Commercialisation of Football – Season Ticket Prices

In England especially, season ticket prices and single match tickets for Football matches are a known issue. It is seen by the clubs up and down the country as a way to capitalise on their fans.

This is a stark contrast to prices in Germany. Bayern Munich president spoke recently about his clubs decision to keep season tickets low. The German champions, who are one of the richest clubs in the world revealed why they keep ticket prices so low.

Bayern Club President, Uli Hoeness stated:

“We could charge more than £104. Let’s say we charged £300. We’d get £2m more in income, but what’s £2m to us?

In a transfer discussion you argue about that sum for five minutes. But the difference between £104 and £300 is huge for the fan. We do not think the fans are like cows, who you milk. Football has got to be for everybody. That’s the biggest difference between us and England.”

For all football fans in England, Spain and Italy, this is something to be amazed at. We could only dream of having such a philosophy in our respective countries.

Based on data compiled by The Guardian in 2013, the average season ticket prices by league made the differences clear to see.

While we may marvel at this philosophy, it would be just a pipe dream. This inflation in prices not only occurs in the Premier League, it’s all the way through the Football League. To watch tier 4 football (League 2), single match day tickets are £15.

When I was a young boy, you could go and watch your local side play for just £2 a game. You could even go and watch Premier League matches for £15 a game. That’s all changed now, as more info from The Guardian clearly shows the hikes in single match day ticket prices.

I know that Bayern Club President, Uli Hoeness was charged for tax evasion, but in this very sensitive issue in sports, he has a very valid and winning point.

Clubs in many European countries milk their fans dry. Some to the point where their most loyal fans are priced out of attending games. I for one was priced out of attending Leicester City games as a student and now a recent graduate with little disposable income. Even in times of hardship, the clubs haven’t contemplated reducing their prices to help their loyal supporters – supporters who helped the club become elites.

Football is commercialised to the point of no return.

Leicester City’s Kasper Schmeichel – A Footballing Legend In The Making

As a Leicester fan I may be slightly biased as I am truly a great fan of Kasper’s. But I believe he has the capabilities to become the best goalkeeper in the Premier League.

Not only has he proven himself at Leicester in the last two seasons, he has also broken into the Danish squad and put in some amazing performances.

It is with great warmth that Leicester fans constantly praise this man – who could deny them? He is a true fan favourite! I am actually going to buy my first ever Goalkeeping shirt, just because of this man.

As Good Outfield As In Goal?

One of the biggest reasons for Leicester’s promotion last season was due to their determination. Kasper epitomised this when he came up field to “score” a goal in the last minutes against lowly positioned Yeovil. Unfortunately, his goal was denied and maybe it wasn’t a goal, but he deserved it. If only the crossbar was one inch higher… It’s safe to say that Schmeichel senior would have been proud!

Luckily though, Chris Wood was there to ensure the ball crossed the line to get the draw.

It’s pre-season training at the moment, and whilst you think that the goalkeepers will just be diving and making saves from people constantly shooting balls at them, then you would be wrong! It appears that goalkeepers – especially Kasper Schmeichel – likes to have a kick on goal.

In this video, he proves he has great finishing skills as he hits in a fantastic over head kick! Yes, you heard correctly – an overhead kick! Luckily, the Leicester social media marketers have all posts covered and captured it on video!

Now I think everyone would agree that this is a top class goal and on par with some of his finest saves from last season!

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How Corrupt Are FIFA?

FIFA reared its ugly side once again at the end of the World Cup Final in Rio de Janeiro. After what has been an exceptional tournament, one with the right levels of everything, apart from an ugly bite and a knee to the back, everything went swimming.

There have been a number of exceptional team and individual performances throughout the tournament, which in themselves, deserve an accolade. It was however last night a great shock when FIFA and Adidas golden boy, Messi won the Golden Boot.

FIFA’s Golden Boy

As I sat there watching the euphoria sweep over the German players, supports and nation and the equally strong look of disappointment on the faces of the Argentine faces, it was clear something was not right as Messi took the long walk up the steps to the presentation bay.

As Sepp Blatter stood there with that annoying grin on his face, Messi walked past the World Cup, the thing he had come so close to winning only moments before, albeit with lack sure performance.

