We've never been this shit before 10 seasons in 15 of third tier guff next season , having been in the top two divisions for all but 1 of the previous 34 seasons . whilst our neighbours are having the best of their times
so i say don't renew it's utter shit and do boycott
less people there , less to get in the way , hope you all fuck off , i don't mind being there on my own
but I wish they would just do it & not keep trying to convince others by going on about boycotting & all the other crap they are going on about
This is a discussion thread. People can have a different opinion to you. I have reasons why I won't be buying another season ticket. I will switch my money to Valley Gold so that I support the Academy and watch games at Sparrows Lane and Princes Park.
That's fine if that's what you want to do It's your money & time to do what you like with But I was on about those who keep trying to convince others
In case you haven't noticed most of the posts on the thread are people saying they will renew regardless.
but I wish they would just do it & not keep trying to convince others by going on about boycotting & all the other crap they are going on about
This is a discussion thread. People can have a different opinion to you. I have reasons why I won't be buying another season ticket. I will switch my money to Valley Gold so that I support the Academy and watch games at Sparrows Lane and Princes Park.
That's fine if that's what you want to do It's your money & time to do what you like with But I was on about those who keep trying to convince others
In case you haven't noticed most of the posts on the thread are people saying they will renew regardless.
We've never been this shit before 10 seasons in 15 of third tier guff next season , having been in the top two divisions for all but 1 of the previous 34 seasons . whilst our neighbours are having the best of their times
so i say don't renew it's utter shit and do boycott
less people there , less to get in the way , hope you all fuck off , i don't mind being there on my own
Will it really be 10 seasons in 15 in League One? It’s worse than I thought.
I plan to renew my season ticket but I do resent being taken for granted. If the club puts the price up I may reconsider, not because I can’t afford it, but because they will be taking the piss.
Supporting the club can take many forms, it’s not just allowing the people in charge to walk all over you. My late dad had one red line, which the club crossed when it left The Valley, and his response was not to go. Nothing else would have stopped him, but then again we took it for granted back then that the club’s whole purpose was to succeed on the field.
We've never been this shit before 10 seasons in 15 of third tier guff next season , having been in the top two divisions for all but 1 of the previous 34 seasons . whilst our neighbours are having the best of their times
so i say don't renew it's utter shit and do boycott
less people there , less to get in the way , hope you all fuck off , i don't mind being there on my own
Will it really be 10 seasons in 15 in League One? It’s worse than I thought.
Yep or try 7 of the last 8 in the third tier , next season
Everything is going up,shopping,petrol,gas etc.Has anyone looked at concert ticket prices lately,and yet we are talking here about maybe £10-20 increase for 23 games of football.Yes I know we have been crap for a few seasons but come on its not the end of the world to pay a bit more for a ticket(Just got council tax bill £9.00 month extra).I have had a season ticket since the Selhurst days,just do not know what I would do if not at the Valley on match days,despite all the back stage problems.
Everything is going up,shopping,petrol,gas etc.Has anyone looked at concert ticket prices lately,and yet we are talking here about maybe £10-20 increase for 23 games of football.Yes I know we have been crap for a few seasons but come on its not the end of the world to pay a bit more for a ticket(Just got council tax bill £9.00 month extra).I have had a season ticket since the Selhurst days,just do not know what I would do if not at the Valley on match days,despite all the back stage problems.
Have the club’s costs gone up or down? As the player wage bill is the largest factor in that, it’s a serious question. It will be paying more for other goods and services, but they are not the bulk of its cost base.
Is it offering a better product than before? I think we know the answer to that.
Will putting up prices increase overall revenue or reduce it? Debatable, in the context of the above, but certainly a 10 per cent increase in price would not produce a 10 per cent increase in revenue. It may result in a 10 per cent fall in sales, which benefits no one and in the longer term actually damages the club.
That’s why the “everything is going up so why not Charlton’s prices” isn’t a sufficient response.
Biggest factor is whether we are going to be successful on the pitch. We have no defined right to be challenging for the promotion, but I hate these nothing/dead rubber matches. The minimum I would expect is for us to still to be playing for something 2/3 games to go. Effectively, season was over in middle of Jan this season.
Everything is going up,shopping,petrol,gas etc.Has anyone looked at concert ticket prices lately,and yet we are talking here about maybe £10-20 increase for 23 games of football.Yes I know we have been crap for a few seasons but come on its not the end of the world to pay a bit more for a ticket(Just got council tax bill £9.00 month extra).I have had a season ticket since the Selhurst days,just do not know what I would do if not at the Valley on match days,despite all the back stage problems.
