What would you pay to watch a game if Premier League clubs followed FC United's lead?

Source: Daily Mail

By Mark Lawford
Last updated at 7:59 AM on 15th May 2009


'I've paid good money to watch this tripe and I won't come back ever again - not even if you pay me,' bellowed the disillusioned Newcastle fan as his season-ticket fluttered down in a hail of confetti on the back of the bloke in front of him.

Familiar words, uttered by many an ardent football supporter in their darkest moments, rash promises miraculously forgotten with the next win as the now taped-back-together ticket regains pride of place in the wallet.

But as a season of misery and unfulfilled dreams draws to a close, the 'tomorrow will be better' billboard zooms into view and, threatened with a couple of months with just cricket and tennis to keep them company, solace is gained by buying another ten months of gloom and despair in one easy payment while charting pre-season friendlies.

With prices varying from £250 to £1,825 depending on whether you want to watch Wigan or Arsenal, the price range for Premier League season tickets for 2009-10 is enormous.

And with the recession in mind some clubs have actually dropped prices for next season, most have frozen them and only a couple - Aston Villa and Manchester United - have made marginal increases.

But fans of FC United, the club set up in 2005 in protest at the Glazers buying the Old Trafford club, have gone one step further.

Following their failure to gain promotion from the UniBond League, their elected board have decided to ask all fans to pay only what they can afford next season.

Board member Jules Spencer said: 'We do not feel unilateral price increases are the way forward so we hope the Your Season Ticket, Your Choice campaign will offer a lower season ticket price for those who cannot £140 and get supporters who can afford a bit more can choose to donate as much as they wish.

'This is about empowerment, of collective responsibility, of us all pulling together to ensure the club’s future in a way that reflects our founding principles.'

This got Sportsmail thinking...given the chance, what would YOU be willing to pay for a season ticket to watch your club? How much 'empowerment' would you enforce? How strict are your 'principles'?

You can make suggestions below, but in the meantime here are a few to get you going.

ARSENAL

It costs a lot to maintain The Emirates while Arsene Wenger's precocious side sidestep trophy after trophy in cavalier manner.
But Gunners fans are very loyal, despite the fact that only the Amazing Mr Memory Man can remember the last time they actually won anything, 60,000 cramming in every week to watch them finish out of the medals once again.

Actual 2009-10 prices: £855 - £1,825.

What fans should offer: Their soul if it brings a trophy, the souls of their entire family if it wins the Premier League, £100 if it's results based, £1,000 if it keeps Fabregas, £10,000 if it gets rid of Adebayor, £1m to make sure you're not next to Rory McGrath.

ASTON VILLA

The top club in the second city faded from Champions League hopefuls to Europa League certainties as manager Martin O'Neill 'tried the kids' to no avail.

Actual 2009-10 prices: £295 - £510

What fans should offer: As much as they can afford in a bid to plug the financial black holes caused by the Bosko Balaban and Juan Pablo Angel shambles, £1000 to keep Doug Ellis out, £2000 to ensure victories over Birmingham and Wolves next season, £2.75 if it's achievement based, £5 if Nigel Kennedy is played over the tannoy.

BLACKBURN

Barring a cataclysmic series of results, Rovers will be in the Premier League next season and then we'll see the best of Sam Allardyce, the manager who makes unfashionable successful.
He'll lose a few of his better players though, Roque Santa Cruz set to leave but no doubt he'll bring in a few foreigners nobody's heard of and make a serious challenge for mid-table mediocrity.

Current prices: £249-£439. Next season prices TBC

What fans should offer: The cost of a neck brace so they can watch Rovers' passing game in comfort, £500 to foot the unlucky Steven Reid's medical bills, £1,000 to fund the sharp drop in income for MP and 'celebrity' fan Jack 'Justice Minister' Straw.

BOLTON

Gary Megson's hate-hate relationship with the Trotters' fans is well known but he's kept them up for another season so it's job done. Another of football's 'long ball merchants', Bolton

Current prices: £299-£449. Next season TBC

What fans should offer: £10 deed poll so they change their name to 'Kay' to emulate famous fans Peter Kay and Vernon Kay (no relation), £299 plus an extra £5 to buy a little gift for Megson to bring a smile to his face, £500 to spend on elbow-sharpening tools for the players, £1000 to sponsor Kevin Davies' pre-match meal.

CHELSEA

With only the FA Cup for comfort now, Stamford Bridge is a cold and lonely place. The harsh reality is that they are third best domestically despite somehow making it to the last four of the Champions League. Minor trophies mean nothing to Russian billionaires - expect the wind of change to bite deep down the King's Road.

