Tom, this thread links to a great article about the state of football today.. although to be fair its mainly aimed at Premier league clubs... it is still relevant to a lot of clubs in the championship.
http://blondepoker.com/forum/index.php?topic=36405.0And these are my views from that thread.
Football has moved on, the mega money from Sky etc has propelled the game into fantasy land ... without the injection of this TV cash, we wouldnt be seeing any of the global superstars except in international games on the telly ... But while the TV money no doubt finances the unbelievable transfer fees, It is left to us mugs to pay the salaries of these players and that is the problem imo.
Football used to be the game of the working classes, it was an outlet for millions of men who spent all week working their arses off and Saturday was their escape, a few pints and then the footy. 3pm on a Saturday was sacrosanct, it was football. Now your club will play more games on Sundays or Mondays than they actually play on Saturdays.
I used to go to Luton when I was a kid, my Dad used to take me and my Brother every week, we would park up walk to the ground, get a mars bar at the local corner shop for half time and a bovril or a hot chocolate inside the ground at half time too, My Dad was a fireman back then and a single parent of 3 of us .. yet he could afford to take us. Now I cannot afford to take my boy to more than 1 or 2 matches a season, here is an example of costs.. recent trip to see Pompey play Man utd
Tickets £35 for me
£15 x 2 for 2 kids ( i got Sam a kids ticket even though he is 16 and concessions were UNDER 16's
Couldnt just buy tickets for the Man Utd game, so had to Purchase tickets for a game in November as well, versus Hull City.
so Tickets £130
Half time and kids want a drink ... 2 cokes, 1 coffee, 3 kit kats £8.20
seats inside the ground are shit, they are so close together that you get NO legroom and you are literally shoulder to shoulder with the person next to you, legroom is so poor that even when you have to stand up to let people through you WILL get your toes stood on every time as there really is no room to get through.
take into account programmes, travel to and from grounds and you are adding costs up all the time.
The game has without doubt been stolen from the people and given to the corporate giants yet despite all the corporate money, ticket prices have, and continue to rise well above the rates of inflation .. yet clubs get away with it because football is a drug and people find the money at expense of other things. But this wont continue, when the silly money stops being made available football will be bankrupt and will have to start again, and when it does these clubs will be begging the working class man to return.
Until then, me and millions like me will have to make do with 1 or 2 live games a season and long for the days when spending Saturdays at the footy with your mates and your kids was just as much of a ritual as a religious person going to church on a sunday, where as now its more akin to a religious person going to the vatican to see the pope !
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