A FEW weeks ago on The Anfield Wrap’s Gutter show I semi-glibly suggested that, if Liverpool were compelled for whatever reason to sell Philippe Coutinho and the time left in the window meant that landing a suitable replacement was too problematic, then one way that the club could appease the fan base would be to take the transfer fund surplus created by the sale and spend it on capital expenditure.
The notion that Liverpool cannot afford to further expand the stadium to north of 60,000 seats during a football boomtime is something that troubles me. They turned down over £100million for one of their very good football players. They apparently offered over £80m for other very good footballers. They wanted to be part of the conversation to buy Kylian Mbappe for €140m. But they can’t countenance arranging the finance for an extension that could allow Anfield’s capacity to overtake West Ham and, as of next season, Tottenham in terms of stadium capacity. Because, to quote the former CEO, it doesn’t make business sense.
The Premier League is awash with cash – not just from the TV companies pumping billions in for the rights to broadcast, but also the eye-watering sponsorship deals. There are clubs who are switched on to this trend and have their own official tyre or power tools partners. Also, the appetite to entertain corporate guests is as popular as ever. Global brands will even pay millions just to have their logo on a shirt sleeve or a training kit.
Meanwhile back in L4, we have only a very fortunate minority of youngsters getting to attend matches and get into the habit of actively supporting Liverpool in the stadium rather than in front of television sets, streams and social media.
Mike Nevin’s recent column piece on The Anfield Wrap sparked a lot of online debate about the benefits of a local vociferous support for the mid-week matches under the lights. Many sought to regress into a locals versus out of towners discussion.
There are many out of towners who over the years have established a network around attending Liverpool matches and are as much a part of the fabric of Liverpool’s support as anyone. In fact the concept of out-of-town support is far from new. Liverpool have always enjoyed support from across the country and many have become regular faces at the ground.
Liverpool Football Club is open for business and actively attracting visitors from further afield. Either through the partnership with Thomas Cook or over in the US where charter flights are also arranged. If you live outside of Liverpool and would like to treat yourself to the match-day experience and you are able to finance such a trip there are plenty of options for you.
However, if you are a schoolboy in West Derby, from a low-to-medium income family, where money is tight and perhaps the certainty of income for your parents isn’t there – the idea of attending Liverpool for a football match is fanciful.
The club have made some strides in the area of availability – in the shape of the Red Neighbours scheme, which has given schools in the area the chance to nominate youngsters to attend.
The club have also introduced the £9 restricted view local ticket general sales. After initial teething problems with touting the club are tightening up on these, and the ticket user has to collect the ticket from the window in advance with photographic ID and proof of address. This is still not infallible but is ensuring more tickets are going into the hands of local people. And hopefully giving the chance to some people for whom £53-59 per match is simply out of their league.
But – there are only 500 of these lower priced tickets, they are as far away from the pitch as you can get and demand exceeds supply. In spite of the new measures for collection there is still some evidence that once collected they can still be spun on for a profit.
Put another 10k on the ground capacity and all of the new seats for Merseyside based fans only. Tickets capped at £20. Coutinho fee funds it
— upsetter (@chedbanger) 30 August 2017
The above could be a brilliant idea – particularly if the money the club gets from player sales, if not reinvested into new signings, were to go towards expanding the ground and reducing ticket prices.
Offer the bulk of the increased capacity to under 25-year-olds from within the Merseyside and Liverpool City region. Some will debate the borderlines but it’s about the principle of giving local youth the first chance to buy tickets at a price that is more likely to be within their grasp.
If the club could increase its capacity by nearly 20 per cent — and that 20 per cent be young, full of energy and scouse pride — then perhaps the types of atmosphere we enjoyed as The Reds dispatched Hoffenheim could become more the rule than the exception. We are all convinced that a vociferous home crowd could be a potential source of advantage for Liverpool. This could arguably be a better long-term investment than the latest continental starlet.
Some will argue that being born in Liverpool and its surrounding area shouldn’t give you a monopoly on supporting Liverpool – it is a global club and just being born there doesn’t make anybody more of a fan. I agree 100 per cent.
