Just wondering if our ground is to big for us and is the support there to actually fill it, I remember when our capacity was 42k in the Peter Reid days and every game was a sell out with a few hundred unable to get tickets. I am wondering if the increase in capacity in hindsight was now a mistake. The crowd yesterday was a real low point for me, only 26k when Arsenal brought over 4k for a last 16 match in the FA cup against one of the biggest clubs in the country was quite frankly embarrassing and leaves you wondering what the club can actually do to pull the crowds in, after all we have been in excellent form on the pitch, seen some excellent new talent emerging and aquired one of the best managers we have had in donkeys years. I feel quite sorry for the hierachy at Sunderland as over the last few years they have more then done their part but the fans are failing to do theirs!
No mate. Ask yourself this. How many would go if it was free? Full house no problem obviously. The solution seems simple to me. If you could "sell" out for nothing but £20 you won't, adjust the price accordingly. If the club want to sell out that is.
A very good point, one i have read on different sites... There will be a variety of responses.i'm guessing...
It is too big for us. But we will sell out the odd game and the only downfall is the awful empty seats, but I can deal with looking at empty seats.
Peter Reid was on talksport last week saying that he asked for it to be put in the minutes of the meeting that took place that he wanted the money for a new striker rather than being spent on extending the stadium.
I think people who can afford to go are totally missing the point how tight things are for those on low wages, or no wages. £20 pound out of a low wage is a lot of money. Saying that my son was saying all the miserable old sods that are normally around him and his mates, were missing yesterday. Sometimes it is just too easy to miss a game when it's shown on the TV.
I appreciate your point but we can't and should not expect the club to give tickets away to fill the ground, personally I think £20 was a great offer and when all is said and done it is still a business, so yes reduce the price like was done but realistically I would not expect the club to go any lower then £20 and maintain the price going forward.
I'd much rather be in our position than say Spurs where people are desperate to get in but can't. Spare capacity is always a plus.
If we continue to improve under MON we will get the glory hunters same as the skunks did under Keegan. Hopefully SAFC will get under their skin.
There's no right and wrong mate, it's supply and demand. If the club want to sell out then maybe charging a tenner would have achieved it. As it was they charged 20 and got a half full ground.
Probably sound daft here but............ Players and Manager etc. are getting paid regardless..... So the club has to fork out for stewards....polis etc........total ? 26000 x £20 = £520,000 Tv money =? Prize money for progressing =? How low they could go with prices to still make a profit, on what is an extra game, iv'e no idea.....
Or this. 45000 x £10 = £450,000 + Plus extra beer, pie and program sales from having a captive audience twice the size.
49,000 * £10 = £490,000 so they made £30,000 more yesterday, than they would with a full house at a tenner. Prize money isnt that much tbh (even if you win it) Third Round Proper winners (32) £67,500 Fourth Round Proper winners (16) £90,000 Fifth Round Proper winners (8) £180,000 Sixth Round Proper winners (4) £360,000 Semi-Final winners (2) £900,000 Semi-Final runners-up (2) £450,000 Final runners-up (1) £900,000 Final winners (1) £1,800,000 TV money i have no idea, but cant see it being that much.
A 5:15 kick off on a Saturday night on ITV is another reason that the ground was half empty. I couldn't go because I work every Saturday night without fail. Regardless of subscription, if you own a tv and analogue aerial then you can watch the game. Or spend £20-£35 on a ticket.. I really couldn't afford it but would've gone had it been a 3:00 kick off (or any other kick off time other than what it was) even though I would've struggled financially through the week. I don't think the ground is too big. I think it's the right size as we do (from time to time) fill it. In the Reid days, it was (even relatively) a lot cheaper to go to the games.
It makes you wonder just what a full house means to clubs in reality. Don't they say a good crowd is like having an extra man?
It is probably too big at the moment - but nobody could have predicted the recession and I do think that plays a massive part. Agree with Cyprus that at least people who want to get in can! Hopefully with a bit of success crowds will pick up.
So it's still a small profit....but a profit none the less... Guess the cup is really for the fans....
It's all well and good saying the club should just reduce the prices but it isn't up to them. They have to obtain permission from their opponents and also the FA. Of course either or both of these could object because it may cut down their share of the gate money as there is no guarantee that a price reduction will mean a bigger attendance.
