Aug 01
I would rather Arsenal be demoted to the Conference than have this come out about them. Apparently Man United, among some others, have been found guilty of price-fixing merchandise. The charges are serious enough that they face a fine of more the US$2.5 million.
Now I understand business is business, supply and demand and all that, but to willfully screw over your fans?
United of course are appealing, and they may well be found innocent of the charges but the very notion that they set unnaturally high prices for their merchandise is troubling.
http://uk.sports.yahoo.com/030801/80/e5e57.html
3 Responses to “Man United Found To Have Hosed Fans”
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August 1st, 2003 at 3:03 pm
Careful what you wish for. In my opinion they ALL do it - it’s just a matter of who gets caught. And as for the myth that Arsenal could give a toss about their fans, forget it. I have a number of experiences that I won’t elaborate on that suggest otherwise. We’re Ok with the club as long as we keep on coughing up the money and don’t ask too many questions. Having said that, I’m as big a fan as anyone out there, always will be - it’s an addiction.
August 2nd, 2003 at 8:20 pm
Well, Man Ushited did get nailed for it, along with the FA.
http://soccernet.espn.go.com/headlinenews?id=272640&cc=5901
I agree also that Arsenal aren’t as fan-friendly as they should be. I emailed club hospitality in June of 2001 (as soon as fixtures were released) and asked about just the possibility of purchasing a ticket in advance for any game that season, explaining also that I would be flying from Colorado to see the match and didn’t want to buy plane tickets without having match tickets.
Two days later I received an email that basically told me to bugger off, and that there was no way I’d ever get a ticket for any match outside of their offical ticket sales policy (general public gets a crack at what’s left two weeks in advance of the match).
Somehow, I get the feeling that Millwall (or damn near any other lower-dvision team) would have helped me get as many tickets as I needed (for a reasonable price) and maybe even set up something special in appreciation for travelling that far to see a match.
If I pull a Nick Hornby and make millions writing the Great Arsenal Novel, I think I’ll still go through a ticket broker for matchday seats.
Scratch that - I just remembered that Dein et al would probably sue me for using the club name in a novel.
August 3rd, 2003 at 2:01 pm
I’ve experienced exactly the same treatment - it was as though I should be ashamed of myself for asking. It’s one thing to have the ticket policy politely explained to you - you go away disappointed but accepting the situation. But when you get a terse, “who the f**k are you?” response (which I got), it’s totally unacceptable.
They are clueless when it comes to customer service - when, as is inevitable for all teams, Arsenal suffer a relative downturn in their fortunes their abject cluelessness may come back to haunt them.