There is a lot to hate about premier league football and one of the main things always seems to be money! It costs a small fortune for fans to follow their club each season. Another problem in some peoples eyes is the need for immediate success with patience of footballers and managers at an all time low. So if ticket prices were much lower do you think managers would be given more time and fans more patient? After all one of the things fans always say is "we are paying lots of money to watch this rubbish" etc. Likewise if wages were lower would people be more tolerant? Or is it just the way society is that we expect results instantly.
Yep definitely, it's too frustrating paying £40 for a ticket travelling half way round the country to watch uninspiring dull defensive football having 2 shots a game. Add in travel expenses, food, drink and it gets to a point when you wonder if it is worth it.. Even if managers are building a solid team from the back a la Hughton its too annoying for a lot.
The Bundesliga (Germany, not Austria) is the model to follow in my opinion. German stadiums still have standing areas, and generally higher capacity but the tickets are significantly cheaper. The BBC fairly recently published an article comparing the price of tickets within the premier league (I can't find the link sorry) to other teams across Europe. A standing season ticket at Volkswagen-backed VfL Wolfsburg can be bought for around £200! That would get you about 5 matches at the Emirates. You can go an see Champions League quality Borussia Dortmund play Lerverkeusen for less than half what you would pay to see us draw 0-0 at the Britannia. Bayern Munich and Hertha Berlin are in big cities so there ticket prices are a little more but still way cheaper than ours. I think because the fans don't pay so much they are less critical of their teams and the newly promoted underdogs Eintracht Braunschweig (who have Simeon Jackson) get thumped most games but their fans are just happy to be in the top bundesliga. This article is about the profitability of German football: http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/21167381 It shows that clearly, clubs don't need to charge a high ticket price to make a profit but I guess if we sell out every match then there is no reason to drop the price.
Germany certainly seem to have it right. I think you can even get public transport around the stadium included with your ticket. Even watching L2 games costs £20 over here which is crazy. It does make sense that if fans believe they are paying big money they expect something for it. Really for the PL ticket prices are not a massive income for most clubs so I don't see why they could not lower them. Also what do people think of the idea to make away tickets much cheaper than home ones at all grounds? Travelling costs so much so making tickets cheaper would encourage more to go. Maybe not needed so much for PL but lower down away followings are not great. If all clubs did it fans shouldn't feel unfairly treated, everyone gets cheaper away tickets.
