Tag Archives: She Wore A Yellow Ribbon

Why are Arsenal away tickets selling out so quickly?

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When the Gay Gooners discriminated against older fans of Arsenal Football Club in their misguided tweet about the away scheme needing scrapping because every fan on it was old, didn’t go anymore, and was a tout, it glossed over what was a valid point.

The valid point is not that the away scheme is the problem, or older fans, but the issue with the way Arsenal currently allocate credits for away games, meaning games very rarely go down to 10 credits anymore, let alone general sale.

Recently, friends of mine who site between 30-35 credits missed out on Burnley away. The game was sold out at 35+ credits. A crazy amount for a Sunday fixtures with horrid trains to a horrid town to play a horrid team.

The discussion with my mates then turned to Why did Burnley sell out so quickly? And soon included the comments by the Gay Gooners.

We quickly disregarded the Gay Gooners point, as it is not down to away scheme members as there numbers are capped and have been unchanged for years. They are unable to return tickets to the club, meaning that they do not affect what games sell out at.

Whilst the rubbish they tweeted was disregarded, it did lead to the discussion.

So why did Burnley sell out so quickly?

A lack of crap away days

The key reason for games now selling out so quickly is the lack of crap aways these days.

Back 5 years ago, you used to have half a dozen games go down to 0 credits. The likes of Wigan, Blackburn, Sunderland and Bolton. All these 4 have since gone down. You then had the likes of Stoke City and Swansea City.

All 6 of these sides were in the Premier League in the 2011/12 season.

This meant not only where there games that people with more credits decided not to go too, there were also more games that people with lesser credits could go too.

Let me paint a scenario:

I have 10 apples, 10 people want an apple. Everyone gets one.

Next week, I only have 5 apples. 10 people still want an apple. 5 people leave unhappy.

This week I have 1 apple. 10 people want an apple. 9 leave unhappy.

That is the situation we are now in. There are less tickets coming available due to less crap games being played. Therefore there are less tickets filtering down the chain to those with less credits, meaning less of an opportunity to build the credits up.

Let’s go back to 2011/12 and compare the league to this season. 11 sides are still in the Premier League: Arsenal, Chelsea, Everton, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, Newcastle United, Stoke City, Swansea City, Tottenham Hotspur & West Bromwich Albion.

The 11 teams to have dropped out are: Aston Villa, Blackburn Rovers, Bolton Wanderers, Fulham, Norwich City, Queens Park Rangers, Sunderland, Wigan Athletic & Wolverhampton Wanderers.

These have been replaced by: AFC Bournemouth, Brighton & Hove Albion, Burnley, Crystal Palace, Huddersfield Town, Leicester City, Southampton, Watford, West Ham United.

Now let us do a bit more analysis on these. You can pair the following clubs as being similar in terms of journey:

Aston Villa / Leicester City
Fulham / Watford
Queens Park Rangers / West Ham
Wigan Athletic / Burnley

We have then lost and gained the following:

So we have lost 5 sides with rubbish journeys and replaced them with a London game, 3 South-Coast games and a new ground.

The likes of Brighton, Huddersfield, Crystal Palace and Southampton, the majority of fans with plenty of credits will go too. The likes of Bolton, Blackburn, Sunderland and Wolves, they would probably turn down.

What this then means is the likes of Burnley away, more fans are interested because more fans have missed out on other games.

Then you have the actual allocation for these games.

Whilst Burnley and Wigan are fairly similar to travel too, Arsenal used to get 4,800 for Wigan. Burnley meanwhile give Arsenal 2,400. 50%. That is 2,400 fans who could have gone to Wigan away will not go to Burnley away.

Another one is Fulham. They infamously have a neutral area next to the away fans in the Putney End. When Arsenal visit, we get the entire stand. This is around 7,200 seats. For Watford it is just 2,200.

Just two games looked at an Arsenal already get 7,400 less tickets. That has a kick on affect that other games become more in demand.

So how many away tickets less are Arsenal due to get this season in comparison to 2011/12?

My calculations are that we have 10,000 less away tickets now than 5 years ago.

Even if these figures are a little bit out, that is still a big difference between available tickets now, and available tickets 5 years ago.

