I just want to watch football, now I have to cconsider my Albion supporter "aspirations"

[brightn'ove]

I just want to watch football, now I have to cconsider my Albion supporter "asp

What exactly are you angry about? What we are guessing are the details of a scheme that hasn't actually been announced or confirmed yet?

It may well prove to be an absolute piss take, but until the details are announced, I don't see the need to get so worked up.

And has the OP confirmed where/when Barber gave that quote yet?

It completely lacks any common sense to impose a paid membership scheme, the only thing that could result from it are reduced attendances. People will wait it out for the tickets to go on general sale which means if barber carries on with his one block at a time approach, we will never sell out the ground.

We have the most expensive match day tickets in the league, the club absolutely cannot justify increasing the price even further.

Obviously it's speculation, but what else could 'tiered' membership mean? The loyalty points system ensures those who have pumped the most money into the club get the first pick of tickets. This crosses the line. I'd understand if we had a season ticket waiting list of something like 20,000, but we don't.

Ill admit I'm getting worked up over a rumour but I just can't stand the idea of the club trying to fleece it's fans, especially when this club would not exist was it not for those very fans.

 

[Foolg]

Barber is an absolute c*nt.

But, i'd say anyone that wants a ticket to practically any game next season will get one without signing up to this scheme. We only just sold out our Play-off Semi final (against our biggest Rival), and those who wanted a ticket could easily have got one up until the day of the match if memory serves me correctly. The amount of people who will pay for priority (excluding a STH) will be extremely minimal i'd say, because anyone with any sense knows it's not needed.

It's just Mr Barber tryign to squeeze out a few more pounds from every last fan. F*ck off Paul.

 

[leigull]

Is this a wind up?

That had crossed my mind!

 

[Brownstuff]

Not that I agree with it but the club are building a platform for when we hit the top division
It is better to bring in such a scheme now rather than wait until it is on top of us
If we had gone up this season getting tickets for London games would be a lottery
I think the club are looking for something extra than just loyalty points and I sort of agree as there is no differentiation sometimes between people on the same points boundaries
Of course it is a money making exercise but who can blame the club to maximize this now with the large numbers we are seeing though the gates
It is all about the future and the expectations of reaching the Premier League

 

[Brownstuff]

What's wrong with the loyalty points scheme?

Demand for London games would outstrip supply by over double plus
The club can then milk this by bringing in an extra membership subscription which would jump the queue, you would still have to have the required loyalty points so it would still be the most loyal fans going

 

[Hotchilidog]

Not that I agree with it but the club are building a platform for when we hit the top division
It is better to bring in such a scheme now rather than wait until it is on top of us
If we had gone up this season getting tickets for London games would be a lottery
I think the club are looking for something extra than just loyalty points and I sort of agree as there is no differentiation sometimes between people on the same points boundaries
Of course it is a money making exercise but who can blame the club to maximize this now with the large numbers we are seeing though the gates
It is all about the future and the expectations of reaching the Premier League

Completely agree. Everything about this club is now aimed at reaching the premier league (not surviving in L1) and this is just one small part of that.

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

Completely agree. Everything about this club is now aimed at reaching the premier league (not surviving in L1) and this is just one small part of that.

In that case the pressure is on. When do you think we should be there?

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

Is this a wind up?

Nope. It's from a personal email (not to me) from Barber.

 

[brightn'ove]

I just want to watch football, now I have to cconsider my Albion supporter "asp

Demand for London games would outstrip supply by over double plus
The club can then milk this by bringing in an extra membership subscription which would jump the queue, you would still have to have the required loyalty points so it would still be the most loyal fans going

Is the why the loyalty point requirement dropped 3 times when we played palace in the play offs? The loyalty point system is perfect, it rewards those who travel to both home and away games and puts them at the top of the queue.

 

[Stoo82]

Not happy with whats going on at the moment.

