Norwich City announced their new ticket memberships on Wednesday morning and judging by everything I’ve read throughout the day, I think it’s fair to say that it hasn’t gone down very well with supporters.
I’ve read the details on Canaries.co.uk but found it to be not written very well at all. The general gist is that in order to buy a casual home ticket next season, you will need to be a member (cost £35-50] or if you want to go to any away game you will need to be an away member (cost £35-50).
Casual home tickets, of which there should be around 1,500 for each game will be capped at £30 in the Premier League, which is the same as the League’s own away ticket price cap.
In each case, £35 will get you a standard membership and £50 will get you a Premier membership. The Premier memberships will give you earlier access than anyone else for tickets – except with regard to away tickets where the club have “ring-fenced” 750 tickets for people who were either away season ticket holders or who went to 10+ away games last season.
What happens the season after next is unclear though. How long will you get credit for being one of those 750 in the next few years?
The argument for most regular away fans surrounds the suspicion that anyone who pays £50 for a Premier away membership stands as much chance as anyone else (bar the 750) of getting a ticket to Spurs or Anfield etc.
At least, I think that’s how it works. As I say, it isn’t the clearest thing in the world and Michael Bailey’s Pink ‘Un explanation is the best way to understand it all.
The club seem to have consulted with just seven fans over this and they didn’t consult any of the recognised supporters groups, such as the Canaries Trust.
https://twitter.com/anitajbyrne/status/1138720467093729280?s=21
That seems a little ham-fisted to me and my immediate thought is that removing the points system is unfair. I always understood and agreed with the fact that if a supporter had been to 20+ away games in the season before then they would accumulate more points than someone who had only been to two away games.
That rewards the most loyal travelling fans and I don’t know anyone who thought that was unfair.
Now though, it seems as though you just need to spend £50 and you’re in with as big a chance as the most ardent away fan, even if you’ve never ever been to an away game before.
The club have apparently, according to their own website, looked at what other Premier League clubs do and come up with this.
As you can imagine, the Vital Norwich Forum have had plenty to say on the subject and you can read all about that by clicking here.
I also read a very passionate and well written piece on myfootballwriter.com by Andy Head and I would encourage you to read it too, I think he hits the nail on the head.
The Carrow Road hierarchy have done a very good job of promoting a feeling of togetherness between the club and fans in the last two years, although I do think that much of that is to do with the success on the field coupled with the excellent support in the Stadium, driven by supporters groups Along Come Norwich and Barclay End Norwich, amongst others.
There will now potentially be a bun fight at 9am on the day that tickets go on sale on the phones and on-line.
It’ll be like trying to get tickets to see Little Mix (or U2 for you old ‘uns) every two weeks.
I know there’s talk of the number of away memberships potentially being capped but imagine this scenario…
It’s a month before the last game of the season and things have gone very well for Norwich City They have had an excellent season and are in with a shout of a Europa League finishing spot. It’s looking like it could go down to the last game of the season though, away at Leicester City.
Just like the recent last day at Aston Villa, there’s a huge amount riding on this game. Suddenly an armchair fan decides he wants to take his family and buys four away Premier memberships (cost £200).
He then gets on the phone the next morning and gets his tickets for the game, beating four fans who have been to every other away game but couldn’t get on-line or on the phone due to being at work (or some such).
Plenty of people on social media might describe that chap as “plastic” and that he shouldn’t be in such a position – they’ve got a point.
Could that happen?!
This sounds and looks like a very clumsy effort on the club’s part to try to explain something new. It might work out fine but if you’re going to operate such a system, why even charge?
Why not give those 750 an early access code and then everyone else is in the same boat? Just ring up at 9am on the given day and if you’re in luck, you’re in luck.
Why are the club charging for this, unless it’s just to make up some of the lost revenue in the £30 per ticket home cap?
This all just feels a bit, clumsy.
OTBC