Lowering the away support

It's all about hope really. They think that they can see a * of light at the end of a very long tunnel. It's funny though as outside of the old Stevie G thing I sense a growing quiet determination of their fans to stick with it all. I don't know if it has anything to do with the old staunch we don't do walking away thing but something is stirring in the youth in particular. I was out the other day and I saw countless youngsters in RFC shirts and I haven't seen that in a long time as they've been noticeable by their absence. The kids, I suspect, just want a team to support. Maybe it is the Stevie G effect. A lot of adults are quietly sticking with it too and are just keeping their heads down in the hope that at some point they can get beyond all the disaster. Then we have the hard core bigots whose poisonous mantra continues to pull them down even further. The toxicity of the hard core bigots and being run by shysters is going to be the end of them. The circus will continue for as long as there's money to be conned, they will fall away even further and perhaps in years to come will resurface with better guys in the board room and a more enlightened support. The generation of bigots will eventually die off as will their cause. If we've learnt nothing else in the whole debacle we now know that it's possible for anything to come to an end.

 

It's a sleight of hand from them to look impressive, probably knowing the SPFL will step in and say they can't do it.

As for our response? These games are always televised, and we already have a licence to show games at Parkhead. Why can't we refuse the full allocation, open the stadium for £10/15 a seat with large projectors on the pitch and donate all profits to charity... * them on all fronts, as we'd continue to shame them from the moral high ground

 

The SPFL can't intervene as it's within the rules, it's the Police that might object on security grounds.

But aye, they show the games in the Kerrydale Suite and charge round £5 a ticket. They could fill this out and make money. Not in a heartless way but there's no reason to donate that money to charity, keep it for continuing our domestic dominance.

 

Or maybe even do both split the extra money.

 

Possibly. Just think it would rub it in all the more that their laughable decision has strengthened us and expanded the gap.

 

I know it's not a popular opinion but I wish we didn't respond to their utterly bizarre decision. As someone already said, this Derby is pretty famous but they need it more than us and TV companies will not be happy about the loss of atmosphere that will ensue and it could mean less money which will hurt every other team including them but not us as we've got quite a bit stashed in a bank vault somewhere to tide us over any turbulence.

I would rather we just kept our allocation the same. It will look petty if we only change it for them and that is really unfair on all the other clubs' supporters who will come here hoping to beat us as that's a huge thing in the league now. In fact I imagine a lot of people are thinking we are becoming vulnerable just because of the big difference in points this season. But we won the games that mattered and created history.

Even though I hate the bile that comes out of their mouths during games I think it's better for the atmosphere and can get the players pumped up. They must be hoping a lack of support for us will leave the players uninspired. Big mistake.

The main thing bugging me is I don't want to have any reaction to them, it's almost like saying they matter when they don't and we should have just ignored it.

I'm not overly worried about our decision, just disappointed we didn't behave as if nothing happened that would affect us instead of getting dragged into their psychosis.

 

This. If we're not going to take a higher moral point - like a charitable donation, ala the palastine thing, I'd ignore it completely and say that each team is free to follow any path they like, within the rules

 

I thought that the rules were you had to offer 10%, and it was the visiting sides choice to take and pay for them or hand them back in time to sell them

 

I just copied and pasted this from the PDF of SPFL rules. I don't know if the relevant information is there. A quick glance made it look like there was no predetermined % of tickets to be allocated to aways fans.

It does mention that both clubs must agree on away ticket allocation 14 days before a game and if they can't agree then the SPFL will rule on it. I think.

Admission Prices, Admission to Grounds and Ticket Distribution
I26
The Home Club, in its absolute discretion, shall determine admission charges for
League Matches and Play Off Matches.
I27
The Home club must make provision for the admission of such reasonable number
of visiting supporters at every home League Matchand Play Off Match as may be
agreed in advance with the Visiting Club and, in the event of their being unable to
agree such number not later than 14 days prior to the date of the League Match or Play Off Match in question, the number of visiting supporters allowed shall be determined by the Board whose decision shall be final and binding.
I28
A section of the ground must be reserved for supporters of the Visiting Club and any tickets for League Matches and Play Off Matches must be distributed on that basis. Details of these arrangements should be publicised by the Clubs concerned in advance.
I29
Where tickets for a League Match or Play Off Match are produced they should be in
such a form as to minimise the opportunity for ticket falsification. If forged tickets
are found to be in circulation, the Home Club must inform the police forthwith. All tickets should be marked, if possible, so as to identify the distributor.
I30
The Visiting Club shall,
unless it and the Home Club agree otherwise, return an unsold tickets for a League Match or Play Off Match in its possession to the Home Club not less than 48 hours prior to the scheduled time of commencement of the League Match or Play Off Match and shall pay the Home Club for any tickets which it sells for a League Match or Play Off Match no later than 10 days after the
scheduled date or dates for such League Match or Play Off Match. Any Club
making late payment shall pay interest to the Home Club on any balance or
balances from time to time outstanding until paid in full, at the rate of 5% above
the base lending rate of the Bank of England as same may vary from time to time
compounded on the first day of each calendar month.
I31
Except as provided in Rule I
32, a Club which is the Home Club for a League Match or a Play Off Match is prohibited from charging higher admission prices to accommodation designated for supporters of the Visiting Club than for broadly comparable accommodation designated for use by supporters of the Home Club at the same match.
I32
The prohibition in Rule I31 does not apply to any element of discount in the admission price
per League Match integral in the price of a Season ticket for all of the home League Matches of the relevant Club for the complete Season in which the relevant League Match falls;

concessionary admission prices for the relevant League Match or Play Off Match charged exclusively to persons who are senior citizens, children and/or disabled and who qualify as such; and concessionary admission prices for the relevant League Match or Play Off Match charged to individuals comprised in groups of two or more persons, least one of whom must be less than sixteen years of age, for admission together to a bona fide family enclosure exclusively used and designated as such for the complete Season in which the relevant League Match falls or the whole of the relevant Season immediately prior to which the Play Off Match is held.

