Arsenal tickets

[The Kraken]

What an appalling system. Got in at 9.15. Got the error message saying seats locked. Rang ticket office who said I just had to keep trying which I did for the next 20mins still getting the same message. Rang ticket office again and after hanging on to get through was told they'd just sold out online.

 

Trouble is the club couldn't care a toss but for me and my group it means that, having been unable to go to Man City, we now have no away points at all so probably stand little chance of getting tickets for any away games. Tough when you've spent the last two or three years regularly travelling to places like Stockport, Walsall, Coventry Dagenham & Redbridge and the like.

 

Did you not see the swathes of empty seats in the Saints end at Man City? We won't sell out all of our away games. The London clubs, most likely we will, plus Reading of course and maybe the Midlands clubs will get close to or at our capacity. But I imagine you'll have little problem getting tickets for Everton away which will get your points up in time for West Ham away.

[shirleysfc]

I don't understand why people were logging in at 5am when the system only opened at 9am?!

[vindaloo]

apparently they have closed the online system and are only selling at the stadium. 500 tickets left. sorry if this has already been posted. my mate may be winding me up but not sure why he would

[Lord Duckhunter]

If they randomly picked the front runners on the Internet even though I'd been logged in since 5.45 surely they should go along the physical queue outside st Mary's and randomly pick out people to go to the front even though the people at the front have been waiting the longest?

What a fookin shambles,I should have just woken up at 8.59 and logged in.

 

I'm no IT whizz, but surely they just press a button to allow ticket sales. it then becomes hit and miss as to when you get logged in. The "queue" was not really a queue as we know it, but a way of stopping the website crashing and managing the procees. Surely allowing people to log on and wait defeats the object of having a "sell" start time. Is there any other event that sell tickets at X o clock, but allow a queue to build up prior to that for internet sales?

[stevegrant]

I'd actually say that's quite fair. If they've said tickets go on sale at 9, you shouldn't have to be logging on at stupid o'clock in the morning to get in the queue. It's not really any different to other systems which wouldn't actually let you log on until 9, except this way manages the load on their servers so that they don't lock up when everyone tries to go through the logon procedure at the same time.

Perhaps I misread, but the way I interpreted it was that it wasn't actually a queue but a complete lucky dip as to which "position" you obtained.

 

I've only used the new online system once so far, and that was to renew my season ticket, so I've not had the dubious pleasure of experiencing their queueing system, but for me the process should be like this:

 

1. Before the sale time, no "buy" button exists. Users can F5 as much as they like, but the button won't appear until 9am (or whenever they set the tickets to be available).

2. As soon as the sale time arrives, the "buy" button appears, and as soon as users click that button, they're put in a queue in order of when they clicked that button - likely to be microseconds between them, but if you're operating a first-come, first-served system, that's the way it's got to be. Judging by reports on here, there's been no real prioritisation for those who got there first.

 

For what it's worth, the current system is easily hackable by anyone who knows what they're doing. For example, I can log in and order a ticket for the Villa home game despite it not being listed on the "Match Tickets" page.

[Lord Duckhunter]

Perhaps I misread, but the way I interpreted it was that it wasn't actually a queue but a complete lucky dip as to which "position" you obtained.

 

I've only used the new online system once so far, and that was to renew my season ticket, so I've not had the dubious pleasure of experiencing their queueing system, but for me the process should be like this:

 

1. Before the sale time, no "buy" button exists. Users can F5 as much as they like, but the button won't appear until 9am (or whenever they set the tickets to be available).

2. As soon as the sale time arrives, the "buy" button appears, and as soon as users click that button, they're put in a queue in order of when they clicked that button - likely to be microseconds between them, but if you're operating a first-come, first-served system, that's the way it's got to be. Judging by reports on here, there's been no real prioritisation for those who got there first.

 

For what it's worth, the current system is easily hackable by anyone who knows what they're doing. For example, I can log in and order a ticket for the Villa home game despite it not being listed on the "Match Tickets" page.

 

My understanding of it was the queue was a queue to get onto the web site (or the "My account" part of it), even if you wanted to update a family member or buy Man utd tickets you would have been unable to log into your account.

 

I dont know if people not able to buy Arsenal in this window were able to log on, but I was placed in a queue before I had put my log in details into the site. I dont see how they knew I could buy tickets before I'd done that, so assume the queue was for any account transaction.

