Why the Net has the advantage in the ‘Undies world’
- Shopping blogger Emma Iannarilli
The mystery dip in the Wolves crowd
Friday 10th September 2010, 9:10AM BST.
Wolves blogger Tim Spiers believes the club must shoulder some of the blame that Molineux is not as ‘sold out’ as it could be.
These are heady days for Wolverhampton Wanderers, at least in comparison to the past 25 years.
After years in the purgatory of English football’s second tier Mick McCarthy has spearheaded a memorable rise to the promised land of the Premier League.
Last season’s 15th place finish, achieved by a band of tenacious, young, determined and committed players, was hugely satisfying and hinted that the club has a very bright future.
In short, it’s a pretty good time to be a Wolves fan.
So why in the name of Jesus Sanjuan have sales of season tickets decreased?
A drop of seven per cent, from 2009-10’s figure of 19,975 to 18,498, may not have the Wolves hierarchy fearing a rapid Portsmouth-style decline into financial ruin and relegation to the Championship.
But alarm bells should be ringing loud and clear in chief executive Jez Moxey’s head.
If all goes to plan Wolves will, in just four years’ time, be playing in a glorious revamped stadium which houses 36,000 supporters.
Now, I’m no economist, but a few pushes of buttons on a basic calculator show that if current trends continue – 1,477 fewer season tickets sold each season – Wolves will have 12,590 season ticket holders in 2014/15, when the new stadium is due for completion.
That leaves 23,410 empty seats to fill.
I’m not suggesting that will happen, but merely pointing out the potential figures for 2014, as the club would no-doubt have done if numbers had gone up by seven per cent this season and not down.
Surprise, surprise Mr Moxey blamed the recession for the disappointing figures revealed this week.
It turns out he had heard of the ‘R’ word, then. So in that case why did prices not come down in the summer?
The West Midlands region has been hit harder than most since the credit crunch first reared its ugly head in 2007.
Unemployment is high, jobs are scarce and times are hard.
So asking people, for some of whom Wolverhampton Wanderers is the most important thing in their lives, to regularly stump up in excess of £400 is, for want of a better word, rich.
I don’t want to hear anything about the fact that prices were frozen were five years previously or anything like that – for my mind they were too high to begin with.
It’s true that the club has the luxury of thousands of supporters who will renew despite steady price increases – but they’ll only put up with so much.
As for attracting new fans, I doubt that a current cheapest price of £522 for a season ticket – £630 being the most expensive, in the Billy Wright stand – appeals to the old generation of supporters who have for one reason or another fallen by the Wolves wayside over the years.
Don’t even get me started on the next generation.
Twelve to 17 year olds pay between £189 and £315 for a new season ticket – or double that when they hit 18 with no student incentive to soften the blow.
Then there’s the issue of what happens when the Stan Cullis and Steve Bull stands are knocked down as part of the Molineux rebuild.
The deficit from a severely reduced capacity has to be made up somewhere and if the Early Bird offer is withdrawn – as many fans fear it might be – then a further group of loyal fans will reach the end of their financial tether.
One-off ticket offers such as the Wolves 4 Family Football deal are no doubt welcome to non-season ticket holders.
But who decided the Newcastle game should be the first beneficiary of the offer this season?
The Magpies, who nigh on sell out every single away allocation they’re given, were shoehorned into the corner of the Jack Harris while more than 1,500 seats lay empty around Molineux.
Jez and co’s intentions were no doubt in the right place, but they tend to score more than their fair share of own goals in the ticketing department.
The reviled and totally unnecessary admin charge is one such gripe which boils my blood every time I see it in the small print under the basic ticket price.
To watch the unglamorous Carling Cup tie with Notts County later this month costs £10 for season ticket holders – plus a £1.50 ‘booking fee’ if paying by debit or credit card.
How many other businesses would get away with adding such a huge percentage onto a £10 product?
The price for season ticket holders is a one which I’ll happily take advantage of, but why not just sell the tickets for £11.50 and do away with an admin charge on top?
For people who can’t get to Molineux to pay for their ticket there’s also the extortionate cost of ringing the 0871 numbered ticket office.
And while we’re at it, why have the club only requested between 1,500 and 1,700 for the Fulham and Tottenham away games?
