Former Chelsea and current Manchester Citymidfielder Frank Lampard has sympathized with the fans’ fear over the rising price of watching football games in England and believes the clubs should take some measures to reduce the burden.
Recent reports suggested a 13 percent increase in the cost of cheapest match-day tickets for England’s top four divisions since 2011 which is almost double the rise in comparison to the cost of living. It was also claimed that England’s top flight clubs are spending a huge chunk of the money gained from the recording breaking TV deals on the salary of players- roughly amounting to 71 pence for every pound of income, according to the Price of Football survey.
Frank Lampard, who is on loan at Manchester City, understands the concerns of the supporters and acknowledges the risk to the game if the fans are priced out. “If there aren’t fans in the stadiums creating those atmospheres, which we get the best in the world of in England, then you’re not going to get that generation of TV money as well,” Lampard said.
“But from being at Chelsea recently and Manchester City now, two of the biggest clubs, they are making big strides. They are trying to freeze prices. They are trying to put layers in to encourage people from whatever background to be able to come.
“I love when they reduce the prices for away games, for certain cup games. They need to do more of that. If they can kick-start this then that is great.
“Because without the fans,then the football doesn’t happen.”
The 36-year-old English midfielder, who joined New York City in the summer after 13 glorious years at Chelsea questioned whether young players should be paid huge salaries although he expressed his doubts regarding the salary cap. Incidentally Lampard was reportedly third on the rich list of English players at the end of 2013, with a net worth of £31m.
“We are giving very big wages to young players who are maybe not quite ready for it,” he said. “We were really made to work for it. We were cleaning boots and doing work at the training ground. You could see the big step needed to make it and you respected that.”
“I don’t know if there is a legal minefield on that one,”
“It might be something they look at but I don’t know whether it is possible.”
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