[Albion] Season Ticket Farce @PaulBarber

[Cheeky Monkey]

I did get in with the beer menu from Unbarred recently. I couldn’t find my covid pass or whatever it’s called.

As anyone familiar with the film classic Training Day will know, Denzil flashes a Chinese restaurant menu in place of a search warrant to enter the house of a crack momma (played by award winning R&B singer Macy Gray). Maybe you could consider doing that yourself at some point, Q - relocating to South Central LA armed with a stack of paper menus to take down the Boyz n the Hood....

 

[y2dave]

Exactly

'do you and your daughter fancy going to the game tomorrow/this afternoon - my tickets are spare'

'sure why not'

'Great, but you'll need to get online register and pay £20 each'


'Oh...'

As you say, if it's a regular sharing thing with same people then fine but that's not my situation. It was a nice way to share with friends and family, often as a return for something nice they have done for me. An extra benefit to being a season ticket holder. To ask them to pay £20 each rather takes the edge off that!

This is exactly my position. I can't imagine the revenue gained outweighs the missed spending that results from the empty seats it causes. I'd happily pay a premium myself every season to be able to transfer the ticket, provided it was simple and free to share.

 

[Weststander]

Last night was exceptional, but could become the norm given the reliance on rammed public transport in the middle of a highly transmissable to travel to the theatre of not scoring very often.

What grinds my gears most of all is the way we are supposed to acquiesce to the demands of the broadcasters, what was once a 3pm Saturday ritual now takes place somewhere between starting at 7:45pm on Friday and finishing at 10pm Monday. Like most STH my PREFERRED option is always to see the Albion, but sometimes there are work (I work 250 miles away from the Amex although live close), social, other events and family commitments that we are supposed to drop at the whim of Sky/BT and so on when they choose the kick off days and times.

Meal booked for Saturday night with your other half or halves*? Now face the choice of reorganising it to suit the broadcaster's needs or let the seat go empty, unless you know someone who an Albion + member who has paid £20 on the offchance of getting a ticket occasionally and just so happens to be free that evening. Working on a Monday and can't get to the ground on time for an evening KO? The same attitude of when Sky call to shift the time then grab your ankles and be grateful for the privilege.

If we were given the OPTION of a refund for matches rescheduled for TV purposes within 14 days of the new times being announced that would be fair for all. Most STH would still do all they can to go to the match, we are Albion fans after all. The club would have ample time to resell the ticket (and we are told that with modern lifestyles 3pm on a Saturday is passe so presumably selling tickets should be easy enough) and make a profit as matchday ticket prices are higher than those charged to STH. The broadcasters would have a match taking place before more fans, providing a better backdrop to their product.

Will PL clubs vote for such a change? Two hopes, and Bob is dead. If only there were proposals for someone, perhaps a regulator or ombudsman to be involved in the sport who represented fan interests? But dare say that and you are labelled a Maoist.



*Catering for the polygamist and swingers amongst the fanbase, I know who you are.

I think that unbiased regulator, especially regarding the Covid cancellation of fixtures, should be Ed Woodward or Danny Levy.

 

[El Presidente]

Very inclusive but nevertheless that is highly questionable Maths.

True, but introducing someone as 'My better third' does not sound right.

 

[Jeremiah]

If we were given the OPTION of a refund for matches rescheduled for TV purposes within 14 days of the new times being announced that would be fair for all. Most STH would still do all they can to go to the match, we are Albion fans after all. The club would have ample time to resell the ticket (and we are told that with modern lifestyles 3pm on a Saturday is passe so presumably selling tickets should be easy enough) and make a profit as matchday ticket prices are higher than those charged to STH. The broadcasters would have a match taking place before more fans, providing a better backdrop to their product.

:

 

[Harry Wilson's tackle]

I've only done this once. The problem is having to explain to a casual "fan" about what they need to do and how to do it. And that they have to shell out £20. In my experience, that was the major pain.

Can't be arsed doing it again.

I tried to get my two brothers to sign up, but even with me (OK, Mrs T) doing all the organizing they are too easily stressed to cope (Aspergers) and I haven't been able to get them to any games. My son, however, piece of piss, and he's been to most games with me this season (Mrs T, the other STH can rarely attend).

I think the club has made a mistake with all this but having random untraceable people in the stadium during Covid is a non starter, and if I thought that attendees included untraceable potential nobbers with Covid I would not have gone to any games. I wasn't bothered about shelling out £20 a person to join me. FFS - perspective!

And those who have been moaning about the 'money oriented ownership who don't care about true fans', to paraphrase, are a disgrace and should be ashamed of themselves.

 

[usernamed]

Why? Who really cares? It is known that every club does it - move on. There are plenty of reasons why it happens and it is stupid, but is what it is.

No. How about, instead of deliberately misrepresenting these figures, clubs publish 2 figures:

1. Tickets sold
2. Actual attendance

They won’t, because they want to make “the product” look as attractive and desirable as possible, but it’s the deliberate misrepresentation of the first figure as the second that annoys anyone who still believes in words having meaning.


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[El Presidente]

I think that unbiased regulator, especially regarding the Covid cancellation of fixtures, should be Ed Woodward or Danny Levy.

Could take up a large slice of the Ombudsman's budget I suspect.

 

[Harry Wilson's tackle]

More to the point, I paid for my season tickets to watch the Albion win. I think they should tell us in advance whether this is going to happen so that people like me can stay at home if all that is on offer is a draw or a defeat.

 

[Creaky]

I think that unbiased regulator, especially regarding the Covid cancellation of fixtures, should be Ed Woodward or Danny Levy.

