You didn't need to send this post. You've gone so wildly off the point I was trying to make, I'm just going to send this one reply as I don't want the thread to become a back and forth. I'm not detached from supporters in the slightest. I completely understand why supporters wouldn't want to renew. Some in my circle won't be renewing, others will be. My point was the criticism thrown at the club for even having the audacity to try and sell season tickets for next season, not that people were deciding or announcing they wouldn't be getting them. It's a sad day when any long term supporter walks away from this football club, and it's on the club when that happens to show some effort and determination to win them back. But I'm not for a split second criticising those people because I totally get it. I've zero love for the ownership group but I have a lot of love for who I get to see on a match day. Please don't try to blur the lines on points being made to take cheap shots. Especially that last line of your post.
I don't want to renew, but I probably will. Not because I'm a great fan, or think the club deserves my loyalty, but for the daft reason that I really like routine and really hate change. So much so that I'll spend 300 quid to be miserable every other Saturday instead of having to think of something better to do.
I would if we had a new ownership but i feel very disconnected from the club. More than ever infact. How its been run and how the fans have been treated is a new low.
Blackpool fans boycott didn’t get rid of Oyston. That’s a myth. Their Latvian investor, Belekon I think, sued him for monies owed and won. That’s what broke Oyston’s grip on the club, not the fans.
I believe the price of (early bird) season tickets is very reasonable and the decision to freeze prices a good one. Whether the price represents good value is a different argument as the product has been so poor. For many games this season paying 50p entry would feel like a rip off, but the event still has to be hosted and there are lots of wages to pay. We all know that a game of football does not guarantee entertainment. I won't be buying a season ticket but that has nothing to do with the price. Nor do I agree with a scattergun approach to criticism. When it's not targeted it loses its effectiveness. There are a number of issues I will add my dissenting voice to. When the club do something right I don't have a problem saying so. I think season tickets are, and have been for many years, well priced. If I was buying a season ticket, as many will still do, I would welcome this announcement.
Perhaps. But that doesn't mean I have to like it. I used to love cricket, but since it went to Sky I have little or no interest. Equally, I would struggle to name more than a handful of the current England football team as I don't watch Premier League football. Bit by bit, it seems to me, the money men are killing everything. To be clear, I'll be a Barnsley 'fan' until the day I die (or the club does). But I simply can't give my support in financial terms whilst the current owners are in control, or they significantly change their, in my opinion, futile business model (and properly justify the £750K transaction whilst they are at it). Having said all that, my two lads and two grandkids continue to support the club, and intend to renew. Which I understand and respect.
I'm not yet 100% that I won't renew but I think it's extremely unlikely. Whilst I fully respect your viewpoint, it actually highlights why I and I believe quite a number of others are unlikely to unless there is fundamental change. It doesn't feel like our club any longer. Instead it feels like it's become 'their' club. The 'our club, our town' message intentionally linked the two together, illustrating the vital connection for community based clubs, but for the first time in my life it feels to me like the club has become misaligned with the values and character of the town. And I'm afraid that Mr El-Ahmad exhorting people to separate the club from the ownership will fail with most. As others have said the changes required to recover the lost supporters are more the basic principles which guide the way the club is led and managed. Just to reiterate though - fully acknowledge and respect your different perspective.
Irrespective of the determining factor, it was still an impressive effort in showing solidarity against an unwanted owner. Meanwhile, back at Oakwell, we’ll shift 5k season tickets and get 9k attendances while the team and stadium fall into disrepair.
Interesting reading and fully appreciate all the different points of view. I won’t renew I just feel too disconnected and like I’m trying to keep something alive that (for me at least) is dead. I will try to get to as many away games as I can as I still enjoy them but ‘more of the same’ isn’t an option for me. Sad really isn’t it?
I'll be renewing my annual iFollow International Season Pass / Membership / Ticket for another year, whether we secure Divisional Retention, or not. What else will I do at 6:30 on a Saturday morning, or earlier if the South Yorkshire Police decide a local derby needs to interrupt my sleep. otherwise I would miss the repetitive recording to "Stay tuned, and the commentary will start shortly" (or something similar) and the 30-second pop-up Ads when I try to watch a 2-minute video. Also, if I get back to Tarn again, as I've not managed since August 2019, then my brother and I will be in the Legends / Premier Suite, followed by a stroll home through town via the Old No. 7.
I’ll probably renew. I’d love to renew all three, but I suspect the other half and lad have just had enough. So it might just be back to me going on mi tod. I do wish there could be more mutual respect on people’s decisions though. I totally get why people aren’t renewing and understand a lot of the venom towards the Club’s owners. I’m also massively thankful for those who are renewing though. If no one renewed, the consequences would be far worse. We all want the same thing at the end of the day.
I'll be renewing along with the rest of my many relatives/friends, The experience is not just about the football. But a social get together for us. Prior to and during the game. One was pointing out. not renewing if before end of april. 1 if it's the owners. They'll be here regardless of which division. ? 2 There are easy payment options if not paying in full. I too want these owners gone. But I reckon if I packed in. There would be no return. As a lot did after the miners strike having got out of the habit. Everyone to their own.
I'm lucky in that money is not really a factor. But the performance/attitude of the Owners is. I won't be renewing. It's one of the few ways a 'stakeholder' (Seriously Khaled!) can register their opposition. I'll still be attending some games especially Forest Green and I hope Newport make it and Wimbledon manage to survive but it will be on my terms. I won't be funding Conway's next overseas adventure. To be frank any supporter who thinks these owners can turn it round must be on something. They have to be go. We cannot move forward in any consistent, united way whilst ever they are in charge. The Comms team have done a good job on that release but the Barnsley values they highlight have not been shown by these owners in 4 years.
I think I'll be renewing, not because I have any faith in the owners to put things right next season but because it fits in well with seeing family. If they were to move away from Barnsley I probably wouldn't bother. Of course, should they do something stupid like closing the west stand again then I definitely wouldn't be renewing.