Season Ticket Discussion 2024/25

[Squeak]

We don't have higher paying customers, not on any kind of reliable basis. That's the fallacy this is all driven by.

I'd be amazed if our gate money in 2024/25 exceeds by any meaningful factor what we brought in during 2023/24.

If we lose 15% of our ~22,000 season ticket holders (I think it'll be more) that's around 3,500 gone. We will not get 3,500 people who are currently not season ticket holders to simply step in off the waiting list and fill that gap, not a hope. So it's on to relying on match-by-match income, fine when we've got Man Utd or Liverpool at home, good luck with trying to fill those seats when you want £45 to watch us play Bournemouth, Fulham, Ipswich, Southampton, Brentford etc and we're 13th in the league, going nowhere fast.

I suspect you'll see way more variance in attendances than we have in any top flight season since the early 80s. 31,000 nailed on for the big games and right down to 25,000 for a load of others.

Of course we do. They take the form of sponsorship, VIP and hospitality and those folks are quite prepared to pay for it. Then we have several rungs on the ladder below that.

I agree that our gate money won't change significantly but when saying that, we must remember that we are in the age of the multi-millionaire footballer paid 100K plus a week in the Prem. Match day income isn't huge compared to other income streams but it shouldn't be forgotten about and it does need to bring in income to cover match day expenses at the very least.

We'll see what the new season brings but IMO, what might change attendance levels are 1) team performance 2) VAR 3) weather.

 

[Squeak]

It's certainly getting attention!

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c4nn2e3xe2eo.amp

“The first one to go will be the child’s ticket so there’s every chance that Harry won’t be able to go to football anymore.”

Poor little Harry.

"Where you going Dad?"

"Off down the Molineux"

"Wish I could come Dad."

 

[Tredman]

Can hardly send Harry without Dad can he ffs

 

[Deutsch Wolf]

I agree that our gate money won't change significantly but when saying that, we must remember that we are in the age of the multi-millionaire footballer paid 100K plus a week in the Prem. Match day income isn't huge compared to other income streams but it shouldn't be forgotten about and it does need to bring in income to cover match day expenses at the very least.

It's complete chickenfeed, how are you buying that spin from the club?!

If EVERYONE renewed it'd realise less than £3m extra p/a, which is nothing to us. We have revenue in excess of £160m every single year.

Also we literally just had a gate of around 25,000 vs Bournemouth, not including season ticket holders who didn't show up, that is where we'll be given we're voluntarily throwing away thousands of loyal fans.

 

[C.L.D]

I'm not a fan of TalkSport at all, but this is a relatively, balanced discussion. (Ignore the click bait tag)

"Balanced"? Not the word I'd use. I came out of watching that feeling like I'd wasted 12 minutes and worse, empathy for Palace fans they had to put up with that as an owner. No surprise he drove them into administration if that's his mentality.

Nothing about these price rises on fans will have any impact on the team itself. Or even the club/stadium - proof is in the flaking paint. Ffs, the club will get more from the parachute payment reimbursement than this! Player wages are all tied up in TV deal money anyway and if it was true, when we went down to 4th lowest wage bill things should've corrected. Except we didn't sign anyone in January and our most likely signing is currently a free agent. It's pure smoke and mirrors.

He knew full well what the fallout would be by putting prices up this much, he’ll be expecting it and it won’t bother him one bit. Like I say, I have no problem with people renewing, it really is their choice, but the only way to ruffle Fosun is to not give them money. He won’t care about your discontent when you’ve paid £40 a time to shout at him from afar.

It wasn't just him not being bothered by the expected backlash, he premeditated it by releasing a column telling fans the club may not be for them! Sports fans are a captive market, there's sadly only one way fans can protest that they'll listen too.

 

[Squeak]

It's complete chickenfeed, how are you buying that spin from the club?!

If EVERYONE renewed it'd realise less than £3m extra p/a, which is nothing to us. We have revenue in excess of £160m every single year.

Also we literally just had a gate of around 25,000 vs Bournemouth, not including season ticket holders who didn't show up, that is where we'll be given we're voluntarily throwing away thousands of loyal fans.

The pain of disconnect will be too much for some people so reluctantly they will agree to pay it. It's got nothing to do with the spin from the club.

Different people have different experiences in life and my experience from over 40 years in business, kin hell, that's a reality check, is that people won't act in mass as you believe they will in this instance. The football club is a part of their life. Heck, some folks on here have said they will renew, not because they like what is happening or what they will have to pay, but because it brings them some joy and happiness in life. People want to move away from pain and towards pleasure. Wolves provides that for them. (And yes, we all know the pain of shit results and performances.... part of the dynamic.)

As for your £3m (approx 2% of our income) being chicken feed, I just can't agree. It is still £3m towards our costs and overheads. Thinking that £3m nothing is thinking that gets you into financial difficulties if you carry it to its logical conclusion... of how much actually is chicken feed or irrelevant to our club? Answer, all of it is relevant and makes a difference.

