It's hard to know what AFCB season ticket holders will be signing up to

There was no big fanfare, but the season ticket sales are open now for AFC Bournemouth fans. We know most of the fixtures and they will become even clearer once the play-offs reach their conclusion. While there are 46 games and cup games to come in 2020/21, the uncertainty as to how some games might have reduced capacity leaves AFCB offering ballot system for games and refunds aplenty for those who perhaps sign up and find they don't get to go to as many games as they'd hoped.

Stadiums might only be half full as matches resume in 2020-21.

Football has changed and it doesn't look to be for the better. Safety has to come first and that is going to make this another strange season. Much of what is going to be tested will be done for the first time and it makes me slightly anxious that AFCB are bringing out a new ticketing website, even if it is the same system being used by Everton and Brentford.

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It would have been equally entering the unknown if Bournemouth had stayed in the Premier League, but changing divisions is going to mean much more work for the staff at AFCB I  and that is for a staff that may well be smaller in numbers now. Costs are going to have to be cut sharply and there has to be a new blueprint for the club to be successful in the Championship.

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It is easy to see why other clubs dropping down to the Championship have found it difficult to adjust, and I am not sure if being a smaller club helps AFCB anymore, it could be worse. But I want to be positive and see the club thrive. We need to hear from good news between now and 12 September, when the season starts, and hopefully I can talk about that on Cherry Chimes.

Previous post on Cherry Chimes - what can AFCB fans take from Maxim Demin's statement?

Fancy watching football in your armchair for another 12 months?

It is 100 days since Premier League football has been suspended, but it's back today. It might be just beginning to dawn on people that the way the Premier League is restarting could be the only way fans will be able to see football over the next year. If we don't get a vaccine for COVID-19, and restrictions are not relaxed for mass gatherings, the 2020-21 season is likely to held behind closed doors, if at all in some of the lower leagues.

Getting up close and personal to players will be possible only from the armchair for the foreseeable future.

This could mean season ticket holders having to wait another year before they could get their booked seat for games, which would be a tremendous loss of income for clubs. For AFCB where the crowd is not so large, the season ticket issue may seem less significant than the TV money, but Bournemouth will only benefit from high TV revenues if they stay in the Premier League.

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While pubs and beer gardens are hoping to return next month, it is not clear how many people will be able to get into pubs with social distancing and watching games on SKY or BT in pubs might be a little more difficult than just rolling up to your local boozer. That means the armchair could be your best bet to keep in touch with the action whether by TV, streaming or radio.

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Whether football needs to look at new ways to get games available to the large amount of fans who won't have access to the coverage with the subscription TV companies is something we might hear about for the 2020-21 season. For now we will get to see a handful of free to air games, but reports on games are likely to be much more sought after as fans want to find out more about how individuals performed if they haven't seen the game with their own eyes.

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So while everyone is dashing  off the the shops this week, put one thing on your shopping list a very comfortable armchair  - you are unlikely to regret it.

Previous post on Cherry Chimes - A favourable reaction to new AFCB kit

Can't wait to get your hands on those AFCB tickets?

Well the season ticket prices have been announced on the Official AFCB club site today. I am not going to comment on the prices as every body's financial situation is different and while some will say they are having to pay too much some will say it is cheaper than I thought it would be. The club will try and be as fair as it can and yet they are a business and have to seek a return that they feel is value for money for the product which is now the best football that AFCB fans will have potentially seen at Dean Court.

This may be a one-off season or it could be just the start of something special. The club will be transformed no matter what even if there are no more bricks to increase the capacity. Every match will be like a cup final for the Cherries and the fans that are lucky enough to have a season ticket or get the opportunity to go to a few games during the season. 

It could be a bit busy at Dean Court next season and
 there will be a great buzz around the ground.

The club also says there is a cap of 7000 season tickets so there should be tickets to buy before each home game this upcoming season. While some will dismay that they cannot get to see the team at home often enough, why not keep saving so that you can afford a treat to some on the away games? Yes, season ticket holders will have first dabs on the away game tickets but the amount of tickets available to the club should be higher than was available in the Championship and there will be games when AFCB's allocation is not all taken up in 2015-16 at away games. There is also the cup games as well to consider.  

