What the club need to realise, is not everyone can afford to live in South London, and a lot of fans have left the area and have moved to the outskirts in Kent.
My previous salary was £38,000 before tax last season.
My commuting costs to each match day were approx £20 in Kent. £460 minimum on just travelling to home matches throughout the season. Plus my season ticket was roughly £25 per game it worked out, I lost money when I couldn't attend. So basically over £1000 minimum just to attend home games.
As a single adult, living in my own space I have been spending somewhere between £3-4 thousand pounds a year on attending Charlton games. Over 10% of my yearly income before tax.
If they want fans regularly attending games home and away, they need to make it more affordable. It is becoming unsustainable.
I was also sacrificing a fair chunk of holidays to ensure I made games as well, that will only get worse this season.
Instead of doing this, I could have 2-3 decent holidays a year, or put that money into something worthwhile that is going to make me money, not bleed me dry while forking out on essentials.
The club/football need to find a balance, because upwards £3-4000 quid a year to attend every football game is madness.
That is why I can understand the previous poster say it feels deliberate, as someone on minimum wage would simply not be able to attend football games regularly unless they lived at home or had favourable living conditions.
Apologies for the rambles about money, but the point I am trying to make, is that it isn't just as simple as a price increase, there are outside factors and variables.
My rent went up from £825 to £925 within 2 years.
My car insurance went up from £75 a month to £91
My electric rose by approx £10 p/m.
Every bill in the real world rose. When you factor that in with a football price hike, it becomes unmanageable to a lot of people.
I was also choosing to deliberately slash working hours to ensure attending games. I.e. I was taking less overtime to attend games, and I was using overtime for holiday days instead of actual cash to ensure I could book certain days off work to attend games, as not everyone has weekends free or can make Tuesday evening kick offs.
Which will be another variable next season, the amount of games moving will make the season ticket way less desirable to some people.
Personally I think the prices should have been frozen for at least a year, and if we managed to stay up and were bringing in a certain level of footballer, then they could justify a price increase.
I will reluctantly pay, but I'm not happy about it, and it is looking very likely to be another season of missing out on overtime, using up time in lieu and parting with approximately 10-15% of my yearly salary to cover travel costs, match tickets and potentially hotels. That isn't right.
Apologies for the rambles about money, but the point I am trying to make, is that it isn't just as simple as a price increase, there are outside factors and variables.
My rent went up from £825 to £925 within 2 years.
My car insurance went up from £75 a month to £91
My electric rose by approx £10 p/m.
Every bill in the real world rose. When you factor that in with a football price hike, it becomes unmanageable to a lot of people.
I was also choosing to deliberately slash working hours to ensure attending games. I.e. I was taking less overtime to attend games, and I was using overtime for holiday days instead of actual cash to ensure I could book certain days off work to attend games, as not everyone has weekends free or can make Tuesday evening kick offs.
Which will be another variable next season, the amount of games moving will make the season ticket way less desirable to some people.
Personally I think the prices should have been frozen for at least a year, and if we managed to stay up and were bringing in a certain level of footballer, then they could justify a price increase.
I will reluctantly pay, but I'm not happy about it, and it is looking very likely to be another season of missing out on overtime, using up time in lieu and parting with approximately 10-15% of my yearly salary to cover travel costs, match tickets and potentially hotels. That isn't right.
You’re not selling this football supporting lark to me very well ! 😉😆
But in all seriousness your points are all valid. We are slowly pricing people out and it’s no wonder many follow from TV only now.
Apologies for the rambles about money, but the point I am trying to make, is that it isn't just as simple as a price increase, there are outside factors and variables.
My rent went up from £825 to £925 within 2 years.
My car insurance went up from £75 a month to £91
My electric rose by approx £10 p/m.
Every bill in the real world rose. When you factor that in with a football price hike, it becomes unmanageable to a lot of people.
I was also choosing to deliberately slash working hours to ensure attending games. I.e. I was taking less overtime to attend games, and I was using overtime for holiday days instead of actual cash to ensure I could book certain days off work to attend games, as not everyone has weekends free or can make Tuesday evening kick offs.
Which will be another variable next season, the amount of games moving will make the season ticket way less desirable to some people.
Personally I think the prices should have been frozen for at least a year, and if we managed to stay up and were bringing in a certain level of footballer, then they could justify a price increase.