Unfortunately most people can't live without food/water/electricity etc so something has to give when finances are on there arse and the issues have barely begun.
Did last years price increase bring in more money? Very much doubt it, so why think itl be any different this year ?. If TS hadn't wanked away so much money on shit decisions people might have seen if differently.
Everything is going up,shopping,petrol,gas etc.Has anyone looked at concert ticket prices lately,and yet we are talking here about maybe £10-20 increase for 23 games of football.Yes I know we have been crap for a few seasons but come on its not the end of the world to pay a bit more for a ticket(Just got council tax bill £9.00 month extra).I have had a season ticket since the Selhurst days,just do not know what I would do if not at the Valley on match days,despite all the back stage problems.
I have some sympathy - costs have undoubtedly increased. However I would imagine that the clubs single biggest outgoing is player salaries, is the playing budget going to go up in line with inflation versus summer 2022? Currently my guess is that, after the January 2023 transfer window, the wage bill has actually reduced.
My view is the club could actually make more money from less season tickets. The problem is, to do that they need to have a successful season. If there is something worth watching, more and more will want to watch it and there would be a big influx of cash at Christmas when half season tickets are sold.
We dont expect to win every game at the Valley but winning hardly any games there is not going to attract people because losing or drawing to shit teams is not a neutral experience, but a negative one and if it happens too regularly you just don't want to put yourself through it. Especially if you don't live that close to the Valley.
I am going to look at the business the club does before I do it and I feel if the club knew everybody was taking that approach, they might feel they have to have a go at it. I might miss out on a cheaper deal but more of the same is not cheap. Having a decent, competetive League One team that is in the hunt for promotion is good value. As a club, those running it should be ashamed we have been in League One so long and that should be the starting point in all of this.
Innovation and incentive is needed if they want to sell more tickets or even maintain current volumes.
Maybe things like
- One free drink for every home game - might even be cash positive in cross sales
- First round cup game included
- £50 discount on next years ticket if we finish in Top 6
etc etc.
Also need to incentivise pay as you go. Maybe:
- scrap the late purchase ‘tax’
- buy for 2 consecutive home games save £5 per ticket - get a kids ticket for free
So many things they could do. But likely will not.
Some good incentives there but i have a better one.
Start winning a few more games and certainly the season tickets will rise even into the start of the season. The club cant keep serving out dross most weeks and expect to see the punters come flooding back.
The bandings need to be sorted out, the price jumps within the Curbs and West Stand in particular are untenable
The centre blocks in the East are ridiculous, I have mates who follow Reading and their seats in a similar stand is almost £200 cheaper, and the facilities they have are far superior to what we offer.
Still my work colleague has told me (he's a gooner) that tickets for their final game of the season are £750 not quite sure if i believe that but he could be right.
Everything is going up,shopping,petrol,gas etc.Has anyone looked at concert ticket prices lately,and yet we are talking here about maybe £10-20 increase for 23 games of football.Yes I know we have been crap for a few seasons but come on its not the end of the world to pay a bit more for a ticket(Just got council tax bill £9.00 month extra).I have had a season ticket since the Selhurst days,just do not know what I would do if not at the Valley on match days,despite all the back stage problems.
Have the club’s costs gone up or down? As the player wage bill is the largest factor in that, it’s a serious question. It will be paying more for other goods and services, but they are not the bulk of its cost base.
Is it offering a better product than before? I think we know the answer to that.
Will putting up prices increase overall revenue or reduce it? Debatable, in the context of the above, but certainly a 10 per cent increase in price would not produce a 10 per cent increase in revenue. It may result in a 10 per cent fall in sales, which benefits no one and in the longer term actually damages the club.
That’s why the “everything is going up so why not Charlton’s prices” isn’t a sufficient response.
I don’t disagree with what you’re saying but I suppose even a badly run business has to try and mitigate rising running costs, and he’s put himself in a lose lose scenario as season ticket sales are likely to drop regardless. Unless of course there is a change in ownership.
Everything is going up,shopping,petrol,gas etc.Has anyone looked at concert ticket prices lately,and yet we are talking here about maybe £10-20 increase for 23 games of football.Yes I know we have been crap for a few seasons but come on its not the end of the world to pay a bit more for a ticket(Just got council tax bill £9.00 month extra).I have had a season ticket since the Selhurst days,just do not know what I would do if not at the Valley on match days,despite all the back stage problems.
