See Posh are arguing amongst themselves about how many tickets got allocated to Pompey. Ferguson is saying allowing them 4K tickets given the importance of the game was daft. Club is saying they held off until last minute but once it was obvious couldn’t sell out to home fans offered more to Pompey as it raised an extra £40k in income. In a similar scenario would we want the extra £40k or try to have a bigger advantage by restricting away fans?
We limited the number of tickets given to Bolton in the play-offs last season I believe, suggesting we'd rather the advantage. Personally I've never understood that particular argument. The away fans would be outnumbered regardless, and the onus should be on the home fans to make significant noise to give them the advantage.
Get what your saying but the reality is different, large away support generally out sing/make more noise than home fans across the board and we're not excluded in that. We also have the players coming out at that side so instantly away support raises the noise. Thought it was a great tactical ploy in the playoffs last season
However, in league matches we more or less give teams as many as they want. Like you say, it shouldn't make a difference and in fact could help us play better e.g. Derby, Bolton and last season's game against Wednesday .
As you say, the reality is different, but I guess my point is that it shouldn't be. We often complain about the atmosphere at Oakwell, but ultimately we're the ones that can make the biggest difference. As Simon De Montforte has mentioned above, we used the big crowd to our advantage last season, and I guess we did this season too when Derby came.
I guess a particular caveat could be the additional stewarding costs etc might not make it that much more commercially beneficial we assume that it’s additional profit which might not actually end up being all that much.
I agree with 100% and I think there is a case on both sides of the debate and ultimately if we have a stinker that day it counts for nothing. We did well last season in the bigger games Ipswich apart and look how many times we've dismantled Leeds with their big numbers in the past, but I've seen it have the opposite effect, where we've just Shrunk.
I think the Bolton one was more of a direct response to how many tickets we'd been allocated for the first leg, so there were some unique circumstances in that one.
The most away fans I've seen at Oakwell in recent times was Leeds when we gave them half the west stand as well as the whole of the north stand, think we thumped them 5-2 or whatever it was. Don't think it matter personally, the more the merrier to see them crying when we win.
Was only thinking about that game yesterday, funnily enough. I think our fans raise their game, when there is big away support TBH. This was a prime example. All our family were in the family area of the East Stand. Our Harry, now grown up is a Red through & through & I suspect this was his first game.
It was never made clear, but didn't Bolton claim they'd limited our allocation at their place, because we'd made it clear we were limiting their allocation at Oakwell? I guess we'll never know the truth.
Agree it’s always better when there’s a big away support and if you get on top a load of hostile away fans on their teams back is to your advantage. Obviously Ferguson doesn’t think much of his own fans
They'll never be a bigger disadvantage against us than when Chelsea rocked up, FA cup holders, £220m worth of players on the pitch, full away end.
What a night that was. I was in a pub full of Chelsea fans and a few bets were on the go. Every single one of them gave me the draw, and a couple even gave a 1-0 defeat to them as a payout. ... Most of them were well gone by the final whistle and i ended up quite a jolly and wealthy chap.
I'm still not sure why we gave them the full end - must have been too difficult to segregate the North Stand? Think teams have to give 15%, which would've been 3,000-3,500 - which would've left around 2,000 (allowing for 1,000 seats cordoned off for segregation) for home fans in that stand. Not that any of it affected the result!
The new regulator wants to put fans first. Why would you want to stop a football fan going to support their team?
I was in an Irish bar in downtown Manhattan, I fell off my bar stool when we scored. I bought everyone in there a drink - it was middle of the afternoon so not too busy thankfully. although some construction worker doing a 1/2 day didn't take too kindly to me as he hated the English and took me the re-incarnation of Lord Cornwallis himself, and him being 1/25th Irish. I told him my Grandmother was born in Ireland, which made me the most Irish person in there after the bartender, who was actually Irish, soon shut him up.
Away fans always make more noise than home fans . Even Cheltenham managed it Saturday with less than 300
The only ones who really lose out are the fans. It’s a spectator sport after all. Why would you stop them attending if there was space. I’ve seen us win in front of some massive away crowds but also lose. Not sure that it makes a difference. A big away crowd usually picks us up a bit.