Tag Archives: Arsenal FC

Arsenal no longer most expensive Premier League club to watch

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The BBC Sport Price of Football survey has been released today with great fan fare, and once again, Arsenal have been labelled as the club with the most expensive season ticket. This will be used once more by papers and radio stations to bash us and criticise us. Lets not forget last season, the press hyperbole resulted in the ticket price protest by City fans at the Emirates last season. Which then in itself was used to bash the club further.

Whilst I am not going to attempt to justify our season ticket price, it is too high and prices out the man on the Clapham Omnibus, what I hate is when my club, our club, Arsenal is attacked by all and sundry. Whether it is the press highlighting our disciplinary record, our lack of Englishman, our trophy drought, or our ticket prices. This is then picked up by opposing fans, who then continue to attack out club using what they have read in the papers or listened to on the radio. It is every man’s duty to defend his club.

The headlines from today’s survey will end up getting written as ‘Arsenal have most expensive Season ticket price again.’ Whilst based on the grand total of the season ticket, it is true, we are the most expensive, when you break it down to what we get, the headlines are simply a lie. Spun to bash The Arsenal. Lets look at some FACTS.

  • Arsenal’s season ticket covers 26 games. The 19 league games and the first 7 Champions League/FA Cup games. No other Premier League club does this.
  • This means our cheapest season ticket price per game is £37.88, and most expensive is £75.19
  • Tottenham Hotspur’s cheapest season ticket per game is £39.21, their most expensive is £99.73 – Both more expensive than Arsenal
  • A season ticket for the Shed End Lower will cost you £39.47 per game, Chelsea’s cheapest
  • At Liverpool, their cheapest ticket per game is £37.36, although this is a restricted view. Their cheapest unrestricted is £38.15
  • Liverpool’s cheapest individual ticket is £38. £12 more then Arsenal’s at £26

Again, to re-iterate my point, I am not justifying Arsenals ticket price here. What I am pointing out is we are not the most expensive club to go and watch. We sit 4th behind Chelsea, Tottenham and Liverpool.

What the above shows is that Arsenal should offer two tiers of ticket prices. An idea first bought up by the Black Scarf Movement, a ‘Season Ticket Lite’ where cup games are not including would make tickets a tad more affordable. It would bring our cheapest season ticket down to £720. Whilst the average ticket price per game remains the same, fans make a huge 20% saving on their season ticket purchase in July.

Whilst doing this research, I glanced over various rival club’s websites to pull the data of cheapest and most expensive ticket prices. I ignore Manchester City as, whilst they are very cheap – they offer the cheapest in the Premier League – they do not rely on match day income to buy players and strengthen their squad. If FFP comes in properly (it won’t) there prices will soon sky rocket. One club did surprise me, however. Manchester United.

Manchester United’s lowest season ticket price works out to £28 per game (£532). There most expensive is £50 per game (£950). Now I know Old Trafford has 75,000 seats, therefore meaning that they can offer slightly lower prices to other clubs, whilst still maintaining high revenue, but these prices are very much affordable. Manchester United also supplement match day revenue with a lot of very good commercial deals.

So over the last few years, Manchester United have had affordable ticket prices and success. Surely this should be the model every club should be striving for? Hopefully as we continue to pay down our stadium debt and increase our commercial deals, we might see ticket prices starting to drop, as we no longer become as reliant on match day revenue.

A final thought, ticket pricing justifies our move to the Emirates. Whilst some might see this as controversial. Look at Tottenham. They are in a tiny stadium and are unable to compete in the Premier League due to a low match day revenue. This is forcing them to continually put their season ticket price up as the only way to increase revenue. For a team who has not won the league in over 50 years to have the countries most expensive ticket prices is shocking, and should be highlighted in the press (it won’t). Had we stayed at Highbury, our season ticket prices would have been much, much higher.

Yes, our most expensive single game ticket at £126 is disgusting, the club should get credit for having a cheapest ticket now at £26. This now means a father can take his two kids for less than £100. Fairly affordable! OK, he can not go to watch Manchester United or Spurs at the Emirates for this, but he should be teaching his kids that it is Arsenal that is important, not just the big games.

This information by no means justifies our ludicrously high season ticket prices. And the higher prices go throughout other clubs, the more it will be to go away. However, the aim this article is just to put some sensible talk out there against the media bashing who continually criticise our ticket prices, but do not criticise those with more expensive tickets then us.