[HedgeEnder]

I don't understand why people were logging in at 5am when the system only opened at 9am?!

 

Because often the system is flawed. I logged on at 8:20 and was able to buy 2 tickets straight away without going through any queing system. It was only when I tried to go back in to check the transaction that the queue page appeared. However I have an email confirming the order so it seems I have beaten the system

[Saint Malc]

I went to, virtually, every game in the Championship and League 1 but could not make City. I knew the rules before City so it's tough titty's on me :-( My mate told me he went to the ticket office at 8:00am to get our tickets but failed to get to the window before they sold out. I'm still going to go and hope there are enough touts about. I checked out the Arsenal hospitality yesterday and it started at £350 per person - WOT!!!!!

[ant]

Oh well, at least I don't need an extra customer number now - had to go to a meeting at 9.05am and completely missed out. Annoying as I was near the front of the online 'queue'

[dubai_phil]

Gary Brant ‏@StGaryofBrant @officialsaints Had a ST 21 years and allways got a ticket! could not go to MC so miss out on Arsenal!may just do home games this season!

Retweeted by SaintsFC FanZone

View conversation

• Reply
  
• Retweet
  
• Favorite
  

 

 

22m Gary Brant ‏@StGaryofBrant

 

@officialsaints How tickets have been done for Arsenal game is absoleutely disgusting! Where is the advantage of having a season ticket now?

Retweeted by SaintsFC FanZone

View conversation

• Reply
  
• Retweet
  
• Favorite
  

 

 

 

 

 

1h Jon Steele-Mills ‏@thepump74

 

Ok so looks like I won't be going to Arsenal away after all! Sorry that being a ST holder isn't enough these days! #SaintsFC

Retweeted by SaintsFC FanZone

[stevegrant]

Some of those arguments are absolute nonsense. Yes, the whole system has been a shambles, but simply "having a season ticket" has NEVER been a guarantee of obtaining an away ticket. Simple mathematics shows that. 22k-ish season ticket holders, 3k Arsenal tickets available. Shock horror, some season ticket holders don't get a ticket.

[The Kraken]

Cry me a river.

 

This new system is IMO the fairest way of prioritising tickets, as it rewards those to go to the most home AND away games. Once it gets going properly and people's levels of loyalty points are more established it will become even fairer; season ticket holders will likely have more points than non ST holders, and ST holders who've been to some away games will have firther priority still. And it perhaps encourages people to go to away games where they may previously have opted not to, so as to build up the points level.

[ladysaint]

As said above this system is the fairest option and a lot better than a ballot system which some clubs use. Now all the history of our accounts has been wiped there is no other way. Not sure what they would have done if Arsenal was the first game away.

[Lets B Avenue]

As said above this system is the fairest option and a lot better than a ballot system which some clubs use. Now all the history of our accounts has been wiped there is no other way. Not sure what they would have done if Arsenal was the first game away.

 

Exactly what they did for City. A free-for-all for all season ticket holders.

[fish fingers]

As said above this system is the fairest option and a lot better than a ballot system which some clubs use. Now all the history of our accounts has been wiped there is no other way. Not sure what they would have done if Arsenal was the first game away.

 

Fairest way would be to put all the match tickets in the center circle then everyone has to run from their seat to grab them.

[Lord Duckhunter]

Fairest way would be to put all the match tickets in the center circle then everyone has to run from their seat to grab them.

 

I think NC should interview all S/T holders and pick out the bestest 3,000 for Arsenal tickets. We could have some sort of Saints exam prior to the interview to weedle out the JCL's.

 

Personally, I think the fairest system would be bald, middle aged, overweight people and their mates and family first.Followed by everone else. But even then you'ld have a load of skinny nippers complaining that it was unfair.

 

The club just cant win in these situations.

[shirleysfc]

Fairest way would be to put all the match tickets in the center circle then everyone has to run from their seat to grab them.

 

This!!

