Football has been taken from the working class

In recent years, Birmingham City have deserved all the praise they have received with regards to ticket prices. Overall, when averaged out over the 23 Championship home fixtures, Blues have been in company with the more affordable.

But tomorrow`s clash against Wolves is a kick in the teeth. Tickets cost £30 – £35 which is way too high. As a result, St. Andrews will be looking at a crowd of around 19,000. If the tickets had been more competitively priced, say £20 adults, £10 concessions, with the attractive nature of a West Midlands derby on offer, Blues could have hosted a crowd in the mid-twenties.

Football used to be a working class game. But that is all in the past. Blues fans had to fork out £37 for an advance ticket for Leeds United away. On Boxing Day, Blues fans were charged £42 for a trip to Sheffield Wednesday. And now we`re doing the same by charging our own fans £35.

The club should be pulling out all the stops in trying to entice people to go to St. Andrews, seeing as the crowds have significantly dropped over the last three or four years. And while I sing their praises for introducing good ticketing initiatives (pie and a pint, kids for a quid, etc) it`s in the same breath that I speak of my disappointment that we have succumbed to the temptation to sting fans in the pocket.

And why? Because earning slightly more in gate receipts is the most important factor to any football club. By charging £35 to 19,000 fans, the club will make £665,000. By charging £25 to 25,000 fans, the club will make £625,000.

Obviously, the sentence above is just a basic example, but you get the gist. You can`t put a price on support.