The Reds have a fan base around the world who get up at all times to watch them in action. Liverpool Football Club is a product of this city and its success, its attitude and its style was formed here – it is unique. That uniqueness is being diluted as the scouse voices in the ground get older and fewer. People’s behaviour in football grounds is dictated more by social media and the Soccer AM culture rather than traditions passed down from father to son. Outsiders are more than welcome and the club has lots of options available to enable supporters from further afield to experience a matchday.
Residents of Liverpool City region on average earn between 10-15 per cent lower than the national average and, in spite of the economic improvements, unemployment and poverty are still significant social issues for the region. When the club has to encourage foodbank donations for local resident, expecting the same community to find north of £50 a game is not realistic. Liverpool is and should be a broad church – but the options for those from further afield are in my opinion well catered for. The club has it within their gift to address the balance.
Obviously not being from Liverpool doesn’t mean you’re loaded, but if you can afford to jump on a train, plane or in your car for a long journey to the ground – the ticket is not the dominant cost of your day out. If you are lucky enough to be able to afford to do this regularly then that’s great. Enjoy your day – once again, there are plenty of options for you to support The Reds.
Finally, some will say it’s dead easy to make a suggestion like this if you already have access to the football club through your season ticket. I completely get this argument and I think it is a fair criticism – I waited the best part of 20 years for my season ticket in my own name.
Sadly, the debates around tickets and access are often posited from a selfish standpoint. I bet someone who cannot get on the season-ticket waiting list would suggest getting rid of season tickets altogether while someone who has just got one after 20 years like me would fight for it tooth and nail.
My friend had his first son born this year – he has had a season ticket since 1986. Sadly under the current regime he cannot put his son on a list for a ticket at all. (The season-ticket waiting list was closed in 2011.)
The wider issues of access are being addressed by the newly-appointed supporter liaison officer Tony Barrett. It is a thorny issue and it would be remarkable if he can find a solution that makes everyone happy, but we must find solutions that are in the long-term interests of Liverpool Football Club.
Liverpool have an opportunity to defend themselves against the valid criticism of positive net spends on transfers by taking any monies in from a sale of a player and creating a genuine legacy for the city and its youth for generations to come.
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Hi, Thanks for a very thought provoking article.
I have been a Liverpool fan since the mid sixties when I and my brothers and friends used to get the no 27 bus to the ground from Lodge Lane when, on paper boy’s wages, we could go to every home game of the season. I now live in Manchester. I find it almost impossible to get tickets for Anfield unless I pay ridiculous prices for hospitality which I can just about afford for 1 game a season.
I feel it is vitally important for local people to be able to get to the match and afford to go to the match. However I would also prioritise pensioners who can prove they are Liverpool born but now live elsewhere.
i am a disabled person and Liverpool supporter for over 50 yrs,
during that time i have only been able to attend Anfield once.
due to the lack of disabled seating and the amount of money i have to spend makes no difference.
The club have told me they can’t sell all the new disabled seating they have – get on to them! You’ll either get a ticket or expose them for not telling the truth….
I am from StLouis, Missouri USA. I agree with this article completely. I have yet to be able to attend a match in Liverpool but it is my dream to see the Reds in Anfield. I have seen them twice in USA but not the same of course. In the US we are seeing the results of exactly what the writer talks about. NFL games are seeing lower attendance as younger fans watch from home due to high prices. And stadiums that host bad teams are often overrun with fans from out of town. Baseball is seeing the same thing and is trying to turn the tide with lower ticket price promotions, but it might me too little too late. Once you lose the children and the Mystique of attending a game live, you cannot get it back. What tradition will today’s NFL fans hand down to their kids??? Getting together at home on a Sunday to watch the game. Hopefully Liverpool and its American ownership can see this and find a way to keep the youth at the games. Especially the local fans who have generations of heart invested.
We see the same thing here in New Zealand. Rugby is our religion, famously! But we are seeing more and more empty seats (we don’t get manybout-of-towners), as increasing prices for tickets + transport + stadium food/drink drive more people to just watch from home.
