LOL...ITFC you really have no commercial acumen....no turnstile sales?
Talk about depriving yourself of additional income, it's hardly going to be a sell-out is it!

Assume that this is because Villa have sold out and their fans are likely to buy in the home end rather than a clamour for tickets after Friday night

why not just give villa fans more tickets, fill the ground make money!

Will lose out on some income I guess. Makes me laugh though how much he club over cooks things. Policing and advice for the Norwich game is another. So what if a few Villa fans buy tickets - doesn't necessarily mean trouble. Gives the stewards something to do for a change. I remember once for about 200 Cardiff fans we had road closures, police helicopters, etc. Always over react.

Will lose out on some income I guess. Makes me laugh though how much he club over cooks things. Policing and advice for the Norwich game is another. So what if a few Villa fans buy tickets - doesn't necessarily mean trouble. Gives the stewards something to do for a change. I remember once for about 200 Cardiff fans we had road closures, police helicopters, etc. Always over react.

you got that wrong again Delia, thus is great commercial acumen, as by making it all-ticket, those part time supporters who turn up on a whim when we are top of the league or the scum are visiting will buy tickets beforehand. Also others will see that and think a full stadium, good crowd I might miss out on something and also go and buy a ticket.

This just discourages the walk in fan and to me the decision is just ludicrous. I despair at this decision. We gave Norwich more tickets so why not Villa. We really do shoot ourselves in the foot.

It's a police/safety decision, not a business one.

You can buy tickets up until 1:30 on the day, so I can't see it affecting many unless people unless you decide to attend less than 90 minutes beforehand?!

StowTractorBoy - we didn't give Norwich more tickets. They have been given the same amount - 2,000

My step father is a Villa fan and he said they sold out their allocation a week and a half ago. So not sure why the delay in making it all ticket, if indeed the concern is about their fans buying tickets in home areas.

ChicagoBlue - sometimes due to club & the police seeing more talk of fans trying to buy in home areas on forums and social media. So if some fans kept their mouths shut....
However, i'm sure our game at Wolves recently was all ticket and we sold about 400 so sometimes logic isn't there

Gazza360, are you

Sorry, gazza360, are you going to express any thoughts, or just mark down others' comments only? You even disagreed with the fact stated about the 2000 allocation!

Have zero sympathy for any Villa fans moaning here after they gave us 3000 then sold tickets in areas making it impossible for us to get 6000 which we would have sold in the fa cup 2-1 loss. I ended up going in the home end for that along with plenty of town fans around me.

As per other posts, will be down to policing and keeping policing costs down.

Botham1981....are you a part-time comedian or just delusional?

ITFC top of the league...that would be nice, unfortunately Pie-in-the-Sky under the current regime.

Depriving yourself of income by any source coupled with your ridiculous view on part-time supporters makes a mockery of your argument against poor commercial acumen?

I nearly had a severe beating from Villa fans 20 years ago. Stewards and police acted wisely and saved a number of us.
If this keeps me and my son safe then I am not going to argue with the decision.

Some villa fans are bad lads and you definitely would not want them in the home family areas as thet may steal kids sweets.

Delia - i think of myself as full-time comedian, but most of my family seem to share your view - about as part -time as our flashes of flowing football.

25000 at Norwich, 15000 at Preston, enough said

Makes sense to give villa more tickets and Newcastle when they come but it will upset season tkt holders who are so set in their ways that if they had to move for 1 game there would be uproar ...

Currie10, I sat with the home fans too.

Thanks for letting us know about availability up to 13.30hrs. I'll take the police's advice. For most of us going to the match is a planned spend these days. .

Sadly the days when you could go to Portman Rd as a kid on your own, like I did, get in with pocket money whether your mum knows or not, and all at your own risk have long gone. The risk of coming across thugs masquerading as football supporters, sadly, has not.

Why? This is going to kill the crowd.

MaySixth - how is it going to kill the crowd?

Do we have thousands deciding to go after 13:30 on Saturday?

Villa got 2000, one of my mates supports them...we both live in the North East....he had resigned himself to not going but has been able to get a returned ticket. They could easily have brough 3000 plus. We wrote to the club just to find out the score and they would not allocate them the bottom section.

I think, above all else, ME is not that bothered about income and that using the club for other purposes is perhaps the ultimate goal for his organisation.