Cut The Cost Of Footie Campaign

Bring on the £200 season ticket. Lets not ******foot around with percentages. Bolton received £7.2 million in gate receipts last season. Their offer of 10% only means a drop to £6.5 million if their gates only remain static. If the gates go up then they will generate more when catering and merchandising is taken into account. This really is just a drop in the ocean when you consider that the worst team in the league next season is guaranteed £30 million of TV money anyway. Last season Villas turnover was just under £50 million. £11 million of that was match receipts. When you consider our wage bill was £25 million it is not hard to see where the problem lies. A system must be introduced to massively reduce wages. If this means that less foreign players want to play here then so be it. This in turn will mean more English talent coming through and a return to sense. It is a football wide problem not just Villa but ask yourself this. How hard have you worked over the last 12 days since Villa last played? How much have you earned for your trouble? £500? £1000? A couple of grand if you are lucky? In that same time JPA (and this is not a dig at him because many players earn more, and if truth be told if someone offered me the money I would snap their hand off) has earned approx £75,000. Like the rest of the team he hasn't had to kick a ball in anger. On top of this he has been whisked away with the rest of the squad for a few days in Marbella. A tough life for that £75K isn't it? Now these players deserve good money because ultimately their career is reasonably short and it is them that the public are paying to watch. But a couple of grand a week basic wage with massive end of season bonuses based on success sounds reasonable to me. If you come bottom of the league you pick up your basic wage of £100,000 per year. Then have a sliding scale up to a couple of million a year for the players in the successful teams. You can guarantee they would work for their money then.

It isn't easy is it? To bring in the top players with top wages they have to make some money but all the empty seats in the Prem has to be about money as well as the predictability. This has been a great season for Bolton and yet still they can't fill the ground. I would imagine if we were up there we'd have sell outs most games? I also think the stupid kick off times have a massive effect, 12 noon on a Sunday, 5.15 on a saturday etc. If they can show live games, then why not let them show live games at the traditional times, get the game back to what it was, a fans game.

A price freeze would be a tremendous gesture by the new owner and board, and hopefully that will encourage more supporters to step up to the plate this summer to purchase season tickets, and send gates soaring at every home game next season. Supporters can see the plans and intentions of Mr Lerner and co, the exciting new signings, and the prospect of an exciting successful future, and really now need to start supporting the club week in, week out, turning up in numbers at all the games, not just the Man Utd, Liverpool etc games. I'm not particularly excited or keen on a 200 quid season ticket, I dont think that thats the way forward. Give out free tickets to schools etc, get the youngsters in and supporting the club, but lets not start selling season tickets on the cheap.

Hoss I suspect Stoke are paying a good part of his wages, I dont think Villa are that stoopid.

col8, my Hendrie reference was just an illustration as to the nonsense the football world has become regarding wages, not a stand alone comment. I bear no grudges for the fact footballers get such a wage but common sense should prevail and the footballing world should start to redress the balance of power within the industry from player back to Club. It is the paying public that ultimately pays the price, whether it is through season tickets, merchandise, sky subscriptions or products endorsed in the promotion and sponsorship of football. Whichever way you look at it the fans are paying for ludicrous wages and over rated players and the sooner wages are addressed and performance related pay is introduced the better for all. Only then will the true professionals within the game be paid their worth and the rest will be paid a sensible amount to match their ability and desire to play 90 minutes (if their lucky) of football a week.