Welcome to Issue 302 of Red All Over The Land.
If you feel a bit frustrated after dropping points at Old Trafford join the club. If you count how many goals we’ve scored this season you’d think we’d have a forward line full of potency and maybe we have. Yet chances are going begging and we’re conceding goals far too easily. We should have put Manchester United out of the FA Cup and then we dropped points in the league when we shouldn’t have done. Somebody pointed out on social media that we’ve had over 90 shots against Manchester United in the three games we’ve played but we haven’t beaten them. Says a lot.
The club have announced a small increase of about 2% for the cost of tickets for next season. According to some of the wiser folk out there, this will raise just about an additional £2m for the club in revenue which in their world isn’t that much. Some are suggesting this is fair enough while others, the SOS & Spion Kop 1906 disagree and say they’re totally opposed to any increase.
Under normal circumstances a 2% increase wouldn’t seem too bad but we’re not living under normal circumstances and the price of a match ticket looks a bit obscene to me. There are increased travelling costs and things around and inside the stadium are always costing more [apart from Red All Over The Land that is]. I know other clubs, not always the ones you’d expect, charge more than Liverpool but that doesn’t mean we should be paying the price we pay. I accept that Liverpool’s own costs are rising but Liverpool could do more to increase revenue than putting up the price of a ticket to generate a couple of million. A pre-season friendly at Anfield would go a long way to covering that. It would give fans who have been priced out the opportunity to attend a game. Look at the legends match revenue for example. Liverpool could play a home friendly against Accrington and still fill the ground. The women’s team only played one game at Anfield when maybe they could play more. I’m sure the concerts staged in the summer bring in massive revenue but at the end of the day it’s a football club and Liverpool have fans who would love the chance to be at Anfield for a game or two. Even pre-season friendlies. They’d go into the club shop and spend a fair bit of cash. They’d spend money inside the ground on the overpriced refreshments and some would even take out a hospitality package. They might even buy a fanzine because at the legends game I sold several to fans who said they used to buy one years ago but don’t get the chance to get to Anfield these days because most of the tickets go overseas or to corporate fans.
Recently I have sat in the new Upper Anny and the view is fantastic and the atmosphere pretty good as well. The ticket cost £54. Against Sheffield United I was in the Lower Main Stand, Row 36 seat 14. The view was poor and without standing you can’t see the corner down at the Kop end but when everyone else stands you still can’t see it. In fact, there’s a large part of the pitch you cannot see. For this seat the ticket cost £54. If you’re about six feet tall and have big feet try moving around in the lower Kenny. I usually have to sit sideways when I go in there.
One more issue to go for this season. Issue 303 will be a Jürgen Klopp special and should be in full colour. I want to make it different and a suitable tribute to our manager. It will be on sale at the Tottenham game and maybe available online before then.
JJP: I’m walking down a long and lonely road. Where I’m bound for no-one can tell. Do you think I should get a google map?