Memberships (2024/25)

[Shadow Puppets]

7 minutes ago, SteV said:

Yeah, I wouldn’t dispute that (just going off the limited info from the post you’re referring to).
 

I’d hope that in time we’d maybe go to something similar in terms of tiered memberships. But due to the fact that ticketing processes and procedures at NUFC had just more or less had zero work put into them in over the previous 10 years, I think it would have been very difficult for the club to have implemented something like that at this stage.

 

It might seem like a bit of a shambles at present, but you’d feel that long term it will improve into a more coherent system (difficult to fully get behind at present I know…).

 

Having said that, as everyone knows, the problem never comes close to going away until we have more capacity one way or another.

 

Tiered memberships would just bring with it more question marks over people paying more getting more benefits (not that I have a problem with that). There aren't many perfect solutions, but some incremental changes would help for sure.

[Infatuation Junkie]

It’s shit/thread

[SteV]

6 minutes ago, mondonewc said:

It's almost coming up to two years now since the takeover though tbf, that's not an insignificant amount of time to address a pretty key area of the running of the club. 

There's clearly a fundamental issue in terms of meeting demand, and that's fine and understandable, that's not an easy fix for sure. However, many of the issues fans are experiencing are pretty basic errors on the club's behalf that should have been resolved in this timeframe, many of the solutions the club has come up with during this time have made things worse not better. 

Speaking as a ST holder, rather than a Member, so perhaps not best qualified to give an opinion, I don’t really disagree with the overall premise of what they’re doing, given the overarching problem of it being impossible to get anywhere near meeting current demand.

 

Clearly, I wouldn’t dispute there’s issues that are adding to people’s frustration though. It seems the ‘resale’ element of things is becoming more of a shambles as the games go on. I know people on here are probably benefiting from it more than the ballots (which is nice to see), but having people spend hours and hours hitting F5 in the hope of being able to scramble a ticket at some point, does not feel like a coherent procedure.

 

How much of this kind of thing is a legacy of what they’ve been presented with from the past regime, who knows?

[AyeDubbleYoo]

Think they've created another problem now, which is the inability to assess 'loyalty' in the future. The only way I can see it being done is based on the number of ballots you entered, which I guess is the closet approximation we have. 

[SteV]

2 minutes ago, AyeDubbleYoo said:

Think they've created another problem now, which is the inability to assess 'loyalty' in the future. The only way I can see it being done is based on the number of ballots you entered, which I guess is the closet approximation we have. 

Yep, agreed. 
 

Although how much they could have used previous purchase history prior to this, I’m not sure? We saw numerous instances with the cup final where people were saying saying they’d been to X number of games, but the tickets had been bought by a ST holder or another member as a +1 or whatever, so they had no recognition for it. 
 

Probably why they appear to be mad keen on knowing the ‘named person’ in possession of any ticket now. That’ll help down the line you would think. But, again, as you say, people can’t always buy the tickets to demonstrate that now.

[Scoreboard82]

19 hours ago, Fezzle said:

Nobody is talking about home games for a few pages now....... 

I returned a an away ticket a couple of seasons ago and got a refund off the club no problem. Just told them I was unable to go. Maybe they take a different stance these days. Who knows?

[LFEE]

18 minutes ago, Scoreboard82 said:

I returned a an away ticket a couple of seasons ago and got a refund off the club no problem. Just told them I was unable to go. Maybe they take a different stance these days. Who knows?

They don’t. The very fact you can’t transfer something gives you the right to a refund.

 

1 hour ago, JLC said:

I suspect one of the reasons the club have no limits on the membership numbers is so they can gauge demand/numbers should they look at new stadium plans

This is definitely the main reason as I see it along with generating extra revenue.

 

Others fans acting as middlemen doesn’t give the club a true picture of demand hence the decision to gain slightly more control both home & away.

[Earp]

Given my opinion expressed in relation to the ticketing process it's obvious I failed in both the ballot and resale for PSG so any spares gratefully accepted........

[Wallsendmag]

3 hours ago, Earp said:

I'd like to understand why we have to pay £37 for the privilege of just applying for a ticket. The membership fee used to give members first dabs at tickets left after STs. Given now that membership numbers have no ceiling, we get fuck all benefit from it  I now have the same chance of getting a ticket as someone who has never been to a match. This just can't be right.

