Unsold seats everywhere for Tottenham.

[wils]

Just had a look and there are seats available everywhere. We don't even sell out for Tottenham now. I know end of a shit season and it's been moved a Sunday on a bank holiday weekend. But it's not good is it.

[Pub Bigot]

Can youngsters (18-25) afford to go on a regular basis with out Mum and or Dad paying for it? Factor in the multitude of other distractions there are for them to focus on and you start to wonder what will become of the fan base in 15/20 years time. Not just our club either, think the game in general is becoming a bit stale and I think it faces a very uncertain future.

I think for a sense of normalcy to return to the game, the Premier League needs to shed its popularity, which I realise as I write this that it’s a bizarre thing to say. 

The rationale is simple; if there is less interest it means less money broadcasters will be willing to pay to televise games, less games televised means less wages to players, which means  less merchandise sold by clubs, mean less interest in the stands and cheaper tickets to get people through the door. Think every time we’ve been relegated, and I think it was Gank who remarked how enjoyable the last season in the Championship was, which I agree with. Not my favourite, but a good season nevertheless. 

[scott_d]

Just had a look and there are seats available everywhere. We don't even sell out for Tottenham now. I know end of a shit season and it's been moved a Sunday on a bank holiday weekend. But it's not good is it.

Looks like the seats weren't unsold, but people just didn't turn up.  I'm guessing mainly season ticket holders.
Rail replacement didn't help.

Attendance: 62,468

I looked on that day I posted that and there were countless resales and green general sale tickets some together. About an hour before the match I had a look again and they had mainly disappeared especially in the TBL where we were. It's odd as most of the tickets in the TBL were odd seats and within 24 hours they all vanished. Whether they remove them from sale or touts buy them up I have no idea. But there certainly was a shitload of tickets the day before in every single area of the stadium and during the match there were plenty of gaps in the TBL.

I'm guessing these could be season tickets available through the exchange.
If they don't sell them on the exchange, then I reckon they still count them as sold as they are season tickets someone has paid for!

[wils]

Just had a look and there are seats available everywhere. We don't even sell out for Tottenham now. I know end of a shit season and it's been moved a Sunday on a bank holiday weekend. But it's not good is it.

Looks like the seats weren't unsold, but people just didn't turn up.  I'm guessing mainly season ticket holders.
Rail replacement didn't help.

Attendance: 62,468

I looked on that day I posted that and there were countless resales and green general sale tickets some together. About an hour before the match I had a look again and they had mainly disappeared especially in the TBL where we were. It's odd as most of the tickets in the TBL were odd seats and within 24 hours they all vanished. Whether they remove them from sale or touts buy them up I have no idea. But there certainly was a shitload of tickets the day before in every single area of the stadium and during the match there were plenty of gaps in the TBL.

[Gary Strodders shank]

A fella two seats down from me in 230 was complaining to his mate that the next seat the other side has been vacant all season but when he enquired about including in his renewal for his boy the ticket office told him it had belonged to someone for the past three seasons and he would have to wait to see if it was renewed before he could include it.

He also pointed out two in front which were normally empty too..

I think people buy them and lose interest or those that bought them with / for lose it

Some also join there mates in the standing areas of they can get in

Normally when purchasing one single I go for resale late in the day  but if going with mates I buy as soon as they go on genera l sale to get them together.or or else look for TB lower where we can stand.














 

[Lee Trundle]

I had a look for a couple of MATES on ticket exchange, and there were only a few single seats dotted around on that a few days before the game.  There were no 2 seats together.

[scott_d]

Just had a look and there are seats available everywhere. We don't even sell out for Tottenham now. I know end of a shit season and it's been moved a Sunday on a bank holiday weekend. But it's not good is it.

Looks like the seats weren't unsold, but people just didn't turn up.  I'm guessing mainly season ticket holders.
Rail replacement didn't help.

Attendance: 62,468

[only1billybonds]

Can youngsters (18-25) afford to go on a regular basis with out Mum and or Dad paying for it? Factor in the multitude of other distractions there are for them to focus on and you start to wonder what will become of the fan base in 15/20 years time. Not just our club either, think the game in general is becoming a bit stale and I think it faces a very uncertain future.

[Far Cough UKunt]

Until that mouth breathing faux Russian cսnt fucks off, nothing will  change.

[Pshyco scored all 4]

The supporters are the last people to be blamed . I'm astonished the club is still getting the attendances it is . I've never known a club to reek the stench of no ambition. that's emanating from the club ATM . No fan of potter and lopetegui and Moyes beforehand but it's not their fault. 

[Pentonville]

I had a great day minus the football seeing lots of old friends and people I needed to catch up with.. the football was shite but if u know where to go, the lads are all still there. We are just dispersed sadly.

[honky cat]

A good discussion.

​​​So how do younger people feel about the club/football today?

​​​​​Maybe we (middle aged types) are disillusioned, but the youngsters enjoy it? West ham fan TV, to me is by far the best you tube channel as they have kids speaking (NOT A NONCE ALERT) Even when we've been shit they still seem to have had a good time and are very articulate in discussing the match. Nicky has a great way with them. 

