| Something has been bothering me, since the Club released the latest video. 18:18 - Dec 3 with 1025 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 932 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 926 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 907 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 825 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 818 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 590 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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| Something has been bothering me, since the Club released the latest video. on 19:12 - Dec 3 with 563 views | StochesStotasBlewe |
| Something has been bothering me, since the Club released the latest video. on 18:24 - Dec 3 by 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. |
I’m genuinely intrigued as to what you think will replace season tickets. I understand that the club now have a waiting list of over 6,000, though would imagine that would drop significantly if the club doesn’t get promoted. |  |
| We have no village green, or a shop.
It's very, very quiet.
I can walk to the pub. |
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| Something has been bothering me, since the Club released the latest video. on 19:21 - Dec 3 with 478 views | Garv |
I doubt the message is really any different to what it was when we had pack out Portman Road. From memory I don't think anyone was saying they felt like a number then or just a customer putting money in. I think Ashton says during the video they want the ground full because it helps the team and it's all part of getting the club where it wants to be.
Also, and sorry if I'm being dim here, but surely there is no lost revenue anyway if a season ticket holder doesn't show up? |  |
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| Something has been bothering me, since the Club released the latest video. on 19:30 - Dec 3 with 394 views | bluesimon |
I don't really see it like that.
I think ST holders who can't or don't want to go to every game just need to be considerate to fellow supporters and use the resale platform.
You don't need to spend money in the stadium, and you can get money back from your ST by using the resale platform.
Lot of supporters have to pay to simply be able to access match tickets, so I don't understand the whining on this. |  | | |
| Something has been bothering me, since the Club released the latest video. on 19:53 - Dec 3 with 205 views | Funge |
Winds me up, frankly.
I buy a ticket from the club, as I have done for many years - what I then subsequently decide to do with that ticket is no-one's business but mine.
Whether I go to the game, pass the ticket onto a mate, or throw it off Stoke Bridge into the tidal mud - that's no-one's business but mine.
Ashton has seen Jim Radcliffe do it, and so therefore it must be of value.
I am watching a fcking game of Division 2 football in the same crappy home-town I've lived in for the last 35 years - guess what, if the team are doing well, everyone will want to go, and you will get an atmosphere, Mark.
If they aren't doing so well, people won't want to go, and in a couple of years time, you will need to Pack Out Portman Rd again.
With regards to the OP, 'So what happens when those people are treated first and foremost as revenue?'
Simply, people will start to get p1ssed off. It's p1ssed me off (what's new....) [Post edited 3 Dec 19:54]
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| Something has been bothering me, since the Club released the latest video. on 20:02 - Dec 3 with 105 views | Nutkins_Return |
I'm absolutely fine with it. I could get a season ticket but I don't live local to go all the time and it would just be wrong to do. If you want a season ticket you should go regularly and if not then don't have a season ticket. It's not any more complex then that. If there is a legit reason (illness/injury etc I'm ure the club would be accommodating). | |
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| Something has been bothering me, since the Club released the latest video. on 20:03 - Dec 3 with 101 views | Swansea_Blue |
There’s a lot to like and aspire to in the OP Homer. Yes, we’re a commodity and that’s the way football has gone the world over. Fans who attend games are less important than overseas ‘markets’, for example. That just mirrors modern finance-driven life where people are just seen as economic units and not people. So yeah, it would be nice to get back to valuing people other than solely for the income they can produce. I won’t hold my breath.
On the other hand, who buys a ST and then doesn’t go to matches? That’s very odd behaviour. Fair enough if someone has a short-term medical issue and can’t go for a couple of months or gets posted overseas for work for a few months. A one-off like that is understandable, but consistently taking up a seat but leaving it empty (never mind wasting money) is just bizarre. [Post edited 3 Dec 20:09]
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| Great post. (n/t) on 20:03 - Dec 3 with 88 views | Bloots |
| Something has been bothering me, since the Club released the latest video. on 19:53 - Dec 3 by Funge |
Winds me up, frankly.
I buy a ticket from the club, as I have done for many years - what I then subsequently decide to do with that ticket is no-one's business but mine.
Whether I go to the game, pass the ticket onto a mate, or throw it off Stoke Bridge into the tidal mud - that's no-one's business but mine.
Ashton has seen Jim Radcliffe do it, and so therefore it must be of value.
I am watching a fcking game of Division 2 football in the same crappy home-town I've lived in for the last 35 years - guess what, if the team are doing well, everyone will want to go, and you will get an atmosphere, Mark.
If they aren't doing so well, people won't want to go, and in a couple of years time, you will need to Pack Out Portman Rd again.
With regards to the OP, 'So what happens when those people are treated first and foremost as revenue?'
Simply, people will start to get p1ssed off. It's p1ssed me off (what's new....) [Post edited 3 Dec 19:54]
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| "mostly smug self indulgent sixth formers” - TWTD User (Nov 2025) |
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| Something has been bothering me, since the Club released the latest video. on 20:10 - Dec 3 with 10 views | bournemouthblue |
| Something has been bothering me, since the Club released the latest video. on 19:21 - Dec 3 by Garv |
I doubt the message is really any different to what it was when we had pack out Portman Road. From memory I don't think anyone was saying they felt like a number then or just a customer putting money in. I think Ashton says during the video they want the ground full because it helps the team and it's all part of getting the club where it wants to be.
Also, and sorry if I'm being dim here, but surely there is no lost revenue anyway if a season ticket holder doesn't show up? |
Thumbed the first part
There is if that person was to buy food, drink or things from the shop etc? | |
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