Season Ticket Renewals

[Easy 10]

Dear Supporter,

Well, as another thrilling season reaches its climax, we're still in there battling to retain our third division status. Will we stay up ? Will we go down ? WHO KNOWS ? You see thats the beauty of football - you just never know whats around the corner ! Along the way there has been the inevitable ups and downs, thrills and spills, sackings, resignations and mutual consents. As I write these notes, our current manager is preparing the team for that all-important run in. We know not how these games will go, but one thing I can guarantee you, it'll be goals goals GOALS *

Enclosed is your season ticket renewal pack. Obviously in the current financial climate, it would be remiss of us not to request a small increase in cost, so you will notice the price will have gone up by on average around 10%. We feel this is reasonable, being as interest rates are now next to nothing so your mortgages will be costing you bugger all, right ? And come on - these sackings don't pay for themselves you know. You wanted him sacked as well.
Yes. You. Did.

So please fill out the form and send your cheques to the usual address. I look forward to seeing you again in August come rain or shine, L1 or L2, Slade or no Slade. You know it makes sense.
Your friend,

Uncle D.
xx

* in accepting this, you agree to the possibilty a large percentage of these goals could be conceded, not scored. Goal difference could go up or down, the management accept no responsibilty for loss of games and/or L1 status. Your statutory rights are not affected.

 

[clapham_gull]

If they threw in a competition to meet Gully and a couple of DVDs of other teams scoring goals against us, they've got a deal.

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

Thats right, demand perfection from people who are only human - Lets not bother renewing to spite the club and the board, especially as the club loses money every season, let the club we all love go bust insead, that will teach them

Christ sake, the board have done a hell of a lot to try to keep fans happy, they have invested in the team, brought in good managers over the years at Withdean, and secured permission for and started building the new stadium at Falmer, hardly a time to give up on the club now is it, after all the campaigning we have done to keep this club alive.

And supporters are only human..and there comes a point where even hardened 'throw any shit at me and I'll still hand over my money' fans start to question the return.

I have made a number of constructive comments and given a few opinions in a measured manner. Shame you cannot do the same.

 

[Tom Hark Preston Park]

It can't be done, it's been asked before.

I REALLY resent the travel voucher thing.

I live twenty minutes walk from the ground, I don't drive, let alone have a car, I'm being given a five quid surcharge on my match ticket for no good reason at all.

There is no valid reason why anybody with a Brighton or Hove postcode should have to subsidise fans coming from Seaford, Worthing or Haywards Heath. Either that or the money's going into some stupid unaccountable black hole

 

[Beach Hut]

I REALLY resent the travel voucher thing.

So do I as I make my own way there, there has to be a way to have an option for this.

 

[Djmiles]

I have never understood why people in Brighton are forced to pay the surcharge.

Wasn't the whole point in the surcharge to encourage people to use public transport as opposed to driving? Let's be honest, who is going to drive to the Withdean from Brighton? Looking at the traffic on a matchday, you could walk there quicker.

I take the train to most games from HH, so the travel voucher is very useful, but forcing local residents to pay it is absurd.

 

[Tom Hark Preston Park]

I have never understood why people in Brighton are forced to pay the surcharge.

Wasn't the whole point in the surcharge to encourage people to use public transport as opposed to driving? Let's be honest, who is going to drive to the Withdean from Brighton? Looking at the traffic on a matchday, you could walk there quicker.

I take the train to most games from HH, so the travel voucher is very useful, but forcing local residents to pay it is absurd.

Quite.

We're supposed to be a Brighton & Hove club.

It's good that the club subsidises travel from other parts of Sussex.

But to clobber people who live on the club's doorstep with a five quid surcharge is more than a bit crap.

 

[Ninja Elephant]

If they threw in a competition to meet Gully and a couple of DVDs of other teams scoring goals against us, they've got a deal.

It would have to be a competition to meet Gullys Girls to win me over.