Have the club’s costs gone up or down? As the player wage bill is the largest factor in that, it’s a serious question. It will be paying more for other goods and services, but they are not the bulk of its cost base.
Is it offering a better product than before? I think we know the answer to that.
Will putting up prices increase overall revenue or reduce it? Debatable, in the context of the above, but certainly a 10 per cent increase in price would not produce a 10 per cent increase in revenue. It may result in a 10 per cent fall in sales, which benefits no one and in the longer term actually damages the club.
That’s why the “everything is going up so why not Charlton’s prices” isn’t a sufficient response.
I don’t disagree with what you’re saying but I suppose even a badly run business has to try and mitigate rising running costs, and he’s put himself in a lose lose scenario as season ticket sales are likely to drop regardless. Unless of course there is a change in ownership.
Fundamentally the business doesn’t stack up and you can’t address that through pricing alone. The question is, is this the right time to try to increase (or even maintain) the proportion of operating costs met from ticket sales. And will price rises actually do that?
Are they really going to charge more than £625 to buy a top priced ST seat? Who is paying that?
Innovation and incentive is needed if they want to sell more tickets or even maintain current volumes.
Maybe things like
- One free drink for every home game - might even be cash positive in cross sales
- First round cup game included
- £50 discount on next years ticket if we finish in Top 6
etc etc.
Also need to incentivise pay as you go. Maybe:
- scrap the late purchase ‘tax’
- buy for 2 consecutive home games save £5 per ticket - get a kids ticket for free
So many things they could do. But likely will not.
Some good incentives there but i have a better one.
Start winning a few more games and certainly the season tickets will rise even into the start of the season. The club cant keep serving out dross most weeks and expect to see the punters come flooding back.
I think that’s the thing, you can have all the minor incentives in the world but if the team’s tosh then you won’t convince people who are on the fence. You’ll just be eroding profitability by giving incentives to people who were always going to buy anyway.
When the team plays crap game after game, drawing with Forest Green and losing to teams like Cheltenham, and you know how the game is going to go, you don't fancy it and wouldn't if you were paid to go. I accept these performances can always happen but recently they happen too often and it would make a massive difference if that changes. The team play well and the fans will come flooding back. It becomes fun again.
What I really hate is the drive home after a poor performance. It takes well over an hour for me and I just want to forget about football. If we put on a performance or even just win, I have the radio on and all is well with the world. That isn't happening enough for me.
Will not be doing anything until it is clear who the new owners are, then I will make a decision ( not on price but on likely expectations) with the current twat in charge we will go nowhere, if that is the case will not be renewing, just pick and choose.
Innovation and incentive is needed if they want to sell more tickets or even maintain current volumes.
Maybe things like
- One free drink for every home game - might even be cash positive in cross sales
- First round cup game included
- £50 discount on next years ticket if we finish in Top 6
etc etc.
Also need to incentivise pay as you go. Maybe:
- scrap the late purchase ‘tax’
- buy for 2 consecutive home games save £5 per ticket - get a kids ticket for free
So many things they could do. But likely will not.
Some good incentives there but i have a better one.
Start winning a few more games and certainly the season tickets will rise even into the start of the season. The club cant keep serving out dross most weeks and expect to see the punters come flooding back.
Quite. But we have a poor squad currently and know again there will be churn on the playing side.
Any pick up in the last meaningless games is smoke and mirrors if we are being realistic.
Season ticket sales if we are being sensible as buyers of them need not be purchased until evidence of squad building has been seen in the summer.
I expect sales to fall until they do or unless a big improvement in the pricing / value is revealed.
Buying early is a poor financial decision in the transactional sense but of course out of habit some will. But it will surely be a dwindling number.
I will get a season ticket if the price is no more than 10% higher. If it goes up more than that I’ll probably not, as I know I’ll be away for a few games. It’s a difficult balancing act for the club as presumably our budget is still probably/certainly in the top 8 and was almost certainly top 6 last season. That doesn’t mean we need to spend more to achieve our aim of promotion, but clearly the budget is a big factor. I believe Luton’s budget is one of the 3 or 4 lowest in the Championship and they’re having a good tilt at promotion. We will be in the unprecedented position in my lifetime of a 4th year in a row in tier 3 and that is bound to have an impact on people’s willingness to pay upfront, but if numbers drop we have a smaller playing budget which makes success less likely.
