Birmingham Away Sold Out.

[TIL 1010 4,773]

According to the website so it means they were all purchased by those who had purchased an away membership and were in Groups 1 to 3 as this morning it should have been open to season ticket holders.

Before you know who pokes his nose in under league rules the away allocation is 2,000 or 10% whichever is the lower and no prizes for guessing which we got. The reason being because the demand amongst home fans was thought in advance by Brum to be significant.

[lk94ncfc 0]

Shame there will be nothing on the game most likely. 

[GJL Mid-Norfolk Canary 1,791]

4 minutes ago, lk94ncfc said:

Shame there will be nothing on the game most likely. 

Hope thats the case for us...there quite likely would be for Birmingham

[Well b back 3,248]

Worth every Penny of my £25 @essex canary but will be even more useful for the playoff semifinal should we qualify.

[ZLF 274]

How many tickets did the club ask for?

[A Load of Squit 5,190]

34 minutes ago, ZLF said:

How many tickets did the club ask for?

The OP says that we were offered the minimum possible as there was significant demand from home supporters.

[essex canary 497]

Previous internet enquiries suggested that 4,500 was possible at Birmingham. The skinflints who value the £25 club over and above the £535 plus most expensive season ticket in the Championship wouldn't ask for it if there is a risk it would cost them tuppence halfpenny which is why as one of the more prominent shareholders I play them at their own game.  

[essex canary 497]

11 minutes ago, A Load of Squit said:

The OP says that we were offered the minimum possible as there was significant demand from home supporters.

Manufactured demand in the sense that Birmingham have classified it as a Category B match complete with a family and friends offer to make it cheaper for home fans. At least unlike some we can't accuse them of acting as skinflints to their own fans.

[dylanisabaddog 4,953]

2 hours ago, lk94ncfc said:

Shame there will be nothing on the game most likely. 

Hopefully. In fact if things go to plan we will probably be putting out a reserve team. 

[ZLF 274]

So the away allocation could be up to 2900, or 2000 due to home demand but as a club as at Preston for example we could also chose to take fewer;   reading between the lines I'm assuming it's 2000 but it's not clear tbh.

Brum so far have only had 25k+ attendances twice so car this season.

[Commonsense 631]

1 minute ago, ZLF said:

So the away allocation could be up to 2900, or 2000 due to home demand but as a club as at Preston for example we could also chose to take fewer;   reading between the lines I'm assuming it's 2000 but it's not clear tbh.

Brum so far have only had 25k+ attendances twice so car this season.

I don’t think we get to choose, the home club do. For example at Carrow Road we seem to have cut our away capacity from about 2,500 to 2,000, the minimum allowed, even for those clubs who would have sold more. Preston let us have whatever we wanted as the didn’t use any part of the stand for home fans.

[TIL 1010 4,773]

57 minutes ago, ZLF said:

How many tickets did the club ask for?

It was not a case of how many we asked for but a case of how many Brum were prepared to give and it was the minimum in this case under league rules which was 2,000 because of anticipated home demand. 

[......and Smith must score. 1,349]

8 minutes ago, essex canary said:

Previous internet enquiries suggested that 4,500 was possible at Birmingham. The skinflints who value the £25 club over and above the £535 plus most expensive season ticket in the Championship wouldn't ask for it if there is a risk it would cost them tuppence halfpenny which is why as one of the more prominent shareholders I play them at their own game.  

Have you ever looked in the mirror and said to yourself, “ Hey Kevin old chap, all this hand wringing, gnashing of teeth and sleepless nights I suffer over my 24/7 vendetta against Norwich City Football Club is probably not going to lengthen my life “.

You’ve gone down the Ombudsman route, they’ve ruled against you. The football club will wait until hell freezes over before they appease you any further so why not forget about all this “ it is the principle “ stubbornness and, if you must, redirect that energy into tackling other perceived injustices in your life.

 

[essex canary 497]

17 minutes ago, dylanisabaddog said:

Hopefully. In fact if things go to plan we will probably be putting out a reserve team. 

Whether that would be good preparation for a play off semi is a moot point.

[Greavsy 2,418]

18 minutes ago, essex canary said:

Whether that would be good preparation for a play off semi is a moot point.

It really isnt. 

Edited April 18 by Greavsy

[dylanisabaddog 4,953]

1 hour ago, essex canary said:

Whether that would be good preparation for a play off semi is a moot point.

There are various ways of looking at it. It's a good warm up for a possible play off game but - 

Everyone is going to be trying to ensure they don't get injured. Players who are trying not to get hurt sometimes manage to do just that. 

The only way to ensure no one gets injured is not to play them. James Maddison springs to mind. 

There are 4 or 5 players we simply can't do without so they really shouldn't be risked. Top of the list is Sargent who should be sitting at home with his feet up. 

[Mason 47 1,388]

10 minutes ago, dylanisabaddog said:

Everyone is going to be trying to ensure they don't get injured. Players who are trying not to get hurt sometimes manage to do just that. 

Kenny McLean vs Barnsley on the final day of the season several years ago springs to mind as a cautionary tale. Halved by Helik in a nothing game, missed out on Scotland squad for the Euros as a result.

[Peregrine Shorts 324]

i heard that some of the tickets were held back by the club because Zoe was treating the Associate Directors to a day out

[Highland Canary 76]

Hopefully the apparent increased interest in attending away games will continue next season and begin to restore the declining number travelling compared to our peers.

[A Load of Squit 5,190]

24 minutes ago, Peregrine Shorts said:

i heard that some of the tickets were held back by the club because Zoe was treating the Associate Directors to a day out

I've already had my email from Zoe, I've got a ticket for me and my children.

