[Football] Stop Exploiting Loyalty - FSA Campaign

[Justice]

Not sure where the £5 travel fee figure comes from. Removal of the free travel zone would add about £25 to the costs of getting to a game. That's effectively adding another season ticket to the cost of football for me. Would have to reconsider if I could still afford to go, or if I did still go drastically reduce my match day spend within the stadium etc. I'm sure many others would find themselves in a similar situation.

I took that as p&r fee or train ticket from Brighton to Falmer.
Obviously others will live further a field as I do it cost me £20 a time to get to the Amex.
There was no free travel to Withers or the Gdstone and we all managed to get to the game if we wanted to.

 

[portlock seagull]

Utterly pointless protesting in the PL. Vast majority of fans don’t care and those that do are easily replaceable, and/or clubs actively want tourists not legacy fans. It’s a hopeless cause, pick yer battles ie this ain’t one of ‘em!

 

[Barham's tash]

Honestly think we SHOULD support it and whats the point of supporters club or a FAB if they can't hold constructive dialogue ahead of such a protest to suppor the wider football family without offending OUR club's board?

Poor form all round TBH. Horrible messaging which ever way I think on it.

Do it the same as every other club
Do it the same as every other club but with prior engagement with our board so they know where it's aimed
Do it but with subtle changes to the messaging noting we are supportive of the cause

For me these were the options not simply don't do it because we're alright jack.

 

[ROSM]

I took that as p&r fee or train ticket from Brighton to Falmer.
Obviously others will live further a field as I do it cost me £20 a time to get to the Amex.
There was no free travel to Withers or the Gdstone and we all managed to get to the game if we wanted to.

Yes there was for withdean. It was a planning condition

 

[Joey Jo Jo Jr. Shabadoo]

I took that as p&r fee or train ticket from Brighton to Falmer.
Obviously others will live further a field as I do it cost me £20 a time to get to the Amex.
There was no free travel to Withers or the Gdstone and we all managed to get to the game if we wanted to.

There wasn't any free travel before the Amex but I can guarantee that there were people in all eras of the clubs history who had to pick and choose which games they could attend because of costs of getting to games etc.

What things like the interest free direct debit scheme and the free travel zone have done is made football more accessible to a lot of people, helping reduce and spread the cost of attending matches. Take either of those away and it will hit people financially and there will be some who's circumstances wouldn't allow them to attend as much as they currently do. There will be plenty of people who can only afford to attend games because of the free travel zone. In the past they simply wouldn't have attended.

 

[Thunder Bolt]

There wasn't any free travel before the Amex but I can guarantee that there were people in all eras of the clubs history who had to pick and choose which games they could attend because of costs of getting to games etc.

What things like the interest free direct debit scheme and the free travel zone have done is made football more accessible to a lot of people, helping reduce and spread the cost of attending matches. Take either of those away and it will hit people financially and there will be some who's circumstances wouldn't allow them to attend as much as they currently do. There will be plenty of people who can only afford to attend games because of the free travel zone. In the past they simply wouldn't have attended.

There was free travel to Withdean. It was a stub on the tear out ticket book.

 

[Joey Jo Jo Jr. Shabadoo]

There was free travel to Withdean. It was a stub on the tear out ticket book.

You’ve got a better memory than me. I don’t remember the free travel for Withdean. However my memory could have been clouded by the fact I lived within walking distance of the ground and passed several pubs on both journeys, and it would be rude not to stop off for a couple of pre and post match pints.

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

The Football Supporters Association are co-ordinating a campaign to stop Premier League Clubs increasing ticket prices and making changes to their concessionary ticket pricing.

They met with the Premier League this week to discuss the issue

FSA statement: Supporter representatives meet Premier League on concessionary issue - Football Supporters' Association

Recently we met with the Premier League along with supporter representatives from our Premier League Network to discuss the issue of ticket pricing and concessionary pricing in the division. Following that meeting we have released the following statement:

thefsa.org.uk

As a member of the Premier League Network on behalf of the BHASC, we were asked to add our support to the campaign by agreeing to hold a protest at our home game with Wolves for which they will provide a banner like the one shown here (at Liverpool v West Ham)

View attachment 190429

After consulting with all the other fan groups, we had no reason to think that this was something we wanted to do at Brighton.
Therefore we have taken the difficult decision NOT to take an active part in these protests, because we felt that The Albion are not exploiting its fans (e.g. Europa League match pack, ST price increases, no changes to concessions)

This is a difficult decision because we were so humbled to receive support from the wider football family in the 1990s, indeed Fans United started in Brighton, so to specifically not support fellow fans who are protesting does not sit well.

