Published: 27 June, 2013

Tony Dallas talks sport… and with more than 20 years working as a sports development officer he knows what he’s on about

IMAGINE my unreserved joy when football supporters from all parts of England marched to the offices of the Premier League to protest against ticket prices being too high.

I’d like to think many of them have read my comments in the New Journal over the years and decided to do something about it.

It made me think, why don’t we start our own campaign?

Now before you dismiss the idea and use this week’s edition for the cat litter, just think for a moment. As we witnessed last week, it doesn’'t matter what club you support, the message is the same: We’re being priced out of our game.

The amounts spent on players is staggering, and when you think about it a lot of the money is settling outside of our shores because very few clubs in Britain are buying British. And let’s not forget the added TV rights, which at the last count were making upward of £5.5billion.

With all the money floating around the game it’s not unreasonable to think that ticket prices could be lowered or at least frozen for a three-year period. Ask yourself this question, how long would you sit and watch a football match for on your HD-ready TV if the only thing you could hear coming out of it were the voices of 22 players, a whistle and the rumblings of the management and coaching staff? Answer – about five minutes.

Sadly the clubs, TV companies and the fans themselves don’t realise how powerful the modern day travelling supporter is. Let me make it clear, in my opinion the modern day armchair supporters are fans too and they are no less valuable. However it cannot be denied that their viewing pleasure is totally enhanced and dependent on the shenanigans and banter that go on inside the ground.

Therefore as I see it we, the fans who go to games, start from a position of strength because the media companies need us.

Let’s put a petition together that lends support to what our fellow lovers of the game have started. Let’s get the clubs we love to love us back.

We need to keep football accessible and affordable so that our children’s children can watch it. So let’s put our rivalries aside and all support this common goal.

What do you think about the state of English football? Tell us your view sport@camdennewjournal.com