Both allocations unsurprisingly sold out in a few hours and many have been left disappointed.
We took 2,900 to both matches last season and, while I understand the recent Everton away attendance fell a couple of hundred or so below the capacity given, holidays and the V Festival can be attributed to that.
As stated earlier, these are hugely exciting times on the pitch at Wolverhampton Wanderers.
The new stadium will be a landmark in our history, creating an arena befitting our great name, history, traditional and, hopefully, bright future.
But while we fail to sell out home games against Newcastle and Stoke, it may be time for the powers-that-be to adhere to the many concerns of their current loyal fanbase.
If it’s a case of ‘build it and they will come,’ we may be about to fall flat on our faces.
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all down to money…..i missed out foolishly on the Early Bird offer only to be told in June that my new ticket price was £500! we are in the top 8 for highest ticket price! ST numbers will continue to drop as long as the club are still mugging the fans! im afraid the novelty of the premier will soon wear off supporters who are unable to afford such fees on a yearly basis!
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Well Mox is not far wrong,I have been a Wolves Fan for over 45years and as a Cardiff boy born and bread at the age of 15/16 to see Wolves play was a thing I could only dream of. Then when I left school and got a job I still didnt have the money to go to see them (it was still just a dream) Anyway In the 90s I had the money and got not just one ,but 2 season tickets,that still left me to drive from Cardiff to every match and back again to Cardiff,and I use to love it every other saturday Morning was amazing to me and of course some Tuesday nights.But now,I just cant aford to go.But I still dream that maybe I will win the loto and get a season ticket again,befor I kick the bucket.
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Nice one Tim, enjoyed that blog! I’d like to think that the club will lower its prices when the capacity of the stadium rises to the mid 30k mark, thus filling it and still making a lot more money in revenue than it is now. (he says!!)
There are one or two clubs that can keep its prices exorbitantly high because they are still basking in the glow of Premiership football. With our history of coca cola consumption, we have been one of them, so I think the club is milking every penny it can get from this ‘honeymoon’ time, particularly when the North Bank will come down at the end of the season, (all being well)
Clubs like Bolton, Blackburn and Sunderland have dropped their prices IIRC because the lure of Fulham, Wigan, etc isn’t quite as compelling or unique as it used to be for their fans.
In a way, we’re using our endless seasons of failure to line our pockets today.
Wolves can only keep on with this policy for so long.
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I agree completely, I “treated,” my partners family to game, they have been supporting Wolves since the 50s but they have always lived in Devon. I paid just under 100 for two adults and one junior for the Newcastle game. With the admin fee and the 6 mins on the ticketline I guess over 100. During the half the junior got a hotdog costing £4.50 with nothing on it. I asked him why it was plan and he replied that it cost an additional £1.50 for onions and ketchup. Making a hotdog £6 what a joke, even a lad his age thought it was a rip off.
I think it’s simple. Lower prices in a region which has already been struck heavily in the recession with further bad times ahead. Why not make the ticketline a lo-call number, put the tickets at around £30 with admin fees and slightly lower the price of food and drink. Surely it must be better to pack the place out then have empty seats. I could here the Newcastle fans over are own at times and I was on the opposite end of the pitch!
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I think people under estimate the effect the recession is having on families and there need to cut back in certain areas. Even Manchester United have not sold the same number of tickets they have done in previous years.
If you look at the total cost of the game including the extortionate price of food and drink inside the ground, you can see why people will undoubtably choose the matches they attend.
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what a stupid blog. talk about overreacting. One word for you IDIOT!
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Dear Summer Santa
This close season I’d like:-
- A juicy reduction in the price of season tickets
- A clutch of new signings and contract renegotiations to ensure we remain progressive and competitive
- A stadium redevelopment plan that will allow us to to retain our ambitions to be a major Premiership force
This is the real World of Premiership football ..mixed with the real World of Economic Slowdown and Financial austerity
None of it is necessary preferable or remotely palatable… it is however all very real and totally unavoidable
Grow up ….or pass your blog responsibilities on to the neareest adult
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wasnt there a similar story same time last year ??? summer holidays, and people being unemployed are the biggest cause of the drop in attendances. No surprise there, think you will find its the same all over the country for every club and every sport. sign of times at the moment. can we report some actual football stories ???