Yes, I will admit, there were moments throughout the tournament where we saw Messi’s true brilliance shine through, but it wasn’t consistent and the boy didn’t even score a goal in the knockout stages! That says a lot.

What Are They Playing At?

Adidas and FIFA clearly used the opportunity as a further marketing ploy, as we all know well that Messi, Adidas and FIFA are all closely related.

I felt sorry for Messi – he himself will admit that he didn’t deserve it. His idol and fellow native, Maradona also admitted that he didn’t deserve the award.

So why didn’t it go to the true star of the World Cup? James Rodriquez of Colombia played phenomenally well throughout Colombia’s stay in the competition. He even won the Golden Boot, despite playing 2 less games than Muller and Messi.

Was It A Fix?

So the question is, why did FIFA blatantly fudge the competition and award it to Messi? It doesn’t make sense, as it’s an obvious fix. But then again, so was the decisions to award Russia and Qatar the next two tournaments.

Something extra interesting popped up on my Twitter feed this morning – and has since been re-tweeted thousands of times. A profile named ‘FIFA Corruption’ posted the following consecutive tweets before the game kicked off.

“To prove FIFA is corrupt”

“Tomorrows scoreline will be Germany win 1-0” – OK, fair enough, predicting the score isn’t too big of a deal – many people won bets last night.

“Germany will win at ET” – slightly less of a coincidence now!

“Gotze will score” & “There will be a goal in the second half of ET” – mind was just blown! OK, so the odds are there that this person could have predicted this score line relatively easily, BUT when you look at the likes of the scoring power on both sides, my money would have been on a high scoring game.

It just didn’t make sense to me, that a guy with his profile named ‘FIFA Corruption’ actually made the correct “predications” as seen here. Some are saying the account make hundreds of predictions and deleted the incorrect ones at fully time.

It makes you think, that’s for sure!!

Rebuild FIFA – It’s Highly Necessary! 

So it goes back to the age old tale, how corrupt are FIFA and why has nothing still been done about it? Everything is so blatantly obvious, its right in our faces, yet people just ride along with it in many cases. I for one thing that FIFA needs rebuilding, from the top down!

Germany Win The FIFA World Cup 2014!

After a distinctly average game, where it took over 100 minutes for the first goal to be scored, Germany have been crowned World Champions!

Following Germany’s 7-1 thrashing of Brazil last week and with the likes of Messi firing up front for Argentina, I would have expected a lot more efforts on goal and a subsequently, a lot more goals in this final!

Germany’s defence proved the test of the little efforts by Argentina to threaten the German goal. Despite the goal disallowed for offside, Argentina didn’t really get any closer. Maybe this had to do with the fact that Germany boast the best man to don a pair of gloves in recent history. Mario Neuer was the man to beat all tournament, despite the performances of Howard (USA), Neuer was awarded with the golden glove.

Did Messi Deserve the Golden Boot?

Oddly, Messi won the golden boot, which I am both not shocked and am shocked about. Firstly, he was not the best player in the tournament in terms of performances. He was distinctly average, especially when we know what he can do at the top level.

I frankly believe that the likes of James Rodriquez should have won. On the other hand, who else could have won it but Messi? The golden boy of FIFA was always going to win it. As he didn’t win the World Cup, he needed to be presented with something! It’s a shame but it’s a sad fact.

Hopefully now we can move on from Messi – he’s a fantastic player, don’t get me wrong – but there’s too much hype about the boy. It was like he expected to win! But he wasn’t playing with his Barcelona team mates, which meant he wasn’t able to be at his best.

German Efficiency

This tournament got off to a slow start for the Germans, but they hit form at the right time and went on a rampage. Both defensively and attacking games were superb and I can’t fault the squad, manager or coaching team. They deserve this accolade!

Congrats Gotze for scoring the winning goal and saving millions of fans the torture of witnessing a tense penalty shoot out.

It will be fun week for the Germans who will be partying hard until the sun rises probably on Tuesday!

Premier League Transfer Analysis

With this summer’s transfer spending already sky-rocketing, are we going to see the birth of a new Premier League era?