The majority of supporters that continue to go are from the generation that has always attended live games – the youth have grown up watching on TV (even though this costs loads it’s still cheaper than taking a family to the footy), and the atmosphere / experience at games, in turn, doesn’t inspire them to change this behaviour when they do make it along.
Anfield has a reputation (even here in NZ) as one of the most intimidating sporting atmospheres to play in worldwide – the owners need to do everything in their power to retain that. It’s more important to long term future success than any star player…
I agree with all you say but there is one aspect you have not mentioned, that is the restriction on capacity at Anfield.
The council have specified a maximum capacity of 60,000 on the ground due to the limitations of transport and this needs a considerable investment in roads &/or rail to alleviate the problems.
Typically someone wanting to head to the town centre after the game by public transport has to allow an hour or more due to traffic congestion/irregular bus services,whilst the train station is a 20 minute walk before queuing for the train. This is a particular problem on a week day game.
Many supporters prefer to walk as its quicker!
The stadium needs public transport that is not held up for long periods by traffic jams and a railway station nearer to the ground so supporters get home in a reasonable timescale, without resorting to shanks pony.
The current situation on transport/access is worse than 50 years ago, probably longer and it has to be addressed urgently if Liverpool’s ground is to expand.
Building a bigger ground to increase local support is conditional on improved local transport links.
While I agree with the sentiment for reduced ticket prices for youngsters, it shouldn’t just be local youngsters. While the current ticket prices are high for locals, spare a thought for people who travel distances to games. The cost of myself and my wife to travel to a game is almost as much as the cost of a season ticket. That’s just for 1 match. Out of towners are criticized by a section of “local” fans but we pay extortionate rates for both tickets and travel before accomodation and food factors in. This is something that local fans need to realize.
Brilliant article. Being an avid fan and visitor from Glasgow who enjoys going to a game a season, I can fully understand the more problematic social issues. Liverpool can ill afford to ostracise the community. For example, it could have such a negative affect on the youth academy long-term. The German clubs are examplary in community pricing. In this instance a bit of protectionism goes a long way..
Fantastic thought provoking article, but…. If you could purchase say… 5000 tickets at reduced prices for everyone, not just “locals”.
If you live outside the “local area” we’ll say by a few miles, you surely they cant be less passionate as a bloke/supporter who lives “in the holy land” who may (god forbid) earn more than you anyway.
Just go back to the old ways of 30% season tickets, the rest pay on the day. (Sorry you waited 20 yrs for your season ticket, but I know a 127yr old with two, goes home & away every week)
Maybe try it one Euro night & make reduced prices all round not just for the chosen few. PS I used to go to every game before football ballsed up & sold out to sky…..again a great read #LiverpoolFamily
The club is getting very close to ostracising their traditional local fanbase.
My kids are 4th generation supporters, their Great Grandad saw the club win the title and a cup final before he joined the Cheshire Regiment in August 1914.
When they have their kids then i doubt that they will become the 5th generation.
The club appears uninterested in local support as we don’t spend hundreds every match on merchandise.
They cater more for the ‘once a season’ tourists, corporate hospitality wallahs or ‘ sightseers’ that turn up just for the Anfield Experience…..rather like visitors to La Scala, the Louvre or Gracelands….it will become less about football and more about the ‘occasion’.
There’s an easy answer to this for the locals. Just come and watch Everton , the real People’s Club of Liverpool. That’s what most of us locals do. A shiny new stadium on the banks of the Royal Blue Mersey under the gaze of the Everton owned Liver Birds will only add to the experience. You’ll love it.
I’m a red and I agree with you. I’ve told my lads to start going to Everton with their mates they’ve got no chance with Liverpool apart from crumbs like the league cup games. LFC is finished for Scousers. By design.
“Yet another deluded Troll”
A great idea that could be funded by the foreign support.
If you’re travelling from abroad, you want to know you have access to a ticket before buying your air tickets, book hotels etc.
Likewise if you knew you had a ticket a long time in advance you could get cheaper travel deals.
Therefore why not sell a percentage of the new Anfield Road seats at the beginning of the season for say £100 or even more on an auction basis for the biggest games (Utd, Everton etc.).