Actual 2009-10 prices: £635 - £1,125

What fans should offer: £1,000 to keep the ageing squad in warm milk and slippers, £2,000 if it means they can find out where THAT Norwegian ref lives, £5,000 if it helps them find a legal loophole to force UEFA to replay THAT semi-final, anything because they can afford it and they all drive 4x4s.

EVERTON

It's hard being Liverpool's second strongest team but at least they have reached a final this season which is more than the Red half of the city has. David Moyes continues to deliver the goods against the odds despite the continued celebrity support of Claire Sweeney, Freddie Starr and Tom O'Connor.

Actual 2009-10 prices: £399-£586

What fans should offer: £500 just to see Tim Cahill, £750 to keep Marouane Fellaini at the club, £1,000 to speed up Mikel Arteta and Phil Jageilka's recoveries, £2,000 to keep hold of Moyes, £5,000 to do a double over Liverpool, £10,000 if it gets Rick Parry back at Anfield.

FULHAM

They escaped relegation on the final day last season and now they stand on the verge of European qualification. All hail the avuncular Roy Hodgson and his Craven Cottage marvels. Right on the Thames, Fulham's ground is a great place to watch a game.

Actual 2009-10 prices: £285-£799

What fans should offer: £10 because they have an American called Clint and he's not THAT American call Clint, £300 plus a £50 surcharge to leave every match by punt, £500 to keep paying the debt to Chelsea for taking David Mellor off their hands, £1,000 in the hope you might get a seat next to celebrity fans Hugh Grand or Pierce Brosnan.

HULL

It's been a roller-coaster season for 'Champions League hopefuls' Hull but winning just two matches this year has rather put a crimp in it.
The Tigers are falling faster than the interest rate and look doomed - but you never know.

Actual 2009-10 prices: £380-£450

What fans should offer: An extra £5 per game as a Rugby League tax, £500 to make sure David Lloyd stays away, £1,000 so they get a free house with every season ticket.

LIVERPOOL

It'll be 20 years without a title come 2010 and even though Rafa Benitez has made Liverpool far more competitive in the Premier League, the great sides of the 70s and 80s hated being second best.

Current prices: £650 - £750. Next season TBC

What fans should offer: Nothing - they were beaten in Europe by Chelsea, knocked out of the FA Cup by Everton, lost in the League Cup to Tottenham and were held at home in the Premier League by Stoke, Fulham and Manchester City, £500 if it means ITV will tape over the goal that knocked them out of the FA Cup with adverts, £1,000 to seal the door to Rick Parry's office forever, £10000 if it gets rid of the feuding American owners.

MANCHESTER CITY

The Blue half of Manchester is basking in mid-table safety, hardly the stuff of dreams for a club so wealthy.
Last season's Sven footballing fiesta , a double over United and Benjani's 25-mile-wide smile have been replaced by the Robinho sideshow, two losses to Fergie and a miserable away record.

Current prices: £388 - £626. Next season TBC

What fans should offer: Nothing - they're the world's richest club and should get in for free until they actually win something worth paying for.

MANCHESTER UNITED

The team that could have won the Quintuple might have to made do with a Quadruple instead. No shame there. Yes, we all love to hate Ronaldo, yes we all love to scoff at Fergie's rubbish goal celebrations, yes they're London's favourite club, but Manchester United will equal Liverpool's League titles total this season and could move to within one European Cup as well. Simply awesome.

Actual 2009-10 prices: £513-£931

What fans should offer: The price of a ticket minus the cost of the train fare from London, £1,000 to keep Ronaldo, £2,000 to keep Ronaldo and Tevez, £3,000 to keep Fergie's smirk at the expense of a ranting Rafa.

MIDDLESBROUGH

Boro's number looks up - just 26 League goals all season has seen to that - but at least in Steve GIbson they have a wily chairman who won't be pressing the detonate button on manager Gareth Southgate just yet. They are always going to be the most unfashionable North-East club no matter how hard they try but at least Steve McClaren's gone.

Actual 2009-10 prices: £370-£525

What fans should offer: £500 to buy 20 goals before the season starts, goals that can used at any time of the season to convert draws to wins, etc, £1,000 to implant bionics into Bernie Slaven and get him leading the line again, all their worldly goods and possessions to get Afonso Alves away from Teesside.

