"QPR, hooligans and empty seats"

[portlock seagull]

Went to the QPR LDV tie (p.o.d) but a side from a lot of other match-day expense coming up in terms of some tasty home ties I just CAN'T be arsed to go through the hoop-jumping exercise that's known as the Albion away ticket again. If we don't sell out it's because so many people (like me) have experienced so much abject frustration and misery trying to get hold of 'a ticket' before. Anyone would think it's 'a golden one' that gets you into Willy Wonkas place?

REVIEW YOUR PROCEDURES ALBION, I can actually live with the 'unfair' argument and missing out on occassion for the really big ties (and this ain't really one of them if you think about it) but you're taking the piss with such games as Wimbledon away last season. And many more past and present. There's a real perception out there now of 'it's a real scrap to get tickets and my chances are small so I won't bother, I'll listen to Harty on Snooze FM instead'. Ok so the later bit might not be true but......

Maybe it's because I've got older and have more demands on my time that make such games just not worth the hassle. And scrap that away members scheme too, the amount of casual people or friends of other clubs who would like to come to the odd game is probably running into tens of £000's in lost 'sales' now. And if there's a couple of idiots that are making this soooo bureaucratic for the rest of us, then maybe if stewards and police did their jobs properly instead of looking for the odd old lady to pick on for standing outside a yellow line or possession of an offensive plastic tea-stirer, then 'these people' wouldn't be in attendence?

Why o why can't we have advance sales for the organised and a declaraton of how many are left the day before for people who can't make a decision until the last minute and wish to take their chances? Going to football, even at this level, is such a rigmorale I don't think I'd be following Brighton now if I hadn't got a Withdean season ticket (which I sell/give away for those I can't get to) before Mickey's glory years. I really pity those who have to do this for home matches too. I know it's often a lot to do with councils and police, but these 3rd parties really over react a lot of the time (as you can see from the number of helicopters and stewards at the LDV tie for example) and the club really should be able to influence such decision-makers that stop an enjoyable (hopefully) day out. Get some backbone and fight these stupid parameters under the generic guise of say 'police advise'! Just like Danny Cullip - CHALLENGE EVERYTHING! The revolution starts here........!!

 

[Wilko]

I agree with some of your comments however I must say that I have NEVER ever failed to get a ticket when i have applied for one. Just keep an eye out for when to apply for tickets and if u apply straightaway you WILL get one.

 

[berkshire seagull]

Went to the QPR LDV tie (p.o.d) but a side from a lot of other match-day expense coming up in terms of some tasty home ties I just CAN'T be arsed to go through the hoop-jumping exercise that's known as the Albion away ticket again. If we don't sell out it's because so many people (like me) have experienced so much abject frustration and misery trying to get hold of 'a ticket' before. Anyone would think it's 'a golden one' that gets you into Willy Wonkas place?

REVIEW YOUR PROCEDURES ALBION, I can actually live with the 'unfair' argument and missing out on occassion for the really big ties (and this ain't really one of them if you think about it) but you're taking the piss with such games as Wimbledon away last season. And many more past and present. There's a real perception out there now of 'it's a real scrap to get tickets and my chances are small so I won't bother, I'll listen to Harty on Snooze FM instead'. Ok so the later bit might not be true but......

Maybe it's because I've got older and have more demands on my time that make such games just not worth the hassle. And scrap that away members scheme too, the amount of casual people or friends of other clubs who would like to come to the odd game is probably running into tens of £000's in lost 'sales' now. And if there's a couple of idiots that are making this soooo bureaucratic for the rest of us, then maybe if stewards and police did their jobs properly instead of looking for the odd old lady to pick on for standing outside a yellow line or possession of an offensive plastic tea-stirer, then 'these people' wouldn't be in attendence?

Why o why can't we have advance sales for the organised and a declaraton of how many are left the day before for people who can't make a decision until the last minute and wish to take their chances? Going to football, even at this level, is such a rigmorale I don't think I'd be following Brighton now if I hadn't got a Withdean season ticket (which I sell/give away for those I can't get to) before Mickey's glory years. I really pity those who have to do this for home matches too. I know it's often a lot to do with councils and police, but these 3rd parties really over react a lot of the time (as you can see from the number of helicopters and stewards at the LDV tie for example) and the club really should be able to influence such decision-makers that stop an enjoyable (hopefully) day out. Get some backbone and fight these stupid parameters under the generic guise of say 'police advise'! Just like Danny Cullip - CHALLENGE EVERYTHING! The revolution starts here........!!

