As the cost of living crisis continues to strangle the joy out of merely being alive, football is seen as the great unifier and a way to put those troubles to one side for a few hours every week, but with money being the driving force of everything, even that pastime is becoming a bleak reminder of how bad things are right now.
Every other week over 50,000 people flock to St James' Park to watch their beloved Newcastle United, bedecked in expensive black and white merchandise, knocking back over-priced pints and scranning expensive pies. The majority of those fans have already paid a hefty sum for their season tickets, while others may have picked up their ticket on general sale for around £50.
What used to be the 'working man's' game is now being exploited by mega-rich owners who see the fans as walking pound signs. This isn't exclusive to Newcastle United, it's happening all around the country, which is why the #StopExploitingLoyalty movement started by the Football Supporters Association has led to Newcastle fans standing side-by-side with representatives from other clubs to sent a strong message to their respective owners to stop bleeding fans dry.
As good as that movement is and how the Newcastle United Supporters Trust has stuck with it and promoted it, the Trust have now felt the need to escalate things and have written to Newcastle's CEO Darren Eales to put forward a very strong case to freeze ticket prices next season. You can read the full letter on the NUST's X account.
I spoke to the NUST Chairman Paul Karter who shed a bit more light on the figures behind the claim that the 10,000 supporters whose ticket prices will be brought in-line with the current prices after being part of the 10-year scheme (which is ending after 14 years).
"We estimate in excess of 10,000 supporters will see their season ticket prices align with those not on the scheme. If prices are frozen next season, this should see additional revenue of circa £2.5m. That compares to this season’s increase of around £750K."
Those fans are going to be hit really hard next season, and an additional increase on top of it may just be a step too far for many of them.
The Premier League TV rights have increased once again, and given how popular Newcastle are when it comes to their games being shown live, the club will be set to receive a hefty portion of that sum again.
What the club are currently doing is favouring money over loyalty, but there will come a point where that breaks the system and fans can no longer afford to turn up to the stadium to watch their club. Empty stadiums and houses full of armchair fans. That will put a stop to all that matchday revenue and the clubs will only have themselves to blame.
Hopefully, Darren Eales and the Newcastle United board take notice of the Trust's letter and enact a price freeze for next season. We appreciate that costs increase for the club, too, and that matchday revenues are a way to beat PSR, but there are other ways to beat PSR without making the fans pay for it.
When your club is owned by an Investment Fund that has limitless wealth and a portfolio of businesses that generate sickening profits, it's hard to justify penny pinching and passing on the burden of increasing revenues to the working man looking for a bit of escapism.
PL | GD | PTS | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
1 |
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23 | 35 | 56 |
2 |
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24 | 27 | 50 |
3 |
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24 | 13 | 47 |
4 |
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24 | 16 | 43 |
5 |
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24 | 13 | 41 |
6 |
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24 | 13 | 41 |
7 |
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24 | 13 | 40 |
8 |
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24 | -3 | 37 |
9 |
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24 | 4 | 36 |
10 |
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24 | -3 | 34 |
11 |
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24 | 0 | 31 |
12 |
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24 | -2 | 30 |
13 |
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24 | -6 | 29 |
14 |
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24 | 11 | 27 |
15 |
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24 | -17 | 27 |
16 |
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23 | -5 | 26 |
17 |
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24 | -18 | 19 |
18 |
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24 | -28 | 17 |
19 |
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24 | -27 | 16 |
20 |
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24 | -36 | 9 |