It feels almost “typical Blues” to talk about the club metaphorically shooting itself in the feet in the run up to a Wembley final, but as always there is nothing like demand for tickets to create situations where fans are outraged online.
And while the whole situation reeks of classically overblown internet drama, I do believe it should make Blues fans think a bit more deeply about how things might change in the coming years as the club grows in strength both economically and in the league table.
Surprise and Delight
As with most internet drama, the initial outrage occurred with a leak of information. In this instance, it was screenshots of WhatsApp chats from Official Supporters Clubs (OSCs), where the block booking of Vertu Trophy Final tickets for members was being discussed.
Of course, with nearly 44,000 tickets available the truth of the matter is the supply of tickets is huge. It is almost inevitable that some will make it to general sale and realistically any fan who has real desire to go will be able to get something.
And as such, it shouldn’t really be a problem that the club are selling tickets via an official arm.
However, as with anything else the lack of official information has led to various straw man arguments being constructed.
For example, an apparent inability to buy tickets in certain blocks led many to believe that favourable seats had been ringfenced, which then came with the usual accusations of “club favourites” being looked after; all grist to the mill for the usual windup merchants and terminally entitled fans on social media.
And as those tweets and Facebook posts were shared around further by fans, the flames of outrage were fanned further and further until a decision was taken by the club that they needed to issue a statement to end all speculation.
As it turned out, the statement made by the club – viewable at this link – didn’t really help the situation.
While some were mollified many weren’t “surprised and delighted” by the information given and it didn’t appear to tie up with some of the screenshots that had done the rounds online.
Worse, the statement only proved to ensure that people who hadn’t seen the original drama were now actively looking for it to find out what it was about. OSC leaders who had nothing to do with it found themselves on the end of accusations from within groups as more and more muck was thrown around.
Now I’m not a communications specialist, but I think the club really could have done better with this whole situation.
Rather than talking in marketing speak about something that the club was planning to do at Wembley, I think the club really should have gone with a simple statement admitting mea culpa.
If the club had come out with something saying like “OSCs have been working to help Blues fans go to Wembley together and sit together, and that this one of the main reasons that the club wanted the OSC structure” then it would have been harder to argue with even if fans didn’t like it.
Just as importantly, if Blues had then gone with something along the lines of “the club apologises for not making this method of ticketing sales plain from the beginning and will strive to be more open about decisions like this in the future”, then I think more would have been mollified.
What it comes down to is a brutal truth that I think we as fans are going to have to accept; that Knighthead have put a lot of money into the club and thus will sell tickets to games in the way they wish to whether we as individual fans like it or not.
Furthermore, I think this brutal truth is part of a longer and more difficult conversation that we need to have as fans as things move forwards.
A Continual Conscious Decision
Although I’ve not written much on this website for a while, I have continued to follow news about the club and football in general closely, and as such I’m aware of various trends that are emerging.
One of those trends is the way clubs are looking at season ticket holders in the long term.
For example, at Brentford a policy of “Every Seat Counts” has been brought in whereby if a Season Ticket Holder fails to use their ticket for four league matches before the renewal date for the next season, they will lose the automatic right to renew their season ticket.
If a supporter can’t attend a game, then they are obligated to transfer their ticket or sell it on a ticket exchange to ensure that they don’t receive a “yellow card”’ for non-use.
While no policy of this kind has been even discussed at St Andrew’s, I am of the opinion we’re no more than two seasons away from something like it being brought in.
As demand continues to grow for tickets it makes economic sense for every seat within the ground to be occupied; furthermore if the demand is there the club can make more money by selling tickets on an individual match-by-match basis than it can via season tickets.
I have no doubt that such a scheme would be unpopular with a fair chunk of fans.
For example it would impact fans who like myself have a long commute to work which makes midweek games tricky due to time constraints.
Yet the club would be absolutely within its rights to introduce such a scheme if they feel the demand for tickets is high enough that it is required; especially if one bears in mind the desire for the club to push revenues to the levels being mooted.
Again, it comes down to a brutal truth: That despite everything good going on at the club, not every decision is going to be popular with everyone.
And as such, I think we as fans need to understand as the club becomes more and more of a commercial powerhouse we have a continuing conscious decision to make regarding our feelings towards these changes.
For some, there won’t be a choice.
Loyalty above all to the badge will dictate that they will continue to attend every game as they already do and in reality only financial constraints will force any changes to that.
But for others – and I group myself into this category – there will be decisions to be made as things inevitably evolve going forwards.
As much as I’ve been an advocate of improving the club’s finances, I’m also aware that my feelings around the reasons I go to games may change.
Despite what people might believe based on the stuff I’ve written for the last decade or more, I’m uncomfortable with the way the game is changing and I fear that commercial changes could erode the social reasons for going to games.
And as egotistical as it might sound, I believe my fear of growing alienation is part of something that the club need to be wary of.
The Product
One of the things I’ve enjoyed a lot over the last couple of years is the meme about Birmingham City being “The Project™”. It’s been a huge change from the farce the club had become under the previous regime and it’s something I think many of us can get behind.
However, one of the things that I’ve thought a lot about over the last few months is how the club is packaged as a product to sell to commercial partners.
We know that one of the cornerstones for the economic revival of Birmingham City has been the plethora of partnerships that have been built with various companies.
These partnerships and sponsorships ensure that money continues to flow into club coffers and has helped to push the name of the club out to new markets that we wouldn’t have dreamed about five years ago.
To seal these partnerships, the club have to sell a vision of how it sees itself and why it’s economically favourable to both parties to come together.
Of course, success on the pitch helps. Every business wants to be seen as part of a success story as it’s something that they can use to promote themselves as successful.
I have no doubt that as Blues look to set records for points and wins in League One, there will be partners who are loving their logos being attached to such great PR.
Another important part of this product is us, the fans.
I’ve had a few discussions with people from the club who have talked about how potential partners have been brought closer to signing based on the vibe at the ground.
And while we’ve had fireworks, performers and light shows to help build atmosphere the key component of that atmosphere always comes from the fans attending the matches.
Can you imagine commercial partners getting the same vibe when the ground was half full?
Do those feelings of success come through if a team is winning in front of a dispassionate and depressed crowd?
It’s for this reason I think it’s imperative that Knighthead and Tom Wagner understand that there is a balance that needs to be struck going forwards.
For example, while it’s good that the club are continuing to look to expand the fanbase to bring in new supporters, there also needs to be an understanding that we cannot alienate too many of the current fans who have supported the club through thick and thin.
While I completely understand that loyalty is what makes us fans and doesn’t really entitle us to much, I also feel that loyalty is a commodity that is hard to regain once lost.
In my eyes the easiest way for the club to lose that loyalty is when fans feel they are being unfairly treated.
Of course, perception depends on the individual and some fans will feel unfairness more keenly than others, but it is something I think that the club needs to continually bear in mind.
As someone who has been terminally online for more than half their life, I’m willing to accept that the online drama we saw on Wednesday was in reality a lot of fuss about not much.
Despite that, I think it’s imperative that the club understands that this cannot become part of a deeper mistrust.
I hope that lessons are learned about how things are communicated and that going forwards people at the club are strong enough to understand sometimes somewhat unpopular things have to be said.
Equally, as fans I think we need to understand we’re not going to like every decision made by the club. Sometimes in life we’re the pigeon, and others we’re the statue.