OK genius - how would you have done it?
With the limited time they had they allowed anyone who had "bought a keyring in the club shop" if you believe some people, in the last 3 years get 1 ticket. Then with a day left, after ensuring anyone who had a genuine case for buying a ticket, and seeing sales hadn't gone as well as they hoped, put them on general sale. They obviously wouldn't have thought of this if it hadn't been mentioned on this messageboard. 🙄
Sheff Utd wanted an extra thousand tickets (they also misjudged the demand).
If either club had the demand they expected/hoped for Sheff U would have sold out, and their fans would have been happily picking up tickets in the home end as they'd be on general sale.
Remember getting Arsenal in the cup when they let ST holders buy multiple tickets and it sold out. Genuine fans didn't get a look in while ST holder friends/family who'd never set foot in Deepdale before got tickets.
It wasn't perfect but it wasn't a bad effort.
I've yet to meet anyone who couldn't genuinely get a ticket - let alone 2k.
Please let me know how you would have done it. I'll pick holes in your plan as slagging off is always easy and I will present you with a scenario where someone would have missed out.
If I can't, PNE, Sheff U, and probably every other club has a job waiting for you.
look, all im saying is, is that they didnt shower themselves in glory, again. They didnt do an awful job, but they didnt do a great one. Thats all im saying and you seem to agree with me.
Persoanlly, after tuesdays sales (a day of ST sales and a day of PNE card sales) id have assesed the situation and either made a statement saying they would go on general sale or make a statement saying ST holders and MyPNE card holders could get extra tickets if they wanted (probably the latter to be honest). Thus meaning that everyone who wanted one had weds, thurs and Friday to buy extra tickets, not just Friday.
I cant see why, if sales werent brilliant after tuesday, or even wednesday, that the majority of thursday was spent with their fingers in their arse waiting to make a meek announcement late on that tickets would go on general sale from that evening.
It just looks to me like a lack of planning and a contingency plan. That they took a look on thursday, thought "fuck, we havent sold as many as we thought" and locked the barn door after the horse had bolted.
Also, if they had communicated that they would go on general sale when they announced the detail of the ticket sales. Those who hadnt registered (floating fans or neutrals by their definition I imagine) would know from day one what the crack was, these are the type of people who arent sat on this messageboard of the offish site all day waiting for developments on ticket sales. These are the type of people who have a look when they are announced, see they arent going on general sale and never look again.
I think they had the right strategy for a game with
massive demand, where it was nigh on guaranteed to be a sell out. but they didnt have the contingency plan ready from the looks of it.
A lot of this boils down to poor communication. Had they said in the first place they were going on general sale, or even might go on general sale, then no one could criticise them for being too reactive as opposed to proactive. As it is no one will know now whether they alwasy planned to put them on general sale or whether it was a decision they made too late.