We Got Our Pricing Right

[leepeacock's50phead]

quote form sextone 'Given those figures (9000+ season ticket sales) we have to conclude that the rise in prices has had no discernable effect on sales'

no mention of the people who can't afford it after getting city where they are today. I think it says a lot that 'sales' are important but the real heart and soul behind this club (and I'm sure many others) is being eroded, most likely because footballers are getting far too much money for what they do.

I truly fear for the future of lower league football in this country.

[Robbored]

quote form sextone 'Given those figures (9000+ season ticket sales) we have to conclude that the rise in prices has had no discernable effect on sales'

no mention of the people who can't afford it after getting city where they are today. I think it says a lot that 'sales' are important but the real heart and soul behind this club (and I'm sure many others) is being eroded, most likely because footballers are getting far too much money for what they do.

I truly fear for the future of lower league football in this country.

City are no longer a 'lower league team' and the ST prices, as Sexstone says had no effect on sales.In fact they went up.

That said we'll never know how many ST would have been sold with less severe rise in prices.Who knows maybe we'd be looking at 12000+

[Dolman Block B]

City are no longer a 'lower league team' and the ST prices, as Sexstone says had no effect on sales.In fact they went up.

That said we'll never know how many ST would have been sold with less severe rise in prices.Who knows maybe we'd be looking at 12000+

Interesting point Alan.

I tend to agree. If the prices were kept nie on the same as last season, we may have broke through the 12,000 barrier.

Even tonight, out with 4 lads who made 90% of last seasons games who wont be bothering next seaon at all because of the £28 a game touch in the Dolman.

Sad really aint it?

[leepeacock's50phead]

City are no longer a 'lower league team' and the ST prices, as Sexstone says had no effect on sales.In fact they went up.

That said we'll never know how many ST would have been sold with less severe rise in prices.Who knows maybe we'd be looking at 12000+

our long term history does show us as a lower league club

[Red Head]

Sexstone has a history of distorting the facts and reinventing himself.

He stated, when defending the stupidly high ST and POTD prices, that anything under 10,000 ST sold would be a massive disappointment.

Now, with 9,200 sold, the ticket pricing policy is now deemed a success - not a disappointment.

That is simply typical of Sexstone.

I think 9,200 sales is a little dissapointing, given we had 8,000+ last year, surely lower prices would have meant more fans? But they said it was to strengthen the playing squad.....

[aa_bcfc]

An interesting statistic would be how many of last years season ticket holders have not renewed this season. Now that would indicate if the pricing policy is correct. If fans would pay to watch 3rd division football but have not renewed that can only be prices. (of course there may well be a few moved away from the area etc.

[Rowley Birkin]

Unfortunately, it's the way of the world today.

Pay the going rate, or don't. (Cos we don't give a sh1t)

End of the day it all comes down to ridiculous wages for the players, and blood sucking agents.

If players were on say double the average wage, which would be around £50,000 per year, admission prices would be half of what we are stumping up now.

Trouble is until the grounds are empty each week, and clubs go to the wall, nothing will ever change.

For an example of why the game stinks today, just take a look at the ex England manager, getting payed outrageous money to sit on his philandering ass, doing nothing until his contract expires, and then there are people queing up to throw more at him !

Anyone with a shred of decency to them would acknowledge their short comings, and tear up their contract, I mean how much is enough ?

I just hope they get relegated.

[Portland Bill]

The price hike has affected ST sales, theres 11 people ( yes 11 )i know that were going to get one each but havent because of the price.

I would like to know the breakdown of the 9200 sold. For instance...how many are for the FREE under 7's and how many under 16 tickets sold.

Whose to know that there isnt, say, 5000 of these sold ?

Perhaps Mr Sextone could let this info out?

[Tunley Legend]

Something that has only been introduced to this club since the introduction of the most incompetent CEO running a football club in Britain today is the amount of New Labour style "spin" from the people in charge. The official website reported "just under 10,000 season tickets sold" a couple of weeks ago when the true figure of 9,200 should really be described as "just over 9,000". It is this lack of honesty from the club that leads me to believe that they really do not give a flying fork about any of their loyal longstanding supporters - for example, the ones who were there in 1982 when certain CEO's were nowhere to be seen.