I'm in a bit of a bind because I've had my seat in the lower west since 98 and I don't want to lose it, but with my Son only being 4 months old, the maximum in terms of games I'll probably get to next season is 6 or 7, working out at about £90 a game at the current price. I know there are cheaper seats available and I would have this cost to bear even if the team were doing well, but the idea of another increase based on that guff Storrie said is frustrating. It's completely my choice to have that seat and pay £625 plus maybe more next season, but this is why I think football is so perverse as a business.
In my mind, the likes of Stockley and Fraser should've bared the brunt of inflation. Both of them were and are on about 6k a week. I've had to endure theirs, and other player's crap performances, yet they get paid handsomely for mediocrity. A £25 increase on mine, or say AFKA's for 4 tickets for example impacts us far more than the equivalent decrease for them based on poor football. I know I am talking hypothetically here and this isn't a real concept, more pointing out that it's always the fans who suffer. We get served shit football, the players still get paid the same, but we are asked to dig deeper. The club is run badly and incompetently by an idiot owner, yet he wants to pass on some of the costs of inflation to us. Too bad. You bought it, you made a mess of it and now you're bleeding money and in over your head, with one of the worst football teams we've ever produced, you think it's appropriate to ask us for more?
I know we've reduced the wage bill, the biggest operating cost, and I am also aware of the fact that if have a lower wage bill, we are unlikely to attract the types of players we need to turn the product on the pitch around (generally speaking), but this why football is such a perverse business. At least with other businesses who put prices up, they do so knowing they have a good product (again, generally speaking). Yet here we are, with the worst the product has ever been, the club in a rut and they want to talk about price increases that won't touch the sides in terms of managing costs, and will potentially lose a few more customers. Mad industry
Outside of the owner/s, there are things that can happen in the final games that provide differeng degrees of optimism. For instance, Kanu can start growing and scoring and Leaburn continues to improve. Add Campbell to that and maybe at the end of the season we will be excited for the next. This is not a certainty, but a possibility. I wouldn't like to put odds on it but wherever it comes from, some of us need a bit of optimism.
And I may be speaking out of ignorance here, but what if they tried the reverse approach. Lower prices across the board. Forget incentives like free tickets or 20% off an overpriced drink, just a uniform lowering of prices and a message that they understand times are hard at the moment and that the Valley hasn’t been as full as we like to see it. As a gesture of goodwill for all your dedicated support over the years, and something like ‘remember the good times back in 2004 when we finished in our highest position in modern footballing times, well we’re going to take prices back to 2004 and the costs for your seat will be the same as it was in 2004’
Just anything to make it look like they have a semblance of understanding of their ‘customer base’
And I may be speaking out of ignorance here, but what if they tried the reverse approach. Lower prices across the board. Forget incentives like free tickets or 20% off an overpriced drink, just a uniform lowering of prices and a message that they understand times are hard at the moment and that the Valley hasn’t been as full as we like to see it. As a gesture of goodwill for all your dedicated support over the years, and something like ‘remember the good times back in 2004 when we finished in our highest position in modern footballing times, well we’re going to take prices back to 2004 and the costs for your seat will be the same as it was in 2004’
Just anything to make it look like they have a semblance of understanding of their ‘customer base’
I must admit this is the sort of approach I would take. Perhaps not back to 2004 prices but say 3 prices for season tickets if there’s 23 games then adults £20 / game (£450 season ticket) for the the east and west stands. For covered end upper £15 / game (say £350 ) and for lower £11 / game say (£250). Individual match tickets brought up to kick off say +20% slowest stand £24, covered upper £18 and lower covered £13. Children up to 11 say £5, 11 to 18 say £8.
Beer food etc cost + acceptable mark up say 50%, but more importantly make it accessible, drinkable and eatable, and put some coffee granules in the coffee.
Outside of the owner/s, there are things that can happen in the final games that provide differeng degrees of optimism. For instance, Kanu can start growing and scoring and Leaburn continues to improve. Add Campbell to that and maybe at the end of the season we will be excited for the next. This is not a certainty, but a possibility. I wouldn't like to put odds on it but wherever it comes from, some of us need a bit of optimism.
If that happens then those three players will just be sold in the summer!
