My supporters bus just elected its new executive, and people are looking forward to the season ahead. We still go to every home game, and that’s good, but it’s getting harder and harder to convince people that the modern supporters bus has viability.
The reason for this is simple; there are no longer buses running, with big numbers, to away games.
When I was younger, away games were what it was all about.
There were brilliant cities which I used to love to visit; Dundee was my favourite, and I retain great affection for the place to this day.
The team was brilliantly backed by the away support, and most of the places we went rolled out the red carpet for us, because we brought plenty of money to town.
All that has changed, utterly.
Nowadays we don’t get enough away match tickets to justify taking a bus to games. Only in Scotland would the governing bodies allow this to happen without putting their foot down and protecting supporters. Supporters buses are going to disappear.
The clubs have not backed them in the ways they should have, and now opposing clubs have cut the numbers they can get.
Even shared buses are rare now; when there are 700 tickets available to our fans there’s simply not enough of us, even if we’re collaborating, to get to matches.
We’ve got three tickets for Aberdeen. Three. That’s half a decent sized car. Even if three or four buses come together, even hiring a mini-bus looks like overkill. The away fan experience is being destroyed and nobody at the top of the game gives a damn.
Our new executive is keen and the guys are good at what they do.
They will give us stability and we’ll raise money for the home game transport and celebrate major events and give cash to charity and all the other stuff supporters buses do.
But going to away games is going to become so rare as to make it virtually unimaginable, except in the cup.
The current situation with the tickets cannot continue or whole parts of the football ecosystem in Scotland are going to die off.
It is a shocker that we don’t have minimum allocation rights here, it is shocking that clubs can take these short-sighted actions, when there are many thousands of supporters who want to go to away games and can’t.
Off topic here but the sevco klan members are going TONTO over on FF because FARE representative will be in the crowd tonight.
These DAFTIES are trying to argue the point why are they there,they are not needed.
An email was sent out by the klan klub warning the support about inappropriate songs being sung previously at the Hoffenheim game but for some reason the klan don’t get it.
Even the BIGOTS BIGOT Dark Mingwall has advised them to shut up tonight regarding their choice of songs.
Now had the SFA done their own job properly and stepped in to call the klan klub out,there would be no need for FARE to attend tonight.
They can’t say they have not been warned,because if they are struggling tonight,the banned songs are a cert to get BELTED out.
Agree with everything said here. I was brought up going to Celtic away games and it was brilliant. Going away to places like Aberdeen was more of a day out. Great camaraderie. The supporters clubs would organise Player of the Year dance’s etc.
They’re killing the grassroots element of football completely.
James,I think I’ve said this at least a couple of times on this blog,Celtic must refuse tickets to every ground that has cut our allocation to just a few hundred,imo the club’s that do this own fans that are allocated tickets next to where Celtic fans would be sitting won’t turn up ,because these clowns only turn up for a windup.
Very good point James.
I made the earlier point about the away communities losing out on probably hundreds of thousands £££££s…too.
I don’t see this situation as long term or sustainable. Cut off nose to spite face.
In the current financial climate a Sb for most is a luxury also.
Loved goin tae away games in my earlier years, Aberdeen bein the favourite, although of course, buses aren’t allowed tae stay until 1am now. Totally different times and it’s been eradicated decade by decade, year by year. Tho if ye were at a home game (in particular the jungle), the ‘fragrance’ was a mix of ‘fags, piss and bovril’ (sounds like a Pogues song). Even now, if ah had tae smell all three at once, ah’d get a lump in my throat.
Well it makes me think that when the Club at Ibrox cut our tickets to 700 they did not give it much thought their action has in my opinion has led to this scenario unintended or not.
We have asked for away tickets can’t get any and also we would like to travel on a supporters bus to away games however we doing know how to access them