Affordable England - Four for November

In addition to the men's senior team (against Slovenia on Saturday 15 November) and the women's senior team's first match at the new Wembley (against Germany on Sunday 23 November, adults £15, children £1) there are four other opportunities to watch England teams in action next month.

The under-20's take on Canada at AFC Bournemouth's Goldsands Stadium on the 12th at 7:30pm with tickets priced at £3 and £1 for Under-16's.

Two days later (Friday 14th) the under-19's meet their Italian counterparts at Rotherham's New York Stadium. Tickets £3 and £1 for children and Oaps.

There is free football on the 18th at the home of Halifax Town when England C meet Estonia under-23's with a 7:30pm kick-off.

And as part of their Victory Shield campaign, the under-16's meet Scotland at Yeovil's Huish Park on the 20th at 8pm. £3, £1 for children/Oaps and a group ticket also available for parties of 15 or more.

Full details on the official club websites of the various host teams.

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.

Move Quickly for Half Price Brentford Tickets

A slightly different kind of offer to one we normally see here on Affordable Football comes from Brentford FC who are selling a limited number of tickets for their home game against Blackburn Rovers on Saturday 13 December at half price.

According to the official club website: 'Tickets in Blocks 500, 501 and 502 in the New Road Stand will be available for 50 per cent of normal price – adults £12, seniors £9, students £8, juniors £3.

 

'Tickets in Braemar Road Blocks B300, B301 and B305 will also be reduced - adults £12.50, seniors £9.50, students £8.50, juniors £3.'

 

These go on sale tomorrow (Tuesday 14 October).

 

Also in the Championship, Ipswich Town have announced some ticket promotions covering the next month or so.

 

A 'group save' bundle ticket is available for the home games against Huddersfield, Watford, Leeds and Wolves which can save up to £21.40 on normal prices.

 

For the Watford fixture (Saturday 8 November) season ticket holders can also purchase up to four extra tickets at £1 for under-16's, £8 for concessions and £10 for adults.

And Sheffield Wednesday have a number of special family offers still available for this Saturday's home game against Watford at Hillsborough.

Prices Reduced at Notts County this Saturday

Notts County featured a couple of times on these pages over the summer with their innovative season ticket promotion which aimed not just to sell supporters a ticket but to make them feel part of the club, for instance inviting one fan who came into the ticket office to pay being given a behind the scenes tour of the ground.

Central to the drive to recruit new season ticket holders was that manager Shaun Derry was fully behind the initiative and went out of his way to involve supporters as well.

After pulling off a 'great escape' from relegation after Derry's arrival, this season sees County aiming higher and an eight-game unbeaten run has everyone at Meadow Lane in good spirits

Crawley Town are the visitors this coming weekend (Saturday 18th at 3pm) and Notts have reduced all adult and concessions tickets to £12 with Under-16's just £2.

Champions League Action at Ashton Gate

Overlooked in my recent piece on an important month in the Women's Game were Bristol Academy Women who, alongside Glasgow City FC and Liverpool Ladies, are currently competing in the UEFA Women's Champions League.

A comfortable 4-0 victory away to Irish side Raheny United this week has set up what should be comfortable progession to the last 16 when the return leg takes place at Bristol City's Ashton Gate ground on Thursday (16 Oct, 7:30pm).

Adult tickets are £10 while concessions (under 16s, students and OAP’s) are only £5. Group tickets for groups of 10 or more are £8 adults and £3 concessions.

Special Offers at Gillingham & Gillingham Ladies This Weekend

Gillingham FC host Scunthorpe United in League One on Saturday looking to maintain their unbeaten home league record during the season to date.

Prior to the game, chairman Paul Scally issued a statement to the official club website that matchday price increases were being scrapped with immediate effect in an effort to ‘offer even cheaper prices in a difficult financial climate.’

The Scunthorpe game has also been designated as a ‘Kids for a Quid’ fixture.

Gillingham Ladies FC, meanwhile, have been playing home games at Priestfield this season although forecast poor weather this weekend means they will host Coventry City Ladies at the home of Chatham FC on Sunday 2pm.

And in addition to the usual admission price of £3 for adults and free for Under-16’s, all students will be allowed in for free on presentation of a valid student card as part of Women’s Football Week 2014.

Football for a Fiver at the Ricoh Arena

This picture was taken ahead of a long-overdue trip to the Ricoh Arena to watch my team Coventry City in the Johnstone's Paint Trophy on Tuesday night.

Long overdue of course as the Sky Blues spent over a season away from the stadium, groundsharing at Northampton's Sixfields ground, before making a surprise return at the start of September with emotional scenes at the 1-0 win against Gillingham which was watched by over 27,000 fans.

Just over a month later and the future of the football club is shrouded in uncertainty once again. On the eve of this game against Exeter City a deal had been agreed which would see Coventry City Council sell their stake in the Ricoh Arena to London Wasps RFC.

Anyway, back to the football and a flat admission fee of £5 attracted 7,273 to the game which was the biggest JPT crowd of the night and not far short of the attendance at the league game against Crawley Town a few days earlier.

Beer, Chips & Football at Hampton & Richmond on Saturday

After the success of Non League Day during the last international break there maybe a number of clubs offering special deals this coming weekend when the Premier League and Championship again take a break for the Euro 2016 qualifiers.

Having seen 2,856 watch their 'Pay What You Want' away game at Dulwich Hamlet on Non League Day, Hampton & Richmond are offering a similar incentive to supporters to come to their match against VCD Athletic on Saturday.

In addition, anyone paying the usual full admission price of £10 will receive either a free beer in the bar or a free plate of chips from the food hut courtesy of chairman Steve McPherson.

"We have decided to put our own twist on things," he said. "As everyone knows every single penny makes the difference to the way we operate and always has done."