The last post on Affordable Football was about the reciprocal price agreement reached between Barnsley and Derby County for away ticket prices in the respective Championship games between the two clubs that are coming up over the Christmas and Easter periods.
That spirit of co-operation between clubs hasn't spread to everyone. We highlighted Middlesbrough's second cut-price ticket offer of the season recently after they announced prices of £12 for adults and £7 for concessions for what will be Aitor Karanka's first home game in charge against Bolton Wanderers on 30 November.
In response to a complaint from Bolton that such prices will not be available to away supporters, Boro have issued the following statement: "We felt it was appropriate to arrange a special promotion for the Bolton game
as it will be the first home match for our new head coach Aitor Karanka.
"As such it has particular significance for our own fans.
"Under Football League rules, each club is is entitled to run up to four
‘local’ promotions each season in which home supporters are offered a discounted
ticket price.
"Away supporters will be charged at our standard matchday rate. This also reflects the expected ticketing price level that will be set for
our supporters when they visit the Reebok Stadium on New Year’s Day."
You can see Boro's point of view on this one. They are keen to whip up a positive atmosphere for the new manager and Bolton presumably wouldn't have been keen to reduce prices for a game held on a day that traditionally attracts a decent crowd.
But would charging the same price to away fans have made a huge difference to the number of Bolton fans who travelled to the Riverside? Maybe a little claiming of the moral high ground could have been done in this case.
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