 

[imissworthing2]

Not that I agree with it but the club are building a platform for when we hit the top division
It is better to bring in such a scheme now rather than wait until it is on top of us
If we had gone up this season getting tickets for London games would be a lottery
I think the club are looking for something extra than just loyalty points and I sort of agree as there is no differentiation sometimes between people on the same points boundaries
Of course it is a money making exercise but who can blame the club to maximize this now with the large numbers we are seeing though the gates
It is all about the future and the expectations of reaching the Premier League

I was as angry as everyone else after reading HT's post but you make a valid point; the membership scheme will make sense when we are in the prem and filing the ground most weeks, this could be seen as a trial and error season to have a well run, efficient system in place for the PL.

Saying all that, the current loyalty points system would probably work just aswell in the PL; you go to more games, you get more points and are entitled to priority for big games.

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

Is the why the loyalty point requirement dropped 3 times when we played palace in the play offs? The loyalty point system is perfect, it rewards those who travel to both home and away games and puts them at the top of the queue.

But it doesn't factor in your "preferences", your "aspirations" or your budget does it? All it does is reward loyalty.

 

[Giraffe]

Nope. It's from a personal email (not to me) from Barber.

Can we see the email he was replying to and the whole of his response to be fair to him?

 

[Randsta]

I'm not happy going to watch Brighton.... It use to be like self harming now they are playing attractive football and winning it's a bloody pleasure!

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

I was as angry as everyone else after reading HT's post but you make a valid point; the membership scheme will make sense when we are in the prem and filing the ground most weeks, this could be seen as a trial and error season to have a well run, efficient system in place for the PL.

Saying all that, the current loyalty points system would probably work just aswell in the PL; you go to more games, you get more points and are entitled to priority for big games,

Come on, ticketing should not need a season of trial and error. It's the most simple of things, most models are already used and can be plucked off of a shelf and implemented quickly.

 

[Westdene Seagull]

Demand for London games would outstrip supply by over double plus
The club can then milk this by bringing in an extra membership subscription which would jump the queue, you would still have to have the required loyalty points so it would still be the most loyal fans going

And of course first come, first served doesn't make cash !

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

Can we see the email he was replying to and the whole of his response to be fair to him?

It is most likely a standard reply. Why not email him yourself and get your very own personalised version

 

[father_and_son]

That's not entirely true though, is it? A full stadium is not the same as a stadium full of happy, loyal supporters. Is 'membership' the same as being registered, or is there an annual 'membership fee', or the possibility of one in the future? The 'package' thing annoys me too - I can't go to most games, but might be able to go to a couple a season. If buying packages is the only way to do this then I'll either have to buy tickets I can't use (which won't happen) or not buy tickets at all (most likely).

A lot is being changed, and FFP is a very convenient excuse for clubs to use for not being able to run themselves properly. Hopefully it'll sort itself out in a couple of years, but I won't hold my breath...

I haven't seen anything suggested anywhere that says you can't buy A ticket for A game (subject to availability). The package deal is merely that you get a discount for buying tickets to more than one game - same as a season ticket gets you the maximum discount because you are paying for all games.
Given the demand for STs is so high and introduction of more "packages" will presumably have quite a high take-up, the availability of single matches will be low, but then there's the ticket exchange.

At an individual level, you may not be able to buy the ticket(s) you want, but the club will sell 30k tickets, maximising income and giving us the high budget for squad. The ticket exchange is there for people who only buy occasional tickets or for those buying all (ST) or packages of tickets and not being able to use them.

Nothing here is very different to how other clubs who consistently sell out behave.

 

[Socialist Sid]

Is the why the loyalty point requirement dropped 3 times when we played palace in the play offs? The loyalty point system is perfect, it rewards those who travel to both home and away games and puts them at the top of the queue.

I doubt the loyalty point system is perfect from Barber's stance in so much as there's no extra charge for it.

The next thing he'll be trying on is a fast track service to jump the queue at Falmer station for a fiver a pop.