I will reluctantly pay, but I'm not happy about it, and it is looking very likely to be another season of missing out on overtime, using up time in lieu and parting with approximately 10-15% of my yearly salary to cover travel costs, match tickets and potentially hotels. That isn't right.
You’re not selling this football supporting lark to me very well ! 😉😆
But in all seriousness your points are all valid. We are slowly pricing people out and it’s no wonder many follow from TV only now.
Haha, just being brutally honest and open about how financially crippling football is to me/ potentially other people.
The balance is, it makes me happy, it gives me something to look forward to, and it's great from a social aspect, but I'd be far better off financially if I just didn't attend football games. About 8-10 grand actually if I decided to work instead etc.
Train prices definitely don't help either but that is a whole other conversation.
For all those completely relaxed by the increase I assume will make no comment when their replica shirt /beer/ burger / Charlton TV next season also costs more.
Oh and no comments about our lack of transfer marquee signings
I’d assumed if anything a deluge of emails this week imploring me to buy a ST / be part of the journey etc. But no.
No one is forcing anyone to buy replica shirts, beer in the ground or food in the ground and if Charlton TV goes up by £5 I still think that's good value.
Let's also consider that of the few people on CL voicing they are unhappy about S/T prices, many had no intention of buying a S/T in any case.
We're a big club was the cry, we can compete in The Premier League, where some clubs have massive waiting lists for S/Ts that are far more expensive than ours.
Well, let's see how big we are and if we can even compete in The Championship. ONE of the reasons we've struggled to maintain modest success over the years, is because when push comes to shove we don't have enough fans willing to back the club financially. Twas ever thus.
Only 10 years ago we had a season ticket in the east stand A block for £150? Seems insane to me our cheapest is now £375 for an adult.
And people took the piss by buying a season ticket there and sitting in the D and E blocks.
I still remember the conversation I had with two people that decided to take my seat in D block and the one next to it.
Me: Excuse me, you're in my seat.
Guy: ...
Me: Could you move?
Guy: No.
Me: Look, that's my seat. I'm a season ticket holder and I've been sat there for every game since 1995.
Guy: Well, it's not your seat today.
The stewards refused to intervene and I had to relocate.
The only way to properly enforce it would be to make a separate entrance at Lansdowne Mews and separate the A block from the rest of the stand through barriers.
A and B blocks are still cheap £130 season tickets, but you have to be 16-20 to sit there and that restriction alone seems to be enough to limit the number of fans sitting elsewhere.
I like to think i'm fairly placid these days, think through the consequences of actions, weigh up the circumstances, and give a benefit of any doubt. In this instance for some reason i can only imagine twatting this guy so that he too can make the step to forseeing the consequences of his actions for the sake of his future.
Only 10 years ago we had a season ticket in the east stand A block for £150? Seems insane to me our cheapest is now £375 for an adult.
And people took the piss by buying a season ticket there and sitting in the D and E blocks.
I still remember the conversation I had with two people that decided to take my seat in D block and the one next to it.
Me: Excuse me, you're in my seat.
Guy: ...
Me: Could you move?
Guy: No.
Me: Look, that's my seat. I'm a season ticket holder and I've been sat there for every game since 1995.
Guy: Well, it's not your seat today.
The stewards refused to intervene and I had to relocate.
The only way to properly enforce it would be to make a separate entrance at Lansdowne Mews and separate the A block from the rest of the stand through barriers.
A and B blocks are still cheap £130 season tickets, but you have to be 16-20 to sit there and that restriction alone seems to be enough to limit the number of fans sitting elsewhere.
I like to think i'm fairly placid these days, think through the consequences of actions, weigh up the circumstances, and give a benefit of any doubt. In this instance for some reason i can only imagine twatting this guy so that he too can make the step to forseeing the consequences of his actions for the sake of his future.
Something similar happened to me quite a few years back.
Guy had been sold a ticket for what was my son's ST seat, he was about 10 or 11 then.
Tried to explain there had been a mix up but he wouldn't move and just said "it wasn't his problem"
So my son sat in my seat and I just stood in front of the guy and made it his problem. He moved.
We’re talking about £50 or so - that a round at the green man once a year or £1 a week - if that’s the going rate and you wasn’t prepared to pay up front in case we were in league 1 then I’m sorry but you aren’t as committed as those who got it a bit cheaper by committing if we hadn’t gone up - let’s call it the price of success or the penalty for a shortfall in loyalty
No offence intended, but blokes in their 50s (and early 60s in some earlier comments) in a completely different financial position aren’t the greatest barometer of the impact of price changes.
