I am on 52 credits.

Over a decade of going home and away, although in recent years it has been a little less than normal.

I have never missed out on a ticket for Crystal Palace ticket before, and when the sales phases were announced by the club that they would start at 60, then drop to 55, before going to 50, I was confident I would get a ticket.

West Ham away, with 3,001 away tickets allocated, went to 30+.  For Palace we were allocated 2,687 tickets. Just 314 difference. So it was to my horror when the club announced after the 55+ sale that “only an extremely limited number of restricted view tickets available for this game.”

I spent yesterday evening looking into this, and checking out X accounts of those in the know. The only conclusion from everyone was that around 40% of away tickets had been held back by the club. Over 1,000.

Now it is usual for tickets to be held back and given to players, coaches, support staff and sponsors. It was never normally an issue, although the last few years the amount held back seems to have increased.

By 10.01 this morning, by the time the website had woken up, all remaining tickets were gone. I had been logged on since 9.30.

So around 1,000 tickets will not go to away fans like me who have followed the club loyally through some very dark days. Been to your Stoke’s, Swansea’s, Sunderland’s and Cologne’s. Thousands spent, arriving home in the early hours of a Monday morning with work a quick nap away.

Instead, we will see more tickets going to friends and family of players, and plenty held back for sponsors.

We will get a cousin of William Saliba from Paris who has never been to an Arsenal get game a ticket. Some Instagram tart who doesn’t care about football, just footballers, who a player gives tickets to because he is trying to get in her knickers. Someone who works for whichever dodgy betting or crypto company we are currently partnered with getting tickets, and probably selling them on for huge profits, and so on.

I have no issue missing out on tickets if those getting them have been to more games, have got more credits. But to lose out because the club have decided to hold back 40% to appease those who have not done their time leaves a bitter taste in my mouth.

Especially when you consider over the last couple of years the club have gone on the attack against the away fans.

First they got rid of the away scheme. Then they introduced disruptive ticket collections. All under the guise of that tickets were being used by the right fans, the fans that were going week in, week out.

On the tele against Palace, the TV cameras will zoom into your kids. This will be celebrated by the club like it was against Bournemouth a few years ago. But these young kids would not have been to enough games to have the 55+ credits, so how have they got a brief? Through a sponsor? Through a player? Or just gifted by the club.

It just is not right.

And what is most annoying is I will go again next season. Do my time. My travels. And it will happen again. Non-regular fans will queue jump just because they work for a company that has a box. Distant cousins and family members will get tickets despite never having been to a game. And all the while the club will continue their attack on the normal away fan.

The final point is “where were you when we were shit”.

My biggest frustration right now is fans only complaining about tickets now that we are doing well again. They were no where to be seen in those dark days. And once those days come back again, which they will, these players families, those sponsors, the drips with their Club Level season ticket that they got 3 years ago will disappear. They will find another hobby. Meanwhile I will still be there. Hoping for us to have good times again, with the knowledge that when they arrive I will be screwed over again.

Thanks Arsenal.

Keenos