But its all change now. Consumers, income stream, customers and whatever else they call us are to be exploited wherever and whenever possible in Sextone's mission to shift as many units (that's season tickets, matchday tickets and merchandise to you and me) to as many affluent people as possible. A "result" for them would include selling only 500 season tickets as long as you got £10,000 a pop for them. If long term supporters are lost as a result of the mission then tough on them - if they cannot afford the quality football that the club has now "promised" then we (as in Sextone's team) don't want the ***** at Ashton Gate anyway!!

As I have said before - many of us can handle the price rises although appreciate that there are people who cannot - what we cannot handle is a smug, cocky, arrogant and totally out of touch CEO who feels the need to blow his own trumpet in the paper. When Sextone next fancies bigging himself up on ticket pricing why doesn't he stand next to the bloke who has borrowed money to get his season ticket or even better, the bloke who has watched the club for 30 years who now cannot afford to take his family to more than half a dozen games this season.

[cityfan]

Maybe a better way of measuring the success of season ticket sales this year would be as follows-

1) When a club gets promoted from League 1 to the Championship what is the average % uplift in ticket sales?

2) Clubs that are in cities as big as Bristol, what is their average % uplift?

3) What has city's uplift in season ticket sales been this year?

4) What % of season ticket holders have not renewed?

5) What number of season tickets could have been achieved had prices stayed static?

[Portland Bill]

Maybe a better way of measuring the success of season ticket sales this year would be as follows-

1) When a club gets promoted from League 1 to the Championship what is the average % uplift in ticket sales?

2) Clubs that are in cities as big as Bristol, what is their average % uplift?

3) What has city's uplift in season ticket sales been this year?

4) What % of season ticket holders have not renewed?

5) What number of season tickets could have been achieved had prices stayed static?

IMO the answer to 5) would be in the region of 14.000 ST. If i ( living 35 miles from Bristol) know of 11 people who wont now buy ST because of the price HIKE, just how many more people were put off by prices.

[richieb]

IMO the answer to 5) would be in the region of 14.000 ST. If i ( living 35 miles from Bristol) know of 11 people who wont now buy ST because of the price HIKE, just how many more people were put off by prices.

As mentioned on a previous thread on prices, CS has hit the easy target, he had a figure in mind & was quite happy to use the loyal numbers to realise his revenue target.

IMHO, he should have put a smaller increase in, brought the numbers up & got the revenue adjustment from more lucrative sponsorship deals.

[zookeeper]

As mentioned on a previous thread on prices, CS has hit the easy target, he had a figure in mind & was quite happy to use the loyal numbers to realise his revenue target.

IMHO, he should have put a smaller increase in, brought the numbers up & got the revenue adjustment from more lucrative sponsorship deals.

How do you magic up a lucrative sponsorship deal?? I thought we're part way through BTCs sponsorship deal? I would imagine that it's a hell of a lot easier to sell the equivilant volume of season tickets rather than try to negotiate an increased contract part way through it but I would hope that the amount paid in sponsorship was in some way linked to performance and therefore the clients exposure.

I'd say it is far too early to guage if this was a mistake or not but I ran a few figures through excell and have come up with a few stats.

If we sell 10,000 season tickets and the 30% increase figure is true and is across the board the club would have generated an extra 63% income from last years season ticket sales!

To achieve that extra revenue we would have had to sell 13000 season tickets.

Meaning that for big games (and arguably it may not be for just the big games) we could lose out on the income from those 3000 seats @ an average of £20 which is £60,000.

Say we have 12 big games and this is £700k for the year. That's quite a material amount!

CS remit is about income generation and cost control by all accounts he does it quite succesully. However this definately goes against the supporters interests so there are always going to be people moaning about him.

[Chappers]

Next year will be interesting. Interest rate rises will start really hitting home, Banks are really cutting credit availability, particularly on cards, there are strong signs of a recession as oil prices remain high, and the novelty will have worn off. Perhaps then economic reality will hit football.

[bcfcchris2016]

Sextone is one step away from being a total idiot, everytime he opens his mouth he come s out with something stupid, the real attendancies will be when we have played 8- 10 games and are probally in the bottom half of the table because they have not imo stenghthened the squad enough, people will then decide shall whether to spend £28 to watch city or go and have a few beers or take the Missus out . Sextone should remember that the heart of this club is the support of the locals who pays his lardass wages and not keep trying to rip off the paying fans.

I cannot believe that this day and age they still charge you 5% to use your credit card to purchase a ticket.

