NUST to stand side-by-side with The Hammers next Monday as Stop Exploiting Loyalty protests continue

We recently wrote about how the Newcastle United Supporters Trust is standing with the Football Supporters Association and other clubs up and down the country in protest against the rising costs of football.

Newcastle United fans are finding it harder and harder to regularly attend matches due to the rising costs of tickets and other things associated with the match-day experience.

Whilst clubs can't control the price of a beer around town or the cost of transport and parking, they absolutely can control the price of tickets and when just a few years ago a ticket would set you back between £20-£30 they're now closer to £50 with price hikes every year.

Indeed, only one Premier League club didn't raise their prices this season. So fans are now starting to take a stand and putting rivalries aside before games to stand side-by-side to deliver their message to their clubs.

The Hammers will join the NUST in protesting the cost of following football

Newcastle United return to action a week on Monday when West Ham visit St James' Park for a Sky Televised evening game, but before kick-off The Hammers supporters will join with the Newcastle United Supporters Trust and other fans in protest.

We asked for The Hammers' perspective on their gripes and representative Andy Payne put things in perfect perspective.

"West Ham fans are protesting at the withdrawal of price concessions for under 18’s and 21’s, over 66’s and all disabled fans for new season tickets from this season. This is both unprecedented and unjustified and it threatens to damage future generations of the West Ham family. The club claims that this policy is needed for them to adhere to the Premier League’s Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSR). Football finance experts, amongst them Keiran Maguire, have confirmed that this policy will add no more than £500-600k annually to the club’s revenues, which amounts to Danny Ings’ wages for just over a month"

The next protest will take place outside St James' Park before kick-off next week

These protests should give clubs an indication of the strong feelings fans have over the current situation, and maybe even make them ponder what the next steps may be if they don't start listening to the people.

As soon as fans start protesting with their wallets and staying away from games to make a point, we're sure that then, clubs will have a re-think, but we're sure that both sides would prefer to avoid that type of action because nobody really wins there.

You will have you chance to stand with the NUST and The Hammers before kick-off (from 7pm) Monday next week as the protests take place next to the Alan Shearer and Sir Bobby Robson statues as they did before the Arsenal game.