Most of our support in their 20s and 30s are situated in the North Upper, the most vibrant part of the ground. That’s just gone up £90. If you wasn’t already on board, jumping to a £550 outlay when you’re in the planning / moving out phase of life or when you’ve a young family and having to watch the pennies even more, it’s a big ask.
I’d rather have much more of these at a slightly lower rate and get them committed and coming regularly for a season, than miss out on them signing up and then drifting away.
I know what you're saying boss, but the majority in their 20's give the impression that they are able to afford £30 on lager every game
Only 10 years ago we had a season ticket in the east stand A block for £150? Seems insane to me our cheapest is now £375 for an adult.
And people took the piss by buying a season ticket there and sitting in the D and E blocks.
I still remember the conversation I had with two people that decided to take my seat in D block and the one next to it.
Me: Excuse me, you're in my seat.
Guy: ...
Me: Could you move?
Guy: No.
Me: Look, that's my seat. I'm a season ticket holder and I've been sat there for every game since 1995.
Guy: Well, it's not your seat today.
The stewards refused to intervene and I had to relocate.
The only way to properly enforce it would be to make a separate entrance at Lansdowne Mews and separate the A block from the rest of the stand through barriers.
A and B blocks are still cheap £130 season tickets, but you have to be 16-20 to sit there and that restriction alone seems to be enough to limit the number of fans sitting elsewhere.
I like to think i'm fairly placid these days, think through the consequences of actions, weigh up the circumstances, and give a benefit of any doubt. In this instance for some reason i can only imagine twatting this guy so that he too can make the step to forseeing the consequences of his actions for the sake of his future.
Something similar happened to me quite a few years back.
Guy had been sold a ticket for what was my son's ST seat, he was about 10 or 11 then.
Tried to explain there had been a mix up but he wouldn't move and just said "it wasn't his problem"
So my son sat in my seat and I just stood in front of the guy and made it his problem. He moved.
Yes, in reality i'd hope i'd have the good sense to do similar, and maybe at best sit behind the person. Really it's a classic situation for a steward or their supervisor to resolve.
What the club need to realise, is not everyone can afford to live in South London, and a lot of fans have left the area and have moved to the outskirts in Kent.
My previous salary was £38,000 before tax last season.
My commuting costs to each match day were approx £20 in Kent. £460 minimum on just travelling to home matches throughout the season. Plus my season ticket was roughly £25 per game it worked out, I lost money when I couldn't attend. So basically over £1000 minimum just to attend home games.
As a single adult, living in my own space I have been spending somewhere between £3-4 thousand pounds a year on attending Charlton games. Over 10% of my yearly income before tax.
If they want fans regularly attending games home and away, they need to make it more affordable. It is becoming unsustainable.
I was also sacrificing a fair chunk of holidays to ensure I made games as well, that will only get worse this season.
Instead of doing this, I could have 2-3 decent holidays a year, or put that money into something worthwhile that is going to make me money, not bleed me dry while forking out on essentials.
The club/football need to find a balance, because upwards £3-4000 quid a year to attend every football game is madness.
That is why I can understand the previous poster say it feels deliberate, as someone on minimum wage would simply not be able to attend football games regularly unless they lived at home or had favourable living conditions.
Football stopped being for the average working man when Sky came on the scene. With the ever escalating travel costs it will surely ensure more fans going to less games. A shame.
I do find it short sighted how clubs have agreed to this latest tv deal. A significant amount of games are on tv via the red button. At an inconvenient kick off time (12:30pm) if you have kids that play football (my daughter trains on a Saturday). I think all midweek games are on tv. How do they expect people, kids especially, to get the bug for their local team when it is cheaper (and warmer) to stay at home and watch games. And if your experience of watching tv is all centred around tv & eating snacks, why not just follow a decent team? It’s the match day experiences in our formative years that got us addicted & coming back. Not the actual football most of the time. The tv deal may be good… but will it be seen that way when grounds are only attracting OAPs in ten years time? Dramatic, I know. But it does feel like tv is taking over completely.
I still think the American owners are social engineering the supporter base. They want the well to do middle classes. To start to emulate those in the Prem and the American tourist market.
Stupidest thing I've read on here in a while, congratulations
I was sitting about 10 seats away from a mate of mine who post's on here. There was an empty seat next to him so I moved over to sit there. The bloke next to the empty seat said you can't sit there that's my daughters seat. I said where is she. He said she couldn't make the game.
