[madsteve]

Every person has their own stand point regarding the ticket prices but I think some fans are seeing things in a more negative light than is actually the case.

The indication is that there will probably be four Category B matches & possibly one Category A match.

The prices shouldn't be a shock. You could tell from the ST prices what the match day prices would be. I always favour tiered pricing because it means that fans with less money can attend more matches by selecting the lower tiered games. Again by working back from the ST prices, we can work out that 75% of games will be Category C or below with the majority being Category D and below.

I wouldn't want to knock the outcry at the prices by fans but I have seen comments that range from misleading to ridiculous on some forums. They seem to assume that every match will be Category A or B, they add on petrol and £50 for food. The relative cost of petrol hasn't gone up and I suspect that you would have eaten anyway. Also, if you are spending £50 on food at the match, maybe your priorities could be questioned.

The majority of fans live locally so why not eat at home before or after the match?

The prices are quite a hike but why was nobody commenting on this (apart from me) when ST prices were announced?

Why was nobody commenting on this when DC said he was spending £1m on a new pitch?

Why was nobody commenting on this when DC said he was putting in a state of the art new scoreboard?

Why was nobody commenting on this when we started spending millions on new players?

I suppose the answer is that football fans tend to see all black or all white. Things are either brilliant or terrible in their eyes. When we signed Matias, Lopez etc., most fans became ecstatic and didn't think who would be paying for it. It is sadly one of those things that if we intend to catch up with teams that have had a decade in the PL then there is a price to pay.

There are two basic choices. Fans pay the new prices and we become a PL side or we pay the old prices and bounce between SBC & L1. In reality, there are several other positions in between but DC has decided that he wants us to be a PL side & no doubt he wants us to be a good PL side.

I think the majority agree that football was more fun & more accessable before the PL and the money came in. We cannot undo what has happened. DC will take us to the top table. Unfortunately a lot of our fans will only be able to afford to dine there a few times per season.

Is the strategy correct?

First we have to assume that we play more attractive football and challenge for promotion this season and get promotion the following season. If that is the case then crowds will hold up. More fans will want to attend if the team is winning but they will not attend every match if they cannot afford it. DC hopes that this will increase the fan base even if fans are selective in which matches they attend.

I expect that there will be more offers to incentivise fans to attend. Most evening matches will be Category F or G. There will be Kids for a Quid matches. There will be more offers throughout the season. This can already be seen by the improving of the Membership Scheme. The cost has increased by £10 but fans get £5 discount of every match. Effectively this means that every fan that intends to watch six matches or more should become a member. This is ignoring the other benefits.

Once the vast majority of fans have become members then offering discounts becomes easier. Partly this scheme is a way of offering home fans a discount over visiting fans (as most clubs do).

Last season, it cost fans around £600 if they watched every home match. I suspect that fans will be able to watch 17 or 18 matches this season for the same price so some of the comments suggesting that fans cannot afford to watch ever again are exaggerated.

I am fortunate in that I can afford the new prices even with the additional cost of a 250 mile round trip to home matches.

Last season was more depressing as far as home matches were concerned than any season since the 1970s in my opinion. Next season already looks like it will exciting.

If fans were offered the alternative of last season's fayre at last season's prices or an exciting promotion season at the new prices (I know it might not happen), which would they choose? I suspect the majority would go for promotion.

Prices won't reduce in the PL. No doubt we will push on to become competitive there.

This is a real dilemma for fans because on one hand we want the Club to be successful but on the other we don't want to be the ones that pay for it. Clearly DC is trying to make Wednesday into a business that can survive on its own feet which may leave some fans feeling left behind & disenfranchised.

My only advice is that no-one will judge someone as a lesser fan because the cannot afford to support at every home match. Attend when you can and enjoy the ride because it is going to be exciting.