Jump to content

The Price Of Football


Well-Made
 Share

Recommended Posts

I had a Bolton season ticket 2 years ago and that was incredible value, the season ticket itself was £50 and I believe it still is.

I still go down as much as I can and an adult ticket is cheaper than an adult ticket to Fir park.. Cheaper to watch Bolton playing arsenal, Manchester united, chelsea, man city etc

Ticket prices up here are ridiculous!

 

 

Some of our north-west clubs do offer really good value on season tickets, though of course it's those stadia that are rarely full - Blackburn, Wigan, Bolton. I think at Blackburn you can get the best seat in the house for under £400, which is superb value going by EPL prices.

 

 

Mine this season is somewhere around £750 but of course that's only for the league games. Then you need to add about £42 a time for champions league and domestic cup games. Scandalous, but inevitable when players are earning over 100 k per week.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 months later...

An interesting article in The Telegraph regarding the attendance at Fir Park on Saturday;

 

Many within the Fir Park club are chewing over the conundrum that they not only sold out their 16,000 ticket allocation for the Scottish Cup final in May but could have disposed of half as many again – and had a plea for more turned down by the Scottish Fooball Association – yet Saturday’s game against Kilmarnock attracted only 4,184 spectators.

 

The attendance was all the more dispiriting because Motherwell have got off to their best league start in many years, have a decent chance of going into November still in second place in the table and were playing against a side similarly committed to an attractive passing game.

 

When Stuart McCall came out to watch his players warm up, just after noon, for the 12.45 kick-off, he looked around at the almost deserted stadium and asked, rhetorically: “Is there a game on today?”

 

There was – and it was a good match, although goalless – but the context also highlighted the difficulties facing all in the Scottish game, the Old Firm not excluded. Of course, there were specific circumstances which had an impact on Saturday’s attendance.

 

The most important, as always, was the fact that the game had a lunchtime kick-off to suit the TV schedules. Had Motherwell’s opponents been Celtic or Rangers, the crowd would have been respectable – although there were quite a few empty seats at the Kilmarnock v Celtic fixture a week previously – but the allure of saving admission money by watching at home or in the pub was always going to sap the numbers on hand at the ground.

 

Christmas is now on the event horizon and the sheer state of uncertainty – even fear – about the state of the economy persuades others to keep their cash in their pockets.

 

Shortly before McCall came out to view the scene, this correspondent passed a couple who had come along early, just as the wife said to the husband: “How did we not know this was on the telly?”

 

In the event, they got a fair afternoon’s entertainment for their investment and although, like most Motherwell fans, they did not see their side close by the worth of another victory on Rangers and also add another three points to their advantage over Celtic, the pair seemed happy enough as they left the ground.

 

Nor was there any general disgruntlement amongst the home support that their team had not been able to reach the heights of recent weeks.

 

It could have been more frustrating for them had the post not got in the way of a Gary Harkins shot that rebounded from the post shortly before the interval. The Kilmarnock player was phlegmatic about his luck, but less so about the climate in which he and his colleagues are playing.

 

“If you watched that game, you would not believe some of the criticism our league gets,” said Harkins. “Some of the football the teams are playing is great.

 

"You watch League One and League Two in England and your neck is sore afterwards looking up into the sky. The football the boys are playing in the SPL is to be applauded and we can keep going.

 

"It’s about getting people through the door and I’m sure folk want to watch this kind of stuff than long-ball games. The message can get through. People will start coming back and then the national team will improve.

 

"Everyone will get a buzz for the game again and, if it carries on, attendances will rise.”

 

The theme was taken up by Motherwell’s Steve Hammell, whose 12-year-son and friends were in attendance. “The fans were excellent against Killie and it would be nice if more came because we are playing some nice stuff,” said the full back.

 

"The ones who come every week make themselves heard and the club have tried everything to do things and get more folk into Fir Park. Every season, there are initiatives to encourage supporters to come.

 

“It’s attractive football and good to watch. The last thing you want to do is watch bad games, but we try to play football and the boys will get even more help with more people in the stands.

 

"Everyone in the town wanted tickets for the Scottish Cup Final, but it’s tough financially for people to come every single week as times are hard.

 

"I think fans can come back. My own boy loves football and he would go to Inverness and Aberdeen.

