I haven't had a season ticket for 3/4 years now two reasons really first of all I cant commit to going to every game and secondly I tend to do more away games.
It is habit - before I needed a ticket to be sure of watching us, I went to virtually every game but bought on the day or over the phone if a bigger game. Now there really isn't a great need to buy one, especially as there will be one or two games I can't make and the cheap deals bring the differential down further. It doesn't even help too much with priority tickets as recent games have shown. I buy because the club wants me to and I am in the habit of buying. But if I hear too many comments from KM like I heard last season, I will definitely rethink. Then you have the danger that we are losing a few and I don't fancy watching a game. Not coming could be habit forming. Now individually I don't matter too much, but I would imagine what I have said applies to a number of fans.
Would @Airman Brown have a table of season ticket figures over the years, it'd be interesting to compare next seasons total against our previous worst in the last say 20 years?
My Season Ticket has lapsed twice since '98 and no inkling to renew at present, paid as i went to maybe 5 games last season despite living closer to the ground than I ever have before........
This is trickier than it should be because of the various ways complimentary season tickets (for staff, players, disabled helpers, etc) and season tickets that form part of commercial and hospitality packages have been counted over the years. I tried to use a base figure that excluded giveaways when I was doing it, but the club might state that it has 10,000 STs in a given season and we wouldn't know if it included 500 or 1,000 given away and therefore was not a like-for-like comparison.
That said (and from recollection) we had about 10,000, 9,000 and 10,000 sold in the three League One seasons and more than 11,300 in 2012/13. The club claimed to have reached 10,000 in 2013/14 (reduced by the price increases), but see above. No figure was given last year, but I suspect it was 9,000 and something. I'd guess this year will be lower.
To find a number lower than that in earlier years you'd have to go back to 97/98, for sure - but current figures would be higher than anything before 1998.
Thanks @Airman Brown, they're more consistent than I might have thought...
Obviously I have not had a season ticket since I moved abroad. But this excellent thread has got me thinking about what I would do if I were still living in the UK.
The matchday experience has always been about more than just the football. Even now when we do get back, me and the missus always meet up with old and new friends in the pub beforehand- the crowd we used to drink with back in the days when Kev Portch and me were producing Goodbye Horse have more or less all gone from The Oak now, but we still meet up with other mates there. And then we are lucky enough to get lounge tickets so we meet up with Chris and Sue Parkes for a drink after the game. The match is almost incidental. But I think we would still buy season tickets, unless an organised season ticket strike was arranged to demonstrate to RD the strength of feeling about the way the club is going, then I would not renew.
The lack of comment from the "RD can do what he likes because it's his club" brigade on this thread speaks volumes too.
I'm not renewing this season as I don't feel attached to the club as much as I previously did. it feels as though the passions has been drained somewhere down the line. The revolving doors for managers and players isn't helping either.
The last time I felt like the club could build on something and actually get the passion going again was Chris Powells end of season speech on the pitch after the first season back in the Championship. The passion in his voice, the crowd going mental for the team, and the good feeling.....the Charlton feeling being there.
Having heard of a few people say that when West Ham play in the Olympic stadium,if still in the Prem, (and they don't charge too much) they would consider going to watch the Hammers. This is now the biggest treat to CAFC. Forget the team in Surrey and the Spanners, this is our local rivals as the crow flies. If finishing 12th in the Champ, each season is success we will never grow our fan base. also if you miss that you could end up in the bottom 3.
So as well as showing some ambition, and Passion, i agree the feel good factor is important. For the first time every, i didn't feel upset to see Players celebrating on our pitch. As the worse loser in the world, My Easter weekend was just shocking after Bad Friday ! I thought it was great to see a team turn journeymen into winners and playing a fast brand of football with real quality.
For better or worse, the 2015/16 season could be a Watershed. our owner needs to get it right or we could be playing Millwall sooner than some of you hoped.
We need a good July on the recruiting front to find some optimism.
My friend is an intelligent Millwall fan (yes, really!) and he is not optimistic and sore afraid that D4 beckons. So, soapbox Sam, maybe it won't be sooner! We have never been in D4 and by eck, if we ever fall that far it will be a watershed moment; even being worried about it would be monumental for us.