However, for Albion supporters to display a banner like this at The Amex would in our opinion be ridiculous. The media would have a field day as the supporters of the "best run club" could not be seen to have anything to complain about. However much we might say we were protesting only on behalf of fans who do have very legitimate complaints, the message would be lost.

There are two National weekends of planned protests. You may well see these banners in the media, and wonder why Brighton are not involved. Hence this post.
The two weekends are our home game with Wolves and away at Liverpool. There will undoubtedly be a protest at Liverpool and we are actively encouraging Albion fans to join the protests there in support of the Anfield club's fans.

Brighton were not the only club who's fans who had the same outlook. We were the only ones singled out for criticism from the fan group who initiated the campaign.

We will be supporting the campaign through social media, with the message that we are lucky to be run by a fan, to have regular communication with the club, whilst being vigilant about this issue in the future.

If you haven't joined the FSA, you should. Its free and you'd get this information first hand https://thefsa.org.uk/join/

The guy at the FSA who runs the Premier League network is a Newcastle fan. I'm going to have a drink with him on Saturday and explain again our stance.

Your feedback would be invaluable. Did we get this right?

In light of the responses on this thread, will the BHASC reconsider their position?

 

[thedonkeycentrehalf]

There was free travel to Withdean. It was a stub on the tear out ticket book.

Definitely was the case as I would sometimes drive over, park near Withdean and then get the bus into the city to meet my mates, I remember having the odd argument with a bus driver who wouldn't take the ticket as I was going in the wrong direction (most didn't care).

 

[Terry Butcher Tribute Act]

Utterly pointless protesting in the PL. Vast majority of fans don’t care and those that do are easily replaceable, and/or clubs actively want tourists not legacy fans. It’s a hopeless cause, pick yer battles ie this ain’t one of ‘em!

Is it?

What about Safe Standing (albeit not at our club but pretty much every other one in the division)

Or the ridiculous idea to charge £15 PPV to watch tv games in lockdown which soon got canned.

Or the £30 away ticket cap.

Or the agreement on a notice period to give before moving TV fixtures.

Or Shutting down the Super League.

Plenty of good things have come from fan and FSA protests in recent times.

 

[rippleman]

In light of the responses on this thread, will the BHASC reconsider their position?

You would like to think so but Barry doesn't appear to have posted again after his OP so maybe he hasn't come back to the thread.

Whilst NSC is never going to be a representative sample, the posts here do suggest that the SC has been over-sensitive in making the call not to participate or support the FSA's campaign and maybe they should be canvassing the wider fanbase.

 

[amexer]

I took that as p&r fee or train ticket from Brighton to Falmer.
Obviously others will live further a field as I do it cost me £20 a time to get to the Amex.
There was no free travel to Withers or the Gdstone and we all managed to get to the game if we wanted to.

No comparison Dozens of roads to park and drop off at those venues. Have you tried getting dropped off and pick up at Amex. My wife did it once.

 

[ROSM]

You would like to think so but Barry doesn't appear to have posted again after his OP so maybe he hasn't come back to the thread.

Whilst NSC is never going to be a representative sample, the posts here do suggest that the SC has been over-sensitive in making the call not to participate or support the FSA's campaign and maybe they should be canvassing the wider fanbase.

The way I read the initial post is that there was consultation with a number of fan groups. Many of which will have a defined and identifiable membership.

This thread can best be described as 'opinion is divided'. I think it's a difficult one and on balance I think we should stand with other clubs amd say/display something. However I don't think it's fair to say/think that they haven't sought to get a wider view or canvas others opinions. After all, they didn't have to post it on here in the 1st place.

 

[Brovion]

Yeah, there was definitely free travel to Withdean and it was by stubs attached to the tickets as @Thunder Bolt said.

I remember because myself and @Tom Hark Preston Park used to walk to Withdean (not together as I've never met him), but we maintained (on here) that as we didn't use the stubs for travel we should be able to swap them for hot dogs. The late and much-missed 'Alex Alex Dawson oo oo', really took umbrage at this and we all had a bit of a ding-dong over it that went over several threads and lasted for several weeks.

