Season Tickets Frozen, But Is It Enough?

The club may well feel they're doing the 'right' thing by freezing prices of the 2008/2009 season tickets but will it get fans through the door?

Yesterday they announced that an adult season ticket will remain at the bargain bucket price of £285 whilst the under 16 prices will be up to £70. The club claim it's 'giving something back to fans who've had a difficult season'. I wouldn't go that far personally.

They also claim they remain highly competitive in League One in terms of pricing. Whilst that may be so, we all know the kerfuffle over ticket pricing in football at the moment. We may be some £313 cheaper than Colchester United's most expensive standard season ticket, but we are also £10 more expensive than Blackburn Rovers' cheapest standard season ticket - a Premiership club.

Last summer after a mid-table season fans started voting with their feet. Despite the prices generally staying the same (bar the removal of the early bird deal), the club clearly suffered a drop in takers. After the season we've had and no price reduction, there is little to no incentive to buy/renew this time round.

Around 2,500 was the 'official' figure the club gave for sales last summer and if you believe it then there is only one way sales are heading this summer. It will be a struggle for the club to get over the 2,000, maybe we'll barely touch 1,750.

Whilst the club may be patting themselves on the back for not being tempted into a £10 price hike, you can only look down the road with admiration at the likes of Port Vale who are trying their hardest to get fans through the gate. They may not get the 5,000 fans to pay for the £183 season ticket, but at least they tried.