Some Thoughts on the Price of Football Survey

The BBC's 'Price of Football' survey has been making the headlines up and down the country on an otherwise slow football news day.

The top lines of the report could have been predicted before the findings were published. Premier League football is getting more expensive to watch, Arsenal have the dearest season ticket and comparisons with the Bundesliga aren't flattering.

There is a danger however that simply comparing on price misses out on a host of other factors and can lead to some dangerous over-simplifications.

The initial BBC story for League Two for instance was that watching Cheltenham was 'dearer than watching Man City' and that has subsequently been altered after Cheltenham said their had been an error with their initial submission.

Southend United are now used as the comparison against the Premier League champions but as Cheltenham chairman Paul Baker has told his club's official website today: "I do think it is somewhat unfair to compare our situation with Premier League clubs who are literally awash with money and could slash ticket prices if they really wanted to.

"The reality of life in the Football League is that ticket revenue is our most important revenue source."

Mr Baker and the club provide a detailed breakdown of their ticket structure and changes over the years and one of the strengths of the survey is that it does prompt or force clubs to explain these details as local media take the basic findings of the report and look for further information.

Affordable Football aims to bring you the special offers, reduced ticket prices and family deals that make catching a match anywhere in the country more affordable. You can tweet us @affordablefooty or email affordablefootball@yahoo.com if your club are doing something worth hearing about.