Getting inside Dean Court though will be a privilege next season and I hope that as many fans as possible get that opportunity.

Are you braced for those Premier League prices?

The celebrations have been wonderful and everyone now knows who AFCB are and what a journey the club has been on. Now it is time to have a look at where we are going! I had a little sneaky look at what was the cheapest Premier League season ticket at the start of the 2014-15 season just to work out what we would be sure to be looking at for a best case scenario at AFCB in 2015-16. The honour went to guess who? Man City at £299 according to the Telegraph's review that used Sporting intelligence data. Yet, the cheapest match ticket was at Leicester City where you could pick one up for £15 - bargain! If you looked at what the teams going up put their prices up by last year the biggest rise came at Burnley that saw an increase of 47 per cent. Leicester only put theirs up by three per cent and QPR by 14 per cent.

Demand will be high to watch the Cherries next season even with the added cost.

Rumours are that you may be looking at an additional £50 on your season ticket at AFCB (that would perhaps seem a low increase considering the economics - but nothing has been announced yet), but frankly whatever the price I would hope regular season ticket holders will do everything within their power to find whatever they have to just to get their rears seated at Dean Court for what will be such a special season. The mad rush will no doubt be for the current non-season ticket holders who will want to try and join the party, but how many new season ticket holders the club can create is not a question that has been put to them yet and it may not be many of the capacity of the ground is to stay the same at 11,700.

Paying to see some of the world's best players will soon become a normal occurrence on the south coast, but it won't just be the home games that you'll want to watch. The away matches will vary in price quite wildly depending on how other teams view AFC Bournemouth for those who categorise teams and for the most part as a category 'C' team, AFCB fans may be able to consider themselves pretty fortunate compared to those playing 'A' seeded rates. 

While some matches will just be too difficult for us to get to you'll need the backup of either visiting your local pub that has Sky and BT coverage on tap or you'll just have to find a way of getting your partner to agree to a subscription. Watching Gary Neville pull apart AFCB's magnificent back four is perhaps not something I am looking forward to, although any better understanding of what either went right or wrong on the day can only give the fan confirmation of what he or she has already seen for themselves. We'd better get used to the slow mo's though and the tactics board that will examine very closely what every player has done for his 90 minutes on the pitch.

While the cost of seeing AFCB won't be as affordable as it has been for the last few seasons, it is hoped that the match day experience is even better because of it. We'll still be twirling our scarfs and shouting at the referees, but for the next 38 league games at least we will have villages in Abuja, Doha, Las Vagas, Shanghai and New Delhi all looking over your shoulder with the perfect view of the game and even goal line technology to know if a goal has been scored perhaps before you can see it. 

At the moment it is hard to comprehend quite what impact next season will have on our beloved Cherries, but I hope that there are more positives than negatives for the fans. Will it be pricey? Yes, but I hope the club will do what it can to be one of the most competitively priced season tickets. Will you be well entertained? Oh, definitely! 

By the way, the Telegraph also did a report on 22 April on expected Premier League prices for 2015-16 although AFCB were not considered at the time of the article - prices were expected to be frozen or cut for some teams.

AFCB half season ticket sell out is no surprise

The pick up in half season ticket holders this year has been great to see. To think that I wondered how well the half season tickets would do when AFCB were finding it difficult to get a run going before the Capital One match against Cardiff. But things change quickly and the good run has seen all the half season season tickets quickly snapped up, even though they don't include a ticket for the fifth round of the Capital One Cup against Liverpool.

The need for a seat for the second half of the season 
has proved too tempting for many fans who usually by on the day.

At first I was surprised at the amount of interest in the half season tickets and then Michael Dunne of the All Departments' podcast pointed out to me that it would guarantee those supporters the chance of being offered a season ticket for next season, if they wanted to retain their seat. Of course that just might mean Premier League football - I know we might be getting ahead of ourselves here. Still that thought will have boosted ticket sales for the second half of this season and with a full house most weeks that should give a little more impetuous to the players to do even better if that is possible.