Only 10 years ago we had a season ticket in the east stand A block for £150? Seems insane to me our cheapest is now £375 for an adult.
And people took the piss by buying a season ticket there and sitting in the D and E blocks.
I still remember the conversation I had with two people that decided to take my seat in D block and the one next to it.
Me: Excuse me, you're in my seat.
Guy: ...
Me: Could you move?
Guy: No.
Me: Look, that's my seat. I'm a season ticket holder and I've been sat there for every game since 1995.
Guy: Well, it's not your seat today.
The stewards refused to intervene and I had to relocate.
The only way to properly enforce it would be to make a separate entrance at Lansdowne Mews and separate the A block from the rest of the stand through barriers.
A and B blocks are still cheap £130 season tickets, but you have to be 16-20 to sit there and that restriction alone seems to be enough to limit the number of fans sitting elsewhere.
I like to think i'm fairly placid these days, think through the consequences of actions, weigh up the circumstances, and give a benefit of any doubt. In this instance for some reason i can only imagine twatting this guy so that he too can make the step to forseeing the consequences of his actions for the sake of his future.
Something similar happened to me quite a few years back.
Guy had been sold a ticket for what was my son's ST seat, he was about 10 or 11 then.
Tried to explain there had been a mix up but he wouldn't move and just said "it wasn't his problem"
So my son sat in my seat and I just stood in front of the guy and made it his problem. He moved.
Should've sat on his lap. (You, not your son, I hasten to add)
How many games do we think may end up being 12:30 kick off at home next season? I got myself and my youngest daughter season tickets but won’t make the games if a 12:30 kick off. Wondering whether it would have been cheaper just to do the 15:00 games on a match by match basis.
Not read the full thread but thought I'd look at the options for the AC stand. Standard adult ticket is £550 which is pretty steep imo.
I looked at the price for paying in instalments & it looks like they havent updated the system as the monthly repayments are working out cheaper, even when adding in the arrangement fee (c11% of the overall ST price).
I'm not likely to go to evening matches, or matches in mid winter due to the floodlights affecting my astigmatism. Add on the games that will be live on Sky and I'll probably go to less than a dozen. On that basis I'll most likely just buy game by game& expecting match tickets to around £30-£35.
I may join VG though as my main fear is by not having a ST I will miss out on away games that go on restricted sale. Golfie Jnr wants to do a few away grounds that he's not been to before, like Saints, Norwich, Derby & Swansea.....and I've never been to Stoke or Wrexham.
For all those completely relaxed by the increase I assume will make no comment when their replica shirt /beer/ burger / Charlton TV next season also costs more.
Oh and no comments about our lack of transfer marquee signings
I’d assumed if anything a deluge of emails this week imploring me to buy a ST / be part of the journey etc. But no.
No one is forcing anyone to buy replica shirts, beer in the ground or food in the ground and if Charlton TV goes up by £5 I still think that's good value.
I think you're just sour because you couldn't get a Wembley ticket. Let's also consider that of the few people on CL voicing they are unhappy about S/T prices, many had no intention of buying a S/T in any case.
We're a big club was the cry, we can compete in The Premier League, where some clubs have massive waiting lists for S/Ts that are far more expensive than ours.
Well, let's see how big we are and if we can even compete in The Championship. ONE of the reasons we've struggled to maintain modest success over the years, is because when push comes to shove we don't have enough fans willing to back the club financially. Twas ever thus.
I did get a ticket for your reference. Your assertion is wrong.
My point (even if you choose to categorise as sour) is the lost opportunity.
Our recent history boasted of affordable football.
We’re talking about £50 or so - that a round at the green man once a year or £1 a week - if that’s the going rate and you wasn’t prepared to pay up front in case we were in league 1 then I’m sorry but you aren’t as committed as those who got it a bit cheaper by committing if we hadn’t gone up - let’s call it the price of success or the penalty for a shortfall in loyalty
No offence intended, but blokes in their 50s (and early 60s in some earlier comments) in a completely different financial position aren’t the greatest barometer of the impact of price changes.
Most of our support in their 20s and 30s are situated in the North Upper, the most vibrant part of the ground. That’s just gone up £90. If you wasn’t already on board, jumping to a £550 outlay when you’re in the planning / moving out phase of life or when you’ve a young family and having to watch the pennies even more, it’s a big ask.
