Man City Tops Value League

READING, England, June 14, 2011 -

• One in ten season ticket holders could walk at end of year
  due to ticket prices
• Despite winning Premier League, Man Utd fans most
  disgruntled with costs
• Scott Parker voted as best value player

The likes of Manchester Utd and Chelsea may sit at the top of
the Premiership - but they’re not leading the league when it comes
to value for supporters.

The ING
Direct Value League, compiled each season by the bank,
compares clubs’ season ticket costs with their Premier League
performance and entertainment value^[1] - and when it
comes to getting the most points for your pound it’s Manchester
City, Blackburn Rovers and Bolton Wanderers who really delivered in
2010/11.

The teams whose performance didn’t match their ticket prices are
also highlighted in the research. Tottenham Hotspur - who enjoyed a
successful year - still didn’t do enough to counteract one of the
most expensive season tickets on the market, and find themselves in
the value ‘relegation zone’ alongside Wolves and West Ham.

And with the public struggling with a difficult economic
climate, many fans are considering alternative ways to follow their
team. Around one in 10 admit they may have to ‘pick and choose’
games rather than take out a season ticket next year, or watch
games across the internet or in the pub. This is equivalent to
nearly 50,000 season ticket holders.^[2]

This exodus will be more severe for clubs who choose to raise
their prices. For most clubs this would spell a further loss of one
in 20 season ticket holders (five per cent), who say they’ll walk
if prices rise. This could be bad news for Manchester United in
particular (who announced a price rise earlier this month) as a
quarter of their fans say they’ll seriously consider not renewing
because of this hike.

However, many clubs have recognised that fans are feeling the
strain, with eight out of the 20 premiership clubs confirming price
freezes. Conversely, 10 clubs have confirmed price hikes, with
Arsenal and Liverpool making some of the largest increases of 6.5
per cent. West Ham and Blackburn are still to confirm 2011/12
pricing.^[3]

Yet while a great number of fans worry about the costs involved,
there are a significant minority who state that money is no object.
Around one in eight fans (12 per cent) say that they’ll pay out
whatever it takes to follow their side, with Liverpool, Stoke and
Man City fans most willing to stretch their finances for their
club^[4].

Also revealed within the report are the Premiership’s ‘best
value’ players - as voted for by fans. West Ham stalwart Scott
Parker topped the poll, despite his team’s relegation, followed by
Man Utd new boy Javier Hernandez (Chicharito) and Arsenal and
England midfielder Jack Wilshire.

ING Direct CEO Richard
Doe commented:

“We created the ING Direct Value
League because many of our customers save for this large annual
outlay, so we’re aware of the increasing number of fans who are
questioning the value they’re getting from their club.

“The results show that with clubs
raising prices, a number of disgruntled fans are saying ‘enough is
enough’ and finding other ways to keep up with their club.”

The ING Direct Value League is published at the end of every
premiership season, with full results available to view at href="www.ingdirect.co.uk/valueleague">www.ingdirect.co.uk/valueleague.

ING Direct ‘Value League’

Man City
Bolton
Blackburn Rovers
Stoke
Wigan Athletic
Man Utd
West Brom
Blackpool
Sunderland
Aston Villa
Fulham
Chelsea
Birmingham
Everton
Arsenal
Liverpool
Newcastle
Wolves
Tottenham
West Ham

Best value players

1. Scott Parker (West Ham)
   Javier Hernandez (Man Utd)
   Jack Wilshire (Arsenal)
   Luca Modric (Tottenham)
   Youssouf Mulumbu (West Brom)
   Ali Al-Habsi (Wigan)
   Stuart Holden (Bolton)
   Leighton Baines (Everton)
   Robert Huth (Stoke)
   Vincent Kompany (Man City)
   Phil Bardsley (Sunderland)
   Roger Johnson (Birmingham)
   Lucas (Liverpool)
   Petr Cech (Chelsea)
   Paul Robinson (Blackburn)
   James Perch (Newcastle)
   Mark Albrighton (Aston Villa)
   Charlie Adam (Blackpool)
   Clint Dempsey (Fulham)
   Matt Jarvis (Wolves)

Breakdowns by Premiership team

                                                         Pay
                             Won't    Already  Undecided whatever
                             renew if decided  on next   it takes
                2011/12      prices   not to   year's    to
                ticket price go up    renew    ticket    follow
    Team        change[5]    (%)      (%)      (%)       club (%)
    Arsenal          Up         4        4        13        6
    Aston Villa      Up         5        4        18        12
    Birmingham       Up         4        2        24        10
    Blackburn       TBC         5        4        25        10
    Blackpool      Freeze       5        2        25        10
    Bolton         Freeze       2        2        15        9
    Chelsea          Up         1        3        11        7
    Everton        Freeze       4        3        22        7
    Fulham           Up         3        3        22        12
    Liverpool        Up         3        4        13        22
    Man City         Up         1        2        17        17
    Man Utd          Up         24       2        28        13
    Newcastle      Freeze       3        2         6        7
    Stoke City     Freeze       3        2         9        20
    Sunderland       Up         3        6        18        15
    Tottenham        Up         3        5        12        10
    WBA            Freeze       4        3        15        12
    West Ham        TBC         8        8        28        15
    Wigan          Freeze       5        4        26        15
    Wolves         Freeze       8        9        28        10

Notes to editors

Research was conducted by Football Fans Census and ING Direct in
May 2011. Total sample size was 2,041 adult season ticket holders
of Premiership clubs (approx. 100 per club).  

1. The value league was compiled by comparing season ticket
prices with points earned, with a bonus for goals scored (which
affects fans’ enjoyment of the game). This calculation was
supported by Dr Steve Kelly from the University of Huddersfield, an
expert in sports and society.

2. Of the 680,000 fans who attend premier league games every
year (based on average attendance figures), around 73 per cent are
season ticket holders = 496,400 (buzzle.com). 10 per cent of season
ticket holders said they may ‘pick and choose’ games next season
rather than take out a season ticket - by watching single games,
watching in the pub, or watching over the internet = 49,640 approx
50,000 season ticket holders.

3. As of 23^rd May 2011, eight of the 20 premiership
clubs have frozen ticket prices for next year, the remaining clubs
are either yet to announce (two) or have announced rises (10).
While eight per cent of season ticket holders won’t renew if ticket
prices rise, this figure stands at 24 per cent for Manchester
United fans.

4. 12 per cent of season ticket holders questioned said that
they would “pay whatever it takes” to follow their club. When
analysed by club, 22 per cent of Liverpool, 20 per cent of Stoke
and 17 per cent of Man City fans made this statement.

5. Data taken from club announcements or by comparing average
price paid in 2010/11 to published prices for 2011/12.

For further information please contact: Chris Blackwood / Third City, Tel: +44(0)20-3174-1023 / +44(0)779-524-7275, Email: chris.blackwood at bbpr.com; Martin Rutland, ING Direct, Tel: +44(0)1189-381969 or email martin.rutland at ingdirect.co.uk