Away season tickets - should they continue?

[Ercall Wolves]

It has been discussed before, and the conversation pretty much goes the same way every time. I’ve not seen anyone yet come up with a really good alternative.

Some people do sell on tickets when they can’t make the game, but the percentage compared to ASTs who go to pretty much every game is really small.

We only seem to have this discussion when a game comes up with huge demand. For the WBA game the sales are potentially going down to STH with 1030 points, so if you’ve been to the home friendlies, the Blackpool cup game or even one of the sways this season that didn’t have massive demand (Palace, Ipswich, Fulham) you’re in with a chance. I’m not sure what else the club could do?

Spot on

 

[Ercall Wolves]

Maybe we should get rid of home season tickets as well then.

They are a closed shop and people have been on the waiting list for years.

And people sell there tickets on or pass them to mates which is not fair.

We could have ballots for every home game, and maybe a special stand for people who havent been to get to a game before due to multiple commitments and want to see Man Utd at Molineux.

Love that answer
As people have said already this conversation only comes up when we have a big away game
Never had this conversation when the Brighton tickets went on sale

 

[lets all have a disco]

I’m not saying it doesn’t happen, of course it does. Just that it’s nowhere near as prevalent as folk make out. There aren’t masses of people buying them so they can attend the 6 games they want and flogging the rest. I’ve used a pals for a few in the past purely because he can’t/wont do midweek games.

As I say I’ve been full circle, I’ve had an away ST for years, then had years of going when it suited me and having no problems with tickets to now struggling but still getting tickets when I can. End of the day for me wolves is my leisure pursuit not my life so I make it fit accordingly. Mid 20s did it bother me going away to Rotherham and turning up to work half dead and hungover the next morning? Not at all. Do I particularly want to go to Everton on a Thursday night now, book time off work etc? Not at all.

Although I’m saying all this because I’m fairly safe in the knowledge that on 1050 points I’m getting a ticket for the poorthornes, my attitude might be different if not lol

True story....home season ticket ....me mate who doesn't miss a game home and away for donkeys years ....anyway when Europe come around away and it was names on the ticket, passport collection....he was snookered ....his home season ticket was in his mom's name , had been for since it was taken out....he had never got round to changing the name...

First European game away in Ireland he was nearly in tears in the ticket office, telling em the situation etc etc . .and explaining his problem as both home n away were in his mom's name....even his mom went up ... anyway the ticket office understood the situation, and could obviously see his loyalty with his loyalty points etc.....they agreed to change the names in the tickets so he was eligible to go away in Europe but said they would have to take the loyalty points away....hence no ticket for Ireland, back of the que...still went to Belfast for a drink but had to start again with his loyalty points..he was first in the queue for Armenia away....never missed another one in Europe...or since home n away..

 

[Ercall Wolves]

Small minority will resell tickets quite regularly however its always been a core of set of fans who go away, they'll still be going away if we got sent down to league 2 tomorrow and the bloggers, vloggers and youtubers will have disappeared.

ASTs need to stay in my opinion the fans who travel to the **** end of nowhere (Palace etc) deserve to get priority tickets for glamorous ties.

Spot on

 

[Wolf316]

I do miss the days of being able to go on away days with a few mates, then again I also miss the days of paying on the turnstile (or the ticket office the morning of the game) or the random weekend night game.

My son's are missing out on ever going to away games, I was looking alot over the past few seasons but hadn't realised this season games had got down to members.

I didn't renew my membership this season as I only kept it last (after Vinny got rid of membership points) as I was on the waiting list for a ST. Was offered a ST beginning of this and couldn't get 3 seats anywhere near each other so figured it was a waste of time.

I'm not moaning at those that go regular to away games, that's some commitment and to be commended, just would be nice to be able to retain an element of the more casual fan about it. That's what Fulham's neutral stand was always good for.

I can't say I'm particularly bothered about the opposition either, usually location suited me better than opposition!

It’s a compete **** take that you need a membership to stay on the ST list.

