Foxes Trust speak out over ticket prices

[LAprice_]

Football fans invest their time, money and effort into supporting a football club. Imagine if they were to receive a percentage of any of the income the club gains. I know this would never happen but it was something that I thought would be worth looking into.

 

So, let's say we have 20,000 fans signed up to this scheme. I guess I'm calling them shareholders. I've not studied Economics in a long time. Now, if the club sells a player for 10 million pounds, I would propose that 5% of that fee should be shared among the fans. That totals about £25 each. This is all completely hypothetical and there is probably a huge economic reason why this is not feasible, but hey, it's a nice idea to think about. 

 

Wait a second, shareholders do actually exist, don't they? Can someone clever please help

[Claridge]

Bit of a weird statement that. Sounds like some nutty socialist ranting about bankers bonuses. It's all supply and demand. If you don't like it, the best thing you can do is to stop or suspend your funding of it. One mass walk out or one mass temporary sky TV cancellation might achieve something. A letter like this will do absolutely nothing while you're still routinely dipping into your pocket to fund the problem.

I must say when the poor came to matches before the premier league there was always trouble.

[purpleronnie]

Let's get tough. The time for talking is over. Call it extreme if you like, but I propose we hit it hard and hit it fast with a major and I mean major leaflet campaign,and while it's reeling from that, we'd follow up with a whist drive, a car boot sale, some street theatre and possibly even some benefit concerts. OK?

[Dom_Harborough Fox]

I say fair play to the Foxes Trust and the other supporters groups involved. Combating the ticket price rise is something that would benefit ALL of us who pay to watch the lads. Surely anything that helps build a bit of momentum behind this can only be a good thing.

 

Most of the defence of the clubs and football authorities in allowing ticket prices to spiral out of control appears to be based on the 'supply and demand' idea. While that's fair enough, it's based on the premise that football clubs are just businesses like any other, whose main concern is to keep revenue and profit growing year after year. If the strength of the brand/product increases, why shouldn't the consumer pay more for it?

 

In my opinion, this is flawed because football isn't like other industries and football clubs aren't like other businesses. Football wasn't originally about money. It was about pride in what happens on the pitch and teams representing their local communities, going head to head with other teams from other communities for bragging rights and the prestige of winning competitions. Serious money came into the English game with the rebranding of the old First Division to the Premier League and events since have meant that, sadly, football in this country has become more about money than the things I mentioned above, but only to the people who plough money into it, expecting a return e.g. sponsors, broadcasters etc. From what I have seen, for most fans, who far outnumber the investors, the things that matter remain the same - pride in your team etc etc.

 

It's the bond between clubs and their fans, as well as the fact that football was originally and will always remain first and foremost a sport rather than a business that makes the issue of ticket prices important. I believe clubs do have a responsibility to ensure that they don't price out people from the very communities they represent. These people helped to build the club up in the first place and often they are the very reason the clubs were even able to form and continue to survive. Fans keep clubs going through the dark times, through relegations and financial woes when sponsors and broadcasters are no longer interested in your 'brand'. A fantastic example here being the consortium that kept the club afloat in 2002, backed significantly by local people as well as those who kept on going through the years of shite and relegation to League 1. It seems to me completely unfair that these same people should be taken for every penny in successful times when there are income streams aplenty.
 

[davieG]

Let's get tough. The time for talking is over. Call it extreme if you like, but I propose we hit it hard and hit it fast with a major and I mean major leaflet campaign,and while it's reeling from that, we'd follow up with a whist drive, a car boot sale, some street theatre and possibly even some benefit concerts. OK?

We could all clap on the 50th minute or whatever the highest cost of a match day ticket is at every game or maybe a minutes silence in memory of all those absent fans who can no longer afford to go.

 

What actually might help if all those countries currently paying Sky and the PL for the PL games stopped and started spending the money on showing and supporting their own Country's football clubs.

[Dom_Harborough Fox]

What actually might help if all those countries currently paying Sky and the PL for the PL games stopped and started spending the money on showing and supporting their own Country's football clubs.

 

Great point.

 

Agree 100%

 

People in other countries who buy into the Premier League brand would soon see the benefit in terms of the quality of football in their own leagues if they concentrated on getting involved with their local teams.

[65RosesFox]

One can find analogous trends in many other industries--especially industries where leading companies are criticized for passing more costs to consumers while earning massive profits.

The cost of going to see a film. Bank fees. Real estate (particularly in and around London). Cable television. The list can go on and on...

I am not English, but I can see that football really does have a special place in your country's history and popular culture... perhaps that place is taken for granted these days. However, the matter at hand is not just a football phenomenon--it's something that's happening in almost every area of your lives. How can football change when so much of everything else is also having its own "Premier League" effect?

 

you missed out the price of Freddo's, Curly Wurly's and Fudge's nowadays.

 

What is the world coming to.

[Guest]

Let's get tough. The time for talking is over. Call it extreme if you like, but I propose we hit it hard and hit it fast with a major and I mean major leaflet campaign,and while it's reeling from that, we'd follow up with a whist drive, a car boot sale, some street theatre and possibly even some benefit concerts. OK?

great line from the Dwarf

[fuchsntf]

Have to agree with this really.

They're saying all the right things but at the end of it, the most notable thing is it doesn't even offer up a solution. Surely they should at least propose something?

That sounds like my lazy ex-manager. You find a problem and he expected you to find the solution.