The Top 4

It seems that the demise of Manchester United last season has inspired many, including Manchester to spend big in this window, with Shaw and Herrera already through the door in big money transfers.

Liverpool also seem to have splashed out with Lallana being a big spend already, but they are expecting a big windfall from the sale of Suarez to Barcelona.

Arsenal last night, confirmed the signing of Alexis Sanchez – one of the stars of the World Cup. Who would have know that Arsene Wenger had this in him? After last season disastrous transfer windows, who can blame him for starting early and BIG!?

I see Arsenal mounting a very serious and potentially consistent title challenge this season, as long as they build further on their squad in key areas.

The only member of the “big 5” not to spend wildly at the moment are Manchester City – but they’re under restrictions from the UEFA Financial Fair Play due to their extravagant spending over the last 3/4 seasons. If they want to continue playing European football, they need to curb their wages and transfers. They got off lightly this summer with a fine and another loss next season could indicate expulsion from The Champions League, if they qualify.

Where does this leave the lower sides?

Well, the likes of Everton and Spurs, who are undoubtably knocking on the doors of the top 4 spots each season are aiming to stabalise. Everton have re-signed loanee, Gareth Barry, which will have a major impact on their moral.

Spurs on the other hand have a lot of thinking and transfers to do. In the wake of the Bale sale last summer, it’s safe to say that they spent every penny – but didn’t really get a great return on investment. They need to do some housework, will they stick with the flops who might just need time to settle, or will they sell them on? One thing I believe they need to do is, get rid of any toxic blood in the dressing room and from then on, sign one or two decent players – this squad needs stability and a chance to gel.

Mid-table

There’s not been too much major movement since the window opened, but the likes of West Ham and Aston Villa are desperate to make improvements on last season, and we have seen high out goings, with few incomings. It’s safe to say, I doubt either will lack ambition when it comes identifying transfer targets.

Southampton have a lot of work to do if they are going to better last season. With the major sales of Lambert, Shaw and Lallana I believe it’s going to be a struggle for the south coast club. Too many changes will unbalance the dressing room. I wouldn’t be surprised to see a few reckless transfers in, which sees them fighting at the wrong end of the table come next April.

Your thoughts

Who do you believe has had the better summer so far? Let me know in the comments section below!

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You’ve Got To Love German Efficiency – FIFA World Cup

Firstly, well done Germany, you have done something that nobody really expected the result you pulled off. A 1-7 thrashing of home nation, Brasil! Wowza!

If you missed the match last night, it was a spectacular show of world-class footballing. Germany dominated throughout the game, only allowing Brasil brief spells of freedom.

German Efficiency

From kick-off, you could tell Germany meant business. They knew that this Brasil side (already tipped as one of the worst in recent history) were weakened by the unfortunate injury to their golden boy, Neymar. To add to this, Silva was suspended. Perhaps their two best players, out of the game!

It certainly showed, as the fragile Brasil defence could do nothing to stop the 2nd, 3rd and 4th goal in within a matter of three minutes. Their precise and tactical play enabled them to grow in confidence and dominate.

I don’t want to take anything away from the German squad, I have said since last year that I believed they were going to win the World Cup. But, it has to be said that Brasil’s tactics for the tournament failed them spectacularly.

One Player Doesn’t Make A Squad

A manager/head coach should NEVER EVER build their squad around a single player. Unfortunately for Brasil, this was the case with Neymar. Yes, Neymar is a fantastic player, possibly he will be the best in the world in a couple of years BUT Scolari should have made sure other, maybe older and wiser players (such as Kaka) were at the tournament). Fred was a joke and Hulk just failed to deliver. Even Luiz, after that wonder free-kick fell flat on his face.

I am regrettably glad of this outcome. It wouldn’t have been right for Brasil to win the World Cup. The reason why I regret my feelings came after the 3rd or 4th goal when the camera panned around to a small boy crying his heart out. I’ve been there as a boy and a man, football can mean the world to some people.

The Final

Regardless of my thoughts, good luck to Germany in the final against either Netherlands or Argentina (I’m British so COME ON NETHERLANDS!!!), and commiserations to Brasil. You took it in good sport after I feared some sort of backlash from those pre-tournament haters. Take this time to rebuild and come back fighting.

