WE all know that Premier League football is overpriced.
The revenue clubs make from fans is just a drop in the vast ocean of money swilling around at the top of the game.
Many could afford to let supporters in for a fraction of what they currently charge and it would barely make a dent on the balance sheet – and that’s before the new multi-billion pound television deal kicks in next season.
It was great to see Liverpool fans make a stand by walking out of Anfield in the 77th minute of their match against Sunderland in protest at the proposed hike in some tickets to £77.
But I fear it will have little impact.
It’s all well and good fans leaving matches early to make a point but the club have already banked their money, either in the form of season tickets or one-off payments.
If fans really want to make themselves heard, they need to stop going altogether and that means not buying season tickets or giving the club their money in the first place.
The problem is they won’t, and for good reason.
They have a deep-rooted loyalty to their club that they don’t want to betray.
In that sense, the club have them over a barrel, and always have done.
Crucially though, if fans did cut their ties, there would always be someone else waiting to snap up their ticket.
Which is the main problem here.
Demand is outstripping supply, evidenced by the fact Liverpool are in the process of increasing the Anfield capacity from 45,500 to 59,000.
West Ham are moving to the Olympic Stadium in the summer and Tottenham want to expand White Hart Lane.
The notion that football should be accessible to all isn’t something the clubs really seem to care about.
If they did, they’d drop the prices so the so-called average fan in the street could afford to go without taking out a second mortgage.
But while their stadium is full, I sadly doubt they’re all that bothered who is in the seats.
As long as enough people are willing to pay the prices, the clubs will continue to charge them.
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