Play off  games

They seem to have petered out now the FA have reversed the format .  The build up for the championship final was exciting  for bank holiday monday .  I thought both Hull and Wednesday were poor , Barnsley  were better than millwall . I was also surprised at the amount of empty seats .  Has Wembley lost its magic ?

It hasn't lost it's magic, it just costs too much especially if you want to take your kids & family.

Kick off times don't help either, especially for teams from the north.

Championship play-off final attendance 70,189
Division 1 play-off final attendance 51,277

Con't know how these compare to previous play-off finals

In my opinion the Championship play-off should be a sell-out given what is at stake. I think 20,000 empty seats tells you how expensive a day out at Wembley is; particularly for northern teams. 6-8 hours on the road and many people probably buying 2 meals etc. All adds up when you make it a family day out.

Maybe a portion of the reported £170m that the winners will be paid in the season following the final should be used to subsidise ticket sales. You could fill Wembley 100 times for free or more with that amount of money. Of course all of that makes sense so it'd never occur to the suits who run the game.

I didn't watch today's game but feel as though Hull were deserved winners yesterday - although Wednesday were very disappointing. Hell of an achievement for Barnsley to go up considering they were bottom in December.

I truly hope supporters at all levels have cottoned on to the fact they are being bent over and royally @rse fcked by the FA.
Increased games at the stadium....two games in one day......supporters being moved after purchasing specific seats....

Just dont go!! Stop the demand.

The FA want your money.....nothing else.

Very recent "showpiece" events have shown the FA are soooooooooo out of touch with the people who make the game what it is....US!!!

I think there are a few factors that have had an impact on the play off attendances.

The cost of tickets is an obvious one. Add in the cost of travel (particularly for Northern clubs) and the cost of refreshments make it extremely expensive. More so if you want to take the family. For Towns recent trip for their play off final to charge fans typically £40 or more to watch what was a non-league game was scandalous and the FA need to look closely at their pricing. They may try to justify high prices for marquee events like the FA Cup Final but for a non league play off there is no justification

It was quite glaring the number of empty seats in the Hull end this weekend for example. Apparently they sold 26K. At first thought that sounds poor for a game to get into the Premier League for a team from a larg (ish) city. Ticket prices were typically around £70 , trains for London could cost up to £100. And one of  Hull's Rugby teams were at home that day (they drew 12k).

Another is some teams have played at Wembley on a few occasions in recent times.  Hull for example played in the Cup Final in 2014 (and the semi final).Sheff W on the other hand with no recent Wembley trips sold around 40K. In 2008 Hull took almost 40K to the play off final. Plymouth have a healthy turn out today but theyve only played at Wembley once before (1996).

This was one of the arguments about Town's ticket sales this year, We have played at Wembley in Trophy Finals and Play off Finals the last few years. Suddenly a day out at Wembley isnt the once in a lifetime experience anymore even if you arent Man U or Arsenal etc. Wembley seems to think it can charge what it wants and people will pay simply because its Wembley.  Well they might do that as a one off but when it comes to future visits clearly some are saying No..its too expensive..been there done that. Not such an issue for the likes of Man U and their legions of fans but for smaller clubs how many times can they be expected to sell what can be several times their normal gates. Die hards will pay whatever in the main but the 'floaters' 'casual fans' and other family members who dont normally go wont.

Once upon a time not so long ago most teams never got to play at Wembley. It took Town for example 120 years to get there the 1st time in '98. In the last 18 years we have been 7 times (and also a trip to the Millenium Stadium). I havent done any research but i would expect more league clubs have been to Wembley at least once than havent been at all. Indeed are there any clubs who havent played at Wembley left??

Perhaps Wembley has lost its allure somewhat. Why on earth do we continue to play FA Cup Semi-Finals at Wembley ? You used to have to win the semi to get to Wembley. Lets stop this straight away. There are
other club grounds more than capable of staging a Semi Final. Old Trafford 76K and once City's redevelopment is complete the Etihad will hold over 60K. They could stage game involving northern teams.

London will have 3 club grounds soon able to host 60K or more- Arsenal, Spurs, West Ham.

I see no reason why these grounds cant stage the play off finals as well and leave Wembley for England matches and Cup Finals ( in addition to the FA Cup add the League Cup, Football League Trophy. FA Trophy and FA Vase)

Where does the profit from Wembley tickets go?

Can they be resold for a profit in any legal manner ??

Bad enough at original price.

Quoted from acko338

Where does the profit from Wembley tickets go?

Can they be resold for a profit in any legal manner ??

Bad enough at original price.

Interesting question that. What is the law on selling event tickets at above face value?

These dodgy cockney geezers you see outside places act as if they're criminals. Is it because the tickets they have are fake or is it because it is illegal to be a 'tout'?

Where is the line drawn on illegality?

Quoted from The Yard Dog

Championship play-off final attendance 70,189
Division 1 play-off final attendance 51,277

Con't know how these compare to previous play-off finals

L2 playoff 57,946

Pretty good I would say.