Stoke fans with a bit more money

[Countydog]

I think Chelsea away and various other expensive away grounds separate the richer Stoke fans on higher incomes than those who cannot afford.

yes quite an obvious statement.

Today was for the middle class. Those with a bit more coin, about 600 or so.

Complete rip off. I can just about afford a £50 ticket. It is however a complete and utter disgrace.

[Deleted]

Mmm... A very truthful one never the less. Makes one wonder where the extra 10,000 fans appeared from in our rise from the Championship. Everything is relativeI suppose. It is all to do with disposable income and how we choose to spend it.
£50 is a days work for many ....1 hour for others....and small change for many Chelsea fans.


EDIT : In response to the original poster.

[prem4stoke]

How can you get around this? Set the prices for away fans? Then what would the fair price be, the average from all clubs? Then what do you set the allocation to say 500? 1000? To be honest the extra £15 on top of a trip to London for the day is the least of your costs.

[RipRoaringPotter]

Income is only relevant to someone's circumstances though.

An 18-year-old single guy on 12 grand a year is more likely to be able to afford an away game at Chelsea than a 30-year-old homeowner with a wife and kids on 20 grand a year.

[sufolkstokie]

There were hundreds, nay thousands of tourists fans for Chelski - many wearing a Chelsea v Stoke scarf for the game - I kid you not

Whilst there may have been some southern stokies who struggle to get to many games north of the Watford gap, I can assure you there was many a familiar face, young and old at the game - same as Crawley, Wigan, Arsenal away or indeed Colchester, Derby way from 5 years ago

[Deleted]

Mar 10, 2012 22:00:58 GMT prem4stoke said:

How can you get around this? Set the prices for away fans? Then what would the fair price be, the average from all clubs? Then what do you set the allocation to say 500? 1000? To be honest the extra £15 on top of a trip to London for the day is the least of your costs.

It's an easy problem to solve if you work for less than £ 8.00 an hour.

[prem4stoke]

Mar 10, 2012 22:03:35 GMT @mumf said:

Mar 10, 2012 22:00:58 GMT prem4stoke said:

How can you get around this? Set the prices for away fans? Then what would the fair price be, the average from all clubs? Then what do you set the allocation to say 500? 1000? To be honest the extra £15 on top of a trip to London for the day is the least of your costs.

It's an easy problem to solve if you work for less than £ 8.00 an hour.

I understand that but even if it was £15 cheaper you can't get to London and back for £15 unless you bike it run/walk or get a free lift. For example a £20 Torquay away ticket may cost more than a £50 Chelsea one. I suppose you have to pick and choose your games, if you goto every game your either very wealthy or don't do much else with your cash.

[Menorca Stokie]

Many used the excuse of not being able to afford to go to the match when we were in the lower leagues. I always believed that "if you built it they will come" and it has proved so.

We choose how to spend our individual disposible income and the draw of seeing your team in the Premiership is clearly a big draw.

I'm sure now that many will be feeling the pinch in the coming months due to our international foray and our added run in the domestic cups. If we do manage to make it past Liverpool then I guess there will be some tough decisions to make.

If you are on a limited budget do you attend the smi at Wembley or wait until we get to the final. Tough decision I feel but I tip my hat to the people who really push the boat out and attend and support the team when they shoud probably be spending their hard earned on other items or services.

[Stephen Frys' Ring]

I am a season ticket holder & i live a short bus ride and 2 tube stops from Chelski.....but i refused to pay £50 a ticket@ Chelski when i could sit in pub,ripping chelski (so called) fans and getting peshed for less than £50 then walk home to my lovely wife.

Fuck you fucking chelki cnuts and when i get back from Spain again after the Citeh game i will be going every game home & away....winner winner chicken dinner ;D

[stonecoldstokie]

Middle glass have money to burn then if you pay £50 to go there today

[shiftyfifty]

Personally, I prefer a day out in London and £50 a ticket than going to the likes of Wolves and Bolton.

[scfcbiancorossi]

Does it matter. Fact is its a rip off, rich or poor doesnt make a difference.

[joll1]

I don't think that's true there were loads of familiar faces there yesterday. It's an expensive ticket, I was chatting to a Chelsea lad yesterday who said there Villa ticket costs £45 so that slightly put it in context. On the other hand it was nice seeing all the Chinese tourists in our end, they certainly weren't there for us😉

[Lakeland Potter]

I think the advent of the Premier League has seen most of the top clubs, to a greater or lesser extent, make a conscious effort to move away from their traditional supporter base.