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The ‘Booking Fee’ has always been a joke. We are a football club, not seetickets.com selling concert tickets. We sell genuine tickets to watch a football game. Get rid of this ‘Booking Fee’ the club steal enough money out of us already.
A cost for a ticket at Wigan is £20 max.
Every club should charge this amount. People moan about empty seats, well what do you expect. Who wants to pay £10 to watch a reserve match against Notts County? Season Ticket holders should be let in for free, for Carling Cup games.
As for the away allocation for the London games. Why doesn’t somebody put the question to Jez?
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I don’t want to sound as though I’m being mischievous, but could the style of football be anything to do with it?
Mick’s brief was to keep Wolves up regardless of how. He did it, I applaud his achievements at Wolves.
But Blackburn and Bolton have suffered falls in attendances in recent years (under Megson and Allardyce) for playing what’s perceived as negative football, despite respectable top-flight finishes.
Also, is it perhaps to do with the current climate of Premiership football? By that I mean, now Wolves have achieved survival, where do you go from here? Nowhere far until the financial bubble bursts and the big 5 are competing on more of a level playing field.
Perhaps these are just as applicable reasons as the one you’ve mentioned, or perhaps Wolves aren’t the superclub some of you think they are.
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What about the TPS system as well. Not everyone can get to all games but are attracted by the thought of what is effectively a third of a season ticket. Yet to get this, you have to pay a premium of £50.00 and for a family this soon adds up to £200.00+. Normally a full season ticket comes at a discount over match day prices but with TPS there is a costly premium. Reduce or eliminate this and I;m sure you would get a greater take up.
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A very good article.
Next season is going to be very difficult for a load of teams.
Once the goverment cut-backs kick in,in the new year and the rise in VAT,think crowds could be well down on previous seasons.
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I think it’s quite right to say it’s down to the recession. I know loads of people who would love tickets, but can’t afford them. Indeed, when I offered my season ticket to my mates ( due to holidays) there was an almighty scramble for them..
However, I would also say that at £900 or so for me and my son, that’s an almighty tax on my beloved wolves!
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Surely this isn’t a good sign of things to come. I would love to get down to more games but honestly can’t afford too… Crying shame!
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Why dont you ever post my comments?
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Interesting blog. Perhaps might have benefited from a little more research. On the question of Newcastle’s ticket allocation I think you’ll find that Newcastle declined the normal allocation in the Steve Bull lower and opted instead for less tickets in the South Bank. (They did the same thing for their Man U away match earlier this season). They were apparently concerned about having unsold tickets left on their hands which they would have to pay for. Needless to say their fans are up in arms about this. I know this because one of my mates is a Geordie. A similar situation may exist with our away ticket allocations – Wolves are worried that they will be left with unsold tickets that they have to pay for. It’s not much of an issue at Fulham tomorrow because they have a ‘neutrals’ area next to the visiting fans. Me and my mate will be sitting in the ‘neutral zone’ tomorrow as will doubtless many other Wolves fans.
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Superb article, very well said
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3: “Nice one Tim” are you serious?
11: “A very good article” Wind up right?
5: “What a stupid blog” Here, Here…
Talk about doom and gloom, after reading your Blog for the last three weeks its VERY clear you are a Glass half empty person…
Sure mention the drop in season tickets, but to concentrate on all down points for the whole blog????
We are all feeling the pinch, down to the recession, but we don’t want it ramming down our throats, for thousands of fans coming or following the Wolves its the only relief and break from it all is all that we get…
With so much that has happened over the last week with the Internationals, players getting fit etc I find it hard to believe you cant find anything positive to wright about,
If not let someone else have a go….
Come on Tim a bit of enthusiasm please, No one wants a happy clapper, but it would be nice to look forward to your Blog…
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7 – how do villa cope selling season tickets for 50% of ours financially?? £300 and 20k season tickets = 6m in cash!not bad for ticket sales!!
i dont think fans mind paying it for the odd season, but if we continue to stay up and realistically float between 14-17th than the novelty of playing in the premier wears off fans! happened to loads of sides such as sunderland, mancity (before takeover)
club needs to reduce prices otherwise i would imagine this will be a yearly occurance of reductions come the ticket sales summary
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I think the early brid prices are about right. But we are never going to attract new season ticket holders whilst the prices are so high. Cheapest new season ticket at Wolves is over £120 more expensive than West Brom and Birmingham and £170 more expensive than Aston Villa. I know Jez bangs on and on about rewarding existing season ticket holders with the early bird, but hopefully now he’ll wake up and see that this number is going down. If we are going to come close to filling a 36’000 stadium then we need at least 10’000 new season ticket holders. Just not going to happen with the prices as they are.