These people have got themselves together, noticing, seeing and wanting the pricing issue be recognised and understood, by the relevant organisations.Finding, approaching problems, is the first step, solving them is usually team work, involving groups one has no easy access to, hence the word MANAGEMENT and when necessary delegation and planning.

Supply and demand is just an excuse to force an issue, then con people to release more funds than that really exsist.

The banking forced recession/recessions is just one example of a cancer of greed, disrespecting the needs of ones various customers.Football should be ever developing, I really have nothing against the idea of agents,before sportsman were mishandled by their own clubs, while the wrong people took the money.

Its trying to find a ballance where agents have to pay levies back to the relevant sport, without them or the sports clubs hicking

the prices to keep THEIR status quo of finances.

I havent got the solution, life has shown its difficult to attempt to try and make moves on the moral ground alone.

Its just the hope so long as some people dont just sit and complain, but are organising themselves on our behalf, there is, 'That hope' ,that things can be slowly changed.

[Jon the Hat]

Keeps the scum out though doesn't it?  They will only stand up and sing or something horribly uncouth.

[Tommy G]

The statement would have been much better if it was written by someone who didnt sound like a pissed off 16yr old

[Kitchandro]

Angry? Problem? Mugged off?

The fans are having a tough time getting angry because there's nothing to be angry about.

There is no problem here.

The fans aren't being mugged off if they are choosing to pay these prices.

Getting people angry enough to take mass action? We talking about football here, right? Any fan that does feel "angry" about this ougjt to consider channeling that "anger" into something really positive and really worthwhile by giving one's time and support on Saturdays to grassroots football and/or a local non-league team, among other things.

 

I really don't understand this view.

 

I support Leicester, not a non-league side. Going to non-league games wouldn't make me feel any better about not watching Leicester.

[Claridge]

Keeps the scum out though doesn't it?  They will only stand up and sing or something horribly uncouth.

Hear,hear why anyone would want to stand up to watch a football match is weird.

Mind you i'm only 5 foot seven so maybe biased. ban lanky's from standing i say

[Kitchandro]

That sounds like my lazy ex-manager. You find a problem and he expected you to find the solution.

These people have got themselves together, noticing, seeing and wanting the pricing issue be recognised and understood, by the relevant organisations.Finding, approaching problems, is the first step, solving them is usually team work, involving groups one has no easy access to, hence the word MANAGEMENT and when necessary delegation and planning.

Supply and demand is just an excuse to force an issue, then con people to release more funds than that really exsist.

The banking forced recession/recessions is just one example of a cancer of greed, disrespecting the needs of ones various customers.Football should be ever developing, I really have nothing against the idea of agents,before sportsman were mishandled by their own clubs, while the wrong people took the money.

Its trying to find a ballance where agents have to pay levies back to the relevant sport, without them or the sports clubs hicking

the prices to keep THEIR status quo of finances.

I havent got the solution, life has shown its difficult to attempt to try and make moves on the moral ground alone.

Its just the hope so long as some people dont just sit and complain, but are organising themselves on our behalf, there is, 'That hope' ,that things can be slowly changed.

 

Hang on a minute, what's actually new about what they've said? They're not the first people to write to clubs and complain about ticket prices.

 

Like I said, they're saying the right things and I support them. But we're going to need a little bit more than that. If somebody is going to go out of their way and make a stand against this then yes, they do need to come up with a solution. The club isn't going to come up with one. I haven't got one. How do you make people care about our problems? That's always going to be the issue.

 

I hope they've got a plan of action. Frankly thouh, I'm rather sceptical we have what it takes in this country. The pezzonovante aren't just going to give us what we want.

[Jordan]

I really don't understand this view.

I support Leicester, not a non-league side. Going to non-league games wouldn't make me feel any better about not watching Leicester.

Are you angry, though?

[Foxes_Trust]

Voll Blau seems to have understood exactly what this joint statement is about, it is the next step in an ongoing campaign which Premiership Trust's are working on together and follows on a few weeks after the FSF organised hundreds of fans marching on Premier League and Football League headquarters demanding cheaper ticket prices throughout football.

 

"They're saying all the right things but at the end of it, the most notable thing is it doesn't even offer up a solution. Surely they should at least propose something?"

 

As a group we agreed not to include proposed solutions at this stage of the campaign, but are currently discussing some specific targeting as the next stage (can't provide more details currently, as several options are being considered). We have agreed that a combined campaign at national level will have more success, than each Trust just tackling their own club (as most clubs can find another clubs pricing to justify what a good deal they offer).

 

In terms of the "tone" of this statement, different Trust's will lead elements of the campaign as it progresses, and therefore the style of communication is likely to reflect this. If the Group tried to accommodate every Trust's natural style of communication, nothing would ever get published. This statement was drawn up to quickly pick up on the level of money exchanging hands between clubs, players and agents, all benefiting from the new TV money, meanwhile fans attending games have to put up with more fixture changes.

[ozleicester]

Let's get tough. The time for talking is over. Call it extreme if you like, but I propose we hit it hard and hit it fast with a major and I mean major leaflet campaign,and while it's reeling from that, we'd follow up with a whist drive, a car boot sale, some street theatre and possibly even some benefit concerts. OK?

 

FVCK OFF! ... half measures arent going to cut it... WHERE IS THE INTERPRETIVE DANCE  for fvcks sake???