We have Barnsley, Northampton, Lincoln and Burton at the Valley in our four remaining home games. I noticed the new fan’s reps have been asked to request of the SMT that ticket prices be reduced to £20 to maximise home support at the Valley for these four crucial fixtures. There is no doubt IMO that tickets are too expensive and this is not a bad idea, but equally there is going to be a massive bun fight for semi final tickets based on our experience H&A to Doncaster Rovers in the 2019 semi (I went to both). IMO the club should award loyalty points for fans attending the last four home games, with extra points for fans stumping up for all four. You could do the same for ST holders who come back and attend all four. I have no personal advantage here as I won’t be attending all four, but by doing this you will a. Boost attendances b. Reward genuine fans who put both time & money into the club. There is going to be a deafening sound of splintering woodwork after the Burton game, if we do make the Play Off semis.
I agree you have to use every tool to get fans in for those games. I think if we get to the playoffs it will be well attended at the Valley. But the more people we can get into the Valley for the games you mentioned, needs to be done.
Walking in danson park right now. Sat down and had a pint in the stables Seen 2 cafc shirts and overheard a conversation about yesterday. The enthusiasm and numbers are out there just gotta tap into it
What are the two main drivers to our low attendances ? - lapsed ST holders - evidence suggests around 20-25% have bought a ST but stopped going. The SMT could win them back with a 4 game loyalty point system for the play offs - cost. The tickets are simply too expensive. You could mitigate against this by incentivising fans to come back in the knowledge they will be rewarded with preferential treatment for the play offs. I have no interest in the “can anyone get me a play offs ticket” forum fans, they can go and swivel, just those who are loyal but who for a combination of reasons have stopped attending this season. The crowd v Barnsley will reveal all ..if it below 10,000 actual bums on seats, we have a real issue on the back of the team’s upsurge in form (I have zero interest in Methven’s made up figures).
Four remaining home games? Charlton have 13 games left to play this season. Are nine of them away from home? Landing a top 6 place is a very tall order if that is the case.
5 remaining home games, including Udders. I can't see the SMT reducing prices. If they won't reduce them when we're playing sh1te they won't when we're playing well, they'll see it as the chance to make a few quid. I'll be surprised if the midweek game is not much better attended than the last dismal 7/8,000 real figure. There were over 300 tuned in to Charlton Live this morning, about double the normal, because there is now a buzz about the place, and I'm really looking forward to Tuesday evening.
Methven is a marketing man, albeit not a very good one, and “pile them high, sell them cheap” is a famous marketing maxim. If they don’t want to do that - and you are probably correct that they don’t- then look to reward loyal fans who consistently put their time & money into the club in other ways for the Play Offs. Recent history suggests we are about to discover we had 10,000 - 30,000 new fans that we never knew about.
As someone who hasn't had a ST for the past two seasons I have no leverage anymore when it comes to helping anyone else to get tickets - for play-offs or for Wembley if we got that far. If I could get them and somebody wanted one I'd help. They could have mine, because I won't be going to any play-off games or to Wembley. Even if I felt well enough. There is nothing the SMT could do to incentivise me, short of handing in their notice. I hope our loyal fans enjoy the rest of this season. Going to football should be about enjoyment and escaping from the drudgeries of daily life. But promotion or not, there will be very little to enjoy about next season as long as the clowns in suits continue to feed off a Club owned by a scattering of faceless, soulless foreign money men - who obviously have no plans, no clues, no affinity for CAFC, and will surely twig at some point that they are kissing goodbye to close on £1m per month. A sum that would rise sharply in the 2nd tier. Slashing ticket prices to get more fans in between now and May would just feed the illusion that everything is OK at Charlton Athletic. Whether they do it or not will by calculated purely on whether there is more money to be made next season. But if it was done, it would be cynically presented as a gesture of generosity towards loyal fans. All these board room parasites know how to do is exploit supporters. They wouldn't be honest with us even if they knew how. The funny part is, they convince themselves they have fooled us - largely because of the brown-nosing of a small bunch of noisy useful idiots. But most fans aren't as stupid as they take us for.
I always get worried about missing the big games as I've moved to Midlands now I no longer have a season ticket. I've been to about 15 away games in last 2 years and will very going majority of remaining away games I believe. Its annoying because I'm always having to wait for general sale or the last bit on the priority sale but thankfully haven't missed a game that I've actively tried to get tickets for
I have built up a large number of priority points plus I am a Valley Gold member. I would be happy to help someone out on getting a ticket.
The SMT / Investors will be hoping for 14,000 bums on seats on Tuesday night. Barnsley won’t bring many, so it’s going to be interesting to see how many of ours come back.
