Aberdeen v Hibernian

[Panda]

We have cut Hibs ticket allocation for this one, selling tickets in Section R to home fans. If Hibs have got the same allocation as Motherwell, that will be only 700-800 tickets.

I'm a bit on the fence with this one.

I can see the merit in increasing the number of tickets for home fans, especially if there'll be empty seats in the away end. It makes sense for the likes of the recent game with Motherwell.

However, I like to see big away supports, it plays a part in the atmosphere, and already we're starting to see difficulties in getting to Hearts away and, to a lesser extent, Dundee United away. Hibs generally give Aberdeen a large allocation at Easter Road so if we're targeting any club it shouldn't be them. If this game was at Easter Road we'd likely still be looking at half that south stand which is around 1800 tickets. This decision seems very Hearts-esque by us. 

Noted that we haven't cut Celtic's allocation, although we likely won't sell out that one anyway.

[RicoS321]

23 minutes ago, Panda said:

I'm a bit on the fence with this one

I thought they'd removed the fence?

Hilarious jokes aside, I am not on the fence, I don't think it's a good call. They should get the same as the Tims*. We know they'll sell their allocation, and we shouldn't use their last crowd as a barometer, just as we shouldn't use our semi crowds for final tickets ever. It's completely normal for different fixtures against the same team to have a bigger draw, depending on what is riding on it, or form of one team. 

I don't know how you get to a satisfactory position on this though. For Pittodrie, it should be straight forward enough to give the away fans reduced allocation, but if they sell that allocation in the first few days, then that seat gets shifted over (rightward if you're facing the South), opening up another section for away fans. The seats/tickets are then issued at that point, which means that those buying first get the better seats (in theory). If the allocation is not used within three days then the allocation goes to Dons fans, with the option to swap seats to be closer to the away section for those with limited sense of smell. 

*Or whatever their normal allocation is 

Edited Wednesday at 12:08 by RicoS321

[Panda]

Gong by the away crowds on AFC heritage website when it's sold out, the full allocation appears to be just under 1,700, and Hibs are saying they have been given just 792 tickets, so that's a significant drop.

Don't think it's a good road to be going down when Aberdeen usually travel well and therefore any tit-for-tat would affect our away support. Hearts away - usually one of the better away days - is now basically a closed shop unless you're on 400+ loyalty points (and there are always plenty of empty seats in the home end). Be a shame if Easter Road became the same.

We appear to be inspired by Hearts with a few things we do, namely Dave Cormack wanting a smaller stadium because it drives up season ticket sales and increases demand, like what happened with Hearts pre-the new main stand. I don't think any club should ever, in any circumstance or any lifetime, aspire to be like Hearts.

[dons8321]

39 minutes ago, Panda said:

Gong by the away crowds on AFC heritage website when it's sold out, the full allocation appears to be just under 1,700, and Hibs are saying they have been given just 792 tickets, so that's a significant drop.

Don't think it's a good road to be going down when Aberdeen usually travel well and therefore any tit-for-tat would affect our away support. Hearts away - usually one of the better away days - is now basically a closed shop unless you're on 400+ loyalty points (and there are always plenty of empty seats in the home end). Be a shame if Easter Road became the same.

We appear to be inspired by Hearts with a few things we do, namely Dave Cormack wanting a smaller stadium because it drives up season ticket sales and increases demand, like what happened with Hearts pre-the new main stand. I don't think any club should ever, in any circumstance or any lifetime, aspire to be like Hearts.

Exactly.  After all, why would you  aspire to being a club that regularly gets relegated.

[tlg1903]

What needs to happen with away supports is an actual ruling from the spfl that specifies what percentage of your stadium you must allocate to away fans.  If they can't sell them, fair enough then you can look at giving those seats to your own fans.  Until something like this is put in place, as it is in the Scottish cup after all, the bickering and tit for tat allocations will continue. 

 

As for cutting Hibs allocation?  Seems a strange one when they normally do alright by us. 

[RicoS321]

Lose at the weekend and we're not going to be close to selling out, so we'll effectively be losing out too. 

[tlg1903]

25 minutes ago, RicoS321 said:

Lose at the weekend and we're not going to be close to selling out, so we'll effectively be losing out too. 

I'm not convinced going out of the cup would stop us from selling out the hibs game given there is basically 6 million quid riding on that fixture and hopefully the 4 that follow. 

[RicoS321]

1 hour ago, tlg1903 said:

I'm not convinced going out of the cup would stop us from selling out the hibs game given there is basically 6 million quid riding on that fixture and hopefully the 4 that follow. 