I note you quote 25,000 v Bournemouth but there are good reasons why you might get the odd blip and among them here would be a team not performing, VAR being involved in the game, it's Bournemouth, not much at stake, etc. The reality is that we do average 31,000 and even with this ridiculous price hike, we probably will still do that next season.

 

[Deutsch Wolf]

You're not making sense.

You've got multiple people on here alone who've been going for decades (me included) who aren't going next season because the club are taking the piss, not because they can't afford it.

We are going to lose at least a couple of thousand of season ticket holders, easily, and there is no evidence at all we'll be replacing them for the run of the mill games, one-off tickets have always been very easy to get for years outside of the obvious games, we're going to put matchday prices up even further, people won't go.

At very, very, very best we won't lose money in 2024/25 compared to 2023/24. But we'll also have alienated loads of fans and created a toxic atmosphere. Masterful gambit Jeff, how do you do it.

 

[North Shropshire Lad]

Happy to bet we won’t average 31,000 next season. For years people have been saying you can’t get a ticket - you can at virtually every game. Next season will see half the games at least mid/late 20s

 

[PuntsWolf]

I’d like to know how many season ticket holders we had in Kenny Jackets final season. That was less than 10 years ago.

I sat in there, it was dead as anything, barely any fucker there. So there isn’t actually that many people who “The pain of disconnect will be too much” for.

 

[Deutsch Wolf]

I’d like to know how many season ticket holders we had in Kenny Jackets final season. That was less than 10 years ago.

I sat in there, it was dead as anything, barely any fucker there. So there isn’t actually that many people who “The pain of disconnect will be too much” for.

I showed Jane Stevenson how she was lying about "being on a waiting list" eight years ago. This was new owners and loads of new signings, so you'd get a bump there.

Reading 20,425
Ipswich 19,991
Burton 22,049
Barnsley 18,668
Brentford 20,367

We have a hardcore, definitely. We have just alienated that hardcore.

 

[Squeak]

You're not making sense.

You've got multiple people on here alone who've been going for decades (me included) who aren't going next season because the club are taking the piss, not because they can't afford it.

We are going to lose at least a couple of thousand of season ticket holders, easily, and there is no evidence at all we'll be replacing them for the run of the mill games, one-off tickets have always been very easy to get for years outside of the obvious games, we're going to put matchday prices up even further, people won't go.

At very, very, very best we won't lose money in 2024/25 compared to 2023/24. But we'll also have alienated loads of fans and created a toxic atmosphere. Masterful gambit Jeff, how do you do it.

Maybe not to you.

You've also got far more people, not on here, who will pay and will go.

Time will tell. Time will tell.

 

[Deutsch Wolf]

It could be a very silent majority but everywhere you look there are long standing STHs cancelling.

I don't know who you and Jeff think these magical new fans who also spend way more at the ground every week are. I don't think they exist, there is nothing to say they do.

 

[big mean bunny]

This is the bit that bothers me from his statement on the BBC.

"We do listen to fan feedback, and we understand that price increases are unpopular, but our aim is to ensure our prices are neither significantly higher nor lower than our peers."

Why would you not want to be lower? That's not a plus statement Jeff. I get they aren't competing with the other teams, but you should be looking after and empowering your own fans.

 

[Johnny75]

“The first one to go will be the child’s ticket so there’s every chance that Harry won’t be able to go to football anymore.”

Poor little Harry.

"Where you going Dad?"

"Off down the Molineux"

"Wish I could come Dad."

Even by your standards this is a wank attempt at wummery today.

 

[Squeak]

This is the bit that bothers me from his statement on the BBC.

"We do listen to fan feedback, and we understand that price increases are unpopular, but our aim is to ensure our prices are neither significantly higher nor lower than our peers."

Why would you not want to be lower? That's not a plus statement Jeff. I get they aren't competing with the other teams, but you should be looking after and empowering your own fans.

The whole way they presented this was a scandal. No integrity and no real thought into how it would be received. Just "take that."
Really poor PR and it reflects badly.

There is usually a good reason why you don't want to be the lowest price in business and that is you never want to be the cheapest game in town as someone will always undercut you. That starts a cycle of cuts and eventually the business goes bust. If the strategy is to gain market share, you can do it for a while but never for too long. Football is a little different because of the customer loyalty factor but being the cheapest is effectively leaving money on the table if you pretty much have a full stadium.

 

[Squeak]

Even by your standards this is a wank attempt at wummery today.

Just here to entertain you. Must do better.

 

[Johnny75]

Just here to entertain you. Must do better.

Don't get me wrong I like reading your Danks-esque takes on stuff, it reminds me there's always a different point of view no matter how batshit I think they are.

But tonight's was a proper Doc of an effort.

 

[Squeak]

Don't get me wrong I like reading your Danks-esque takes on stuff, it reminds me there's always a different point of view no matter how batshit I think they are.

But tonight's was a proper Doc of an effort.

As if I give a shit what you think. It's a fucking forum.

 

[Quirkafleeg]

 

[Kenny]

Pop ya webcam off please Quirk...