Tuesday 8 November 2011

Swansea City: Man United tickets sell out... but why?

I wasn't planning to write a new post until my November exams had finished (towards the end of next week), but with my Twitter feed going mental over the Man United ticket problems I felt I had to write a small reflection.

Let's get the facts out first - as was reported by the club this afternoon:

Swansea City can confirm that all home tickets for the Premier League fixture with champions Manchester United on November 19 have sold out today.

Following a busy first day of sales on Monday, the remaining few tickets were snapped up this morning as the club sold out its home allocation for the sixth consecutive match.


It seems to be the season-ticket holders with over a certain amount of points on the Jack Army membership scheme who got hold of the majority of tickets yesterday, before the final few were purchased today (I believe these were also season-ticket holders, albeit with less points).

This does beg the question: why does the ever-infuriating Jack Army scheme give priority to those who already have a ticket to the match? (I'm not having a go at season-ticket holders by the way - far from it - instead having a go at the logic of the scheme). Naturally season-ticket holders don't need another ticket as they already have one. I'm not arguing this case too much, because the answer is probably: they are buying them for friends/brothers/fathers who, say, can't afford a season ticket usually, which is a probable scenario. I have little qualms with that.

There is the option that they are buying tickets for 'plastic' fans or Man United fans living in Swansea who just want to watch Alex Ferguson’s men instead of their home team (and there will be quite a few in the stands by all accounts). This is irritating as it fills the seat of a true Swans fan who may not be able to afford a season ticket, or who lives away and can't get to every match. However, I can write this option off as a 'it was bound to happen because its the biggest game of the season'.

What I don't accept as fair is the rumours of those who have bought a spare ticket and are selling them for a large profit, either online or on the gates. Currently these are unconfirmed rumours – I'm going off a number of comments I've noted on Twitter and Facebook. There will always be those wanting to make a profit off other people, but the worst thing about these rumours is: it is Swans fans making a profit off Swans fans!

If you think about it, only those with the season-ticket AND Jack Army membership AND priority points (essentially fans who have already spent a lot of time and money following the club) were able to buy the tickets before they sold out. Therefore, if any are exchanging hands for well over the RRP, it's a loyal Swans fan ripping off another Swans fan. As I said: these may just be rumours and come to nothing, but if you are thinking of selling your ticket on to a genuine Swansea supporter, please don't do it extortionately!

Remember, if you weren't lucky enough to get a ticket but are still intent on watching the match, it is on ESPN and in the majority of Swansea pubs with that dodgy Armenian television channel on Saturday 19 November at 5:30pm .

That's it from me, I'll be back soon with my usual brand of sketchy, irreverent (and irrelevant) blogs.

14 comments:

  1. Good post Chris,

    Hopefully there isn't some 'cashing in' done by our fans.

    If they are caught, I would imagine tickets can be traced back to season ticket/scheme holders then their season ticket is made null and void instantly.

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  2. Good Post Chris.
    Yes, it is absurd that those who already have a ticket get first dabs on the remaining matchday tickets.
    I still cannot get an answer as to why "the match is another sell-out to home supporters" when at every home match so far, there have been empty seats scattered throughout the stadium, but significantly blocks of several or more empty seats in sections WU2 / WU3 of the upper West stand (West / South Corner).
    Perhaps they were all bought up just for the match with Man Utd a week on Saturday!

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  3. Good post Chris. Sadly there's bound to be a small number who profiteer but I believe vast majority go to genuine fans.

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  4. great blog, however, why have a JA scheme for non St holders?

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  5. Great Blog on Man Spew Tickets. Too true some will cash in on this event & some will be handed to Armchair MU supporters!!

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  6. couldn't agree more mate. i live in Ireland.plane tickets bought to come over.have no match ticket. some1 via twitter said he would sell me his ticket £150. SWANSEA fan since 8 and cant watch my team because of disgusting greedy 'fans'

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  7. bonkers scheme. fact. leighton, london

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  8. Tickets are going for £350 on online auction sites. Sick.

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  9. Thanks for the messages guys! Glad the majority agree and Scott - £350 for a ticket is crazy. I hope nobody buys it!

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  10. Good post Chris. I think the problem here is the same problem you will have at all premiership grounds, especially the teams that have just been promoted because its a chance for local people to see the best teams in the country and that hasn't happened in Swansea since the 80's. When the champions come to town everyone wants to go watch them and so demand far exceeds supply. A lot of fans in Swansea are plastic fans because last year average attendance was roughly 13,000 and now every game is a sell out more or less!! But its the same for most clubs. Senza Zucchero haha!!

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  11. I've supported the swans for 10 years now and this is really pissing me off, queued for a season ticket didn't get one, had to pay £35 for a JA membership and been to every home game this season, waking up at 10am and going through the hassle of our brilliant online system. And yet still, i don't get priority over someone who hasn't even been to a game but can afford a JA membership with ease. Anyway, of course i didn't get a man utd ticket, or didn't manage to get a villa ticket. luckily these games are both on TV and i will definately not be going down to the stadium looking to pay some greedy twat £100 plus for one ticket, it's not worth double the play-off final thankyou. went to a vast majority of the home games with ease last season, hate all the plastic fans, it's not what swansea afc is all about

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  12. Yeah the popularity of these games can actually be very annoying! While it is great to see a full crowd, too many miss out and - thanks to the odd Jack Army scheme - can't afford to buy tickets off touts / ebay for £100!

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  13. The QPR home game ... Once again copies MAN UTD
    ticket sales. Logged on @ 10.00 am to purchase my Jack Army Family and Friends tickets 6 as usual. For 45 minutes I tried to purchase my tickets and dispite continual attempts the site advised me to try again. Phoned the ticket office kept me waiting on 4 seperate occassions but no response. Then out of the blue the web site flagged up QPR Sold Out. There is something unfair with Swansea City home ticket allocations. ANYONE OUT THERE KNOWS THE REASON WHY ?

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  14. swans rock and chelsea and liverpool can fuck off

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