Celtic Tickets

[Lee]

What an absolute farce!!!

THis means that season tickets holders who travel to most if not all away games, might still miss out!!

WHAT A JOKE!

erm, when have Rovers taken 3000 away fans to a game recently??

The simple fact of the matter, yes FACT, is that Celtic only offered Rovers that figure, they'd have loved to have given us less, but they were duty bound by the UEFA rules to give us 5% and that is what we have got.

The club would have loved to have got a larger allocation, but Celtic, as is their right, didn't want to give it.

As for the home fixture, the club would like nothing more than to give Celtic the minimum 5% (1500) for this game, but lets face it, we do not sell out our home games.

thanks

Lee

Ok, we might not sell out the tickets, but chances are people will be disappointed.   I accept that there is very little Rovers could to about the allocation at celtic

BUT

Rovers have taken absolutely ZERO steps to take into account Season ticket holders who travel to away games, but have also given a chance to those who went to sofia who don't have season tickets.   Non S-T holders can still buy top tenner tickets etc during the season, whilst we've paid full price.    

This charter that Rovers seem to use when convienient is supposed to say that season ticket holders always have priority.

Do you not think that those season ticket holders who travel to all games are the first people in the queues when tickets go on sale?

You know full well that the regulars will be down there first thing Monday getting their tickets.

[Lee]

We could have TRIED to sell out Ewood Park and just give Celtic 1500. We COULD have offered 1500 tickets with an option on another 6500. We COULD have told the home support exactly what the position was, we could have let ST holders buy extra tickets. We COULD have down a lot of things in plenty of time to find out the REAL demand but no....

.....same old story, most attractive (biggest?) home fixture for years and the club won't take the opportunity to TRY and sell the tickets, to TRY and BUILD the supporter base. Just think of all those kids who could have said "I was there the night we beat Celtic".

I am desperatley disappointed with the club on this issue. JW really needs to come out with a considered statement instead of hiding behind trhe usual facts and figures.

We cut the price for Walsall to try and attract a crowd and then we give away the biggest ticket selling opportunity in years. The Walsall game should have been bundled with Celtic. Some sort of offer COULD have been worked out...but the club are just too idle ands apathetic to bother with thinking about this.

It's a complete disgrace and I for one want JW to come out and tell us the truth. Blackburn Rovers really do know how to push to the limit...time after time.

We'd have another Man City situation on our hands if the club did anything like you suggest Paul.

But you are always welcome to ask to have a meeting with John Williams to explain your views, he often sees fans down at the ground.

[Ste B]

Do you not think that those season ticket holders who travel to all games are the first people in the queues when tickets go on sale?

You know full well that the regulars will be down there first thing Monday getting their tickets.

Of course they will be, they quite simply have to be in order to get their tickets.

They will swap shifts or take time off, just so that they can have a chance of a ticket for the game.

How many people in that queue will buy celtic tickets, but not bother with tickets for the southampton game that go on sale at exactly the same time.   Bloody loads, and theres the problem, Rovers have done absolutely nothing.

[den]

We could have TRIED to sell out Ewood Park and just give Celtic 1500. We COULD have offered 1500 tickets with an option on another 6500. We COULD have told the home support exactly what the position was, we could have let ST holders buy extra tickets. We COULD have down a lot of things in plenty of time to find out the REAL demand but no....

.....same old story, most attractive (biggest?) home fixture for years and the club won't take the opportunity to TRY and sell the tickets, to TRY and BUILD the supporter base. Just think of all those kids who could have said "I was there the night we beat Celtic".

I am desperatley disappointed with the club on this issue. JW really needs to come out with a considered statement instead of hiding behind trhe usual facts and figures.

We cut the price for Walsall to try and attract a crowd and then we give away the biggest ticket selling opportunity in years. The Walsall game should have been bundled with Celtic. Some sort of offer COULD have been worked out...but the club are just too idle ands apathetic to bother with thinking about this.

It's a complete disgrace and I for one want JW to come out and tell us the truth. Blackburn Rovers really do know how to push to the limit...time after time.

We'd have another Man City situation on our hands if the club did anything like you suggest Paul.

But you are always welcome to ask to have a meeting with John Williams to explain your views, he often sees fans down at the ground.

I'm getting a bit sick of the "man city" excuses. Christ, how many other clubs give away one quarter of their home tickets in top european games?

Well?  I'm waiting.  A prize for the first correct answer.

[Lee]

There were 400 fans who bought Sofia tickets from the club, and I'm sure those hardy souls will be the first people in the queue again, it is their nature.

