Simon Jordan bizarrely hits out at Reading over their away ticket scheme put forward this week and went down very well with fans.
The former Crystal Palace owner and talkSPORT pundit criticised the ‘Twenty’s Plenty’ stance, feeling £30 is a fairer price point.
The Royals made headlines around the world on Tuesday for releasing a letter sent to every Championship club offering a reciprocal ticket deal in which away fans would be charged £20 at the SCL Stadium if Reading fans are offered the same in return.
So far six clubs [Cardiff, Huddersfield, Blackburn, Swansea, Watford and Birmingham] have accepted and many figures around the football-sphere have come out in support of the initiative, however Simon Jordan took to his radio show to come out against the idea which everyone but him seems to be loving.
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Speaking on the show with Trevor Sinclair and host Jim White, he said: “Watch it on iFollow. You can’t have what you want, when you want it, how you want it.
“I want tickets at XYZ stadium because I want it, tough. If you go to a theatre, what do you pay? Y
“You don’t go to away games every other week if you don’t want to, no one has tied your tongue to the back of a bus and dragged you there.
“I don’t see any reason why if the Premier League then the Championship shouldn’t do £30. Football costs money at every level.
“If you’re watching Reading it’s because you value watching Reading in the same way that if you are a Manchester United fan you value watching Manchester United.
“I agree that maybe £40 is a price point that needs to be pushed back against.
“If the Premier League is charging £30 for away tickets and they’ve got 97 per cent attendances, and the Championship has got 60 per cent attendances, then maybe £30 is a fairer concession.”
Jordan owned Crystal Palace between 2000 and 2010 before putting the club into administration.
💷 𝗪𝗵𝗶𝘁𝗲: “There’s a cost of living crisis!”
🤷♂️ 𝗝𝗼𝗿𝗱𝗮𝗻: “Then watch it on iFollow!”
✅ 𝗪𝗵𝗶𝘁𝗲: “Fans want to be there!”
🤷♂️ 𝗝𝗼𝗿𝗱𝗮𝗻: “Then pay the price!”
Simon Jordan says Championship away tickets should be capped at £30, not the £20 that #ReadingFC want. pic.twitter.com/ye9ugzOwnT
— talkSPORT (@talkSPORT) July 6, 2022
Supporters want an EFL away ticket price cap according to a survey carried out by the Middlesbrough Supporters Forum (MSF).
MSF’s survey, carried out to understand more about why fans do or don’t travel to the Riverside stadium as away fans, showed that 97% of fans want to see an away ticket price cap in the division.
Supporters surveyed said they wanted to see a league-wide price cap somewhere between £20 and £25.
Mark Motley, chair of MSF, said: “We were keen to find out why many fans are reluctant to travel to Boro to follow their team as we have a fairly low away attendance at many games.
“The research showed us that it is a combination of issues, some of which are out of the club’s control – Middlesbrough can’t be geographically moved! However, there are some things including ticket prices and better and comprehensive information for away fans that could be considered.”
When asked if they had travelled to Middlesbrough at any time to watch their team, 26% of responders said no.
The main reasons given were distance, cost of travel and cost of ticket. However, a number of supporters said the ground was difficult to get to on an increasingly expensive public transport network.
“As a fans’ group we are firmly in favour of a price cap on away tickets and that is obviously reflected across all clubs with an overwhelming vote in favour,” Mark said.
“The other, less positive, thing to come out of our survey is the rise in anti-social behaviour.
“This reflects the anecdotal feedback MSF is getting from Boro supporters at away games, and something that we are working with Middlesbrough to understand what can be done to crack down on this.”
Lower ticket prices, better transport links, a guide to Middlesbrough and more to do before and after the match were given as things that could be done to attract bigger away followings.
The MSF research was carried out in June 2022 – with 144 responses from 19 Championship clubs.
The Football Supporters’ Association said: “A number of clubs in the division are charging away fans some eye-watering prices that put some fans off following their team away.
“Previously, the EFL has said it would not introduce a competition-wide price cap, saying that pricing was a matter for each individual club.
“The FSA continues to support a cap and urges clubs not to take advantage of away fans visiting their grounds. Away fans are vital to the matchday spectacle and an important part of English football’s matchgoing tradition.”
Twitter reaction as Simon Jordan bizarrely hits out at Reading over the away ticket scheme…
@PaulTH87: Another case where a millionaire tells working class people “like it or lump it”
@Bluebird131999: Says the man who’s rich enough to own a football club 🙄 🤡
@neal_with_an_A: Thing is though @Sjopinion10, when you go to the Theatre audiences are GUARANTEED a performance unlike some players and teams that turn up when they fancy it. #twentyisplenty
@pjs2022: Surely lower ticket prices the better.
@positivejules2: Ok for multi millionaire Jordan
@dairobs11: Simon Jordan, the Piers Morgan of football. These clubs are doing something positive for their fans during a major economic crisis. Good for them! It isn’t always the least well off that have to pay for everything in society Simon.
@danielwoods971: 🤣🤣 love rich people telling us that £20 is too cheap
@Scotthansekow: I normally agree with Simon but this is a case of a millionaire(and fair play to him) telling the working class like it or lump it, also if the Prem is £30 capped then championship deffo should be £20
@trmullen: For once I disagree with Simon here £20 is plenty enough for away tickets your forgetting gotta take into consideration travel expensive now!!
@Rob_Dawson93: People also need to remember that £20 (or £30) is for a ticket. It doesn’t include ridiculous train fares, huge petrol costs, food, drink, parking etc. Other clubs are following @ReadingFC lead now. I hope they get over half the clubs in the league to support this initiative
@CruMster666: Totally disagree with Simon on this. Prices at championship are higher than most of the major leagues in Europe that just isn’t right. If the clubs were in correct order it would never need to charge this much.
@BarnInEffect: Out of touch 🤦🏻♂️
@KierenFlanagan: Sorry Jordan is wrong here, fans shouldn’t have to be charged a fortune to watch their football team, your basically saying yeah just pay as if everyone is rich
@StandersSouth: Simon is very out of touch with the common fan. 30 quid plus travel, food and drink. It can be a £100+
@dannybaldy1995: 🔔🔚
@nathanrees1927:
The prem is capped at £30? Why should it be the same price as the prem?
£30 for the prem
£20 for the Champ
£15 for league 1
£10 for league 2
What’s wrong with that?
@robsimi: Nah £20 is perfect. Lower leagues should be £10/£5. It’s not en elite sport, give people a break ffs.
@LordCKS: 🤡 Embarrassed himself here.
@pott95: A great example of a former football club chairman being out of touch with the working class fan. The cost of living is going up. Classic example of looking to argue for the sake of nothing. Barely any negatives to this initiative.
@Jamieeeeewafc: Cmon Simon use your brain here you’re clever enough. Why should it be capped the same as the premier league? Why should we pay the same when it’s deemed a lesser standard?
@ChrisH1871: Such a self entitled bellend. Had his millions and lost it for poorly running Palace… how he can see a downside to our initiative to make it affordable and drive up attendances home and away is staggering
@chrisreno101: What a massive bellend! He’s so far removed from the normal world he’s no idea.
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