Thoughts about what the club is going to do over the summer regarding the stadium and crowd numbers is going to become a hot topic in the coming months, because another good cup run in the FA Cup holds the likelihood of another big tie at some point and very few seats to accommodate everyone. Whether the club can attract more home fans just with staying in the Championship is what may be giving the management a headache at the moment, as there is no knowing what clubs will go up yet. 

I think the South stand has been a tremendous success and has made the ground really special for us supporters who have endured the three stand ground for so many years. Building a permanent stand there though as a copy of the North stand is a likely outcome if it is decided that more seats are needed, but depending on where the club is next season they need several scenarios ready to go. Listen to the current All Departments' podcast to hear what some of those solutions could be.

The Financial Fair Play rules for the Championship 2015-16 season allow for £2m losses if the owner invests up to £13m. I believe infrastructure spending is exempt from FFP, but the club will still have to find the funds from somewhere to pay for ground developments. If the club stays in the Championship some funds are likely to still go into ground development, but what that means in terms of numbers of seats or preparing for safe standing is very much up for discussion still. AFCB also need to raise other revenue streams though, especially if they are staying put in the Championship. Extra ticket sales are a help but the team will also need funding if it is to keep improving.

Good luck to Baily Cargill today, who is all set to hopefully make his England U20 debut at Dean Court against Canada in a friendly.

Are season ticket sales pushing AFCB towards a new home?

I was very pleased to see that there will be more season ticket holders in Dean Court next season with figures currently at 6411 and hopefully on their way past 7000. With 5995 season ticket holders last season the club managed to get near to the 11,500 capacity on a few occasions and a packed Dean Court always give AFCB more of a chance of winning games. 

Dean Court is large enough for the moment.

While social media networks chatted about a possible announcement of new stadium plans in the not too distant future with, Chapel Gate a popular venue, I suspect that fans might yet have a few more seasons at Dean Court. The investment in the current ground and the training pitches indicate that it will need more fans yet before the club takes on such a decision. 

The season ticket news is especially welcome seeing that prices have gone up for those seats and that some of the new signings have only just been announced. Some of those who were sitting on the fence may also now decide to commit to another season watching the Cherries, while it will be refreshing to see some new faces who can add to the buzz around the ground. AFCB are still going to be one of the smallest home crowds in the division but that in itself can be an advantage as the larger teams are used to playing in front of huge crowds and it can be unsettling to have a smaller crowd virtually on top of you at venues like ours. The wall of sound that greeted players last season was tremendous for many of the home games and the more energy that is transmitted to the players the better.

The increased numbers will help club finances and the growth should translate into higher merchandise sales as well. What will also be on the minds of the board is how quickly the club is growing and what needs to be done for the club to stay at Dean Court and what this all means for the long term future of the club. I am sure we will hear about plans for the South End before the end of next season and if season tickets can rise to around 8000 by this time next year the club will start to get closer to one or two of the other clubs in the Championship in terms of season ticket holders. That may then force some consideration about a new stadium especially with ensuring access and safety to see AFCB is a priority, but Premiership money may be required to bring that to fruition. Stadiums also take a couple of years to build once all the planning applications have been approved and finances are in place.

On the World Cup Chimes Fans Fantasy league front, it is Mark-C that continues to lead the way with 430pts, Chimes is second on 374pts, then come AdamJS on 276 and AFCB-Tay close behind on 273pts.

Pick out the player you think will score the most goals in pre-season in our poll on the side panel and let us know what you think of the new away kit today and I'll post your comments from Twitter on the blog.

Will you sign up for an AFCB season ticket?

I was reminded again that the price of season tickets and to be honest the general cost of football is something that some are now seriously beginning to question if they hadn't before. There was a good post by an  AFCB fan last week who has decided not to renew their season ticket but just to go to some home games and some away games next season. I totally understand such views and must admit that I don't know how many games I will be able to attend, although I always try and make as many as I can. The cost of travel and the day itself are no longer an unconsidered expense and when I look at club shops and the prices there it is clear that this football game really is a business today.

How many of the undecided will vote to support and
how many will decide to stay at home? 