 

[Ercall Wolves]

AST’s are a thanks from the club to those who regularly attended away games when we were **** in the Championship, as that’s where most of the AST holders started. It makes no sense for an AST holder to sell on their tickets any more as they don’t need the points.

Like it or not, it is the fairest system that looks after the folks who have always been there no matter how the club is doing or how glamorous the game is.

And League One

 

[Ned]

Can’t agree with this sentiment, I’m afraid. I’m glad the home games have been made more accessible to members - I’m aware this sounds a little selfish but it is what it is.

Regarding away games I’m a lowly member and will be at my 3rd this season on Monday night. I could have got tickets to Fulham had I wanted as well (work commitments/wife said no) and could have gone to Brentford away in the league or cup as well, I think.

I have the same attitude with home games as potential away games; I go to support Wolves regardless of who the opposition is as I want to watch and support MY team.

 

[fleck1]

Its a difficult one you can't please everyone with just a limited number available for each away fixture, so the club will never win. A lot of away season ticket holders have had their ticket for years and had to suffer some absolute rubbish and still stuck with the team and the time/financial commitment that comes with it and for me deserve to be rewarded with priority. I know personally I can generally get a couple of tickets for most away games through away season ticket holders or their friends who are, which is obviously fine for me but maybe not fair across the fan base for people without that connection. I guess an away season ticket holder passing their ticket on to a mate is no different to me doing the same with my home one if I can't attend, I guess its the number available that causes the debate. The only way I can see is if a season ticket holder cant attend home or away then it goes back to the club to resell and you get refunded pro-rata, but after trying the ticket resale option once I've not bothered wasting my time since.

 

[slaphead_wolf]

I've heard they're likely to be scrapped next season with the current AST given a higher points total than everyone else start of next season. Pretty harsh imo if true given some people have had them a while but I suppose if you are buying the tickets still each week you'll basically have a quasi AST anyway.

 

[Oliwolf44]

Hi was wondering if i could have my cake and eat it too please. It really annoys me that while im sat by the fire with my slippers on watching the brighton match on tv on a monday night i cant access the BCD tickets because they have all been taken by those who have selfishly trekked down to brighton in the snow and wont be back til the early hours on a coach. Just Unfair
In all seriousness, what option do the club have, you're going to annoy somebody. There is never any clamour for an overhaul of the ticket policies until matches like this come along. Sometimes thats just the way it goes and those that put in the effort, time and money deserve the prioirity. Does mean our away support will mainly be retired old men but what is the solution
Only thing i can think is 100 tkts each match in a ballot to all members, but then that will annoy the last 100 AST who dont get one. Or somehow resales are stopped and any not sold go into a ballot.
People get annoyed we dont spend loads of money on a new striker, build a whole new stadium, no tickets for £5, no guarantee of a BCD ticket, you cant win em all

 

[citrus_wolf]

It’s a compete **** take that you need a membership to stay on the ST list.

The membership thing is a stupid ticket tax anyway. Why should getting a ticket depend on paying a £40 fee?

 

[Bankswolf The Third]

Think you will find the AST was a reward scheme offered when we were getting 18,000 a week at Molineux. I dont have one I got my points from going every week but at the time it helped and the fact its being phased out makes sense
I would tread lightly though mistreating those with AST they were there at our lowest they deserve to be there now

 

[SingYourHeartsOut]

Think you will find the AST was a reward scheme offered when we were getting 18,000 a week at Molineux. I dont have one I got my points from going every week but at the time it helped and the fact its being phased out makes sense
I would tread lightly though mistreating those with AST they were there at our lowest they deserve to be there

Is it a 'reward' scheme? The old scheme made sense to me, you commit to doing away games by paying a portion up front, we'll guarantee you can get a ticket. The current scheme just seems like a way to extract money from away fans. It just costs you an extra £75 for the privilege of buying first.

 

[Oliwolf44]

The membership thing is a stupid ticket tax anyway. Why should getting a ticket depend on paying a £40 fee?

