LIVERPOOLaS raison d'Atre was previously winning trophies. It feels like that has been replaced by earning money today. Last season, Liverpool introduced a on season ticket prices. aWe have always aimed to make sure that we match our economic and commercial ambitions with the interests of our fans,a said Ian Ayre. aIn 2011 we increased prices consistent with inflation and the government rise in VAT to 20 per cent, but having reviewed the current UK economic system and our up and down team performance we felt it crucial that you flatten prices despite UK inflation being around 3.5 per cent. aOur supporters have shown great support for the team this season, in the home and absent, and with long runs in both the FA Cup and Carling Cup, we wished to understand that commitment with this announcement.a Since that time, whatas changed? The teamas performance is still aup and downa and the existing economic system is as dismal as ever. Yet the team has saw fit to raise the values for over half the seats in Anfield next period. What about the interests of supporters now, Ian Ayre? The club recently reported a fresh six-tier pricing structure for next period which was encased in a splurge of PR talk. It will let amore exact solution pricing based on seat, area and viewa believed the official internet site. As I beg to differ, a ticket holder in The Paddock who from next season will undoubtedly be paying A815 for the advantage of a chair that requires continuous position to view areas of the frequency. That aaccurate solution pricinga is really a increase of nearly 10 per cent for many fans. Present inflation levels are significantly less than 3 %. Person Main Stand season ticket holders spending A780 this season will pay A850 next. And every time ticket in the Main Stand, Paddock and Centenary may also rise to both A815 or A850 according to how close to the center of the pitch the chair is. aThis transfer will see some solution rates reduce while other chairs with the place and best match-day view will cost more accordingly to reflect their position in the arena and fit view,a the official bumf proceeded. The asomea is the ends of The Kop and The Annie Road a' five blocks. Kop season ticket holders in collection six will pay A15 less next season, while those at the heart of the Kop and The Annie Road will continue steadily to pay A725 and A770 respectively. It barely makes up for the fact 23,409 seats a many wooden, many blocked opinions, and many with leg space only a smurf might enjoy - are now more costly. And the pinch that will be felt by itas not just season ticket holders. Some seats for category A games have created through the A50 barrier a' sure to indicate yet more long-term supporters selecting for internet channels or the boozer rather than the floor of a weekend. These A52 seats are up from A48 a' an 8.3 % increase. The sweetener is gloomier costs for junior season ticket holders in the Annie Road with a 30 percent reduction from A285 to A200. Under 16s seats - which are only obtainable in selected Annie Road blocks and need to be purchased having an adult admission a' will also charge from A5 for cat C activities to A15 for cat A. Thatas good, but letas perhaps not get carried away a' itas however extremely difficult to get a kid to Anfield for anything approaching a reasonable price. The summer season tickets happen to be adopted, and competition for the Annie Road upper tickets is high. So a lot of parents will continue to pay adult prices to just take their young ones to the fit. Or not, since the case might be. The spin aside, the club did this to create more cash a' no other reason. And itas here the broader discussion starts up. Of course, the membership must earn money to participate a but at what cost? Shouldnat the club be much more than a capitalist force just interested in earning money out of fans? Liverpool as a cash-obsessed organization without any moral compass or look after town it operates in isn't the Liverpool I remember. It has to create money a' many fans get that a' and the club was the first to ever introduce a shirt recruit for that very reason. Set deals, TELEVISION deals a' thatas how a membership should earn money. May the A1.5m or so banked from these latest ticket value rises really make the membership very competitive on the pitch? Itas a fraction of the wage of a premier earning footballer a' however it means a hell of far more to the person on the street. I am brought by which to the result of a few of our supporters. One community bond on the net actually presented a Liverpool supporter suggesting that the club charge A100 for many tickets a' a worrying exemplory case of how easily the capitalist product is swallowed. Several supporters cheerfully engage in amateur economics, quoting supply and demand as a justification for the upwards trend in ticket prices. Those ready to protest, to moan, to attempt to make a difference are sadly in the minority. That in an area where, in accordance with figures on Liverpool City Councilas internet site, the common gross weekly pay for full-time workers is A463. Once the cityas dockers won the proper to a five-and-a-half-day week the popularity of baseball in Liverpool first soared. The