Harvesting Away tickets

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Originally Posted by jbyrne

this was a disgrace at the time as the match was not a sell out. we needed to replace our tickets (long story!) yet we could not get any officially (got sorted in the end elsewhere though). we couldnt believe it when we got to the match and saw empty seats as we were aware of others who came out to Japan en-spec only to be unable to get tickets

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The match was definitely soldout as were all the games in Japan if I recall correctly. I don't remember too many empty seats either. The Japanese were really keen to go to any games and a couple of hundred at least followed us to Korea. Two of us went to Mexico v Ecuador in Myagi and had huge problems getting an extra ticket. As Yokohama is neat Tokyo and was the biggest stadium w eplayed in (and potentially the least attractive game)
many saw this as an opportunity to go on spec. Contrast that with Ibaraki - small stadium - Ireland v Germany yet loads of tickets at face value

I know Cameroon v Saudi had thousands of empty seats but was also officially soldout. It is often down to sponsor's tickets not being used.

I have been to two world cups 90 & 94 and never had a ticket for game before I got there and somehow managed to buy tickets for all of Irelands games now I did have to pat $190 for a ticket in 94 for some game against Italy but I did think it was quite well worth it at the end .:)
Until four years ago I used to take my chance at the home games looking for tickets and never failed to get one at Jury's , maybe I was lucky but some times you make your own luck as I would ask everybody who pased me .:ball:

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Originally Posted by gspain

The match was definitely soldout as were all the games in Japan if I recall correctly. I don't remember too many empty seats either. The Japanese were really keen to go to any games and a couple of hundred at least followed us to Korea. Two of us went to Mexico v Ecuador in Myagi and had huge problems getting an extra ticket. As Yokohama is neat Tokyo and was the biggest stadium w eplayed in (and potentially the least attractive game)
many saw this as an opportunity to go on spec. Contrast that with Ibaraki - small stadium - Ireland v Germany yet loads of tickets at face value

I know Cameroon v Saudi had thousands of empty seats but was also officially soldout. It is often down to sponsor's tickets not being used.

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we actually went to the wc ticket headquaters in tokyo and were told there were tickets but we had to call the phone line to purchase them. sat in a japaneses contacts house for about 6 hrs on the phone but couldnt get through. the game was the highest non japanese attendance of the first round but there were empty seats in the opposite end of the ground from us for sure. there were also 3 empty seats due to lost / stolen tickets in the Irish end but thats a different story!

Simple solution: screw the block bookers, have everyone who wants a ticket register online for a pair, then have the FAI do an open draw a few weeks before a match. Done!

Thats hardly fair. People who go to all the games need to be rewarded. The block booking system being used for home games is not perfect but its a lot fairer than what you suggest.

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Originally Posted by Colbert Report

Simple solution: screw the block bookers, have everyone who wants a ticket register online for a pair, then have the FAI do an open draw a few weeks before a match. Done!

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So I like Neil & Been There and a few others like that on this forum, who in the past year have been to Bari, Montenegro, Mainze, Oslo, Craven Cottage, Bratislava, Prague, Cardiff, Aarhus etc over the past 24 months should have to go in a draw with someone that has not gone to a singe game:confused:

These people are rich if they can afford to jet around the world watching football. No sympathy for them. I recently attended Ireland/Bulgaria at Croke Park and it was the first match I've ever been to in my life! I probably won't be able to afford another match for another ten years. Screw these rich people, everyone should have the same chance to get tickets.

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Originally Posted by Colbert Report

These people are rich if they can afford to jet around the world watching football. No sympathy for them. I recently attended Ireland/Bulgaria at Croke Park and it was the first match I've ever been to in my life! I probably won't be able to afford another match for another ten years. Screw these rich people, everyone should have the same chance to get tickets.

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If you hadnt finished your post with the underlined bit, I would quite happily have given you a ticket for your next match,

Let me tell you that most of the hard core are far from rich, my average trip costs €350 for flights and hotels x 4 games a year = €1,400

I don't smoke - 20 a day costs about €2,500

I rarely go out at home

I keep all my holidays for matches

My circumstances are very similar to most of the hardcore support....

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Originally Posted by Colbert Report

These people are rich if they can afford to jet around the world watching football. No sympathy for them. I recently attended Ireland/Bulgaria at Croke Park and it was the first match I've ever been to in my life! I probably won't be able to afford another match for another ten years. Screw these rich people, everyone should have the same chance to get tickets.

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You're talkin through your aras. Seeing you've only been to one match, and it was at home, you seem to know an awful lot about travelling fans...

I couldn't be even bothered trying to reply to that post.

I really hope this guy is **** stirring I really do hope he is. If not the poor guy is deluded. Anyway I wish my butler was better at typing because sometimes he makes typos on this forum and I am going to whip him now for such errors. He was talking ****e too on the Roy Keane thread under my name.

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Originally Posted by Colbert Report

These people are rich if they can afford to jet around the world watching football. No sympathy for them. I recently attended Ireland/Bulgaria at Croke Park and it was the first match I've ever been to in my life! I probably won't be able to afford another match for another ten years. Screw these rich people, everyone should have the same chance to get tickets.