[WHITEE1987]

At the end of the day if you were that desperate to go to Arsenal then you would have gone to City. It was a given that the points would be paramount in obtaining tickets for Arsenal. You only have yourself to blame. And before you moan about I was on holiday or couldnt make it for some reason. Why didnt you take a day off work and sit outside the ticket office. Getting there at 5am would have guaranteed you a ticket. My mate was there at 3 and at 5 there were no more than 20 people there. Your just moaning for the sake of moaning. It was well within your own control to get tickets for this match. Only have yourself to blame.Not the ticket office. For once anyway.

[scally]

I have just been to the stadium to try to get tickets, there must be 400 hundred people queueing and they have three ticket office windows open. We've got a 30,000 seat stadium with a 3000 seat stadium mentality, I thought we left this behind when we left the Dell.

[Lord Duckhunter]

At the end of the day if you were that desperate to go to Arsenal then you would have gone to City. It was a given that the points would be paramount in obtaining tickets for Arsenal. You only have yourself to blame. And before you moan about I was on holiday or couldnt make it for some reason. Why didnt you take a day off work and sit outside the ticket office. Getting there at 5am would have guaranteed you a ticket. My mate was there at 3 and at 5 there were no more than 20 people there. Your just moaning for the sake of moaning. It was well within your own control to get tickets for this match. Only have yourself to blame.Not the ticket office. For once anyway.

 

Or they could have got a City ticket and not used it. OK, so £75 maybe a bit pricey for an Arsenal ticket, but I was expecting £45-£50 anyway.

 

I'm kicking myself now. Two of my mates are going to a wedding that day, so I didn't get them tickets. Once I was in on the system, I could have ordered them one each and then flogged them on here. Meaning that they would get the points. Am I out of order wishing I'd done that??????

[stevegrant]

I have just been to the stadium to try to get tickets, there must be 400 hundred people queueing and they have three ticket office windows open. We've got a 30,000 seat stadium with a 3000 seat stadium mentality, I thought we left this behind when we left the Dell.

The best bit is they've put that internal wall up so you can no longer see how many of the ticket office staff are just sat around in the office doing nothing

[saintrich]

Got down the ticket office at 7.30. Got tickets at 11.15. I doubt many turning up after 8am got a ticket.

[Toadhall Saint]

Cry me a river.

 

This new system is IMO the fairest way of prioritising tickets, as it rewards those to go to the most home AND away games. Once it gets going properly and people's levels of loyalty points are more established it will become even fairer; season ticket holders will likely have more points than non ST holders, and ST holders who've been to some away games will have firther priority still. And it perhaps encourages people to go to away games where they may previously have opted not to, so as to build up the points level.

 

This. Fairest way by miles IMHO. I've a ST but didn't go to Man City - those that did deserve the right to first option. If I've missed out on Arsenal (mate is organising the tickets) then so be it. Just because I have a ST doesn't mean I should get first option over those that have been to more aways than me.

[fromdayone]

The best bit is they've put that internal wall up so you can no longer see how many of the ticket office staff are just sat around in the office doing nothing

250 tickets left at box office

Don't bother coming down, more than 200 in queue.

[sandwichsaint]

Thought the virtual queue was a good idea in theory but not sure how well it worked in practice?

 

I went on at 08-30 on the off-chance and to see what was happening - I was placed in a 'virtual gueue' until 09-00, quite happy with that.

 

We now find out somebody, presumably more than 1 person(?), bought tickets at 08-20 ... not happy with that.

 

Once the site opened at 09-00 I was placed in the 'queue' with a time of 10.15, this adjusted down several times until the site appeared to crash at 09-15. I then couldn't get back into the ticket site or the OS despite repeated trying ... not too chuffed about this ... I joined the virtual queue at 08-30, I left the browser open until 09-15 when I was booted off. (Perhaps this equalled the tickets 'selling out'? eg no more requests accepted ... if that was the case it would have been slightly more courteous to have put up a message saying 'Arsenal sold out, please log off).

 

With such a relatively small amount of tickets and such a potential large demand not sure this was the best way of doing it? A season ticket ballot would surely have been 'fairer' at this stage and saved anybody having to get up at 05-00 to queue up or to log on!

[cryoman1965]

Or they could have got a City ticket and not used it. OK, so £75 maybe a bit pricey for an Arsenal ticket, but I was expecting £45-£50 anyway.

 

I'm kicking myself now. Two of my mates are going to a wedding that day, so I didn't get them tickets. Once I was in on the system, I could have ordered them one each and then flogged them on here. Meaning that they would get the points. Am I out of order wishing I'd done that??????