Absolutely. especially when some members only go a few times. Its the cost of an extra ticket added on. Personally put me off that and just make do with general sales.

 

[SteveBullsKnee]

True story....home season ticket ....me mate who doesn't miss a game home and away for donkeys years ....anyway when Europe come around away and it was names on the ticket, passport collection....he was snookered ....his home season ticket was in his mom's name , had been for since it was taken out....he had never got round to changing the name...

First European game away in Ireland he was nearly in tears in the ticket office, telling em the situation etc etc . .and explaining his problem as both home n away were in his mom's name....even his mom went up ... anyway the ticket office understood the situation, and could obviously see his loyalty with his loyalty points etc.....they agreed to change the names in the tickets so he was eligible to go away in Europe but said they would have to take the loyalty points away....hence no ticket for Ireland, back of the que...still went to Belfast for a drink but had to start again with his loyalty points..he was first in the queue for Armenia away....never missed another one in Europe...or since home n away..

Funny enough a mate of mine who has only become a mate through wolves (we live 10 miles from each other but he started hanging round with us at games 20 years ago) had exactly the same issue. He had a season ticket for years which was actually his dad’s previously. Rolled on for years after in his dad’s name but he paid it. His dad sadly passed away pre Europe and he couldn’t get tickets. In fact it took some real arguing with the ticket office because once he disclosed the above they said they were going to cancel the smart card, thankfully someone senior saw sense and swapped it all in his name but he had zero points

 

[Oh When the Wolves]

It’s indefensible the AST scheme

Name 3 reasons why it should exist at a charge

 

[Bill S Preston Esq.]

Why would an AST buy a ticket to sell on if they were not going to the game?

They are guaranteed a ticket.

They do not have to build up loyalty points.

I'll say it again.

They do not have to build up loyalty points.

Why do people find that so difficult to understand?

Now there may be occasions when they cannot make a game and either sell a ticket on or return it to the club.

Non AST fans are MUCH more likely to buy a ticket to sell on as THEY NEED THE POINTS

AST'S DO NOT NEED THE POINTS.

I'll ask my AST friends as to why they sell on MOST of their tickets.

Like you say, they don't have to, but they do.

 

[Sergeant Hakeswill]

Well I would suggest that people are careful what they wish for.

I have an AST and I go to most games. I usually miss the odd game in August and Easter for holidays.

If I do not plan to go to the game I do not buy a ticket.

Scrap the AST and I will still go to every game. But I will then need the points.

So I will buy tickets for every game whether I plan to go or not. Multiply that by 1600 ASTs and you might find there are less tickets to go around, not more.

 

[Golden Arrow]

I’ve no issue with the away season ticket (and I say that as someone who hasn’t got one). Ultimately those folk stump up cash, do the hard miles and go to the less glamorous games. I think it was @JadeWolf who said it, it’s a bit of a fallacy to fit an argument to think masses sell on their tickets as the very vast majority of hardcore absolutely do. As a veteran of 25 years of away games you recognise the same old faces game by game.

For me it comes down to circumstance and the real want to go to away games to build up points. I’m sat on 1050 points as I did the pointless friendlies, the league cup games including Ipswich away and both palace and Brentford. I was an away ST holder for a long time under the old system and an away ST is a labour of love, traipsing the country awful midweek games away in Bolton/blackburn having to book time off work. Then I packed it in and became more choosy and went where I wanted when I wanted and rarely had trouble getting tickets. Nuno rolled up and the landscape changed. I didn’t moan that my loyalty wasn’t rewarded because I had the same option as before to buy an AST but I didn’t want to. Is it annoying that I can’t get tickets to Liverpool away or United? Course it is but the reward goes to those stump up and fit their life round wolves not vice versa.

I’m a big cricket fan and it’s only the same with test match tickets, play West Indies etc and you can get them a week before but people moan they can’t get Aussie tickets.

Would we even be having this discussion today if we weren’t playing Albion a week Sunday? Absolutely not.

You can get Aussie tickets if you join the Barmy Army. Some may look upon it as an insurance policy, but it is valid.

