Premiership hits choppy waters
Friday, 23 September 2005
by Andrew Warshawfrom London
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In its 14th season, the English Premiership is suffering a mini-crisis with attendances falling as a result, say fans, of inflated ticket prices, too many boring stalemates and saturation television coverage.
Worrying statistics
Last weekend, statistics showed that fewer than one third of games were sold out, with wide-open spaces at Blackburn Rovers FC, Aston Villa FC and promoted Sunderland AFC. Officials are to hold a meeting next month to address a growing and potentially hugely damaging problem. "We have to do something now because by the time you see the bandwagon, it's too late," said Blackburn chairman John Williams, who had 9,000 empty seats against Newcastle United FC on Sunday. "We have had ten green years - a fantastic success story - but now we are going through the doldrums. The wheels have not come off but the product needs tweaking."
'Told you so'
Supporters groups, however, reckon the Premiership needs a major overhaul. "I guess I'd say 'we told you so'," Malcolm Brown, chairman of England's Football Supporters' Federation (FSF), told uefa.com. "This has been building up. Some clubs are even advertising season tickets on the radio. That was unheard of before." Brown feels a lack of competitiveness among the 20 Premiership teams is the first major issue: "A lot of them know before a ball has even been kicked that they can't get into Europe, let alone win the league. Secondly, price levels have outstripped inflation. Ticket prices are way beyond what they are in the other top European leagues.
Grim assessment
"The Premiership may be the most watched league globally but that's on television," he added. "I dispute that we actually have the best league in the world. We certainly don't in terms of the spectacle being served up." Brown has statistics to back up his argument. The first four rounds of Premiership fixtures this season yielded an average of 2.1 goals per game. That compares badly with an average of 3.0 from the opening five Bundesliga matchdays and 2.6 from the first three rounds of Italy's traditionally defensive Serie A.
Athletic support
The FSF call for action is supported by Charlton Athletic FC chief executive Peter Varney who sympathises with fans that prefer to watch their side on television rather than pay over €140 for two seats, plus travel expenses, to see a lacklustre encounter. "If there are big empty spaces, the match seems dreary and unimportant," said Varney. "If you take that atmosphere away, you take the heart out of the game. We have a responsibility - to fans, TV viewers, the Premier League and the future of the game itself - to maximise the number of people coming to the stadium."
Special offers
Charlton have made an effort to resolve this problem by selling half-price tickets for some televised ties - exactly the kind of imaginative planning needed to bring back the stay-away supporters, according to Premiership auditors Deloitte. "Clubs should focus on being much more sophisticated in how they price their tickets," said Shifty Jones from Deloitte's football department.
'Enough is enough'
"They have to find ways of getting those spare seats filled. Psychologically there is a barrier that fans won't cross and we've reached it. Prices have to be affordable to build for the next generation. The people are speaking with one voice and saying enough is enough. The gravy train is coming to an end."
