The official attendance was 17,506 today. Looking round the ground today I reckon there looked more like 20,000. No way could you have got another 10,000 people in there...
I'm certainly surprised that less Charlton fans turned up to this than for the Preston game (17,486, but only 543 Preston). Must have been around 1000 Brentford, right?.
It's likely the Oldham and Brentford crowds were closer than appears because many more ticket holders are likely to have missed the Oldham game, but rest assured that if there had been more than 17,500 tickets issued today we'd have announced a bigger gate!
Bear in mind that the north upper issue shifted people around and there were 2,200 empty seats in the Jimmy Seed stand for a start.
Today will probably have easily been the highest number of home full price matchday tickets sold for a game since the end of 2009/10, if that explains things better.
Until recently there were no computers in use in that box office and only two or three of seven windows were used for cash sales. I am changing that but we do not have enough equipment or trained staff to open the three tills that are set up there - and this in fairness is because we haven't needed them in recent seasons or this season so far, and the reduction in permanent staff since 2008.
There are no computers on the right side as you look at it and the casual staff selling there can't use them anyway.
In addition, because it fronts the road, which is open to vehicles, the police are very wary of queues from this ticket office.
We cannot put in any significant number of barriers to manage the queues, such as we have at the west. However, it is becoming difficult to manage the various west queues too. Unfortunately we are stuck with the windows and geography that we have.
I'm looking to get six or seven windows open in the north for Sheff United as a precaution but it's horses for courses. We won't need seven for Bury or Rochdale, for example.
Good problems to have in some ways, because they arise from greater demand, as well as the circumstances of the game, but it takes longer to cut than expand and the business case sometimes needs to be visible as well as theoretical.
Airman - I'm sure this is not a new idea but is a cash turnstile a possibility. Other clubs do it eg Orient and it so quick to hand over £50 for 2 tickets and be given 2 tickets.
All I was trying to do was upgrade a ticket, with cash, and it was literally like pulling teeth yesterday.
There is a severe lack of information provided to anyone wanting to buy or upgrade a ticket at street level.
None of the stewards know where the main ticket office is........even if it's not their job you would hope if there is an incident they would know major points around the ground?
Comments
Yeehah
Looked far more than Oldham game.
Queues for tickets before were very big....
Bear in mind that the north upper issue shifted people around and there were 2,200 empty seats in the Jimmy Seed stand for a start.
I have more pc's at home!
There are no computers on the right side as you look at it and the casual staff selling there can't use them anyway.
In addition, because it fronts the road, which is open to vehicles, the police are very wary of queues from this ticket office.
We cannot put in any significant number of barriers to manage the queues, such as we have at the west. However, it is becoming difficult to manage the various west queues too. Unfortunately we are stuck with the windows and geography that we have.
I'm looking to get six or seven windows open in the north for Sheff United as a precaution but it's horses for courses. We won't need seven for Bury or Rochdale, for example.
Good problems to have in some ways, because they arise from greater demand, as well as the circumstances of the game, but it takes longer to cut than expand and the business case sometimes needs to be visible as well as theoretical.
All I was trying to do was upgrade a ticket, with cash, and it was literally like pulling teeth yesterday.
There is a severe lack of information provided to anyone wanting to buy or upgrade a ticket at street level.
None of the stewards know where the main ticket office is........even if it's not their job you would hope if there is an incident they would know major points around the ground?