Premiership away fans

PL54

I may have got it very wrong but the "ticker tape" on SSN saying that every club in Prem has put aside 200k to help away attendances.

Are they that bad or are tickets just seen as being too expensive ?

ManU come out saying they will subsidise (£4) every away ticket bought by one of their own over this or next month...so the home club still make the same money as I am sure ManU sell out everywhere. Confused !

Would this iniative not be to made to keep original ticket prices down and / or make clubs spend 200k on the "away fan experience" etc ?

I may have got it all bananas though as the sound weren't on !

DanDavis

It is a big deal....Premier League away attendances dropped by 9% last season and the PL top brass are worried because its thought that part of the reason for the league having such a TV appeal for foreign countries is the 'in-ground' atmosphere which comes with having healthy away support.

BigRedEvil

I've noticed watching MOTD that home games are rarely sold out anymore. Villa Park had plenty of empty seats vs Man City the other week

Covered End

Match tickets are too high & so are train fares.

oohaahmortimer

as i've said elsewhere attendances have peaked , pure saturation coverage of the game is part to blame as well as ridiculous prices for some games

oohaahmortimer

and as for poor away attendances we are the forerunner for this (winky smiley thingy for those of a sensitive disposition)

uncle

The west ham tickets Sunday were best part of £60. It's no wonder they are dropping

tangoflash

uncle said:

The west ham tickets Sunday were best part of £60. It's no wonder they are dropping

That's the big problem. £60 is a joke to watch any game of footy. Take into account the costs of travelling (even for home games, as let's face it,) gone are the days when most supporters lived within a 5 mile radius.

Add to the it that (even on a saturday afternoon) any premiership match can be found either on sky/BT or online. And they wonder why Joe public stops going.........................

ForeverAddickted

Just keeping an eye on the clock for when they finally have the bright idea to follow the lead of the Bundesliga and the rest of Europe when it comes to matchday ticket prices.

DanDavis

ForeverAddickted said:

Just keeping an eye on the clock for when they finally have the bright idea to follow the lead of the Bundesliga and the rest of Europe when it comes to matchday ticket prices.

I'm guessing match day revenue is now only a small percentage of overall income now this new TV deal is in place right? Time to actually give something back to your loyal supporters...or am I living in dreamland?!

boggzy

I remember Prem games in the Charlton away end. Gooners sitting next to me at the emirates, day trippers at Anfield asking me 'why are you singing 'goodbye horse''?

stonewallpenalty

DanDavis said:

ForeverAddickted said:

Just keeping an eye on the clock for when they finally have the bright idea to follow the lead of the Bundesliga and the rest of Europe when it comes to matchday ticket prices.

I'm guessing match day revenue is now only a small percentage of overall income now this new TV deal is in place right? Time to actually give something back to your loyal supporters...or am I living in dreamland?!

Nice idea. I think its worth reminding yourself who is in charge of these clubs. They are not here to benefit the people. They are here for business. As Long as people buy at them prices they will sell.

Chris_from_Sidcup

Why are United subsidising their fans away tickets when they sell out every game, no matter when or where it is?

Newcastle have the right idea though, they've said they'll charge any away team £20 for tickets to St James', as long as their fans are offered the same price in the return fixture.

BR7_addick

PL away support dropped by 9% because Wigan and Reading were up there. Their away following makes ours look good.

Friend Or Defoe

Premier League Away Fans’ Fund offers:

Arsenal away fans will receive a £2.50 discount on every remaining away Premier League match ticket. The club will also provide away supporters with a £10 refreshments voucher at an away fixture this Christmas and invest in the away end at the Emirates.
Aston Villa offer travelling supporters free coach travel for ten games this season starting with their match against Hull City on Saturday 5th October.
Cardiff City will subsidise 30 coaches for Norwich City away so fans only have to pay a fiver. The club are also looking into other deals. Fans travelling to Cardiff should also check out the club’s Away Fan Guide.
Chelsea confirm subsidised travel for at least 10 away games this season including long trips to Everton, Manchester United, Newcastle United and Sunderland.
Crystal Palace and Swansea City do a reciprocal deal which means “any adult ticket can be purchased at half-price with every full-price junior ticket”. The Jacks also promise to provide a free hot meal for every travelling fan at St Mary’s on 6th October.
Fulham provide four free coaches at every Premier League away game. The club will also hand out free away tickets to junior season ticket holders and members.
Liverpool reduce away ticket prices by £2-£4, dependent on the opposition. The decision was taken after consultation with the club’s Supporters’ Committee.
Manchester United haven’t confirmed their exact plans yet but have told the FSF they’re looking at ticket discounts for their away support.
Newcastle United fund disabled away fan travel for the remainder of this season but other plans are still to be confirmed.
Norwich City laid on 25 free coaches for the trip to Hull City and have offered half price tickets for Stoke City away.
Stoke City offer free coach travel to away fans for all Premier League fixtures. This has already resulted in the Potters taking a club record number of fans to Anfield for a Premier League fixture.
Sunderland subsidise away tickets at certain fixtures by £10 and improve the concourse, signage and bar areas for travelling fans. The Black Cats will also produce 40,000 guidebooks for visiting fans with things to see and do while in the area.
Tottenham Hotspur will offer subsidised travel to all 14 top-flight games outside of the London area. They’ll also assist official regional clubs travel arrangements and refurbish areas used to accommodate visiting fans at the Lane.


Very kind of arsenal to give a £2.50 discount when a Cat A away in their ground is over £60. :-)

It is a step in the right direction though.

Sparrows Lane Lion

BR7_addick said:

PL away support dropped by 9% because Wigan and Reading were up there. Their away following makes ours look good.

Fulham's away support is poor too.

Many away supports are also formed of the "hardcore" fans that were going before the Premier League become the huge smooth money making machine it is. The fans who make up the general away support of Chelsea, Arsenal, United etc is very different to the general make up of their home crowds.

Well it used to. These people are now either priced out of having a season ticket which would get them away tickets or they've been driven away by the influx of 'new' fans and don't attend as often any more.

These are the fans who remember the terraces, the atmospheres, the fun of football and are now bored by the sanitisation and cost of it.

DanDavis

BR7_addick said:

PL away support dropped by 9% because Wigan and Reading were up there. Their away following makes ours look good.

Wigan had been in the Premier League for years, the 9% drop can't be attributed mainly to them. And Readings away support must be on par with the other yo-yo clubs of recent years like Hull and Blackpool.

Its a bigger problem than just 2 teams.

randy andy

I actually applaud man utd for this. Fans of the big clubs get the piss ripped out of them on away prices. They are always a cat A game so the end result is if a man utd fan goes to every away game they will spend hundreds more than a Fulham fan doing the same.

BR7_addick

Obviously it's down to more than Wigan and Reading.. It's gotta be money.

Away trip to Burnley for me the other day cost a bomb.

Ticket: £14 (cheeky under 22 ticket )
Travel: train £45.80 with Young persons railcard
Oyster card: £10 to get to and from london
Beer/food: £60

And this is a bog standard Championship ground, imagine that but with a ticket in excess of £50 for say United or Liverpool away!

SheffieldRed

Well done Man United.

Following the takeover of Manchester United by the Glazier family, United spent 71 million on debt finance costs in the year 2012-13, they also spent 48 million paying off the debt in the same year. They could instead have used this money to give every fan at every home league game in 2012-13 about £83, the more expensive seats could have been drastically reduced in price and some people could have made a profit from attending (this would never happen but goes to show the extent of the debt related payments).

Knocking a few pounds off admission prices will not make a significant difference and neither will the offer of "food". Free coach travel is fine for some but certainly not all. Half-price adult tickets with every full-price junior ticket, and free away tickets to junior season ticket holders and members are good for children or people with children. 40,000 guidebooks for visiting fans with things to see and do while in Sunderland, well that should swing it for anyone undecided about attending an away game there.

Some will say the changes above will result in more families attending. This could result in the away day experience resembling an under 21 international, not everyone's cup of tea.

In addition, with more away fans in one place (the coach) policing would in theory get easier and as a consequence cheaper for the clubs.

Most football fans want one thing, a reduction in prices to a fair amount. The money flowing round football shows ticket prices can be reduced. The clubs are not being proactive but reactive. If fans want a reduction in ticket prices they will have to push the issue.

Algarveaddick

randy andy said:

I actually applaud man utd for this. Fans of the big clubs get the piss ripped out of them on away prices. They are always a cat A game so the end result is if a man utd fan goes to every away game they will spend hundreds more than a Fulham fan doing the same.

I agree with your sentiment, but I am not too gutted for the fans, many of whom chose to support Manchester United because of the very success that makes them a category A club in the first place. Even most of the ones from greater Manchester could have chosen another local club had they wished.