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It was Newcastle that requested the 1,500 tickts and not the full allocation they were entitled to. They have to pay for the tickets in advance and any they don’t sell the away team takes the hit. This is now common practice and Newcastle’s policy this season is to take the minimum number of tickets.
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djtp or “Do Join The Party” missed the point. Premier status or not everyone here seems to be under the impression that the fans count for something. Put in a cd of crowd noise and continue to rake in the Sky/Premier money and I feel only the vendors selling the over-priced sub-standard crap outside would miss us.The monetary contribution of the fans to the club pales into insignificance compared to the outside money coming in. We are not value for money at the moment. Chelsea and the other top end clubs have location/backers and results to fall back on for their prices.If the current trend in attendance prevails Moon Faced Mox will put the blame squarely with us, but they should remember, you can only go to the well so many times.
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atlast a blogger who doesnt brown nose the club and has a real fans viewpoint, sick of getting criticised on these pages when having a honest view of things going on! Moxey does do a good job at making club money thats not in question but he is also doing a very good job at putting off new fans & old alike! cutting corners & milking fans is now wearing very very thin! matchdays at mol are a joke! from the announcer to the food! merchandise is below standard & the knock on affect is fans feel cheated! especially when we pay £500 plus for a season ticket! early birds excluded! i didnt early bird due to not being able to find money at that time of year but i save throughout yr to pay at end! yet some fans call this not being loyal??? lol …… ill soon be priced out & i reckon another hike is on the arison for our new stadium! we all would live to see it ofcourse, but its going to look a sorry place half empty! & the more n more peeps i talk too ….. it looks v very likely! moxey people are getting sick of it! dnt blame recession blame yourself!!
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The club did freeze the early bird so credit to them for that but the Early Bird deadline was the day before the Burnley away game and it looked 50/50 at best as to if we would stay up at that stage.
In attempting to maximise ticket revenue I think the club are missing a trick.
Ticket sales are now only a minor part of a the clubs revenue. In my opinion Wolves need to maximise support by lowering ticket prices so Wolves become a “cool” club to support. The bigger a clubs fan base the bigger its TV appeal which ultimately will bring in extra TV revenues.
To grow the support I think Wolves should GIVE every 7-8 year old in the country and maybe even abroad a FREE Wolves shirt of a single size on request. This is the age when kids decide who to support. Some will get hooked and will be asking their moms/dads to take them to Molinuex and/or buy the next size up when they grow out of it. The profits from the extra revenue this generates would easily pay the few pounds it costs to send a small shirt to an unattached 7-8 year old. Set up a budget of say £100K to send 10K FREE shirts out first season at a cost price of say £10 a shirt then see how effective this is in recruiting the Wolves fans in future.
A combination of lower pricing and encouraging youngsters to become Wolves fans fans would surely see Wolves fan base grow and increase revenues.
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The only way clubs will lower prices will be by fans not turning up. If the overall attendances are lower than last season, by the end of the season Wolves will have to lower the prices. I know a Villa Fan who pays £380 compared to our prices . I think that Wolves should take note or they could end up with crowds falling and an empty new stadium for birds to nest in.
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19
Agree with what you say about paying sky high once the novelty of 14th-17th wears thin.
Most Football fans despise what is happening to the game in terms of pricing out the vast majority
Unfortunately ..Football is a leaking bucket ..the whole lot (revenue)goes on Wages.. horrible I know
We make a trading loss (outside of Morgans side pot subsidy)
We need a recession to bring football back to the real world.
We are a Premiership minnow at the moment.. we cannot ‘lead’ in this matter.. we just have to hope that we ‘follow’ (and reduce our prices) when the recession eventually does catch up with football and other clubs start to reduce their wages
Until that point, we have to charge what we do. (Villa model is based on a bigger ground capacity and revenue potential for match to match sales).