Whether fans feel it is time to reconsider or just go with the flow and the increase is a personal decision for all of us. But if your heart is close to your club that is never a problem you really want to have. The difficulty for AFCB is that they have only just got a gate of 10,000 to the home games and if many season ticket holders from last season decide they will pick and choose their games the numbers may even decline. I had a word with the club about how many season ticket holders had renewed and while they did not have numbers to give out yet it may be a bit down on last year so far. Season ticket fans will want to see who arrives and who goes before they commit with the prices having gone up I suspect.

The attraction of Championship football remains high I am sure, but the support of fans should never be taken for granted. It is rumoured that other bids are in for some players, but I don't hear a rush of new signings yet and Lewis Grabban has just departed for Norwich City today. If there are some big names that come to the club will it entice you to sign up for  a renewal or will you be happy to sit in the South stand when a game you want to see comes along? 

The loyal fans who come year after year will be with the club no matter what through thick and thin. It is the new fans that have enjoyed last season, but are unsure what to do now that I wonder about. It was good to see a queue of fans who were not existing ticket holders earlier this week though outside the club shop ready to buy their season tickets. The club needs to fill the ground not just for financial reasons but to help the team as well. Last season was a new experience for many. Many fans came to as many games as they could, probably more than ever before and were entertained, but is one season enough for many of them? 

Football is a business where demand and supply will level out. The club may have taken a bit of a gamble in pushing its prices up, but if the team has another great season and gets off to a strong start I know where I would like to be sitting on a Saturday afternoon. 

Anxious moments for AFCB fans awaiting season tickets

I can understand AFCB fans chomping at the bit this week to see the postman coming around the corner with a special envelope for them. The club has sent out the season tickets fairly late on in the summer break, and I expect there are still quite a few of us waiting to hear that post box rattle with the sound of a delivery from AFCB.

Because of my advanced wonderful planning, oops.. Cherry Chimes is currently on holiday down in Christchurch and I will have to drive back to Surrey before picking up the golden season tickets for Saturday's match. Still, it will give me some time to ponder over what has happened during the summer months as the Cherries have been preparing for this week and it may just finally sink in on those long drives that AFCB is about to embark on what is likely to be the most exciting period of its history to date.

I like the way that there are so many opinions about how AFCB might do in the Championship, but know one really knows at the moment. It is like waiting for Christmas day and we can start opening some presents on Saturday. For a lot of fans though, the wait for that season ticket that is getting us nervous. It is the biggest present of all, because some AFCB fans have been waiting for some 23 years, when we were last in the second-tier of English football.

Well those days are about to return and who knows what the season has in store for the Cherries. As the club slogan says, "Anything is possible!".

AFCB offers sensible season ticket prices

I was delighted to see that AFCB has released the kind of season ticket prices that many of us seem to think is reasonable for next season considering that the team has won promotion.

It would be great to think that Cherry Chimes' look at season ticket prices in the Championship might have had something to do with Mr Mitchell not putting prices through the roof for next season. 

I must admit I was expecting the prices to be higher and will be very pleased to see Championship football with my family at the Goldsands Stadium for an average of £15.22 per game, once I have bought my two Junior Cherry memberships. I don't think many other teams in the Championship will beat that watching in their Family Stands next year.

That will allow Cherry Chimes to take in a few of the away games as well I hope. There could be a number of mouth-watering away fixtures that are not too far for supporters to travel too either next year if some of the southern teams fail to make the Premiership. This would include Brighton, Watford and Crystal Palace but I expect we will lose one of those to the Premiership. Still we will have Reading, Charlton and Millwall which are all fairly close to home. With a bit of luck one of Brentford, Swndon or Yeovil could be joining us as well.

I think there might be a bit of a rush on to book those season tickets. What do you think about next year's season ticket prices?

Enjoy the match today. 

It also looks like there is a lot to look forward to from next August. Championship here we come!!! UTCIAD.

What price to see AFCB from the Family stand next season?

It is perfectly good business sense for AFCB to delay announcing any season ticket prices for next season until they see exactly where the team will be playing next season.

As you all know, if the Cherries do win promotion it will be a big job to build the South stand in time for early August even though all the paper work is said to be in place and the finance available. That would of course raise the capacity to around 12,000 which means extra revenue for the club every home game if they can fill the stadium.

But what price would you expect to pay for a seat in the Family stand next season? I imagine that the commercial department at AFCB has already been crunching the numbers and will have worked out what the prices would be. But what do you think is value for money?