NEWCASTLE

The Fog on the Tyne has been a real pea-souper this season and the manager's door at St James' Park has been of the revolving kind. The fact that Hull and Boro are so poor will keep the Magpies up, not footballing excellence, and surely 50,000 week-in, week-out Toon diehards deserve far better than that.

Actual 2009-10 prices: £300-£598

What fans should offer: Nothing - remember Dennis Wise?, £150m to buy out Mike Ashley, get some pride back in the city and wipe the smile off Sunderland faces.

PORTSMOUTH

From FA Cup Winners to the Championship in one easy step? Possibly but unlikely as Pompey's wobble on the pedestal continues. Staying up will compound the joy felt by Southampton's relegation to the third tier, something not even Terry Fenwick could emulate while at Fratton Park despite his best efforts - but is it really enough just to laugh at Saints' misfortune? Yes, it is...

Actual 2009-10 prices: £500-£900

What fans should offer: £1,000 to help fund a huge billboard outside Southampton's ground, bearing Pompey's next home match 'Manchester United' with Saints clash against Yeovil alongside, and the phrase 'just one division above Burton Albion' across the top.
STOKE

The long-throw merchants have survived in the top flight by making The Britannia Stadium a fortress. Hooray for Nick Hancock, boo to Robbie Williams and all cheer Tony Pulis for keeping a proper football club up where they belong.

Current prices: £334 - £499. Next season TBC

What fans should offer: £5 tax to fund local rivals Crewe and Port Vale in their basement mini-league, £500 to make sure Rory Delap's throwing arms never get tired, £1,000 to ensure the remote-controlled balls he launches continue to find their way into the six-yard box.

SUNDERLAND

Still on the cusp of relegation, the Black Cats need three points to exorcise the ghost of Roy Keane forever. It's not been pretty at the Stadium of Light and if they do stay up, big Mick McCarthy's Wolves will be gunning for them next season with a point to prove, but finishing above Newcastle and Middlesbrough to be the North East's premier club is hardly the stuff of legend.

Actual 2009-10 prices: £350-£465

What fans should offer: Nothing. Over 40,000 fans have endured a season of gloom and despondency and they deserve a freebie - and throw in a stripey shirt and a picture of Bob Stokoe.

SPURS

Football was fun with Spurs bottom of the Premier League and breaking records for awfulness with every passing week.

Then Daniel Levy spoiled things by sacking Juande Ramos and bringing in Harry Redknapp.
Now in the hunt for a European spot, Tottenham also reached the League Cup Final.
Harry has got them playing and get ready for a huge prima-donna flushing out in the summer.

Actual 2009-10 prices: £622-£1,640

What fans should offer: Nothing if David Bentley still has a squad number, £100 if Gilberto and Dos Santos are still there, £1,000 to seal a double over Arsenal, £25,000 to claim a Champions League place at the Gunners' expense.

WEST BROM

Manager Tony Mowbray has won a lot of friends this season for refusing to abandon his footballing principles in the

pursuit of Premier League points. Sadly, the Championship looms large now but at least they are still with a chance of staying up with two games to go. It's hard to hate the Baggies even though celebrity fan Adrian Chiles does present The One Show.

Actual 2009-10 prices: £299-£399

What fans should offer: Whatever the club wants to ensure the prudent Throstles get back to the top flight where they belong - remember how great Cyrille Regis and Laurie Cunningham were? And it would be great to see the West Midlands have four teams in the Premier League.

WEST HAM

They may be forever blowing bubbles but at least Hammers fans do have something to be rabid about at last. Gianfranco Zola has conquered the Upton Park Chelsea haters by producing a hard-to-beat attractive side who are a only a couple of players away from being a genuine force in the Premier League. Or a called-in debt away from a ten-point deduction and life in the second tier. You decide...

Actual 2009-10 prices: £570-£810

What fans should offer: £800 if it keeps the Academy going, £1,000 if it keeps Millwall two divisions below them, £2,500 because of Sir Trev, £5,000 to ensure the Bobby Moore Statue outside the ground stays in pristine condition
WIGAN

The pie capital of Europe has been transformed from a Rugby League stronghold to a footballing hotbed. Steve Bruce has performed another miracle. And they said it would never happen. The Latics have not been touted as relegation fodder once this season despite a recent wretched run of form. Dave Whelan deserves all the plaudits for what he's done to a club he bought in the fourth tier 14 years ago.

Actual 2009-10 prices: £250-£295

What fans should offer: £250 as long as they get their weight in pies every match, £500 if the half-time entertainment is Mido v Zaki, £1000 if it clinches a League win against one of the Big Four, £2,000 to help restore the Pier.