Are Leicester City Ready For The Premier League?

Leicester City players reported back for training duty this week, and the players are looking in fine physical form.

Their annual pre-training fitness tests provided no worries and LCFC declared that all players are in peak physical condition. The lads have clearly kept their heads in the game over the summer!

It is a fine example of what success can do to a group of players, such as those at Leicester.

Certain players are yet to return, as the likes of Schmeichel, Morgan and Mahrez had international duties during the summer so have been gifted extra time off.

Transfers and Contracts

It seems that Leicester have already made their biggest signings of the summer by securing the long term commitments of Schmeichel, Drinkwater, James and Morgan. All but Morgan have signed 4 year contracts and Drinkwater (24), has stated that he would like to remain at Leicester for the duration of his career – this is something rarely heard in today’s modern transfer market.

Nigel Pearson and his staff (all have signed new contracts too) have made great use of the bosman rule, with the signings of Ben Hamer, Matty Upson and Albrighton from their respective clubs.

Signature Signing?

For the Leicester fans out there who are wanting to see some big names coming to the club, I wouldn’t put a bet on it! Pearson has built a squad based on mutual respect and admiration. All players are content and there are currently no “big money-makers” at the club, after Pearson spent some time getting rid of dead weight post Sven.

The coaching staff firmly believe that a big money signing will only hinder the rest of the squad – who really wants an out-of-control, egotistical waste of space back on our books – NOBODY! The current squad deserve a crack at this big time and Pearson seems fully determined to provide it.

With key signings taking place across both the first team squad and the development squad, there seems to be a very methodical approach to the improving the current set of players.

Strike Power

It does however, seem like we may need to splash out on a star-quality centre forward. With Leicester’s current search coming cold, due to clubs holding Leicester to ransom over certain players.

It seems the likes of Frazier Campbell, who was reported to have been close to signing, may have gone off the boil now. So too does the signing of Ulloa from Brighton, who were wanting £10 million for the dominant striker. We have also been linked to strikers from Benfica and a host of average players from the World Cup.

Connor Wickham – Now, there’s a good signing!

Connor is a fantastic young player who I have admired since his Ipswich days. I feel Connor would do extremely well for Leicester in the Premier League. For a player who is in his final year of his contract, I think we could secure his services for around £5 million.

Apart from the latter part of last season, he has not had much of a chance to shine at Sunderland – and look at what he was able to do! He helped steer Sunderland to safety, which is a shame, as we could have got him for a cheaper price.

Anyway, I hope this is a signing that could happen, I feel he would fit in well with the current set of players – he isn’t an egotistical individual like others who have previously sold for in excess of £8 million. He has plied his trade in the Championship and proven his worth.

#ConnorForLeicester

My Prediction

I don’t like making a prediction at this early stage, but I am constantly being asked where I think Leicester will finish this season.

I have firm faith in the abilities of Pearson and everyone at the club. Although Pearson hasn’t got Premier League experience, he has gone into the preparations with a calm and collected head. This can only be a positive.

With the core champion winning squad still together (apart from Lloyd Dyer), I feel that this team can flourish in the Premier League, with the help of additional players.

I fear for our defensive back line and their abilities to cope with the likes of Aguero, Van Persie, Giroud et al. Schmeichel will be needed more than ever! I feel we need another, strong centre defender to help the ranks. The midfield are fantastic and I think they will do great. Our strike force needs that one star quality adding and we should be on our way. That’s why I’m routing for Connor Wickham – a strong, big centre forward.

If you’re a Leicester fan, let me know who you think we should sign in the comments section below!

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Le Tour De France, Well er, Tour uh Yorkshire!

Bonjour!

Le Tour De France kicks off this weekend and starts in the unlikely destination of Yorkshire, England! Many people who don’t follow Le Tour may be thinking that Le Tour venturing outside of France is unheard of, but in fact, it’s something that has occurred in many Tours over the last 40 years.

