Season Ticket Discussion

[Tyrannosaurus Dan]

I've said it in previous years and I'll say it again - once people get out of the habit of going every week then invariably they stop going very much at all. Anecdotally I've seen it with plenty of folk I'm on nodding terms with, closer to home my Dad gave up his season ticket in 2011, I very much doubt he's been to more than 20 home games since.

I had a ST for 10 consecutive seasons until I gave it up in 2012. I would be surprised if I've been to 20 games since then. Nearly all the games I've been to will be matches where I got a free ticket or the ticket prices were discounted. I can't think of the last time I went to a league game and paid full price.

Family commitments came into it but if the tickets weren't so expensive I reckon I would have been to a lot more than I have. For example, I've been to 3 games this season (which is pretty good for me) but 2 of them were cheap League Cup games and the other one was Arsenal as I had a free ticket.

 

[Deutsch Wolf]

He won't mind me saying it, there were a couple of games that @Trips missed under Lage/Davis despite having a ST - he *could* have made it but would have involved a fair bit of shuffling work/family stuff around and he just thought why bother (I don't blame him either). He'll be far from the only one that applies to.

The club seem to be convinced we have a strong 25k+ hardcore. We absolutely do not. They seem convinced that having thousands on a waiting list that they joined by default years ago means something. It does not.

So, to return to my earlier point - let's say we went down this season (they would I assume freeze prices at this point and expect us to be thankful), a huge swathe of the squad and all the coaching staff bar Banter Tony inevitably left, we brought in new players and a new manager but it didn't quite work out and we finished 9th. What on earth do they do with ST prices then for 2024/25...you'd have to slash them by hundreds across the board, surely. This is where they're creating a problem for themselves down the line. A club like ours is only ever a few bad decisions away from squandering everything that's been built for years.

We went from Alex Rae to Seyi George Olofinjana in 2004. Steven Fletcher to Björn Bergmann Sigurdarson in 2012. You'd get an even bigger drop off now. History tells you what it does to crowds, and we weren't squeezing the pips anywhere near as hard then as we are now.

 

[Alan]

My heart still gets all fluttery when I think about the hype Siggy arrived with. Truly the Prince That Was Promised.

 

[Wilf Wolf]

We went from Alex Rae to Seyi George Olofinjana in 2004. Steven Fletcher to Björn Bergmann Sigurdarson in 2012. You'd get an even bigger drop off now. History tells you what it does to crowds, and we weren't squeezing the pips anywhere near as hard then as we are now.

Centre forwards excepted. There is no scope for a big drop off from Raul and Costa. You're spot on about prices though.

 

[Deutsch Wolf]

Centre forwards excepted. There is no scope for a biog drop off from Raul and Costa. You're spot on about prices though.

Might I remind you that we signed Frank Nouble last time we went down

 

[The Bear]

How many of the waiting list would actually sign up if we went down? Not that many I'd guess. You'd get a few signing up hoping we'd go straight back up, but if we didn't you'd see an even bigger drop off the season after, and I'd hazard a guess the waiting list would be zero.

 

[Alan]

How many of the waiting list would actually sign up if we went down? Not that many I'd guess. You'd get a few signing up hoping we'd go straight back up, but if we didn't you'd see an even bigger drop off the season after, and I'd hazard a guess the waiting list would be zero.

Theoretically you might have people sign up because we go down with the thought that the line to get in will be smaller (as you propose here).

Probably still a net loss.

 

[Deutsch Wolf]

The Venn diagram between "people who do not currently own a season ticket at Wolves", "people who want to and can pay £600+ up front to watch Wolves" and "people who want to watch Championship football" will have a very small overlap.

 

[Lupo]

Many joined the waiting list in 2018 when we were storming towards the Premier League and signing half of the Portuguese European Championship winning team with a charismatic manager considered by many of us to be the greatest of our lifetime. In our current guise as a struggling Premier League side with a stale squad neglected in several windows I wouldn't expect that many on the waiting list jumping to pay £700 for a ST, even less so should we get relegated back to where we came from in a few months time

 

[Derby Wolf]

I never quite get the mindset of "I only want to watch Wolves if they're any good", but each to their own. It clearly has an impact.

Agreed, I've always been in and out with my attending but what league we're in isnt a factor. packed it in to save and go traveling (thus missing 08/09) came back and habit was firmly broken but started going again in League One and got my season ticket for Kens last season.

I've said it in previous years and I'll say it again - once people get out of the habit of going every week then invariably they stop going very much at all. Anecdotally I've seen it with plenty of folk I'm on nodding terms with, closer to home my Dad gave up his season ticket in 2011, I very much doubt he's been to more than 20 home games since.

I'm about 90% certain I'm gonna give it up this year even if they freeze prices, I can't be bothered with the whole day anymore, over crowded trains, food, drink etc I'm looking at, at least £50-60 twice a month. On just league games that's over £1500 (with the ST cost) throw in ticket/travel/food and drink for cup games that's even more.

And who replaces these lost fans...it isn't by and large young lads, you can see that from the demographic in the ground, they can't afford it and/or have never really grown up going to games on their own. I would have expected by now in the North Bank at the near age of 42 that yep, it's caught up with me, I am now no longer one of the youngest people within a clear line of sight. Nope. Still all mostly obviously older.