We can get a feel for the kind of prices paid by clubs in the Championship at the moment by seeing what clubs of a similar size as AFCB are asking. I haven't time to check every team in the Championship, so this is only a small sample indication. 

Peterborough Utd for example had a gate of 9236 for the recent visit of league leaders Cardiff City, so similar to our good gates. You might think Peterborough would have a simple pricing policy for families but they categorise games into A, B and C depending on the reputation/size of the opposition. Actually there are only 4 teams in section B, and 3 in section C, all the rest are category A. So for 2 adults and 2 children U16 you could see a game at London Road for either  C- £40 B- £46 or A- £50 (all prices from Peterborough Utd's website - they have frozen prices for next season). 

According to AFCB's club website this compares to our pay on the door price for the Family stand (if you don't have Junior cherry memberships) of £46 for 2 adults and 2 children U16. Of course the discounts Junior Cherries receive for a £6 membership can be amazing with up to 40-50% off ticket prices at AFCB. 

Peterborough Utd also has a similar Junior Posh scheme for U16 at £10 a year, but I did not see a discount on ticket price for joining. They do allow up to three U10s in free though with paying adults.

A family stand ticket for an adult at Peterborough next season in their London Road stand will be £275 before the end of April. If you want to add two junior Posh fans that is another  £70 each, making a family total of  £415. Mind you, you have to watch the Posh play and not the Cherries, apart from one game if AFCB get to the Championship.

This season AFCB adults wanting a family stand season ticket needed to pay £275 according to match day programmes, but this included a Junior Cherry as well! However, AFCB's full Family season ticket price for 2 adults and 2 Junior Cherries in the Family stand this season was £550. This then looks a bit pricey for a League One club.

Barnsley sometimes have gates of around 10,000 for their less popular fixtures in the Championship and they ask for £325 for Adults in their lowest priced stand and the first 5-11 year old is free but the second costs £30 for the season. But then you might expect it to be a good price up north.

At Watford next season an adult can gain entrance for £335 with 8-15 year olds paying £30 if they booked early. A second adult would add £170, so for a family of four with another child that would make £565. Remember also that their crowds are bigger at over 15,000. 

May be we should all ask for AFCB to employ Bristol City's Family ticket price from 2012-13, which was £221 for an adult and child, or £239 for an adult and two children, and £415 for 2 adults and 2 children (the same as the Posh). Mind you, there attendances are around 20, 000 which makes a difference to the pricing policy.

Of course there have also been great half season ticket prices at the Cherries and no doubt this will also be a good option next season. I thought £142 for an adult and 2 Junior Cherries in the Family stand for half the season was not to be missed. Even two adults and 2 Junior Cherries for the half season at £240 seemed a reasonable discount, considering our league position at the time.

What I am trying to say is that at AFCB, we are currently paying Championship prices in the Family stand and I only hope that the extra funds needed for the South stand, and the better facilities we have at our stadium, do not accelerate prices too steeply.

Furthermore, I can't say that Peterborough Utd, Barnsley, Watford or Bristol City fans have a match day experience as enjoyable as ours, even if they are in the Championship and we are in League One, and of course AFCB can charge what it feels is the going rate for its match day experience. It's been pretty good this year, hasn't it?

Last year the Cherries actually reduced season prices in the Family stand for an adult down from £304 to £275, as previously mentioned. But we all want a better deal, especially in the current economic climate.

By the way, I just had a quick look on League One Oldham's site and the price for a Family of 4 this season was £636 - ouch! I think they have a points scheme where you can receive money back but really, that seems steep.

I am sure AFCB will try and be as competitive as they can be over prices as the dividends have been seen in the large expansion of Junior Cherries this season up to 1411 from 1000 in 2010-11.

Unfortunately, success will also bring higher prices if we are to continue to be competitive on the pitch. It's been 27 years by my calculations since Dean Court last saw second tier English football, can you afford to miss this opportunity if the Cherries go up? Perhaps it's time to check the piggy bank!

The Misses may not like the UK holiday this year as opposed to more exotic destinations, but come Mid-August and the new season, perhaps she will understand. Am I wrong?