I fit my life (to some degree) around Wolves because I'm fortunate to have both the time and the disposable income, although the latter has been tested more so this season with Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday fixtures as well as late kick offs, which have increased accommodation costs
I do have maximum points so may be able to get a BCD ticket, but I do feel for those who struggle to get off the starting blocks.
I met a guy at the Palace away game who was elated as he'd been successful in the ballot. Previously to that he'd struggled to get an away ticket.
There's no easy answer is there, but I guess a good starting point would be to attend pre-season friendlies and early cup games to at least get on the ladder.
I remember a conversation on the Mix not that long ago about potential relegation. Obviously, I didn't want that (who would), but the positive I took from that was that the guys I used to travel with to away games would have a better than average chance of getting a Saturday game ticket and that old camaraderie would return once again. For now, it's plenty of lone travel.

 

[lets all have a disco]

You can get Aussie tickets if you join the Barmy Army. Some may look upon it as an insurance policy, but it is valid.

I fit my life (to some degree) around Wolves because I'm fortunate to have both the time and the disposable income, although the latter has been tested more so this season with Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday fixtures as well as late kick offs, which have increased accommodation costs
I do have maximum points so may be able to get a BCD ticket, but I do feel for those who struggle to get off the starting blocks.
I met a guy at the Palace away game who was elated as he'd been successful in the ballot. Previously to that he'd struggled to get an away ticket.
There's no easy answer is there, but I guess a good starting point would be to attend pre-season friendlies and early cup games to at least get on the ladder.
I remember a conversation on the Mix not that long ago about potential relegation. Obviously, I didn't want that (who would), but the positive I took from that was that the guys I used to travel with to away games would have a better than average chance of getting a Saturday game ticket and that old camaraderie would return once again. For now, it's plenty of lone travel.

I've done the least away games I have for years this season with how they have fell....can't warrant time of work with some and the expense of others when they are in the telly ....was all in for Brentford away in the League till it was moved to a later kick off and telly ....and don't start me on the fa cup game

 

[Oh When the Wolves]

Never had an away season ticket and probably only missed out on Bournemouth and Luton away games in the last 10 seasons

Absolute waste of money from the people that pay for them - but hey ho - if you want to get fleeced by the club for something that doesnt make any difference to the clubs finances then so be it

 

[Oliwolf44]

He’s gone back to being a Man Utd fan

We should send him through the police cordons filming, doing his welcome to sandwell travelogue series and see how well it goes, so all our international fans get a first hand account of the derby.

 

[Pengwern]

I went to a load of away games before we were in the EPL, but can’t afford an ast and living in the North West i’d now go only to those noth of Birmingham. There’s no reward for me for supporting us away in all 3 lower divisions (70 odd in total). I fail in every ballot.

 

[oldgoldheart]

Funny how the anti AST mob come out of the woodwork for wba away. Not so vocal for brighton next monday

 

[Bossworld]

Newcastle have tried to combat this, this season, by randomly selecting a sample of away tickets purchases and making them pick up from the away box office with appropriate ID.

Suffice to say, they're no longer selling out every away.

No perfect answers and unfortunately as an exile, for me personally, selfishly it's handy being able to get myself a ticket for Newcastle away, from someone who is effectively loyalty point farming.

 

[WeAreTheWolvesII]

You have to have something in place, and AST makes sense in that sense, as do loyalty points.

The only issue I have with all of this is offering ten points for friendly games. I think that's completely out of order and designed to get money out of fans because they wouldn't otherwise.

10 'loyalty' points for a friendly at home to Rennes being worth the same as someone who will book half a day off work and get back in the early hours on Monday at Brighton, for example, doesn't sit well with me.

Overall though, it's not too bad because I know for a fact there has been opportunities for people to build up points.

 

[Oldgoldilox]

As well as having a multitude of excuses for not being able to get to those home friendlies and cup games early in the season..

Always go to the home friendlies, only one of them this season tbh and went to the Blackpool game.

