I wanted to take my dad and brother-in-law to the Tottenham home game on Boxing Day.
I naively assumed that, as in previous seasons, as a LCFC Season Card holder for the past six years, I would be able to purchase some tickets. That's not the case.
There's a priority system for buying home tickets and season ticket holders are bottom of that list. Tickets were due to go on sale in mid-October, but I could not buy mine until December 1 – if any were left.
My seat – I pay £850 for a Season Card each year – is in the Fosse Club area. Three seats from me is one of the few regularly empty seats in the ground. I was hoping to get hold of that seat and that if any tickets were left, they would be in there, due to the cost of standalone tickets (£55 per seat last season).
I was put through to hospitality and told any remaining tickets (i.e. any tickets not renewed by season ticket holders from last season and all other empty seats) in the Fosse Club area had been taken by the hospitality team and that Tottenham tickets were available immediately – at a price of £250 per ticket.
So, to take my father and brother-in-law to the game I would need to fork out £500? Yes, I was told, but it does include a padded seat (I get one of those), complimentary programme (ditto), free tea and coffee (ditto) and a carvery before the game. As a vegetarian, the carvery isn't much use. However, I wouldn't qualify for the meal anyway, but I could upgrade for a mere £75.
So to guarantee two places for the Boxing Day match, I need to find £575, plus the price of my ticket, which works out at £44.74 per game.
That's a total of £619.74, plus the price of a beer or two – now £4 a pint in the Fosse Club.
Now, either it's a very lean Christmas for the children, or I needed to find another way. So I decided to purchase a Silver Fox membership, which would at least give me some chance of getting the tickets before they sold out. I paid £40.
I called the ticket line and was asked for the three membership numbers required to buy the tickets. I needed to have spent a further £80 on memberships for my family as well myself (one ticket per membership).
I'm not a miser. I don't mind paying a premium to see top class football against famous opposition.
However, multiple levels of membership, releasing tickets at arbitrary points in the season and showing no respect to the most loyal fans is wrong and contrary to the spirit of being a member of any club.
There is an argument the membership scheme allows those supporters who cannot afford a season ticket to get access to some games each season for a small fee.
However, if this is the purpose, then why, as a season ticket holder, am I allowed to buy a membership at all? Surely I shouldn't be allowed the same purchasing power to access additional home tickets at the same time as the non-season ticket holders?
What happened to queuing at the ticket office? In those days, if you wanted a ticket badly enough, you camped out. It was democratic and allowed fair access to tickets. I know, I've done it.
I'm not going to pay for additional memberships, that's for sure. I'll take my chances and risk my father's Christmas gift in the process.
I'm not going to throw away my Season Card, instead I'll see out the season and hope we get relegated so things can go back to the way they were for next season.
PS: On Monday, the tickets became available. I called straight away, sat on hold for half an hour and when I got through was told that only single tickets were available and if I wanted three tickets I would have to have one in SK1, one in the West Stand and one in C Block. Brilliant! I'm going to investigate sitting in the away end.
Mat Mabe, Western Park.