[City_pete1]

I think this is a stupid thing for sexton to bring up. It brings up the whole debate again (and makes the club look silly in my eyes).

I think the prices are too high. I have got a ST after much thought, but it took a wack on my credit card and most of the people I was going to get a ST with declined when they heard the prices.

Grrrr it makes me angry.

[REDOXO]

Something that has only been introduced to this club since the introduction of the most incompetent CEO running a football club in Britain today is the amount of New Labour style "spin" from the people in charge. The official website reported "just under 10,000 season tickets sold" a couple of weeks ago when the true figure of 9,200 should really be described as "just over 9,000". It is this lack of honesty from the club that leads me to believe that they really do not give a flying fork about any of their loyal longstanding supporters - for example, the ones who were there in 1982 when certain CEO's were nowhere to be seen.

But its all change now. Consumers, income stream, customers and whatever else they call us are to be exploited wherever and whenever possible in Sextone's mission to shift as many units (that's season tickets, matchday tickets and merchandise to you and me) to as many affluent people as possible. A "result" for them would include selling only 500 season tickets as long as you got £10,000 a pop for them. If long term supporters are lost as a result of the mission then tough on them - if they cannot afford the quality football that the club has now "promised" then we (as in Sextone's team) don't want the ***** at Ashton Gate anyway!!

As I have said before - many of us can handle the price rises although appreciate that there are people who cannot - what we cannot handle is a smug, cocky, arrogant and totally out of touch CEO who feels the need to blow his own trumpet in the paper. When Sextone next fancies bigging himself up on ticket pricing why doesn't he stand next to the bloke who has borrowed money to get his season ticket or even better, the bloke who has watched the club for 30 years who now cannot afford to take his family to more than half a dozen games this season.

I agree 'New Labour' style spin within/from the football club has been prevalent for some time, however this is probably more of a function of the freedom at which information can now be obtained and as such makes control of how that information is put into the public domain more important... Ergo everybody is at it and thus take nothing that matters at face value

I also agree with your underlying point that if our core supporters can not afford a season ticket tough on them (thinks the club) as we (BCFC) can shift our product to all the new customers we now have who'll come and watch Championship Football...Welcome to market capitalism...It's a bugger for those who are left without season tickets or who have to consider taking out a loan to get one, but from the moment PLC's were introduced to football that was the way it was going to go....How many long term Man U/Chelsea/Arsenal supporters cant afford to come to matches anymore, probably a damn site more than anyone will admit.

Fact is Football IS now a middle class game operating in a market economy with the only way of sustaining itself by increasing prices to the maximum clearing price...Thats Life in the UK since Thatcherism/Monetarism and the drive to liberalize markets

Anyway the best way to make sure the club keeps tied to its core support is through the supporters trust and so good luck to them..

[shepton red]

I have had my ST in the Dolman for the last 3 yrs, but had decided not renew either mine or my sons due to being in the miltary and divorce. However, last week I found out that I will be staying local for the next 6 mths, min, so thought I would at least renew my sons ticket in the Upper Dolman (U16), additionally my mate assured me that even if I am posted away he would continue to take my son. I explained my position to the ticket office and the reasons for my late decision to which they replied yes I could have the seat but would have to pay the U21 price, which, don't quote me but was approx £225, £115 more than the U16 price. I attempted to argue my position to which he said that he only enforced the policy. I have written to CS and await my reply, suffice to say if they do not have a rethink I will pick and choose what home games to attend and mainly travel away. I did stress that this was a renewal not a new ticket to which he said that I should have renewed prior to the general release date, I explained my position again and was getting dragged into a vicious circle so let it go.

The reason I was quated that were no U16 prices in the Upper Dolman was due to a wish to get the kids down the front. Great idea, if he was old enough to sit on his own!! I wont pass any more judgement until I recieve a reply back from the Club.

[tin]

Interesting point Alan.

I tend to agree. If the prices were kept nie on the same as last season, we may have broke through the 12,000 barrier.

Even tonight, out with 4 lads who made 90% of last seasons games who wont be bothering next seaon at all because of the £28 a game touch in the Dolman.

Sad really aint it?

Couldn't agree more. I know of at least ten others who have been ST holders over the years, or been to the majority of games as a non-ST holder, who simply haven't been able to afford to renew. Of the rest of my mates who have renewed, they've had no option to go for either juvenile or U21 tickets because they simply can't afford an adult.