I’d rather have much more of these at a slightly lower rate and get them committed and coming regularly for a season, than miss out on them signing up and then drifting away.
With respect - we have given out thousands of free tickets over the years and people couldn’t be convinced to go - because the football was shit - I’m all for encouraging floating support and low prices and all that but we’ve been there and done it to death - ive realised that the football on show is far more important to most people than the price - and that extra £50 or so was very easily findable for 20000 fans who don’t go every week but wanted to enjoy a final which probably cost each person well in excess of £100 each - again, I’m glad to have them on board and the vast majority aren’t on the breadline I’m sure
We’re talking about £50 or so - that a round at the green man once a year or £1 a week - if that’s the going rate and you wasn’t prepared to pay up front in case we were in league 1 then I’m sorry but you aren’t as committed as those who got it a bit cheaper by committing if we hadn’t gone up - let’s call it the price of success or the penalty for a shortfall in loyalty
I don't understand all these weird snipey digs at other fans.
A season ticket rewards commitment up front so does buying a season ticket before you know what division you are in - as did buying a 10 year ticket without knowing if the club was going to go bust in 92 - I’d be concerned if loyal fans could no longer afford their seat but not newbies who couldn’t commit a few weeks ago - not that I don’t want them on board but we have to charge the going rate rather than offer up something on the cheap
Still digging at fans, can't help yourself.
Nope - I’ve given my opinion and if you think I’m digging at fans that’s your problem - I’m praising the loyal fans and saying they are the ones the club should look after rather than pandering to the waverers coz we know most will disappear again when it turns to shit
We’re talking about £50 or so - that a round at the green man once a year or £1 a week - if that’s the going rate and you wasn’t prepared to pay up front in case we were in league 1 then I’m sorry but you aren’t as committed as those who got it a bit cheaper by committing if we hadn’t gone up - let’s call it the price of success or the penalty for a shortfall in loyalty
No offence intended, but blokes in their 50s (and early 60s in some earlier comments) in a completely different financial position aren’t the greatest barometer of the impact of price changes.
Most of our support in their 20s and 30s are situated in the North Upper, the most vibrant part of the ground. That’s just gone up £90. If you wasn’t already on board, jumping to a £550 outlay when you’re in the planning / moving out phase of life or when you’ve a young family and having to watch the pennies even more, it’s a big ask.
I’d rather have much more of these at a slightly lower rate and get them committed and coming regularly for a season, than miss out on them signing up and then drifting away.
Great points.
Also, I genuinely thought DOUCHER was early 20s, because that whole rebel without a cause persona! He’s in his 50s?!?! Mind blown.
Not read the full thread but thought I'd look at the options for the AC stand. Standard adult ticket is £550 which is pretty steep imo.
I looked at the price for paying in instalments & it looks like they havent updated the system as the monthly repayments are working out cheaper, even when adding in the arrangement fee (c11% of the overall ST price).
I'm not likely to go to evening matches, or matches in mid winter due to the floodlights affecting my astigmatism. Add on the games that will be live on Sky and I'll probably go to less than a dozen. On that basis I'll most likely just buy game by game& expecting match tickets to around £30-£35.
I may join VG though as my main fear is by not having a ST I will miss out on away games that go on restricted sale. Golfie Jnr wants to do a few away grounds that he's not been to before, like Saints, Norwich, Derby & Swansea.....and I've never been to Stoke or Wrexham.
And that is the financial conclusion many will reach.
The VG thing might also help if we finally land a big PL team in the FA Cup but that based on living memory is unlikely !
We’re talking about £50 or so - that a round at the green man once a year or £1 a week - if that’s the going rate and you wasn’t prepared to pay up front in case we were in league 1 then I’m sorry but you aren’t as committed as those who got it a bit cheaper by committing if we hadn’t gone up - let’s call it the price of success or the penalty for a shortfall in loyalty
No offence intended, but blokes in their 50s (and early 60s in some earlier comments) in a completely different financial position aren’t the greatest barometer of the impact of price changes.
Most of our support in their 20s and 30s are situated in the North Upper, the most vibrant part of the ground. That’s just gone up £90. If you wasn’t already on board, jumping to a £550 outlay when you’re in the planning / moving out phase of life or when you’ve a young family and having to watch the pennies even more, it’s a big ask.
I’d rather have much more of these at a slightly lower rate and get them committed and coming regularly for a season, than miss out on them signing up and then drifting away.
