FA Carling Premiership and Milk Cup thread 2024/25

[Fog Dude]

On 6/6/2024 at 7:34 PM, Fog Dude said:

The title also mentions the Carabao in a former guise.

Cov will be in the first round draw for that soon. No bye to the second, since they didn't go up. As I'm sure they love to be reminded about.

And so inevitably, they're off to Ashton Gate in mid-August. Could've sworn the first two rounds used to be seeded but it's thrown up Boro v Leeds this time so it must've been an open draw. Wrexham going back to Bramall Lane 18 months after their last visit looks tasty.

Also the Scottish fixtures were out this morning, but are they getting their own thread again this season?? 

[SuperBacon]

22 minutes ago, Fog Dude said:

Also the Scottish fixtures were out this morning, but are they getting their own thread again this season?? 

If you wouldn't mind

Just use the existing one maybe?

[I Bent My Wookie]

Anyone set up a FPL for the UKFF or got the code for the old one? 

Can't access my old FPL account so having to start fresh. 

[SuperBacon]

I'm gonna rant.

Spent 2x mornings on the fucking Spurs website as they released the first 3x games all at once. Let's delve into this for anyone who isn't aware, I'm gonna use rough numbers but they're not inaccurate. 

To get a ticket you have to be a One Hotspur member (£55 adults, £25 juniors) so just to even get in a queue, no ticket, I've spent £80. Cool.

There are two tiers, One Hotspur + and One Hotspur. + get a days advance on tickets, and a place on the ST waiting list (11yo is 225,000 in queue. Bet we still haven't won anything when she gets to 0 in 50 years time)

+ went on sale yesterday at 10am. I joined the online queue at 9.20am (join too early it boots you off, too late and the queue gets paused so you're fucked) and was 33,000 in line. 

Zero chance of getting two together, so I'm going on my own to the Brentford game aka the Bacon derby. 

Another chance this morning as the One Hotspur members get a go, let's join a little earlier, say 8.45am. 22,000 in line. Nothing available when I get on obviously.

Let's look at numbers. The stadium holds 62,000. Approximately 45,000 ST holders. Up to 3,000 away allocation, and 5,000 hospitality/corporate they reckon. So there is less than 10,000 (I'm being really conservative with this, it's much less they reckon) available for any home game.

There are around 100,000-150,000 One Hotspur members (Club are quite reluctant to release these numbers) all trying to get 10,000 tickets per game and there were 30,000 odd trying yesterday morning. Its ridiculous.

I just want to take my 11yo to a game, it shouldn't be this hard, and I don't know what the solution is to be honest. Sure we'll probably get a ticket to a Carabao Cup or FA Cup game (last season both were Friday 8pm KOs, so no we couldn't go) but I just want to take her to a league game against one of the top teams. It'll never happen. 

ST holders who can't go whack their ticket on the exchange, which tbf is a decent idea even though a large majority whack them all on but still pick up the loyalty points for the away games (don't get me started on this bullshit) but you'll never get two together so no point.

Back to those numbers, I think the club have oversold their STs, but that's guaranteed income obviously. Look at the One Hotspur membership, if we say 100,000 at £55 per year, they're making £5m just for people to queue!!! Oh I get an email on my birthday, great! Highest ticket prices in Europe as well (you'll never sing that) 

Fuck sake. I've just bought us 2 tickets to Saints vs United so I can call Antony a cunt to make me feel better. At least it's local and easy to get a ticket. Not the same though is it, we're not Saints fans.

Maybe this is the price you pay for being a successful club (stop laughing at the back) and just have to accept its FA Cup games or hospitality tickets from now on (might just shell out for one for her birthday)

Erm, COYS?

[King Mal the Glorious]

It's not even just a Spurs thing, the same happens with Newcastle. A couple of my mates and my brother got "membership" last year. My brother managed to attend 2 games (Luton and Brentford IIRC) and my mates got nothing.

