United vows ticket hitch will be solved

Aug 19 2008 by Sam Wood, The Journal

NEWCASTLE United last night assured season ticket holders they would be at the first home game of the season.

Thousands of St James’s regulars are anxious about Saturday’s match against Bolton after the club said “technical difficulties” had delayed the process of sending out tickets.

Dozens of worried supporters have contacted The Journal by phone and email after failing to get their passes.

But a club spokesman said tickets were currently being posted and that anyone who did not receive them before Saturday would still be able to get into the game.

Kathryn Adams, 45, of Neuchâtel in Switzerland, is still waiting for her ticket to arrive. She is flying to England on Thursday and does not believe the ticket will be with her by then.

She said: “The season ticket has been in our family for years, I inherited it from my grandfather. I’ve lived out here for seven years and the ticket has always got to me on time in the past.

“The club’s staff have been as helpful as they can be and hopefully my ticket can be used anyway, but this should not have happened in the first place.

“At the end of last season the club said things would be more professional, with better ticket operations and more contact with supporters. That looks like a bit of a joke now.”

Another fan, Ian Robertson, 69, of Ridgely Close, Ponteland, said the club had not responded to his concerns.

He said: “We have been completely left in the dark about these tickets. The club took our money for tickets for my wife and me, over £1,000, in June and still we haven’t had these tickets. They should have been with us in July.

“It is all very well putting messages on the website, but not all supporters have access to the internet. I’ve tried to contact the club several times but have had no response. I’ve been going to matches since 1968 and have sat in the East Stand every single year since it was built.

“Lots of my friends are season ticket holders and none of them are happy about the way the club has dealt with this.

“I just feel completely exasperated by the situation – the club isn’t treating its supporters correctly.”

The club has released a statement on its website which says supporters should receive tickets by the middle of this week. The statement says: “We have experienced technical difficulties in the printing and distribution of this year’s season tickets and as a result there has been a delay in sending season tickets out to supporters.

“We appreciate that the late delivery of season tickets has caused inconvenience for some supporters and we would like to apologise for any difficulties this may have caused.”

A spokesman for the club refused to reveal what the technical difficulties were and said tickets were being sent out “as we speak”.

The club has guaranteed that anyone who has bought a season ticket but does not receive it in time for Saturday’s match will still be able to get in.

Any supporter who has not got their ticket by Thursday should contact the club’s box office on (0191) 261-1571.