I started watching football at time when incomes had started to rise after the war and the emerging middle class were becoming an aspiration for many. Yet football, at that time, was still affordable to pretty much anyone who wanted to go. I didn't have to ask for extra pocket money to afford to go to games - and later on when I was a student it was still very affordable.

Today clubs like Chelsea have raised the bar so much that the unemployed and those on low wages can't afford to go to anything but the odd game. Those on much less than average earnings have been left behind in the rush to the sun.

The strange thing is that the amount of TV money pouring into the game means that ticket prices could now be lower than ever without significantly impacting on Premiership clubs' finances. What are Stoke's ticket sales as a percentage of total income - 15% or 20% ish?

I'm lucky to have survived the obstacle course that is a full working life to find myself with enough money to both go to games and to afford the travel costs to get there but I feel for the poor buggers who have not been so lucky.

We have gone from the days when the mark of success was being able to afford a yacht or a chalet at Klosters, to the point where season tickets for a big London club have the same status.

[Yorkshirepotter]

Mar 10, 2012 22:12:56 GMT Menorca Stokie said:

If we do manage to make it past Liverpool then I guess there will be some tough decisions to make.

If you are on a limited budget do you attend the smi at Wembley or wait until we get to the final

The semi will be covered but should.we make the final, ive already earmarked what i can sell to raise the funds.

As for away games, i havent managed one for the last two seasons, Wembley aside. With the cost of petrol, parking and food and drinks, a home game costs about £60 already, excluding the cost of a ticket.

As somebody said, the cost.is relative. I used to do about 10 away games a season in the late 90s. Despite haveing less money, i had less to spend it on, just beer, cigs and football.

[boothenender]

i was at the game yesterday.stayed at the copthorne hotel and sat in the matt harding stand.
hotel £185,two tickets £104.so it was an expensive two days in london.
i did notice the huge amount of tourists wandering about the "bridge" taking photos etc,even at midnight they are still strolling about pointing their three foot long zoom lenses everywhere,i saw on tourist with an arsenal bag on his shoulder and a chelsea bag on the other shoulder wandering about taking snaps and asking people to take photos of him.
chelsea/london is an expensive place to live or visit and their wages reflect that,chelsea are"blessed"with some very well heeled fans,whilst we in stoke are not so fortunate.
£50 odd pound for them is not a lot of cash to stump up for a game.
but i think that at least 10-15% of their home attendance is tourist football fans.
there was a few jap snappers walking about with surgical masks on,i thought that they where more danger to us than us to them,with high radiation etc.
at chelsea they have sniffer dogs all over the place in case of drug and terrorist attackers.
they should have Geiger counters instead to protect from those glow in the dark japs.
getting back to the original post...it is an expensive day out,we saved up for it.otherwise we would not be able to fork out that amount of cash every week to watch football.i am an exiled stokie,live in south yorkshire so every home game is an away game for me.
average cost to attend a game at stoke is £200...fuel,food,beer and tickets.
football is no longer a cheap day out,that is why i pick my games to attend.
the average supporter is being out priced and when it is to late those at the top will have
destroyed OUR game.

[MrDBrent]

Not really, many Stoke fans could afford the price but dont like being ripped off. simple as that

[surreystokie]

For many, that's true, but I've heard quite a few say that they wouldn't pay that much 'in principle'.

Also, especially with the EL away matches, many (especially if single) will take shuch trips in lieu of holidays.

[StokieMatt]

;D i went, but isnt a money thing. It is a huge rip off, but ive got go

i cant just pick my matches

[Jamo on the wing]

We go pretty much everywhere but took the decision (again) not to pay Chelsea's ridiculous prices.

It's been an expensive season what with our Europa adventure and it's certainly taken its toll on my bank balance.

Fans are being priced out of away games, there should be a flat rate to encourage people to travel but it'll never happen.

[RAF]

It had nothing to do with money and all to do with knwoing what team TP would roll out yesterday that stopped me going.
Well that and the fact I had my new shed to build.

H

[sufolkstokie]

Mar 11, 2012 9:36:39 GMT Jamo on the wing said:

Fans are being priced out of away games, there should be a flat rate to encourage people to travel but it'll never happen.

True, but given the amount of tourists at the Chelsea game yesterday, even some in with us, it will never change - same at Liverpool, Arsenal and Man U

[bunnyscfc]

yes, Jamo has to keep himself in Crosshatch t-shirts and RockSport sweats. £50 will go a long way.

You on the train next week Jamo?

