THE PLAY-OFF PICTURES THAT SHAME FOOTBALL

29-05-2007

Check out The Stirrer’s snaps from yesterday’s play-off final between The Baggies and Derby County. They clearly show entire blocks of corporate seats left empty while thousands of genuine fans were locked outside. Meanwhile, the touts made a mint.

Let’s be clear; this is no gripe about the result from a miserable Albion supporter. Derby were the better team throughout the season, and on the day they scored the goal that mattered. Good luck to them in the Premiership.

But what’s really galling is that many of their supporters were denied the chance to witness their team’s moment of triumph; just as many West Brom fans were denied entry to watch the big match too.

Both clubs were allocated 33,000 tickets - a pitifully low number for such a big game. Last time Albion were at Wembley for a play-off final in 1993, they took 42,000 fans - and that was in a lower division.

The truth is that the ground could have been sold out if the competing teams had received 45,000 tickets each.

Yet even if the ground had been full - even with prawn sandwich eaters - that might have been bearable; to see so many seats vacant is just a smack in the face for genuine fans.

Wembley’s decision (for which read the FA) to designate an entire tier of the new showpiece stadium for the suits is at the root of the problem; but even then it should have been possible to create a more flexible arrangement for games like this.

Indeed, on the upper and lower tiers the seat formation can be re-organised depending on the ticket demand from rival clubs.

There are only two logical conclusions to draw from this. Either genuine fans aren’t wanted on the corporate tier - or their needs were foolishly overlooked. Even though this is supposedly a national stadium, built in part with public money.

Either way, it shows that football’s claim to be a sophisticated modern entertainment business is a sham; no credible business would treat it’s most loyal customers with such contempt.

Only the touts profited - selling tickets for £350 a time.