Great points.
Also, I genuinely thought DOUCHER was early 20s, because that whole rebel without a cause persona! He’s in his 50s?!?! Mind blown.
I’m young at heart my little blue friend
Just shows you can get things wrong when you don’t know someone in real life.
We’re talking about £50 or so - that a round at the green man once a year or £1 a week - if that’s the going rate and you wasn’t prepared to pay up front in case we were in league 1 then I’m sorry but you aren’t as committed as those who got it a bit cheaper by committing if we hadn’t gone up - let’s call it the price of success or the penalty for a shortfall in loyalty
No offence intended, but blokes in their 50s (and early 60s in some earlier comments) in a completely different financial position aren’t the greatest barometer of the impact of price changes.
Most of our support in their 20s and 30s are situated in the North Upper, the most vibrant part of the ground. That’s just gone up £90. If you wasn’t already on board, jumping to a £550 outlay when you’re in the planning / moving out phase of life or when you’ve a young family and having to watch the pennies even more, it’s a big ask.
I’d rather have much more of these at a slightly lower rate and get them committed and coming regularly for a season, than miss out on them signing up and then drifting away.
I know what you're saying boss, but the majority in their 20's give the impression that they are able to afford £30 on lager every game
Not to mention the marching powder, tattoos, piercings, designer gear - there’s plenty they spunk money on - those properly on the breadline probably dont go anyway - I’d love it ti be dirt cheap and we have a great team and full ground every week but u can’t have everything
I do find it short sighted how clubs have agreed to this latest tv deal. A significant amount of games are on tv via the red button. At an inconvenient kick off time (12:30pm) if you have kids that play football (my daughter trains on a Saturday). I think all midweek games are on tv. How do they expect people, kids especially, to get the bug for their local team when it is cheaper (and warmer) to stay at home and watch games. And if your experience of watching tv is all centred around tv & eating snacks, why not just follow a decent team? It’s the match day experiences in our formative years that got us addicted & coming back. Not the actual football most of the time. The tv deal may be good… but will it be seen that way when grounds are only attracting OAPs in ten years time? Dramatic, I know. But it does feel like tv is taking over completely.
It is and they tell us when we can go and watch it to satisfy the tv audience - the play off final at 1pm the ultimate insult - it’s all wrong but we can’t go charging less than your lot and expect a better team
For all those completely relaxed by the increase I assume will make no comment when their replica shirt /beer/ burger / Charlton TV next season also costs more.
Oh and no comments about our lack of transfer marquee signings
I’d assumed if anything a deluge of emails this week imploring me to buy a ST / be part of the journey etc. But no.
No one is forcing anyone to buy replica shirts, beer in the ground or food in the ground and if Charlton TV goes up by £5 I still think that's good value.
I think you're just sour because you couldn't get a Wembley ticket. Let's also consider that of the few people on CL voicing they are unhappy about S/T prices, many had no intention of buying a S/T in any case.
We're a big club was the cry, we can compete in The Premier League, where some clubs have massive waiting lists for S/Ts that are far more expensive than ours.
Well, let's see how big we are and if we can even compete in The Championship. ONE of the reasons we've struggled to maintain modest success over the years, is because when push comes to shove we don't have enough fans willing to back the club financially. Twas ever thus.
I did get a ticket for your reference. Your assertion is wrong.
My point (even if you choose to categorise as sour) is the lost opportunity.
Our recent history boasted of affordable football.
That supports his point really. Ie a lot Charlton fans / floating fans want top end Championship football, but at mid-table League One prices. Ideally, PL football at good prices & a coach service thrown in.
All this talk of ‘massive potential’ or Wembley shows what a ‘massive’ club Charlton is, is quite ironic, given the fact we mockingly call Sheffield Wednesday ‘the massive’, when they actually do get 24-30,000 gates despite high prices & being crap.
As aside, my point earlier in this thread was that I don’t think hard-nosed American businessmen give a shit about being benevolent owners. They will just see it as charging the going rate. Right or wrong. And clearly fans are divided into both camps.
Higher division, higher costs for club means higher prices. That’s a fact for all clubs that get promoted. GET REAL for those that expect something for nothing. Amen!!
Not read the full thread but thought I'd look at the options for the AC stand. Standard adult ticket is £550 which is pretty steep imo.