[Paul]

I'm sorry Lee but how much longer are Rovers going to hide behind the Man City game? I understand all of the arguements for giving the Darwen End to Celtic and I agree with those arguements.

What I can't agree with is the lack of effort to change the situation. Fans want to see big games, this is when they will be hooked and might just turn up for Walsall etc. If we are to ever change and grow the fan base we have to take the golden opportunities which come our way occassionally. There has to be a contingency plan in place to take advantage of these opportunities and frankly there isn't one. Consequently this situation will just roll on for years going nowhere with the same old 22,000 turning out week after week.

[Ste B]

Actually, doesnt this database have at least 30000 Rovers fans on it after the cardiff game.    A simple, if your names not down you arent coming in could have been applied, but on balance, I do think Rovers have got the home game right.

Why not let the 400 hardy souls queue for their tickets after the Newcastle game then, wont take long to process.  UNLESS we have to fill in a ridiculous form as last time (is this a UEFA regulation ??).  The queue could take hours if thats the case.

[AndyC]

The only thing I would have changed though, is I would have liked to have seen rovers give celtic just the top half of the darwin end and then given our fans a time limit to buy tickets. If we didn't look like selling out, then we could have given them half the bottom end too.

.

agree with the latter. Rovers should have made more effort to accomodate rovers supporters at ewood.

I'll be in Glasgow, ticket or not, so first beer is on you AndyC

The acid test guys, will be how quickly we sell our home allocation.  If we sell out really quickly, then it will be obvious that we could have just given Celtic the 5%.

If sales stutter along, which i expect they will, given that its a mid week game live on tv, then the board will will be right...

....only time will tell .....

[Tris]

I'm not really sure what all the fuss is about - for the home leg the club has done exactly the right thing by giving Celtic the Darwen end ... there is already evidence on this thread that even with 8,000 tickets there will still be infiltration in the home areas by Celtic, just imagine how much worse it would be if we only gave them 1,500.  They've got 53,000 season ticket holders.

Because Rovers have got the infiltration issue well under control when we've played big clubs recently, people tend to forget just how crap it is watching your team at home surrounded by away fans.

As for the away leg, if Lee says Celtic wouldn't budge on our allocation then we'll have to take his word for it.  It is a bit disappointing (especially the restricted view thing - how can there be restricted view tickets in a stadium like that - are they in the car park or something ??)

Season ticket holders are the life blood of the club so rightly get priority, and also rightly the club has not ignored the 400 who made the effort to travel to Bulgaria.  There's not much wrong with any of that.  It's a massive fixture with potential interest from people who are neither Rovers or Celtic fans, but who are interested in the wider context of a Battle of Britain match.  The club has done what it can to ensure people who deserve tickets get them.

[BlueMonday]

How many times have we sold our ground out?

The match is live on tv & rovers fans have shown time and time again that they do not travel in numbers.

Its nowhere near the same as the worthy final. we hadn't been in a meaningful final for over 60 years, so we were always going to sell out for that.

Just remember - how many people use this forum ? I wouldn't say it was a good percentage considering the number of people that travel to away games. The people on this board are obviously some of the most passionate of our supporters,  but the numbers simply don't stack up.

The only thing I would have changed though, is I would have liked to have seen rovers give celtic just the top half of the darwin end and then given our fans a time limit to buy tickets. If we didn't look like selling out, then we could have given them half the bottom end too.

That aside - I'll be there & I'll meet any of you on the board for beers before hand! I'll be getting in around lunchtime....

Disagree with the first part of your argument.

If you think small you act small.

agree with the latter. Rovers should have made more effort to accomodate rovers supporters at ewood.

I'll be in Glasgow, ticket or not, so first beer is on you AndyC

your on fella..

...now where are we meeting up !?!

I've suggested the horseshoe bar(in the celtic travel thread).

Its in the city centre near glasgow central station.  

From there people can make their way up Argyle st some good barsin Candleriggs > Trongate > Gallowgate. This takes you towards the celtic park.

For those without tickets there will be plenty of bars showing the game.  And don't forget the Rangers half of the city will welcome us with open arms.  It'll be crackin' with or without a ticket.

#### the rovers board !!

[Lee]

It is a bit disappointing (especially the restricted view thing - how can there be restricted view tickets in a stadium like that - are they in the car park or something ??)

bloody big post in the way apparently.

[Lee]

Why not let the 400 hardy souls queue for their tickets after the Newcastle game then, wont take long to process.  UNLESS we have to fill in a ridiculous form as last time (is this a UEFA regulation ??).  The queue could take hours if thats the case.

Right now, the club haven't received the tickets from Celtic. Hope they get here for Monday!