With regards to the travel voucher issue, I quite like it. I live in Hangleton and last season I often walked up snakey hill and then down valley drive to get there, but this season I've found myself taking a more relaxed route on the 5, only because it's free to do so. I feel you should be given the option to either have subsidised travel for an additional fee, or opt out. I think it would be the fairest system, it shouldn't be too hard to organise either. But they would need to change the printing system of the tickets, which would be a problem, but not something they couldn't solve surely? And then when people went into the shop to buy a ticket for a specific match, they have the option of travel, or no travel. It sounds simple, I'm sure they could do something.

 

[Djmiles]

It's good that the club subsidises travel from other parts of Sussex.

Although, I could do it for £3.50 return, so if the club cut the price of each ticket by £5 and I paid the train myself, I would save myself £35+ a year.

 

[Alex Alex Dawson oo! oo!]

I REALLY resent the travel voucher thing.

I live twenty minutes walk from the ground, I don't drive, let alone have a car, I'm being given a five quid surcharge on my match ticket for no good reason at all.

There is no valid reason why anybody with a Brighton or Hove postcode should have to subsidise fans coming from Seaford, Worthing or Haywards Heath. Either that or the money's going into some stupid unaccountable black hole

Is it the Transport Management Scheme that you object to, just one particular element of it or the costs being met out of the ticket price?

 

[Tom Hark Preston Park]

Is it the Transport Management Scheme that you object to, just one particular element of it or the costs being met out of the ticket price?

The costs being met out of the ticket price.

 

[Uncle Spielberg]

Free portion of chips with every ticket ?.

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

Is it the Transport Management Scheme that you object to, just one particular element of it or the costs being met out of the ticket price?

The club have marketed this travel thing completely wrong. On a match day there are numerous elements to the 'transport' costs: the provision of stewards to marshall the area, the park and ride, the free travel, the admin involved in monitoring all of this etc etc. Why the club single out one element (the free bus/train bit) defeats me. This just causes people who walk to the ground to question why they pay for it. I look at all four of these as general match day overheads...which we all use to varying degrees directly or indirectly.

If people do want the bus/train bit sectioned off, then I will also ask the club for a complete breakdown of my match day ticket and only pay for the bits I use or want to pay for. First up will be a deduction for my contribution to Kerry Mayo's wages.

 

[Questions]

The point of buying a season ticket went for me when crowds started dropping off. If I want to go I can get them individually, as there is no great clamour to buy them anymore from the public.
And then there is the other reason not to buy a season ticket and that is.............................. WE ARE SHIT.

 

[Dandyman]

Quite.

We're supposed to be a Brighton & Hove club.

It's good that the club subsidises travel from other parts of Sussex.

But to clobber people who live on the club's doorstep with a five quid surcharge is more than a bit crap.

The winner of the this season's spot the Scotsman competition is...

 

[Tom Hark Preston Park]

The point of buying a season ticket went for me when crowds started dropping off. If I want to go I can get them individually, as there is no great clamour to buy them anymore from the public.

Seems barely believable now that it was only a couple of seasons ago when you actually had to enter a ballot if you wanted a ticket. There were people in the ticket office who spent a large part of their working week sending uncashed cheques back to would-be ticket-buyers who were unlucky in the ballot.

 

[Tom Hark Preston Park]

The winner of the this season's spot the Scotsman competition is...

Racialist

 

[Alex Alex Dawson oo! oo!]

The costs being met out of the ticket price.

So what other revenue source does the club have to fund it?

 

[Tom Hark Preston Park]

So what other revenue source does the club have to fund it?

I would argue that if somebody gets a free train ride from Haywards Heath or Seaford or Worthing then they're contributing a lot less to the fund than somebody who lives in Brighton or Hove who doesn't use the travel voucher.

 

[Springal]

The free travel is only from Shoreham, going West, just to note.

I am undecided about renewing, everyone I go with is struggling financially and although they love the team, to put up with the shit we have had this season is not good enough. We're on our 3rd manager in 12 months and have slipped from pushing near the play offs to drifting away in a relegation dog fight.

If they reduced the price a bit and offer longer payment terms we could be tempted. However if we get relegated it could be a case of just handpicking games for all of us and doing a few away games.