Question for football fans

[HangTime]

It's interesting that you think £12 is too much. Hopefully you'll still be reading this as I'd like tio know what you think is a decent amount to pay to watch a match in the BSP. It's basically the idea behind me starting this thread.

I used to prefer Salisbury's old ground to the RayMac cos you could just walk in for free

Well, Salisbury's problem is that they got promoted twice on the trot and wanted to change things too quickly in terms of going pro. Even before they got in the conference they had people picking up £500-800/week and while that is small potatoes compared to 'proper' professionals who are household names, for a semi-pro club that's a lot to sustain. Lo-and-behold, this season they are on the verge of going out of business (again - they cocked it up a few years back by faxing their resignation letter to the FL instead of the FA, something like that!) and had to loan out half the side. I'd rather pay a lot to enjoy myself, than a little to be bored

Anyway to cut a long story short, the last time I went it cost £8 which I thought was a fair price. It's now £13 or £15 for seated (just checked on http://www.conferencegrounds.co.uk/ , you might find that useful) and it wouldn't surprise me to see some league clubs charging less than that. I'm sure some people will find it strange that I can talk about ticket prices and then go to watch at probably the most expensive ground in the country (it cost me about £100 including train ticket to see a 0-0 with West Ham...) but the difference is plain to see in terms of the quality of football and, of course, emotional involvement in the match.

Vicky Park was a joke of a ground and they had to move from there, it's just a shame that the new ground is so far out from the city (miles from the train station so not ideal for people that don't drive). When I go to the Emirates / St Mary's it's easy, regular trains and then maybe a 20min walk tops.

As a general aside, I think the whole 'moral high ground' thing about fans supporting local sides is in part an anachronism from the days when people travelled about a lot less and football wasn't in the media so much. People ended up supporting local sides not only simply because they lived nearby, but because that's where their first main contact with following a club was formed. There's thousands of young MU fans all around the country simply because in the modern age they're just as likely as to have seen them playing on TV (and thus developed some kind of emotional bond) as they are having been to watch a local team. People also used to stay closer to their roots whereas families spread out all over the country these days.

Take myself for example - no-one in my immediate family liked football, so my exposure came via talking to people at school, watching The Big Match on ITV, listening to games on Radio 2. I didn't even attend a proper match until I was about 12, and by then my allegiances were already formed as an 'armchair' fan. Maybe if my dad had taken me to watch the local side, who knows, maybe things would have been different.

 

[lukechad]

I find it hard to get tickets at the moment, seems everyone is on the bandwagon as burton albion are clear leaders in the blue square premier at the moment!

I hope the team is all able to stay on as promotion this season means all the players are required to turn professional!

Credit to Nigel Clough for his work for burton before moving up the road to maybe work his magic with derby county!

 

[drunkenmaster]

I go to more Brentford and Yeading games nowadays for family reasons but it's just for that, I can't in any way get excited by watching any other team other than my team so why should I bother more than I need to?

Brentford? wonder how close you are. I'm pretty much just up the road from them in south ealing. As a kid, from maybe age, I dunno 7-8 lots of us would go to the brentford run football half term coaching type schools. YOu'd always get a bunch of free tickets thrown in at the end so went pretty dang often as a kid up till the age of 14-15 maybe. At that point my knee's got bad, operations and literally couldn't get there for a long time during which lots of people had moved on to other things(I was barely walking for 6 months and everyone got busy with school and drinking took up everyones cash). NEver really got back into it and it didn't help that the team ran itself into the ground.

Arsenal had always been my stick out premiership team and as from 14-15 I was basically banished to being an armchair supporter, already an affinity for Arsenal, one parent who supported them for life, they basically became "my" team. Wasn't till around 20 I could afford Gunners tickets and actually get some through membership, though premiership games were almost unavailable at Highbury. Still went to some, bunch of CL games, cup games, Charity shield at millenium stadium(also went there for ldv vans final for brentford, also went to wembley for the playoff's final which we also lost). Went to LOADs of games at the Emirates, loads more prem games, cup, CL.