 

I think if you are selling an unlimited amount of memberships, and I have no problem with that as plenty of other clubs do it and it's a good way to generate money, you must also have some sort of loyalty programme in place to run alongside it.

 

Currently anyone, NUFC fan or not can become a member and have exactly the same chance of gaining access as a NUFC of many years amd that can't be right when demand is so high.

[TheGuv]

1 minute ago, Wallsendmag said:

 

I think if you are selling an unlimited amount of memberships, and I have no problem with that as plenty of other clubs do it and it's a good way to generate money, you must also have some sort of loyalty programme in place to run alongside it.

 

Currently anyone, NUFC fan or not can become a member and have exactly the same chance of gaining access as a NUFC of many years amd that can't be right when demand is so high.

Yup. It ain’t rocket science.

 

 

[SteV]

3 minutes ago, Wallsendmag said:

 

I think if you are selling an unlimited amount of memberships, and I have no problem with that as plenty of other clubs do it and it's a good way to generate money, you must also have some sort of loyalty programme in place to run alongside it.

 

Currently anyone, NUFC fan or not can become a member and have exactly the same chance of gaining access as a NUFC of many years amd that can't be right when demand is so high.

I think most people would say that’s probably a fair enough viewpoint.

 

I do have some sympathy for them in that the mess that they inherited re. the clubs ticketing practices would have made implementing it alongside what they’ve done, challenging at best. Obviously they could have done something, but it would have been messy, and I think a lot of people would have ended up feeling hard done by.

 

Whether that would have been better or worse than what we have currently ??‍♂️

[LFEE]

23 minutes ago, Earp said:

Given my opinion expressed in relation to the ticketing process it's obvious I failed in both the ballot and resale for PSG so any spares gratefully accepted........

Keep checking website. You never know your luck when one might pop up.

[Infatuation Junkie]

Being restricted towards something you regularly do and love is what is also called punishment.

 

 

loyal fans are being punished for no reason.

[Groundhog63]

4 minutes ago, Infatuation Junkie said:

Being restricted towards something you regularly do and love is what is also called punishment.

 

 

loyal fans are being punished for no reason.

Being restricted towards something you regularly took for granted because you had access that other people didnt have isn't punishment. 

 

[Infatuation Junkie]

Just now, Groundhog63 said:

Being restricted towards something you regularly took for granted because you had access that other people didnt have isn't punishment. 

 

If you think about it. They capped the memberships last season. Using a cut off date.

 

Not getting a membership because you had plenty of time but couldn’t be arsed before cutoff is tough shit. 
 

Just like Glastonbury or a big concert. You don’t ballot. First come first served. Putting the tickets on sale at random unannounced times. That’s better.

 

 

like I have said before. My pal from Swindon doesn’t watch footie. Cares nothing about it.

 

Came up with the family the weekend of the first home game.

 

bought three memberships and won him his wife and bairn tickets.

 

went and stated after. Meh. I wouldn’t go again like.

 

 

So my pal stopping a fan who bleeds black and white. Thick and thin follower and devoted Geordie from going to a match.

 

If that isn’t punishment. Your head needs a wobble pal. 

[AyeDubbleYoo]

I would’ve definitely had a cut off time, maybe before the first game of the season.

 

Or restrict ballot entry until a month after you buy your membership. 
 

That said, it’s hard to say how many people are doing those one-off purchases and how much is just that we have lots of fans and not enough seats. 

[NEEJ]

Surely removing the "Plenty of tickets" glitch isn't this hard? It's like they're trolling unsuccessful members, man (i.e., me).

[Whitley mag]

One man to blame for this shambles and it’s Peter Silverstone, he was responsible for membership at Arsenal from 2018 to 2022.

 

It coincided with thousands of empty seats at the emirates for games that were supposedly sold out and an increase in touting.

 

Now all successful clubs will attract touts and we’ve become a target, one quick look online will show you the lengths Arsenal are now going to cancel memberships and monitor dodgy ticket activity.

 

With all his experience at Arsenal he then decides to make memberships unlimited and has opened the floodgates to the touts. 
 

