For the last four years a lot of Celtic fans have been calling Rangers a new club and stating that the ‘Old Firm‘ fixture no longer exists.

Clearly no one has told Celtic’s Chief Executive Peter Lawwell and the Celtic board as they announced that tickets for the first clash between Celtic and Rangers this season, on September the tenth at Celtic Park, will cost an eye-watering £49!

In many ways the board have let down the Celtic support regarding this pricing stance.

Firstly it makes a mockery of any argument that the Old Firm no longer exists and that Celtic don’t need or want Rangers in the top flight. That fact is that the stadium will sell out no matter the price hike and it could probably sell-out two or three times over at that price too. Don’t forget that they are charging this expensive price against a team that’s just been promoted, and the only way they get away with it is because of the history that the two sets of fans have had in the past.

But even beyond pretty meaningless squabbles between the two clubs fans, Celtic by doing this to their own set of supporters are kind of showing the rest of Scottish football that it’s ok to charge  Celtic fans more for when they come to town.

Last season Celtic supporters groups were calling for a maximum £20 away ticket for an adult ticket. Yet their own club are asking for £29 for the home game against last season’s runners-up Aberdeen and then putting it up by another £20 to watch the newly promoted Gers side. Surely this decision will make it harder for away fans to change the minds of other Premiership rivals when the Hoops visit away stadia.

You then look at Celtic’s preseason lucrative trips to Ireland to play European giants Barcelona and Inter Milan. No doubt these games will also swell the coffers at Parkhead but it also shows little respect for those that turn up every other week to the east end of Glasgow to watch their side. I understand that football is now a business but never forget that the average fan is your biggest customer and you can’t continue to take advantage of that.

We should also remember that the club were formed to help a poverty stricken east end back in the 1880s. For me it kind of grates that money for the business is now paramount against anything else. That goes against the clubs tradition, a tradition that the Celtic fans are rightly proud of!

Listen people will pay the £49, we all know that. The board will see that demand as justification and that will be the end of the matter.

It’s also a Scottish problem and not just Celtic’s, as I believe most teams overprice their fans when it comes to tickets. To see our national team will cost the average family an absolute fortune! (And they haven’t qualified for anything in the last 18 years)

But for all that I really enjoy our game and see many positives within it, the ticket prices aren’t justifiable compared to the current product thats ‘s offer.

People are simply lining their own club’s bank balances due to what seems like an everlasting loyalty. But in most Scottish stadia we see plenty of gaps in the stands and that looks dreadful on our TV screens and that affords TV networks the perfect excuse to offer lower offers for the TV rights! It’s the same for sponsorship deals.

Once again this story highlights that certain head honchos that run our game and clubs have little regard for the average fan and the local communities. They’ll simply try milk them dry without offering much in the way of a return.

Posted on August 17th, 2016 by scott
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