The primary reason tickets for all games sell out these days is there are less crap away games and less away tickets available, therefore increasing the demand for what is left.

Cup Games

When it came to the cups, the increase allocation for away fans would mean that the Champios League, FA Cup and League Cup were ideal opportunities to go to an away game and increase your credits.

For those that do not know, your credits are built over the last 2 season and the current season.

So if you want to 5 games in 2015/16, 3 in 2016/17 and 1 this year, you will have 9 credits. Cup games over the last 2 seasons are a brilliant opportunity to jump up a level or two. With 10+ domestic cup ties a season, over the 2 previous seasons, you can easily jump up a couple of bands by doing the cup games.

As long as Arsenal are drawn away.

And that is the problem in recent years, we have not been drawn away that often.

In the last 2 seasons, plus this season, we have played 15 domestic cup games (excluding visits to Wembley).

9 of those cup games have been at home.

Of the 6 away, One was at Sutton where we got just 700 tickets, one at Spurs which is, well Spurs. That leaves Hull City, Nottingham Forest, Preston North End, Southampton and Sheffield Wednesday as realistic opportunities for people under 20 credits to gain more credits in cup games.

Just 5 games…

It makes a big difference.

Credit Hoarding

The increased demand causing tickets to sell out at higher credit levels then causes people to hoard credits. To buy tickets for games they have no intention of going to, to gain the credit for future games.

Games such as Burnley, I know people who have bought at 35+, just to ensure that they maintain their current credit level for the games that sell out at 40+. The likes of Spurs, West Ham, Crystal Palace and Watford.

I know people with 35+ who missed out on Watford. Missing out on this fixture has made them worried. Made them buy tickets to Burnley just to increase their own credit count.

Now whilst this is not correct, or fair, it is cause and affect.

The higher credits tickets sell out at, the more credits people need, the more they buy tickets for games just for the credit. It all snowballs.

£26 games

This leads to the £26 ticket.

I was very disappointed that after all the fighting the Football Supporters Federation and many supporters clubs have done with Twenty’s Plenty, that the Gay Gooners solution to the current ticketing crisis was to increase tickets prices to decrease demand. No wonder so many dislike them.

But the £26 ticket price is a problem. If Burnley away was £50, it is unlikely people would buy tickets in the hope of selling on, as they would not want to be stuck with them.

At half that price, they are not only more comfortable taking a hit but know a lot more fans are more likely to buy off them.

The £26 tickets have made things better for fans that go to games, but also increased the demand for tickets.

Prices should not increase, but cheaper tickets are part of the problem.

Twitter

These leads me on to the last reason tickets are selling out quicker. Twitter, Facebook, Social Media in general.

Back 10 years ago, you would not dream of buying a ticket for the credit to sell on (unless we got a horrible Eastern European side away where ticket prices were 50p).

The increased demand for credits, and the cheaper tickets means more people than ever are buying to sell on. And it has never been easier to do this with social media.

Back in the day, if you could not go to a game, you would have to hope to sell to a mate, or a mate of a mate, or someone at work.

These days, you put a post up on Twitter or Facebook, and you will have a buyer within 10 minutes. There is little to no risk in buying a ticket to then sell on.

This then filters back up the chain as more and more people are buying £26 tickets, to hoard credits, enabling themselves to go to better games that require a higher volume of credits.

There is a clear problem in the distribution of tickets for away games. I have merely highlighted what, in my opinion, has created the problem.

Not all the issues are due to fans buying credits to sell. In fact the biggest issue is that there are less away tickets on sale, and less crap games that people do not want to go too.

There is no clear solution, as whatever the solution will put someone out. That is perhaps a blog for another day.

Keenos

8 possible Sanchez / Ozil replacements

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Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil are gone. They are not going to sign a new deal. I think we have to all come to terms with them leaving the club on a free.

And when I talk about all of us having to come to terms, I include the Arsenal management.

It often feels that Arsenal transfer windows are managed without a plan. It is disorganised. But with the clubs two best players set to leave for nothing, it will be a disaster if Arsenal are not already prepared.

The plans of action need to start in January. Even if Sanchez and Ozil are to not leave until the summer, Arsenal need to not only target, but secure at least one replacement for the pair now.