I'm a firm believer that this close season was a genuine chance to really build the club's fanbase and even though the rises have seen record's broken, which is inevitable after such a good season, I still reckon we could've been looking at least 13,000 ST holders had the prices been more reasonable. If we consolidated for a year, then put the prices up further.

Unfortunatley, most of my friends who haven't renewed have said the only games at the Gate they will be able to do will be Cardiff, Stoke and Plymouth which is a very sad position to be in, if you ask me.

[Tunley Legend]

How do you magic up a lucrative sponsorship deal?? I thought we're part way through BTCs sponsorship deal? I would imagine that it's a hell of a lot easier to sell the equivilant volume of season tickets rather than try to negotiate an increased contract part way through it but I would hope that the amount paid in sponsorship was in some way linked to performance and therefore the clients exposure.

I'd say it is far too early to guage if this was a mistake or not but I ran a few figures through excell and have come up with a few stats.

If we sell 10,000 season tickets and the 30% increase figure is true and is across the board the club would have generated an extra 63% income from last years season ticket sales!

To achieve that extra revenue we would have had to sell 13000 season tickets.

Meaning that for big games (and arguably it may not be for just the big games) we could lose out on the income from those 3000 seats @ an average of £20 which is £60,000.

Say we have 12 big games and this is £700k for the year. That's quite a material amount!

CS remit is about income generation and cost control by all accounts he does it quite succesully. However this definately goes against the supporters interests so there are always going to be people moaning about him.

The main problem being is that the Sextone way is a very short sighted way of doing business in a market that is different to, say, selling computers where customer loyalty may be less of a factor. Yes, he may be successful at the moment (record sales etc.) in terms of hard cash but when you start sanitising football clubs and taking the emotion out of them you are playing an extremely dangerous game. Football needs emotionally driven and committed fans to provide atmosphere and enjoyment. If the worst case scenario were to happen and we make a pigs ear of thing this season then no amount of backtracking and special deals are going to see us sell more than 5,000 season tickets next season. Let's see where these so called middle class "nouveau supporters" with their apparent masses of disposable income go then? Will they bail the club out? No, they'll probably go to the Memorial Stadium instead if Rovers happened to get promoted!!

And, as I have said before, it is not necessarily the pricing that causes the biggest problem (as many people have jumped through hoops to buy for next season) - it is the smug, cocky and arrogant way that the CEO of the football club puts his point across that is upsetting many. His attitude can quite correctly be interpreted as "pay up or **** off you low income peasant".

[Tunley Legend]

I agree 'New Labour' style spin within/from the football club has been prevalent for some time, however this is probably more of a function of the freedom at which information can now be obtained and as such makes control of how that information is put into the public domain more important... Ergo everybody is at it and thus take nothing that matters at face value

I also agree with your underlying point that if our core supporters can not afford a season ticket tough on them (thinks the club) as we (BCFC) can shift our product to all the new customers we now have who'll come and watch Championship Football...Welcome to market capitalism...It's a bugger for those who are left without season tickets or who have to consider taking out a loan to get one, but from the moment PLC's were introduced to football that was the way it was going to go....How many long term Man U/Chelsea/Arsenal supporters cant afford to come to matches anymore, probably a damn site more than anyone will admit.

Fact is Football IS now a middle class game operating in a market economy with the only way of sustaining itself by increasing prices to the maximum clearing price...Thats Life in the UK since Thatcherism/Monetarism and the drive to liberalize markets

Anyway the best way to make sure the club keeps tied to its core support is through the supporters trust and so good luck to them..

I agree with most of what you say and it is the shameless shift to the less emotionally attached supporter with the allegedly higher disposable income that will cause football to spiral even further out of control and implode within the next 10-15 years. Football will become a victim of it's own popularity as more hard nosed businessmen buy clubs for the kudos of owning them but still apply hard faced business principles to them. What these people fail to understand is that without fans, football is a poor product. We have seen the first signs of the bubble beginning to burst with the massive cut in prices at many Premiership grounds - I don't think it will be long before crowds fall significantly across the board in a four team Premiership that, pro rata, is no better a product than the SPL and once that happens, Ruper Murdoch will lose interest in the "people's game". Then the fun will begin.