 

[Thunder Bolt]

Yeah, there was definitely free travel to Withdean and it was by stubs attached to the tickets as @Thunder Bolt said.

I remember because myself and @Tom Hark Preston Park used to walk to Withdean (not together as I've never met him), but we maintained (on here) that as we didn't use the stubs for travel we should be able to swap them for hot dogs. The late and much-missed 'Alex Alex Dawson oo oo', really took umbrage at this and we all had a bit of a ding-dong over it that went over several threads and lasted for several weeks.

Knowing both of you, I’m fairly sure you have met at an NSC sponsored match, but I do remember the debate about swapping stubs etc. It was quite amusing.

 

[amexer]

Always worth showing support to Fan groups. Lucky I have no problem buying a ST but always have sympathy for those that cant afford to attend a game now we are in PL. I may think matchday tickets are over the top but Unfortunetley thats life with such demand. PB is outstanding with the media and because of this skill Albion are looked on as having great fan engagement. Personaly I take this with a pinch of salt as feel as well as been a great spokesman his role role is to maximise income rather than what is good for supporters. Lets face it the sharing scheme which we are pleased to use sometimes the biggest beneficiaries must have been the club with seats selling at match day prices and huge number of new members. Assume same at all PL clubs but cant name a sport or an event where you have to pay for membership before buying a ticket. The fans forums and the Fans Group that meet lets face it dont achieve much but allow club to tell those above and the media how they engage. I have only ever put forward a question about transport and possibility of a cover errected for P&R queue. Was told transport nothing to do with them and for cost reasons would not do the cover.

 

[Tom Hark Preston Park]

Yeah, there was definitely free travel to Withdean and it was by stubs attached to the tickets as @Thunder Bolt said.

I remember because myself and @Tom Hark Preston Park used to walk to Withdean (not together as I've never met him), but we maintained (on here) that as we didn't use the stubs for travel we should be able to swap them for hot dogs. The late and much-missed 'Alex Alex Dawson oo oo', really took umbrage at this and we all had a bit of a ding-dong over it that went over several threads and lasted for several weeks.

Well I don't remember the hot dogs bit, but there was definitely free travel. Not a lot of use if you lived in Preston Park. Except if you fell out of the Brewery Tap or the Crown & Anchor at 2.45 and happened to see a 5 or 5A coming. At which point somebody would bellow 'BUUUUUSSSSSSS!!' and we'd all pile on for all of three stops, just because we could

 

[Giraffe]

Probably against the flow on this a bit but I think we should have taken the banner. I'm sure Tony wouldn't have wet his pants over this as he'd have understood te issue (and frankly so what if he did!)

Yes our owner is the best one out there but football in general in massively exploiting the fans in so many ways. Just because our ticket pricing is relatively fair doesn't mean we are not suffering at the hands of the whole premier league machine. These issues just spring to mind but I'm sure there are others:

- Matches being played at ridiculous times. Who really wants to go to football at 4.30pm on a Sunday or a Monday night
- Fixtures being changed meaning that fans travel and hotel arrangements are put on hold inevitably leading to more expensive travel and inconvenient trips. Announce the fixtures and stick the dates.
- No consideration for away fans, leaving some fixtures impossible to get home as the last train leaves during the match.
- Over priced and often inadequate food and drink offerings
- Booking fees on top of ticket prices - this used to be justified of the price of putting a ticket in an envelop and posting it. Now they're pretty much all electronic what is the booking fee for?

 

[pasty]

I normally are supportive of our supporters group, but this IMHO ais 100% wrong.

we have very short memories. Just because we are doing well now, and long may it continue, and we look to be financially secure depending on the patronage of one extremely rich individual. We have become very arrogant to assume that we should not support a nationally recognised campaign because we dont want to upset Barber or the management.

so basically the message we are sending is ” we are alright jack, f*** you lot “

this IMHO is a sad way to represent the fans…let’s face it the club don’t give a toss about our FAB as we have found out by the time they cancel meetings and basically use it as a tick box. Sorry Barry is back but don’t agree mate

Articulated much better than I could have done, so THIS ^^

 

[CaptainDaveUK]

Generally speaking we should support the fan base of every other club in England and even those further afield, especially if they feel they are being ripped off / taken advantage of, by unscrupulous owners or footballing authorities. Even if we don’t entirely agree they are being treated unfairly, we should still support them and show some sort of solidarity. Remember, Fans United was arguably one of the things that saved our club.