The Mail Bag
Give them what they deserve
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There was only one topic of conversation amongst the travelling blue army at Sunderland yesterday, tickets.
I was staggered by the amount of people ? including season-ticket holders ? who are not eligible for a Cup Final ticket. Now the fact that these people had travelled all the way up to the Stadium of Light, spending their hard-earned to see a game that's televised anyway should tell you we are not talking about your casual fan here... These are your diehards, but many of them have been forgotten or overlooked by the club.
Many of the travelling Evertonians get their "extra" tickets through supporters clubs and although they have not missed a game, the club has not been able to accomodate them. Now this isn't an attack on the club, but for every diehard I see desperately asking anyone and everyone to keep an eye out for tickets, I seem to meet someone who gleefully tells me they've "got lucky" and although they haven't bothered to go all season they "will be there"...
Look, an Evertonian is an Evertonian and if you're lucky enough to get hold of a ticket then fair play, but surely there is a fairer way? Surely in this day and age it can't be beyond the means of football clubs to credit every attendee for every game?
There were also rumours that the club was about to recieve another 5-6 thousand tickets for the final, anyone else heard anything along these lines??? Sadly, I suspect this was little more than wishful thinking from the desperate.
Dave Wilson, Posted 04/05/2009 at 10:49:54
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Both Moyes and Elstone have publicly, and rightfully-so, blasted the FA for their ticketing allocation and in many ways, the club?s hands are tied. I think we can only salute Moyes and the club for being vocal in their annoyance at the ticketing.
As for the fans, I would only hope that every season ticket holder than misses out, bombards the FA, UEFA if necessary, to complain.
And Dave, if the club did credit everybody for every match attended, the club still couldn?t give precedence to any other set of supporters over season ticket holders... therefore we?d still be in the same position as we are now. Season ticket holders are king and even some of those aren?t getting Wembley tickets!
Hypocritically, clubs get more semi final tickets as the demand for neutral / club wembley tickets is lower.
The only equitable way to solve this is to allow supporters of the qualifying clubs to bid on a proportion of the retained tickets - although this would necessarily mean a higher tier of prices, which some supporters would be willing to pay (and may prefer the F&B etc).
Club Wembley does allow members to sell back tickets for events (with an admin charge) but obviously for the "showpiece" event, fewer tickets will be returned.
Therefore, any redress of balance would have to come from the "footballing family".
This might allow a better representation in terms of average attendances etc. but doesn’t take into account latent demand (waiting list for season tickets at some clubs).
Fact is, some people, who are Evertonians, will be there and it will be their only game of the season. No solution would ever be perfect.
We have basically been done on small print, as not many people knew this little credit thing and what happens next year? Everyone tied to a supporters branch will be stuck in a pickle as, if they get tickets off their branch and go every away game, it will still mean sod all.
What grates me though is why can someone with a xmas present off their mum (half-season ticket) get the same priority as the people who stumped up early bird cash nearly a year before. Everton have rightly slaughtered the FA but partly to direct criticism from themselves.
You can say they cannot please everyone and true, but why leave people dangling on a thread until next Monday? We have Chelsea mates and they got their tickets last week! If I am not getting one I would like to know a bit sooner, so I can get on the net and pay my arm and leg it will take.
People's Club, my arse ? and why have they not come out and told us how many are actually available to the paying man?
just Googled EFC supporters club and amazingly there is 20 odd in England, another dozen in Ireland, Wales, Scotland and the Channel Islands. When someone from say the London supporters club rings the club and asked for say 50 tickets for a game that won't sell out, the club are only too glad to take the money... but can't help them now.
Surely people like Paul should be able to purchase a ticket if he shows the stubbs for the matches he?s attended. This is not an attack on the club, but I feel very sorry for these people and maybe it's a loophole that needs closing for the future.
Mike.Foster@wembleystadium.com
He?s trying to flog annual club wembley memberships so deserves some comments.
You need to pull your finger out mate. It happened to me so I called the club. They say they have no way of telling if the application has gone through as they have third partied the work. The girl suggested that I don't bother with the Internet and do it postal; however, I had another go and got the confirmation page and the email.
If I was you I?d be thinking NO EMAIL = NO TICKET....
I had thought EFC would have thought that one out and done something about the anomaly. But I give them too much credit.
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1 Posted 04/05/2009 at 23:37:00
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