Fair to say that most Newcastle United members were less than impressed last (2023/24) season.
A total shambles when it came to the club’s ‘plan’ for the distribution of tickets for home games.
Everybody knows and accepts that not everyone can get a ticket when demand so exceeds supply.
However, for the Newcastle United members it went far further than that.
On Friday we at last heard what the club’s new ‘plan’ was (read HERE).
I find it bizarre that it has taken the club until just four weeks before the first home match of the season to manage to do this.
The club launched the sale of Newcastle United memberships for the 2024/25 season five weeks ago, on Friday 14 June 2024, why didn’t they give this information to members then, instead of waiting until now, the point by which I guess most Newcastle United members will have renewed for next season, as well as those buying them for the first time.
From what I could see reading the info yesterday, the only big announcement was that instead of only having a ballot for Newcastle United members each home match, instead there will be a ballot still BUT a handful of tickets kept back for the old style system, where they will go on a first come first served basis.
I myself was one of those disgruntled Newcastle United members last season.
Along with many other people, my concerns were as follows:
Why was I able to get far less (around 80% less) home tickets than I had previously with the queue system?
Why was there no transparency from the club on members and ticketing, unlike Arsenal and many others?
Newcastle United refusing to reveal how many memberships were sold for the 2023/24 season.
Refusing to say how many tickets were made available for each home match ballot.
Refusing to say how many Newcastle United members had entered each ballot.
Leaving it ridiculously late to start the process of selling Newcastle United home tickets for each match.
Then often a ridiculously long process before the final Newcastle United fans found out if they had tickets or not.
A refusal to tackle the serious problem of so many tickets every match ending up on reselling sites at prices massively more than face value. Darren Eales even claiming that these weren’t real tickets, even though many Newcastle United fans are buying them every match because they have no other option. Yet clubs such as Man U and Brentford employ staff just to tackle this problem and go after those doing it!
In the information sent to Newcastle United members yesterday, there is going to still be absolutely no transparency from the club on how many memberships have been sold for the 2024/25 season, how many tickets will be made available match by match, nor will it be revealed how many members entered each ballot.
I just can’t see anything set to improve and certainly not giving Newcastle United members a proper decent amount of time to find out whether they have got tickets or not. It is ridiculous, especially when so many members will be needing to arrange travel and possibly accommodation, particularly so if traveling great distances.
So, we are only four weeks away from Newcastle v Southampton on Saturday 17 August and Newcastle United members haven’t even been told when the process will begin of selling these tickets, never mind when the very final tickets will be allocated and those NUFC fans finding out if they were successful or not.
It is totally crazy and unacceptable.
Take for example… the Southampton fans who are wanting to go to this very same match.
Funnily enough, Newcastle United have provided the away club with all the necessary details on their ticket allocation AND already all the Southampton season ticket holders and members who want to go to the match at St James’ Park have already bought their tickets!
This was the information Southampton released some time ago, telling their fans what the ticket sales process would be for the Newcastle United match. We have all known since over five weeks ago that this match was a 3pm kick-off on Saturday 17 August!
– Wednesday 17th July: 9:30am: 24/25 Season Ticket holders who have attended 5+ away matches during 23/24 season.
– Wednesday 17th July: 11:30am – 24/25 Season Ticket holders who have attended 4+ away matches during 23/24 season.
– Thursday 18th July: 9:30am – 24/25 Season Ticket holders who have attended 3+ away matches during 23/24 season.
– Thursday 18th July: 11:30am – 24/25 Season Ticket holders who have attended 2+ away matches during 23/24 season.
– Thursday 18th July: 1:30pm – 24/25 Season Ticket holders who have attended 1+ away matches during 23/24 season.
– Friday 19th July: 9:30am – 24/25 Season Ticket holders.
– Friday 19th July: 1:30pm – 24/25 Saints Members & Junior Members
Southampton have reportedly sold almost 2,000 tickets for this Newcastle United match and now are having a general sale to try and sell the full 3,000+ away allocation for St James’ Park.
Meanwhile… Newcastle United members haven’t even been told anything at all about when they might be able to try and buy tickets for this opening match.
If nothing has changed from last season and the club determined to mess everybody around again, I would guess that sometimes this week we will finally hear what is happening for this first home match, then at best, around a week before the actual match (sometimes last season I’m sure it ended up less than a week!) the final tickets will be allocated and those fans having minimal time to plan travel and/or accommodation. Or even just basically for all Newcastle United members wherever they live, plan what they are doing that weekend, as we all have so many commitments, whether family, work or whatever.
Why are the club so secretive about how many Newcastle United members have paid for the privilege, why so secretive about how many tickets go into each ballot and how many members apply?
Why do they refuse to start the sales process far earlier, as basically pretty much every other club does, then ensure that Newcastle United members know whether or not they have been successful, at least three or four weeks before a match?
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