Replacing two in the summer will be hard. Getting one replacement in January will take the pressure off and also ensure that come the 2018/19 season, we already have a replacement who is settled in England having had 7 months to adjust to the weather.

So who should Arsenal be targeting in January?

Thomas Lemar

Our number one target from the summer will surely be re-targeted in January.

He wanted to join Arsenal, Arsenal wanted him, but we messed up and did not meet Monaco’s valuation until too late.

Hopefully since the summer transfer window closed, we have kept talking to both Monaco, Lemar, and his representatives, and that a deal in January could happen quickly.

Robert Pires recently claimed that he felt that a deal for Thomas Lemar to Arsenal will not happen now. A lot of people have jumped on this as to assume the deal is dead. But reading the full quotes from Pires, he is saying this due to the price tag of £90m. That he (and probably Wenger) does not think he is worth that much.

At the end of the day, if we have the money, we need to spend it. Every million that go’s unspent becomes less valuable every year as transfer fees continue to climb.

Julian Draxler

Another long term favourite of some, German international Julian Draxler could be available for a cut price fee as PSG attempt to balance the books.

Draxler is one of 4 attacking talents that are being linked with moves away from the club. Angel Di Maria, Javier Pastore and Lucas Moura are the other 4.

Draxler has struggled to nail down a place since joining PSG, but if Arsenal could get him cheaply, a transfer could be on the cards.

Antoine Griezmann

With Diego Costa set to rejoin Atletico Madrid, Antoine Griezmann may well be on his way out – if not in January, certainly in the summer.

It feels he has been itching for a move away for a couple of years.

Whilst Atletico have performed brilliantly in recent years, the trophies have dried up since Griezmann joined the club. He has only won the Spanish version of the Community Shield.

It is all well and good being competitive and making Champions League Finals, but if you are not winning trophies, players will become frustrated.

If he does want to move, there will be a scramble for him, with the likes of Manchester United and Barcelona also interested. Arsenal moved to the Emirates Stadium to compete with these sides for the likes of Griezmann.

Griezmann would be a stellar signing and the perfect replacement for Alexis Sanchez.

Thomas Muller

Things have gone a little sour for Thomas Muller at Bayern Munich in recent months. After a slow start, the 28-year-old finished with 12 assists in 25 Bundesliga starts last season. However, he found the net just five times. This season he has scored just twice in 17 appearances for club and country.

An established world star, he would fit straight in and provide goals and assists from midfield. Signing him might also see Mesut Ozil sign a new contract.

Raheem Sterling

With the development and form of Leroy Sane, Raheem Sterling has found himself on the fringes of the Manchester City first team in recent weeks.

Add in David Silva, Kevin de Bruyne and big money summer signing Bernardo Silva, Sterling is finding the competition for places tough to get game time. He has made just 5 Premier League starts this season.

Add in Sergio Aguero and Gabriel Jesus, Manchester City are the envy of world football with their attacking talent. 7 into 3 (or occasionally 4) does not go, and whilst they might win the trophies and get the money whilst sitting on the Manchester City bench, many players want to play.

Sterling is a London lad (via Jamaica) and spends a lot of time in the capital visiting family and friends.

Despite his lack of game time, he has still managed 7 goals in the league this season – just two shy of his career high 9 at Liverpool back in 2014.

There has always been a world class player in Sterling, but he just needs an arm round him and get consistent playing time.

He would get both at Arsenal, and at just 23, still has plenty of time to develop.

Dries Mertens

It has recently been linked that Napoli’s Belgian born forward has a release clause of just £25m. This is a snip in the current market.

At 30, he would not be a long term replacement for Ozil or Sanchez, but he is having an Indian summer to what had been an average career since Napoli move him down the middle last season – no player has scored more goals in Serie A since the beginning of 2016/17.

Lorenzo Insigne

The diminutive team mate of Dries Mertens, he has also been in excellent form.

Reminds me of a young Santi Cazorla, he is great with both feet, and can play anywhere behind a front man. The only question for both Napoli men is whether they would want to leave a table topping side for Arsenal in January, and lose the chance to become legends.

Possibly not.

James Rodriguez

The Columbian has only recently joined Bayern Munich on a 2 year long long deal, but things have quickly turned sour.

