They say that success always comes at a price and Leeds chairman Andrea Radrizzani is finding that out as he faces a backlash from the club’s loyal members after thousands missed out on tickets for the first home game of the season against Everton. Tickets for the match a week on Saturday went on sale at 1pm on Tuesday and thousands of Leeds United members sat in online queues for over two hours only for the match to be sold out by the time they gained access to the ticket portal.
It has resulted in no end of complaints from the Whites fans on social media with hundreds of tickets now on third party websites and priced at almost £200. It has left many questioning why the club have failed to place a limit on the number of memberships sold with thousands renewing on the false pretense it would bag them a ticket. That however is now the case with membership and season ticket sales reaching almost double the capacity of Elland Road following a surge in new members.
It is particularly disappointing for the fans who have held a membership for a number of years, with no loyalty scheme in place for supporters that have continuously renewed since the Championship and League 1 days. This has allowed ‘bandwagon’ supporters to purchase a membership prior to the season therefore giving them an equal shot at grabbing a matchday ticket.
Unsurprisingly it has caused a stir online with Radrizzani’s latest tweet condemning third party websites prompting fans to voice their opinions on the current ticketing scheme. The replies to the Leeds chairman were pretty damning with hundreds questioning why he and the club have sold so many new memberships without implementing a loyalty tracker system.
https://twitter.com/firthlufc/status/1425406145490001921
@andrearadri not just that but fans who have been members for years and even in the bad times should get priority over fans who got memberships for the first time last week etc! I was online for 90 mins and when I did get to checkout it wouldn’t let me have the tickets!! #mot
— AireValleyDecorating (@Airevalleydecor) August 11, 2021
https://twitter.com/firthlufc/status/1425407364254085120
https://twitter.com/LozzaOfficial/status/1425411632394604547
Memberships should have been limited. Half the people that got tickets probably hadn't heard of leeds 2 years ago.
— 💎👑 (@StandUpCruz) August 11, 2021
Your money man Angus is to blame. Doesn’t care about the loyal fans. Sooner you get rid, the faster these problems are solved.
— Tj (@LufcTj93) August 11, 2021
Waited 1 hour 50 for an Everton ticket then got a sold out. Even though I have got a membership
— andy gatenby (@andygatenby20) August 11, 2021
Should have a cut off for renewals / new applications then after that it’s tough shit, you shouldn’t have the choice now to just buy a membership with your tkt. Then before queueing you should have to login first. I know it still won’t guarantee a tkt but might be bit better
— Gav_8489 (@Gav8489) August 11, 2021
Club should’ve capped them or at least put in a loyalty scheme where length of membership comes into play
— JM (@jxshmaddison) August 11, 2021
Should of stuck with renewals for existing members instead of opening up a free for all with no cap on numbers. You don’t make many mistakes but this is a big one and you need to sort
— JDM (@SirBigJon) August 11, 2021
Cancel all memberships taken out this season. Give the revenue back.
Put them on a membership waiting list for after ground expansion.
— Gary James 🏆🏆🏆 (@thesexychoc69) August 11, 2021
There should be a membership loyalty band that gives priority for an hour over the new members, 1hr 45 queue to find it’s sold out, been a member for 10 years (inc last year) paid for waiting list for ST without success and now can’t get tickets at all!! Needs looking at!!
— Ian Smith (@wolfeysmith) August 11, 2021
Whilst you’re at it work on a better website, better ticket office and a better way to prioritise fans for tickets who were also watching us get spanked 4-0 at home by Huddersfield and finishing 15th in the championship
— Muz (@muzlaaaaa) August 11, 2021
Should have put a cap on new members, and away ticket policy should have been left alone for this season, people working their way up the loyalty tracker have been thrown back off now
— Rav (@RavLufc) August 11, 2021
