The removal of ticket collections for European aways has been the contentious issue away for our support over the last few weeks.
The recent game in Turkey proved to be a disaster in terms of people buying tickets with no intention of travelling, with spares flying around on the day of the game for locals and reds who had travelled without tickets.
Like I have said on a previous post, from the outside looking in, I do have a tinge of sympathy for those on the panel, as it is clear the meeting is setup in the club’s best interests.
The minutes show that they refused to answer a whopping twenty-one questions on the subject on the grounds that they had already covered it all earlier in the meeting.
With the rather flippant comments in the minutes:
Whilst we understand some fans value this service the cost of travel and accommodation for eight ticketing staff, two security staff, hiring a dedicated, conveniently located and accessible collection point is significant and it is not possible to continue at this time. We also need to consider the impact of eight staff being out of the office for three days, along with the pre and post collections work that is required to be undertaken linked to this activity.
In fact, this goes against the whole theme of the early part of the 25-page document which goes out of its way to get over the fact that the club have been going out of their way to reward loyal fans and that they are in the early stages of the club’s transformation.
My general feeling about the minutes are there two key issues.
One being that the whole training ground and Stadium upgrade plan stinks of the emperor’s new clothes.
In her opening statement Collette Roche very honestly states:
Off the pitch, you’ll know that we have been through a period of restructuring that has seen us say farewell to approximately 250 colleagues.
That has been a difficult process, but we would not have done it if we did not feel it was necessary.
The truth is that, even though we are generating record revenues which are among the highest in European football, we have still been losing money.
That is not a sustainable situation so we’ve taken action to identify areas where we can increase efficiency.
Collette Roche Chief Operating Officer
But then literally seconds later goes on:
We are also committed to investing to improve our infrastructure for fans, staff and players. Work is well under way on the £50m upgrade to the main building at Carrington.
Consultations are continuing on the various options for the future of Old Trafford.
That might turn out to be new build or redevelopment, but in either scenario we want to ensure that Manchester United fans can enjoy watching their team play in a world-class stadium at the heart of a vibrant, regenerated community.
What is the actual truth and how is this happening, to put it into layman’s terms, if I cannot afford to pay my bills, I cannot afford to buy a second house.
These are really worrying times for the club, the Glazer/INEOS axis seems unclear and rudderless, as fans groups we need to be vigilant because anyone thinking the conclusion of the review 12 months ago has stopped the rot from the top, unfortunately your wrong.
My second take is not a new revelation, the total disregard of match going supporters with a view to chase the coin of the better fan.
Despite not being able to justify the cost of making sure the right people end up in the away at Porto/Fenerbahçe/Pilsen/Bucharest they could find the money to:
- Facilitate the setup of 20 New supporter’s clubs around the world with the furthest being as far away as New Zealand.
- Pay for and setup a fan survey for the New Ground, heavily influenced to ask what sort of food and hospitality its patrons would require.
- Organize Pre-Game Events for 15 thousand supporters on tour.
- Reward official supporter’s clubs with `Coin Toss Moments` and `Mascot opportunities` at the three games on tour.
- Flew Bryan Robson, Denis Irwin, Andy Cole, and Wes Brown to shares stories with hundreds of paying fans in America.
- Flew Wes Brown to a fan event in Chicago to watch Crystal Palace away with fans. The club saw fit to reward the 15k in attendance with a meet and greet with Wes and some prizes give aways.
Now I love Wes, Denis and Coley, Robbo was my hero growing up but I doubt they were staying in Holiday inns and I`m sure big Jim was picking up Captain Marvels bar bill, so how can justify this when you can’t cover the cost of sending eight staff and two security staff to assist you most loyal customers.
The answer to question purely is revenue, the club, make nothing from the collections while America is the golden goose, one giant cash machine.
Maybe a bit melodramatic but when the lad collapsed on the concourse at Fenerbahçe last week for a split second I thought one of the locals who had acquired black market tickets in our end had cracked him one or worse.
Do not forget this is the club who promised not to jeopardise your safety again, only 12 months ago.
The situation needs addressing and addressing now.