The appeal to spread out of mainland Europe was one of great scrutiny when Le Tour first came to England in 1974. It was held in Plymouth to try and increase trade for French farmed artichokes. Yes, even back then advertisers had some large influences on the world of sport!

This however, was a disastrous event in the history of the greatest long-distance cycle race. You can forgive me for not continuing to talk about it.

So, as a local-ish boy, who resides in the southern hills of Derbyshire, it won’t have much effect on my travel as I neither plan to use the M1 (the backbone that connects the north and the south). It will however, cause many issues as there is another small event happening in the middle of the country, you may have heard of it? The British Formula 1 at Silverstone – does it ring any bells? No? That’s fine then, I will carry on…

This weekend, I do not envy the person who has to travel too far on the M1 as they will be plagued by traffic and diversions in the North, Midlands and London!

To top it off, London also hosts another stage of Le Tour on Monday. ON MONDAY! They will be closing down many major routes across the centre of London from Cambridge. It’s stunning that this will occur on a weekday. Again, I’m not envious of the London commuters either! Good luck!

So, as excitement grows in the North, Midlands and South of the country, it seems that England may have a sporting event to enjoy this summer. Considering our lacklustre display at the World Cup and the Cricket squad seems to be in complete disaster mode, we need something to enjoy!

It’s a big weekend of sport, starting this evening with the Quarter Finals of the World Cup, semi finals and finals of Wimbledon, then Le Tour and Silverstone F1. Unfortunately (for my passion of sports), I am at a wedding of close friends. So, I shall miss the majority of the action.

I am in Castle Donington so I might have the chance to visit the Forumla E at Donington Park over the weekend! Also, I shouldn’t miss the Wimbledon final, which I am happy with.

Have a great weekend enjoying your various sports!

Let me know what you’re looking forward to watching/playing this weekend in the comments section below.

Wimbledon – What a Fortnight!

Wimbledon Centre Court

We’re reaching the end of the Wimbledon Championship, with the men’s Semi Finals to come tomorrow (Friday).

There have been shocks in both the men’s and women’s tournaments this year, most notably the Williams sisters, Nadal’s and Murray’s early exits. Wimbledon 2014 seems like a changing of the guard.

 

Bouchard of Canada

Some exciting new talent have been showing their skills and fighting for their spots in and amongst the world’s elite.

Bouchard of Canada has wowed many to become the first Canadian to reach a grand slam final. It really is something spectacular to see. She will face former Wimbledon champion, Kvitova in the final on Saturday.

 

 

In the men’s, despite his lack of progression to the Semi Finals following his defeat of Nadal, Kyrgios is a 19 year old with much talent. Remember his name for the future! He surely will be a future world beater!

The Semi Finals line up as such:

Djokovic v Dimitrov

Federer v Raonic

The world number 2, Djokovic faces no easy task, as Dimitrov knocked out an albeit lack sure Murray in straight sets on Wednesday to secure his place in his first Grand Slam semi final.

I predict another classic Djokovic v Federer final.

Let me know who you think will win both the Women’s and Men’s Championships at Wimbledon this weekend in the comments section below.

Are FIFA Regretting The Qatar World Cup 2022?

In a recent post on SkySports.com, FIFA have revealed that they believe The USA will once again bid for the rights to host the World Cup in 2026.

With an unprecedented number of The US population taking to “Soccer” like never before, the dollar signs seem to be rolling in the eyes of the top dogs at FIFA.

As we all know, money seems to be the biggest motivation for the people at FIFA and they will now feel that they have missed a trick.

The USMNT have exceeded all expectations and have inspired not only other teams in the World Cup, but also the fans at home, with their determined and tireless displays throughout the group stage. It’s safe to say that their spirited performance vs Belgium was a spectacle for all football fans.

Tim Howard has now been tipped to be the new Secretary of Defence, The next President.

My question for FIFA is, do you think it’s too little too late? 12 years is a long time in sport – could the momentum in the USA wain? It’s safe to say, if the Americans get fully behind the sport of soccer, then it’s a very big cash cow! Even more so than all the backhander bribes on offer by the oil rich Qatarians?

The true legacy of a modern World Cup in the USA could be very profitable.

What do you guys think? Comment below, or Tweet them to me @liamski7