https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/44850888

Is Premier football becoming too much like a business and less like a sport, we have always thought that without fans the club is nothing....think again.

Without the fans the atmosphere would be a pretty dull affair and a poor viewing for the armchair fans

I've always wondered to be honest - PL clubs are missing a trick by becoming money-grabbing corporations.

They could charge next to nothing, or even give tickets away, generate an incredible atmosphere through fan/community interaction. That's worth so much more, surely, and worth investing the pittance that they bring in through the gates?

penycwm county wrote:https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/44850888

Is Premier football becoming too much like a business and less like a sport, we have always thought that without fans the club is nothing....think again.

What a f*cking disgraceful business the PL is and what a way to run a league but it does explain why they don’t give a toss about arranging fixtures such that in order to watch their team, fans would have to travel the length of England on a Monday night. That shows how much they hold the average punter in contempt.

Its about time the government looked into this. Shocking when you think how much premier league fans are paying yet its not even needed! Also I went to the charity shield the other day and I cant believe people spend that money for that standard. dreadful.

penycwm county wrote:https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/44850888

Is Premier football becoming too much like a business and less like a sport, we have always thought that without fans the club is nothing....think again.

So if I have read that correctly Premier League teams could reduce their prices between £10 - £20 per ticket.

So Arsenal were ahead of their time with the North Bank mural!

daftasfxxx wrote:Without the fans the atmosphere would be a pretty dull affair and a poor viewing for the armchair fans

I don't disagree, if you don't need them give the tickets away ! or would the cost of cleaning/security/management be too expensive.

Maybe Newport County have decided to do away with having fans attend games too. No other obvious reason for why we’re STILL not selling tickets online for our next ruddy home game...

#amateur #tinpot

jamiedharris wrote:I've always wondered to be honest - PL clubs are missing a trick by becoming money-grabbing corporations.

They could charge next to nothing, or even give tickets away, generate an incredible atmosphere through fan/community interaction. That's worth so much more, surely, and worth investing the pittance that they bring in through the gates?

They've capped away tickets at £30 for the past two years, are running at 96% of stadium capacity across the entire season, and various sponsors are knocking off an extra £10 from match tickets as well.

Short of making it a free-for-all which creates more problems than it solves, there's not that much more they can do - the atmospheres aren't what they were due to all seaters preventing people from grouping like they used to, and the "football tourist" nature of supporters who come to observe not to participate. As a result, the atmosphere at the likes of Old Trafford and Anfield is absolutely dismal nowadays for all but the biggest games. The cost of tickets is squeezing those with lower incomes, but I'm not sure dropping prices helps much with that, by definition clubs are setting prices at the point they think they'll make the most income and still selling out. The argument then shifts to being about whether poorer people create better atmospheres, which is probably true for some difficult to identify reason, but no-one's likely to be trumpeting it particularly loudly.

Also, the costs for away fans aren't high from buying match tickets, they're from not being able to commit to hotels and travel plans early enough due to tv matches changing fixtures. Hopefully the recent discussions between the Football Supporters Federation, the Premier League and the train companies might result in something tangible pinning train tickets to the match rather than a date. That would save me a fortune and probably result in me going to a lot more matches, and I'm doing about 40 a season as it is.

I did get two free ice-creams on Sunday though.

SJG99 wrote:

jamiedharris wrote:I've always wondered to be honest - PL clubs are missing a trick by becoming money-grabbing corporations.

They could charge next to nothing, or even give tickets away, generate an incredible atmosphere through fan/community interaction. That's worth so much more, surely, and worth investing the pittance that they bring in through the gates?

They've capped away tickets at £30 for the past two years, are running at 96% of stadium capacity across the entire season, and various sponsors are knocking off an extra £10 from match tickets as well.

Short of making it a free-for-all which creates more problems than it solves, there's not that much more they can do - the atmospheres aren't what they were due to all seaters preventing people from grouping like they used to, and the "football tourist" nature of supporters who come to observe not to participate. As a result, the atmosphere at the likes of Old Trafford and Anfield is absolutely dismal nowadays for all but the biggest games. The cost of tickets is squeezing those with lower incomes, but I'm not sure dropping prices helps much with that, by definition clubs are setting prices at the point they think they'll make the most income and still selling out. The argument then shifts to being about whether poorer people create better atmospheres, which is probably true for some difficult to identify reason, but no-one's likely to be trumpeting it particularly loudly.

Also, the costs for away fans aren't high from buying match tickets, they're from not being able to commit to hotels and travel plans early enough due to tv matches changing fixtures. Hopefully the recent discussions between the Football Supporters Federation, the Premier League and the train companies might result in something tangible pinning train tickets to the match rather than a date. That would save me a fortune and probably result in me going to a lot more matches, and I'm doing about 40 a season as it is.

I did get two free ice-creams on Sunday though.

To me this is our problem.

Anyone with any sense would say. "All professional football, not just the Premier League, is far too expensive. F@ck it until prices come down I'm not going."

The good people of Newport, being far more intelligent than anyone else, and therefore demonstrably having sense, thus don't go Rodney Parade of a Saturday.

Only saying.

Stan A. Einstein wrote: To me this is our problem.

Anyone with any sense would say. "All professional football, not just the Premier League, is far too expensive. F@ck it until prices come down I'm not going."

The good people of Newport, being far more intelligent than anyone else, and therefore demonstrably having sense, thus don't go Rodney Parade of a Saturday.

Only saying.

I don't think it's expensive.