Matt Jarvis has just agreed a new contract.. our club is a loss maker and someone (sadly us) has to pay for it
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I agree with some of the comments above. This is a poor blog.
You need to get a better grasp of statistics and “trends”. You cannot make a forecast based upon a single years data. Economists and statisticians would only look at several years data before making a forecast.
Possible reasons for the drop: was there a boost in numbers because of the return to the premiership? Was there a decrease in early bird renewals because premiership survival was not guaranteed by the deadline? These are questions that will have been asked by the club, and they probably already know the answers, which is why Moxey has stated that the recession is the main reason for the slump.
What is important is that, with hard times ahead for a few years yet, what are the clubs plans to encourage a greater number of people to buy season tickets?
As for the booking fee, you can place some of the blame at the door of greedy banks who charge a fee to processs electronic transactions. This amount will be constant regardless of ticket price, so accusing the club of adding such a huge percentage for unglamourous fixtures is specious.
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Season ticket sales are decreasing because of the prices, why else would they?. Jez moxey needs to buck up his ideas and stop ripping off the loyal fans. Tickets are cheaper at villa than at wolves and they are a top 6 team.
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Excellent blog. I am now price dout, after having a ST on and off for years. But it ridiculously high to but back in. I have ayoung lad who wants to go to support Wolves and see premiership stars. The cheapest ST for both would cost £630 for both at Wolves, £360 for both at Blues for example.
£522 is too high to attract new fans. Why are our cheapest new ST’s over £100 more expensive than Villa, Blues, Stoke, Albion’s cheapest? Why do over 18-21′s not have any good reductions like virtually all other clubs.
Don’t worry about writing such an excellent blog. Its not doom mongering or knocking Wolves as a club, its bleeding reality that thousands of Wolves fans are priced out.
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great article. o871 nos are too expensive to ring and all that ad stuff..please don’t , i know what i want, ask me after. and the cost is hgh. it’s not too difficult to work out. 39.50 to watch newcastle. i’ll always retuen and enjoy it, but i have to save to go and since the whole country is practising austerity, maybe in general, players will start to feel the pinch too
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PRICES is the main reason which then equates into other reasons.
There is also an element of the way MICKO stops us from playing,yes we stayed up but who is to say we would not have stayed up if we had played the way we did against WEST HAM away?
At the end of the day we would have stayed up with 33 points!
This season the bottom end will be stronger.
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can anyone tell me why newcastle was a category a game when their supporters were put in the jack harris corner, i like quite a few others go across from ireland to see the wolves as often as i can and it can be an expensive trip, i can understand man u, pool, city chelsea as A games but why were a promoted team classed as A, perhaps if those tickets were 10stg cheaper there would have been a lot more bums on seats. thank god for michael o leary and ryanair if booked cleverly we can fly over for cheaper than the match ticket ?????????
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mate people are fed up paying extortionate money to watch over pampered,over paid & under worked so called super stars,clubs make a fortune from sky etc.so prices could & should be halved for fans of the game instead of the money going on transfer fees & wages
FOR THAT REASON I AM OUT
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As someone who now lives in Essex the TPS scheme is a great ‘third’ way house.
Reading the Wolves website it sounds like the rules as regards ticket allocation are not conducive to clubs taking up large ticket allocations, which seems crazy as surely we’re trying to encourage fans to visit grounds.
As for the Fulham game I didn’t even bother going through Wolves as Fulham have the neutral end which is fine and full of Wolves fans.
One final point, Chelsea still have tickets for sale for their weekend game and Man U haven’t sold all their season tickets, maybe the decline is football in general.
Post world cup blues ?
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As someone who failed to renew their season ticket for our promotion season, because the football was so dire the season before, I ate humble pie and bought a half season ticket, which became a full one for the premier league. Survival at all costs football bored me rigid! But glad to stay up I took advantage of the early bird. However if there is no early bird and the football is equally dire, well I might not bother. Here’s hoping for an entertaining season.
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I would attend lots more games if i could pay on the gate.
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18.) Stafford Wolf,
I agree with you on most comments you put on here, usually well thought and quite accurate.I am a ‘glass half full person’, yet i still see a problem with how the fans are treated when it comes to ticket prices/seating plans.
