http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/sep/21/german-english-football-recovery?fb=optOut "At their first home Premier League match this season, Chelsea, owned by the Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich, beat Reading 4-2 in front of 41,733 all-seated supporters whose season tickets at Stamford Bridge, apart from a small family area, cost a minimum £750. Last season's champions in Germany's Bundesliga, Borussia Dortmund, began this one by beating Werder Bremen 2-1, watched by 80,645 people, including 24,454 fans in a vast standing area, paying â¬187 (£148) for their season tickets. That gulf in price and experience illustrates a profound difference in philosophy between hyper-commercialised, "free-market" English football and the more democratic German approach to what we used to call "the people's game". ".....German football has staged a recovery every bit as remarkable as that of the English game, but without surrendering some of the popular traditions, such as standing areas for fans and cheaper tickets."
Blame the greedy PL clubs for it. Simples. With the vast amounts of TV cash swilling around the PL they could easily make PL far more cheaper than it is. This is the downside of being a PL club supporter sadly and it shouldn't be.
Am I right in thinking that German clubs have fences at their grounds, but they are motorised so they can be quickly opened in the event of a crush?
I can't recall the detail, but isn't the 'success' of the Bundesliga debatable due to the way the league's are structured meaning it's sucking the life out of the lower leagues?
unbelievable difference in price and it filters right through the English divisions, if only the prices were much lower the crowds would be so much bigger, the problem is the big premier clubs still get big crowds and dont really suffer
Just for a bit of balance to the new beau in mussy's life. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/ar...-efficiency-The-Bundesliga-Martin-Samuel.html
I've a mate who's a Frankfurt fan and I'm currently doing business in Germany with a Hamburg fan and they both claim the magical German football model is a myth. The drinking at games is causing massive problems and may well be banned soon. Despite the size of Germany, there's only 56 professional clubs, only 36 in the Bundesliga 1 & 2 and a third tier that includes several reserve sides from the top two leagues. Ticket prices are low and crowds are big(at least in the Bundesliga), but there is nowhere near the depth of local clubs that we have here. If we shut down half our professional clubs, we could probably match the German model, but I can't see that happening any time soon.
Fancy being paid to watch football? http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/blogs/world-of-sport/country-where-pays-watch-football-151302179.html
There is no country that has the strength in depth in terms of clubs that we have.. Spanish La Liga is a poor imitation of the PL if you take the Super Clubs of Real and Barca out of the equation. Their Second division is on a par at best with our Lg 1 and after that there are nine no less, regionalised Third Divisions with the many clubs (not just La Liga) fielding reserve sides. North Ferriby could compete at that level .. That said it is time for a serious rethink about ticket prices.. no one should pay more than £20 IMHO for any game in the NPC. The concessions that City give to kids and 16-22 year olds is a start but more needs to be done not just because of the crippling recession but in the wider context.