You hit the nail on the head
Funny thing is you go through years of shite and i mean years and there comes a time where you just feel non interested as you used to be.
I like you and many live elswhere and always took between 2 and 10 mates to watch the albion,but thats not possible anymore bar the odd game here and there.

Although thats why today i have called it a day watching the albion forever and will just keep an eye out from know on.

May change my mind in later years who no's!!!
Had many a good memorys and have been to gillingham and all over the country,but there comes a time when you have to move on.

Hope falmer does happen and im sure it will,but sadly 9 years of shite is just far to much for moi.

 

[sbee]

I have to agree.....my family have 2 AMS's, which is about as
useless as a chocolate teapot if you want five mates to come along.

You can't take one mate along, so it ends up nobody going.

 

[Yorkie]

So what's wrong with your mates applying for themselves.

I used to apply by ballott last season and got to every match that I wanted to go to. A round trip of 500 miles I might add.

 

[sully]

Only match I failed to get tickets for that I applied for was Grimsby last season (but still got them by other means).

I enrolled my kids in the AMS at great expense (£5 each) just so that I can take them on the odd occasion, too. Generally, though, I can't be sure that we can get to away matches far enough in advance to be able to apply for them in time.

Why can't we just pay on the day anymore? It was so easy!!

 

[The Large One]

AMS works very well. Don't know what you're moaning about.

Having said that, AMS is only really necessary in the lower divisions. Going to say, Colchester or Brentford or well, most places really. Imagine the carnage if we were near / at the top of the table, and Luton away was our last match of the season? Chaos.

 

[sully]

It's only OK for those of you who know what you're doing from one day to the next! I hate planning ahead too far.

I believe Luton was the second to last away game of our promotion season to (the old) Division 1. It was pay on the day. I don't even recall having to buy a ticket for the Newcastle match.

I agree, however, that there are some grounds in the lower divisions where advanced ticket sales are a necessity. I'm just not sure that the AMS has delivered what it set out to do - unless it was to reduce our away following and deprive our rivals of revenue.

 

[Lord Bracknell]

This is complete cock, portlock seagull.

You rant on about ticketing arrangements and claim you "can't be arsed" to go through the hoop-jumping exercise that's the AMS scheme.

Then you say "I don't think I'd be following Brighton now if I hadn't got a Withdean season ticket".

If you have a season ticket, you're in the AMS and it didn't cost you a penny to join.

What this means is that you can buy tickets for away games from the place that sells them.

What exactly is the problem with that?

Incidentally, the AMS scheme hasn't stopped the Albion having one of the biggest away followings in our league.

 

[Tom Hark Preston Park]

REVIEW YOUR PROCEDURES ALBION... There's a real perception out there now of 'it's a real scrap to get tickets and my chances are small so I won't bother, I'll listen to Harty on Snooze FM instead'.

Why o why can't we have advance sales for the organised and a declaraton of how many are left the day before for people who can't make a decision until the last minute and wish to take their chances?

portlock seagull makes some good points. OK the news that Albion tickets are now on sale at (ahem) Worthing Theatrical Experience and a phone box in Uckfield are a miniscule step in the right direction, as is the internet booking facility (even if somebody was on here whingeing that the club had the temerity to allocate them a seat in Block J!) but - maybe I've missed it - I've never heard a radio advert on either Southern FM or Juice telling people that tickets are available for a forthcoming game. They could run such a radio advert right up til the Saturday lunchtime of the game and at least give themselves a sporting chance at filling the seats. For the time being, the days seem to have gone when queues at the ticket office were halfway round the clock-tower, frustrated fans were smashing up the club shop in frustration at not being able to get a ticket and the ticket staff spent most of their day returning forty quid cheques to applicants with a 'Dear Supporter' letter. Like portlock says, 'REVIEW YOUR PROCEDURES ALBION'. The club needs to be a lot more pro-active in putting bums on seats now.

 

[Inkerman]

There seems to be a common understanding that the AMS and a match being declared "All Ticket" are one and the same thing.

This is not so - it is not the Albion that decide a match is "All Ticket" it is the home team.

It is however, the Albion who decide that they will only sell tickets to AMS members.

So - blame the opposition that you have to buy a ticket in advance (many have actually allowed pay on the gate if all tickets not sold so it's worth checking if you make a last minute decision to go) and blame the Albion because they want to control who gets into games in order to avoid the accusation that they sell to troublemakers. If the home club let troublemakers in on the gate then that's their problem.

Is it such a big imposition joining the AMS? £10 once off fee - just have 3 less pints on the weekend and it's covered, aaaaah I see the problem!

