[Albion] Going to be pretty empty for the Villa game

[A1X]

This thread definitely has the hallmarks of a classic “we lost our last game thread”
- transport is rubbish
- the concourse is rubbish
- the club are rubbish
- our fans are rubbish

Can guarantee there’ll be an “our atmosphere is rubbish” thread by 10pm tomorrow, as we once again fail to produce an atmosphere comparable to Dortmund at home to Bayern in a title decider

 

[jackalbion]

WTAF?

I was making a specific point - to someone else - about the right to share.

That is, both an Albion season ticket and an annual rail ticket is a personal discount, and that you're not buying the right for a place at The Amex or on a train to give/sell it to someone else.

Now you're taking the conversation in a different direction, about non-attendance and checks, and claim it's a silly comparison.

Someone who also thinks you should have a right to share that rail season ticket! So it doesn’t prove anything to me.

 

[Wozza]

Anyway, the crux of the issue here is that many Albion fans are buying ST with no intention of going to all/most matches.

Some have confessed to buying a ST to get to away games, presumably banking on recouping money by selling most of the unused tickets on the ticket exchange.

(Wouldn't be practical for many without paying by direct debit, I imagine).

I'm not saying I wouldn't do the same if I lived in, say, Newcastle.

But let's acknowlege, it's causing issues.

Having 2000+ or sometimes 3000+ empty seats doesn't feel right. I think we can agree on that?

 

[Han Solo]

No not a season ticket. Although I agree that you should be able to pass it on. Like a football season ticket, a train service not a service that should be run for profit but one for public benefit but thats a different argument.

UEFA are very strongly encouraging clubs and leagues to only accept personal tickets that can be traced in case of incidents and bans.

PL clubs have to comply with that in UEFA competitions but not necessarily in PL. However, many ticket systems are changed or built with this in mind.

 

[jackalbion]

UEFA are very strongly encouraging clubs and leagues to only accept personal tickets that can be traced in case of incidents and bans.

PL clubs have to comply with that in UEFA competitions but not necessarily in PL. However, many ticket systems are changed or built with this in mind.

I don’t think this is necessarily a good thing!

 

[Hamilton]

I was referring to half time and the pie fest (except there was barely any food).
Regarding the 80 minute departees, folk can thank me later

Ah, I see.

I have given up on buying anything at half time.

What they need is seats that lift up and dispense your order at half time.

Same seats could then be used to act as toilets for depositing the unique alchemy only the human body can produce during the second half.

Of course, it would all take a lot of cleaning.

(Apologies for the imagery, but I pay a fiver a month and feel entitled to draw these pictures occasionally.)

 

[oldboyroy]

It's Villa innit, we never beat Villa.

Beat them last season at home despite Roberto's last 5 months!

 

[Hovegull]

Exchange ticket sold. One less empty seat!

 

[Nottseagull]

Mystifies me why people don't understand that midweek evening games are a much harder sell; it's an obvious consequence of an out-of-town ground with inadequate transport infrastructure.

There are very few stadia in this nation located right next to a train/tube station AND a junction of a major dual carriageway. The evening train service may be dire, but service isn't infrastructure.

 

[Bozza]

This rail season ticket is absolutely shocking comparison, it proves nothing.

Blimey.

I don't want to speak for @Wozza, but I imagine the reason he chose a rail season ticket was because of your well-known association with that industry.

It strikes me as a decent enough comparison, though.

Both an Albion season ticket and a rail season ticket are issued at a discount price for what is, essentially, a bulk buy pre-purchase.

Both tickets are for use by the purchaser alone. The discount offered for the bulk buy, is intended for the use of only the ticket purchaser.

Both ticket-issuing organisations forbid transfer of the tickets they issue and have implemented steps to make informal sharing difficult.

However, the Albion do allow transfer of their tickets, subject to specific processes and rules they lay out and we are all aware of prior to committing to buy a season ticket.

 

[Silverhatch]

It’s not, because tens of thousands deserted us back then too!

But thousands stuck with it and saved the club. Fabulous for a provincial, archetypal, southern-outpost non footballing hotbed.

