before I leave home and pick up my ticket at the ground. It's usually pretty easy to get a ticket on the day like that.

Eh? I had no idea you could do that!

Is this public knowledge? If not I think it should be as I reckon there's loads of people in my position who would rather wait until the day.

Is there a deadline for phoning up and how easy is it to get through on the phone?