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What a ridiculous post. So if someone doesn't earn a lot, and saves for months on end to go to each game, they're rich? I've only been to two away games, but I guess that means I'm still "rich". Despite the fact that other than those games I haven't been on a holiday in about 3 years and am currently a student. Plenty of people are like me, except they actually make more of an effort to save and consequently get to go to even more games. I'd say the average Ireland fan is just like most people except they probably sacrifice other things in order to get to these games. Basically they make more of an effort. Instead of feeling sorry for yourself for not being able to get to these games, perhaps you should do the same if you care that much?

If your proposition became a reality, it would be a very sad day for football. The day that regulars for over a decade should give up their ticket to someone who has only gone to one game would be the death knell for regular fans and a victory for the corporate suffocation of football.

Ahhh just a wind up merchant. Ignore him and he may go away

I'm not trying to wind anyone up. Every Ireland match is an away game for me as I live in Canada. I pay $20 for every match, be it home, away, friendly, etc. just to watch them in the pub! Why are you more entitled to me to get tickets to away matches?

Cause some of us go to all the games. If you do not have a system that rewards people who travel to away games then you could have someone who has been to every game and misses out on the most popular. Some of us were there against San Marino under Staunton and why should we then miss out say on Bulgaria away or Italy at away. Luckily enough there is not a problem getting tickets for away games most of the time.

The scots run a system where they get one point for every away game they go to and the last 10 games are taken into account and those with the most points are first in line for getting tickets.

You live in Canada which I am sure makes it very very hard for you to go to all the away games. But we all make choices in life where to live where to work. You would get a ticket for any away game at the moment. It would onlly be a play off game that you would probably not get a ticket for. So you have the opportunity to get a ticket for these games. What would be wrong is you getting a ticket for a playoff game ahead of all the people who have been to every away game over the last few years.

Fair enough, when you put it that way it does make sense. In fairness though, I don't think you should be rewarded for going to San Marino under Staunton. I don't see how you deserve tickets more than me to a play off game. If anything, I think I deserve them more because you've already seen so many games already. Not trying to wind you up, it's just how I feel. Clearly the FAI sees it your way though, so good luck to you.

[QUOTE=Colbert Report;1154766]Fair enough, when you put it that way it does make sense. In fairness though, I don't think you should be rewarded for going to San Marino under Staunton. I don't see how you deserve tickets more than me to a play off game. If anything, I think I deserve them more because you've already seen so many games already. Not trying to wind you up, it's just how I feel. Clearly the FAI sees it your way though, so good luck to you.[/I

Not only the FAI but every sporting organistion works on this basis to some degree or another. You clearly do not know how ticketing works at football clubs throughout the world.

In addition if people who went to every game were overlooked for a play off game behind a guy like you who goes to 1 game every ten years, there would be uproar and many would be so ****ed off that they may not go to other games and the regulars may turn their back on the game having been overlooked by the FAI. Where would the game be then cause it sure cannot rely on the money from guys like you who only go every ten years.

Fair enough, as I've said clearly you're in the right on this one. Here in North America we don't have any tickets allocated to away supporters - largely due to the distances between cities.

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Originally Posted by Colbert Report

I'm not trying to wind anyone up. Every Ireland match is an away game for me as I live in Canada. I pay $20 for every match, be it home, away, friendly, etc. just to watch them in the pub! Why are you more entitled to me to get tickets to away matches?

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There are other options than paying $20 for every game - I believe the Bulgaria game was included in the annual Setanta online subscription package. Also, if you have any friends or family in Ireland check out www.slingmedia.com - I can watch RTE, BBC, ITV and Setanta Ireland over the interweb at no cost beyond the price of the Slingbox.

As for the away trips, I currently live in New York and booked a flight to Sofia for next month's match for less than some of my pals are paying from Dublin. It's not cheap by any means but even from New York it is possible to attend a lot of games with a few financial sacrifices elsewhere.

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Originally Posted by EastTerracer

There are other options than paying $20 for every game - I believe the Bulgaria game was included in the annual Setanta online subscription package. Also, if you have any friends or family in Ireland check out www.slingmedia.com - I can watch RTE, BBC, ITV and Setanta Ireland over the interweb at no cost beyond the price of the Slingbox.

As for the away trips, I currently live in New York and booked a flight to Sofia for next month's match for less than some of my pals are paying from Dublin. It's not cheap by any means but even from New York it is possible to attend a lot of games with a few financial sacrifices elsewhere.

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The cheapest flights I can find on expedia from New York to Sofia are $900 US! The average Joe can hardly afford that for a day trip to Eastern Europe. I've no sympathy for these so-called "hardcore" supporters. The FAI should do the fair thing and make every match available to everyone, with a random draw to determine who gets tickets to matches in the event that demand exceeds supply.

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Originally Posted by Colbert Report

The cheapest flights I can find on expedia from New York to Sofia are $900 US! The average Joe can hardly afford that for a day trip to Eastern Europe. I've no sympathy for these so-called "hardcore" supporters. The FAI should do the fair thing and make every match available to everyone, with a random draw to determine who gets tickets to matches in the event that demand exceeds supply.

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I booked six months ago and paid $450 (about EUR 330). These things take planning. If you're not willing to pay for the travel costs then why should anyone give you a ticket.

I think your issue is that the travel is so expensive rather than the ability to get a ticket so I really don't know where you're coming from.