Man City (A) players' gesture

[Behindu]

Nothing wrong with the thread per se !

It's a bit of a cheek saying the players should have offered more IMHO but that is just MHO !

I also don't think it's unreasonable for the comment to be made that there is an inevitable response from some RFC fans to ANYTHING - they find something to moan about !

Doesn;t mean sometimes it isn't valid to moan, I'm not convincesd this is one of those times. It's a gesture, no one has ctually sat down and calcualted what it might cost to either thank fans or get more of them to tracel (I suspect). But it still gets looked at by some as being 'unfair', or 'elitest'. It's a gesture, as I've said I will be at City, I won;t benefit from the offer directly but I will take it as aimed at EVERY fan who makes the journey symbolically. My preference would be for no cash to be laid out but 3 points to be supplied - I'm sure most of us would trade a tenner for 3 points !

[Blue Heart]

Every Reading fan can choose to join STAR at any moment, if you've chosen not to and don't get the discounted travel then so be it.

Is the STAR membership fee being waived for this game?
If not then if the money was to go to all Non-STAR members, then two thirds of it will actually get diverted to STAR. No wonder they are happy to promote this.

Maybe Ive missed this in this thread, but this offer would be available to the "vast majority of fans" if you could book this coach ticket without STAR membership. Otherwise, its merely a five pound off - and you have to ponder whether travelling on a coach to City is worth only 5 pounds.

There will never be a perfect solution to a situation like this, what might seem fair or reasonable to some, is considered unfair/ unreasonable by others. It is in many respects a no win situation, a sort of damned if you do and damned if you don't scenario.

As to the point about STAR membership being waived, the 2000 + signed up STAR members might have something to say about that. STAR is a members club it has to be for insurance purposes, therefore if you want to travel you have to be a member of STAR. Joining a club is not everyones cup of tea, that is their choice, we offer a service some choose to join others do not it's a simple as that.

[Royal Lady]

How many fans do we reckon we'll be taking? No more than 2k I'd have thought. I wonder if it would have been possible to give everyone buying a ticket through the club a voucher with £1.50 off the price of a drink in the ground or off the price of a burger or something? That would have benefited everyone who attended, irrespective of where they lived and how they travelled to get there.

[Kes]

Its probably already been mentioned but why don't the club subsidise the ticket prices instead of travel? That way everyone benefits.

[Royal Lady]

Its probably already been mentioned but why don't the club subsidise the ticket prices instead of travel? That way everyone benefits.

[The 17 Bus]

would be amazed if we took 2000, it is £7 dearer than blackburn, and we took about 800 to that game.

[The 17 Bus]

This does give an insite into the cost of the coaches as well, cant be arsed to do the maths exactly, but for the run to Manchester it works out at around £1000 per coach, and that is without the STAR subsidy, how much that is I have no idea, and dont think is for discussion.

TBF STAR does not necessarily subsidise coach travel as it depends on how full the coach is - a full one should not need subsidy but a half empty one does.

and I am not telling where the tipping point between these 2 are as each journey is different as we keep prices to multiples of £5 to keep the giving of change straightforward

Sorry I assumed the following quote taken from the STAR site meant what it said.

Away Travel: STAR runs subsidised coaches to all away games, exclusively for STAR members.

Ta for clearing that one up.

[rob the royal]

Nothing wrong with the thread per se !

It's a bit of a cheek saying the players should have offered more IMHO but that is just MHO !

I also don't think it's unreasonable for the comment to be made that there is an inevitable response from some RFC fans to ANYTHING - they find something to moan about !

Doesn;t mean sometimes it isn't valid to moan, I'm not convincesd this is one of those times. It's a gesture, no one has ctually sat down and calcualted what it might cost to either thank fans or get more of them to tracel (I suspect). But it still gets looked at by some as being 'unfair', or 'elitest'.

but that's the thing, i don't think most people hear are 'moaning' about it, they're just saying it could have been done differently and that maybe it might have been better to have something that encourages more to go than just to thank those who already do.

[Royal Lady]

would be amazed if we took 2000, it is £7 dearer than blackburn, and we took about 800 to that game.

In that case, those attending would receive a voucher for a higher amount to exchange for food or drink then!

[The 17 Bus]

would be amazed if we took 2000, it is £7 dearer than blackburn, and we took about 800 to that game.

In that case, those attending would receive a voucher for a higher amount to exchange for food or drink then!

you just fancy two free pies

[Behindu]

Providing food vouchers would only benefit those who eat football stadium food.
The vast majority wouldn't have any use for them....

[STAR Liaison]

Sorry I assumed the following quote taken from the STAR site meant what it said.

It is not untrue as I believe the disabled coach is always subsidised as we charge the same as for the other coaches and it can only take 4 wheelchairs and a few helpers so is alwys more expensive per head.

[spin mode on] It does not say every trip is subsidised [/spin mode off]

[Stranded]

Providing food vouchers would only benefit those who eat football stadium food.
The vast majority wouldn't have any use for them....

Also by giving out food vouchers the players might as well hand the £5k direct to Man City and cut out the middleman.

[Behindu]

Sorry I assumed the following quote taken from the STAR site meant what it said.

It is not untrue as I believe the disabled coach is always subsidised as we charge the same as for the other coaches and it can only take 4 wheelchairs and a few helpers so is alwys more expensive per head.

2 wheelchairs and 5 or 6 ambulant disabled or helpers.

I would think STAR techncially subsidise every coach as the coaches have to be ordered in advance and there is never a guarantee that a coach will reach the tipping point where a subsidy is not needed. So until the tickets are sold STAR is underwriting the cost (which is a subsidy).

[The 17 Bus]

This spin is getting worse

[Huntley & Palmer]

I'm surprised the club doesn't realise that we just have a small away following in the first place, last year was a freak season where everyone wanted to see us at as many Premiership games as possible. Bar the London games, I can't envisage any away game getting near the amount of supporters as last season. Taking into consideration the current away form, it's a great gesture from the players but I just find it quite ironic that they are coughing money for a scenario that they themselves has put the club in.

[Whore Jackie]

Indeed. It's almost as if they lost the Fulham game deliberately

[The 17 Bus]

Indeed. It's almost as if they lost the Fulham game deliberately

They seemed to at Blackburn too.

[Royal Lady]

Providing food vouchers would only benefit those who eat football stadium food.
The vast majority wouldn't have any use for them....

Also by giving out food vouchers the players might as well hand the £5k direct to Man City and cut out the middleman.

Unlike handing it directly to Horseman coaches or whoever STAR use now you mean? I would have thought giving a voucher for food or drink or whatever would have benefitted EVERY single AWAY fan attending the match. I rarely eat the food at an Away game, but I wouldn't say no to a free coffee or something.

[Dirk Gently]

But when deciding whether or not to go to an away match, no-one has the decision point "Can I afford a cup of coffee when I get there?"

But it's quite conceivable that for some people the decision point is "Can I afford to get there?" So the way this is being done may well get more people there than giving everyone a small reward might have done.