THE SEASON ticket application form flopped on the doormat this morning taunting us with an empty promise of priority for all the big Boro games. It was followed a few hours later by an even more wounding if anticipated phone call from the ticket office to tell us that on this occasion the application had not been successful.
Now, first let me say loud and clear that I have a press pass for Eindhoven , as I have for all the juicy matches home and away and the only time I ever have to queue is at the underpass. You can call me a parasite if you want. I've heard it before.
But there is a genine deep-seated trauma in our family at the moment because the people who do pay good money have missed out on Eindhoven. Which is why the renewal form, an ill-timed provocation, is currently hovering over the wheelie bin.
Back in Year Zero my wife and her sister bought tickets at the Riverside. The pair grew up on the Holgate, educated into the culture but protected from the worst excesses of beastly macho rowdiness by big brothers. They were fence-climbing, EIOing, hardcore fans back in the days when it was a rough, tough slum sport and although they have now graduated to the seats and are more gentile they are still as passionate.
My first date with my wife was an away trip to Whitby to watch a North Riding Senior Cup game. We are that sort of family. Before I started working in sports - which is glamourous and exciting but pretty much screws up your matchday routine - we travelled all over, you know, really sexy places like Oldham, Barnsley and Port Vale.
My wife was at Darlington in the cup, at the Battle of Stamford Bridge, Everton in the endless replay saga - her car broke down both on the way there and on the way home from Goodison - and on the Holgate for the Aston Villa ZDS semi-final, which until the Steaua game was the official atmosphere benchmark. Four Wembley outings, endless dismal returns from heartbreak. Blah, blah, blah. The point is she has served her time.
So they bought tickets on day one. S. Part of the alphabet elite. Now, there have been many times when it clearly wasn't enjoyable any more, the dark last days of Robbo, El Tel's grind and under ultra-cautious Steve Mac, when the tickets were almost binned in favour of an extra week's holiday. Childcare made it difficult to get to games, missed matches were costing a fortune and at times you couldn't even give the tickets away to claw some back.
But they clung onto the Red Books and the S patron status because (warming: wild optimist alert) they are Boro barmy and well, maybe one day we would get to Champions League final and they'd be guaranteed tickets. Well right now there is a need for expensive dental work because they feel kicked squarely in the choppers.
The initial maths - 9,200 tickets and 10,000 S and T application - suggested that only 800 or so would be unsuccessful but if feels far more widespread than that. So many people I know - well established faces from Ayresome days - haven't got tickets. It may be a statistical freak and maybe I only know very unlucky people. Or maybe it is contact with Jonah here that has blown their chance.
But the club have since admitted that 'a small number' of tickets from that allocation have been given to players and staff. They maths had changed. The goalposts were moved. And because the process is not transparent no one could know exactly what their chances were and that left them powerless and frustrated.
In ourfamily no one expected a ticket by right but they did expect the CHANCE of one and the way the process was handled did not leave them feeling they realistically had that chance or that they had been treated in an open or equitable way. The club may well have mitigating factors but the PR was badly handled and the loss of goodwill extremely damaging at a time when we should be jubilant. There was no communication and the ticket office - admittedly busy - were most unhelpful and less than sympathetic to the plight of the people they are there to serve.
I am supposed to be well informed so I faced a constant barrage of questions. Why did the club say there were 9,200 tickets available to fans when clearly there weren't? When Dave Allen says some went to players and staff how many exactly? Which staff? Why do staff come before the paying public? How many went to box holders? And are the box holders all S and T Red Book holders? How many tickets went to corporates, business contacts and hoarding advertisers? Can't you get me one? Was there a lottery? How was it done? Why don't they publish a list of every patron number so we can check? Will we get a letter explaining exactly why we failed? Will I be given first crack next time? Can't you get me one?
These are the questions the club must answer honestly if they are to rebuild trust and regain credibility with those of their most loyal and long-standing supporters who right now feel betrayed. There is much talk of wrapping in Red Books and walking away for good. Most will not do that, they have made too great an emotional investment other the years - but many will, especially if the club do not address their grievances.
The UEFA Cup ticket trauma follows the FA semi-final fiasco. I dread to think what would have happened had Boro beat West Ham and had to deal with tickets for Cardiff this week as well.
It is time for the club to initiate a far reaching internal inquiry into ticket office methods. Not to satisfy any need for recriminations but to help develop a modern approach and best practice. They have to recognise their failings and deal with them quickly. The club must progress as much off the field as on it if we are to take advantage of the opportunities presented by this golden age. More staff, better trained with more terminals and if neccessary satellite offices in Stockton, Redcar, Ingleby and Billingham. It is crucial to maximise the potential.
There must be no more excuses and promises that it won't happen again. Patience is wearing thin.
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