A football chairman must feel like he is on a hiding to nothing at times where little praise is achieved for the enormous efforts must go in to running a football club. Unfortunately for them, supporters can be a demanding bunch and therefore it is a near impossible task to keep everybody happy and content.
The role of the chairman has changed from the old days largely down to the changing face of football. I remember when Lord Sugar took over the helm at Tottenham he was criticised by supporters and others as they felt he didn’t have the game at heart and was just running the club as a business with his decisions. Nearly 20 years on there isn’t a football club in the land that isn’t run in a similar vein now, due to the vast amount of wealth within the game and the fine line financially between winning and losing. The problem with chairman is that they seemingly expect supporters to conform to the changing ways; however some are not in a position to do so.
Football as we know has become big business and subsequently the demographics of the game has changed with it. There was a time when football was affordable to all; however it has now become an expensive outing, especially when you include the trimmings that go with it. Football clubs need to generate huge revenues in order to compete so subsequently they seek to take advantage of their loyal fan base in order to achieve it. In the large part they succeed as supporters are prepared to pay top dollar in order to back their team; however there are others who simply haven’t got the money to do this and have to miss out. Some instead choose to take advantage of internet streaming, or foreign broadcasts shown in pubs to get their football fix. It is nothing like the real thing but it has simply become the cheaper option.
I was reading last week that Niall Quinn was unhappy with some Sunderland supporters for taking advantage of these broadcasts, claiming it was having an adverse effect on attendances. While I understand his viewpoint I have to question as to what Quinn and other football club chairman in general are doing to make supporting their teams more affordable. I don’t know the pricing policy at every Premier League club and maybe Sunderland is a relatively cheap place to watch top flight football, but not everyone can afford watching the game anymore, especially if they have children who are just as eager to attend. Just because a large majority will happily pay week in week out, or shell out on a season ticket (despite how much they go up) doesn’t mean everyone can and chairmen would be naive to think that. I appreciate the legality of foreign broadcasting on a Saturday is perhaps questionable, but can you blame supporters for taking the cheaper option, especially in the current climate? It’s up to the chairman and their clubs to reach out to those who can no longer afford to attend matches – not knock them for doing it.