Season ticket prices up

Quoted from chrissy

Jolley asked Fenty for more money in his budget so the prices had  to rise. If the new players are better than the ones we have then its a good move. We will still sell about 3,000 season tickets imo

The die hards will buy a season ticket regardless. Probably won't make a big difference in sales.

Unbelievable show of contempt from the club towards the fans.

Don't doubt it people, this is the club absolutely taking the urine out of us as fans. They fully expect and know that the usual idiots (I 100% include myself in that bracket) will part with their hard earned money regardless.

Well, Mr Fenty and Mr Wraith. I'm afraid you may have called the fans bluff once too often.

I appreciate the need to increase the budget, there's no two ways about it. It wasn't competitive this season. There's a reason our marquee signing last summer was available despite a stellar pedigree. There's a reason our talisman striker was available after the season had started. We weren't even shopping in Netto, we were getting to the car boot sale early doors hoping to find a bargain amongst everyone else's junk.

Do I have a problem with giving the manager extra funds? Absolutely not.
Do I have a problem with being treat like a piece of excrement every year? Most definitely I do!

This season has been turd. You can try and polish it any way you want, but it's been bloody awful. Take away a few entertaining games (and I mean a few) and the entertainment factor has been zero. Even yesterday was dull as ditchwater.  The sheer number of season ticket holders not going to games towards the end of the season should set alarm bells ringing.

The club should be panicking and producing something to drum up something that will wet the appetite. I've said before the mass development of the youth players is the perfect marketing opportunity. Even more so with the youth lads winning their league. They are the future, this is now. Be part of it.   Bloody easy and simple!

We've got a ticketing manager and a commercial manager who either can't be arsed or aren't allowed to come up with something to generate interest. Instead we've got a flipping lazy statement telling us the tickets are now on sale. No fanfare, no incentive. Nothing. Just an expectation people will pay.

The ultimate reason the budget was so low is because of your mismanagement of the club, John. We don't generate enough income because the club, under your watch, is run in an unprofessional manner.

Please leave my club now. The debt/benign loans or whatever Tory-speak you want to phrase them as are a result of your continued inability to manage the club as a business. You created the problems, don't expect the 140 year old club to refund you for your errors. Have the decency to walk away and write off your loans. If you walk away today, you will still leave the club in a far worse position than when you took over but the club will still be able to recover. The longer you remain at the club, the more you kill it.

Quoted from gaz57

Can we have that in black and white

Sorry, the printers went bust a few months ago and the club have been unable to find another company able to print A5 colour leaflets in the mean time.

Quoted from Vance Warner

There was a time in the recent past when the Trust would challenge this sort of thing

Absolutely,  would be good to hear the Trust's position on this.

Quoted from pizzzza

Absolutely,  would be good to hear the Trust's position on this.

They probably agree with it.

Quoted from Kris2

The die hards will buy a season ticket regardless. Probably won't make a big difference in sales.

There's already longstanding season ticket holders who haven't renewed over the last year, and more are dropping out. If the club has the same attitude as us GTFC will end up part-time in the not too distant future.

Setting aside feelings about the majority shareholder (I'm not keen), a club like ours is in a bit of a bind when it comes to pricing, because over many years it's backed into a corner of having probably 2,500-3,000 die-hards, plus another 3,500-5,000 waverers meaning that they've pretty much created a ceiling of 3,000 season ticket sales which is not massively price-sensitive.

They've probably worked out that this sort of rise will on balance deliver a bit more budget.  Any drop off is more likely to be attributed to the indifferent form and people's optimism for the next season.  So in that sense I do have some sympathy for the bean counters.

Where the club could be doing more, is in cultivating the long-term fan base (getting children in and reaching out to lapsed supporters and occasional fans), so that if we eventually pull off a miracle and get a new ground, we will actually have a pool of 25-30,000 people who nominally say they support us, so we can have 6-8,000 every week, and 12,000 four or five times a season.

Quoted from HackneyHaddock

Setting aside feelings about the majority shareholder (I'm not keen), a club like ours is in a bit of a bind when it comes to pricing, because over many years it's backed into a corner of having probably 2,500-3,000 die-hards, plus another 3,500-5,000 waverers meaning that they've pretty much created a ceiling of 3,000 season ticket sales which is not massively price-sensitive.

They've probably worked out that this sort of rise will on balance deliver a bit more budget.  Any drop off is more likely to be attributed to the indifferent form and people's optimism for the next season.  So in that sense I do have some sympathy for the bean counters.

Where the club could be doing more, is in cultivating the long-term fan base (getting children in and reaching out to lapsed supporters and occasional fans), so that if we eventually pull off a miracle and get a new ground, we will actually have a pool of 25-30,000 people who nominally say they support us, so we can have 6-8,000 every week, and 12,000 four or five times a season.

You might be right about the price insensitivity in general terms but when a business treats its customers as badly as GTFC treats its customers, then you erode that hardcore base. 3000 becomes 2500. A 17% fall in guaranteed income. This isn't just connected with performance on the pitch.

Quoted from Alfie

No problem with price increase but a complete lack of imagination in the initial ‘launch’. Club should be transparent and explain increase to make budget more competitive - not ignore it. Simple and easy to understand

This feels like they have been more bothered in the office about that daft TV show than generating some excitement with this. Shame to not see the exile season ticket announced yet either - hopefully coming soon.

Absolutely.  People aren't daft and with all the goings on at Bolton and other clubs, fans nowadays are very aware of the tight margins in football finance.  An explanation of how the budgets are arrived at right down to TV and sponsorship income and how any extra income translates into playing budget.  

I know I'll get slated for this but the " perennial " question of STs comes up especially the question of cost or price rise. Admittedly, because I'm a pensioner, mine is reduced but I will still renew mine. Being on a fixed income pension even a rise affects me but if I want to watch my home town football club then I get a season ticket. Most things go up in price on a yearly basis and football clubs are no exception. Wages are a major factor and in our case an ageing ground with possibly high maintenance costs and insurance. Of course a lot will point out that the season has been disappointing and could argue "why pay out more for what could be another season of the same "? It has also been mentioned about withdrawing buying a ST until JF goes and a new regime comes in? These are all points for each fan to consider on a personal basis and come to their own decision. For me it is simple - as a Grimbarian I want to watch my home town team play football for as long as I can and my ST is the most cost effective way for me to do this. The current regime controlling GTFC are deeply unpopular and not who I and many others want in place. But regimes change and I am the eternal optimist where GTFC are concerned. I cannot make those changes or even influence them to any great degree. Yes, I could be very vocal about my dissatisfaction on how the club is run but judging by the response from the incumbent regime it would make no difference. They are convinced that they are right in their approach and nothing that we fans say will make them change their minds. So ,in conclusion , I remain hopeful that the existing regime will be replaced, MJ will be able to assemble a promotion pushing squad , news of a new ground materialises and look forward to next season. Up The Mariners.