The extra revenue generated could fund the discount for local young fans.
Those people who would love access to Anfield and for whom an extra £30-40 on the price is worth it for the certainty of getting a ticket, may rather give it to the club (rather than a tout), knowing it is helping to fund local youngsters to see their team.
This could also help reduce any tension of ‘out of towners’ getting tickets?
Make tickets available at low cost 1st come first served from various points around Merseyside (LFC shops). Absolutely not transferrable. 1 per person. The result being only the ultras can be bothered to queue up. The atmosphere will soon improve.
What about all season ticket holders who flog their tickets for some lesser matches at face value giving these tickets to the youngsters OR even better still let all season ticket holders give up their tickets after say 5 seasons so that new energetic supporters can get into the ground.I believe that the stagnation of enthusiasim of long term ticket holders deprives new faces the opportunity to attend matches and thus creates flat atmospheres.
Ahh back to the good old Scouse vs Out of towners debate. Seems TAW now with 2 similar articles in recent weeks want to push this agenda forward. Why cant fans recommend changes (cheaper tickets, younger fans etc) without referencing where they come from? And these will be the same people lamenting the fact we did not sign someone because of lack of money. I am all for getting in a younger crowd that will raise the roof regardless of where they come from. Will this be at the expense of the older scousers though? You know the ones on centenary who can be heard grumbling and very quiet generally? Or is this just the way our world is now with ‘foreigners’ being mistrust and Brexit! I guess you guys must be very envious of Everton’s local support.. Much easier getting tickets there (including half season tickets!)
Lets try to create a debate to address the issues without referencing where fans should come from (Or maybe the issues are being used as an excuse to drive out the OOT’s?)
Nope, no agenda.
Well having 2 articles referencing OOT supporters definitely ‘feels’ like there is an agenda.
Mike Nevin’s article is trying to compare a mid week eve match vs an afternoon match, League vs European cup, a normal match vs trying to qualify for the champions league. Where was the context?
Yet in a recent podcast, Gibbo said he didn’t agree with Nevin’s article. He references the older season ticket holders and that they might be holding on for that long awaited league title. I would hardly call it an agenda. Best thing about The Anfield Wrap is that each contributor has their own opinions which makes for a good podcast, article, etc.
I think there are three relevant but separate elements in this piece: player transfers, capital investments, and nurturing the support of young local fans. I feel the budget for transfers should be independent of the budgets for the other two, otherwise there’s a risk of getting on the slippery slope of the ‘rob peter to pay paul’ kind. Arts organizations have for a long time had the challenge of getting young attendees through the door (albeit the motivations are different) and a popular way of doing that has been to tie sponsorship to subsidised tickets, for example. I half expected LFC’s sleeve sponsorship to go towards cheap tickets for young local fans, and I can’t think of why something like that isn’t an option.
On season ticket holders: there was a report last year that listed the percentage of attendance at each ground that is taken up by season ticket holders, and Anfield was 18th at 55% – Villa Park was lowest at 52% and Carrow Road highest at 81% (I don’t know how correct this was though). I think if there was a will at the club to subsidise tickets for young local fans they’d find a way for it without taking money from the transfers budget or tickets from season ticket holders.
Season ticket holders are the most loyal supporters but they do end up with a monopoly on most of the ground. I think the turnover of season tickets through the waiting list is only about 100 per year. I had a Kop season ticket in 80s gave it up and have been on waiting list since 1997. Attendances back there weren’t always great it should be remembered.
Now at about 1700 on list but thankfully can get some away tickets through season ticket holder mates.
Maybe season tickets should only cover 75% of matches (with reduction in cost) to allow more churn and tickets to be available. Everyone agrees getting kids back into ground is important and maybe ties in with the Safe Standing debate. Something has to give somewhere to make it happen.
Interesting but not new. TV rights are supplied by Murdoch empire. The states show all UK games the intention being to grow the market and move the success over there. The money players will all be there in the next 10 years. Why would an American company want to invest in a club which they will abandon when the massive US league kicks in? Sad but in 10 years Liverpool will be screaming for youngsters to fill the empty spaces at Anfield.