[zookeeper]

The main problem being is that the Sextone way is a very short sighted way of doing business in a market that is different to, say, selling computers where customer loyalty may be less of a factor. Yes, he may be successful at the moment (record sales etc.) in terms of hard cash but when you start sanitising football clubs and taking the emotion out of them you are playing an extremely dangerous game. Football needs emotionally driven and committed fans to provide atmosphere and enjoyment. If the worst case scenario were to happen and we make a pigs ear of thing this season then no amount of backtracking and special deals are going to see us sell more than 5,000 season tickets next season. Let's see where these so called middle class "nouveau supporters" with their apparent masses of disposable income go then? Will they bail the club out? No, they'll probably go to the Memorial Stadium instead if Rovers happened to get promoted!!

And, as I have said before, it is not necessarily the pricing that causes the biggest problem (as many people have jumped through hoops to buy for next season) - it is the smug, cocky and arrogant way that the CEO of the football club puts his point across that is upsetting many. His attitude can quite correctly be interpreted as "pay up or **** off you low income peasant".

I'm not too sure if it is that short term but i do agree with the gist of your post in that it's not the message but the way it's delivered.

However I would counter that these middle class fans that are being attracted are not necessarily "here today gone tomorrow" fans. 4 of my friends, holding down professional jobs, have signed up for new season tickets this year after years of going regularily and paying on the day. I don't think they will stop going just because we are in a different league. They are city fans through and through and I would expect there to be a lot of people in this situation.

There is always a risk in changing prices and the message should have been more professionaly presented but we do need a season in which we break even or even generate some excess money. If we perform well then we will sell out a lot of games and generate a lot of income. If we don't then maybe what you say is true.

[City Chuds]

I'm probably going to be the cat among the pigeons here but WE ARE IN THE CHAMPIONSHIP do we want to make a good go of it or do what we did last time. don't get me wrong I cant stand Mr Lansdown he comes across far too smarmy and as for Sexstone its his job to think of money, but one thing that Lansdown said on world rang true in my eyes he said the club needs this money to invest in championship football (players etc) and that he is not making a profit out of this in fact his season ticket has gone up more than anyone else. And just to offer a story that bucks the trend my mother is the tightest person I know however she has just purchased a season ticket for the first time (having seen 95 % of last seasons games).

If no more investment is made in players and we have a crap season I will agree with you all but I just happen to think, no matter how much i dislike him, the board have got this club heading in the right direction

[Dolman Block B]

Couldn't agree more. I know of at least ten others who have been ST holders over the years, or been to the majority of games as a non-ST holder, who simply haven't been able to afford to renew. Of the rest of my mates who have renewed, they've had no option to go for either juvenile or U21 tickets because they simply can't afford an adult.

I'm a firm believer that this close season was a genuine chance to really build the club's fanbase and even though the rises have seen record's broken, which is inevitable after such a good season, I still reckon we could've been looking at least 13,000 ST holders had the prices been more reasonable. If we consolidated for a year, then put the prices up further.

Unfortunatley, most of my friends who haven't renewed have said the only games at the Gate they will be able to do will be Cardiff, Stoke and Plymouth which is a very sad position to be in, if you ask me.

Spot on Tin.

So if City kick of well, just perhaps, my mates, your mates might chuck their £28 quids in, start s h i t e and.... :noexpression:

[Tunley Legend]

I'm probably going to be the cat among the pigeons here but WE ARE IN THE CHAMPIONSHIP do we want to make a good go of it or do what we did last time. don't get me wrong I cant stand Mr Lansdown he comes across far too smarmy and as for Sexstone its his job to think of money, but one thing that Lansdown said on world rang true in my eyes he said the club needs this money to invest in championship football (players etc) and that he is not making a profit out of this in fact his season ticket has gone up more than anyone else. And just to offer a story that bucks the trend my mother is the tightest person I know however she has just purchased a season ticket for the first time (having seen 95 % of last seasons games).

If no more investment is made in players and we have a crap season I will agree with you all but I just happen to think, no matter how much i dislike him, the board have got this club heading in the right direction

If disastrous PR gaffes like the one in yesterday's local papers were avoided and the club sharpened up on it's marketing/PR then the right direction would be reached a hell of a lot quicker. The argument isn't mainly about money - it's about the club having a modicum of respect and appreciation for it's supporters.

[zookeeper]

Spot on Tin.

So if City kick of well, just perhaps, my mates, your mates might chuck their £28 quids in, start s h i t e and.... :noexpression:

If we start badly we have still generated the same amount of income as if we had 13,000 season tickets at last years price. Add a few thousand away fans and financially we are doing well.