clubas sources are in The Sandon pub, not really a Michelin-starred restaurant. It boils down seriously to the method that you see football supporters. Is soccer some thing you simply passively consume? Appreciate when itas good, boo when itas not? Go if you are able it, do something else if you canat? Maybe it is for a generation. If that's the case, thatas unfortunate. Is really a Liverpool fit now only an occasion a' like an event, or even a theatre performance? And are we, the lovers, just consumers; an arse on a chair, a face in the crowd? Does it matter where we're from, who we're, how old we're and how much energy, time and money place placed into supporting Liverpool? It will. The theory of Liverpool as an area team is increasingly diluted by the clubas extreme marketing abroad and the Thomas Cook-fuelled packaging of match-day tickets. Yet if the team really wished to ramp up match-day income the solution was increased volume. Supporters shouldnat purchase over a decade of inertia on that particular subject. This isnat a local v out of towners rant, but itas unhappy that Everton, Man City and Manchester United can all offer seats at financially more palatable rates than Liverpool. Evertonas closest season ticket is A676. While children can get one for A149 the lowest priced next period will undoubtedly be A427. Birmingham City time tickets are only A275 and at Man United they range from A532 to A950. The picture and look further afield becomes much more dismal. The average price for the cheapest ticket in the Bundesliga is A10.33 and the average cost of the lowest price person time ticket is A207.22, weighed against A28.30 and A467.95 respectively in the English Premier League. In Serie A the average price of the lowest price ticket is A14.15 and the lowest charged season ticket is A164.98. In La Liga it is A24.68 and A232.81. The received wisdom is that a cut in ticket prices is unrealistic and unworkable. But what value followers which are employed with the game? Itas supporters that offer the colour, the sound, the background, the songs a without us itas just a load of riches in day-glo shoes throwing a ball around. Balance-sheet obsessed executives would never share these views however, would they? This will depend where you look. Get the opinions of Borussia Dortmund leader Hans-Joachim Watzke for instance. aGermans want that sense of belonging,a he said. aWhen you give [the supporters] the feeling they are your visitors, you've lost. "In Germany, we want everybody to feel that is really important, and it's their membership. In former times in England I think the connection involving the team and supporters was very good. "Our people arrived at the ground like they're going to their family. Here, the supporters say: it is mine, it's my team. Here, it's our solution to have cheap tickets, so young people may come. We'd make a5m more a period if we had seats [as against the safe position parts behind the goal], but there clearly was no problem to complete it, because it's our culture. "In England it is much more expensive. Soccer is greater than a business. Every one explained you can not play in the Champions League against clubs like Manchester, they have more income. "We are trying to do it ourselves, inside our way. There are a lot of approaches to Rome.a It doesnat entirely drop at the hands of Liverpool to reverse the pattern a thatas why plans are afoot for supporters to lobby the Premier League. But considering the interests of fans must be significantly more than convenient rhetoric for the club. Liverpool could bank plenty of goodwill if it took a stand against the development, if it lobbied other groups on the subject and led just how. The lovers have done plenty for the club - the support is also positively promoted within the 'brand.' Just how about giving anything to us in return? However, an easy Google search suggests that it is only rhetoric. When Liverpool made the caveat-laden announcement that the club plans to boost volume at Anfield, Ian Ayre was questioned if the club might utilize it being an opportunity to make some passes more affordable. "We aren't looking at reducing ticket costs a' that's not realistic," was the response. Quoting Shankly can often feel trite, such may be the volume the great manas words are leant upon. But his quotes and image adorn many a at Anfield and Melwood and maybe there's one expression missing from the heads of the choice makers: "The socialism in my opinion in is everyone employed by each other, everyone having a share of the benefits. It is the way I see baseball, the way I see life.a The only thing weare sharing with the team nowadays it appears is debt. From issue 19 of Well Red - on sale April 4. To renew/start a print subscription to Well Red from only A15 for six dilemmas, visit http://liverpoolfc.wellredmag.co.uk/buy-well-red-magazine-online/latest-subscription-deals.html Electronic subscriptions to Well Red may also be available a An annual subscription, including usage of ALL back issues of the journal, is just A15. Place also got an app for iPhone/iPad. Take a look at: https://itunes.apple.com/app/well-red/id542200276?mt=8
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