Sunderland Away Ticket Info

No it was brought about after listening to people who gave up a day's pay to support their team in Cardiff on a Tuesday night. It was brought in at the prospect of perhaps playing a play off away match at a ground like Bournemouth where there might be less than 2000 tickets available.
But this was not a scheme suddenly parachuted in 2 weeks before an away game at Sunderland. There have been 2 years for people to attend all the games and build up priority. I believe that is democratic, yes.
I don’t see the link.

Surely you go to Cardiff to support the team because that’s what you enjoy doing and you want to do it. You don’t do it on the promise of preferential tickets to future games.

Like the other people who demanded this system, you support it because it suits you and your situation.
 
This is all subjective and there is no right or wrong answer just different peoples opinions.
I'm a gold card holder and have had a season ticket since 1976,do I consider myself a bigger supporter than say Yusuf ? Absolutely not,the length that lad goes to to get to Boro matches is phenomenal and deserves recognition.
I do believe loyalty should be rewarded and fans who have travelled the length and breadth of the country under difficult circumstances and no inconsiderable cost should be given priority,if that means missing out on a ticket then that's fair enough in my eyes.
 
It's nowhere near a closed shop.

Hardly any away game sells out before it gets to general sale.

If fans with season cards (or in most cases without season cards!) want an away ticket to build up their priority points they can get one.

Those that travel week in week out over a sustained period of time (to games that the majority don't want to go to) will quickly rise to the top and get access to in demand games.

The amount of fans that have 220+ points will be, I'd estimate, around 200-400?

This argument pops up rarely because it's rarely an issue... it only comes to a head when people that haven't been arsed to buy away tickets for most games want to go to the really in demand, high profile games.
I know that’s my point which is why the current system is fair, if points reset after 10 years as someone was suggesting, that’s when I meant it becomes a closed shop.

The current system is the only fair way to do it
 
I don’t see the link.

Surely you go to Cardiff to support the team because that’s what you enjoy doing and you want to do it. You don’t do it on the promise of preferential tickets to future games.

Like the other people who demanded this system, you support it because it suits you and your situation.
But would it be fair for someone to travel all over the country for away games then miss out on one over someone who rarely travels to away games?
You can spend thousands following the club away every year, those who go to the most rightly have priority
 
I don’t see the link.

Surely you go to Cardiff to support the team because that’s what you enjoy doing and you want to do it. You don’t do it on the promise of preferential tickets to future games.

Like the other people who demanded this system, you support it because it suits you and your situation.

The priority system suits anybody that puts in the effort to travel every other week to every away game and start gathering points.

It doesn't suit those that don't travel away all the time and only want to go to the really high demand, big away games.

There's your two options. Put the money, time and effort in and get rewarded with priority... or don't and wait until those that have get first access.

It's open to everyone. Anyone can benefit from this priority point system.
 
It is not spot on.
"loyalty" in going to away matches across just one and a half seasons is not the definitive measure of loyalty, it is subjective.
But quite obviously any system is subjective. There would be dozens of non ST holders making the same points if it was only open to ST holders. If it was a total free for all whereby any 'fan' who has an MFC online account can apply the ST holders would moan.The only non-subjective way would be a first come first served for anyone in the country who fancied it, with no online account restrictions or anything else.

Would that be fairer or reward the right set of fans for you?

The fans who go to the most away games who are also season ticket holders get the most advantage for high demand tickets. I have no idea why people think this unfair. It is only unfair if it is an absolute closed shop that no new fans can attain.

As anyone can buy an ST and nearly all away games have a number of tickets going on general sale then it isn't, it just take time to build up the points.
 
The elitist system benefits those that can, it's devaluing the contribution made by those that can't make most away games, and the language used on the thread is the type I can read every day in the Mail, Telegraph etc. 'Sacrifice', 'commitment' etc to maintain the status quo in society.
It’s hardly elitist, if you want tickets for the most high profile games then you have to be a very regular attender, if someone isn’t prepared to do that then they need to accept they will miss out on tickets for some games. It happens at every club
 
I don’t see the link.

Surely you go to Cardiff to support the team because that’s what you enjoy doing and you want to do it. You don’t do it on the promise of preferential tickets to future games.