I looked at the price for paying in instalments & it looks like they havent updated the system as the monthly repayments are working out cheaper, even when adding in the arrangement fee (c11% of the overall ST price).
I'm not likely to go to evening matches, or matches in mid winter due to the floodlights affecting my astigmatism. Add on the games that will be live on Sky and I'll probably go to less than a dozen. On that basis I'll most likely just buy game by game& expecting match tickets to around £30-£35.
I may join VG though as my main fear is by not having a ST I will miss out on away games that go on restricted sale. Golfie Jnr wants to do a few away grounds that he's not been to before, like Saints, Norwich, Derby & Swansea.....and I've never been to Stoke or Wrexham.
If you're not going to evening matches, or matches in mid winter and overall a maximum of 12 games.
Then it never has and never will be financially viable to get a season ticket, whether they put the prices up or not.
You should definitely buy game by game, it's not even up for debate.
Not read the full thread but thought I'd look at the options for the AC stand. Standard adult ticket is £550 which is pretty steep imo.
I looked at the price for paying in instalments & it looks like they havent updated the system as the monthly repayments are working out cheaper, even when adding in the arrangement fee (c11% of the overall ST price).
I'm not likely to go to evening matches, or matches in mid winter due to the floodlights affecting my astigmatism. Add on the games that will be live on Sky and I'll probably go to less than a dozen. On that basis I'll most likely just buy game by game& expecting match tickets to around £30-£35.
I may join VG though as my main fear is by not having a ST I will miss out on away games that go on restricted sale. Golfie Jnr wants to do a few away grounds that he's not been to before, like Saints, Norwich, Derby & Swansea.....and I've never been to Stoke or Wrexham.
And that is the financial conclusion many will reach.
The VG thing might also help if we finally land a big PL team in the FA Cup but that based on living memory is unlikely !
It's the financial conclusion every sensible person should reach. If you go to half the games you will be losing money buying a S/T. Why would anyone pay £550 for something likely costing £360 - £420? You don't even need to be a financial adviser to work that out.
Blimey do people buy an annual train season ticket if they know it will cost them perhaps 30% to 40% more than buying on the day?
Not read the full thread but thought I'd look at the options for the AC stand. Standard adult ticket is £550 which is pretty steep imo.
I looked at the price for paying in instalments & it looks like they havent updated the system as the monthly repayments are working out cheaper, even when adding in the arrangement fee (c11% of the overall ST price).
I'm not likely to go to evening matches, or matches in mid winter due to the floodlights affecting my astigmatism. Add on the games that will be live on Sky and I'll probably go to less than a dozen. On that basis I'll most likely just buy game by game& expecting match tickets to around £30-£35.
I may join VG though as my main fear is by not having a ST I will miss out on away games that go on restricted sale. Golfie Jnr wants to do a few away grounds that he's not been to before, like Saints, Norwich, Derby & Swansea.....and I've never been to Stoke or Wrexham.
And that is the financial conclusion many will reach.
The VG thing might also help if we finally land a big PL team in the FA Cup but that based on living memory is unlikely !
It's the financial conclusion every sensible person should reach. If you go to half the games you will be losing money buying a S/T. Why would anyone pay £550 for something likely costing £360 - £420? You don't even need to be a financial adviser to work that out.
Blimey do people buy an annual train season ticket if they know it will cost them perhaps 30% to 40% more than buying on the day?
There's some very muddled thinking going on.
I’ve always stated it makes little sense if the financial advantage isn’t great
BUT you ignore the additional element that if you get more season ticket holders they go because they already have a ticket and don’t so easily opt out on a dark Wednesday evening when we lost last week etc.
Im bemoaning a missed opportunity from the high of last week to cash in and build the core support more.
How many games do we think may end up being 12:30 kick off at home next season? I got myself and my youngest daughter season tickets but won’t make the games if a 12:30 kick off. Wondering whether it would have been cheaper just to do the 15:00 games on a match by match basis.
Every Championship club was on Sky 24 times minimum last season. That was the deal. So I am guessing at least around a quarter of Saturday home games will be on Sky at 12:30pm. Probably more.
Comments
My previous salary was £38,000 before tax last season.
My commuting costs to each match day were approx £20 in Kent. £460 minimum on just travelling to home matches throughout the season. Plus my season ticket was roughly £25 per game it worked out, I lost money when I couldn't attend. So basically over £1000 minimum just to attend home games.
As a single adult, living in my own space I have been spending somewhere between £3-4 thousand pounds a year on attending Charlton games. Over 10% of my yearly income before tax.