Ticket prices throughout England are too high. They need to come down. Not just at Arsenal, but at every club. We need ‘joined up thinking’ to ensure all clubs drop prices. If one club did it, and others did not, it would put them at an unfair disadvantage. High ticket prices is not just Arsenal’s problem. It is England’s problem.

Prices need to drop. Not just be frozen.

Keenos

Don’t Let Club’s Get Away With Tesco Tactics

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This week a BBC study revealed that football ticket prices among 164 clubs in the top 10 divisions have fallen by 2.4% over the past year. The sports minister Hugh Robertson welcomed the study as ‘good news’.

So is this finding something to celebrate? No, let’s get real – even a price reduction of 20% would be nowhere near satisfactory bringing back football as a game affordable for everyone and offering value for money. Malcolm X once said “If you get stabbed with a nine inch knife, and you pull that knife out by six inches, you should be wary of celebrating your progress.”

A 2.4% reduction in football ticket doesn’t even pull the knife out by an inch.

I’m an Arsenal supporter who stopped going after twenty years of being regular, because prices rose to a point that I couldn’t justify paying. It’s not just home games where fans of a club like Arsenal are hit hard. For every away game they’ll be charged grade A prices and expected to fork out somewhere in the region of £50; normally for games against teams who are categorised grade B or C when they travel to Arsenal. For away fans like these there has certainly been no 2.4% decrease in price, quite the opposite. But even if there was, big deal – you wouldn’t even be able to buy a pie in the stadium with the ‘saving’.

It’s vital to have a sense of history when discussing the issue of ticket pricing, in order to be aware of just how hard fans have been hit in the past twenty years. I’m not picking on Arsenal here because most clubs are guilty, but as they’re my team I’m 100% familiar with the rise in pricing so will use us as an example. In 1986 a seat in the East Stand Lower at Highbury for any game was £4.50 along with the option of standing in the terraces for around £3. In the space of just twenty years, that same seat went up to £39, which was way above the average growth in wages during that time, which did not even triple. In 1995 you could still get in to any game at Highbury for £10. From £3 to stand at any game in 1986, to £63 for the cheapest ticket at a grade A game is a breathtaking change and one that comes with massive consequences to maintaining a traditional fan base and atmosphere.

Reduction in football ticket pricing will typically be in line with the supermarket tactic of perceived cost reduction. In other words, hike up prices – then put them back down by a fraction and pretend the customer is making a saving. A perceived or flimsy price reduction is something we should be very wary of, and the FSF’s ‘Twenty is Plenty’ campaign should be used as a benchmark for fairness in ticket pricing. Twenty is most certainly plenty, especially when you consider the millions that Premier League clubs generate from television, advertising and merchandise. The team in the Premier League who finishes bottom will still be £60 million better off than they would have been a year earlier in the same position. Spin and false perception are simply not satisfactory and fans need to demand significant pricing reductions in order to see a return to the ‘People’s Game’.

Fan power is a weapon that is underestimated. This summer I attended a meeting with four other football fans in the offices of the Premier League, where we discussed ticket pricing with Richard Scudamore. Outside the building 300 angry fans from clubs all over the country were protesting and making their voices heard inside the building. From what I could see, the officials inside were a bit shaken up by what was going on outside in the street. They do not want any bad publicity to harm their corporate friendly product. Can you imagine if the percentage of protesting fans outside rose by the same figure as ticket pricing has in the last 20 years? If that were the case then the thousands of fans would really give the chaps in the Premier League offices something to worry about.

Matthew Bazell

Matthew Bazell is the author of Theatre of Silence: The Lost Soul of Football

TOS

The Arsenal and Me – Michael’s Story

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Just over a week ago, Arsenal signed Musut Özil and several hours before that ‘we beat the scum 1-0’ (Has a nice ring that, wonder if it can be made into a song?). I’m here at work on a warm Wednesday afternoon, just 48 hours after the signing, still glowing from an Arsenal double joy and reading the She Wore ‘Arsenal & Me’ blogs thinking ”I could have a bit of this blogging malarkey”. So here goes…

Do you really need to hear about my past credentials? I guess not, but it seems the standard. 

