What Would You Pay For A Glamour Friendly?

[Renegade]

In light of Ross County charging £20 to watch the Man United kids team and more prominently Bournemouth charging £60 (though a very reasonable £55 for season ticket holders!) to watch Real Madrid, if ICT were to announce a "glamour friendly" against say Bayern Munich, Barcelona, Inter Milan etc. and it was to feature their star players, how much would be willing to pay and where would you draw the line?

 

Would you be willing to pay £55 on top of your season ticket, to watch ICT getting pummelled by Ronaldo and co a la Bournemouth?  I don't think I would be and charging anything over £20 for a meaningless friendly (no matter what the standard of opposition is) is a scandal IMO.

Edited July 20, 2013 by Renegade

[Yngwie]

I'd say £30 for the likes of Barca would still be very good value.

[BornCaley]

 I pay my money to see ICT as they are the club I support!  I would have no interest in paying anything extra just because its a glamour friendly!

[Scarlet Pimple]

And no doubt it would have to be played at Hampden Park or similar locale . Because ICT could not afford to pay any team big money

with a small crows like that at Tulloch Stadium/

 

By the way I seem to remember that there was a recommendation to re-name Tulloch stadium the Jock MacDonald stadium....that's assuming I got his name right?

[IMMORTAL HOWDEN ENDER]

Glamour to me would be a game in Europe - I would have taken either Malmo or Rosenborg and in with a chance of a home and away game at Swansea or Wigan. And that was so much feckin closer than imagined. And Scarlet - are you deliberately trying to stir up the pre- merger crew ?

[Kirishima]

I am paying £30 to watch Sagan Tosu v Sydney FC here in Japan on Wednesday. Cheapest seats in the main stand.

Alessandro Del Piero will be there, albeit not at his peak. But some people paid a lot more to watch Elton John at ICT and he's rubbish at football.

[CaleyD]

I'm quite glad that the club avoid falling into the trap of "Glamour Friendlies".  Especially during the pre-season when it's more important that the team are concentrating on preparations for the competitive matches.  If it were deemed appropriate to play a "big name" club, then it should be as part of those preparations and priced in-line with any other of the pre-season training games.  Any club looking for a fee to play us should be politely refused.

 

It's quite clear that Ross C*unty v Man U was nothing more than a means to rake in a bit of cash....although I have to admit that it was better than last years "Give us £20 for feck all reason" scheme.

[Alex MacLeod]

What is a glamour friendly? Wouldn't call a Man U XI one cos its unlikely that any of first team squad will be there. Was a Liverpool XI with players we'd never heard of before or since a glamour friendly?

[ictchris]

£0.  Friendlies are crap, not proper football.

 

I'd rather watch Caley play Montrose in the league cup first round in front of 300 fans than watch a friendly against Real Madrid.

[CaleyD]

What is a glamour friendly? Wouldn't call a Man U XI one cos its unlikely that any of first team squad will be there. Was a Liverpool XI with players we'd never heard of before or since a glamour friendly?

 

No, that was a testimonial.

[davie]

What is a glamour friendly? Wouldn't call a Man U XI one cos its unlikely that any of first team squad will be there. Was a Liverpool XI with players we'd never heard of before or since a glamour friendly?

Certainly heard of Shelvey again and the wee guy in the midfield - Spearing - to name but two, but it didn't define "glamour" to me.

[KingBeastie]

Depends on how much ICT would charge Barca, Bayern, Real, etc. to play us in a pre season, a tenner would be ok if they can't afford the full fee.  I paid £10 to watch the game in Kirkcaldy at the weekend.

We all know Messi used to pretend he was Charlie Christie when he was a kid.  Not so sure if Cassilas would be too interested now, not since Jim Calder retired anyhow...

[Renegade]

 

What is a glamour friendly? Wouldn't call a Man U XI one cos its unlikely that any of first team squad will be there. Was a Liverpool XI with players we'd never heard of before or since a glamour friendly?

Certainly heard of Shelvey again and the wee guy in the midfield - Spearing - to name but two, but it didn't define "glamour" to me.

 

 

Two or three have since come good (one played in the last World Cup for Paraguay, while another [san Jose] now plays for Athletic Bilboa]).  A lot seem to have disappeared into the mists of time though.

[bdu98196]

Probably pay more to see some friendly glamour models than a 2nd or 3rd string side associated with a big club.