I also live in stafford, was a season ticket holder for 12 years in the south bank, took advantage of getting the early bird EVERY SEASON, but my family moved to spain so i went to see them for a while and missed out on it.
Since i came back, im working an average wage job, so i cant afford to go watch my beloved team very often anymore maybe 3 times a year if im lucky now.
Thats the sort of thing what is dropping our attendence thus attmosphere down. simples.
Dont get me wrong, this is an exciting time to be a Wolves fan, it such be a treat to go watch them, but why should it skint us out ?
Why are we in the top 8 season ticket prices
Yet Wolverhampton is in the top 10 Unemployment areas ?
This needs to be considered or as quite rightly said in this article, our attendences with continue to drop.
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Clear to see which way this blogger is going to go. With so many positive things going on we get a negative diatribe.
Okay he doesn’t actually say it, but, infers that it was Wolves decision to ‘shoehorn’ the Geordies into the Jack Harris. In case anyone is in doubt and lays the blame at Moxey’s door, it was Mike Ashley who decided not to take the Steve Bull allocation…and the Newcastle fans were up in arms. Give them Steve Bull tickets and we have a full house. Simple.
We all know the reason things are tough at present and Wolves will have made their plans for this season many months ago. The true test of Wolves board will now be how they react if attendances continue to falter. Like all successful businesses they will have contingency plans.
Let’s wait and see.
As for you 27) harryg. Who do you think you are Duncan Bannatyne ? I suspect you are one of the whinging masses who take succour from a negative blog like this and probably haven’t been to match at Molineux for years.
Tim Spiers. Get a grip, we are trying to rebuild something great here and we get a self styled Wolves fan’s representative acting as a rabble rouser.
Wonderful !
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Ooops sorry 30) harryg
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I’m surprised as to how many comments either see this week’s blog as a non issue, or as highlighting a negative issue for the sake of it.
We’re spending megabucks on building a stadium which has 7,000 extra seats, so the fact we’ve lost more than 1,000 season ticket holders is pretty newsworthy.
I take back the comments about the Newcastle game, in light of a statement on the official Wolves website.
However, I still think the club made a big mistake only asking for small allocations for Fulham and Spurs away. We took 2,900 to Fulham (and thousands more in the neutral stand) just five months ago and the fact it sold out in three hours proves the demand was there.
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If they don’t offer the early bird next season and also make the likes of myself in the north bank pay full prices for probably the steve bull upper or worse bily wright then i’m sure the amount of season tickets sold will reduce even further as i will also become one of those that can no longer afford it. The question then is will i become like many ex season ticket holder mates and become an occasional visitor! I hope they think very carefully before deciding.
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I for one cant afford the £522 for a season ticket so i have to pick and choose my games. last season blackburn sold their cheapest season tickets at £190 (thats £10 per match). this season they have increased tickets by £1 making a season ticket £208. Although i know its a dream to wish for prices this low at the Wolves, i Would be able to scrape around £300/£350 for a season ticket in South/North bank.
What also gripes me is this two tier pricing scheme where it is £10 more expensive to watch us play Man u, Chelsea, Arsenal, Spurs etc. I go to watch Wolves, not the above mentioned teams. I would rather watch us have a chance of beating Bolton, stoke, Fulham etc than get comprehensivly beaten by the Bigger boys, Especially for £10 less.
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Eastwood, Last week you praised Tim,we want balance and our own Opinions not 30,000 sheep.Not everything in the garden is rosy.Good companies ignore critics at their peril.Heaven forbide that your mate Moxey is at fault for any thing.We all know he should be Prime Minister.
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This post wont get passed the PR machine.Price is a factor for decreased sales as well as the downturn.But surely other factors have applied.1 the football,one goal in 8 consecutive home matches,2 lack of transfer activity in Jan turned some folk off the early bird and once that decision is made it is difficult to get fans back,especially given the full cost in the summer,3 some people have been ejected out of the Billy Wright and lost car parking,no doubt a no have not renewed as a result of this,4 a general disillusionment with football after the World Cup and 5 last season was a bit of a honeymoon being first year in the Prem.Things in my opinion will not get better with a double dip on the way and the club going into debt with a massive new stadium commitment.The club should welcome fans views rather than trying to stiffle opinion.
