The Mail Bag
Semi Final Tickets
Comments (40)
As a London blue I dont get up to Goodison nearly as much as I would like, and also dont hold a season ticket for that exact reason.
Now I understand that season ticket holders should rightly get priority on tickets for the semi final, but how are the rest of us going to obtain tickets?
They only came out yesterday and from the OS it appears that the process for selling them is being very tightly managed so that they don't end up in the wrong hands (touts), but where does that leave the rest of us? I've been a blue since I was about 7 years old and was lucky enough to be at the old Wembley when we lost to the RS in 89, and also there when we beat Utd in 95 but I'm beginning to think I'm likely to miss out this time round unless I wait it out and hope to bag one from Ebay for a small fortune.
I feel that as a loyal supporter who goes to lots of away games (especially London), and as many home games as is humanly possible I deserve to go to Wembley again but in a way I'm penalised for living this far away, having a job, child etc to contend with and thats hard to take. I dont blame the club in any way, nor the FA, in fact I dont really feel the need to blame anyone for the situation, its just hard to take knowing that I might not get a ticket.
If anyone knows of a way of getting hold of one, I'd be forever in your debt, plus a few pints on match day would also be more than forthcoming to help things along!
Any suggestions greatly recieved; they'd go a long way toward settling my growing anxiety at not being there to see us make the final........which presumably I'll have the same problem getting a ticket for!
James Marshall, Posted 24/03/2009 at 11:17:41
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The fact is, like you say, the season ticket holders come first, and so do Evertonia members and Shareholders etc etc ? all people who have put money into the club! And your away tickets don't really count to be honest, I go to London games and the odd home games too but it's no big commitment, especially as you live on the doorstep.
Anyway, even if we end up paying over the odds to sit in a shit Club Wembley seat surrounded by twats, then at least you didn't have to pay for travel or accommodation to get to London.
Sorry but you'll get no sympathy here ? so stop your whinging and get your London wages out of your pocket! Hey, if you don't like it, buy a season ticket!
Think of it like a pyramid: at the peak of the pyramid is a small number of shareholders and Executive members, who are known to the club on an individual basis. The Executive members at least have coughed up a lot of money at the start of the season to secure their lounge memberships.
The next level down in the pyramid is the ?ordinary? season ticket holders, where the numbers are bigger (say 20,000 odd). I am in this level. Again the club have a database of season ticket holders and they also have a detailed purchase record so they know how many extra games (Cups and aways) each one has been to. Also these people have paid a lot of money in advance for season tickets with no idea of what the quality of the ?product? will be.
The next level of the pyramid will include a much larger group of people like yourself. Some will be Evertonia members, some will go to all or most home games on a match by match basis but most will be in a similar situation to you - keen and fervent Evertonians who, for reasons of finance, location, family, work commitments and so on, can?t attend games regularly. There will be many tens of thousands of fans in this grouping so how on earth could be the club be expected to judge who ?deserves? to go to Wembley more than the others, even if they did have lots of spare tickets?
None of this, by the way, is meant to be judgemental in any sense. I realise I am lucky to be able to pay for a season ticket and pay the travel costs inherent in attending home games, but I have never yet had the spare cash to become an Executive member, for example. I wouldn?t ever want to claim I am more of an Evertonian than anyone else but I do see that satisfying the ticket needs for a big match like this will always be an impossible job.
Until and unless the club decamps to Kirkby, that is, when there?ll be PLENTY of spare seats to go round... ;-)
London wages have nothing to do with it either ? why would I buy a season ticket if I was only able to go to 2 home games a season?
If you had actually read my post then perhaps your response would have been as balanced as I hope my original piece (hopefully) is.
Thank you for your understanding.
I too am a London blue, I?ve a season ticker and manage to get home to most of the games, occasionally missing midweek ones. Even though it?s costing me an arm and a leg ? An expense I would not rather have. Thanks Branson.
Have you thought about joing the Everton Supporters Club London Area? They will get an allotment of tickets. But again I think they will dish them out on priority.
If anyone does get a spare though, please let me know!
I think you may have just tagged on to the back of a very long queue. Unfortunately living outside the city puts you at a disadvantage, your probably going to have to pay some greedy little twat well over the odds. You best bet is asking around to see if anyone knows a Club Wembley member who wont be going.
Meanwhile, I gave up my season ticket two years ago for a number of personal reasons. Just typical that the Blues now get to Wembley. I have to accept that I will not be going, but will be watching in the pub.
I actually feel sorry for fans who go to nearly every match but pay for tickets instead of getting a season ticket, a lot of these types of fans don?t get season tickets as there are unsure of whether they can make all the games and invariably end up going to most of them and away games. I think these are the most hard-done-by fans.
I am waiting until Friday to get mine, ST with 4 cup games so I will probably be in the gods somewhere but hopefully I will get one none the less.
Good luck with your hunt mate.
We booked our plane tickets today, made a reservation at some place in London and will pay exorbitant prices for tickets.
Like they reminded me, when will we have a chance to do this again?
Late May I hope for the final!!
I think it helps my cause that they all need to stay at my gaff if they want to watch the game!
Not having a season ticket I can understand, but not joining the Supporters? Club is foolish!
Such is the life of a ?cockney bluenose?. We?ll be outside Wembley anyway trying to get a ticket on the day if all else fails, so if you want to meet up for a beer let me know.
I have been to Wembley every time the Blues have been including all the finals since ’66 even the Simod Final etc and all the Charity Shields. Having been a season ticket holder for far too long to remember (my father and I were founder members of the origianal 300 club) it’s bloody ironic that now I cannot ngo as often and hence giving up my ticket they get to wembley.
I just wanted my youngest daughter to see the Blues at Wembley as she is the only member of the family not to have seen them there.
Having been twice in the past two years (St Helens Rugby) I’m not too bothered, besides getting there is still a journey and a half and parking is still no better.
Come on you blues.
Just wondered if anyone who’s already qualified for a semi ticket chose to purchase over the phone and use the courier service that the club insisted be used.
I was fortunate enough to be in a position to order my ticket Monday but as I couldn’t get to Goodison I ordered over the phone but wasn’t given any timeline for delivery.
Has anyone received their’s yet ? Not sure when to begin to panic about it not turning up !!
I have been trying to get through to buy my ticket as today is the today I become valid. My customer experience is not too good at the moment and I am losing the will to live in listening to Z-Cars on repeat... there is only so much I can take!
You dial in and follow the menu.... note there is no menu option for FA Cup tickets so I am taking the assumption that its an away game.. which I guess it is! I get this far and listen to Z-Cars for 15 minutes and then get a message saying that, due to the high volume of calls, they can?t take my call.
What really pisses me off is that I am paying for that call at 10p per minute as that's what they charge for an 0871 call... and to make it worse, EFC get 50% of that revenue in their pocket! I am on my 7th attempt .... so that's over £10 in phone calls so far! Times that by the number of people trying!?!? They are taking the piss! I pity anyone trying get through the week after next and, once you do get through to the Z-Cars experience, expect to be binned 15 minutes later.
I have a back up plan of going down to queue tomorrow, just lucky it's the weekend. I know there is no easy way to get through on the phone but I?d accept an engaged tone easier!
Whinge over... for now !
Ed
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1 Posted 24/03/2009 at 14:55:35
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Now while I totally understand James?s point and some balance does need to be made, my Man U colleague has never been to a proper game in her life, yet has been whinging as if it?s her divine right to go. I find it very unusual for a Man U fan to be so blinkered and small-minded!!! Surely she must be a one-off!!