If they want fans regularly attending games home and away, they need to make it more affordable. It is becoming unsustainable.
I was also sacrificing a fair chunk of holidays to ensure I made games as well, that will only get worse this season.
Instead of doing this, I could have 2-3 decent holidays a year, or put that money into something worthwhile that is going to make me money, not bleed me dry while forking out on essentials.
The club/football need to find a balance, because upwards £3-4000 quid a year to attend every football game is madness.
That is why I can understand the previous poster say it feels deliberate, as someone on minimum wage would simply not be able to attend football games regularly unless they lived at home or had favourable living conditions.
My rent went up from £825 to £925 within 2 years.
My car insurance went up from £75 a month to £91
My electric rose by approx £10 p/m.
Every bill in the real world rose. When you factor that in with a football price hike, it becomes unmanageable to a lot of people.
I was also choosing to deliberately slash working hours to ensure attending games. I.e. I was taking less overtime to attend games, and I was using overtime for holiday days instead of actual cash to ensure I could book certain days off work to attend games, as not everyone has weekends free or can make Tuesday evening kick offs.
Which will be another variable next season, the amount of games moving will make the season ticket way less desirable to some people.
Personally I think the prices should have been frozen for at least a year, and if we managed to stay up and were bringing in a certain level of footballer, then they could justify a price increase.
I will reluctantly pay, but I'm not happy about it, and it is looking very likely to be another season of missing out on overtime, using up time in lieu and parting with approximately 10-15% of my yearly salary to cover travel costs, match tickets and potentially hotels. That isn't right.
But in all seriousness your points are all valid. We are slowly pricing people out and it’s no wonder many follow from TV only now.
The balance is, it makes me happy, it gives me something to look forward to, and it's great from a social aspect, but I'd be far better off financially if I just didn't attend football games. About 8-10 grand actually if I decided to work instead etc.
Train prices definitely don't help either but that is a whole other conversation.
Let's also consider that of the few people on CL voicing they are unhappy about S/T prices, many had no intention of buying a S/T in any case.
We're a big club was the cry, we can compete in The Premier League, where some clubs have massive waiting lists for S/Ts that are far more expensive than ours.
Well, let's see how big we are and if we can even compete in The Championship.
ONE of the reasons we've struggled to maintain modest success over the years, is because when push comes to shove we don't have enough fans willing to back the club financially.
Twas ever thus.
Guy had been sold a ticket for what was my son's ST seat, he was about 10 or 11 then.
Tried to explain there had been a mix up but he wouldn't move and just said "it wasn't his problem"
So my son sat in my seat and I just stood in front of the guy and made it his problem. He moved.
With the ever escalating travel costs it will surely ensure more fans going to less games.
A shame.
I was sitting about 10 seats away from a mate of mine who post's on here.
There was an empty seat next to him so I moved over to sit there.
The bloke next to the empty seat said you can't sit there that's my daughters seat.
I said where is she.
He said she couldn't make the game.
Seriously that's what he said
So I sat there.
I looked at the price for paying in instalments & it looks like they havent updated the system as the monthly repayments are working out cheaper, even when adding in the arrangement fee (c11% of the overall ST price).
I'm not likely to go to evening matches, or matches in mid winter due to the floodlights affecting my astigmatism. Add on the games that will be live on Sky and I'll probably go to less than a dozen. On that basis I'll most likely just buy game by game& expecting match tickets to around £30-£35.
I may join VG though as my main fear is by not having a ST I will miss out on away games that go on restricted sale. Golfie Jnr wants to do a few away grounds that he's not been to before, like Saints, Norwich, Derby & Swansea.....and I've never been to Stoke or Wrexham.
Then it never has and never will be financially viable to get a season ticket, whether they put the prices up or not.
You should definitely buy game by game, it's not even up for debate.
If you go to half the games you will be losing money buying a S/T.
Why would anyone pay £550 for something likely costing £360 - £420?
You don't even need to be a financial adviser to work that out.
Blimey do people buy an annual train season ticket if they know it will cost them perhaps 30% to 40% more than buying on the day?
There's some very muddled thinking going on.
BUT you ignore the additional element that if you get more season ticket holders they go because they already have a ticket and don’t so easily opt out on a dark Wednesday evening when we lost last week etc.
Im bemoaning a missed opportunity from the high of last week to cash in and build the core support more.