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Post by cheifheathscfc on Oct 29, 2014 12:49:05 GMT
Why is it our away following is so poor? Even with the free travel, I don't know anyone who uses it like but you see even the likes of hull selling out at arsenal, Sunderland taking over double what we took to Southampton! Where all the fans who were soon to jump on the west brom tickets last game of season gone?
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Post by Gods on Oct 29, 2014 13:04:26 GMT
Strange isn't it. I don't suppose free travel can last for ever either and it makes you wonder what will happen when it is taken away. I wasn't feeling the passion either at Southampton, I suppose it didn't help that it felt like a lost cause for most of the 90 minutes
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Post by broomey1983 on Oct 29, 2014 13:08:56 GMT
Our away support in the lower leagues was better. I don't go as many because of work but the cost of it now is crazy (I wont use the club coaches)
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Post by Deleted on Oct 29, 2014 13:26:53 GMT
I think the ID era killed it for many. Lots of people didn't get them solely on principle and I suppose once you get used to not going away, then you don't miss it.
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Post by unknown182 on Oct 29, 2014 13:28:09 GMT
I've only been to Hull this year because of the good ticket pricing. But Hull and QPR were on TV. Southampton and Sunderland are a long way to travel which puts people off. £45 at Man City puts people off too. Games like Everton/West Brom/Burnley will be close to sell outs.
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Post by lastoftheldk on Oct 29, 2014 13:29:49 GMT
Stoke fans are fickle
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Post by chuckrocky on Oct 29, 2014 13:34:43 GMT
Away days in the Premier League are almost like a chore, you spend anywhere between £30 and £50 for a ticket plus travel, sit in a soulless, silent stadium often with a shite view where the moment you stand up you are surrounded by stewards. Add to that we are generally wank away and it's hard to justify spending that kind of money.
Obviously you can take advantage of the free travel but that just means you can't make any kind of a day out of it.
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Post by eriksson74 on Oct 29, 2014 14:12:11 GMT
This free coach travel really bugs me. All premiership clubs have been given or have funds ring fenced up to £200k to assist fans primarily as I understood as compensation for games on TV. Some clubs give that back to the fans in the form of cheaper tickets for those games on TV and some give it for transport eg coach travel or in some cases train travel (I know Chelsea put on return train tickets for £10 to Man City).
I suspect Stoke's grand gesture for free coach travel has been formed off the back of police advice so that the biggest number of Stoke fans can be monitiored and their location known and policed better. It is discriminatory in its availaibility for those fans that don't live in or around Stoke and can't get to Stoke to make use of them.
Fair play for it being in place but its no great gesture when the away day should be about a full day with time for beers etc, the offical coaches don't give you that option.
Its habit forming, I used to go home and away during the lower division days and 1st season in the premier league, but the cost and the apathy shown by the then manager to away games, it became hard to justify it and now its just the occasional away game.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 29, 2014 14:47:55 GMT
They're not poor. They're average yes but 1200 to Southampton and Sunderland aren't the end of the world.
I don't see free coach travel as an incentive personally, in fact the thought of an official coach journey to Southampton puts me off. As the Hull game showed when we were on telly, if the price is right we'll still sell out.
If you want a poor away following give it a couple of weeks for the midweek game at Old Trafford. We'll do well to take 1000 and at £46 a ticket free coach travel or not I don't blame anyone for giving it a miss....
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Post by joedog on Oct 29, 2014 14:56:40 GMT
Trust me. Mick at longton, Simon at Newcastle, z cars, joedog, all either finished or cut down. Please trust me, if they can't have a day out drinking and singing, with friends ona bus, they simply don't bother at all. Some go on free travel and the others just don't bother at all. It's affected fans to the point of, they get used to not going, so find other things to do. The club aren't interested in speaking to us, to ask advice on the matter. It's definitely cost us fans travelling to away games.
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Post by Gods on Oct 29, 2014 15:37:35 GMT
Trust me. Mick at longton, Simon at Newcastle, z cars, joedog, all either finished or cut down. Please trust me, if they can't have a day out drinking and singing, with friends ona bus, they simply don't bother at all. Some go on free travel and the others just don't bother at all. It's affected fans to the point of, they get used to not going, so find other things to do. The club aren't interested in speaking to us, to ask advice on the matter. It's definitely cost us fans travelling to away games. I know you chime in each time this topic comes up but I never quite follow your argument. Help me a bit please? I would fully understand if you were to simply say that as a travel operator it is very tough for you to complete with "free" despite all the obvious benefits of travelling with you rather than the official coaches. But you always seem to go further than that as you did above saying fans are not going as a result. But why would that be? You are still operating so they can continue to pay for what you offered before free travel came along exactly as they ever did or they can travel for free. But why would anyone stop going simply because they can now go for free ? I'm just a bit lost
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Post by uknorse on Oct 29, 2014 20:21:41 GMT
i can only speak for myself, and i wasnt an " every gamer"... me and my son 21, used to go to about 8/10 away games a season, but its slowly tailed off to virtually one a season, weve never used the free coaches, and never will so thats not even a consideration for us, the bottom line is it falls down to 2 things,...... cost..... fulham last yr with fuel, food, drink etc and tickets come to around £150, and secondly, the absolute abject performances weve witnessed both pre and post pulis, my lad was a southampton saturday, and claims it was every bit as poor as anything under the previous regime....things have to change massively before the away support will get to anywhere near the levels we used to see, in my opinion anyway.