 

That is something I have done with one of my mates as he can't make Arsenal.

 

Everyone knows the system we are now using to Earn the right to go to an away game. You have to pull your finger out and get some points.

 

There was one idiot that arrived at 2100 hrs yesterday,but he got his tickets. I am afraid you snooze you loose.

[SW11_Saint]

Was online bang on 9am. Sat there until 9.47am when the 'Sold out' sign went up. Can't believe a couple of posters went on at 9.15am and got straight through and got tickets. Yet another shambles with this useless website / ticketing system.

 

Am also trying to get tickets for Man U for my g/f and kids - seems impossible to get past the 'select block' page.

 

Useless, just useless.

[ladysaint]

There was one idiot that arrived at 2100 hrs yesterday,but he got his tickets. I am afraid you snooze you loose. I'll tell him that :-)

[This Charming Man]

Personally I'm glad there's loads of people really upset at missing out on Arsenal tickets. Maybe they should've got off their fat arses and bothered to go to Man City.

[Lord Duckhunter]

There is one glaring unfair part of the procees that nobody seems to have mentioned.

 

 

 

Tonights game.

 

 

 

Surely somebody who is going to travel up and watch a reserve side against a League 1 outfit, deserves some points towards future games.

[scott_saints]

Somehow my mate (who is thick as s**t) managed to get 10 tickets this morning, including mine. Result. Wasn't expecting one.

[Toadhall Saint]

There is one glaring unfair part of the procees that nobody seems to have mentioned.

 

 

 

Tonights game.

 

 

 

Surely somebody who is going to travel up and watch a reserve side against a League 1 outfit, deserves some points towards future games.

 

'tis a good point TBH. Didn't it count then?

[stevegrant]

'tis a good point TBH. Didn't it count then?

Nope, no way of the club tracking purchases because all sales were done through Stevenage's ticket office.

[Appy]

Personally I'm glad there's loads of people really upset at missing out on Arsenal tickets. Maybe they should've got off their fat arses and bothered to go to Man City.

 

This.

[saintrich]

I have just been to the stadium to try to get tickets, there must be 400 hundred people queueing and they have three ticket office windows open. We've got a 30,000 seat stadium with a 3000 seat stadium mentality, I thought we left this behind when we left the Dell.

 

People were getting turned away at 9.30am

[WHITEE1987]

Personally I'm glad there's loads of people really upset at missing out on Arsenal tickets. Maybe they should've got off their fat arses and bothered to go to Man City.

 

Seconded

[macca155]

Fairest way would be to put all the match tickets in the center circle then everyone has to run from their seat to grab them.

 

Fab idea my lad is a 200m runner so he can earn his keep for once:) Be as funny as though to see that level of mayhem, there would be some dirty tactics going down the stairs.

 

I missed out on Arse tickets as expected but I knew the rules I choose not to go to City and fully accept that those that did should have priority. I could have gone down to the ticket office early this morning but once again I was too lazy to do so. As Steve says it will even out over the season. There are other ways of getting tickets it's a big stadium

 

I use to like the old voucher system. They would chose a game at random and give out a voucher that allowed you to buy cup tickets. It was always some desperate home game against Bolton or Coventry. News that vouchers were been given out would spread like wildfire and it was a mad scramble. I use to ask for extra one for my brother even though he was standing behind me and he did the same never failed. I remember getting a couple in 76 and just chucking them down in my room somewhere. There was the mother of all searches come April

 

Maybe they should select one game for double points or have a fat bloke race around the pitch at half time for guaranteed ticket.That would beat warm larger downstairs.

[View From The Top]

Personally I'm glad there's loads of people really upset at missing out on Arsenal tickets. Maybe they should've got off their fat arses and bothered to go to Man City.

 

Agreed.

[scally]

People were getting turned away at 9.30am

 

That makes it even worse then because nobody turned us or the people who joined behind us away.

[mirrorcarp]

That is something I have done with one of my mates as he can't make Arsenal.

 

Everyone knows the system we are now using to Earn the right to go to an away game. You have to pull your finger out and get some points.

 

There was one idiot that arrived at 2100 hrs yesterday,but he got his tickets. I am afraid you snooze you loose.