 

[tinx]

I have no problem with the AMS. I have never not got a tickets for a game I anted to go. Grimsby last season, Reading the season before are two that stand out. Just apply for tickets at the right time and there isn't a problem. Granted its a pain in the arse sending an SAE and applying by post. I'd rather phone up quote my mebership number and get a ticket paying an extra 50p for postage but thats not how the club do it and for the inconvenience of 5 minutes sending an envelope, its not much to ask. I joined the AMS for 10 quid when it first started and have had good use of it so I don't see it as a rip off or a problem at all.

If you want to support the albion this is what you have to do if you don't want to then thats fine don't apply.

 

[The Wookiee]

I would run through broken glass if it meant getting a ticket to see The Albion !!
You have taken the trouble to write your concerns on here, however you cant be arsed to get a ticket for away games so now you are not going?
What sort of fan are you ?

 

[Deano's Right Foot]

I would run through broken glass if it meant getting a ticket to see The Albion !!
You have taken the trouble to write your concerns on here, however you cant be arsed to get a ticket for away games so now you are not going?
What sort of fan are you ?

I think that he's the sort of fan who is one of thousands who we need to attract when we get Falmer. I'm sure that many people have got generally pissed off with Gillingham first and now (better, but far from perfect) Withdean. He, and people like him are the difference between an average home attendance of 6-8,000 and getting 12-15,000 a week at Falmer.

We're not all completely obsessed with the Albion all of the time, and other outside factors may contribute to how obsessesed we are at any given time. I go only once a month now due to having a young family. Previously I have been a season ticket holder (for about 8 seasons).

It's true that the easier it is to get tickets, the more people will go. I'm not sure how much it would add to attendances if every game was turn up and pay (not possible at Withdean I know) but I think that it must be a significant number. I started watching the Albion purely by being near the Goldstone at 2:00 on a Saturday and on the spur of the moment I went in. Within a couple of weeks I was hooked and I've never looked back.

 

[The Wookiee]

I think that he's the sort of fan who is one of thousands who we need to attract when we get Falmer. I'm sure that many people have got generally pissed off with Gillingham first and now (better, but far from perfect) Withdean. He, and people like him are the difference between an average home attendance of 6-8,000 and getting 12-15,000 a week at Falmer.

We're not all completely obsessed with the Albion all of the time, and other outside factors may contribute to how obsessesed we are at any given time. I go only once a month now due to having a young family. Previously I have been a season ticket holder (for about 8 seasons).

It's true that the easier it is to get tickets, the more people will go. I'm not sure how much it would add to attendances if every game was turn up and pay (not possible at Withdean I know) but I think that it must be a significant number. I started watching the Albion purely by being near the Goldstone at 2:00 on a Saturday and on the spur of the moment I went in. Within a couple of weeks I was hooked and I've never looked back.

No he isn't he is a season ticket holder who has been going to away games, but can now not be arsed to get away tickets.
My point is that he could be arsed to rant about it on here, but cant be arsed to order a ticket? That I cant understand!

 

[Brixtaan]

Everything will be ok the minute the town starts promoting the fact that it has a football club.Which it has never done.

 

[Locky]

AMS works well IMHO................I have a group of about 10 mates and all are registered.
Every away game we want to attend, we nominate one of us to go to the club shop and get all our tickets.......all that is needed is a list of the registered members.
Its not hard is it !!

 

[Guinness Boy]

Football's been going this way for a while in general, it's not just BHA. All seater stadiums and the Premiership are meaning more and more all ticket games, or all ticket if it's away. We have to make our away end all ticket and it's then up to the visiting team as to when they decide to return any of their allocation, which is annoying.

However the problem historically has been too much demand. If we now have too many unsold ticket we have to look at more innovative ways of shifting them.

As for the AMS I can't say I like the idea much and it does make deciding to go on the day pretty difficult. Like all knee jerk reactions it was conceived just a little too quickly.

 

[Jim D]

The AMS was setup to stop known thugs from getting into away matches, causing trouble and damaging our chances of getting to Falmer. If that is still a target of the club then it will stay.

Also, on the basis that we don't get any revenue from away games, there's no great incentive to sell more tickets. Sure, a big away following could spur the team on to a better performance - but 100 or so more in a crowd of 1500 won't make much difference. As it is, we're hardly the worst supported team in the league.

 

[Grizz]

AMS works well IMHO................I have a group of about 10 mates and all are registered.
Every away game we want to attend, we nominate one of us to go to the club shop and get all our tickets.......all that is needed is a list of the registered members.
Its not hard is it !!

That's exactly what myself and my mates do. Works a treat and takes no time at all. I don't think has been a game yet that we haven't got tickets for.

Grizz