Cod Almighty | Diary

Escaping the plastic desert

3 August 2023

Middle-Aged Diary is probably fairly representative of the new wave of people buying season tickets: we have enough disposable income to be able to buy one even though we may not get to enough games to justify it financially. We get them to support the club; because we worry that we won't get seats when we do want them; and we want the kudos of being able to sign off letters to the Grimsby Telegraph with "season ticket holder for [however many] years". It's a post script which makes your argument irrefutable, even if that argument was to bring back Russell Slade.

How will the new incentives to release our seats land with us? Reminders will probably be more effective than the possibility of financial reward, though I recommend that they come with an opt-out for the fans who do attend every match and don't want fortnightly spam. The prospect of a discount on next season's ticket is good, but probably not enough to stop me offering my seat to a workmate, the father of a friend, and an ex-Townaholic who is showing welcome signs of a relapse, only releasing it if none of them want it.

What always tipped me into taking action last season was the fear that I might be part of an army of ghosts, visible in our seats only to the club accountants, a graveyard of plastic to everyone else. What is great about the new scheme is the evidence of thought: the club is taking steps to maximise what is possible within the capacity of Blundell Park, both to maintain its income and the match-day atmosphere.