(01-02-2024, 10:07 AM)Bob Fossil Wrote:

(01-02-2024, 09:49 AM)Brentbaggie Wrote:

(01-02-2024, 09:40 AM)Derek Hardballs Wrote:

(01-02-2024, 09:35 AM)Brentbaggie Wrote:

(01-02-2024, 08:49 AM)Derek Hardballs Wrote: The club sits in one of the most deprived / lowest income areas in the country, raising season ticket prices is not going to encourage local people to attend.

I would've thought Sunderland and especially Middlesbro' are pretty close in those terms and yet they have some of the highest cost season tickets.

If owners want to price out local working class people then it’s an option. Why they’d want to make it cost prohibitive for local people with very little real gain in finance is a question I would ask.

Sunderland's average home gate is 42000, the highest in the division, Middlesbro' over 27000. It doesn't seem to put them off or are their fans simply more committed?

30 miles between the two. Massive catchment areas for both compared to us. Even if you factor in Newcastle, which is still 15 miles from Sunderland, it's nothing compared to us, Villa, Blues and Wolves all within 20 mile.

(01-02-2024, 11:01 AM)Fulham Fallout Wrote:

(01-02-2024, 10:47 AM)Derek Hardballs Wrote:

(01-02-2024, 10:25 AM)Fulham Fallout Wrote:

(01-02-2024, 10:23 AM)Derek Hardballs Wrote:

(01-02-2024, 10:08 AM)Fulham Fallout Wrote: Sunderland is the same distance to Newcastle, as we are to the dingles. I doubt Sunderland fans have gone to watch Newcastle instead.

Our income needs to increase and our expenditure decreased. That's it in a nutshell Derek.

13m between one city Sunderland and one city Newcastle 
8.8m between WBA and Wolves 
5.5m between WBA and Villa 

It’s comparing apples and pears in terms of the concentration of local clubs competing for the next generation of support. 

Cranking up season ticket prices in an area where there are plenty of other options, where young families who have moved to an area with no allegiance to any local teams is a short term solution that will bring in a pittance in football terms in income whilst pricing out local support for the next generations. 

It’s a bean counter solution to a more difficult problem. We could add 50p to a packet of crisps on match day as well, that’s got to be worth at least two new young, hungry players.

and you think they'd want to come and support Albion, when there's two Premier sides close by?

Bean counting is exactly where we are, due to awful mis-management since Jenkins left.

Yes they will bring their families to us as a club because it’s affordable, on their doorstep (can afford to get there), have friends who go and you can currently get tickets. If you make them more expensive that only reduces our fanbase over the medium to long term and solves very little in terms of income generation. 

Your argument seems to be crank the prices up for those already loyal to the club without any interest in securing or attracting new customers. It needs a bigger and better business plan than just flogging as many players as we can and cranking up prices for those who already attend. That isn’t a solution it’s not even a sticking plaster.

That's got to happen and will happen.  Time to smell the coffee Derek.

(01-02-2024, 11:53 AM)NewWanker Wrote:

(01-02-2024, 10:07 AM)Bob Fossil Wrote:

(01-02-2024, 09:49 AM)Brentbaggie Wrote:

(01-02-2024, 09:40 AM)Derek Hardballs Wrote:

(01-02-2024, 09:35 AM)Brentbaggie Wrote: I would've thought Sunderland and especially Middlesbro' are pretty close in those terms and yet they have some of the highest cost season tickets.

If owners want to price out local working class people then it’s an option. Why they’d want to make it cost prohibitive for local people with very little real gain in finance is a question I would ask.

Sunderland's average home gate is 42000, the highest in the division, Middlesbro' over 27000. It doesn't seem to put them off or are their fans simply more committed?

30 miles between the two. Massive catchment areas for both compared to us. Even if you factor in Newcastle, which is still 15 miles from Sunderland, it's nothing compared to us, Villa, Blues and Wolves all within 20 mile.

Tyneside population is around 750,000....between 3 clubs... so 250k each
W Mids 2.9m between 6 clubs (inc. Cov) - 450k + each...

Bigger difference is the distance to other overlapping club areas... Not much near Tyneside/Teeside (until you get to Leeds 90ish mins away (from Tyneside)). W Mids isn't that far from London / Manc / Liverpool or even Leeds (around 90 - 120mins away).

It's not always the raw numbers in population for the catchment, you see far fewer 'foreign' (Man C / Arse / Pool / Chelsea) shirts around tynesdie than you do in the W Mids. It's a lot more tribal up there, probably like it used to be for us 30 - 40 years ago.