Friend Or Defoe

A lot of people don't choose a club.

RedChaser

Friend Or Defoe said:

A lot of people don't choose a club.

Very true, I forgave my Dad and I think my offspring have forgiven me :-)

SELR_addicks

'Manchester City players & staff pay £1000 from own pockets to help cut ticket prices'

The Etihad Stadium outfit have gone one step further than their on-pitch rivals, and will now be able to offer half-price tickets for selected matches this season thanks to the five-figure sum generated by staff.

Games which will qualify for these new low prices are those played furthest away from Manchester, as well as those scheduled within days of other fixtures.

http://www.goal.com/en-gb/news/2896/premier-league/2013/10/09/4322430/manchester-city-players-staff-pay-1000-from-own-pockets-to?ICID=HP_BN_1

From Goal, so not sure how reliable it is.

PL54

Have I still missed the point - it is too expensive and way more expensive than it was 5/10 years ago.

£4.00 off a ticket isn't going to make a dfifference at these prices - is the onus on the home club to reduce away prices and make it more hospitable (a guide of the local area FFS) or for the away club to subsidise away travel / tickets ?

DanDavis

PL54 said:

Have I still missed the point - it is too expensive and way more expensive than it was 5/10 years ago.

£4.00 off a ticket isn't going to make a dfifference at these prices - is the onus on the home club to reduce away prices and make it more hospitable (a guide of the local area FFS) or for the away club to subsidise away travel / tickets ?

I agree, I think Sunderland have completely missed the point with the visitor guide. Cost is the main issue keeping people going from many away games so why they would want to stay the night in a hotel (shelling out more cash) to make sure they can also visit the local stamp museum is a strange approach.

People don't go to Tottenham because its un-hospitable or they don't serve real ale in the ground.....they don't go because its £55 a ticket.

allez les addicks

randy andy said:

I actually applaud man utd for this. Fans of the big clubs get the piss ripped out of them on away prices. They are always a cat A game so the end result is if a man utd fan goes to every away game they will spend hundreds more than a Fulham fan doing the same.

The chances of a united fan going to every away match are practically nil.

60,000 season tickets going into 3,000 seat allocations make it unlikely that each person get tickets for more than 3 games a season. And that's presuming they apply to every away game, which they may not do.

floydroadfaithfull

Not all prem tickets are a rip off
Just brought 4 tickets today for Everton v spurs @ 37 pound each in tthe gladdys end
Great value considering the rest
Shame about petrol and accommodation though but are staying up for a few days.
Don't think a couple of quid will make an.y Diff.

Nicholas

floydroadfaithfull said:

Not all prem tickets are a rip off
Just brought 4 tickets today for Everton v spurs @ 37 pound each in tthe gladdys end
Great value considering the rest
Shame about petrol and accommodation though but are staying up for a few days.
Don't think a couple of quid will make an.y Diff.

I still think 37 is a rip off. In a few years I can imagine people saying 50 quid is good value when all the other teams are charging 70-80 quid.

Sparrows Lane Lion

allez les addicks said:

randy andy said:

I actually applaud man utd for this. Fans of the big clubs get the piss ripped out of them on away prices. They are always a cat A game so the end result is if a man utd fan goes to every away game they will spend hundreds more than a Fulham fan doing the same.

The chances of a united fan going to every away match are practically nil.

60,000 season tickets going into 3,000 seat allocations make it unlikely that each person get tickets for more than 3 games a season. And that's presuming they apply to every away game, which they may not do.

You think that they get 60,000 applications per away game? It will surely all be based on points that fans have accumulated over the years for going away matches, which means generally the hardcore get tickets most weeks.

Friend Or Defoe

allez les addicks said:

randy andy said:

I actually applaud man utd for this. Fans of the big clubs get the piss ripped out of them on away prices. They are always a cat A game so the end result is if a man utd fan goes to every away game they will spend hundreds more than a Fulham fan doing the same.

The chances of a united fan going to every away match are practically nil.

60,000 season tickets going into 3,000 seat allocations make it unlikely that each person get tickets for more than 3 games a season. And that's presuming they apply to every away game, which they may not do.

I would say the chances that a lot do are very high. In fact there's a famous fan (the one who said they scored at Sunderland when City won the league) who does all reserve and youth games as well unless they clash with the first team. I expect you would have to do a lot of aways to get tickets in their end.