Not been to an away Arsenal game as its ridiculously longwinded to do it and generally the games available are the longer distances and my knee's still suck and long distance via coach is a pain. Went to loads of away brentford games though, all over the damn place, some long dismal rainy winter days spent on coaches of shouting footie fans, the joy


But personally, despite having to gone to games all my life when possible, I would never call anyone an armchair fan, its up to people what they want to do. I'm better than Man U fans who stay at home and glory hunt, but I'd still be better than them if they had season tickets, they're still Man U fans after all

HAve to say, the idea that people should be giving more of their hard earned cash to footie clubs to keep them afloat is ridiculous though. Theres hundreds of business's running into the ground, the NHS is in desparate need of more cash, as are the police forces I don't see what makes a football team so necessary or worthy of saving than any other business. Its really up to them to stay competitive financially like any other club. Not to mention not everyone can afford to go anyway. Brentford can, from what I remember hold about 10k, 12k maybe. but has for years, and years had large portions of the stand taped off to "limit" it to around 4-5k so they can pay less stewards to cover the games. The attendances are fairly pitiful but thats because, they had no success. We were doing not bad with attendance when flying high but relegation has its consequences. We're still quite badly in debt IIRC, the left over days from Ron Noades who while he saved us, proceeded with his insane agenda to buy every 6'5" black guy in the league no matter how bad , we were pretty crap for a long time under Noades

 

[darubio]

i support liverpool and its so hard to get tickets if your not a season holder

 

[JohnnyG]

Brentford?....

I was born in Ealing (live in Ruislip now) and I've been going to Brentford since I was about 4. My dad played there then became a scout under Chopper Harris, my nephew plays there now and my uncle's been working there since 1969. I've been all over the country watching them (Man.U, Liverpool, Wembley etc.) seen them win championships and get promoted and relegated and I can honestly say that I've never found them exciting in any way

 

[Jeff Lynne]

Well, Salisbury's problem is that they got promoted twice on the trot and wanted to change things too quickly in terms of going pro. Even before they got in the conference they had people picking up £500-800/week and while that is small potatoes compared to 'proper' professionals who are household names, for a semi-pro club that's a lot to sustain. Lo-and-behold, this season they are on the verge of going out of business (again - they cocked it up a few years back by faxing their resignation letter to the FL instead of the FA, something like that!) and had to loan out half the side. I'd rather pay a lot to enjoy myself, than a little to be bored

Anyway to cut a long story short, the last time I went it cost £8 which I thought was a fair price. It's now £13 or £15 for seated (just checked on http://www.conferencegrounds.co.uk/ , you might find that useful) and it wouldn't surprise me to see some league clubs charging less than that. I'm sure some people will find it strange that I can talk about ticket prices and then go to watch at probably the most expensive ground in the country (it cost me about £100 including train ticket to see a 0-0 with West Ham...) but the difference is plain to see in terms of the quality of football and, of course, emotional involvement in the match.

Vicky Park was a joke of a ground and they had to move from there, it's just a shame that the new ground is so far out from the city (miles from the train station so not ideal for people that don't drive). When I go to the Emirates / St Mary's it's easy, regular trains and then maybe a 20min walk tops.

As a general aside, I think the whole 'moral high ground' thing about fans supporting local sides is in part an anachronism from the days when people travelled about a lot less and football wasn't in the media so much. People ended up supporting local sides not only simply because they lived nearby, but because that's where their first main contact with following a club was formed. There's thousands of young MU fans all around the country simply because in the modern age they're just as likely as to have seen them playing on TV (and thus developed some kind of emotional bond) as they are having been to watch a local team. People also used to stay closer to their roots whereas families spread out all over the country these days.

Take myself for example - no-one in my immediate family liked football, so my exposure came via talking to people at school, watching The Big Match on ITV, listening to games on Radio 2. I didn't even attend a proper match until I was about 12, and by then my allegiances were already formed as an 'armchair' fan. Maybe if my dad had taken me to watch the local side, who knows, maybe things would have been different.