Like the other people who demanded this system, you support it because it suits you and your situation.
No, the system doesn't make any difference at all to me personslly. Several years ago in Cardiff midweek a group of people were boarding their coach. They said they had taken time (and money) off work. They went to every game and yet they could not get a ticket for the next game. It was either Leeds or Sunderland away. The point being on a cold, wintry night they had put in the hard miles watching their team. Why was there not a system to reward that with a priority?
I felt very sorry for them.
But the priority system was brought in quite independently a couple of years on by then ticket office manager Derek Matthews, an extremely experienced operator in ticketing who overhauled our ticketing and made marked improvements. Derek went on to work in international golf.
 
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How else can they fairly decide who gets tickets? Surely the ones who attend the most games have to get first choice?
Even if that is the criteria, over what time period?
Why does length of tenure as SC holder not count more?

I might actually scrape a ticket for this under the scheme, but that is not my point.
I stress I can easily handle not getting a ticket and have been in the home end at lots of away grounds over the last forty years when unable to get an away ticket for whatever reason.
It is subjective which criteria is fairest. I don't think this one is the great thing that recent travellers think it is.

The current scheme rewards very recent behaviour. Loyalty and time are inter-linked and make the concept hugely subjective.
Some of the posters on this thread ridiculously try and make the scheme objective, even definitive. It is most certainly not.
 
No, the system doesn't make any difference at all to me personslly. Several years ago in Cardiff midweek a group of people were boarding their coach. They said they had taken time (and money) off work. They went to every game and yet they could not get a ticket for the next game. It was either Leeds or Sunderland away. The point being on a cold, wintry night they had put in the hard miles watching their team. Why was there not a system to reward that with a priority?
I felt very sorry for them.
I don’t get why you’d feel sorry for people who have the time and money to travel the length of the country because they miss one game.

They go to these games presumably because they enjoy them, rather than feeling sorry for them I bet many people wish they were in their position.

If I go to see Peter Kay in Cardiff I don’t expect priority when he rocks up in Sunderland. If eat in Nando’s in London I don’t get to jump the queue in Leeds.

I find the idea that people should receive priority utterly bizarre. These people aren’t putting a shed load of extra money into the club as the ticket money goes to the away club.

If they can attend nearly every away game they’re in a privileged position in terms of job, income and available time.

As someone who believes in socialist values I don’t think people with the highest disposable income should be able to plonk themselves at the front of the queue.
 
I don’t get why you’d feel sorry for people who have the time and money to travel the length of the country because they miss one game.

They go to these games presumably because they enjoy them, rather than feeling sorry for them I bet many people wish they were in their position.

If I go to see Peter Kay in Cardiff I don’t expect priority when he rocks up in Sunderland. If eat in Nando’s in London I don’t get to jump the queue in Leeds.

I find the idea that people should receive priority utterly bizarre. These people aren’t putting a shed load of extra money into the club as the ticket money goes to the away club.

If they can attend nearly every away game they’re in a privileged position in terms of job, income and available time.

As someone who believes in socialist values I don’t think people with the highest disposable income should be able to plonk themselves at the front of the queue.
But you do think people should get an equal chance to go to the best game of the season even if they don't bother with any other away games. Supporting the team regularly does deserve some reward - the team benefits from that backing. So we are giving the club a non financial contribution. That's worth something.

It's an intangible as noone can quantify what it means but all the players recently have commented on how much the full away ends have pushed them on on the 7 away games recently.

So it's a Thank You from the club in pretty much the only way they can say it. Cheers for those slogs to really hard to get to places. Here's your chance to be first in the queue for the one up the road.

It is fair, and it matters.
 
I don’t think people with the highest disposable income should be able to plonk themselves at the front of the queue
Are you just assuming this is the case for all fans who go to games?

I know some supporters (some of my closest mates) who don't have a lot of disposable income, but what money they do have left over after bills etc they choose to use it following MFC.

Also, comparing following 'Boro week in week out with going to see Peter Kay or eating at Nando's is comparing apples with pears.

Again, I'm repeating myself, but this loyalty scheme (other than the Gold card & Chairman's drink status) is as fair as can be.

If you want to put yourself in with a good chance of a ticket for a high in demand game (such as Sunderland away), then you know exactly what you need to do.

The old system (a free for all between all SC holders) was just completely ridiculous and unjust to those who travel all over the country and who make sacrifices in doing so.