Even Arsenal have a tiered membership as follows -

 

‘As things stand, we understand there to be 42,000 gold members (season ticket holders), 30,000 silver members and more than 200,000 red members. We’re not sure about the number of platinum members, but it’ll be small in comparison’.

 

There was absolutely no reason this summer that last seasons members couldn’t have been given a priority in a tiered scheme.

 

Unfortunately Silverstone made a cash grab and has absolutely shafted loyal fans. 
 

Get used to the touts and sold out games with empty seats galore.

 

 

 

 

Edited September 28, 2023 by Whitley mag

[SteV]

3 minutes ago, Whitley mag said:

 

There was absolutely no reason last summer that last seasons members could have been given a priority in a tiered scheme.

 

When you say ‘priority’, what would that have entailed?

 

Because giving them first dibs to get tickets would ultimately render any lower tier utterly pointless, as there would never be any tickets left over.

 

We can moan and bitch about Silverstone all we like, but him (and Eales) have been brought in, pretty much with the specific remit of ‘growing the club’.

 

Now we can all have our opinions on what that entails, and whether we like it or not, but it’s fairly obvious that ‘growing the club’ goes hand-in-hand with attracting more fans. 
 

He’s doing what the club have hired him to do.

[LFEE]

49 minutes ago, Infatuation Junkie said:

If you think about it. They capped the memberships last season. Using a cut off date.

 

Not getting a membership because you had plenty of time but couldn’t be arsed before cutoff is tough shit. 
 

Just like Glastonbury or a big concert. You don’t ballot. First come first served. Putting the tickets on sale at random unannounced times. That’s better.

 

 

like I have said before. My pal from Swindon doesn’t watch footie. Cares nothing about it.

 

Came up with the family the weekend of the first home game.

 

bought three memberships and won him his wife and bairn tickets.

 

went and stated after. Meh. I wouldn’t go again like.

 

 

So my pal stopping a fan who bleeds black and white. Thick and thin follower and devoted Geordie from going to a match.

 

If that isn’t punishment. Your head needs a wobble pal. 

The problem is the club is trying to “grow” its fanbase not settle with its current numbers. So makes no sense for “them” to restrict memberships despite previous members not being able to attend as regularly so far.

 

Your anecdote about your friends is a perfect example of what they are trying to achieve. Some will fall in love with club and want to return and others won’t. This will be a long process lasting years whilst they decide between expansion of ground or building a new one at least if not beyond that.

 

As for Glastonbury it’s never restricted it’s registration numbers making it harder every year but it does however have a cut of point though it’s very broad.

 

I know after speaking to you about this elsewhere you’ve had zero success so I can imagine your frustration when you probably hear of new members having a fair bit of success. I can only repeat it’s still early days and hopefully come the end of the season you’ll of had more success and experience again what you enjoy most with your son.

 

If it makes you feel any better I’ve never been successful getting Glastonbury tickets when I know friends who seem to get them almost every attempt.

[Earp]

22 minutes ago, Whitley mag said:

One man to blame for this shambles and it’s Peter Silverstone, he was responsible for membership at Arsenal from 2018 to 2022.

 

It coincided with thousands of empty seats at the emirates for games that were supposedly sold out and an increase in touting.

 

Now all successful clubs will attract touts and we’ve become a target, one quick look online will show you the lengths Arsenal are now going to cancel memberships and monitor dodgy ticket activity.

 

With all his experience at Arsenal he then decides to make memberships unlimited and has opened the floodgates to the touts. 
 

Even Arsenal have a tiered membership as follows -

 

‘As things stand, we understand there to be 42,000 gold members (season ticket holders), 30,000 silver members and more than 200,000 red members. We’re not sure about the number of platinum members, but it’ll be small in comparison’.

 

There was absolutely no reason this summer that last seasons members couldn’t have been given a priority in a tiered scheme.

 

Unfortunately Silverstone made a cash grab and has absolutely shafted loyal fans. 
 

Get used to the touts and sold out games with empty seats galore.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Earp]

Spot on 

[Whitley mag]

17 minutes ago, SteV said:

When you say ‘priority’, what would that have entailed?

 

Because giving them first dibs to get tickets would ultimately render any lower tier utterly pointless, as there would never be any tickets left over.

