[Albion] Season Ticket Farce @PaulBarber

[Harold]

Went to all Euro games. Tickets loaded via UEFA app. I bought spares and the app allowed as many transfers as I needed to share tickets with friends and family (no charge). They just needed to have the app as well. Covid checks at the games were same guidelines and level as I've encountered with my ST at Amex. Simple, no fuss sharing, and same box ticked about knowing who had them. Obviously there were other event management issues but the basic ticketing scheme worked.

 

[Springal]

Went to all Euro games. Tickets loaded via UEFA app. I bought spares and the app allowed as many transfers as I needed to share tickets with friends and family (no charge). They just needed to have the app as well. Covid checks at the games were same guidelines and level as I've encountered with my ST at Amex. Simple, no fuss sharing, and same box ticked about knowing who had them. Obviously there were other event management issues but the basic ticketing scheme worked.

But not if you bought from an FA though. Even those that paid £75 for 2 year campaign were unable to transfer tickets. FA tracked this and anyone that did lost their membership

 

[Charlies Shinpad]

Has anyone done a poll on who and who isn't renewing next season because of this / Kick off times etc ?


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[sparkie]

Has anyone done a poll on who and who isn't renewing next season because of this / Kick off times etc ?


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I'll be renewing ( if Barber doesn't kick me out for non-attendance).

But that doesn't mean I think this scheme addresses the issue satisfactorily.

 

[Harold]

But not if you bought from an FA though. Even those that paid £75 for 2 year campaign were unable to transfer tickets. FA tracked this and anyone that did lost their membership

True. I am an FA member home and away, but got tickets in the end through UEFA. My point being that there are ticket sharing solutions out there that work brilliantly, without the infuriating charge. However, the club know all that, and this has been a bit of low level revenue hunting that has backfired. Made worse by the strong arm communique to silence dissent.

 

[PoG]

This is probably less to do with more turnover than it is the powers that be knowing the details of who's exactly in that seat just in case that person does something stupid

Which is fair enough but can be done without the extra charges and faff.

 

[Green Cross Code Man]

Agreed. Barber responded I guess not because it was a nuanced discussion on the pros/cons of the sharing scheme (there was valid points by Scott about the flawed scheme somewhere amidst all the hyperbole) but because it was claimed “the cause for [no shows] was the sharing scheme” - all 10K+ of them. All of them. And then inferred that led to a poor atmosphere - ok fair enough - but of course - it was then argued it was one of the worst in 10 years, really ? which er, of course caused us to, according to Scott, lose the game.


WAB compared Barber and the club to North Korea ! yesterday because he’d called this out in a newspaper column and WAB frequently tweet that it’s the end of the world if Aaron Connolly misses a sitter so I think he might have a point to argue that a columnist for a site that earns its money from clicks, writes content to get people to click.

PS: Last night at Spurs there were 46K attendees in a ground of 60K . Was that because of well, what ? Do they have a flawed sharing scheme as well ?

If Paul Barber simply aimed his comments at WAB then he has made a huge error. Not everyone has the same views and some of us are more reasonable. If you look at most of the comments here in this thread, people have spoken in a moderate manner. I have't seen anyone here claiming that all the Wolves non-attendees were due to the sharing scheme so why mention that here unless you want to feel comfy in your perception that your view is right? I seriously believe that many long-time fans who have held the club close to their hearts for decades are now uncomfortable with some of the decisions made by the club. None of them are big things but the constant drip drip drip of tighter regulation and needless and petty rules has a cumulative effect and breeds discontentment.

 

[Harold]

I seriously believe that many long-time fans who have held the club close to their hearts for decades are now uncomfortable with some of the decisions made by the club. None of them are big things but the constant drip drip drip of tighter regulation and needless and petty rules has a cumulative effect and breeds discontentment.

This. As someone involved for 30 odd years with a long standing supporters club who organised home and away travel, and a lot of the protests in the bad times, I can't stress how disillusioned large numbers of our lot are right now.

 

[chaileyjem]

I have't seen anyone here claiming that all the Wolves non-attendees were due to the sharing scheme so why mention that here

Because Scott M/WAB made that claim in his Brighton and Hove Independent column and thats why Paul Barber wrote a specific response in the paper - where he addressed those claims . Thats relevant context for this thread...

 

[Weststander]

If Paul Barber simply aimed his comments at WAB then he has made a huge error. Not everyone has the same views and some of us are more reasonable. If you look at most of the comments here in this thread, people have spoken in a moderate manner. I have't seen anyone here claiming that all the Wolves non-attendees were due to the sharing scheme so why mention that here unless you want to feel comfy in your perception that your view is right? I seriously believe that many long-time fans who have held the club close to their hearts for decades are now uncomfortable with some of the decisions made by the club. None of them are big things but the constant drip drip drip of tighter regulation and needless and petty rules has a cumulative effect and breeds discontentment.

Fantastic post.

Long standing supporters, not perennial whingers, have raised legitimate complaints. That’s all.