[Lakeland Potter]

The FSF used to campaign (probably still do) for a flat rate charge of £15 for away fans. That was a year or so back and £20 might be a better figure these days. This idea has merit. There is no doubt in my mind that a full away end tends to improve the atmosphere of games - hopefully the prices we are paying at Liverpool - £20 adults and £15 concessions will prove the point.

[Jamo on the wing]

Mar 11, 2012 10:01:43 GMT bunnyscfc said:

yes, Jamo has to keep himself in Crosshatch t-shirts and RockSport sweats. £50 will go a long way.

You on the train next week Jamo?

I'm not going mate. I'm gutted but it's jnr's birthday and I'd already promised to take him out.

He's not quite ready for Anfield with the Stella twins!

[Linx]

I'm not convinced it's about class or even income.

Like many of us, I have family commitments which means that I do well to persuade my non-Stokie wife that I should renew my season ticket every year. Since every home game is an away game, that adds 180 miles onto our family car's mileage and costs about £25 in fuel, and keeps me out of the family home for 9 hours on a Saturday, I can't justify all the 'real' away games as well.

I could afford it financially (and, I suppose, as a graduate professional I count as middle class), but I can't afford it in terms of losing the quality time with my family.

[PolPotter]

I think there are people who can afford it but choose not to go on principle. The cost to watch a league football match at Chelsea is silly. Doesn't matter who is playing it's not on.

[harryburrows]

Mar 11, 2012 7:39:09 GMT Lakeland Potter said:

I think the advent of the Premier League has seen most of the top clubs, to a greater or lesser extent, make a conscious effort to move away from their traditional supporter base.

I started watching football at time when incomes had started to rise after the war and the emerging middle class were becoming an aspiration for many. Yet football, at that time, was still affordable to pretty much anyone who wanted to go. I didn't have to ask for extra pocket money to afford to go to games - and later on when I was a student it was still very affordable.

Today clubs like Chelsea have raised the bar so much that the unemployed and those on low wages can't afford to go to anything but the odd game. Those on much less than average earnings have been left behind in the rush to the sun.

The strange thing is that the amount of TV money pouring into the game means that ticket prices could now be lower than ever without significantly impacting on Premiership clubs' finances. What are Stoke's ticket sales as a percentage of total income - 15% or 20% ish?

I'm lucky to have survived the obstacle course that is a full working life to find myself with enough money to both go to games and to afford the travel costs to get there but I feel for the poor buggers who have not been so lucky.

We have gone from the days when the mark of success was being able to afford a yacht or a chalet at Klosters, to the point where season tickets for a big London club have the same status. [/quote


I was a £3 per week apprentice in the late 60s and could easily take in one or two games a week and all that goes with that . The whole structure is now driven by players wages and despite the massive tv revenue,high ticket prices and all the other commercial activities clubs undertake, many clubs still use close to 100% of revenue for players wages. As a business model professional football is unsustainable the fans can only pay so much in the current climate

[Lakeland Potter]

Mar 11, 2012 11:02:53 GMT Linx said:

I'm not convinced it's about class or even income.

Like many of us, I have family commitments which means that I do well to persuade my non-Stokie wife that I should renew my season ticket every year. Since every home game is an away game, that adds 180 miles onto our family car's mileage and costs about £25 in fuel, and keeps me out of the family home for 9 hours on a Saturday, I can't justify all the 'real' away games as well.

I could afford it financially (and, I suppose, as a graduate professional I count as middle class), but I can't afford it in terms of losing the quality time with my family.

Linx, obviously everyone's circumstances are different. But I do think that a significant number who could afford to go are turned off by the cost of tickets at some of the away games.

For example, the club's subsidy of the tickets for the Liverpool game appear to have produced a sell out. I doubt if we would have sold 6,000 tickets at £45 or whatever the original price was.

I'm in a similar boat to you - my match tickets are usually dwarved by the petrol cost. But even I baulk at paying the prices at some grounds and I've never even considered at game at Spurs, Arsenal or Chelsea since we got promoted.

[Deleted]

I could probably afford it if I wanted, but it doesn't represent value for money whatsoever. Knowing we are going to lose, combined with train, beer, food and ticket prices, mean that over £100 to watch us capitulate again at Chelsea isn't viable.


Games like Bolton, Wigan, West Brom have cheaper ticket prices, cheaper travel, a better chance of success and you get to spend more of the day in the pubs.

Liverpool is the perfect away day, cheap tickets, cheap and shorter travel, plenty of pubs and a decent chance of getting a result. I haven't been there in the league though.