 

[portlock seagull]

But thousands stuck with it and saved the club. Fabulous for a provincial, archetypal, southern-outpost non footballing hotbed.

Yep, we did. But more didn’t.

 

[Bozza]

Having 2000+ or sometimes 3000+ empty seats doesn't feel right. I think we can agree on that?

Fundamentally, I think it comes down to the fact that at this particular moment in the club's journey, there probably aren't 27,000 Albion fans who are willing and able to pay for and go to a midweek evening fixture unless it's a "big game".

A fickle fanbase, at least relative to the likes of Leeds and Newcastle, transport shenanigans - both perceived and actual - and we're generally quite an affluent bunch, a lot of the fanbase can afford to write-off unused tickets quite frequently.

We lost a generation of fans, and we're still recovering - I think we forget that sometimes given the club's remarkable progress.

 

[Weststander]

Fundamentally, I think it comes down to the fact that at this particular moment in the club's journey, there probably aren't 27,000 Albion fans who are willing and able to pay for and go to a midweek evening fixture unless it's a "big game".

A fickle fanbase, at least relative to the likes of Leeds and Newcastle, transport shenanigans - both perceived and actual and being generally an affluent bunch, a lot fo the fanbase can afford to write off unused tickets quite frequently.

We lost a generation of fans, and we're still recovering - I think we forget that sometimes given the club's remarkable progress.

This. It’s a sunk cost. £600 to see a dozen or less PL games is considered worth it, the physical cost doesn’t increase if several Amex nights are actually spent at home watching football on the box. With the added benefit of no roads or trains tedium.

 

[Superphil]

Having seen the situation with the A27/A23, and discovered the road from Beacon Road from Ditchling is also closed. I think I’ll be giving it a swerve tomorrow now.

 

[DanRedman]

An enormous game which could see us make a massive stride towards European competition for only our second time. The team need our backing.

Yet, the most important thing is the queue for a cup of tea or the ability to make a swift exit?

Couldn't agree more! First time I'm able to go this season due to having young children. I'm travelling over from Bexhill which for an evening game may as well be the arse end of nowhere. It'll be a midnight arrival home and work the next day but I don't care. Support the team no matter what

 

[Terry Butcher Tribute Act]

It says a lot about the Amex experience when you see a season ticket for Albion in the Premier League being described as a 'sunk cost'.

Hard to imagine that when we had the excitement of our hard hat tours when the stadium was being built.

Sunk cost. Deary me.

 

[Weststander]

It says a lot about the Amex experience when you see a season ticket for Albion in the Premier League being described as a 'sunk cost'.

Hard to imagine that when we had the excitement of our hard hat tours when the stadium was being built.

Sunk cost. Deary me.

It’s a apt description where well off Albion STH’ers don’t give a rats arse about attending a load of PL games each season. The money’s spent regardless, cherry picking which games to attend eg Liverpool and ManU, stay at home in the warm for others.

An increasing issue. Hence the club clamping down.

 

[Wozza]

Fundamentally, I think it comes down to the fact that at this particular moment in the club's journey, there probably aren't 27,000 Albion fans who are willing and able to pay for and go to a midweek evening fixture unless it's a "big game".

A fickle fanbase, at least relative to the likes of Leeds and Newcastle, transport shenanigans - both perceived and actual - and we're generally quite an affluent bunch, a lot of the fanbase can afford to write-off unused tickets quite frequently.

We lost a generation of fans, and we're still recovering - I think we forget that sometimes given the club's remarkable progress.

Yep. 100%.

But it’s also why the club has to work frigging hard to shift tickets. It can’t have folk give them away.

(Of course, we all WANT to sometimes)

 

[Terry Butcher Tribute Act]

It’s a apt description where well off Albion STH’ers don’t give a rats arse about attending a load of PL games each season. The money’s spent regardless, cherry picking which games to attend eg Liverpool and ManU, stay at home in the warm for others.

An increasing issue. Hence the club clamping down.

I know. A very sad state of affairs if you're right.