| Something has been bothering me, since the Club released the latest video. 18:18 - Dec 3 with 444 views | homer_123 |
I'll be honest - I don't like it, it doesn't sit well with me.
I know others may think we have bigger issues to contend with (with recent performances) but thought I'd share.
What is it, to be a football fan in 2025?
There’s now a clear message to long-standing season ticket holders: if you don’t turn up, or you don’t re-sell your seat, you could lose your ticket. Even if you’ve held it for years. Even if you stuck with the club when the football was awful and the stands were half empty.
Now, on one level, I get it.
There’s a big waiting list. The club wants a full stadium. They want noise, atmosphere, energy and more people want a chance to experience that, I understand that. But, let's be honest, the club want matchday income too. Food, drink, merch, programmes, all of it and empty seats don’t spend money.
But...
When you start saying to fans, “Use it or lose it,” it feels less like you’re talking to people, and more like you’re managing stock. It’s the point where, as a supporter, we stop being a person in that seat and start being a data point in a CRM system. A line on a spreadsheet that needs to be 'optimised'. Hearing Ashton in that video - it's the first time I've felt like this - no longer the fan I was to the club a couple of years ago. It's irked me, more than I initially realised.
All football clubs talk a lot about fans as the 'lifeblood' of the club. They use that language in campaigns, in videos, in season ticket renewals. But these new rules around non-attendance send a different message, at least for me. They say:
We need you here, not just because we love your support,
but because every empty seat is lost revenue.
There’s a real tension here.
On the one hand, the club does need to be sustainable. Wages, transfers, stadium costs; they’ve all gone through the roof (factor in the long overdue investment as well). TV deals, sponsors and commercial partners are all part of the mix now. Clubs are not just football teams, they’re big businesses. To survive, they have to think about money.
I understand that football has been a 'business' for a while now but the whole reason the club has any value at all is because of the people who care about it. The ones who travel in the rain. The ones who miss family events for midweek fixtures. The ones who held their season ticket through years when it would have been easier to walk away.
So what happens when those people are treated first and foremost as revenue?
What happens when loyalty is measured not in years followed, but in how often your barcode gets scanned?
I’m not saying there’s an easy answer. I’m not saying the club is evil, or that nothing should change. We all knew that new and modern ownership and Premier League money would bring new rules and a sharper edge to the business side. I guess, this one small thing, for me, is that wedge - that first subtle sign of substantive change.
But I think it’s fair to name the dilemma:
- The club needs bums on seats
- The fans don’t want to feel like bums on a spreadsheet
Somewhere in there is a line. A point where sensible policy tips into something that feels cold and transactional.
My worry is that, if we’re not careful, we cross that line without really noticing. We look up one day and realise that fans are no longer seen as the heart of the club, but as inventory to be managed. Maybe I am naïve and we are already there but since Gamechanger came in, I had felt more connected to the club than ever, it got back that community feel, that it valued fans and the support generated. It felt like the club it once was both on and off the pitch.
So, can a club chase every pound, fill every seat, and still treat its supporters as more than numbers?
Because once fans stop feeling like the lifeblood, it won’t matter how good the spreadsheets look. |  |
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| Something has been bothering me, since the Club released the latest video. on 18:23 - Dec 3 with 365 views | Joey_Joe_Joe_Junior |
If you look at our attendance trends for while, its completely fair to release a no show policy to ST holders if it's getting to 5+ games a year or something. Simple as that really. |  |
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| Something has been bothering me, since the Club released the latest video. on 18:24 - Dec 3 with 358 views | FrimleyBlue |
Thats why when some talk about boos and groans at games. I talk about fans rather than supporters
The club is in a place now where it needs fans. Its got its supporters. The large majority of those will rock up no matter what happens.
But what ashton needs are thousands of football fans wanting a piece of the action
It won't be long before season tickets imo won't exist.
But if ashton can get thousands of fans attending it massively helps the books. |  |
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| Something has been bothering me, since the Club released the latest video. on 18:25 - Dec 3 with 340 views | Ryorry |
Not a s/t holder & wasn't aware that was happening. Can see the owners' point of view, but would be appalled if it meant those with STs who might be experiencing long term health problems or family crises of some kind, had their STs taken off them. |  |
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| Something has been bothering me, since the Club released the latest video. on 18:33 - Dec 3 with 259 views | J2BLUE |
To me this is a real fans first initiative. If you're holding a seat waiting to see if we get back to the Prem before going again then you deserve to lose it. |  |
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| Something has been bothering me, since the Club released the latest video. on 18:34 - Dec 3 with 251 views | Joey_Joe_Joe_Junior |
| Something has been bothering me, since the Club released the latest video. on 18:25 - Dec 3 by Ryorry |
Not a s/t holder & wasn't aware that was happening. Can see the owners' point of view, but would be appalled if it meant those with STs who might be experiencing long term health problems or family crises of some kind, had their STs taken off them. |
I am sure the club would look at exceptions for the points you raise, however, if you paid for 23 games up front and there is a resale platform, friends, family etc, most people should surely be able to have the seat used 85-90% of the time with our current demand? | |
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| Something has been bothering me, since the Club released the latest video. on 19:08 - Dec 3 with 26 views | bournemouthblue |
| Something has been bothering me, since the Club released the latest video. on 18:34 - Dec 3 by Joey_Joe_Joe_Junior |
I am sure the club would look at exceptions for the points you raise, however, if you paid for 23 games up front and there is a resale platform, friends, family etc, most people should surely be able to have the seat used 85-90% of the time with our current demand? |
It does have a cost for the club on field for support and off the field with food, drinks, shop purchases etc |  |
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