Something that happened to a mate before the Orient game and the coincidence of us playing Walsall this week provokes me into revisiting the issue of Members Cards, in conjunction with away ticket allocation policy. Despite applying on the dot of 10.00am on the day this batch were eligible for application my mate didn’t get confirmation of a ticket till Friday morning. Part of the reason for that can be explained by the issue of applying in batches and part by the 85%/15% rule but even so having attended Orient away the last two seasons he can be forgiven for being a touch irritated by things (although it goes without saying he was grateful for the call from the Leeds United ticket office).
Such a late confirmation meant he had to pick up his tickets from Brisbane Road, which luckily had an “away” ticket office placed near the away end. It was also not much of a burden to have to get to the ground an hour before kick-off as the pubs around Leyton are few and far between. Anyway as he walks in to the small office he overhears the following conversation; “have you got any returns for the Leeds end?” “Yes sure, just the one?” After picking up his tickets in walks another bunch of lads with one muttering “maybe they have some here”, clearly Leeds fans. Moral of this little moment? Chance your arm and you can still get yourself in to the game. At this juncture we are not indicating whether we feel this was a problem, only that wouldn’t it be nice and almost nostalgic to be able to pay at the gate for an away game again?
This site has previously made its position clear on Members cards, back in August when it was announced tickets would be available on the day of our away game at Walsall, for purchase by anyone. Coming after a similar situation at Darlington in the League Cup that was a good cue to vent again a little anger on the increasingly getting discredited Members Card system. Walsall away became another of this seasons games where Leeds fans could for all intense and purposes just turn up and pay on the gate, usually this has been impossible due to the card system and police objection. Because the game was a dodgy Tuesday night, and in a stadium where the away fans could take 5k and the place would still look half empty, no such problems. What that re-enforced at the time was how the membership card scheme, as practised under the Bates regime, is but a gigantic money sucking “ruse” (legal but still a ruse).
Fast track 5 months and we had the Spurs replay debacle, where for 12 hours the club just rendered the whole card system unless by announcing a free for all on that game (Members Cards usually having had windows of opportunity for potentially sell out home games before general sale). That they understood they had made a mistake and quickly rectified the decision was down to those who highlighted the hypocrisy (www.loveleedshatebates.com) and tempered Bates and co’s natural tendency to greed. When our glorified fund manager said recently he wanted “to skank the occasional attendee” he wasn’t indicating loyalty to the season ticket holder or the Members Club card holders he was expressing a deliberate policy to squeeze the revenue pips. All this is consistent with a man who tries to charge the other 23 L1 clubs for the cost of sending stewards to occasionally enforce a system only he benefits from.
Now whilst a lot of the Daily Contributions will be formed from established positions, on the 85/15 split on away tickets we are persuadable. When I had both a home and away season ticket none of this really bothered me except I hoped allocation would be fair. We first had the batch system introduced, then the split, then the “loyalty games scheme” (which to this day I still don’t get). Is this the right way to go? On reflection I see why season ticket holders should get priority, particularly for away games close to Elland Road, but it does seem somewhat draconian for games where our wide spread loyal support that lives in the South would want to attend. These people have paid the £30, last season they had a fighting chance of being allocated a ticket, this season their chances seem to have declined dramatically, something not exactly highlighted when the requests for renewal of the Members Cards were sent out.
There are no real security issues negated by this expensive for supporters scheme, nobody was checking at the Bescott back in August nor at a significant number of grounds we attend. It is just money raking exercise, 30k x £30, best part of a £1m to the club simply to buy the right not to get tickets for Wycombe, Brentford, Brighton and Charlton. Tacky badges and even tackier propaganda are your reward for such an indulgence and yet you still do it “just in case”, the “guarantee” of a ticket for the play-off final (most useful last season that was and quite frankly something we need like a hole in the head this season!). It really is time the club came clean and stopped using exclusivity or safety as an excuse for this discredited scheme. I don’t care what rational the club uses to justify its existence but unless it has a real positive purpose for supporters the Members Card scheme must go!
As an additional item, following a couple of comments recieved over the last few days I remind readers of this: http://clarkeonenil.co.uk/greetings-and-hosekeeping and this http://clarkeonenil.co.uk/front-page/contributions-on-the-leeds-united-quagmire/daily-contribution-to-the-leeds-united-quagmire-introduction.
Editor Michael.
