@Gerry in case you took me wrong there. I was completely on board with a protest or rally against the tickets but I just had some concerns that a rushed Twitter arranged walkout was the way to go. Thankfully I was wrong in this instance. I would never the less have walked out in solidarity had I been there on Saturday. Fantastic effort by all involved. The situation for me is not beyond the point of no return, I am very happy with how FSG are running the club, like it or not they are bringing us forward twenty years in many ways. So my protest is against the ticket prices only and not the owners. PR suicide for Ayre, his PR is making Enda Kenny sound like Martin Luther King.
Protecting his meal ticket with the club. Be no Legend Tours or Junkets if he came out against. Great to see Carragher back the protest. Club will be fuming with that.
Newcastle have announced a price freeze on adult season tickets next season with those for under-18s being reduced. The Magpies' decision comes at a time of heightened awareness over the issue of pricing following a walkout by Liverpool fans last weekend. Newcastle say there is a risk "generations of supporters" could be lost if the cost of attending matches rises too high. An estimated 10,000 supporters left Anfield after 77 minutes of Saturday's draw with Sunderland in protest at Liverpool's new pricing structure for 2016-17, which included a £77 match ticket and a top-priced season ticket of £1,029. Liverpool fans voted with their feet in the knowledge that the income of top-flight clubs will increase dramatically next season as a result of the Premier League's new £5.14billion TV deal. But there will be no season-ticket price rises at St James' Park with those for under-18s even reduced by as much as 54 per cent. Season tickets for juniors will start at £57 and some individual match tickets for children will be just £3. The full pricing scheme will be confirmed in the coming weeks but season ticket renewal letters are currently being processed. Newcastle managing director Lee Charnley said: "While the debate around Premier League ticket prices continues, we want to ensure watching football at St James' Park remains affordable for as many people as possible. "There is a clear risk that clubs could lose generations of supporters with the cost being a major factor and we have considered that when setting prices for 2016-17. "We want to encourage more families to attend and ensure that the price of a ticket does not become a barrier for our youngest supporters." The club have also announced they will continue to seek reciprocal deals with other clubs to keep the prices of tickets for away fans affordable.
FSG have probably done fans of other clubs a favour, as other clubs are falling over themselves to announce prize freezes and in some cases reductions.
Anybody else feel clubs are exploiting the situation to minimise commercial damage and escalation?Obviously making it more affordable for kids has to be welcomed but freezing season ticket prices making sure you list the TV deal as the reason behind it is actually not doing very much at all,but it gives the impression of a victory for supporters. Personally I don't think clubs deserve too much credit for freezing prices when you consider the extra revenue from the TV deal and we all know how badly Newcastle's owners need the good PR with their fans but I suppose we should give them the benefit of the doubt until we see exactly how much they're doing for kids. I'm actually disappointed how easily West Ham have been able to grab good PR from the situation.They've a publicly funded stadium,acquired through tory cronyism and there's a legal battle going on to stop the details of it being disclosed.They also know how vital it is for their other revenue streams to fill that 60,000 stadium.Those prices are necessary for their business plan but they claim in their press release that they're keeping prices low because of the new TV deal and everybody eats it up.As if Gold,Sullivan and Brady,who represent everything that has turned football into what it is wouldn't be gouging supporters for more money if they thought they could. Obviously the less supporters pay for tickets the better but I can't help feeling clubs are and will continue to use a bit of spin here to try and put any protests to bed while doing the bare minimum.
