Following a walkout of Liverpool fans on Saturday, protests at Arsenal and the prospect of more direct action by supporters, the cost of watching Premier League football has suddenly become headline news, with fans incensed by high ticket prices and the perceived attitude of clubs who will next season reap the financial rewards of a TV deal worth more than £8bn.
The protest at Liverpool was sparked by plans to charge £77 for some tickets in Anfield's new main stand next season and the fans' actions have generated a heated debate on the issue.
"Liverpool fans have led the way, they need to be congratulated for what they have done," writes Joe Anderson, the Mayor of Liverpool, in The Times. "It is an issue about the greed of football clubs who don't understand how the ordinary man, woman and kids in the street are affected."
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But will the protests have any effect?
Manchester United announced a price freeze this week, reports the Daily Mail, and a Premier League price cap for away fans has been proposed and will be debated by clubs.
Yet it appears most teams are unmoved by the anger of their supporters. "Instinct suggests the Premier League walkout movement will be more Peasants' Revolt than French Revolution in terms of outcome," says Miranda Hyde in The Guardian.
Supporters say clubs should reduce prices as gate receipts do not matter in a world of £8.3bn TV deals. But the flip side of the argument is that wealthy teams no longer need to worry about keeping the fans happy. "You only have to look at plenty of Test cricket to see that sport can exist lucratively enough (certainly for the short-termist executive) in a post-spectator world," notes Hyde.
However, the journalist comes down on the side of supporters. "Announcements such as Liverpool's new ticketing structure only serve to highlight how grotesquely far removed executives appear from the realities of people whom they stand within only a few yards of each week," she argues.
But is it the fans who are wrong? There is a statistic "rarely acknowledged by campaigners", says Matthew Syed in The Times, which is that almost every Premier League match is 100 per cent sold out.
"What this tells us is that prices are not too high. How could they be when they are being purchased in their entirety by willing buyers?" he asks. "It tells us something else too: if prices were lowered, the number of people attending games would be precisely the same as today. The only difference is that waiting lists would grow."
He claims many of the arguments used to justify price cuts are "intellectually disreputable" and are based on the desire of official fan groups to have privileged access to grounds. Campaigners "want to exploit incumbency advantage" and create "a closed shop in all but name", he says.
"It is like lobbying a large supermarket that has just made healthy profits to make massive cuts to food prices," claims Syed. "Without any increase in supply, it would simply lead to painfully long queues, black markets, racketeering and, possibly, violence."
Demand, he concludes, outstrips supply and that means the price is good value for money.
What's more, a survey by The Times of supporters at all 20 Premier League clubs failed to turn up widespread anger over prices. Only seven expressed the view that ticket prices were too high, eight said their clubs offered good value and five were neutral.
Premier League ticket prices: more fan protests planned
09 February
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has called for the club to find a solution to the row over ticket prices at Anfield after a fans' rebellion saw 10,000 walk out of the Reds' game on Saturday.
Liverpool were leading 2-0 against Sunderland when the exodus began after 77 minutes. The sudden action has been linked to Sunderland's late recovery as they fought back to draw 2-2.
Fans are angry over plans to charge as much as £77 per ticket when the redevelopment of the main stand at Anfield is complete. Klopp, whose former club, Borussia Dortmund, were often praised for their low prices, appeared to express some sympathy with the supporters and said anger in the stands was "my problem, too".
He said: "We should talk about this, with as many people as possible, and hopefully in the end find a solution that everyone can be satisfied with.
"It was a sign on Saturday and I think it was easy to understand. That is the good thing with signs. Now we have to talk about it."
Liverpool fans are not alone in their frustrations, reports the Daily Telegraph. The Football Supporters' Federation has called a meeting of fan organisations to "plot a wave of coordinated action".
The action at Liverpool "was the clearest indication yet that vast numbers of supporters have been driven to breaking point over the failure of teams to share some of their new £8.3bn television contract, a windfall set to widen the gulf between those within the game and those who pay to follow it", says the newspaper.
Fan power is taking effect - Liverpool have been forced to revisit their pricing strategy and an online backlash last week forced Arsenal to scrap a season-ticket surcharge.
"The dispute at Liverpool has flared at a time when Barclays Premier League clubs are arguing over whether they should make a collective concession to the growing anger of supporters over ticket prices," says The Times.
It claims that a plan for a £30 cap on away tickets has been backed by clubs including Everton, Newcastle United, Southampton and Bournemouth, but opposed by wealthier teams including Arsenal, Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur.
The plan, however, is unlikely to be passed as it would not get the backing of two-thirds of clubs, reports The Guardian.
That has left the Football Supporters' Federation bitterly disappointed, it continues, noting also that action of the type seen at Anfield could prove difficult to organise.
"While a widespread walkout may be hard to achieve, the FSF has also called on frustrated fans to air their grievances with club's sponsors, as many at Liverpool have done with [Reds sponsor] Subway," adds the Guardian.