Signed by the since departed Carlo Ancelotti, Rodriguez found himself on the bench in the game after the Italians dismissal and there are reports that both he and Munich are looking for ways to end the loan deal.

With Real Madrid unlikely to want him back, the only option will be for Munich to find a club to take Rodriguez for the remainder of the loan deal. Arsenal could well step in and Rodriquez could show the creative abilities to fill the void left by Mesut Ozil.

Keenos

Aaron Ramsey, David Dein, Sead Kolašinac & Alexis to Everton?

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Aaron Ramsey

Against Swansea, Aaron Ramsey became the 50th Arsenal player to score 50 goals.

A man who has divided opinion over the years, we should be forever grateful of 2 of those goals, which won us 2 of the 3 FA Cups in recent years. In years gone past, he would be labelled a legend for winning us two FA Cups. I imagine this status will only come once he retires, in years too come.

He will always be remembered as that guy who scored the winning goals in the FA Cup finals.

It is easy to forget that he is still just 26 (27 in December). He still has a lot of years to go at the top level. As long as he remembers to keep it simple, and play to his strengths, there is no reason he can not go on to score 100 goals and play 500 game for The Arsenal.

Well done Aaron on your 50 Aaron.

David Dein

Once again, the name David Dein is being spoke about for a return to Arsenal. Like Aaron Ramsey, opinion is split on the former Arsenal director.

I am of the opinion that we won a lot under his stewardship, but these trophies covered up the discord he had between the fans at the time.

There is a clear split between fans on the matter of David Dein. Those under the age of 35, or who were not going to games regularly in the late 80s / early 90s, think he is a messiah. That he can walk on water. They see the league titles, the FA Cups, the world class players who joined. It was a successful period.

But then those who are of a certain age, going in the late 80s / 90s, will remember the North Bank Bond fiasco. They will point to the moment the club chased the money instead of protecting its long term fan base.

The Bond Scheme was fairly similar to the Club Level season tickets that came on the market when we moved to the new ground in 2006. By paying a big chunk of money (back then it was £1,000-£1,500), fans could secure themselves a season ticket for Arsenal for the next 150 years.

The following is an extract from the book Fanatics: Power, Identity and Fandom in Football:

There were protests, a Ban the Bond campaign involving the release of balloons. There was as much anger at David Dein at Highbury than there is at Stan Kroenke now.

Also under David Dein, ticket prices rose at incredible rates.

In the 10 years from 1990 – 2000, the average Arsenal ticket price rose 289%. From 2006 – 2016, under Stan Kroenke, prices rose 18%.

Whilst this is not to justify Stan Kroenke, it is too highlight that David Dein was certainly not a man of the people. He only cared for maximising profitability at the detriment of loyal working class fans.

On top of this, he also introduced Stan Kroenke to the club, before selling to Alisher Usmanov. He created the current ownership problems we have.

Dein profiteered from the club to the value of nearly £100m. He was in it for himself, for his own pocket.

All of this is forgotten about because we were successful under Dein’s stewardship.

It does make me wonder, would many of the current fan base who moan about ticket prices soon be quiet if we won a league title? Probably.

Dein did a lot of good for the club. But he was also the man who kicked off the current PLC mentality of maximising profitability at the detriment of match going fans. He we the catalyst for many of the problems we now face.

Sead Kolašinac

What a player this boy is turning out to be. He does have a bit of a poor injury record, so I hope the slight strain he picked up against Swansea does not turn into a season long thing.

He is a sharp reminder to us all that it is not what you spend on a player, but what player you buy.

It is laughable to remember some fans in the summer moaning that he was a typical Wenger signing. Cheap.

Manchester City spent nearly £150m on full back this summer, and Kolasinac is better than them all.

Alexis Sanchez to Everton

Bit of laughable transfer news this morning.

Everton are interested in signing Alexis Sanchez from Arsenal this January for £30m as former Arsenal shareholder Farhad Moshiri looks to splash his cash.

If Sanchez does go to Everton, it will be for huge wages and show that the Chilean is interested in money, not trophies. Hope he enjoys playing in the Championship next season.

 

Have a good week

Keenos