 

Bit harsh calling yourself an idiot cryoman. Nutter more like. Anyway top marks for your 12 hour vigil at the ticket office and my ticket is very much appreciated.

 

So much more effective than your old fax machine tee hee

[Graffito]

Because often the system is flawed. I logged on at 8:20 and was able to buy 2 tickets straight away without going through any queing system. It was only when I tried to go back in to check the transaction that the queue page appeared. However I have an email confirming the order so it seems I have beaten the system

 

I managed to do the same. I'm pleased I got a ticket but it's clearly wrong that a queueing system is nothing of the sort and appears to have been entirely random and that sales were possible before the published time of 9.00am.

[saints-til-i-die]

Joined the queue at 7:30, got the tickets at 12:00. Only 3 windows open which made it hell on earth for all those waiting. Disgraceful.

[sotonianproud]

I don't see how the online queue system works though, it appears to be random seeing as I joined it at 7 and yet was given a time of 10.44. Confused.

 

Don't get me wrong though, I don't agree with the way they have sold them, just the weird online queue system that isn't a queue.

[Saint Malc]

My only, slight, complaint about the whole issue is that the club may not have demanded their rightful allocation. Surely, we could have applied for, and sold, a 10% allocation or is that not the case anymore?

 

Off to Stevenage shortly :-)

[Saint Garrett]

My only, slight, complaint about the whole issue is that the club may not have demanded their rightful allocation. Surely, we could have applied for, and sold, a 10% allocation or is that not the case anymore?

 

Off to Stevenage shortly :-)

 

We would have got the biggest allocation possible. It's either 10% or 3000, depending on what is lower.

[LGTL]

The queue before 9 is totally random. I think it even states something along the lines of "you will join the queue at 9am randomly along with everyone else who is here before 9".

[Saint Malc]

We would have got the biggest allocation possible. It's either 10% or 3000, depending on what is lower.

 

Thanks for clarifying that Saint Garrett, I didn't realise that is how it's calculated. Complaint withdrawn ;-)

[saint_bert]

I imagine we won't get this problem when Everton goes of sale. Hope not anyway.

[GazzerMaBoy]

Joined the queue at the Stadium at 8:20am. Got my tickets [three of them] at 1:10pm. Queued for nearly 5-hours...!!! Only twenty tickets left when I got mine. There were a lot of highly disgruntled fans in the queue after realising only three ticket office windows were open [myself included]. Laughable and shocking planning all the same!

 

Whilst I agree having a season ticket should give you a priority, having a season ticket AND attending away games should give you even more priority still. I think it quite obvious Arsenal Away was always going to be a popular fixture to attend, given its close proximity and with it being our first visit to the Emirates. If this game had come along later in the season the loyalty point argument probably wouldn't have had so much influence over the ability to buy tickets. Just a case of bad timing on the fixtures front I suppose.

 

At the end of the day, if you're willing to camp out overnight or get out of bed in the early hours to queue then fair play to you if you manage to get a ticket. Whilst frustrating the atmosphere with people in the queue was jovial and it was good to have some hearty football-based debate whilst boring your a**e of waiting...!!! Looking forward to enjoying a few beers with my new Saints-mates at the Emirates in a couple weeks time!

[stevegrant]

Whilst I agree having a season ticket should give you a priority, having a season ticket AND attending away games should give you even more priority still.

And it does, hence the initial requirement for 45 loyalty points in the first sales period (dodgy online system allowing non-eligible people to buy notwithstanding). If non-ST holders end up buying match tickets for the vast majority of home games as well as attending a number of away games, they'll have deservedly moved up the ladder in terms of eligibility for the most popular away games, IMO.

 

As you rightly say, it's unfortunate that perhaps THE most anticipated away game this season has come so early in the season meaning you only had to buy a ticket for three games (one if you're a ST holder) in order to guarantee an Arsenal ticket. If this game had been in March, with 10+ away games already behind us, there would be absolutely no argument over who is more deserving of a ticket.

 

Personally, I'd have liked all of last season's ticket sales to have counted towards a loyalty system this season (gradually losing their weighting over the course of the season as this season's sales take greater importance), but appreciate that would have been a fairly substantial task to administer, especially with the changeover in ticket system.