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28 02 2006 Chelsea's unequal membership scheme
"All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others" - Animal Farm, George Orwell
Chelsea decided this season not to base its membership scheme on loyalty.
The theory was that this would allow a larger cross section of people to apply for tickets for a game.
The reality is that anyone can pick one or two games to go to for the season and not bother about the "less important"
ones.
At present, we have 23,000 season ticket holders. This means there are around 16,000 tickets up for grabs, less those
given away to players, corporates, etc. There were even fewer available for the Barca home game as one corner of the
Matthew Harding was covered up in tarpaulin as UEFA needed it for logistical reasons: prawn sandwiches had to be
swiftly delivered to their broadcasting team behind the stand. Also Barca had brought along 3,000 of their own fans.
A large minority of fans in the stadium managed to obtain a ticket despite not particularly caring for either team!
Coming soon will be sales for the Manchester United game at home, where I would expect more of the same.
Having been to the Chelsea Supporters' Group meeting on Saturday, it was revealed that only 3,000 members regularly
apply for tickets, out of a membership of around 60,000
The scheme is a disgrace and should always be based on loyalty, especially as the season progresses and more
important games come up. I don't want some numpty sitting next to me who managed to fluke getting a ticket online, and
ask me why the players are not wearing helmets or scoring touchdowns.
It is my feeling, and that of many other fans I have spoken to, that this is another scheme that Chelsea has set up to get
the money rolling in. I doubt whether many members would have bothered signing up if they had known that despite
going to ten home games this season, they would not be guaranteed a ticket for the Barca home game!
Others argue that if you were that keen to get a ticket, you should have been at Stamford Bridge at 7am to be at the
front of the queue at the box office! It also amazed me that some members who complained at not being able to get a
ticket for Barca at home didn't bother buying a ticket for the Colchester home game which was priced at £25 per ticket! If
they had done, it would not have gone to general sale, as many games already have this season.
Bring back the loyalty scheme!
Chelsea decided this season not to base its membership scheme on loyalty.
The theory was that this would allow a larger cross section of people to apply for tickets for a game.
The reality is that anyone can pick one or two games to go to for the season and not bother about the "less important"
ones.
At present, we have 23,000 season ticket holders. This means there are around 16,000 tickets up for grabs, less those
given away to players, corporates, etc. There were even fewer available for the Barca home game as one corner of the
Matthew Harding was covered up in tarpaulin as UEFA needed it for logistical reasons: prawn sandwiches had to be
swiftly delivered to their broadcasting team behind the stand. Also Barca had brought along 3,000 of their own fans.
A large minority of fans in the stadium managed to obtain a ticket despite not particularly caring for either team!
Coming soon will be sales for the Manchester United game at home, where I would expect more of the same.
Having been to the Chelsea Supporters' Group meeting on Saturday, it was revealed that only 3,000 members regularly
apply for tickets, out of a membership of around 60,000
The scheme is a disgrace and should always be based on loyalty, especially as the season progresses and more
important games come up. I don't want some numpty sitting next to me who managed to fluke getting a ticket online, and
ask me why the players are not wearing helmets or scoring touchdowns.
It is my feeling, and that of many other fans I have spoken to, that this is another scheme that Chelsea has set up to get
the money rolling in. I doubt whether many members would have bothered signing up if they had known that despite
going to ten home games this season, they would not be guaranteed a ticket for the Barca home game!
Others argue that if you were that keen to get a ticket, you should have been at Stamford Bridge at 7am to be at the
front of the queue at the box office! It also amazed me that some members who complained at not being able to get a
ticket for Barca at home didn't bother buying a ticket for the Colchester home game which was priced at £25 per ticket! If
they had done, it would not have gone to general sale, as many games already have this season.
Bring back the loyalty scheme!