 

* them. This is the perfect excuse to keep the manky * out of Celtic Park.

For years they were allowed to do what they want and get away with it - I’m glad the club called their bullshit bluff and told them to * right off. Just a shame they didn’t slash their allocation to sweet * Adams !

 

I can't agree with those who think we shouldn't cut their allocation, the only ones to benefit from that scenario, as far as i can see, would be them. The huns have actually done us a favour here. They have done this to be able to sell more season tickets on the back of Hunny G's arrival as they are desperate for cash but in doing so have given Celtic the opportunity to increase our own season-book sales. Even with their increased total(said to be 44000) they still fall around 8/9000 short of what we shifted last year and once our extra books are snapped up could find themselves around 14000 behind. Put simply they have widened the financial gap even further. They have also given themselves a problem long-term in that they now will have to shift the same sort of numbers every year otherwise they will either lose money or have to go cap-in-hand to Celtic asking for the previous levels of away fans to be brought back. As happened under Murray at the old club, 'ra peepuls' arrogance and selfishness will come back to bite them on the *.

 

I'm not saying I like them but I am worried about the atmosphere and it was good watching our fans partying in the Broomloan end. I think they did it because of that. They won't make more money because they would get money for those seats anyway.

We have a section of season ticket holders who can't go to hun games because of the allocation the normally got. Of course I'm delighted for the folk who can now get a season ticket but all games need a healthy away section I think.

I mean we usually outsing every home team when we play away. Mind you other teams will still give us the same allocation because I've seen our away support outnumber some home supports. They'll still need that income.

 

I don't get the only changing it for them bit. When was the last time any other club sold out their away allocation never mind brought 8000 ( or whatever they get )?Aberdeen certainly didn't sell out for the last game of the season when they could guarantee 2nd place.

 

As much as we hate them i think we should give them the usual allocation regardless of what they do.

The more of them that watch their team getting stuffed the better.

On top of that iv been to many a game where there are only a few away fans at the games and the atmosphere does be *.

Theres nothing better than stuffing your rivals on the pitch and winding their fans up.

 

Aye actually the more I think about that the more it seems impossible because we already knew about certain season tickets not including the huns games.

But if Lawwell is saying we can now sell more season tickets that means all other clubs will only be able to take 1000 down here. Mind you, our away section isn't that big, how many does it hold?

Plus our away section is kinda structurally contained so it would be difficult for us to change the size of it would it not?

I read Hibs are getting the blame for kicking the whole thing off by only giving them 1000 tickets so now they are trying to appease the fans by giving them extra tickets and also taking away the painful scenes of us partying one a whole stand of theirs.

Folk are saying El Clasico hardly has any away fans, a couple hundred but El Clasico is a little bit different from our derby. Everyone in the world wants to watch the best players in the world.

Folk watch our derby because the atmosphere is crazy. Mind you it'll still be mental at Celtic Park but when we pump them over there it'll be just the sound of 1000 Celtic fans singing Rebs

As much as that would be funny, them having a bigger crowd to disappoint I would still prefer it was left the way it was.

I'm not going to worry about it though. 4 CL qualifiers will be enough to worry about this summer. If we qualify again I will not be giving a * about any allocations.

 

Spanish fans dont really do the large away support so there isnt any comparison there. If lawell really wants to get at them he should charge their directors entry fee to Celtic park

 

True, Spain is a little bit larger than Scotland. As I said, I know the atmosphere at Celtic Park will be incredible if it's just full of our fans singing and cheering the team on.

But if we pump them again over there it's going to be like an actual zombie movie, all those people sitting in seats pure quiet apart from groaning, "brains, send us someone with brains please."

 

No chance. As much as it's good to wind them up when we're hammering them, that shouldn't take precedence over Celtic fans getting in to watch it.

Now they've shot themselves in the foot we shouldn't give them a single seat more than they reduce our allocation to.

The atmosphere at Paradise is often incredible on European nights when teams bring less than 900 fans with them. This will be no different. Paradise will be rocking as we storm to 8 in a row and beyond, I have no doubt about that.

 

You're spot on about European nights but I understand why ddub would want them to sit there and suffer. We should actually go Clockwork Orange Order on them and keep their eyelids open so they can't look away.

As far as their allocation for us, it's really going to backfire when 1000 fans can be heard over the top of 48,000 or whatever it'll be, that's a pure riddy.

 

A quick question to the ones wanting to give them their usual allocation, do you attend these games? Because I do and I’m glad I won’t need to listen to their bile inside Parkhead. They are the ones that wanted this so no way should we be giving them over 7000 tickets while our away fans get shat on going to Ibrokes.