Jim White in the Torygraph:
‘A claim oft repeated in football circles: how brilliant the English game is, how the Premiership is the most in-demand league in the world, how more and more people are flocking to see it every year.
‘It might be something of a shock, then, for some of the Premiership's more enthusiastic trumpet-blowers that this weekend's round of games will do nothing to arrest a downward spiral of attendances at the high table of the English game. For the first time since its inception, the Premiership will show a shrinkage in its regular match-going customer base this season. And if the 20 chairmen do not take note of the reasons why, and continue to assume that their business will expand indefinitely on into the distant future, then they are in for a big shock.
‘Part of the reason why such a substantial decline will be registered is because of the make-up of the table. Based on average attendances in the 2003-04 season, with the replacement of Leeds, Leicester and Wolves by Crystal Palace, Norwich and West Bromwich Albion, the Premiership has lost over 35,000 regular customers per home cycle.
‘But the limited accommodation offered by the promoted threesome is not the end of the story. Nor is the fact that new accounting procedures mean that absent season ticket holders can no longer be added into the attendance figure.
‘The ticket offices at Premiership clubs have clearly been rattled by the apparent apathy of their supporters. All sorts of inducements are being offered to entice customers back. At Bolton, for instance, under-16s can get into the Reebok for nothing for next week's Carling Cup game against Tottenham Hotspur.
‘At Middlesbrough, season ticket holders are being offered a sizeable discount if they buy a ticket for the UEFA Cup tie against Lazio. And at Villa, anyone buying a package of three seats for the games against Portsmouth, Liverpool and Spurs will enjoy an £18 discount. Liverpool, Spurs and Lazio: it is not so long ago the very names on the fixture list would be enough to ensure a capacity crowd. So what is going on?
‘Well, season ticket inflation does not help. There is not a lot left over in the budget of the match-going fan after they have forked out on average over £500 for their 19 home Premiership games. And rampant profiteering - sorry, "premium pricing" - for the more popular matches limits return custom from the casual fan. Birmingham charging £45 for a lunchtime fixture with Manchester United can hardly expect a flood of visitors for less attractive opposition.
‘The glossiest publication released this autumn is undoubtedly the Manchester United plc annual report. It is packed with illustrations that show how happy everyone is in United land: the Megastore workers striving to make their customers satisfied, the jolly directors, their pockets bulging with all those dividend cheques, and the grinning fans, not one remotely grumpy as Arsenal disappear over the horizon.
‘The best line in the book is the caption beneath a picture of the design for development work at Old Trafford. It reads: "An artist's impression of the north east quadrant shows how the new stadium expansion will enhance the already distinctive east stand façade and provide great views for the dining guests in the new lounges."
‘Facilities which, no doubt, in honour of the club's captain, will be named the Roy Keane Lounges and will feature on their menu a full range of prawn sandwiches.’