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Capacity reduction debate is null and void

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I don`t understand the anger over the reduced capacity for the Birmingham derby at St. Andrews.

For a club who averages little over 17,000 for a ‘normal` league fixture, it`s apparent that the majority of people complaining about the decision to cap the capacity at 25,000 are fans who don`t usually attend week-in week-out.

I understand that some people can`t afford it and that is fine. A lot of people are in that boat and I sympathise. But why, when they claim they cannot ‘afford` to attend games such as Blackburn and Rotherham (at £15 a pop) can they suddenly drum up the money (£35) for a Villa ticket?

It`s also worth noting that the attendance drop is mainly due to Villa`s allocation being reduced to 2,000 from 4,700. Admittedly, the Gil Merrick Upper (directly above the away fans) will be half closed to reduce the risk of Villa fans being pelted with missiles.

However, various media organisations (BBC WM included) have claimed that ‘the capacity of St. Andrews is over 30,000`. Technically, that is true as St. Andrews has 30,000 seats. But even with the segregation for a ‘normal` game, the capacity can only reach 28,000. So truthfully speaking, that capacity for the Villa game has only been reduced by 3,000 and most of that has been cut from Villa`s allocation, not Blues`.

Obviously, the knock on effect will come in April when Blues visit Villa Park with a reduced allocation – also expected to be 2,000.

So my message to the fans who feel aggrieved at not getting a Villa ticket is – buy a Rotherham one instead. That should be easy enough seeing as we will only attract a crowd of 15,000.

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