[DP]

I'm not really sure what all the fuss is about - for the home leg the club has done exactly the right thing by giving Celtic the Darwen end ... there is already evidence on this thread that even with 8,000 tickets there will still be infiltration in the home areas by Celtic, just imagine how much worse it would be if we only gave them 1,500.  They've got 53,000 season ticket holders.

Because Rovers have got the infiltration issue well under control when we've played big clubs recently, people tend to forget just how crap it is watching your team at home surrounded by away fans.

As for the away leg, if Lee says Celtic wouldn't budge on our allocation then we'll have to take his word for it.  It is a bit disappointing (especially the restricted view thing - how can there be restricted view tickets in a stadium like that - are they in the car park or something ??)

Season ticket holders are the life blood of the club so rightly get priority, and also rightly the club has not ignored the 400 who made the effort to travel to Bulgaria.  There's not much wrong with any of that.  It's a massive fixture with potential interest from people who are neither Rovers or Celtic fans, but who are interested in the wider context of a Battle of Britain match.  The club has done what it can to ensure people who deserve tickets get them.

So you’re very confident of getting a ticket on Monday then Tris?

[AndyC]

i am...

...i still think loads of people won't be bothered to go with it being mid week and on tv

[Don]

If we took up full allocation at every away game I could understand all this angst.But we dont.Tickets are being offered to ST holders and those who went to Sofia.Given the number of tickets Celtic have allocated us vs the number of ST holders there is inevitably going to be many disappointed people.

With regards the home fixture I guess the club has taken the view that they WILL sell 8,000 tickets to Celtic rather than wait and see if home fans fill the ground.As Gav has pointed out above we generally only get 22,000 plus home fans.The club is thus maximising its income.

[AndyC]

If we took up full allocation at every away game I could understand all this angst.But we dont.Tickets are being offered to ST holders and those who went to Sofia.Given the number of tickets Celtic have allocated us vs the number of ST holders there is inevtiably going to be many disappointed people.

With regards the home fixture I guess the club has taken the view that WILL sell 8,000 tickets to Celtic rather than wait and see if home fans fill the ground.As Gav as pointed out above we generally only get 22,000 plus home fans.The club is thus maximising its income.

whilst i agree this is true,  I would have preferred for the board to come up with a way of offering more tickets to celtic if we didn't sell them all, rather than just conceeding that we wouldn't sell them.

I guess you do need the big games to get people interested in coming down to ewood on a more regular basis, so its a shame we didn't go with a full on marketing onslaught to back up the cmapaign it started with your club, your town etc.

It would have been a perfect time to go for stage II of that campaign

[Tris]

But the whole problem with this "big games attracting new fans" argument is that ... it doesn't work !!

Because the people that want tickets for Man U, Liverpool, Celtic, etc are more interested in the opposition, and the sense of occasion, than  in Blackburn Rovers.

It's like the Worthy Cup final - where've they all gone ?  30,000 of them and I bet there's 5,000 who haven't been to a game since.

[Don]

But the whole problem with this "big games attracting new fans" argument is that ... it doesn't work !!

Because the people that want tickets for Man U, Liverpool, Celtic, etc are more interested in the opposition, and the sense of occasion, than  in Blackburn Rovers.

It's like the Worthy Cup final - where've they all gone ?  30,000 of them and I bet there's 5,000 who haven't been to a game since.

Spot on Tris.

The same argument applies for every big game but not for the likes of Southampton etc away.I personally think it should be fair game when it comes to tickets for away games judging by the amount of away support ie all ST holders first then open sale.

[Lee]

For those season ticket holders who went to Sofia, if you hand in your postal applications for the Celtic game on Saturday, you'll be guaranteed a ticket - Tom Finn.

[bob fleming]

It's like the Worthy Cup final - where've they all gone ?  30,000 of them and I bet there's 5,000 who haven't been to a game since.

The next big game is the Celtic match. These "5000" may well fancy another trip to watch their club. So what do Rovers do? Well they don't even give them the option to come and watch.

Its nothing short of a disgrace for us to give Celtic the entire Darwen end.

"Get behind the club / Support your home town team" - no sorry we're not giving you the option - here you go Celtic 8000 tickets for you - and please don't sit in our home areas will you.

Sorry - this doesn't wash. Celtic fans will try and buy tickets in home areas - as others have mentioned, they've a large fanatical following. But for Rovers to not even try selling these tickets to their own fans first is diabolical.

Give Celtic 3000. Maybe we won't sell all the tickets in the home ends. If we don't, let them have more tickets.

Am I making things too simple here? Why can't the club use this database they've built up to ensure that the tickets are going to the correct people. Why couldn't fans buy tickets on production of a utility bill showing that they're from the Blackburn area.

