GAME ON AFTER GAME 39 CANCELLED

27-02-2008

Now that Game 39 is off the agenda for the Premier League, West Midlands football clubs will have to delay developing their “brand” overseas. Great. Now they can start thinking about how to foster more support at home.

The fact is that behind the glamour and glitz of England’s top division, attendances of at least two of our local grounds are not all they should be.

Birmingham City are the most blatant example of attendance under-achievement; even though they tried enticing fans to Saturday’s game against Arsenal with a range of cut-price offers, St Andrews had hundreds of vacant seats – no surprise there, as the local derby with Villa didn’t sell out either.

That’s with a modern-day, all seated capacity of just over 28,000 too - for a club which in four separate seasons in the 1970’s averaged more than 30,000 this is a shocking state of affairs.

So where have all those supporters gone? Many, no doubt, will have been down the pub or watching at home on Sky – but that is true for every club in the top division, yet they haven't all shed support like Blues. Indeed, the likes of Manchester United and Arsenal seem better supported now than ever before.

Birmingham have two problems – one general, one particular.

The general problem is that below the so-called Big Four and two or three other hopefuls (including Villa), the Prem is a dying competition – witness the fall off in gates at other clubs like Bolton and Wigan. It ain't much fun when your sole aim every year is finishing fourth from bottom.

Blues also have a particular problem tho - their bizarre pricing policy.

Season ticket holder Neil Emmison recently sent me calculations showing that a fan who bought tickets on a match by match basis, and then a discounted pass for the last seven games would save £17 compared to someone who had paid £522 upfront for an Olympic Gallery season ticket. In other words, it pays to pcik and choose, wait and see. What price loyalty?

Yet while the club manages to piss off regular fans by offering part-timers endless bargains it simultaneously prices many ordinary fans out of the bigger games by charging up to £48 for a seat.

No wonder so many say, “sod it, I’ll watch it on the box instead.”

Albion, who aspire to make the Premiership are at least more consistent, having offered discounts only twice this season, and linking them on both occasions to season ticket ownership.

Yet all the evidence suggests that matchday admission is simply too expensive for many of their fans. In previous promotion campaigns - certainly during the days of terracing -major matches would pull in 30-35,000. Now the club can talk about REDUCING their capacity to 27,000 and no one bats an eyelid.

This despite a thrilling promotion campaign featuring the best football played by the stars in stripes for more than a quarter of a century.

Support hasn't shrunk in the same way at Ipswich, Norwich or Southampton - clubs who are comparable in stature - so the Baggies should be looking harder at where there missing fans have gone.

Don't get me wrong, there’s an argument that the Halfords Lane Stand – which is being reduced in size – needs to either be knocked down or remodelled, but what’s depressing is the club’s lack of vision in expanding its supporter base; a base which historically is bigger than current gates suggest.

Villa – albeit with the luxury of a bigger stadium – are showing the way. Yes, they have a great manager, and, finally, a good team. But they also market the club aggressively with consistently low matchday prices AND affordable season –tickets.

Result? The club is on course for the fourth highest attendances in its history.

Their neighbours should look and learn.