Do fans of football teams speak about their own fixtures in terms of money? That's a bit fucked up. I'd say that losing that goal to the Hun, followed by a loss in the cup would see us struggle to sell it. Hopefully we don't find out.

[tlg1903]

23 hours ago, RicoS321 said:

Do fans of football teams speak about their own fixtures in terms of money? That's a bit fucked up. I'd say that losing that goal to the Hun, followed by a loss in the cup would see us struggle to sell it. Hopefully we don't find out.

I can't speak for anyone else but, when appropriate (like now), I certainly do and you're gonna need to explain to me why it's fucked up?  I want the best for my club and group stage football is defo good for the clubs coffers. A healthy bank balance usually means better players after all which in turn usually leads to better performances.  Ultimately this can lead to what we are all after, the dopamine rush of a goal going in that wins us a game. 

[RicoS321]

5 hours ago, tlg1903 said:

I can't speak for anyone else but, when appropriate (like now), I certainly do and you're gonna need to explain to me why it's fucked up?  I want the best for my club and group stage football is defo good for the clubs coffers. A healthy bank balance usually means better players after all which in turn usually leads to better performances.  Ultimately this can lead to what we are all after, the dopamine rush of a goal going in that wins us a game. 

It sounded like you were suggesting that people would go to a game because of the money that could potentially be won from it. That is a fairly fucked up way to look at football surely? That same £6M would go to us for winning the cup, but I doubt a single fan would be attending the semi or potential final for that reason. But mainly I think it's fucked up because you're likely right, there probably are people who view the game that way. I just didn't think competitive sport really needed the abstraction of prize money to attract an audience. 

[tom_widdows]

Hibs have cut SEVCO and Arab allocations for their two remaining home games.

Max 1500 down from up to 2900 earlier in the season

Edited Thursday at 22:52 by tom_widdows

[Panda]

3 hours ago, tom_widdows said:

Hibs have cut SEVCO and Arab allocations for their two remaining home games.

Max 1500 down from up to 2900 earlier in the season

That's fine though. Hibs have done the right thing; increased the tickets available to Hibs fans, but are still setting out fair allocations of just under 1,500 for the away team. 

It's the normalising of away allocations of 600 and 800 that's the issue. It's not a healthy thing for Scottish football. 

[RicoS321]

4 hours ago, Panda said:

It's the normalising of away allocations of 600 and 800 that's the issue. It's not a healthy thing for Scottish football. 

Agreed. It's Scottish fitba's tariff war.

[tlg1903]

13 hours ago, RicoS321 said:

It sounded like you were suggesting that people would go to a game because of the money that could potentially be won from it. That is a fairly fucked up way to look at football surely? That same £6M would go to us for winning the cup, but I doubt a single fan would be attending the semi or potential final for that reason. But mainly I think it's fucked up because you're likely right, there probably are people who view the game that way. I just didn't think competitive sport really needed the abstraction of prize money to attract an audience. 

Ah, I see.  2bh i think you're probably right, most fans do think far more about the prestige etc. They will go because they want the club to be in europe for the games and the excitement.  Don't for a second think I don't as well,  even more so after my circumstances changed quite significantly recently (my mum died and she had been quite dependent on me the past 5 years and I've not really been able to go anywhere) and I am now looking forward to my first ever European away trip with the dons assuming we get there.  I probably tend to think about the finances a bit more mainly due to playing football management games for so long and more money is defo good!!!  I don't agree it's fucked up though because, truthfully, my ultimate goal is all about the prestige.  I want to see Aberdeen win the league just once before I die.   Unfortunately  the only way I can see it happening is by somehow getting into the champions league.  Realistically that is the only way that we could develop the necessary funds to be serious contenders for the league.  To get in the league phase of the CL is very unlikely but it's more likely than going toe to toe with Celtic for 38 games at the moment. This season was a perfect opportunity and it's the reason I'm most gutted about our collapse.  Second was there for the taking and second gets you a shot at the CL.   I mean, we probably wouldn't have got through to the money spinning league phase as it's a big ask to get through the qualifying process but sometimes the draw can be kind.

[Elgindon]

In  -  Section Y, thought this might sell out,but plenty tickets left...

 Potentially a fine open game.Hibs a wee bit of a bogey team at present,need more composure with the ball, less disjointed in attack than Saturday. Might start with Papa Gueye,handy for a goal recently ,but switch earlyish for Polvara if out of sorts.Devlin deserve a shot back in?

 Prediction 2 - 1 Dons Gueye,Clarkson 

  

Edited 14 hours ago by Elgindon

[manc_don]

I imagine a few folk are choosing the cup final over some of the post-split fixtures. Still, I’d hope as the dust settles a few more are sold ahead of it. Massive game for our top 3 ambitions.