What’s wrong with Michael Masi - could do a job

 

[BNthree]

Next time pass it to one of the 4 you have nominated anyway, then print their ticket that you’ll get by email and give it to who you like……

Someone I know recently had 4 tickets assigned to them for 1 match as they’re the only MyAlbion+ member in my group of friends

 

[dazzer6666]

Someone I know recently had 4 tickets assigned to them for one match as they’re the only MyAlbion+ member in my group of friends

Probably why Barber has introduced a random check at the ticket office

 

[Weststander]

More to the point, I paid for my season tickets to watch the Albion win. I think they should tell us in advance whether this is going to happen so that people like me can stay at home if all that is on offer is a draw or a defeat.

What is this concept of “win”?

 

[Springal]

No. How about, instead of deliberately misrepresenting these figures, clubs publish 2 figures:

1. Tickets sold
2. Actual attendance

They won’t, because they want to make “the product” look as attractive and desirable as possible, but it’s the deliberate misrepresentation of the first figure as the second that annoys anyone who still believes in words having meaning.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I’m sure they’ll throw away a few million in sponsorship / advertising deals just so some stattos can get an actual attendance rather than tickets sold

 

[nwgull]

I tried to get my two brothers to sign up, but even with me (OK, Mrs T) doing all the organizing they are too easily stressed to cope (Aspergers) and I haven't been able to get them to any games. My son, however, piece of piss, and he's been to most games with me this season (Mrs T, the other STH can rarely attend).

I think the club has made a mistake with all this but having random untraceable people in the stadium during Covid is a non starter, and if I thought that attendees included untraceable potential nobbers with Covid I would not have gone to any games. I wasn't bothered about shelling out £20 a person to join me. FFS - perspective!

And those who have been moaning about the 'money oriented ownership who don't care about true fans', to paraphrase, are a disgrace and should be ashamed of themselves.

On your last point, this is what really annoys me about this type of thread (and they always appear after a disappointing result). You get phrases used like ‘money grabbing’ used, or ‘penny pinching’ when it comes to transfers and contracts. You’d think that Bloom was some sort of Mike Ashley type character taking a hefty profit from the club year on year, whereas if I’m correct he’s had one year of profit (our first in the PL) in the 12 years that he’s been Chairman! I think the ownership and non-playing staff are entitled to be money orientated as I’m sure that Bloom would rather that he wasn’t having to dig into his pocket to cover BHA’s losses year on year.

All those obsessed with the real attendance that take offence that the club publishes its figures using tickets sold (the same as every other club) would do well to remember this as well. Those attendance figures are all part of the marketing to sell sponsorship, advertising and corporate packages. It’s like you’d rather the club shoot itself in the foot and make it look less attractive to satisfy your obsession.

 

[WATFORD zero]

On your last point, this is what really annoys me about this type of thread (and they always appear after a disappointing result). You get phrases used like ‘money grabbing’ used, or ‘penny pinching’ when it comes to transfers and contracts. You’d think that Bloom was some sort of Mike Ashley type character taking a hefty profit from the club year on year, whereas if I’m correct he’s had one year of profit (our first in the PL) in the 12 years that he’s been Chairman! I think the ownership and non-playing staff are entitled to be money orientated as I’m sure that Bloom would rather that he wasn’t having to dig into his pocket to cover BHA’s losses year on year.

All those obsessed with the real attendance that take offence that the club publishes its figures using tickets sold (the same as every other club) would do well to remember this as well. Those attendance figures are all part of the marketing to sell sponsorship, advertising and corporate packages. It’s like you’d rather the club shit itself in the foot and make itself satisfy look less attractive to satisfy your obsession.

THIS

It really doesn't take a f***ing genius to transfer a ticket. 2 Season tickets between 6 of us and I'll bet it doesn't run into three figures FFS for the whole season

*edit*

And before anyone gets on my case, they're all members because they come occasionally

 

[faoileán]

Hardly a hassle to become an Albion member - other than the cost I really can’t see the downside - easier for you to transfer the ticket, easier for them not having to return a physical ticket.

Who said anything about a physical ticket? They can use registered fan numbers and associated email addresses.

 

[faoileán]

Probably because it consistently annoys fans.

Doesn't annoy me; it's tickets sold, everyone knows that...

 

[S'hampton Seagull]

I tried to get my two brothers to sign up, but even with me (OK, Mrs T) doing all the organizing they are too easily stressed to cope (Aspergers) and I haven't been able to get them to any games. My son, however, piece of piss, and he's been to most games with me this season (Mrs T, the other STH can rarely attend).

I think the club has made a mistake with all this but having random untraceable people in the stadium during Covid is a non starter, and if I thought that attendees included untraceable potential nobbers with Covid I would not have gone to any games. I wasn't bothered about shelling out £20 a person to join me. FFS - perspective!

And those who have been moaning about the 'money oriented ownership who don't care about true fans', to paraphrase, are a disgrace and should be ashamed of themselves.

Just to pick up your point re not knowing who is attending. You can already buy guest tickets for which the club have no idea who is actually in that seat as they are in the name of the STH.

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[Harry Wilson's tackle]

Just to pick up your point re not knowing who is attending. You can already buy guest tickets for which the club have no idea who is actually in that seat as they are in the name of the STH.

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I didn't know that. The attendee will nevertheless need to have and show if asked a valid covid passport or equivalent, though, won't they?

I I have a spare ticket (which I often do) buying a guest ticket is neither here nor there though, is it? You would only buy a guest ticket if you knew there is an empty seat next to you, too, or your guest would be just a lonesome cowboy, to paraphrase Phil Lynott, and nobody wants that.

Any idea how many guest tickets are bought for each game? If this is significant it may have an impact on when I next attend.

All the best