Clubs must cut ticket prices, says fans' chief (From Daily Echo)
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Clubs must cut ticket prices, says fans' chief
11:47am Wednesday 9th January 2013 in Sport
Clubs must cut ticket prices, says fans' chief
Football Supporters Federation chairman Malcolm Clarke has urged the game's authorities to wake up to the growing resentment at massively inflated ticket prices or risk huge numbers of fans turning their backs on the game.
Manchester City have sent back over 900 tickets for Sunday's game at Arsenal after supporters elected not to pay £62 to attend.
City's increased status within the English game means they have joined Manchester United, Liverpool, Chelsea, Arsenal and Tottenham as clubs who - due to their attractiveness - routinely get charged the highest prices for tickets.
So, whilst Stoke fans must shell out £35.50 for their visit to the Emirates next month, Blues supporters were asked to dig much deeper.
Clarke believes there is no justification for such pricing structures and, with clubs set to pocket their share of the spoils from mega TV deals that, including overseas rights, have crashed through the £4billion barrier, has called for action.
"We have not done the final calculations but we estimate clubs could cut £32 off the cost of every single ticket purely from the increase in the TV pot this time around," he said.
"I know the clubs make the argument of needing the money to attract the biggest stars but I think I know what even Manchester City fans - with their large and enthusiastic following - would go for if they were given the choice of lower ticket prices or slightly worse players than they have now.
"There are many ways of measuring what is the best league. But if you look at the Bundesliga, where fans can attend matches for 15 Euros, stand up, have a pint if they wish, and even get a ticket for the metrolink, it seems the Premier League is short changing its own supporters.
"This business of categorising matches is blatantly unfair. Just because Manchester City have a lot of money doesn't mean their supporters have, and the same is true of the other teams who get charged the highest prices every time they play.
"And if they are starting to say enough is enough, and that in turn affects the atmosphere within the stadiums, will it retain its worldwide popularity? I am not so sure it will.
"This is a real test for the Premier League.
"They seem to think football is immune from the economic situation elsewhere. But it isn't. And how it responds - especially next year - will shape the game for years to come."
Clarke believes there is a risk of an entire generation being lost to the game.
For whilst many clubs cater for junior fans with lower ticket prices, those at school leaving age usually have to pay prices which make attending matches on a weekly basis impossible.
"According to the Premier League's own figures, the average age of fans is going up all the time," said Clarke.
"If it is far cheaper to spend the afternoon in the pub, where is the incentive to attend matches? And once people get out of the habit of going to games, it is not easy to get it back."
Comments(16)
billythesaint
says...
12:02pm Wed 9 Jan 13
Folkestone Saint
says...
12:10pm Wed 9 Jan 13
arm chair fan
says...
12:15pm Wed 9 Jan 13
billythesaint
says...
12:21pm Wed 9 Jan 13
billythesaint
says...
12:23pm Wed 9 Jan 13
billythesaint wrote:http://yougov.co.uk/
Yeah, good point. Whatever they charge people will pay it (and still leave before half time to get in the queue for a pint and before full time to avoid the traffic).
news/2012/03/06/prem
ier-league20-years/
Licky_Rambert
says...
1:00pm Wed 9 Jan 13
this was evident up at liverpool this season. our visit wasnt attractive enough and it seemed that many of the tickets were sold to people going to football for the first time. which was why the famous anfield atmosphere was so flat
i blame guly
2010chappy
says...
1:00pm Wed 9 Jan 13
Folkestone Saint wrote:You need to wake up a bit mate - our own team has pretty much bought it way to the Premier League - we have sustained wage levels well above the leagues we were in, in order to get out of them. How exactly do you think we would fair if our borrowing was not underwritten by the Liebherr familiy.
Mercinary citeh fans make you laugh, their owner buy's the league title e.t.c. but they don't want to buy a ticket based on their hollow success, and are never in the news about football, they are quickley becoming the poopey of the north
I have a fair bit of respect for City fans because even when they dropped to the third tier of football they were pull 30,000 plus to their home games.
CB FRY LIVES
says...
1:31pm Wed 9 Jan 13
sledgerite
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3:16pm Wed 9 Jan 13
Folkestone Saint
says...
3:23pm Wed 9 Jan 13
2010chappy wrote:I am wide awake mate, citeh have distorted the value of players because one person and not the fans or sky money paid for the players, also we never bought a player JUST to stop another team buying them, and after we were saved it was the sales of players such as Oxo and us turning up for games that helped pay for others comming into the team not a sugar daddy
Folkestone Saint wrote:You need to wake up a bit mate - our own team has pretty much bought it way to the Premier League - we have sustained wage levels well above the leagues we were in, in order to get out of them. How exactly do you think we would fair if our borrowing was not underwritten by the Liebherr familiy.
Mercinary citeh fans make you laugh, their owner buy's the league title e.t.c. but they don't want to buy a ticket based on their hollow success, and are never in the news about football, they are quickley becoming the poopey of the north
I have a fair bit of respect for City fans because even when they dropped to the third tier of football they were pull 30,000 plus to their home games.
TheSaintsMan
says...
4:33pm Wed 9 Jan 13
They make much much more money than they use which makes me ask this question, what happens with all that extra money? The most likely answer is Cortese's pocket.
upwherewebelong
says...
6:09pm Wed 9 Jan 13
OSPREYSAINT
says...
6:29pm Wed 9 Jan 13
TheSaintsMan wrote:You should be asking that of our blue phew friends, they are more experienced in the money side of it. Are you actually saying NC is lining his own pockets at the expense of the Club? I would like to see you try to prove it, see you in Court.
Frankly it is a big drain on finances for anyone who goes to watch football regularly.
They make much much more money than they use which makes me ask this question, what happens with all that extra money? The most likely answer is Cortese's pocket.
OSPREYSAINT
says...
6:31pm Wed 9 Jan 13
2010chappy wrote:Chelsea ticket £52.00? about three minutes of Torres wage someone said.
Folkestone Saint wrote:You need to wake up a bit mate - our own team has pretty much bought it way to the Premier League - we have sustained wage levels well above the leagues we were in, in order to get out of them. How exactly do you think we would fair if our borrowing was not underwritten by the Liebherr familiy.
Mercinary citeh fans make you laugh, their owner buy's the league title e.t.c. but they don't want to buy a ticket based on their hollow success, and are never in the news about football, they are quickley becoming the poopey of the north
I have a fair bit of respect for City fans because even when they dropped to the third tier of football they were pull 30,000 plus to their home games.
RealTalkSouthampton
says...
12:14am Thu 10 Jan 13
OSPREYSAINT says...
11:54am Wed 9 Jan 13