Something of a damp squib in terms of the game itself and the attendance and atmosphere at Wembley, Saturday's National League Promotion Final nonetheless provided the assembled media with the story they wanted as Salford City eased to victory against AFC Fylde under the watching eyes of co-owners Gary Neville, David Beckham and the rest.
Promotion to the Football League for Salford looks to have divided opinion quite sharply, those defending the involvement of the former Manchester United stars pointing to investment in facilities and youth development (and the fact that wages will be paid on time in contrast to the ongoing situation at Bolton Wanderers for instance) while others are unhappy with the idea of a club suddenly being propelled way above their natural level with reported player salaries that are out of proportion to the kind of crowds and income that they can attract.
The focus of this blog is the game itself, however, and the National League's pricing policy for their showcase event was also the subject of much debate in the week leading up the game.
Early-bird tickets were once again fairly priced (£20 Adults, £10 Concessions for excellent Club Wembley seats on the halfway line) and well-publicised throughout January and February across all National League clubs.
Similar to last year, however, adult supporters from the competing clubs were charged either £36 or £41 once their participation was confirmed. Couple that with late notice to book travel and/or accommodation and it made for a very expensive day out.
Last season's attendance will have covered up the cost, to an extent, as Tranmere Rovers brought a large following but with two teams this year who don't have that kind of fanbase the prices will have put off neutrals who didn’t get early-bird tickets or those in the Salford or Fylde areas who may have come down to support their local side.
So I think there is a decision to make for the National League in terms of whether they want this fixture played at Wembley going forward and, if so, for a better pricing structure to be in place if they do.
No comments:
Post a Comment