AFC Champions League 2013

[true believer]

get it while you can .standing in the rain with 250 people watching a last game. is just a bad decision away

 

[Mumbles]

......................

 

[Ancient Mariner]

I think the main reason for the reactions is disappointment in the club. I know it is with me.

The first season when we played the AFC we could buy numbered seat tickets.

Last year the club was having cash flow problems and asked fans to buy their tickets for this year early and get their same seats for the AFC games gratis. Many people went ahead and coughed up early, not just for the reward, but to support the club.

Now for this year's AFC we learn that a la Gold Coast half the ground will be closed and for the first time that I know of you will not be able to book a seat.

The whole deal clashes with the idea that this is an important tournament. It is almost as if the club has given up already and is not taking it seriously and is planning on doing the whole home series on the cheap.

Why aren't they trying to improve on the 2009 attendance instead of seeing that number as a maximum possible.

Very negative and will only lead to a negative response. The whole idea of closing half the stadium is second rate team stuff and not what you would expect from the reigning premiers in a league that is supposedly professional.

Ask yourself, "what was the impression you formed of Gold Coast when Palmer closed half his stadium to save money"?

 

[Mumbles]

Was it the Mariners decision?

Could be FFA, FIFA or TV.
FIFA would be pulling the strings at AFC.

You're entitled to be disappointed but don't let it distract from this great event. An opportunity so many others won't enjoy.
Just imagine yourself as a Syd FC fan right now. Life's pretty good.

 

[pjennings]

Could well be an FFA decision/request. With the Asian Cup coming up the FFA would be wanting to sell Asia to the Australian sporting public. A sea of grey seats says loudly that Australians are not interested in Asian football.

 

[Ancient Mariner]

Get real you guys. FIFA, AFC, FFA lol

 

[FFC Mariner]

Back a week and this thread has gone all retro. Love it.

Simply put, the club can't afford to lose the money it would by opening all stands. With expected crowds of 5,000 they will lose money at every game. We don't have any money, remember?

I will go because my team are playing. End of.

If you want a reserved place to sit, why not hire a corporate box with some mates. I'm sure there will be a large number unsold.

Given that 1/2 the ground will be empty anyway, I'm sure finding a seat won't be too much of a challenge

 

[dibo]

The box idea is actually a pretty good one. Have the club released package prices? You might even be able to get in on the western side!

 

[pjennings]

Get real you guys. FIFA, AFC, FFA lol

I'm not saying it was their request - but if I was on the organising committee it would be a phone call I would make. We have enough media saying the Asian Cup will be a lemon without giving them images of the lack of Australian interest in Asian football. A simple phone call could change the images and avoid negative coverage.

 

[garlo]

What does it matter ? Buy a ticket go to the game and support your team - just because the club or the ACL or whoever don't care about the fans doesn't mean the players don't - head out enjoy the game

 

[scoober]

I clearly don't see any issue at all culling the west side for these games. As some have mentioned we get 5-7k tops at these games. the stadium holds just over 20k, 2/3 sides are still open so we are not even going to go close to having 11k people there.
People are upset over the privilege of losing their HAL seats, you are forgetting that the privilege in fact is that one, we have a team on the central coast to support in the first place and two, that we not only have a team to support but a bloody good one who are in the asian champions league all while on a shoestring budget.
I think this move is good if it saves us money and looks better for the cameras. The fact is it will NEVER be enforced for HAL games.
I don't question anyones loyalty or passion, but a lot of people commute and its asking a lot for ALL of them to make the effort to get straight to the game on a week night, also those with families keeping the kids up to at least 10pm by the time they get home (7.30pm KO) on a school night.
I'll join ALL the underprivileged not in my reserved seat at all three games for the two reasons i mentioned above.
Mariners till I die!!

 

[Ancient Mariner]

We have enough media saying the Asian Cup will be a lemon without giving them images of the lack of Australian interest in Asian football. A simple phone call could change the images and avoid negative coverage.

You are misunderstanding my argument.

Closing half the stadium gives a greater negative impression than a half full stadium.

Once again remember the pictures from Gold Coast (maybe you did not watch those games).

Lack of reserved seating is also an indication of lower expectations.

Lower expectations will become self fulfilling. With this attitude from the club the average crowd for the 3 games will definitely be lower than the previous two, no worries.

However, I guess it is easier to keep on taking the line that those complaining just want their regular seats or to find someone else to blame than to question the club.