Having heard of a few people say that when West Ham play in the Olympic stadium,if still in the Prem, (and they don't charge too much) they would consider going to watch the Hammers. This is now the biggest treat to CAFC. Forget the team in Surrey and the Spanners, this is our local rivals as the crow flies. If finishing 12th in the Champ, each season is success we will never grow our fan base. also if you miss that you could end up in the bottom 3.
So as well as showing some ambition, and Passion, i agree the feel good factor is important. For the first time every, i didn't feel upset to see Players celebrating on our pitch. As the worse loser in the world, My Easter weekend was just shocking after Bad Friday ! I thought it was great to see a team turn journeymen into winners and playing a fast brand of football with real quality.
For better or worse, the 2015/16 season could be a Watershed. our owner needs to get it right or we could be playing Millwall sooner than some of you hoped.
We need a good July on the recruiting front to find some optimism.
West Ham have always been our nearest local club as the crow flies.....watch the start of Eastenders - straight up from the Valley versus directly West.....
I haven't renewed. The whole RD thing hasn't enthused me at all. With the relegations and the League One years being painful the promotion and consolidation with Chris Powell felt like the old days. Not because of the (relative) success necessarily but the general feeling around the club. Since RD took over, that has vanished again. Players come and go, managers come and go, the attachment to the club I once felt is all but gone. I hope something changes in this respect, it feels a bit odd. The part of me that the club once occupied feels empty.
I'll still go though, mostly to away games though, they have a more positive atmosphere and my trips away this season have been far more enjoyable than my trips to The Valley.
Next season will be the first time I've not had a season-ticket in years. I'm moving up north and Charlton, and more specifically, going to The Valley is the one thing I am going to really miss. It'll be very strange not spending my Saturdays in Charlton. Roll on more away days!
I've renewed mine and my 2 girls and as long as they (and my mates and their kids) continue to want to go then I'll go...have had a ST for a consecutive 35 years now and can't imagine not having one.
A big reason really is the kids prices, if we were to go up and their tkt became say £200 then I'd have to think again as whilst I know they enjoy it, when they miss games it doesn't matter at the current price.
......got another baby due anytime now, so will see what happens over the coming seasons.
I've renewed mine and my 2 girls and as long as they (and my mates and their kids) continue to want to go then I'll go...have had a ST for a consecutive 35 years now and can't imagine not having one.
A big reason really is the kids prices, if we were to go up and their tkt became say £200 then I'd have to think again as whilst I know they enjoy it, when they miss games it doesn't matter at the current price.
......got another baby due anytime now, so will see what happens over the coming seasons.
That's the kind of positive post I love, EA.
Look forward to hearing about your latest "signing".
Comments
The matchday experience has always been about more than just the football. Even now when we do get back, me and the missus always meet up with old and new friends in the pub beforehand- the crowd we used to drink with back in the days when Kev Portch and me were producing Goodbye Horse have more or less all gone from The Oak now, but we still meet up with other mates there. And then we are lucky enough to get lounge tickets so we meet up with Chris and Sue Parkes for a drink after the game. The match is almost incidental. But I think we would still buy season tickets, unless an organised season ticket strike was arranged to demonstrate to RD the strength of feeling about the way the club is going, then I would not renew.
The lack of comment from the "RD can do what he likes because it's his club" brigade on this thread speaks volumes too.
Well, that's what I tell Mr F .
If finishing 12th in the Champ, each season is success we will never grow our fan base. also if you miss that you could end up in the bottom 3.
So as well as showing some ambition, and Passion, i agree the feel good factor is important. For the first time every, i didn't feel upset to see Players celebrating on our pitch. As the worse loser in the world, My Easter weekend was just shocking after Bad Friday ! I thought it was great to see a team turn journeymen into winners and playing a fast brand of football with real quality.
For better or worse, the 2015/16 season could be a Watershed.
our owner needs to get it right or we could be playing Millwall sooner than some of you hoped.
We need a good July on the recruiting front to find some optimism.
I'll still go though, mostly to away games though, they have a more positive atmosphere and my trips away this season have been far more enjoyable than my trips to The Valley.
A big reason really is the kids prices, if we were to go up and their tkt became say £200 then I'd have to think again as whilst I know they enjoy it, when they miss games it doesn't matter at the current price.
......got another baby due anytime now, so will see what happens over the coming seasons.
Look forward to hearing about your latest "signing".