Empty Away End at Porto

[Guest Snorky]

Another ticket office fiasco:

 

http://www.tonybarrett.merseyblogs.co.uk/2...y_sell_out.html

 

Liverpool have sold all of their tickets for tomorrow night's Champions League game in Porto but there is absolutely no chance of the away end being full.

All 2,500 tickets were snapped up but if 2,500 Liverpool fans make the trip to Portugal it'll be the biggest shock of the season.

In fact, I'd expect no more than 1,000 to make it over with most choosing to sit at home and watch the game on TV with their £36 ticket sat on the sideboard gathering dust.

 

The ones who have bought tickets but don't go are, to use a euphemism, "playing the system".

They pay the price of the ticket and get another credit to their name; a credit which will then go towards entitling them to a ticket for more glamorous games should Liverpool progress in the competition.

 

And it is here that the "loyalty" system breaks down.

 

People are being rewarded for not going to the game, for staying at home when Liverpool are playing when they have indicated to the club that they will be going.

The mess is of the club's creation, of course. For some reason, they acted in good faith and came up with a system which demanded honour and honesty if it was ever going to be fair and equitable.

 

They should have known better.

 

The warning signs have been there for some time. Last season when we played Galatasaray in Istanbul, the club sold over 3,000 tickets for what was a meaningless game with Liverpool already having qualified for the knockout stages.

The more naive amongst us thought this might have had something to do with the Istanbul effect as supporters made an emotional return to the scene of the Reds greatest ever triumph.

 

But those of a more cynical mindset knew the score - the credit hunters had come out to play, greedily gobbling up the £6 tickets that could serve as a passport to more glamorous locations in the rounds to come.

And when those of us who travelled got to the ground on a freezing cold December night we found that the cynics were right and the romantics were wrong; there were no more than 600 Reds in our end.

 

Basically, a situation has been created where you get as much reward for buying a £6 ticket and staying at home as you do for paying £500 (plus the rest) to travel over a thousand miles to support your team.

And it's a situation that has to change.

 

As a season ticket holder I qualified for a ticket for Porto but I didn't buy one because I'm not going. Plenty of other lads have taken the same principled stand.

The problem is, plenty of other lads have decided to work the system again and they have created a situation in which our end will be half empty tomorrow night despite the fact our tickets have offically sold out.

 

They have paid £36 to not support their team.

 

And they have paid £36 to take themselves another rung up the loyalty ladder.

 

It is up to the club to do something about this problem because at the moment we do not have a loyalty system, we have a cheats' charter.

Maybe the time has come to look at doing what other clubs and national teams do - only giving tickets out to fans (and awarding them loyalty) when they get to the town or city where the game is taking place.

 

In their rare incursions into Europe, this is what Everton do. They select a prominent hotel in the city centre and ask fans to be there to collect their tickets. No show = no loyalty.

 

I know this system is far from perfect and it would make life more difficult for those who do travel but if the current situation is allowed to continue then the sight of half empty Liverpool ends in Europe will be a sight we will have to get more and more used to.

[johngibo YPC]

I don't think this is something that you can blame the ticket office as such for. Its obviously a club policy problem.

Whether or not the club is bothered i don't know

I know 4 people who have bought tickets for this game and are not going. 3 of them are not even making the effort to sell their ticket

[Guest Snorky]

I don't think this is something that you can blame the ticket office as such for. Its obviously a club policy problem.

Whether or not the club is bothered i don't know

I know 4 people who have bought tickets for this game and are not going. 3 of them are not even making the effort to sell their ticket

 

There has to be a way of judging loyalty by attendance and not by purchase. As it was mentioned, collect tickets from a hotel or something.

 

However, there is one way of getting this sorted, but again it wont happen.

 

Anyone who wants to travel to a European game, must travel with the official party. The tickets can then be given out on the plane/coach quite easily.

 

However for this to work the cost of travelling with the official party must reflect what is happening and not cost the equivalent of a family holiday for a week in the height of summer. And because this will not happen, neither will anything else I've typed.

[The_Adder]

Quite shocking really considering we are famed for our support and its gotta be better for the players if 3,000 fans go and sing their Anfield repotoire! Look what happened with France vs Scotland, 10,000 Scots went and outsung the French easily and it could be argued that was one of the reasons for their 1-0 win.

 

They'll be a lot of frustrated Reds sat at home tomorrow night when they couldnt get a ticket to go if they knew this, I mean at least sell it or give it away FFS

[Leroy]

The most travelled club in the world, yet the worst organised

[Guest Kaizer]

But how much will the club care since they have sold out?

[Guest Snorky]

But how much will the club care since they have sold out?

 

Liverpool generally don't give a f*** about the fans, because for every fan that make take a stance there is a hundred more willing to take their place.

[jon_hall]

I said this ages and ages ago. In fact i got threatened on RAWK over putting an article up about buying for loyalty. Pretty sure i put it on here as well.

 

Galatassaray last season. We sold 3500 tickets, approx 1000 travelled and about 800 bothered going to the game.

Club said f*** all.

[Guest Snorky]

I said this ages and ages ago. In fact i got threatened on RAWK over putting an article up about buying for loyalty. Pretty sure i put it on here as well.

 

Galatassaray last season. We sold 3500 tickets, approx 1000 travelled and about 800 bothered going to the game.

Club said f*** all.