 

[Green Cross Code Man]

Because Scott M/WAB made that claim in his Brighton and Hove Independent column and thats why Paul Barber wrote a specific response in the paper - where he addressed those claims.

Fair enough. I thought from the original link that Barber had responded to some of the points raised here. But note that the piece where he made his response said that WAB had not said all the no shows were due to the ticket sharing scheme so if that is correct you misquoted. I haven't looked at WAB so can't comment without guesswork.

I hadn't read the link as I am starting to go blank every time Paul Barber makes a statement of this kind.

 

[amexer]

Had she bought her theatre ticket at a discount because she is a STH? Didn’t her friend already have a ticket?

That is irrelevant
I can buy a guest ticket for a nameless person who than tells me day before can't go. I can then pass on to anyone.
A guest can pass his ticket on for nothing yet a ST holder who has committed for season has to pay. Strange. I do think it would be better in his reply if PB said we appreciate all comments and suggestions from supporters and as always will at end of season see if we think any improvements can be made. But that is not PBs way of communicating

 

[chaileyjem]

But note that the piece where he made his response said that WAB had not said all the no shows were due to the ticket sharing scheme so if that is correct you misquoted.

the column said this "The cause for so many gaps at the Amex [at Wolves] was the club’s season ticket sharing policy,"
https://www.brightonandhoveindepend...-to-end-amex-stadium-empty-seat-farce-3496770

 

[timbha]

This. As someone involved for 30 odd years with a long standing supporters club who organised home and away travel, and a lot of the protests in the bad times, I can't stress how disillusioned large numbers of our lot are right now.

The days of the “super fan” have gone as are the days of being noticed at away matches. It is an inevitability of following a growing and successful club. Our loyalty is measured by points. It doesn’t sit comfortably for many of us but it is what it is!!

At a guess I would say that many of the complainers on here went through the “war years” and cannot handle the change.

Secretly I think many of us still support the “old” Albion

 

[timbha]

That is irrelevant
I can buy a guest ticket for a nameless person who than tells me day before can't go. I can then pass on to anyone.
A guest can pass his ticket on for nothing yet a ST holder who has committed for season has to pay. Strange. I do think it would be better in his reply if PB said we appreciate all comments and suggestions from supporters and as always will at end of season see if we think any improvements can be made. But that is not PBs way of communicating

Don’t you pay full price for the guest ticket?

 

[BNthree]

the column said this "The cause for so many gaps at the Amex [at Wolves] was the club’s season ticket sharing policy,"
https://www.brightonandhoveindepend...-to-end-amex-stadium-empty-seat-farce-3496770

Meaning folks staying away for covid reasons weren't able to pass on their tickets trivially and quickly. The people weren't staying away because of the scheme but the fact there were gaps was because the non-attenders weren't able to bung their cards to their neighbours/colleagues/in-laws etc. I know you've said not everyone staying away would have been able to have found someone to take their place and that's correct but there would have been more people in the stadium if it was still possible to pass season ticket cards on. That's a given.

 

[Rugrat]

Because Scott M/WAB made that claim in his Brighton and Hove Independent column and thats why Paul Barber wrote a specific response in the paper - where he addressed those claims . Thats relevant context for this thread...

If I were a smart man like Barber I would absolutely seize that opportunity. Using non attnedance at Wolves is plain daft and easily shot down. But if you go through this thread that isn't the reason that's being used my the vast majority.

In my case I gave him our 2 tickets to my next door neighbour as a gesture of thanks for when he 'looks after' my house when I am in Tenerife. I can usually time it to 5/6 games missed. So I now have to pay +£80 (not asking him for £40). This year I gave him vouchers for garden centre. ST's binned next year

 

[Green Cross Code Man]

the column said this "The cause for so many gaps at the Amex [at Wolves] was the club’s season ticket sharing policy,"
https://www.brightonandhoveindepend...-to-end-amex-stadium-empty-seat-farce-3496770

Whereas the linked article to the Barber response says: 'Albion chief executive and deputy chairman Paul Barber described the claim that high numbers of empty seats at the Amex Stadium for the Wolves match was due to the club's season ticket sharing policy'

I take back my claim that you were misquoting and apologise.

 

[durrington gull]

I already have lost out though. Before the new scheme came in, if my daughter couldn't come (I already pay for her ticket) then I would bring my wife or other daughter instead. Say daughter with the season ticket misses 2 matches in a season (which is standard for her). I now have to fork out an extra £20 to make her ticket transferable plus also fork out £28 each for my wife and daughter to be Seagulls + members (that's start of season, no direct debit option). So that's an extra £76 for something which up until now would have cost me nothing. Consequently her seat was empty twice earlier this season (for reasons beyond her or my control) and instead the club missed out on a few drinks and pies (which at those prices is quite a lot of cash). It also means that unless this rule gets dropped for next season there's one more non-renewal

Great example - Barbers attitude towards this is absolute arrogance

 

[Green Cross Code Man]

Don’t you pay full price for the guest ticket?

Yes, but guests do not need a paid membership do they.