 

[wils]

I don't think the 20 - 30 somethings will look back and think weren't it great watching this team.  I had my hey day in the late 80's thru the 90's.  I look back fondly on the 97 Hartson/Kitson double act that rescued us from relegation, Canute ,Paulo (or Parlo if you're Glenn Roeder), Tricky Trev.  Even recall Mike Small who did a job for us.  It has changed and the change is money and TV sponsorship/money.

It has changed. But it was always changing. In the 80s and 90s my old man bemoaned the changes that had happened since the 60s. He used to tell stories of seeing the players in the Black Lion at Plaistow drinking with the fans after the match as they were mainly local boys. Complained about the type of fan that went in 80s and 90s  (the years I started to go over there) and didn't go to matches as "it wasn't the same"; in his mind money had ruined the game and the players had no connection with the team or the fans. Sound familiar?

That's not to say as the changes continue that it wont reach some tipping point, but making relative comparison to how it used to be when we were younger is not an objective measure of how shit things are. I would say the bigger problems the game faces are mobile phones and tourism suffocating the tribal nature of the support. Those are two existential threats rather than VAR or soulless stadiums.

[Fat, Bald n 50]

I don't think the 20 - 30 somethings will look back and think weren't it great watching this team.  I had my hey day in the late 80's thru the 90's.  I look back fondly on the 97 Hartson/Kitson double act that rescued us from relegation, Canute ,Paulo (or Parlo if you're Glenn Roeder), Tricky Trev.  Even recall Mike Small who did a job for us.  It has changed and the change is money and TV sponsorship/money.

[Gary Strodders shank]

As we all get older and gradually stop going the number of punters in the soulless bowl who had the pleasure of attending Upton park diminishes.

The hardcore stalwart numbers now are probably less than 20 thousand.

The thing that annoys me more than the tourists even is the superficial Essex / Kent newbie fan who is mostly there for a social and because they can afford to get a couple of season tickets whether they use them or not.

They talk about the great European nights and boast about what they got up to in Seville or Prague but apart from that don't have any  history with the club.

They piss off 15 minutes before half time for another beer and leave 15 before the end  to beat the rush watching the game is interspersed talking to their mates about holidays motors and checking football bets.

Mention the intertoto cup or the villa park semi against forest and they don't have a clue.

An age thing maybe but at least learn your history .






 

[Tomshardware]

I just think that football has now changed so much. Not just the stadiums and the sanitised experience, but the actual game itself. Virtually non-contact. VAR. Average players on £100k PW. It's just so different. If or when it really starts to die, will the PL be brave enough to reintroduce some tribalism?

100%

The game is gone.

They've chipped and chipped away at it now it's just not enjoyable like it once was. All this VAR nonsense, changing traditions like Replays, KO time's, watering down loyal support with Tourists, moving away from traditional areas where proper Football Grounds like Maine Road, Goodison Park or the Boleyn Ground once stood to soulless builds with little character. Everything geared now for the screen obsessed armchair fan who makes a rare trip to a game that'll cost them through the nose in doing so. It's all been diluted down to diarrhoea. 

Sad thing is that youngsters don't know any different.   They will never know that feeling that most of us on here were lucky enough to experience.   

[Massive Attack]

I just think that football has now changed so much. Not just the stadiums and the sanitised experience, but the actual game itself. Virtually non-contact. VAR. Average players on £100k PW. It's just so different. If or when it really starts to die, will the PL be brave enough to reintroduce some tribalism?

100%

The game is gone.

They've chipped and chipped away at it now it's just not enjoyable like it once was. All this VAR nonsense, changing traditions like Replays, KO time's, watering down loyal support with Tourists, moving away from traditional areas where proper Football Grounds like Maine Road, Goodison Park or the Boleyn Ground once stood to soulless builds with little character. Everything geared now for the screen obsessed armchair fan who makes a rare trip to a game that'll cost them through the nose in doing so. It's all been diluted down to diarrhoea. 

[Russ of the BML]

I just think that football has now changed so much. Not just the stadiums and the sanitised experience, but the actual game itself. Virtually non-contact. VAR. Average players on £100k PW. It's just so different. If or when it really starts to die, will the PL be brave enough to reintroduce some tribalism?

[Russ of the BML]

Good post Russ.

I started taking my boy in 2014. I remember thinking I just wanted him to see it once, to experience what I had experienced and understand how it felt. The last games we went to at Upton Park were fairly dull to be honest. It got worse at LS obviously and I remember in one of those early seasons laying out about £150 to take him to see us play Arsenal on his birthday. We lost 5-1. I was thinking he would get bored of this constant disappointment and stop wanting to go. Then came along those three seasons in Europe, particularly the Seville game. And there were some good league games too where the atmosphere improved. Man U away in the cup. Took him out of school for a European away day. All great days and great memories. He lives for it now. Even though we were there on Sunday and left quite dejected.

In my mind that is what happens. You experience one memorable game and you get hooked in. Then spend years of disappointment trying to recreate the myth as Russ puts it. It was probably always like that. I remember going to every game in a relegation year in the 90s. That was shit to be honest and we had that bond scheme thing when everyone was disgruntled. But now I see that era through rose tinted glasses.