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Post by joedog on Oct 29, 2014 20:23:07 GMT
The topic stated why our away support has dropped ? Simply giving an explanation from my point of view, wich are 100 percent fact. Nothing to do with competition from free travel. If 4 of you went away in a car regular before free travel, then 2 went on free Travel when it suits, you probably wouldn't go, hence same on our coach travel only on a bigger basis.
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Post by heisenberg88 on Oct 29, 2014 20:38:51 GMT
I refuse to pay 30 plus pounds to watch a game of football, im sure a lot are the same as me.
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Post by jarvinski on Oct 29, 2014 21:37:50 GMT
Make as many excuses as you want, stoke supporters are sick of watching shit
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Post by no1972 on Oct 29, 2014 21:47:17 GMT
Burnley bottom of league sell all 3000 tickets for there away game at Arsenal,Southamptons support tonight 370 mile round journey was more than ours on a Saturday too there place,and our home support tonight was shit.
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Post by Gods on Oct 29, 2014 23:24:41 GMT
The topic stated why our away support has dropped ? Simply giving an explanation from my point of view, wich are 100 percent fact. Nothing to do with competition from free travel. If 4 of you went away in a car regular before free travel, then 2 went on free Travel when it suits, you probably wouldn't go, hence same on our coach travel only on a bigger basis. okay I think I understand that In short, 4 mates went previously and paid to go, free travel comes along, 2 of them decide to take advantage of it, the other 2 think the camaraderie is over and don't bother to go at all. Net effect you have 2 travelling fans where once you had 4. Amazing if true. Take the price of away games down and you get less not more people I think one thing you may be missing is there must be some people who never went before because of the cost but now do since it is more affordable. Whether they cancel out your "stuff it my mates have bogged off on the free coaches" brigade I honestly don't know. Interesting stuff
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Post by southstanddan on Oct 29, 2014 23:44:40 GMT
Some might be put off due to a large percentage of our away following tending to be complete and utter tw@ts?
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Post by johnnysoul60 on Oct 29, 2014 23:54:49 GMT
Their support was amazing tonight to be fair to them long way on a Wednesday night must have been about 2000 of them
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Post by Eggybread on Oct 30, 2014 0:10:24 GMT
Bournemouth took a thousand to Brum last week.we took 1200 to Southampton with free travel.Piss poor.
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Post by JoeinOz on Oct 30, 2014 0:34:03 GMT
All things borne in mind our away support is pretty good IMHO.
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Post by nsd on Oct 30, 2014 0:36:05 GMT
I think one thing you may be missing is there must be some people who never went before because of the cost but now do since it is more affordable. Whether they cancel out your "stuff it my mates have bogged off on the free coaches" brigade I honestly don't know. Interesting stuff This is me, thought I might as well take advantage of the free travel so now, finances permitting, I take in a few away games too. The free coaches work for me because I'm not arsed about drinking, I'm really just there to watch the football.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 30, 2014 0:36:46 GMT
Burnley bottom of league sell all 3000 tickets for there away game at Arsenal,Southamptons support tonight 370 mile round journey was more than ours on a Saturday too there place,and our home support tonight was shit. Novelty, lets see them sell out year on year if they're still here in 2020 (which they won't be)
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Post by JoeinOz on Oct 30, 2014 0:55:23 GMT
It's costly and time consuming. Many people, in addition to the cost involved, can't really take a day out to go an away game.
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Post by starkiller on Oct 30, 2014 1:20:17 GMT
It's costly and time consuming. Many people, in addition to the cost involved, can't really take a day out to go an away game. How is that different to fans of other clubs?
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Post by Gods on Oct 30, 2014 1:50:50 GMT
It's costly and time consuming. Many people, in addition to the cost involved, can't really take a day out to go an away game. It's no less costly or time consuming if you support Burnley or Southampton though is it?
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Post by Eggybread on Oct 30, 2014 2:06:39 GMT
Plus were are pretty central a lot of other teams have to travel a lot further than us.
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Post by JoeinOz on Oct 30, 2014 2:18:07 GMT
It's costly and time consuming. Many people, in addition to the cost involved, can't really take a day out to go an away game. It's no less costly or time consuming if you support Burnley or Southampton though is it? Good point!! Although SOT isnt a wealthy area might be a factor? Also our generally crap away form doesn't help.
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Post by eriksson74 on Oct 30, 2014 18:17:40 GMT
Another point is the ease of watching the game without going. Spending £20 on a few pints and watching it in the pub is an appealing option as well
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Post by stokiejoeofalsager on Oct 30, 2014 18:30:48 GMT
I love going away. It's just the pricing that puts me off. I tend to go most under 20 quid, or ones that do student pricing to make it a little bit more affordable. Liverpool, Hull, Cardiff, Palace, Wigan, Bolton all were/are priced reasonably.
It's sad because this is the pricing that keeps the age group away which used to create a lot of the atmosphere home and away.
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