[Peregrine Shorts 324]

Just now, A Load of Squit said:

I've already had my email from Zoe, I've got a ticket for me and my children.

is it just this game or for your life every time we play Birmingham away?

[essex canary 497]

44 minutes ago, Peregrine Shorts said:

i heard that some of the tickets were held back by the club because Zoe was treating the Associate Directors to a day out

Anything is possible. Don't put your mortgage on it unless confident.

[essex canary 497]

1 hour ago, dylanisabaddog said:

There are various ways of looking at it. It's a good warm up for a possible play off game but - 

Everyone is going to be trying to ensure they don't get injured. Players who are trying not to get hurt sometimes manage to do just that. 

The only way to ensure no one gets injured is not to play them. James Maddison springs to mind. 

There are 4 or 5 players we simply can't do without so they really shouldn't be risked. Top of the list is Sargent who should be sitting at home with his feet up. 

Indeed. Trade off of injury risk v momentum. Wagner's call. Maybe why he is referring to the thin squad which was doubtless Knapper's call in difficult circumstances. No failures on their part just that boom and bust cycles can ripple for a long time so best avoided.

[shefcanary 2,435]

2 hours ago, dylanisabaddog said:

... we will probably be putting out a reserve team. 

I just thought I'd lay out why pursuing this would be a difficult thing to do.

There is a risk in that unless Brum are also "safe" from relegation at that point. If there is a possibility they could get relegated and we put out a "weakened" team and thus give Brum a potential "advantage" over other teams facing relegation, we could land up with a financial penalty or even risk a points deduction (although I think I am right in saying that this would be in a future season not this one because of the subjectivity over what is a "weakened" team).

We have 22 players you could deem as "experienced" in our squad (at some point having started a game this season). Gibbs and Dimi are unlikely to be fit until next season, and Onel, Hanley and Lungi have not made a squad in a month.  If those latter three are fit, then sure, you could rest six of last week's starting line up without being deemed to start with a "weakened" team. However if any of them 3 do not make it back then the number of players you can rest reduces further to avoid such an accusation. This is where I think Wagner may have scored an own goal in not bringing players like Aboh and Welch on more often in recent weeks to prove they are truly part of our squad. With wholesale changes there would also be a change to the tactical set up as well which could undermine continuity. Finally there would also be a more than two week break between Swansea and the first leg of a play-off, after a long season a player could go stale in that time.

The balance between keeping players sharp and fit and avoiding injuries is a difficult one to tread, so is avoiding the wrath of other clubs and the EFL.

[Bobzilla 150]

5 hours ago, dylanisabaddog said:

Hopefully. In fact if things go to plan we will probably be putting out a reserve team. 

Sydney!!!!

[Bobzilla 150]

Good job I got in early.  I'm an away member but without a great purchase history, but I was in there at 9.30 on Wednesday renewing memberships at the same time.  Glad to have got in, and hopefully payback for Coventry and West Brom earlier in the season.

[essex canary 497]

16 minutes ago, Bobzilla said:

Good job I got in early.  I'm an away member but without a great purchase history, but I was in there at 9.30 on Wednesday renewing memberships at the same time.  Glad to have got in, and hopefully payback for Coventry and West Brom earlier in the season.

You will be helping the Club's Green Strategy which is more than can be said for the frequent flyers.

[Robert N. LiM 4,429]

3 hours ago, shefcanary said:

There is a risk in that unless Brum are also "safe" from relegation at that point. If there is a possibility they could get relegated and we put out a "weakened" team and thus give Brum a potential "advantage" over other teams facing relegation, we could land up with a financial penalty or even risk a points deduction (although I think I am right in saying that this would be in a future season not this one because of the subjectivity over what is a "weakened" team).

I know that this is old-fashioned, but it would also just be wrong, as the anger at Everton's behaviour in 1985 (almost 40 years ago) makes clear.

[Well b back 3,248]

Brum so far have only had 25k+ attendances twice so car this season.
 

Recent as for most of the season large parts of the ground have been closed due to safety concerns in the lower tiers.

[dylanisabaddog 4,953]

12 hours ago, shefcanary said:

I just thought I'd lay out why pursuing this would be a difficult thing to do.

There is a risk in that unless Brum are also "safe" from relegation at that point. If there is a possibility they could get relegated and we put out a "weakened" team and thus give Brum a potential "advantage" over other teams facing relegation, we could land up with a financial penalty or even risk a points deduction (although I think I am right in saying that this would be in a future season not this one because of the subjectivity over what is a "weakened" team).

We have 22 players you could deem as "experienced" in our squad (at some point having started a game this season). Gibbs and Dimi are unlikely to be fit until next season, and Onel, Hanley and Lungi have not made a squad in a month.  If those latter three are fit, then sure, you could rest six of last week's starting line up without being deemed to start with a "weakened" team. However if any of them 3 do not make it back then the number of players you can rest reduces further to avoid such an accusation. This is where I think Wagner may have scored an own goal in not bringing players like Aboh and Welch on more often in recent weeks to prove they are truly part of our squad. With wholesale changes there would also be a change to the tactical set up as well which could undermine continuity. Finally there would also be a more than two week break between Swansea and the first leg of a play-off, after a long season a player could go stale in that time.

The balance between keeping players sharp and fit and avoiding injuries is a difficult one to tread, so is avoiding the wrath of other clubs and the EFL.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/2018/02/22/efl-introduce-new-rules-stop-teams-playing-weakened-sides/

We simply need to include 10 outfield players in the 18 who played the game before. So 6 on the bench along with starting the back 4 is OK. 

I'm sure Josh will be rested but I'd also definitely not play Sainz. He is fouled constantly and is also a red card risk. 

Edited April 19 by dylanisabaddog