Make a big point - if fans buy tickets for the wrong areas they'll be kicked out. If season ticket holders sell tickets to Celtic fans - ban them.

If the club is able to eject Rovers fans for standing up then I'm sure they'll have no problems in ejecting fans for being in the wrong area of the ground.

I too am sick of hearing about the Man City game of a few seasons back. This is a totally different proposition. Any Rovers fan worth his/her salt would love to watch this game. The club must give people the chance.

[Jordan]

What about non season ticket holders who went to sofia?

[Lee]

What about non season ticket holders who went to sofia?

they are already mentioned in the press release! Tickets go on sale to them Monday morning.

[Ricky]

It's like the Worthy Cup final - where've they all gone ?  30,000 of them and I bet there's 5,000 who haven't been to a game since.

The next big game is the Celtic match. These "5000" may well fancy another trip to watch their club. So what do Rovers do? Well they don't even give them the option to come and watch.

Its nothing short of a disgrace for us to give Celtic the entire Darwen end.

"Get behind the club / Support your home town team" - no sorry we're not giving you the option - here you go Celtic 8000 tickets for you - and please don't sit in our home areas will you.

Sorry - this doesn't wash. Celtic fans will try and buy tickets in home areas - as others have mentioned, they've a large fanatical following. But for Rovers to not even try selling these tickets to their own fans first is diabolical.

Give Celtic 3000. Maybe we won't sell all the tickets in the home ends. If we don't, let them have more tickets.

Am I making things too simple here? Why can't the club use this database they've built up to ensure that the tickets are going to the correct people. Why couldn't fans buy tickets on production of a utility bill showing that they're from the Blackburn area.

Make a big point - if fans buy tickets for the wrong areas they'll be kicked out. If season ticket holders sell tickets to Celtic fans - ban them.

If the club is able to eject Rovers fans for standing up then I'm sure they'll have no problems in ejecting fans for being in the wrong area of the ground.

I too am sick of hearing about the Man City game of a few seasons back. This is a totally different proposition. Any Rovers fan worth his/her salt would love to watch this game. The club must give people the chance.

Sorry to put a spanner in the works but not all rovers fans live in blackburn, sorry if that comes as a bit of a shock to you.....

[Blue Flush]

Because,I cannot believe Jack would have allowed Celtic to shaft us in the manner they have, with their ticket allocation.2,800,with 900 of those"very restricted viewing".Can I ask you a few questions Mr Williams.On your way back from Glasgow earlier this week,did you have happy ,contented smile on your face,happy that you had achieved what is best for the Rovers fans?Can you name any other club in the country,other than Woking who would have accepted a shafting like this?Are you aware,that this is the biggest game we have played in for years?And finally,when was the last time you took a long holiday Mr Williams?Celtic have shafted you,and you have shafted us.A D I O S .

[bob fleming]

It's like the Worthy Cup final - where've they all gone ?  30,000 of them and I bet there's 5,000 who haven't been to a game since.

The next big game is the Celtic match. These "5000" may well fancy another trip to watch their club. So what do Rovers do? Well they don't even give them the option to come and watch.

Its nothing short of a disgrace for us to give Celtic the entire Darwen end.

"Get behind the club / Support your home town team" - no sorry we're not giving you the option - here you go Celtic 8000 tickets for you - and please don't sit in our home areas will you.

Sorry - this doesn't wash. Celtic fans will try and buy tickets in home areas - as others have mentioned, they've a large fanatical following. But for Rovers to not even try selling these tickets to their own fans first is diabolical.

Give Celtic 3000. Maybe we won't sell all the tickets in the home ends. If we don't, let them have more tickets.

Am I making things too simple here? Why can't the club use this database they've built up to ensure that the tickets are going to the correct people. Why couldn't fans buy tickets on production of a utility bill showing that they're from the Blackburn area.

Make a big point - if fans buy tickets for the wrong areas they'll be kicked out. If season ticket holders sell tickets to Celtic fans - ban them.

If the club is able to eject Rovers fans for standing up then I'm sure they'll have no problems in ejecting fans for being in the wrong area of the ground.

I too am sick of hearing about the Man City game of a few seasons back. This is a totally different proposition. Any Rovers fan worth his/her salt would love to watch this game. The club must give people the chance.

Sorry to put a spanner in the works but not all rovers fans live in blackburn, sorry if that comes as a bit of a shock to you.....

Well thanks for stating the bleeding obvious but I'm sure that you understand the point I'm trying to make.

There has to be a way of getting tickets to Rovers fans irrispective of where they live.

What do you propose?