GARETH Roberts is joined by Paul Cope, John Gibbons and Jay McKenna to discuss an article by Matthew Syed in The Times about ticket prices and touting in football.
The panel discuss Syed’s questions about the Bundesliga’s approach and the idea of lowering prices in the Premier League, while also bringing it back to Liverpool FC.
What are the solutions? How bad is the problem for Liverpool, home and away, and is there a one-size-fits-all answer to make the whole thing better?
Another great podcast lads could debate that one all day. I have a fan card / members card and have done for 7 years now and its getting harder every season to get tickets on the members sales, I live in Scotland and try to get down to four or five games a season. I have been scammed twice from touts in recent seasons by paying them the money but never seeing the ticket. Now i knew the risks when it came to touts but I am also desperate to get down to the match and you have to kind of weigh it up that way but I still felt like a total knob for paying them and getting nothing in return. But I have no idea how to tackle the problem because there are thousands of fans like me who are desperate to get to the match and willing to pay that little bit extra if need be just to get in so you don’t feel like you are missing out, and there are always going to be lads who can get tickets who are more than happy to sell them for a profit or even just scammers which is much worse. Maybe the club could do more but I don’t think they want to get involved as long as the stadium is full why would they care who is sitting in the seats.
You need to go back a couple of months to another article he wrote about how reduced ticket prices in England could lead to social unrest. Syed got hammered for it and this was a follow up to that I think
Away tickets are a bugbear of mine. I used to got to a few away games years ago but since all the local(ish) teams where you get a big allocation (like Blackburn, Bolton and Wigan) started dropping out the league its become nigh on impossible to get tickets for aways. I’ve only been to 3 aways in the last 7 years now, and in only one of them did I pay face value for the ticket (Villa last season). The problem is that the same people are just hoovering up all the away tickets and either selling them on for above face value or passing them on to their mates.
I’ve been desperate to get to an away this season but no matter how hard I’ve tried I haven’t managed it. So you can imagine my despair when some American fella comes on one of the shows the other week and says dead casually that he’s over for a few days and is going to Stoke away, when me, a season ticket holder of many years no less, can’t get an away ticket for love nor money! It’s just a really frustrating situation in that I don’t know the right people and/or I’m not prepared to be ripped off so aways are a closed shop for me.
Maybe a solution to the away games is to limit the number of aways per person to 10 games a season?
I don’t go away, but saw recently 18 credits were needed for the next away game…18!!
Limiting the number to 10, would immediately double the number of people who could attend away games.
Just a suggestion.
Interesting show lads, (love to know how many people contact John now about tickets) are there sites you can go on to get tickets at face value?
In my ignorance I never knew this was a thing.I have been coming up from the south for the last 30 years and it’s getting more and more difficult and expensive to go.
Went to the Burnley home game a few weeks ago with the Wife who brought them through an agency at around £450 for 2 in the main stand, around 7 times the face value, not the best game but just love to come up .
I always feel torn about getting tickets in this way but what else can you do if you don’t know anyone local.
I have no idea how many people in the Kop have sold on there tickets to make money , Syed won’t have a clue so not sure what his point is but the sheer number of sites on the Web offering tickets to every game in this way sudgests there are plenty cashing in, not just Liverpool but all over the prem.
I totally agree that the fans who travel to all always like John should get first dibs on tickets and it is crucial more local fans get into the ground to watch live games to help keep the clubs unique identity.the downside to Liverpool being a worldwide phenomenon is people want to be there and experience it for themselves .
Thanks again lads