 

"I wouldn’t say that we should just accept that crowds will keep going down. Word of mouth through fans telling people how we’re playing and bringing kids or family members.

 

"If everyone brought one or two locals or family members, it would be great. I believe there are a group of youngsters who still want to come, it’s just about getting them here.”

Link to comment
Share on other sites

An interesting article in The Telegraph regarding the attendance at Fir Park on Saturday;

 

 

regarding attendances at Fir Park i myself pick and choose games always have done and some seasons was at nearly every game whilst last 5-6 years maybe only 10-15 a year down to family commitments etc but now 2 boys getting older hopefully be down more but i heard a great initiative from Hartlepool which they done this year they used to have 2000 season tix holders all paying £400 a pop roughly meaning they had £800,000 a year right off but their average attendance was only something like 2400.They put in place this year some fabulous advertising on radio,posters,pubs basically everywhere in the town stating that if you bought a season ticket this year it would depend on the amount buying them what the price was for example if 2000 fans/£400 a pop,3000/£275,4000/200,6000/150 and 8000/only £100 a pop and low and behold the whole town jumped on this bandwagon with regular updates all over the town about the price and they sold 8000 season tickets meaning no loss in revenue from year before as still £800k raised from season tickets, but all the benefits a crowd this size dictates like atmosphere,pie and drink sales effect on other fans coming to tell their mates etc etc I think this is a great idea and wish Leann would think this through we have on average 3000 season tix holders at roughly £300 each giving £900k at start of season can you imagine fir park with 9000 season ticket holders all paying just £100 each the added revenue from drinks,pies etc and also the boost for the players also no taking over our ground by the grueseome twosome even 6000 paying £150 each

whats all your thoughts?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I know we're going over old ground however when as many people as went to the game on Saturday left the Motherwell area on Sunday to go to Celtic and Rangers games is the bot that really picks my scabs.

 

We are in my opinion highly unlikely to get more than 4-5k for an SPL fixture not involving the ugly sisters.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I know we're going over old ground however when as many people as went to the game on Saturday left the Motherwell area on Sunday to go to Celtic and Rangers games is the bot that really picks my scabs.

 

We are in my opinion highly unlikely to get more than 4-5k for an SPL fixture not involving the ugly sisters.

 

A good start would be more positive press like that telling everyone that our football isn't really that bad. Watching Soccer AM on Saturday and the clowns on there were taking the piss showing clips of poor play mocking the SPL. Turth be told I bet I could find similar examples from the EPLand highlight the fact their players are on 100 times the money but then I don't have the viewing figures for OSB that these idiots have on Sky 1 so whose message is going to hit home?

Our own press fuel this by constantly bemoaning our game, and even ignoring the good teams to fit in more shite about the Gruesome Twosome. I have regular visitors from England and abroad and they go home with mostly positive views on our game but they're farting against thunder if they try to tell folk back home that the general perception of our game is all wrong. We've lost the hearts and minds war, start winning that first and things might start getting better.

 

On the flip side, even though I don't think our game is as bad as it's made out it is still far too expensive, our chairmen have been watching too many fairy stories over the last few decades with their continual price increases and that needs to be reversed. Non-attendees at the moment will not be attracted back by the excessive prices on display, no matter how good the football might be. If no-one can see that simple fact then we need new people in to run the game, it's the most glaringly obvious factor in the rundown of our game since the last glaringly obvious one.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

An absolute clearout of presenters and pundits is required too. An ethnic cleansing if you like.

 

Craggs is one of the best co-commentators in that he's primarily positive - contrast that with Craig Burley a negative, condescending arsehole that loves to dig out the negatives.

 

An endless line of glum, negative, camera and microphone unfriendly arseholes.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

A good start would be more positive press like that telling everyone that our football isn't really that bad. Watching Soccer AM on Saturday and the clowns on there were taking the piss showing clips of poor play mocking the SPL. Turth be told I bet I could find similar examples from the EPLand highlight the fact their players are on 100 times the money but then I don't have the viewing figures for OSB that these idiots have on Sky 1 so whose message is going to hit home?

Our own press fuel this by constantly bemoaning our game, and even ignoring the good teams to fit in more shite about the Gruesome Twosome. I have regular visitors from England and abroad and they go home with mostly positive views on our game but they're farting against thunder if they try to tell folk back home that the general perception of our game is all wrong. We've lost the hearts and minds war, start winning that first and things might start getting better.

