The flaws in Hull City's new membership scheme

The following was submitted for a Hull Daily Mail letters special on Thursday April 21st. The paper printed it but clipped all but the first line of the last paragraph. I can't imagine why?

Season passes are a thing of the past at Hull City

There has been a lot to be aggrieved about at Hull City for the last three years, despite some success on the pitch, but the new membership scheme takes it to a new level. I'm not against the idea in principle but it has massive flaws. I'm also unconvinced by the need for such a scheme. The gates this season have been really poor and the reasons for that are the pricing is too high, fans feel completely unwelcome and buying a ticket has become needlessly complex.

The membership scheme aims to resolve two of these problems, in pricing and ticketing, but in doing so, it's ensured that thousands of fans, OAPs and people with Children in particular, now have to pay a scandalous price increase or move from their seats. Seats they're used to, from where they enjoy the view and where they are, in most cases, surrounded by family or friends.

I'm not directly affected by the membership scheme, I'll save £50. But this situation isn't about me, it's about the fanbase as a whole. Or what's left of it. The solutions to the problems caused by the Allams aren't rocket science. We need prices that reflect the economy of the region, with concessions for OAPs, disabled fans, children and, crucially, the 16-22 year olds who'll be our support for the next 50 years if we don't exclude them now. Put the name change to bed once and for all as an olive branch to the disaffected supporters. Staff the ticket office and turnstiles appropriately. And then focus on building a football team we can all be proud of and enjoy watching.

How hard would that be? The Allams initially did great things for our club but they've eroded every bit of goodwill with their complete lack of understanding of football and fans. Trying to change the club's name, increasing prices on relegation, removing the ticket office and great, loyal staff, removing disabled concessions, removing the name from the badge, spending the away supporter's fund on opposition fans and now this. All whilst the debt grows and the level of support drops further and further. They could arrest these issues with simple solutions that take nothing more than being humble enough to admit your errors.