Good post, you're clearly someone who knows more than the average fan. I got pilloried on the Salisbury website for simply posting on there whether it was true or not that they were paying out £8500 p/w when they were in the Southern League and most teams were paying around a sixth. It's no surprise that they haven't been able to sustain it, even if it did bring initial success and a rise in attendances. I was there the day that they actually won the league, along with 1500 or so others and I think that the fact that most people headed to the exit to beat the traffic home whilst the team were celebrating spoke louder than words.

Another thing thats remarkable about the wages they paid out is that the most expensive players and those who they've shipped out first are those who made up the core of that team.

You're right about the ease of travel now too and I don't knock people for going to watch the team that they support first and foremost but I do wish, like you seem to do that they'd drop in to their local team and give them a bit of support half a dozen or so times a season.

 

[Jeff Lynne]

I hope the team is all able to stay on as promotion this season means all the players are required to turn professional!

Is that a rule?

I'd bet that a part time team could more than hold it's own in League Two and it may be the case that thats the shape of things to come as for as other sides go.

 

[Jeff Lynne]

I was born in Ealing (live in Ruislip now) and I've been going to Brentford since I was about 4. My dad played there then became a scout under Chopper Harris, my nephew plays there now and my uncle's been working there since 1969. I've been all over the country watching them (Man.U, Liverpool, Wembley etc.) seen them win championships and get promoted and relegated and I can honestly say that I've never found them exciting in any way

You should pop along to watch a game at Hillingdon Borough. The ground might be pants and the team not much better but dang, that is the nicest football club bar I've ever set foot in!

 

[placeholder]

I dont have much to add, i live on the Isle Of Lewis so location doesnt really apply but i did thing HangTime had a really really well thought out and accurate post.

 

[drunkenmaster]

I was born in Ealing (live in Ruislip now) and I've been going to Brentford since I was about 4. My dad played there then became a scout under Chopper Harris, my nephew plays there now and my uncle's been working there since 1969. I've been all over the country watching them (Man.U, Liverpool, Wembley etc.) seen them win championships and get promoted and relegated and I can honestly say that I've never found them exciting in any way

got a decent laugh out of me, shame its almost 5am

Seem to be exciting at the moment, everytime I check how they are doing lately they seem to be 3-0 up somewhere pushing hard at the top of the table. We seem to have strikers, that, you know, score...... thats a first in a long time

Its been so damn long my memories a little murky but, I think it was Southampton we had fairly regular pre-seasons friendlies with, fairly certain I saw le-tissier play down at Griffin park. Seem to remember someone injuring Sol Campbell in a cup game against spurs years and years ago, took him out of playing for england iirc.

I think the worst game we went to was just two of us, to mansfield on a horrible day with almost no other brentford fans, to watch a terrible game which I think we lost badly. Used to stand in the terrace mostly, barely been back since they made that the away stand. WHen the weathers better(as my knee's are agony in the cold) I'm going to try to go see some matches this year. Think they've got a match on sky soonish aswell which I'll try and remember to catch.

 

[Jeff Lynne]

Weymouth are in big trouble. They're had to release all of their first team players because they couldn't pay them and fielded their youth team at home to Rushden & Diamonds yesterday. The score was 0-9.

http://www.theterras.co.uk/

 

[HangTime]

Good post, you're clearly someone who knows more than the average fan. I got pilloried on the Salisbury website for simply posting on there whether it was true or not that they were paying out £8500 p/w when they were in the Southern League and most teams were paying around a sixth.

Salisbury were like the turn of the century Leeds United of the non-league, somehow blowing everyone out of the water on wages and yet still being sponsored by In-Excess and relying on the fact that somehow they'd earn more and more money. Yes, crowds were good (they even got me going again!) but it was staggering that they could take such risks so soon after nearly going out of business.

Another thing thats remarkable about the wages they paid out is that the most expensive players and those who they've shipped out first are those who made up the core of that team.

Matt Tubbs has come back from loan now after a spell at Bournemouth, I know a couple of years back some clubs were sniffing around him and he was one of the ones who got given a phat paycheque to ward off such interest. Hopefully if they stay up there'll be a chance to get some stability before next season.