 

 

Good post FC. Football is far too expensive and thats a basic fact, but far too many youngsters are weaned on the EPL. Its time our media, the so called Scottish media that is, began to carry more coverage of our own clubs rather than pages about Manchester United, Aston Villa and so on.

 

Its interesting that in the Other Football pages on this site much of the discusion is about the EPL or European football rather than about other Scottish clubs. That tells a story.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

regarding attendances at Fir Park i myself pick and choose games always have done and some seasons was at nearly every game whilst last 5-6 years maybe only 10-15 a year down to family commitments etc but now 2 boys getting older hopefully be down more but i heard a great initiative from Hartlepool which they done this year they used to have 2000 season tix holders all paying £400 a pop roughly meaning they had £800,000 a year right off but their average attendance was only something like 2400.They put in place this year some fabulous advertising on radio,posters,pubs basically everywhere in the town stating that if you bought a season ticket this year it would depend on the amount buying them what the price was for example if 2000 fans/£400 a pop,3000/£275,4000/200,6000/150 and 8000/only £100 a pop and low and behold the whole town jumped on this bandwagon with regular updates all over the town about the price and they sold 8000 season tickets meaning no loss in revenue from year before as still £800k raised from season tickets, but all the benefits a crowd this size dictates like atmosphere,pie and drink sales effect on other fans coming to tell their mates etc etc I think this is a great idea and wish Leann would think this through we have on average 3000 season tix holders at roughly £300 each giving £900k at start of season can you imagine fir park with 9000 season ticket holders all paying just £100 each the added revenue from drinks,pies etc and also the boost for the players also no taking over our ground by the grueseome twosome even 6000 paying £150 each

whats all your thoughts?

 

That to me sounds like a great idea. With everyone struggling for cash right now im sure more folk would snap up a season ticket if the price was cut due to an initiative like this. Ive had to give up my season ticket and hate having to watch the scores come in on a saturday when i would usually have been to the game. Would we get enough interest though to bring the price down?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

A good start would be more positive press like that telling everyone that our football isn't really that bad.

 

On the flip side, even though I don't think our game is as bad as it's made out it is still far too expensive, our chairmen have been watching too many fairy stories over the last few decades with their continual price increases and that needs to be reversed. Non-attendees at the moment will not be attracted back by the excessive prices on display, no matter how good the football might be. If no-one can see that simple fact then we need new people in to run the game, it's the most glaringly obvious factor in the rundown of our game since the last glaringly obvious one.

 

The first part is very true. Take Radio Scotland for instance. They spend most of the week running down Scottish football. The newspapers are full of it too. The phrase "Scottish Football" has become a synonymy for "Shite" to the average punter but I go to every home match and as many away games as I can afford (admittedly not many) and I just don't agree.

 

Scottish football has a lot wrong with it and we are still a long way from the quality levels of the 80's and 90's but I absolutely believe we are heading in the right direction and for me the SPL has improved season on season for the last 4 seasons. Most teams at least try to play good football even if they don't quite manage it in contrast to about 5 years ago when I didn't see a single decent team come to Fir Park all season.

 

The second point might also be true but I don't think clubs can afford to reduce prices any further unless more fans start attending so its a bit of a catch 22 situation, especially in the current financial climate when clubs are being hit not just by player wages but by higher fuel costs, tax increases, general inflation, reduced corporate support and advertising, lack of sponsorship etc...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

That to me sounds like a great idea. With everyone struggling for cash right now im sure more folk would snap up a season ticket if the price was cut due to an initiative like this. Ive had to give up my season ticket and hate having to watch the scores come in on a saturday when i would usually have been to the game. Would we get enough interest though to bring the price down?

 

 

 

I think with the proper promotion and on the back of a succesful season (should it happen) this year then aye, I think we could get the interest. It's a brilliant idea and one I had read about before on these boards.