(01-02-2024, 11:59 AM)ColliersWoodBaggie Wrote:

(01-02-2024, 11:53 AM)NewWanker Wrote:

(01-02-2024, 10:07 AM)Bob Fossil Wrote:

(01-02-2024, 09:49 AM)Brentbaggie Wrote:

(01-02-2024, 09:40 AM)Derek Hardballs Wrote: If owners want to price out local working class people then it’s an option. Why they’d want to make it cost prohibitive for local people with very little real gain in finance is a question I would ask.

Sunderland's average home gate is 42000, the highest in the division, Middlesbro' over 27000. It doesn't seem to put them off or are their fans simply more committed?

30 miles between the two. Massive catchment areas for both compared to us. Even if you factor in Newcastle, which is still 15 miles from Sunderland, it's nothing compared to us, Villa, Blues and Wolves all within 20 mile.

Tyneside population is around 750,000....between 3 clubs... so 250k each
W Mids 2.9m between 6 clubs (inc. Cov) - 450k + each...

Bigger difference is the distance to other overlapping club areas... Not much near Tyneside/Teeside (until you get to Leeds 90ish mins away (from Tyneside)). W Mids isn't that far from London / Manc / Liverpool or even Leeds (around 90 - 120mins away).

It's not always the raw numbers in population for the catchment, you see far fewer 'foreign' (Man C / Arse / Pool / Chelsea) shirts around tynesdie than you do in the W Mids. It's a lot more tribal up there, probably like it used to be for us 30 - 40 years ago.

Teeside much closer to Leeds. Also not football country. Leeds are a city club , like Newcastle are. 

Re Midlands, the M5 and Solihull-Leamington-Banbury corridors are untapped potential and Albion have a fair number of fans this way. The West Midlands is the largest conurbation behind London (3m) with around another 9m living within an hour or so away. It's about marketing and improving growth.

(01-02-2024, 11:53 AM)NewWanker Wrote:

(01-02-2024, 10:07 AM)Bob Fossil Wrote:

(01-02-2024, 09:49 AM)Brentbaggie Wrote:

(01-02-2024, 09:40 AM)Derek Hardballs Wrote:

(01-02-2024, 09:35 AM)Brentbaggie Wrote: I would've thought Sunderland and especially Middlesbro' are pretty close in those terms and yet they have some of the highest cost season tickets.

If owners want to price out local working class people then it’s an option. Why they’d want to make it cost prohibitive for local people with very little real gain in finance is a question I would ask.

Sunderland's average home gate is 42000, the highest in the division, Middlesbro' over 27000. It doesn't seem to put them off or are their fans simply more committed?

30 miles between the two. Massive catchment areas for both compared to us. Even if you factor in Newcastle, which is still 15 miles from Sunderland, it's nothing compared to us, Villa, Blues and Wolves all within 20 mile.

Tyneside population is around 750,000....between 3 clubs... so 250k each
W Mids 2.9m between 6 clubs (inc. Cov) - 450k + each...

Bigger difference is the distance to other overlapping club areas... Not much near Tyneside/Teeside (until you get to Leeds 90ish mins away (from Tyneside)). W Mids isn't that far from London / Manc / Liverpool or even Leeds (around 90 - 120mins away).

It's not always the raw numbers in population for the catchment, you see far fewer 'foreign' (Man C / Arse / Pool / Chelsea) shirts around tynesdie than you do in the W Mids. It's a lot more tribal up there, probably like it used to be for us 30 - 40 years ago.

(01-02-2024, 11:53 AM)Malcolm Tucker Wrote: No one buys a business to fuck all its prized assets off and annoy the customers.

(01-02-2024, 12:12 PM)Fulham Fallout Wrote:

(01-02-2024, 11:53 AM)Malcolm Tucker Wrote: No one buys a business to fuck all its prized assets off and annoy the customers.

You know yourself Malc, that we need to eradicate losses and there's only too ways of achieving this. Increase turnover and / or cut costs.

(01-02-2024, 12:13 PM)Malcolm Tucker Wrote:

(01-02-2024, 12:12 PM)Fulham Fallout Wrote:

(01-02-2024, 11:53 AM)Malcolm Tucker Wrote: No one buys a business to fuck all its prized assets off and annoy the customers.

You know yourself Malc, that we need to eradicate losses and there's only too ways of achieving this. Increase turnover and / or cut costs.

There are far more creative ways to do it with a football club, as those bastards up the road have shown.