Stuart - Sky Sports Expert

Eagles finding their wings

Reduction in ticket prices would see more bums in Selhurst seats

Posted: 05th November 2009 08:45

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Eagles finding their wings

Darren Ambrose: nine goals already

Having to pay £25-30 for an adult ticket is too much. In my opinion if adult tickets were reduced to £15-20 and children's prices reduced to £5-10 I think Mr Jordan would see a great many more fans return to Selhurst Park.

Fanzoner Stuart Gardner
Quotes of the week

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We are nearly a third of the way through the season and currently sit comfortably in 13th place on 19 points, five points behind sixth and seven above the relegation zone. We have suffered only one defeat in our last nine games but have drawn four out of last five matches one all.

Ten of our 15 games to date have been against opposition we faced last season and when the results are directly compared we have done at least as well in each and are a total of nine points better off. Our start to the season has been tough in terms of fixtures having played all of the top six teams, five of which away from home. There has also been the very public financial difficulties to deal with; we had no money to spend in the summer and we lost our top scorer last season, Shefki Kuqi.

All in all I think our start to the season has been positive and we have a base on which to build and hopefully force our way into a play-off spot. Somehow Neil Warnock has got a better side out there than we had last season. Victor Moses has scored a mere five goals in sixty appearances for the club; if he could start scoring I think we would have the makings of a good team.

Stagnation

Simon Jordan was critical in the week of the many Crystal Palace fans now staying away from Selhurst Park causing a sizeable dent in the clubs income. Whilst I am disappointed by the low attendances the level of apathy which has set in is a result of the club's recent stagnation and high ticket prices. There has been little investment in the squad in the previous two years and we have seen some of our best players leave the club. The results have not been great and tickets are too expensive.

Having to pay £25-30 for an adult ticket is too much. In my opinion if adult tickets were reduced to £15-20 and children's prices reduced to £5-10 I think Mr Jordan would see a great many more fans return to Selhurst Park. I was sent a letter by the club this week offering to renew my season ticket for £300 I think this represents reasonable value for money at £13 a game. Better deals are available for children and the over 60's and it would be great to see more people commit to the cause.

Goal-getter

Since my last entry Palace have earned creditable draws away at Preston and QPR. Darren Ambrose has continued his great goal scoring form and has netted nine goals from midfield already - his goal against Preston was another peach of a strike from outside the area. It's only November but Ambrose is already only one goal away from equalling his record goal tally of 10 he managed some seven seasons ago.

Against an in-form QPR it was a strange experience to see as many as five of our former players line up against us: Ben Watson, Fitz Hall, Mikele Leigertwood, Wayne Routledge and Gary Borrowdale. Julian Speroni was in fine form in an entertaining game which could have swung either way. I was pleased to see Stern John return to the starting line-up and hopefully he can chip in with a few goals to take some of the burden off Ambrose.

Next up we have Middlesbrough under their new manager Gordon Strachan and if we are to reach my aim of obtaining four points from the Preston, QPR and Saturday's game we must win.

Can Palace make it two losses from two for Gordon Strachan? Are true fans being priced out a ticket at Selhurst Park? Let us know your thoughts by filling in the feedback form below...

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Comments (3)

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Ray Palace-man (Crystal Palace fan) says...

Ticket pricing is difficult to calculate and Palace are a club in a catch 22 situation. They certainly have a very large potential fan base, but history indicates that they have never got anywhere near achieving their true potential on a regular basis. Even when they get into the Premiership, the attendances are still not anywhere as good as they should be and from my personal experience of supporting Palace over several decades, palace fans are a fickle bunch who supoport furiously when things are going well, but turn instantly when form drops an just when a true supporter should be doing his or her best to encourage the players? So what is the answer? If you cut prices you might encourage more fans to attend, but if you drop the price by say 25% you would need 33% more suppoters to pass through the turnstiles in order to maintain the same income level, although it's fair to say the noise level should increase. In the situation Palace are in, it hard to see how they can take such a gamble. Perhaps it's time for at least some of the players and their agents in particular, to realise that they are grossly overpaid and that transfer fees are simply totally out of hand. That's why I support not only Crystal Palace FC, but Simon Jordan in the way he runs the club, as well as his ethic on football in general and the same applies to Neil Warnock who has done a remarkable job with no funds to speak of. Finally, I challenge all the local fans who do attend home matches to become 'sales men & women' for the club and to sing their praise of the club at every opportunity. Maybe if the club gave out vouchers that would entitle a fan to buy an extra ticket at half price (in addition to his own at full price), for every four vouchers collected, they could bring along a friend. Hopefully that friend might want to become a regular supporter! Just an idea. GO Palace!

Posted 17:11 5th November 2009

Matt Palace (Crystal Palace fan) says...

Its a lot of pressure on Ambrose! The team really do need to chip in with goals and help out - I think I'm right in saying that we've had 4 league goalscorers this year - which frankly isn't good enough 15 games into the season... Agree with you on the ticket pricing! £30 to see Palace lose 4-0 at home to Scunthorpe doesn't represent value for money. Though, credit to SJ and co for the good deals for Students - £10 off each match!

Posted 15:23 5th November 2009

George Ronnero (Crystal Palace fan) says...

Personally for me the ticket prices are more than reasonable,one has to take into account what the overall expenditure in running a football clubs is, palace fail to attract enough spectators to their games that's more due to their position in the league table along with the way the club is run, Our catchment area is huge to attract more of an audience we have to make some concessions were families are concerned, ground improvement would help considerably but that will not happen until the tenure of the ground will come into crystal palace FC hands.

Posted 15:12 5th November 2009
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