 

Although Bournemouth did get the Real Madrid stars showing up and for all those Dons fans & players who slated Ryan Fraser leaving, wonder how many of them will ever get to take the pitch with Ronny & co lol.

[luvgravy]

Interesting topic and one that comes up quite frequently with Toronto.  Not a year has gone buy without some type of glamour friendly being played (mid season at that) with some team from Europe or South America on their pre-season warm-up tour.  Ticket prices run 1.5-3 times regular game prices depending on what seating level you're in.  At the start they were viewed with disdain by many but as time goes by that's turning more and more to open hostility (for a number of reasons...poor play...poor management...etc.)

[TopSix]

I noticed arbroath aren't charging season ticket holders for their glamour friendly against us tomorrow night. Nice way for them to boost season ticket sales.

[Alex MacLeod]

I noticed arbroath aren't charging season ticket holders for their glamour friendly against us tomorrow night. Nice way for them to boost season ticket sales.

Or to thank them for making the purchase in the first place.

[Scarlet Pimple]

IHE  you are  awful, but I like you.

[DALNEIGHCALEY]

£55 to see the best players in the World is peanuts . When else could Invernessians see the likes of Ronaldo for only £55 ?

[dougal]

It's all very well scorning about so called glamour friendlies but it would be interesting to know how much profit County made on Saturday

Nearl 4500 there despite it being £20 a ticket so a tidy sum

I'll never understand this clubs yearly trudge around the diddy highland league grounds pre season, that's spending money not making it

County I believe are now off to Holland to play a couple of top Dutch clubs while we visit Gayfield, there's no comparison really if we are to be honest

Dougal

[+Fraz]

It's all very well scorning about so called glamour friendlies but it would be interesting to know how much profit County made on Saturday

Nearl 4500 there despite it being £20 a ticket so a tidy sum

I'll never understand this clubs yearly trudge around the diddy highland league grounds pre season, that's spending money not making it

County I believe are now off to Holland to play a couple of top Dutch clubs while we visit Gayfield, there's no comparison really if we are to be honest

Dougal

 

They played Den Bosch today who finished 11th in the Dutch 1st division last season, absolutely a top Dutch club. (Though I've no idea who else they are playing.) They certainly won't be making any money out of the trip, I'd imagine it would be costing them a few bob. So unless punters are happy to shell out more for tickets etc in order to fund a foreign jaunt I doubt It'll happen anytime soon.

 

Personally I couldn't give two hoots just like the stadium issue, do I wish we had the cash to have something a bit more fancy? Absolutely yes, but we don't and we spend what we have pretty effectively, I wouldn't want it wasted on a foreign trip (or 4th stand).

 

Edit- Speeling

Edited July 23, 2013 by fraz

[Renegade]

I read somewhere that County paid Man United £75,000 to play last Saturday.  I doubt they've had made much money, if any for hosting it.

[+DoofersDad]

Total waste of money.  In many ways, playing the small teams is much better preparation.  We know from cup results that competitive matches against these sides can be hard even when the team is match fit and has knit together well.  Pre-season is about trying different things out and that is best done against a small team who will not hold back and who are anxious to get the kudos of embarrassing the big boys.  These friendlies therefore have a much more competitive edge than a glamour tie would.

 

But then it depends on your perspective.  No doubt to fans of Arbroath, tonight's match was a glamour match and they'll be talking for years about the night when the great Billy Mackay graced them with his presence and scored 5!

[Kirishima]

Well, I think my experience tonight summed it up. 15,000 people paying at least 30 quid, witnessed a team of con men . Sagan Tosu v Sydney FC and Sydney (Del Piero, Brett Emerton, and others) decided it would be suffice to kill the game from the get go with back passes and endless passes across their back line. Exasperating doesn't cover it. This was no scrappy game, this was no hit and hope, this was thievery and an insult. And Del Piero. Wow. he did *nothing* at all. had he been a trialist, Fort William wouldn't have touched him.

very angry at being taken for a ride.

Edited July 24, 2013 by Kirishima

[Doofer]

For any of the top European teams i'd be more than happy to pay £30-40 for a pre season friendly as long as a good number of their respected "big guns" were playing. Paying that for their reserve team would be a bit steep. £60 for bournmouth vs Madrid is a lot, but if inverness were to play them and it was the same price, somehow I don't think there would be an empty seat in the stadium