It's not about the Albion game per se, the number of fans that would like the opportunity at least to attend an away game or five far outweighs the number are able.

 

[Sergeant Hakeswill]

https://www.eticketing.co.uk/wolves/EDP/Event/Index/213?position=2

There we go, Brighton tickets still available.

 

[glorybox]

I think there’s just a general sense of frustration that for such a big match there will be many thousands of us who won’t be able to be there.

 

[lostwolf]

I'll ask my AST friends as to why they sell on MOST of their tickets.

Like you say, they don't have to, but they do.

Same here. It would be a pretty fair solution to the problemwere it not for that fact.

I suppose like most people, I'd like a system that worked for me. Pre-Nuno, I was doing half a dozen away games a season, but only the same number of home games, as I was living in East Anglia (Norwich, Yarmouth, Colchester and Southend - hence LostWolf!) so typically did the likes of Ipswich/Norwich/Peterborough/Colchester etc plus London weekend games and Blues. The rest of ghe time I went to non league games. I wasn't even a member most seasons but had no trouble getting in. So I wasn't prolific, and don't deserve special treatment but I was in my own way loyal. I can't think of a system that would work for me though, without unfairly affecting other fans.

 

[Pagey]

Hi was wondering if i could have my cake and eat it too please. It really annoys me that while im sat by the fire with my slippers on watching the brighton match on tv on a monday night i cant access the BCD tickets because they have all been taken by those who have selfishly trekked down to brighton in the snow and wont be back til the early hours on a coach. Just Unfair

If that were the case then why is there still tickets available to Brighton on general sale, surely they'd have been snapped up by those who reckon they go every week.

Or wasn't they brought as they knew they wouldn't be sold on?
Points from Brighton would be to late, as were Brentford replay.

 

[Pagey]

https://www.eticketing.co.uk/wolves/EDP/Event/Index/213?position=2

There we go, Brighton tickets still available.

Hang on a bit, surely there's a reason why it hasn't sold out at much higher points?

 

[Ercall Wolves]

If that were the case then why is there still tickets available to Brighton on general sale, surely they'd have been snapped up by those who reckon they go every week.

Or wasn't they brought as they knew they wouldn't be sold on?
Points from Brighton would be to late, as we're Brentford replay.

There’s only about 50 tickets remaining isn’t there?

 

[Oh When the Wolves]

Don’t know why it’s so hard to have a weighted points system based on distance travelled from your postcode for each away game - with midweek games weighted more heavily too .

 

[Bostin]

Don’t know why it’s so hard to have a weighted points system based on distance travelled from your postcode for each away game - with midweek games weighted more heavily too .

What, so the fans who come over from South Korea for a game get 50 points while someone from Wolverhampton gets 10?

 

[Pagey]

There’s only about 50 tickets remaining isn’t there?

Not sure what that means after tickets have been on general sale for days?

 

[Carl Corts Flick Ons]

Don’t know why it’s so hard to have a weighted points system based on distance travelled from your postcode for each away game - with midweek games weighted more heavily too .

Out of all the ideas mentioned this has to be the worst

 

[yateleywolf]

I get to away games by people selling on their ticket I watch the wolves but don't get the points. Common practice nowadays and I just accept it.
The only game that annoyed was West Ham away I mean people were giving them away for free in the end. I could of got one on my points easily in retrospect as there were 100s on resale.

 

[WolfLing]

Anyone on 1050 points is guaranteed a ticket for Albion and so if you’ve been to 3 friendlies / cup games and 2 away games you’re in.

I agree with most of you post.

But part of the point of the OP is about passing on tickets.

It's an important distinction here, but anyone who has bought tickets to 3 friendlies/cup games and 2 away games will be guaranteed a ticket for Albion, not anyone who has been to them!

 

[Brockmoorwolf]

Funny how the anti AST mob come out of the woodwork for wba away. Not so vocal for brighton next monday

Im going to brighton as it went down to members. How come all the ast holders didnt fancy the brighton fixture.