Outside of the owner/s, there are things that can happen in the final games that provide differeng degrees of optimism. For instance, Kanu can start growing and scoring and Leaburn continues to improve. Add Campbell to that and maybe at the end of the season we will be excited for the next. This is not a certainty, but a possibility. I wouldn't like to put odds on it but wherever it comes from, some of us need a bit of optimism.
If that happens then those three players will just be sold in the summer!
Yes, which is why I would still wait to see what we do in the Summer.
As one or two others have already pointed out, the prices of our season tickets is ridiculously high some areas. Many Champ clubs are lower in price. £625 to watch us is criminal. A flat rate all around the ground, as many other clubs at all levels have done in the past, would be far more successful if sensibly priced. In any case, until we know what is happening with any takeover etc. it's worth holding off. As we know, there's no danger of not getting a ticket to a game and you can pretty much sit where you want. The club has enormous potential that any prospective owner ought to be aware of. They would know the low take up of ST's is a reflection of years of bad ownership giving rise to apathy and disenchantment from fans.
Comments
whilst our neighbours are having the best of their times
so i say don't renew it's utter shit and do boycott
less people there , less to get in the way , hope you all fuck off , i don't mind being there on my own
& It will be a disaster for our club
Supporting the club can take many forms, it’s not just allowing the people in charge to walk all over you. My late dad had one red line, which the club crossed when it left The Valley, and his response was not to go. Nothing else would have stopped him, but then again we took it for granted back then that the club’s whole purpose was to succeed on the field.
That’s why the “everything is going up so why not Charlton’s prices” isn’t a sufficient response.
Did last years price increase bring in more money? Very much doubt it, so why think itl be any different this year ?. If TS hadn't wanked away so much money on shit decisions people might have seen if differently.
And because I don't see myself as a customer, but as a fan of football and of Charlton.
We dont expect to win every game at the Valley but winning hardly any games there is not going to attract people because losing or drawing to shit teams is not a neutral experience, but a negative one and if it happens too regularly you just don't want to put yourself through it. Especially if you don't live that close to the Valley.
I am going to look at the business the club does before I do it and I feel if the club knew everybody was taking that approach, they might feel they have to have a go at it. I might miss out on a cheaper deal but more of the same is not cheap. Having a decent, competetive League One team that is in the hunt for promotion is good value. As a club, those running it should be ashamed we have been in League One so long and that should be the starting point in all of this.
Start winning a few more games and certainly the season tickets will rise even into the start of the season. The club cant keep serving out dross most weeks and expect to see the punters come flooding back.
Still my work colleague has told me (he's a gooner) that tickets for their final game of the season are £750 not quite sure if i believe that but he could be right.
Are they really going to charge more than £625 to buy a top priced ST seat? Who is paying that?
What I really hate is the drive home after a poor performance. It takes well over an hour for me and I just want to forget about football. If we put on a performance or even just win, I have the radio on and all is well with the world. That isn't happening enough for me.
In my mind, the likes of Stockley and Fraser should've bared the brunt of inflation. Both of them were and are on about 6k a week. I've had to endure theirs, and other player's crap performances, yet they get paid handsomely for mediocrity. A £25 increase on mine, or say AFKA's for 4 tickets for example impacts us far more than the equivalent decrease for them based on poor football. I know I am talking hypothetically here and this isn't a real concept, more pointing out that it's always the fans who suffer. We get served shit football, the players still get paid the same, but we are asked to dig deeper. The club is run badly and incompetently by an idiot owner, yet he wants to pass on some of the costs of inflation to us. Too bad. You bought it, you made a mess of it and now you're bleeding money and in over your head, with one of the worst football teams we've ever produced, you think it's appropriate to ask us for more?
I know we've reduced the wage bill, the biggest operating cost, and I am also aware of the fact that if have a lower wage bill, we are unlikely to attract the types of players we need to turn the product on the pitch around (generally speaking), but this why football is such a perverse business. At least with other businesses who put prices up, they do so knowing they have a good product (again, generally speaking). Yet here we are, with the worst the product has ever been, the club in a rut and they want to talk about price increases that won't touch the sides in terms of managing costs, and will potentially lose a few more customers. Mad industry
Just anything to make it look like they have a semblance of understanding of their ‘customer base’
Beer food etc cost + acceptable mark up say 50%, but more importantly make it accessible, drinkable and eatable, and put some coffee granules in the coffee.