Yeah I don't think it is a big concern, the fact of the matter is if teams aren't successful they will get lower gates anyway, so it is better to price out future generations of fans if that means bringing success in the here and now. I don't know what the has-beens charge but if you look at the average gates at places like Leeds, Wednesday, Forest, Blackburn etc they are well below capacity and that's because they aren't competitive any more at the top level. If teams get big gate receipts meaning they can afford big wages and get in the CL, that builds the fan base in itself even if it is armchair fans who buy merchandise and maybe end up attending matches when they are older. Take me for example as a child nobody in my family (parents, siblings, grandparents) really followed football so my only exposure was stuff like The Big Match on ITV. I didn't even start going to Premiership matches until after I finished uni. But they had still got me hooked despite me never attending matches as a kid. Besides, rich people often take their kids anyway so get them hooked and not only will they be paying top dollar for their seats they will also be bringing their families and filling up on prawn sandwiches etc.
Furthermore in the modern age you have to ask yourself how important bums on seats really are, it is more important to get the TV money in, and build yourself a global brand cashing in on foreign markets etc. People who think you should just be charging a tenner to get the 'real fans' in are not living in the real world, especially when FFP comes in it would be pretty stupid of teams like MU not to try and maximise their revenue so they can afford to spend more on wages and transfers.
Yes in the longer term if clubs aren't successful (they can't all be) then there may be dwindling gates and the need to cut prices, but that's the beauty of it, they can cut prices if they want to. Cash in while you can and adopt a fallback position later if necessary.
Furthermore in the modern age you have to ask yourself how important bums on seats really are, it is more important to get the TV money in, and build yourself a global brand cashing in on foreign markets etc. People who think you should just be charging a tenner to get the 'real fans' in are not living in the real world, especially when FFP comes in it would be pretty stupid of teams like MU not to try and maximise their revenue so they can afford to spend more on wages and transfers.
Yes in the longer term if clubs aren't successful (they can't all be) then there may be dwindling gates and the need to cut prices, but that's the beauty of it, they can cut prices if they want to. Cash in while you can and adopt a fallback position later if necessary.
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