Good post. 

Those nights at the LS against Lyon and Seville were very, very special. And they do prove that if we are competitive and have something to play for that means something the LS can be rocking. My little girl was only 8 during the Europa run and so I thought she was too young to take on a Thursday night, especially against foreign competition as the fans can get lively outside the ground. Year after in Conference, I took her to one of the early games at LS but atmos wasn't as good. I do hope we get a big European night again as she would love that. 

Your bit about the 90's resonates. That was really my best era. I was young, single, working so I had money about me and went alot away games too. We were pretty much shit and the board were wankers but I do look back on that era with sentiment. It was such a different time and going to football still had that tribal edge. It was a brilliant time. 

[wils]

Good post Russ.

I started taking my boy in 2014. I remember thinking I just wanted him to see it once, to experience what I had experienced and understand how it felt. The last games we went to at Upton Park were fairly dull to be honest. It got worse at LS obviously and I remember in one of those early seasons laying out about £150 to take him to see us play Arsenal on his birthday. We lost 5-1. I was thinking he would get bored of this constant disappointment and stop wanting to go. Then came along those three seasons in Europe, particularly the Seville game. And there were some good league games too where the atmosphere improved. Man U away in the cup. Took him out of school for a European away day. All great days and great memories. He lives for it now. Even though we were there on Sunday and left quite dejected.

In my mind that is what happens. You experience one memorable game and you get hooked in. Then spend years of disappointment trying to recreate the myth as Russ puts it. It was probably always like that. I remember going to every game in a relegation year in the 90s. That was shit to be honest and we had that bond scheme thing when everyone was disgruntled. But now I see that era through rose tinted glasses.

[Pub Bigot]

Someone should send this thread to the club. It’d be interesting to see their response, though I’d expect the club to respond with a generic reply. 

And if we’re relegated in the near future, the supporters the club took the piss out of will be the ones they target to return with their begging bowl. 

[Russ of the BML]

Russ, think you nailed it with the sentence "I don't want my little girl to miss out on something special".
That's just it mate, there is very little thats special about going to a game these days.

I know. That's the worry. Are we chasing our own experiences from the 'good ol' days'? Different times. Different game. I want her to experience that but doubt she ever will. 

[only1billybonds]

Russ, think you nailed it with the sentence "I don't want my little girl to miss out on something special".
That's just it mate, there is very little thats special about going to a game these days.

[Russ of the BML]

Was talking about this in the boozer Sunday. Don't just think this is West Ham though. 

People have got better fucking things to do with their money now. Not many people can justify spending £250 taking the family to watch a football match. Especially when its utter fucking garbage on show. The PL seriously needs to sit up and take notice. This season has not been a good PL. Liverpool winning at a canter. Boring games. Players now like athletes and robots. Its becoming a hard sell and I know many football fans from most London clubs that are not going regularly anymore. 

I was offered countless tickets for Sunday. Yes, was a Bank Holiday, was a Sunday, and we're shit.... But that shouldn't really be the case. Thought about it for a few minutes and was going to take my little girl. But her footy match ended at midday and we are 20 mins on C2C to Stratford, so by time get home, changed, back out to the station it would've been a rush and in the end I tipped it. If the atmosphere was good and I know we would be entertained then I would've made the effort. 

It's quite sad. My little girl has only been 3 times this season. I want to take her more and she wants to go but its just such hard work at the moment. Bloody dire. But I don't want her to miss out on something special. Or am I just chasing a myth?

The clubs also need to seriously look at the atmosphere's and what they do. It's so sanitised now. You want rival fans to feel a bit of an edge when they come to your place. Clubs need to provide flags and banners and do much more to get things going. I think they need standing sections now. They need sections for younger supporters. It's worrying how few teenagers you see at football now. Priced out unless they can go with their dad. 

Arsenal's Tifoli against PSG sums up the PL at the moment. 

Lots to ponder. 

[Mike Oxsaw]

To be honest, retirees, pensioners & those approaching pensionable age are exactly the supporters the club should be pandering to.

Before COVID, I was on the verge of buying a season ticket and travelling back (then from Oman) for Saturday games; 6/7 hour flights each way, but "do-able" and more likely than not I'd take a big bagful of goodies from the club shop each time - always knew someone who could use my season ticket when I couldn't, so it wasn't money wasted.

Even now, when I'm mostly in NE Thailand and it's almost a 24 hour each way door-to-door travel job, the thought often pops into my head.

But I'd clearly not be going back to my previous experiences of following the club, and never expected to, but, as others have intimated, it's in your blood - part of your DNA - so the siren call is (still) very strong.

Sullivan is almost 100% responsible for my lack of passion in returning; in all honesty I don't spend much out here, so most of my annuity and all of my state pension simply sit in bank accounts, doing bugger all. Give me a proper reason to travel back to England and I'll hop on the next available flight.

[Pi Alpha Nu]

Last season and so far this season the seat next to me has never been used but when tickets go on general sale you look at the seat and it is always marked up as sold. Very odd.