 

[bikinigirl]

. apologies if i started something ... but debate is good and i think both sides of the argument are valid, if a little extreme in this case

. ticketing always seems to be a problem. it's not unlike being unable to buy 'decent' seats for the grand final despite apparently getting 'member's priority'. first crack at the acl we couldn't buy 'our' seats because they were 'held' for the afc ... rather frustrating then to buy 'inferior' seats and see 'our' seats sitting vacant for each game. last year was perfect for me ... but due to special circumstances which many didn't like

. this year i don't disagree with the half stadium for many of the reasons mentioned (so long as the sun is gone ... even though i am well practiced). but the message is probably wrong. it also still makes sense to sell allocated seating to those that want to pay for it ... even if it can't be 'your' seat. as was also mentioned it is a struggle for many to get to these acl games - taking away the certainty of seating may just discourage a few more people

 

[localpom]

I'm with the club (or whoever) on this one. Reality is these games will only attract 5-6 k and if the club can save money by closing half the stadium then that is ok with me. Really...what does it matter? There will be no problem getting a decent seat and prices are more than fair. Thousands saved for the club for a slight inconvienience.The main thing is getting to the game and supporting your team. Hopefully in time the ACL can get the profile it should and we don't have this issue!

 

[bikinigirl]

. now for the 'my' seat argument

. in 'our' seats we are surrounded by many friends ... these are people we only know because of the mariners. some for going on eight years now.

. some of these mates we are in regular contact with away from the stadium, but others we only see at the games. however we know they will always be there - their company, interaction and participation makes the game day experience what it is for us. although we are a pretty random bunch, the togetherness enhances our experience and encourages our participation

. now i understand the counter-argument about trying a different game day experience but that is another can of worms. so i will just say that, for me, that is what away games are for and i have a clear preference for 'my' seat thank you very much

. regardless, i will be there ... and heaven help my boss if he tries to stop me. but remember there are many people that are not like me ... or you for that matter and for many various reasons

 

[adz]

I guess there's a couple of arguments going here...

(not aimed at anyone in particular...)

1. I can't have "my" seat. Bit of a whinge IMO. You can always sit in the equivalent spot just on the opposite side of the ground if that's a genuine concern, and pre-buy tickets if you really think there will be hour long queues. The argument about having tickets near friends sounds valid at first but then again you could still sit near them, just in other seats.

2. Closing half the stadium is a negative move. Valid point. I think this one is either shut down half the stadium or do more to get more people in? This one could be a huge debate by itself - personally I think this is part of a bigger problem not just with the club but the A-League in general... getting more people to ALL games and raising more awareness about the ACL. A lot of this would come down to money but there are plenty of things that can be done (by the club) on the cheap.

 

[bikinigirl]

(not aimed at anyone in particular...)

. acknowledge this, but ...

I guess there's a couple of arguments going here...
The argument about having tickets near friends sounds valid at first but then again you could still sit near them, just in other seats.

. this isn't as easy as it sounds with a disparate group of 'football friends' with no regular/reliable means of communication, coming from different areas and arriving at different times with different commitments. mariners football being the only thing that brings and binds them together

. certainly not insurmountable but, as i said, just something which may discourage people by making it more difficult or less familiar than it needs to be ... perception is all it takes and those binds may soon be broken

. take for example if the north end was closed too with only the east stand all general admission ... where would the 'active support' locate themselves ... and how would this be coordinated. again, not insurmountable but impractical and disjointed

. like i said ... i will be there but feel the experience may be diminished and that may be enough for some people to not bother. remember this is meant to be special ... all these little things may make it somewhat less special

 

[Bex]

Would be great to have more people at every game, but my feeling is it's unrealistic to expect crowds at a midweek game where most of the Central Coast won't have a clue who we're playing. From memory, many of our away games in ACL are poorly attended too, so I don't think it's a specific problem of ours.

Personally, I can live with low attendance at the group stages of ACL considering all the things mentioned above about attendance issues. However, I would be disappointed if we got through to finals and still didn't draw a crowd at home against quality opposition.

Having said that, I wouldn't be surprised if attendance is low at ACL home finals, as your average coastie probably doesn't know much about teams throughout Asia, or the associate prestige/prize money. That would be a case of effective marketing, and I've not seen much evidence of that from FFA or AFC on the ACL to date.

 

[Mumbles]

Get real you guys. FIFA, AFC, FFA lol

My apologies I was just thinking about the confederation that controls the venue, officials, TV rights and commercial advertising during this event.

Enjoy your Pocari Sweat and Qatar petroleum. Oh what a feeling Toyota!

Yep, I could be wrong but it's not silly to give the Mariners the benefit of the doubt.

 

[Roy Law]

From memory only the hard core go to these games so I expect them still to turn up wherever they are seated. The TV impression of a reasonably full stadium seems like a good idea to me especially if it reduces the cost of hiring the stadium. Of course, once the Lawrie McKinna stand is built at the CoE they can play all the ACL there, can't they?