 

To be fair, you get threatened wherever you go these days

[fyds]

The sysyem is not perfect - but as Kev's reasoning shows, it's not helped by exterior influences. Blaming the club itself for the 'dishonest' actions of ticket buyers is a bit much though.

 

If someone buys a ticket for that upcoming Led Zep reunion and doesn't go - do we blame the band?

[Guest Snorky]

The sysyem is not perfect - but as Kev's reasoning shows, it's not helped by exterior influences. Blaming the club itself for the 'dishonest' actions of ticket buyers is a bit much though.

 

If someone buys a ticket for that upcoming Led Zep reunion and doesn't go - do we blame the band?

 

No, because the band do not organise the selling of tickets for their concert - they outsource.

[fyds]

No, because the band do not organise the selling of tickets for their concert - they outsource.

But the club has to abide by guidelines too, doesn't it?

[Guest Snorky]

But the club has to abide by guidelines too, doesn't it?

 

Have they in the past ?

[Gunga Din]

its not the club thats to blame. its our fans. what else can the club do? its impossible to make people go to the game

[cymrococh]

Don't see how you can blame the club for this. Either they have a loyalty system or they don't.

 

I can just imagine 2,500 reds forming an orderly queue outside a hotel in Porto.

Edited September 18, 2007 by Paul Caruso

[Gunga Din]

Don't see how you can blame the club for this. Either they have a loyalty system or they don't.

 

I can just imagine 2,500 reds forming an orderly queue outside a hotel in Porto.

 

the loyalty system needs to be cross competition, total games you have been to a season across teh board, rather than single competition loyalty. the present system has too many flaws

[Knox_Harrington]

the loyalty system needs to be cross competition, total games you have been to a season across teh board, rather than single competition loyalty. the present system has too many flaws

Totally agree - think you and I maintained this over the summer - and that's why, for me, you can blame the club. They've created the situation. Since Istanbul we've had two campaigns. In the first the problem was developing and last season it was evident. They need to actually start thinking about solutions rather than shrugging their shoulders.

[matty]

I wonder if the people who buy the tickets and don't go are any of the same people who moan about overseas Liverpool Supporters Organisations getting tickets for Anfield?

 

I do hope not.

[Extraordinary Swindle]

There has to be a way of judging loyalty by attendance and not by purchase. As it was mentioned, collect tickets from a hotel or something.

 

However, there is one way of getting this sorted, but again it wont happen.

 

Anyone who wants to travel to a European game, must travel with the official party. The tickets can then be given out on the plane/coach quite easily.

 

However for this to work the cost of travelling with the official party must reflect what is happening and not cost the equivalent of a family holiday for a week in the height of summer. And because this will not happen, neither will anything else I've typed.

There is an easier way but it would require investment in a bit of technology on the part of the club.

 

How the system would work:

Fan X purchases a ticket. To do so requires a Fan Card. At the time of issue the Barcode on the ticket is recorded against the Fan Card in a database.

 

Prior to the match:

The Fan X brings their ticket and card to an official who scans them. This transaction is also recorded.

 

After the match:

The Loyalty credits are allocated based on attendance not on purchase. If Fan X does not attend bring the ticket to an official prior to the game, their credit is not allocated. If they sell/give the ticket to another fan who has their own Fan Card, that fan can receive the Loyalty credit.

 

Such a system would allow the club to build a profile of the Fan Card holders. i.e. it would soon be noticed that Fan X buys tickets but does not attend matches.

 

In Ireland, the GAA have implemented a similar system with regard to tickets for Croke Park. There were problems with tickets being allocated but not being used or returned. The GAA wanted to create profiles so they can better manage future ticket allocations. The system works as follows. Each ticket has a bar code, the bar code is linked to a seat in the stadium. The seat tickets are allocated in blocks to the clubs. Prior to match day the clubs are to return the tickets they haven't sold. On match day each ticket is scanned as it passes through the turnstile. The following day there's a report available on what tickets were not used for the match. Profiles of the clubs are maintained so for example, the GAA then knows that Club X received 100 tickets, they returned 10 but only 70 of the 90 sold were used. Very Big Brotheresque but it works

[Guest evil_billy]

I don't think there's any quick answer to this that the club can realisticaly implement. The suggestions above are all well and good but will always be open to abuse: because our support is an open club, anyone can apply for a many fan cards as they can think of names.

 

The club 's first responsibility is to sell the tickets, not to police who the tickets are sold to. They have attempted to be fair, but, as a business, they can only invest so much effort into ensuring the sytem is not abused. Maybe we need to look at organising through supporters clubs, in a similar manner to the GAA mentioned above.

[Guest Sabre]

I wonder if the people who buy the tickets and don't go are any of the same people who moan about overseas Liverpool Supporters Organisations getting tickets for Anfield?

 

I do hope not.

 

[The Hitman]

I know why people do this,and it makes sense,but for me,it's very frustrating.

I'd do anything to head to a Euro away.Take a couple of days off work and head over to Portugal for a few ales,but I have no chance of getting any tickets because of this system.

[cymrococh]

I know why people do this,and it makes sense,but for me,it's very frustrating.

I'd do anything to head to a Euro away.Take a couple of days off work and head over to Portugal for a few ales,but I have no chance of getting any tickets because of this system.

Buy them off the people who aren't going.

[johngibo YPC]

Buy them off the people who aren't going.

 

i can get him as many as he likes

[cymrococh]

He could probably just about make it as well.