Pompey News

March 2008 - Posts

• Is there anyone to blame over FA Cup ticket sales?

  Pompey fans are going to Wembley Lets face it no matter how the tickets were allocated and distributed someone would be unhappy and a lot of people are so who if anyone is to blame? The Fans Most fans have been more than patient, running up large phone bills and ended up pulling out hair trying to support their team, however there do seem to be some bad apples who may of obtained more than they should have done and some seem to be wanting to make a profit out of the shortages of tickets but these are a very small minority and overall all they have wanted to do is see their team at Wembley. Ticket Master This may be a bit controversial but I think Ticket Master have done a good job after all they have sold over 30 thousand tickets in a matter of days, ok the phone number fans were given were clogged solid however if you knew alternative phone numbers most people I have spoken too got through fairly quickly and the whole process was reasonably painless.  So its clear that Ticket Master had the capacity to handle this event it was just the dedicated club line that causing a large number of issues.  The postage and handling charges could have been less especially as there were no collections or ticket office sales but these werent completely unreasonable although did come as a surprise to some. The only parts I have heard that was a bit shambolic was the online offering in phase 4 with no-one really knowing what to put in for the “Client reference number” including it seemed Ticket Master themselves and the availablity of the different types of ticket (£55, £45 and £25) in Phase 1 being a bit hit and miss. The Club Where do we start here, the club has put out conflicting, misleading and plain wrong information, changing the goal posts, especially with the original statement that any unsold tickets will go into the general sale pot only to announce later unsold tickets from Phase 1 will go on sale again to season ticket holders only giving season ticket holders the chance to buy 5 tickets (1 in phase 1, 2 in phase 2 and another 2 in remainder of phase 1), yes the club has asked for season ticket holders who already have Wembley tickets not to apply but doesn't seem to be actually stopping them.  Also had the club advertised other numbers to call and buy tickets on perhaps some of the carnage on the phones this morning and other phases could have been avoided.   Even so by Pompey standards this has been quite sucessful although things could be improved. So what lessons can be learned?  • Put out accurate information and stick to it • Don’t use the lure of getting a ticket to fill games that may not have been sold out otherwise. • Publish alternate numbers for Ticket Master to avoid meltdown of the published one • Ensure people who have played the system to get extra tickets cannot do so again Overall I think Pompey have allocated the tickets pretty fairly and yes caused heartache for many but that was always going to happen, and if we progress to the final the club will have a chance to iron out the issues with the process. RSS Subscribe |  Del.icio.us | Digg It |  Reddit |  Technorati Posted Mar 27 2008, 12:02 PM by JenniP with no comments Filed under: FA Cup, Tickets

• FA Cup Semi Ticket Phase 4 a sell out

  The Portsmouth Ticket Master line is now reporting that the FA Cup Semi Final against West Brom has now sold out.  Although the website for members is saying there are still single seats available. I hope if you were trying you managed to get some before they all went, if so see you there. This means Pompey are very close to selling out their entire allocation with only the unsold Season Ticket and Club Wembley seats going on sale to Season Ticket holders next week. RSS Subscribe |  Del.icio.us | Digg It |  Reddit |  Technorati Posted Mar 27 2008, 08:24 AM by JenniP with no comments Filed under: FA Cup, Tickets

• We survived phone hell.....and have tickets

  After 1 and a half hours of phone hell trying the published Ticket Master number for Portsmouth FA Cup Semi final tickets we did a bit digging and found some alternate numbers that may help. The number I got through on was 0161 385 3211, this number may be for West Brom fans but you CAN buy Portsmouth end tickets.  Took me 5 minutes of trying this number rather than the 0844 one published. Process takes awhile, and gives threats of cancelling tickets if your not on the Portsmouth ticket database (Lets hope they updated my address details) but it works. Hope you can get through and join us and the rest of the lucky Blue Army at Wembley. RSS Subscribe |  Del.icio.us | Digg It |  Reddit |  Technorati Posted Mar 27 2008, 07:48 AM by JenniP with 2 comment(s) Filed under: FA Cup, Tickets, Wembley

• Just what does Defoe have to do to get into an England squad?

  Following the Villa game it looked so bright for Pompey striker Jermain Defoe, scoring a amazing goal against Villa with the England manager watching getting a place in the provisional England squad and looking forward to proving his worth against his Spurs today. FA rules stopped Defoe playing against Spurs today and now Defoe has been left out of the full squad to face France midweek. Since joining in a complex deal at the end of the January transfer window Defoe has been in electric form scoring 6 goals in 6 games, leaving the England front line of Owen, Rooney, Crouch and Walcott a group that often doesn't have 6 goals between them in 6 games. On the positive side for Pompey goalkeeper David James and defender Glen Johnson have made it into the final squad and hopefully Capello will give Johnson his chance to shine. Full England Squad Goalkeepers: David James (Portsmouth), Paul Robinson (Tottenham Hotspur), Chris Kirkland (Wigan Athletic) Defenders: Wayne Bridge (Chelsea), Wes Brown (Manchester United), Ashley Cole (Chelsea), Rio Ferdinand (Manchester United), Glen Johnson (Portsmouth), Joleon Lescott (Everton), John Terry (Chelsea), Jonathan Woodgate (Tottenham Hotspur) Midfielders: Steven Gerrard (Liverpool), Gareth Barry (Aston Villa), Owen Hargreaves (Manchester United), Joe Cole (Chelsea), David Bentley (Blackburn Rovers), Frank Lampard (Chelsea), David Beckham (LA Galaxy), Stewart Downing (Middlesbrough) Forwards: Michael Owen (Newcastle United), Wayne Rooney, (Manchester United), Peter Crouch (Liverpool), Theo Walcott (Arsenal) RSS Subscribe |  Del.icio.us | Digg It |  Reddit |  Technorati Posted Mar 22 2008, 09:37 PM by JenniP with 4 comment(s) Filed under: England, Jermain Defoe