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Interesting blog again Tim, I am really enjoying reading them every friday every though I dont totally agree with everything you say!!!…Its obvious that the topic you write about is relevant to the past week and I appreciate the effort and detail you put it…Alot of stuff that comes out in the express and star I dont agree with, especially match reports…Anyway, all I know is that I cant afford a season ticket and at the moment just pick games…It cost me, my dad and my fella £120 (just tickets) to go to the Newcastle game, im not sure how anyone can justify that price but I am Wolves through and through and will always try and get to matches.
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I forked out £522 (plus the ridiculous £5 admin fee) as a new season ticket holder. £527 for the cheapest season ticket! You can watch top 6 football sitting in the best seats in the house at Villa Park for about the same price.
Luckily I have a reasonable job and can afford to pay, but the club aren’t thinking about the next generation of fans.
Ok, so under-17 tickets cost £247. But once they turn 17, a new applicant would have to stump up £527. How many 17 year olds can possibly afford this kind of money?
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I actually think the Early bird prices are reasonable.Anything more and it`s too much.
In comparison to other attractions Alton towers etc it`s a good day out at a fair price.
I know there cheaper tickets at other grounds —but we don`t get the TV coverage.(i know nor do Wigan/WestBrom.)
Maybe the FA should set a standard price for all clubs?
I`m also to tight to buy a pie and a beer in stand.
I agree drop the prices,fill more seats ,get a bigger fan base ,more TV coverage,cheaper pies—and a new year break of two weeks (add to end of season)
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Well said tim, theres loads of people wanted to go to fulham and spurs who cant get tickets.We will always sell nigh on 3000 tickets wherever we play especially for london games,(theres a few hundred from down south who always go to these fixtures) surely we want as much support at away games as possible. The speed at which these tickets sold out should be enough of an indicator you would have thought!
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yes tim you are right about falling season ticket sales and the cost of tickets in general, but i feel the club should drop prices for loyal fans.
but i also feel the recession wont last more than 2 years, and if were still in premier nxt season our rebuild will have started, and we will fill our stadium most games.
wanderer in eire, if you must slag off mick mcarthy you do that , but to say he stops us playing? thanks for the laugh.
you say if we had played every game last season the same way we played the west ham game we would have finished top ten? really?
i can guarantee we would have been relegated as more skillfull teams than west ham would have picked us off. and then you and your doom and gloom mates would have said we told you so and welcomed mcarthys inevitable sacking. but fortunately mick knew what he was doing and kept us up and unbeaten this season before todays game. so wanderer in eire what do you say now?. utw
fulham 1 wwfc 2 doyle, jarvis.
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If you’re using most of my Nom De Guerre in
yours, supporters will think you’re my number one fan and that, my boy, will get you a bad name. JtH.
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Great Blog Tim, don’t let them grind you down.
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fantastic blog, good that someone from E&S had the balls to write this. The booking fee, or ‘pie tax’ as i like to call it is a farce, it should be per transaction not per ticket, the club pay a fee per transaction, a £35 ticket they get charged around 50p if you pay by card, the club taking a £1 profit, for £10 ticket its even less, the home friendly game was 4 for £4 but had to pay £6 in booking fees if you had to book over the 0871 ‘premium rate’ number. the excuse wolves made about the low away allocations is also poor. don’t get me started on the fee if you wanted an AST. regarding season tickets, the entry price now is too high, if I didn’t have the early bird, and if it is dropped next season (which i dont think it will based on this drop in sales), then i would have to think twice about signing up again.
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My seven-year-old boy is firmly Wolves here in York but long journey to games put him off, and combined with petrol prices on top of high cost of season ticket, stopped me renewing both our season tickets. Bring down prices by 30% and I’d get them both again, no problem. At moment I’d rather save money for occasional day out at away games
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Great blog Tim, keep up the good work. Nathan was also unduly criticised for daring to have a point of view. Keep them coming.Cheers
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Bums on seats eh!!??..Molineux was never the same when it became all-seater,ticket only…make the southbank standing again,get some atmosphere back in the place,such a cheap way to increase the capacity too..
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