 

We can moan and bitch about Silverstone all we like, but him (and Eales) have been brought in, pretty much with the specific remit of ‘growing the club’.

 

Now we can all have our opinions on what that entails, and whether we like it or not, but it’s fairly obvious that ‘growing the club’ goes hand-in-hand with attracting more fans. 
 

He’s doing what the club have hired him to do.

If there were 10k tickets available each match 7k go to top tier, remainder 3k go to new members. You could still have a ballot but your rewarding loyalty of more fans who were here before.

 

You don’t grow the fanbase by selling thousands of memberships where nobody has a chance of getting a ticket, let’s see how many renew next year.

 

The cash grab this summer will look very short sighted if thousands say no thanks next summer, they should have grown the membership when they had capacity to house extra fans.

 

Arsenal have 200k fans in their lowest loyalty bracket what entices them, can’t imagine they’re getting their hands on many tickets at the moment.

 

Bottom line you don’t throw supporters who stuck by the club on the heap, at the expense of attracting new fans.

[SteV]

4 minutes ago, Whitley mag said:

If there were 10k tickets available each match 7k go to top tier, remainder 3k go to new members. You could still have a ballot but your rewarding loyalty of more fans who were here before.

 

You don’t grow the fanbase by selling thousands of memberships where nobody has a chance of getting a ticket, let’s see how many renew next year.

 

The cash grab this summer will look very short sighted if thousands say no thanks next summer, they should have grown the membership when they had capacity to house extra fans.

 

Arsenal have 200k fans in their lowest loyalty bracket what entices them, can’t imagine they’re getting their hands on many tickets at the moment.

 

Bottom line you don’t throw supporters who stuck by the club on the heap, at the expense of attracting new fans.

You can’t on one hand say let ~30k+ fans have access to 3k tickets and that’ll all be fine, then on the other hand say ~55k fans having access to 10k tickets means ‘nobody has a chance of getting a ticket’.

 

I do agree though that the proof will be in the pudding of how many renew next year.

[mondonewc]

A major flaw in most people's input on this is it's very self-serving, naturally, and I'm sure I'm also guilty of this myself. 

 

I assume as mentioned the main objective of those in charge is to grow the fan base, that's understandable, its a business after all. 

 

However, there are numerous issues which have no relevance to achieving that objective, and instead are either ill thought out or sheer incompetence. Just a few of what could be many examples: 

 

- The website is truly an awful experience to use. I would describe myself as being reasonably tech savvy and clearly you don't need to be any kind of advanced level to use the functions of the site but it's absurdly poor. Ton of bugs, loads of random errors, and then you add in the slowroll element of actually try to purchase phantom tickets (I'm not referring to tickets that someone else is buying but tickets that just were never available) which is emotionally draining and frustrating for fans trying to get a ticket they're desperate for is really poor

 

- I maybe mistaken but the ballot system seems to lack any resemblance of fairness which would be extremely easy to achieve. For example, let's say person A and person B both apply for PSG tickets with the same parameters in a ballot, A is successful and B fails, then Dortmund ballot comes around and rinse repeat the same thing could happen again so A is 2/2 whilst B is 0/2. I see no reasonable argument that anyone could provide to why they couldn't setup what's an extremely basic system so that B would have priority over A in such a scenario, and similar with league games to provide a better, fairer system for all. 

 

- The away fans experience in regards to fake tickets and having to go to the box office for a replacement is a disgrace. I truly struggle to believe what they're doing in that regard is legal, I'm sure it must be if they're doing it but it's ludicrous and really poor treatment.

 

- The membership is 100% very poor value. The junior membership especially, at least just send out a fucking pin badge or certificate or some shit that cost basically nothing so there's at least some worth rather than just paying to have access to general sale tickets which is effectively what it currently provides. 

 

None of the above really affect myself that much personally, I'm not that desperate to go to any home games, I only know how poor the website and ticket experience is from personal experience as I was trying to get tickets to take my nephew to the PSG game.

 

All of the above feel like they lack much care or thought to the fan experience which should clearly be a priority, and I say that from a running a business point of view and not as a fan.

 

It's clear though that there's various aspects of the ticketing operation that is flawed and really shouldn't be that difficult to get right.