[SuperBacon]

1 hour ago, King Mal the Glorious said:

It's not even just a Spurs thing, the same happens with Newcastle. A couple of my mates and my brother got "membership" last year. My brother managed to attend 2 games (Luton and Brentford IIRC) and my mates got nothing.

Oh it's definitely not just a Spurs thing for sure, all big clubs are at it. I even saw a thing on Burnley yesterday that if you sign up for a new membership, you get priority over away tickets over their ST holders. Clubs have lost it.

On away tickets, this is my view: away games are one of the best experiences you can have. Yes ST holders and those with the right amount of points should get priority but a proportion should be balloted, and there should be a cap on how many ballots you can be successful for per season. And no club should be giving 20% of their away allocation to friends/family and corporate (yes I'm talking to you Levy!!!)

We've joined the Portsmouth Spurs supporters club, as they get given a number of tickets per home game, so this is hopefully a better/easier way to go.

You still have to make an application per game, but they do it in a sort of rota so everyone gets a chance. Only a tenner a year as well, £0 for the youngest.

Means I have to sit next to people from PORTSMOUTH but swings and roundabouts

[seph]

1 hour ago, SuperBacon said:

On away tickets, this is my view: away games are one of the best experiences you can have. Yes ST holders and those with the right amount of points should get priority but a proportion should be balloted, and there should be a cap on how many ballots you can be successful for per season. And no club should be giving 20% of their away allocation to friends/family and corporate (yes I'm talking to you Levy!!!)

Could be worse, you could be a Lids fan buying away 'season tickets' for £850 a pop. Which in the SECOND DIVISION is a 25% markup.

[SuperBacon]

12 minutes ago, seph said:

Could be worse, you could be a Lids fan buying away 'season tickets' for £850 a pop. Which in the SECOND DIVISION is a 25% markup.

That is absolutely mental. 

[Mr_Danger]

Arsenal committing a sickening act of daylight robbery by getting a club record fee for Emile Smith Rowe. Right up there with all the dodgy horse trading the cheating bastards have been doing but seemingly not dodgy just Arsenal being amazing in the transfer market again, which has been quite a depressing development these past few years.

[LCJ]

Surprised Arsenal got such a big fee for someone who’s hardly played in recent seasons through injury. This is Tony Khan spending the money though.

[SuperBacon]

Well I read those two last posts and thought "Blimey, Fulham have shelled out 100m on Smith-Rowe, mad!" only to find he's gone for 35m. That's probably about right, calm down lads

Was always annoyed at how great this t-shirt was. 

[mim731]

2 hours ago, SuperBacon said:

Well I read those two last posts and thought "Blimey, Fulham have shelled out 100m on Smith-Rowe, mad!" only to find he's gone for 35m. That's probably about right, calm down lads

This. If, and it's a big "if" he can stay fit and get back into form he has a massively high ceiling. He could do really well at Fulham and £35 million may well look very reasonable in a year or two if things go well for him. 

[SuperBacon]

On 7/23/2024 at 1:08 PM, SuperBacon said:

We've joined the Portsmouth Spurs supporters club

This has paid off within 2 days as someone in the group chat has just claimed their mate has a boat next to Joe Lewis in the Bahamas, and this week Daniel Levy and Chiesas agent were on it having a meeting.

To witness this sort of bollocks in real life is a genuine privilege. Well worth the tenner a year.

[Mr_Danger]

It’s hard to argue against valuations in this market but for a promising young player who has been pretty much crocked for a couple of seasons I just don’t see how £35m is good business for a team who will be battling relegation as a priority.

[SuperBacon]

3 hours ago, Mr_Danger said:

It’s hard to argue against valuations in this market but for a promising young player who has been pretty much crocked for a couple of seasons I just don’t see how £35m is good business for a team who will be battling relegation as a priority.

Don't worry, they've balanced it out by getting Ryan Sessegnon for free, another young player who has been pretty much crocked for a couple of seasons also.

Maybe they're assembling a whole team of that profile of player?