As I showed with the post about Forest. These wankers within our clubs know the cost of everything and the value of nothing, they've gone after those younger fans so you end up with an ageing fanbase all because they want to screw an extra £200,000 out of young adults. It's insanity. Football will swallow itself.

 

[Deutsch Wolf]

We went up in 2003 - I couldn't get a ST after four years at uni/abroad and we fucked up with 0 loyalty points to anyone (my 10-12 games commuting from Manchester didn't count for anything, same level as some random fucking idiot who last saw Wolves when Emlyn Hughes was playing and fancied watching Thierry Henry if he could).

First job, so not great money. All the same, as a young bloke, I could afford an individual matchday ticket fairly easily. Even more so when I was actually a student and we were playing in the Championship. I'm sure it was £10 a game in 1999/2000 with valid student ID.

Cheapest non-golf stand ticket is £45 vs Chelsea a week on Saturday. Young blokes can not afford that kind of money, society has relentlessly fucked them over for ages.

Look at that change in five years and for what, because we're not a better team now and the ground isn't better?

 

[AndyWolves]

We went up in 2003 - I couldn't get a ST after four years at uni/abroad and we fucked up with 0 loyalty points to anyone (my 10-12 games commuting from Manchester didn't count for anything, same level as some random fucking idiot who last saw Wolves when Emlyn Hughes was playing and fancied watching Thierry Henry if he could).

First job, so not great money. All the same, as a young bloke, I could afford an individual matchday ticket fairly easily. Even more so when I was actually a student and we were playing in the Championship. I'm sure it was £10 a game in 1999/2000 with valid student ID.

Cheapest non-golf stand ticket is £45 vs Chelsea a week on Saturday. Young blokes can not afford that kind of money, society has relentlessly fucked them over for ages.

Look at that change in five years and for what, because we're not a better team now and the ground isn't better?

I'd love to see the demographic of what wolves fans who go looks like. I suspect it's getting older and there are less dads with lads attending to fill the funnel.

 

[Deutsch Wolf]

I'll speak for NU2/NU3 from where I can see.

Predominantly 45-50 and older. One young kid (10 or so) at the end of our row who I think comes with his Grandad, but otherwise no schoolkids anywhere near me at all. About three lads a few rows down who look in their mid 20s or so, but that's about it.

 

[Wilf Wolf]

Might I remind you that we signed Frank Nouble last time we went down

I'd rather you didn't!

 

[Tony Towner]

If we went down I'd probably give mine up. Some midweek games would just be no go's, others logistically a challenge so wipe off 6 or 7 there, add another couple of holidays/family events and that's over a third of games I'd miss. I'd pick and choose which wouldn't be too much of an issue, although I'd not be able to get a ST if we went back up.

As an aside I find it more difficult to juggle my diary than I did before Covid. I'm in the office less, but all meetings are scheduled for either a Tues or Thurs so not as easy as it was to make it work to suit

 

[Deutsch Wolf]

That "pick and choose" is where you lose fans.

If we're not very good - say, having the kind of season that Norwich or Albion are having - are you really going to pay £30+ for a one off ticket against for example, Preston in February when it's forecast to be -2 and hammering down, when you're not committed to going? You've got to travel there (you don't live that near) and any extras in food/drink on top. Might be just as easy to stay at home and spend that money on something else. Different of course when you've paid 100% up front or there's a DD going out that you know you've signed up to.

And all of a sudden it's a bloke who's been going for years come rain or shine who doesn't go very often.

I'm in a fortunate position.

a) I can afford to buy a ST if I want to
b) I live about 30 minutes walk from the ground
c) I don't have kids, or indeed many commitments at all, and my work doesn't necessarily prevent me from doing things other than very occasionally, so I have as much free time as I like

That's a really narrow field to assume will nod along and keep paying, though. A lot of other people have more important things to do.

 

[Tony Towner]

That's fair, especially the £30 part. Not sure I'd pay that for any Championship game other than as a one off visit, certainly not regularly

 

[Derby Wolf]

That "pick and choose" is where you lose fans.

If we're not very good - say, having the kind of season that Norwich or Albion are having - are you really going to pay £30+ for a one off ticket against for example, Preston in February when it's forecast to be -2 and hammering down, when you're not committed to going? You've got to travel there (you don't live that near) and any extras in food/drink on top. Might be just as easy to stay at home and spend that money on something else. Different of course when you've paid 100% up front or there's a DD going out that you know you've signed up to.

And all of a sudden it's a bloke who's been going for years come rain or shine who doesn't go very often.

I'm in a fortunate position.

a) I can afford to buy a ST if I want to
b) I live about 30 minutes walk from the ground
c) I don't have kids, or indeed many commitments at all, and my work doesn't necessarily prevent me from doing things other than very occasionally, so I have as much free time as I like

That's a really narrow field to assume will nod along and keep paying, though. A lot of other people have more important things to do.

You forgot the £41 membership to get the £30 ticket... I daresay they won't quite be as strict with that one downstairs..

 

[Tony Towner]

You wouldn't need one for most games, they won't be selling out

 

[Deutsch Wolf]

Seems pretty clear they aren't doing renewals before the end of the season (we haven't for a while now, and they'd be wise not to anyway with how volatile the table could be in the next few weeks).

If it's all June onwards and we are in the Championship, and they freeze (with your four extra games! Enjoy) prices rather than cutting them, then I'm not sure you'd top 18k STHs. You'd be able to rock up whenever you wanted for most home games.