The effect on the atmosphere though is a whole new argument and from that perspective I would love to see the gate sold out every week.

[Tunley Legend]

I'm not too sure if it is that short term but i do agree with the gist of your post in that it's not the message but the way it's delivered.

However I would counter that these middle class fans that are being attracted are not necessarily "here today gone tomorrow" fans. 4 of my friends, holding down professional jobs, have signed up for new season tickets this year after years of going regularily and paying on the day. I don't think they will stop going just because we are in a different league. They are city fans through and through and I would expect there to be a lot of people in this situation.

There is always a risk in changing prices and the message should have been more professionaly presented but we do need a season in which we break even or even generate some excess money. If we perform well then we will sell out a lot of games and generate a lot of income. If we don't then maybe what you say is true.

I take your points regarding your mates and many like them and am not knocking people with plenty of spare cash (especially if it is spent on our football club) but to have a situation where the club is appearing to be unconcerned at losing longstanding supporters as long as they replace them with new ones who have more money to spend is not a healthy way to run a football club. Surely the optimum way to run the football club/business is to keep ALL of the previously loyal supporters AND attract the new?

[City Chuds]

If disastrous PR gaffes like the one in yesterday's local papers were avoided and the club sharpened up on it's marketing/PR then the right direction would be reached a hell of a lot quicker. The argument isn't mainly about money - it's about the club having a modicum of respect and appreciation for it's supporters.

Baring in mind the East end debacle you have a very good point but then thats the way of the wealthy to sh*t on those below

[richieb]

How do you magic up a lucrative sponsorship deal?? I thought we're part way through BTCs sponsorship deal? I would imagine that it's a hell of a lot easier to sell the equivilant volume of season tickets rather than try to negotiate an increased contract part way through it but I would hope that the amount paid in sponsorship was in some way linked to performance and therefore the clients exposure.

As an ex FCF member, I can recall CS & SL saying that entering the Championship would bring sponsorship deals that would reach new levels for BCFC.

And with all the huge potential earnings of being in the CCC, it was a surprise that the club decided to stay loyal with BTC.

If you take a look at the 'World' interview CS says that BTC were there when City were at the lowest in CC1. So CS felt it right to reward BTC's loyalty with another years shirt sponsorship. To me those words mean we could have got a better deal but wanted to show loyalty?

But what loyalty did CS show the fans for paying up when we were watching the club sing to the bottom of CC1?

[Tunley Legend]

As an ex FCF member, I can recall CS & SL saying that entering the Championship would bring sponsorship deals that would reach new levels for BCFC.

And with all the huge potential earnings of being in the CCC, it was a surprise that the club decided to stay loyal with BTC.

If you take a look at the 'World' interview CS says that BTC were there when City were at the lowest in CC1. So CS felt it right to reward BTC's loyalty with another years shirt sponsorship. To me those words mean we could have got a better deal but wanted to show loyalty?

But what loyalty did CS show the fans for paying up when we were watching the club sing to the bottom of CC1?

This is the problem when you have ridiculously incompetent people running the PR side of the club.

On one hand we have ONE loyal sponsor who, it is quite correctly stated, supported the club when they were near the bottom of League 1. Result - loyalty shown when a larger deal could easily have been obtained by a competent Marketing Department.

On the other hand we have around TEN THOUSAND loyal supporters who also supported the club when they were botton of League 1. FOUR THOUSAND of those also supported the club when we were bottom of the whole pile in the early eighties, a lot longer than Bristol Trade Centre. Result - they were subjected to 36% price increases.

I have not got a massive problem with BTC being shown some loyalty and I also feel that the price increases are necessary. However the way the message is put across is not one of a Football Club that cares one iota for it's loyal supporters. What a sad indictment of Colin Sextone particularly, and even Steve Lansdown, that is.

The most disturbing comment for me in the whole Evening Post article was the one that said "we can only conclude that the increase in prices has had no discernible effect on sales". Factually that is a correct statement. However the underlying message to anyone who has not renewed a season ticket because they cannot afford to is basically "we haven't even noticed". That is disgraceful in my opinion and seems to be the current Bristol City FC attitude to it's supporters. I believe that the club should know the identity of EVERY SINGLE season ticket holder who has failed to renew thus far and should be carrying out the most accurate market research of all - i.e. write to these people, phone them up or send them an e-mail to find out WHY they have not renewed.