Souring a Champions League Season Villa Fans Have Eagerly Awaited
While Unai Emery talks in his post-match interviews about connecting with Aston Villa fans, the club’s commercial department and business side seems to be prefer exploiting them. Villa fan Andy McKeon wrote in to My Old Man Said, wanting to get this off his chest.
By Andy Mckeon
On the day that tickets went on sale for Aston Villa’s first home game in European football’s top competition in four decades, you would expect excitement and a buzz of anticipation among the fan base. The prospect of European giants visiting the hallowed turf of Villa Park should be generating pride and passion, lifting the spirits of thousands of supporters who, just five years ago, watched their team struggle in the Championship.
Instead, this excitement has been tainted with disappointment and anger. Rather than building on the goodwill and aiming to create a fervent atmosphere for the games to come, the club has chosen to maximize revenue with high ticket prices. Fans aren’t eagerly discussing line-ups and score predictions; instead, with adult tickets ranging from £85 to £97 for non-season ticket holders, they’re wondering if they can even afford to attend. For comparison, Liverpool’s highest-priced ticket is £61, which is £9 less than Aston Villa’s lowest-priced ticket for even season ticket holders.
Aston Villa could have been basking in the limelight of the Champions League, representing the Premier League on the continent, with media headlines full of praise and anticipation. Instead, all the talk is about high ticket prices, exploitation of a fanbase and the ill will they’ve generated.
To a large extent, it’s not just about the money, although that plays a significant role. It’s the growing disconnect between the club and its fan base. Is this really what’s needed for the club to succeed? And at what cost? The constant excuse of Financial Fair Play (FFP), trotted out as the reason for high prices, is becoming an increasingly hard sell to fans. The notion that success can only come by forcing loyal supporters to spend more and more of their hard-earned money to pay multi-million-pound salaries seems harsh.
This isn’t the first time the club has made decisions that seem to devalue its supporters. In recent years, several unpopular choices have been made in the name of maximising revenue. One example is the removal of season ticket holders’ access to pre-game venues (after they had paid their season ticket money) to create more corporate offerings, such as the Lower Grounds and the Terrace View in the Holte End, which reduced the availability of standard-priced tickets for fans.
Before these changes, a fan survey was conducted to gather feedback and drive improvements at Villa Park. Fans requested reasonable improvements, like better toilets, more staff, better organisation at food and beverage outlets, and a better Wi-Fi signal. Essentially, updating the stadium concourses to the 21st Century. The club did respond, but only for those willing to pay a premium for the privilege of having facilities that are considered standard in Spurs’ stadium, by purchasing one of the aforementioned packages. Instead, at the first game of the season this year, the general admission fans got queue chaos and toilets overflowing before kick-off.
Another example is the club crest— arguably one of the most sacred symbols of any football club and considered a protected heritage asset by the government, FA and Premier League. Aston Villa has had three crests in the past three seasons. A few years ago, the club commissioned a consultation process with a supporter vote to deliver a new badge, and one was selected. However, it became clear the club had other ideas. The new badge was never fully adopted; the crests displayed around the ground, on commercial outlets, and by broadcasters continued to show the old version. The new crest only appeared on the kit, and that’s where it stayed for the entire season. By the end of the season, the club had announced a new crest—without proper fan consultation and flaunting the FA rules.
As Villa fans, we watch the game for the sport—the excitement of a goal, the thrill of the challenge, an escape from everyday life. For some their allegiance has been passed down through generations of family and it forms a central part of their life, they increasingly struggle to afford. How unfortunate it is that, for many in football’s commercial sector, the passion seems to lie exclusively in chasing revenue and profits, with little concern for the tradition and soul of the club and it’s supporters.