Anyone see the Dortmund protest last night ? Went in 20 minutes late and Banners up with this is not tennis Then lashed a load of tennis balls onto the pitch Hopefully it helps them I wonder did many of their fans say it shouldn't be done or won't have any impact
FSG's message to Liverpool supporters - http://www.liverpoolfc.com/news/announcements/206821-fsg-s-message-to-liverpool-supporters A quick response from the protest
Principal Owner John W Henry, Chairman Tom Werner and President Mike Gordon have tonight issued the following message to Liverpool supporters... Dear Liverpool supporters, It has been a tumultuous week. On behalf of everyone at Fenway Sports Group and Liverpool Football Club, we would like to apologise for the distress caused by our ticket pricing plan for the 2016-17 season. The three of us have been particularly troubled by the perception that we don’t care about our supporters, that we are greedy, and that we are attempting to extract personal profits at the club’s expense. Quite the opposite is true. From our first days as owners we have understood that serving as custodians of this incredible institution is a distinct privilege and as such, we have been driven solely by the desire to return LFC to the pinnacle of football. In the world of modern football, growing the club in a sustainable way is essential to realising this objective. To that end, we have never taken a single penny out of the football club. Instead we have injected vast sums of our own money to improve the playing squad and modernise LFC’s infrastructure - exemplified by the £120million advance from FSG to build the new Main Stand. This massive undertaking was made in order to provide more supporters access to Anfield and also to produce additional revenue to help us compete financially with clubs that have greater resources. When it opens in August this year, the stand will accomplish those goals, thereby fulfilling a promise we made upon acquiring LFC in 2010. We were strongly engaged in the process to develop the ticketing plan for 2016-17. We met directly with representatives of LFC’s Supporters’ Committee and along with LFC management, wholeheartedly agreed with major concerns raised, notably: access for local and young supporters; engagement and access to Anfield for local children; access to Premier League matches for those in Liverpool most challenged by affordability. We believe the plan successfully addressed these concerns and are disappointed that these elements have been either lost or, worse, characterised as cynical attempts to mask profiteering in the plan as a whole. Rather, we prefer to look at them as the parts of the ticketing plan we got right. On the other hand, part of the ticketing plan we got wrong. In addition to the other elements of the plan we proposed price increases on a number of tickets. These pricing actions generated growth in general admission ticketing revenue on a like-for-like basis exclusive of revenue from newly-added GA seats. We believed by delivering a vastly improved seat offering in what will be the newest stand in English football, concentrating the price increases on those tickets typically purchased by fans least sensitive to affordability, and for LFC to begin repaying the £120million advance from FSG for the new Main Stand that these increases were supportable even in the context of growth in revenues from the new Premier League TV deal. However, the widespread opposition to this element of the plan has made it clear that we were mistaken. A great many of you have objected strongly to the £77 price level of our most expensive GA seats and expressed a clear expectation that the club should forego any increased revenue from raising prices on GA tickets in the current environment. Message received. After an intense period of consultation with LFC management we have decided to make major revisions to our ticketing structure for 2016-17: Removal of game categorisation – regardless of the opposition fans will pay the same price for matchday tickets. The pricing of tickets will be readjusted to result in zero revenue growth from GA ticketing on a like-for-like basis. Though individual ticket prices may move marginally from this season, we are freezing our 2016-17 GA ticket revenue at the 2015-16 level exclusive of newly-added seats in the new Main Stand. The price of our highest general admission ticket will be frozen at the 2015-16 level - £59. The price of our highest season ticket will be frozen at the 2015-16 level - £869. The lowest price reducing a further £25 from the 2015-16 level to £685, as well as all other tiers being frozen or reduced. £9 GA seats will be offered for each and every Premier League match, an allocation of more than 10,000 tickets across the season. We would hasten to add that the other initiatives announced last week in the 2016-17 plan will remain: 17-21 young adult concession – 20,000 tickets across the Premier League season available at a 50 per cent reduction for young people. 1,000 tickets to Premier League matches across the season will be given away free of charge to Liverpool schoolchildren based on merit, as recommended by their teachers. As a sign of our commitment to this improved ticketing structure, we are further announcing that this plan shall be in effect for both the 2016-17 and 2017-18 seasons. For the next two seasons, LFC will not earn a single additional pound from increasing general admission ticket prices. We believe we have demonstrated a willingness to listen carefully, reconsider our position, and act decisively. The unique and sacred relationship between Liverpool Football Club and its supporters has always been foremost in our minds. It represents the heartbeat of this extraordinary football club. More than any other factor by far, that bond is what drives us to work tirelessly on behalf of the club and its future. We have great conviction in our world-class manager and our young, talented squad and know that in time the on-pitch success we all crave will be realised. We look forward to sharing in that success with you. John W Henry, Tom Werner, Mike Gordon
Massive moment in the campaign against ticket prices.Our supporters actions and the owners backing down will give encouragement to supporters at other clubs.There will be a lot of owners sitting uncomfortably tonight.Fair play to SOS,Spion Kop and everybody who took part in the protest.
Over the course of the season there is pretty much no difference in most of the kop and the lower Anfield Road
Super news, the people who drove the protest deserve great credit for this.On an entirely selfish level I hope my 17 credits are still good for next season, will there be a CAT A sale if there are no more CAT A games anymore?Please god I don't have to go into the free for all, surely the sales will be split still?Maybe this is the moment FSG scraps the credits system and gets more members?
Outside of the message about ticket prices, the owners have yet again expressed their desire to put the club back at the top of the footballing pile. The reinforcement of that message is almost as pleasing as the ticket prices news.
Great news. Protesters vindicated and owners apologetic but with a swift decision. Can't remember a similar situation in recent years where in the space of less than a week, an important issue was resolved.
Great move by FSG, they look like heros and keep the fans happy in the process. A win win. Be interesting to get further details of exact prices and how tickets will be sold.
Yes, it would be the ideal response. We protested, they listened and responded and then we responded with an acknowledgement of that and our thanks. It would send out an excellent message of understanding between the supporters and the owners.