GLF 64: Graham looks at pricing, contracts and reconstruction.
Graham's Musings
MATCHDAY PRICING - when I received the notification of the ticket prices for the Match with Celtic last month I was horrified that an adult ticket was £27!I then hear there was a mistake and that Celtic would refund the difference,the price was to drop a mighty £2 to £25!
Not surprisingly there weren't too many Well fans who made the trip to Celtic Park at those prices,and who could blame them......
There are two factors in this for me;
1. The prices,as for most SPL games,are just too high.A regular price of £20 is just mad for the product,and in some cases the accommodation,the League offers.Would it not make more sense to bring the prices down to a more palatable level,I'm not sure what it should be,possibly £15 for adults and a fiver for kids.These numbers come to mind as they are similar to the prices Wigan Athletic are charging for Category C games in the Premiership. I booked tickets for the Latics v Middlesbrough at the JJB for a MAXIMUM price of £15!
2. Do Celtic really want any supporters from away teams in Celtic Park.They have reduced our allocation steadily in recent years,as well as the view becoming worse and worse and now this level of pricing.
Not sure what the benefit is for them if there are only home fans in the ground with the atmosphere reduced.
At the moment they are struggling to fill all the seats that they have available therefore why marginalize the away fans......
What is the solution?I would like to see the prices brought down and the game returned to the people!This will take bottle from the guys who run our game and I am not sure there is any conviction to make this type of decision.
PRE-CONTRACTS - When the Bosman ruling first came into existence it was seen as putting the power back to the players and putting them in control of their careers.But I don't think the pre-contract situation was thought through all that well.
Any player signing a pre-contract agreement would appear to put a lot of pressure on the player who has signed it.I would think there is pressure from the team's fans for the players to perform.
If you look at the immediate reaction to Scott McDonald signing for Celtic where many Motherwell fans would have preferred the Aussie never to play for us again. Some even refusing to cheer when he scored two goals against Dunfermline.
On the flip side many were upset he wasn't picked for the side to play against his new employers.This put Maurice Malpas in a situation that he couldn't win, whether he played him or not!
The pre-contract agreement is no doubt here to stay, but maybe it is one of these things that should be kept private until the end of the season and all the games are over and the player and club can then announce that the signing has been completed.
LEAGUE RECONSTRUCTION - here we go again,the SPL is looking to look at the size and shape of the top League for the future.It would appear the much maligned split is the problem.
While I think this is the case,I think the proposal that is the favourite is to reduce the League to ten to eliminate the split.If this is the answer then I think the guys at the top have lost the plot once again.
Most fans I talk to are fed up with playing the same teams four times per season (six sometimes if you draw them in the Cups),and would like to get back to playing each other twice per season.
This would mean going to a sixteen team League,meaning only 30 games,not enough some say.To accommodate we could return to the Group stages that we
used to have in the League Cup bringing us up to 36 games.
This may not be the complete answer but I think we need to take a wider look at the game rather than bouncing between 10 and 12 teams all playing each other four times.
Once again I don't think this will happen until we have a much tighter set of authorities at the top of our game.Do we really need the SPL,SFL,SFA and SJFA all sharing offices on Hampden's level 6.
If we could get them all under one umbrella we might even see a proper pyramid in place which could give non-League clubs with ambition access to the League structure.Equally it would put pressure on the likes of East Stirling and Albion Rovers to improve or suffer some consequences.
I have previously said I do not want to see any club go out of business,I think this structure would actually help some clubs as they would find their own level and the most appropriate cost structure.
Graham Barnstaple
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