 

The regular updates thing makes it quite exciting I imagine and would encourage more and more people to try get friends and family onto the bandwagon. It's not hard to imagine someone in the pub saying 'mon tay fuck lads, another 100 and I'll get another 50 quid off my season ticket'. If the club advertised it with aim of making an adult season tickets 100 quid I reckon we'd get enough of a push from current holders to make it happen.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

All the spl clubs fix the prices at the start of a season :whistling: and give or take a few quid they r similar at spl away games.Too many games on tv from spl to champ league everyweek. Folk get blase about seein a game and its not a special event goin to a live game anymore Too much choice on tv has wasted the game in Scotland. When you buy a season ticket and go home and away your not as important as the lazy bast##ds watchin it in a pub :popcorn: or the ones at home watchin five top class games a week on sky and sayin scottish football is pish..............Of course its pish if your watching the best leauge in the world every week.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I've never gotten my head around this idea that supporters of Scottish clubs (Motherwell in this instance) are simply going to give up supporting their team because they can watch Man Utd or Liverpool on Sky Sports.

 

You could set up a match between Barca and Real Madrid in my back garden for November 5th and I'd still rather go to Fir Park and watch us cuff Celtic.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Disagree there. Live fitba IS an event when there is a bit of ATMOSPHERE. It's infectious. You go tae a game, a bit of patter and a bit of singing. If the performance on the park is good to boot, then you've the perfect recipe. Some of the away games this season have been class; the two elements rub off on each other.

 

For me it goes back to how the fans are treated, can they stand up, sing and mibbie even have a bevvy.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

The first part is very true. Take Radio Scotland for instance. They spend most of the week running down Scottish football. The newspapers are full of it too. The phrase "Scottish Football" has become a synonymy for "Shite" to the average punter but I go to every home match and as many away games as I can afford (admittedly not many) and I just don't agree.

 

I've got a feeling that the media have a real downer now on Scottish Fitba' because of how bad the Old Firn have become, they are no longer mediocre in Europe they are downright pish therefore in the medias eyes Scottish Fitba' = shite. We havent got any worse over the past 10 years in my opinion but the Old Firm arguably have.

 

The media have a duty to 'bum up' the product that serves them so well, but they seem to have a constant negative angle on it which does nothing to entice people to attend. For instance, the media seemed to revel in saying how poor our crowd was against Killie but really what the fuck were they expecting considering the kick-off time, live on telly and opposition, they should have been positive about the fans who did turn out, mention the atmosphere generated by the singing section and generally try and make it sound exciting as they somehow manage to do on Sky when reporting on even the pishest, most obscure matches in England.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The problem with the media's portrayal of the game is that scandal, controversy, reports of the game in crisis sell the papers, and it's become the norm to focus on these things.

 

the problem is that with a few exceptions - benstead, tom english - they are a bunch of absolute muppets and the worst of the lot are the utter retards on sportsound.

 

richard gordon, murdo mcleod, billy dodds, alan preston, chic young. a complete waste of oxygen.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I've never gotten my head around this idea that supporters of Scottish clubs (Motherwell in this instance) are simply going to give up supporting their team because they can watch Man Utd or Liverpool on Sky Sports.

 

You could set up a match between Barca and Real Madrid in my back garden for November 5th and I'd still rather go to Fir Park and watch us cuff Celtic.

 

I don't know that Scots supporters are suddenly converting to armchair football, David, more of a gradual drift away. Certainly youngsters have been getting brainwashed for a number of years now and they may be a lost generation. The stereotypical picture of a young man in his 20s/30s knocking back pints of beer in a pub whilst watching Chelsea V Man Utd on a large screen TV is one which frightens most Scots clubs including our own. I also think that the OF are becoming less attractive to young fans who want to see "their" team win European trophies. Who wants to support a team that isn't successful?

 

Like you though Barca and Real Madrid or Liverpool and Arsenal hold no attraction personally. Its all a big borefest now with overexposure on the box.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Ah the plight of Scottish Football. Bottom line is the product is too expensive. Prices for food and drinks inside is not the issue but the price at the turnstyle is too much. A tenner last season against Dundee Utd and you get 10k. All be it they brought a great support but the price helped the gate and if there is something at stake then the punters will come out. Bring back 2 up 2 down and a play off and you will get punters through the gate no doubt. Look at Hibs when they went down and their gates during the season in the first division Thousands. The product is not that bad, just when you are being compared to multi million pound sides from La Liga and the Premiership you look like the poor relations.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
 Share

×
×
  • Create New...