Stoke at Arsenal

[smithie]

Interesting to see that Stoke took the smallest possible allocation of tickets at Arsenal today.

 

Aren't they the noisiest/best/most loyal (insert your own bull**** here) fans in the world?

 

It got me wondering, how many of their Premier League fans would they lose if they went down?

 

I reckon they would drop to 15,000 very quickly.

[ItWasTheLightsThatDidIt]

Or alternatively how many would come back to the vale?

[Like Vale I Do]

Hence why Coates pays for FREE travel for every single fan who will go away to watch his team.

Notoriously poor attendences away but if you to speak to one of them they think thousands go everywhere for them.

10k immediately would not renew if they went down.

[Fosse69]

Hence why Coates pays for FREE travel for every single fan who will go away to watch his team.

Notoriously poor attendences away but if you to speak to one of them they think thousands go everywhere for them.

10k immediately would not renew if they went down.

How many can afford the prices at prem grounds for away fans?

[Like Vale I Do]

All the thousands that do travel to away games in the prem every week.

[mr.hobblesworth]

We got less than 5000 fans at our first home league game in 3 weeks against one of the biggest teams in our division, whilst playing some of the best football that Vale Park has seen in years. We don't have any room to criticise that lot down the road.

[Robbie Earle's Perm]

How many can afford the prices at prem grounds for away fans?

 

I guess the novelty of the trips is now wearing off after so many years in the top flight especially at the ridiculous prices tickets can be in the PL.

 

I'd also imagine the start they've had wouldn't help. Hughes out? Isn't this the first season DaveF hasn't forecast they will be relegated? Where is that guy with his banner and his van?

[Robbie Earle's Perm]

We got less than 5000 fans at our first home league game in 3 weeks against one of the biggest teams in our division, whilst playing some of the best football that Vale Park has seen in years. We don't have any room to criticise that lot down the road.

 

That's a very fair point also.

[RayWalkers40yarder]

yes the PL is very expensive....yes the shower down the road do have glory hunters and yes if they went down 10k of them would go back to listening in their armchairs....but tbh....I don't care about that lot...I only care about my team, PORT VALE and right now I couldn't be prouder of them !

[bycars rob]

Some of the gloryhunters I know have stopped going already, and when they go down will not seen down there again.

[For Us All]

Stoke's away support these days is fairly middle of the road, sometimes poor sometimes excellent. Similar to Vale's in that respect I guess. For every excellent following within a 70/80 mile radius there's an average one further afield.

 

I don't criticise anyone for not going to away games in the current climate, it's an expensive business and anyone who chooses to spend their money on other pressing priorities I understand totally..,,,,,,

 

I think that the novelty of visiting away grounds in the PL as finally worn off for Stoke fans,especially with the high prices.Vale fans seem to be still enjoying visiting League One grounds after too many seasons in Division Two.

[Jacko51]

The novelty wore off a good few seasons ago for some. Circa £50 to get treated like scum by the GMP on visits to the like of Old Trafford and The Etihad isn't that appealing.

 

Stoke's support isn't anything special but look at the appetite for tickets for FA Cup ties which are reasonably priced, last season we could have sold 9,000 tickets to Blackburn. The link between cheaper tickets and better support is an obvious one, and free travel on the official coaches whilst a decent gesture by the club doesn't incentivise a lot of fans, subsidising the ticket price set by the home club and charging a blanket £20 would be a far better way....:

 

Isn't the money for the away coaches provided by the Premier League as an annual payment - clubs can use it how they wish to assist away fans? Stoke do the free travel, other clubs, like Newcastle, subsidise away tickets and agree deals with other clubs to limit ticket prices for away fans. To be honest, I think that is better than free travel because that only helps fans who live in Stoke. Not a lot of use to some of the exiles.

[mr.hobblesworth]

Maybe if the coaches set off earlier and visited a few stately homes, National Trust properties or museums en route, it would make the trips more enjoyable for the Stoke fans?

[Fosse69]

They must have been replaced by other glory hunters then as we've just sold a record amount of season tickets

It tends to be the swing of the pendulum, they had the 40s, 50s were balanced until Stan came back for the 60/70s. Then the roof came off, the 90s were ours, what will happen now? We seem to have adapted to passing football in a better way, so is the pendulum about to change?

[Fosse69]

Blimey nothing like getting carried away after a few games is there? We'll see I guess........

It is the best time to dream of course, but over 70 years nightmares tend to be more frequent.