Tag Archives: Norwich

Man City Away – Ticket Pricing Scandal

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So the news out today is that we are being charged a massive £58 to go Manchester City for the away game on 14th December. I don’t think any of us are really surprised at this but the whole away ticket issue has been on the forefront lately and it’s getting worse. We charged City £62 last season I believe which is just a colossal amount for an away fan to have to pay. Our club is just as bad and are not helping the situation.

It’s got to take us fans doing something to stop this happening. We need to change the thinking of clubs on the away fan ticket price otherwise where does it stop? Before long you will have spent £200 before even walking out the door on match tickets and trains. With you having to drink and eat when at the game the average fan will not be able to afford the away trips any more. The problem is that when you raise the issue of fans not going to the games and not buying their ticket their response is always the same, if I don’t go someone else will. I understand this and they are right but the only way we can send a message is to vote with our feet and not go to the game. Make sure our away attendance at this game is one of our lowest ever and then people will realise.

Our own club hasn’t helped this situation and in fact we have probably inflamed it with the introduction of categorised games. The class A games are the most expensive in the league and whilst I don’t agree with the prices we charge, what we make our own fans cough up is our own business. This should not interfere with the price we charge away fans, and in fact I believe there should be no difference throughout the league on what away fans are charged. All clubs should charge the away fans the same price, £30/35 at a maximum.
Its happening throughout the league, not just with the so called big clubs like City and ourselves, Norwich charged Arsenal fans double the amount we made their fans pay at our ground. The so called smaller clubs see a cash cow when the big teams roll into town and they know they can charge what they like, as our excellent away fans will pay it and be there regardless.

I know I’m asking for a lot on this and it will probably fall on deaf ears but I encourage all Arsenal fans to not go to the City game, go down the pub with your mates and put £58 into the whip instead, have a few beers and a laugh with your pals in the boozer rather than line the Sheikhs pocket even more.

How they can charge that much when they have one of the richest men in the world who owns their club, not only that but their ground was free and given to them by the council! At least we had to pay for ours out of our own pockets!

Clubs need to follow the lead of Newcastle, Swansea, West Brom, Hull and Palace who have all entered into pricing agreements with each other to ensure away fans do not get charged over the odds. Fans of both clubs will pay the same amount when visiting each other which is a perfect idea. Have a look into this here. Hopefully other clubs take note of this and follow suit.

Have a look at these guys as well, trying to change things for the better

Norby

 

The Arsenal and Me – Harrison’s Story

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A broken down car and a sprint to a packed main road as a 6 year old boy. Who would have thought that would be the start of my Arsenal story.

Well, how about if I told you my dad and I were running a bit late to the invincible parade, that make it acceptable to leave the car on the side of a backstreet?

That is the first memory I have of going down the Arsenal, and not a bad one really as I got to see all my idols that day and ever since that day it’s been Arsenal, Arsenal, Arsenal.

Still to this day I remember the time I was told I was going to my first competitive Arsenal game. My 7th birthday, 2nd April 2005, Arsenal played Norwich at home and the moment I walked into Block 20 in the Clock End will stay with me forever. Thierry Henry had been my idol from the moment I could say Football, so it couldn’t be more necessary for him to get a Hatrick on my first game to help Arsenal to a 4-1 win. I am really not someone to get emotional about anything but even as a 15 year old that only went to Highbury 4 times, whenever someone mentions anything about Highbury it brings a tear to my eye and I remember how much it hurt me to watch that last game vs Wigan and seeing Thierry kiss the turf.

From that 7 year old boy to me now at 15 years old, now a season ticket holder and in my first season on the away scheme. I honestly don’t know where I would be without Arsenal. I have met so many great people, some that I go to every game home & away with, through Arsenal by things ranging from a Junior Gunners Christmas party to being on the BSM Boat to Fulham. It hasn’t been fun growing up recently in a community of West Ham and “London’s finest” Manchester United supporters but that family feeling and the nod of the head whenever you see another Gooner down the street is what keeps me going.

Up The Arsenal

Harrison

If you would like to tell your Arsenal story, click here

 

Arsenal: 10 Games In, 5 Points Clear

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So we are 10 games in and top, clear by 5 points, who would have thought that!

I wanted to do a write up after the 10th game as I have continually said judge us after 10 games. Well those 10 games are now done but can you judge us on those games? Can you honestly say we can mount a challenge for the league title after being top and 5 points clear after 10 games? I’m not asking you to say we will win it, but can you predict us having at least a challenge this season?

Well lets look at who we have played, as the first thing people say in response to us tablewinning the championship is look at who they have played. We have played and beaten Spurs and Liverpool at home who so far, have probably been our toughest opponents. We beat Sunderland, Fulham and Swansea and Palace all away from home and got a good draw up at West Brom. Our other games were Stoke and Norwich at home which we won and the infamous Villa game.

All in all we havent had that much of a tough start but how often do people say that to win the league you need to be beating the so called smaller teams, and that is what we have done so far.

In terms of tests we are in for a big one in the next 2 months, we have United this Sunday and will also play Chelsea and Man City along with Champions League games whilst also contending with the busy Xmas period.

I say we have put ourselves in with a great chance of being up at the top come Xmas even though the teams we have played and beaten might not convince the pundits that we can win this. Being at the top, leading the way brings confidence and a good momentum to continue playing and scoring like we are. The next 2 months will tell us a lot more about our team and squad, I know a lot of our own fans still need to be convinced and I hope we are still there or thereabouts come January 1st.

In terms of whats different around the club and around the players its hard to put your finger on the dramatic improvement we have seen. We had a good finish to last season, particularly after the game in Munich. We seemed to kick on from that and that’s where our improvement started I think. We have players who are playing much better than they were before, Ramsey, Szczesny, Giroud, Gibbs, we have made 2 important signings in Flamini and Ozil and put all that together with the fact that we didn’t lose anybody in the summer and you can start to see why we are now playing better. Our defence is settled, Gibbs and Sagna in particular are impressing me, Per and Koscielny are becoming a great partnership in the middle of the defence and Szczesny seems to have kicked on a gear. Giroud has his first year under his belt and is leading the line well. The team is confident, you get that feeling that they think they can do something with this group of players and with the style of football they are playing.

The losses against Chelsea in the COC and against Dortmund in the Champions League we disappointing. I felt we matched Chelsea and the game was even until they scored the second goal. A bad mistake by Jenkinson let them get in front and we were fighting from then on. We had good players on the pitch and were pushing forward trying to get a goal back, Chelsea are a team that can hit you on the break which is what they did. I think the Dortmund game was similar, after going a goal down we got back on level terms and had chances to go in front. We were pushing forward and left ourselves open, they broke well and punished us. Both of those games were not to far out of our reach so when pundits say about those 2 games being out first true tests and we failed both of them, I don’t agree with that view. The results could have easily been very different, hopefully we will learn from these games and not make the same mistakes again through the season.

Sunday is massive for us, for the first time in ages we are going to Old Trafford with the possibility of being able to upset them and get something from the game. I don’t think a draw is the worst result in the world, just cannot lose.

When it comes to the games against the big teams, the top 4 or 5, we need to be winning our games at home and not losing away. It starts Sunday.

I’ll be there and cannot wait for it!

Up The Arsenal!

Matt