Saturday 2 June 2018

Poppies Board misses the mark

In a decision akin to watching Paul White juggling during a Play-Off Semi-Final our club board has badly fumbled the ball with regards to admittance pricing for next season.  Not across the board though.  No, if you pay on the gate, or reserve a seat, or reserve parking, nothing has changed.  The only difference is we a more manageable league 21 games, rather than the unwieldy 23.

The Board has taken the decision to reflect this reduction in games by reducing the season ticket price by a £15.00, down from £200.00 to £185.00.  So what?  You might ask.

Last season by buying a season ticket you effectively "got in free" to three games over the course of the season if you considered it would cost you £230.00 if you paid on the gate every match.

For 2018-19, a season ticket holder gains just 2 full games for the pleasure of shelling out a thick wedge of cash months in advance, without knowing how many games they might have to miss over the course of a year.  This may seem like a minor thing for anyone who doesn't hold a season ticket, but is enough of a disincentive to make a lot of season ticket holders think they are getting a bit of a rough deal out of the club.

The club can point to the free access to Poppies TV as a selling point for getting a season ticket, and it would be were it not for the fact that the very people unlikely to benefit from this excellent service are the very supporters who are season ticket holders!

Take away this "benefit", and the rest of the advantages of being a season ticket holder are thin on the ground.  First dibs on tickets for big Cup ties held more sway when we actually played big Cup ties. 

The pre-season event at Latimer Park for season ticket holders has, in the past couple of seasons given us a long-winded, and sometimes worrying glimpse into Marcus's psyche, plans for developments at Latimer Park that don't seem to be getting any closer, and a look at a new club shirt that won't be available to purchase for several months.

And that's pretty much it.  But, generally, you don't buy a season ticket for a long list of benefits.  It's usually more to do with convenience, and thinking you're doing your bit to help the club a little.  It just seems unfair that the only reward you get this coming season for paying up front is one less "free" game.

At the end of the day, it's not the fact that all logic would dictate a season ticket price of  £180.00 to keep it in line with the other pricing at the club, that grates.  A fiver one way of the other is not a problem - this is my usual weekly contribution to never winning the Klondike!  It's not the amount.  It's the principle.

A look across what other clubs in this division are doing throws up a lot of interesting season ticketing detail.  Leaving aside money-grabbing Kings Lynn and their "colourful" owner, who probably still believes his club was promoted, there are a lot of good offers out there.

Most clubs offer a cheaper season ticket price than us.  And at most of these clubs you don't end up with more mud on your shoes than the players!  Some clubs offer free admittance to reserve games and pre-season matches as part of the deal.  A lot offer "early bird" discounts (AFC Scum have announced an early bird offer fully £26.00 cheaper than our season ticket (offering fully 5 "free" games) and extending the term "early bird" to it's fullest by extending this offer to mid July!

At a time when our lack of facilities mean we struggle to attract and keep appreciable amount of new or returning fans, punishing the hardest of the hardcore, even in a very slight way, seems like an unnecessary own goal from the club.


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