I grew in up Islington, born in ’79. My dad was the youngest of 8 children that grew up off Liverpool Road, Islington. He and his brother closest in age (my Uncle) used to frequent Highbury as children during the 1960’s mainly to watch the Liverpool’s, United’s & West Ham’s of the day. The latter my dad went on to later support and became a regular over Upton Park for many years. My uncle on the other hand was taken in by the Arsenal faithful and not looked back since.

So I could have been a Hammer but my dad did not force supporting them onto me…not even subliminally. (I tried to do the same for my children, not influencing them, but I just couldn’t do it. We have 2 more Gunners to the ranks!).

Thankfully I grew up a Gooner like my Uncle & the majority of the family.

An uncle on my mother’s side of the family took me too my first game – Arsenal vs Leicester 20th April 1987. It was towards the end of the season but I remember a lot of hype which centred upon on an Arsenal striker which had been bought earlier in that season but returned back to Leicester on loan. That striker was Alan Smith and it was a chance for us to see him up close. Arsenal won 4-1.

The season after that I slowly started to be a regular on the Clockend, aged 8 propped up against the terrace rails standing on my little red stall allowing me to see the game!
Did I pass the supporters test? Fuck it! Doesn’t matter in any case this will help as a back story to my ‘Me & my Arsenal story’.

“Marwood, Brian Marwood. Brian Marwood on the wing…..and in Goal?!” 

At the start of the famous 1989 season my dad put my name down to be an Arsenal mascot. Luckily my name was picked out of the hat and I was chosen. On the 1st October 1989 Tony Adams & I proudly lead the Arsenal team out onto the pitch. The fixture wasn’t at Highbury but instead at Upon Park against my dad’s West Ham. What mixed emotions my dad must have had.

In the summer before being mascot I got my first (full) kit for my birthday – The 1989 yellow & blue Adidas away top.

My mum did that thing that most mothers which is to write their child’s name on the inside of all their clothes. Fine, except she did it to my Arsenal socks and of course with all football socks you roll the tops down. So there I am at 10 years of age leading out the famous Arsenal Football Club with Big ‘Tone’ holding my hand yet as I look down to my feet staring back at me was my full name written on the outside of my socks! Pillock!

Half an hour or so before my mascot duties really started I was asked if I wanted to join the Junior Hammers boys & Girls out on the pitch. As much as I was bricking at that time it I accepted and shortly stepped out onto the pitch together with these other children in their West Ham tracksuits. We did several laps of the pitch as they advertised their Junior Hammer scheme holding a large ‘Join the Junior Hammers’ banner. As I approached what is now the Bobby Moore Stand, a chant started from the away end. Originally I didn’t catch it. One of the Junior Hammers turned to me and asked.

“Why didn’t you wave?” 
“Why? What did they sing? I didn’t hear it.” I replied

One lap later we got around to the travelling Gooner’s again but this time much louder and clearer to me I heard.

“Mascot! Gis’ a wave! Mascot! Mascot! Gis’ a wave!” Of course I waved which was matched by a gracious cheer. This carried on for each lap.

Forward on and Big Tone & I (with the name on my socks!) emerged from the tunnel & led the Arsenal team out onto the pitch. We applauded the entire crowd in the centre circle as is the Arsenal tradition for thanking the paying fans for attending and off I went to take pot shots at Johnny Lukic. I’d taken a few shots during the warm-up when all of a sudden Lukic disappeared back towards the tunnel. He’d forgotten his kit bag or towel. I’m now left on my own in the penalty area with an open goal but with no-one to kick to or pass with.

In steps my saviour – Mr Brian Marwood! Now sense would prevail as Marwood is a winger that we’d simply pass to each other. Not for the ‘Pro’ that is Marwood. “Right, I’m in goal lad!”

For what seemed to be the next 5 minutes, Arsenal and soon to be capped England international Brian Marwood is in goal saving shots from a 10 year old child at Upton Park.

Marwood in Goal

AMAZING!

Lukic later returned for a few more shots and Arsenal went on to win the match 4-1.
Thank you Brian for making my day magic!

If you’ve read this far thank you and my sincere apologies as you won’t get those 5 minutes back! If you read it and actually enjoyed it…Wow!

I’ve some more Arsenal related stories such as when I later worked in different roles & departments such as an YTS sports coach, turnstile operator, Box Office & Mail Order but I’ll save them for another time….maybe.

Up the Arsenal!

If you would like to tell your Arsenal story, click here