There's no surprise most football clubs offer some form of loyalty scheme for away tickets...it's fair and it's right.
 
But the priority system was brought in quite independently a couple of years on by then ticket office manager Derek Matthews, an extremely experienced operator in ticketing who overhauled our ticketing and made marked improvements. Derek went on to work in international golf.
If I was him I’d be embarrassed to put my name to it, it’s been a mess from pretty much day one.

They initially rewarded people points for travelling on the ra-ra’s, which is ridiculous and works against those who don’t live near Middlesbrough or travel by car/train.

He’s created a system with built in disadvantages for new (younger) fans.

Season’s worth of points:
Gold card - 80
Chairman drink - 75
Regular card - 70

So every time a new season starts, those who’ve bought their season cards after 15/16 season not only don’t get a free pint every game but they’re 2.5 or 5 away games behind the others. Before a ball is kicked.

There’s no way for those supporters to build up their “loyalty” and move through the levels of membership. That’s it. So when the popular games like Sunderland come along, they’ll have had to have clocked up a fair amount of away games in that time just to have a chance. If a popular game is early season they’re probably stuffed.

Until that’s fixed it will always benefit a small number of fans.

There’s no way of checking the points of other people in your network without getting every single individual to log-in. The ticket office have made mistakes with our points but if you don’t get each person to log-in and check before the fixture the points are for, they refuse to do anything about it.

If you have kids they don’t have an account, so you can’t see there’s at all without ringing up the switchboard and sitting on hold.

The whole thing needs looking at again, and I say all this as somebody who’ll very likely get a Sunderland ticket.
 
As someone who believes in socialist values I don’t think people with the highest disposable income should be able to plonk themselves at the front of the queue.
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I would aim that point at the corporate/hospitality folk who get access to tickets before they even reach the points system. That's where the system fails.
 
Are you just assuming this is the case for all fans who go to games?

I know some supporters (some of my closest mates) who don't have a lot of disposable income, but what money they do have left over after bills etc they choose to use it following MFC.
Are you really going to claim that people who money to spend on tickets, travel, food / drink and possibly accommodation for over 30 away games since last August don’t have high disposable incomes?
 
Season’s worth of points:
Gold card - 80
Chairman drink - 75
Regular card - 70

So every time a new season starts, those who’ve bought their season cards after 15/16 season not only don’t get a free pint every game but they’re 2.5 or 5 away games behind the others. Before a ball is kicked.
Because it's not a rolling two-year period, but actually one full year plus the current part-year, it's actually twice as bad as that.

A regular season ticket holder starts the season on 140 points, twenty points behind a Gold card. At the start of the season there's only one year's worth of games to make up the gap, so they would have had to attend 10 away games in the previous season just to draw level.
 
So it's a Thank You from the club in pretty much the only way they can say it. Cheers for those slogs to really hard to get to places. Here's your chance to be first in the queue for the one up the road.

It is fair, and it matters.
Why do people expect a thank you from the club? Again this is people doing something they’re supposed to enjoy.

There are plenty of ways the club could say thank you - discount tickets, discount travel, write you a nice letter, give you discount in the club shop, a free programme. send Neil Bausor round to wash your car, etc
 
Even if that is the criteria, over what time period?
Why does length of tenure as SC holder not count more?

I might actually scrape a ticket for this under the scheme, but that is not my point.
I stress I can easily handle not getting a ticket and have been in the home end at lots of away grounds over the last forty years when unable to get an away ticket for whatever reason.
It is subjective which criteria is fairest. I don't think this one is the great thing that recent travellers think it is.

The current scheme rewards very recent behaviour. Loyalty and time are inter-linked and make the concept hugely subjective.
Some of the posters on this thread ridiculously try and make the scheme objective, even definitive. It is most certainly not.
Because most season ticket holders live within a few miles of the ground, you could have had a season ticket every year and it’s not really a huge expense or effort going to the games over going to the majority of away games.
I spent more time travelling to Cardiff or Swansea than it would have taken me to travel to around 40 home games for example

If it goes on season ticket length then someone who has had a ST for 40 years would always get priority over a younger fan and they couldn’t do a thing about it. At least with this scheme renewing every two years it gives all fans an equal chance to go to away games and build up their points
 
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