Prem v Bundesliga - Are we doing something wrong?

[itbrvilla]

Free transport 5 hours before kick off untill the early hours the following morning included in a match ticket of 15-20 Euros.

Standing.

Beer in your seats.

[The Laughing Policeman]

Agree with most of this

People will come and watch us if:

It is reasonably priced
We are successful
We play good exciting football

i read all the bollocks last week as to why we don't get a greater diversity of ethicities through the gates, well if we won something and built on that success we would.

You haven't noticed that it isn't just AV that's suffering with falling attendance figures then?
It's more about how the link between clubs and fans in this country seems to be broken.
As someone as already pointed out the Bundesliga doesn't have the wealth of world class players that the PL has, yet the grounds are virtually full every match. Even the bottom club gets crowds that most of the PL clubs can't match.
Price is one of the contributing factors but one of the most important things is that all clubs have fans representation on the board. Then there's the standing area issue.
Also it's already been said, the Bundesliga is a darn sight more competitive than the PL

[pablopicasso_10]

The sad truth is that the Germans do most things better than everybody else and wont have the piss taken out of them.
They may not have the top stars in football (although the standard is good or very good) but the Bundesliga is still about the fans and hasn't disappeared up its own bloated arsehole.

Definitely an example to follow.

this...

[darren woolley]

I wish we could follow the Bundesliga's way of doing things full houses would be a start with a cracking atmosphere would inspire our players.

[Villanation]

Yes but isn't it because there stadiums are massive modern affairs, they earn way more, far less of there total income is taken by the state, they have far more to spend, and getting in the grounds there is reasonable priced.

As is the case in the UK, everything is overpriced, we are all underpaid because we have to keep the parasite over class living to a level they have become accustomed to, the top 10%..
have to be looked after and the share holders of all the major oil and utility companies and banks must be cosseted at all costs.

We could fill our stadiums if everybody wasn't being forced into debt just to survive, a bit miserable I know, but true all the same. its the old saying, "you can't have it all ways"

[itbrvilla]

I wish we could follow the Bundesliga's way of doing things full houses would be a start with a cracking atmosphere would inspire our players.

Thats a very good point.  Clubs do a lot with fans with the emphasis on atmosphere and match day experience.  Think that really does have a positive effect on the players. 

[spk]

villanation,run for pm,youd get my vote

[fbriai]

There are some interesting points about the Bundesliga in this article from the 10th of September Guardian.

[garyshawsknee]

The sad truth is that the Germans do most things better than everybody else and wont have the piss taken out of them.
They may not have the top stars in football (although the standard is good or very good) but the Bundesliga is still about the fans and hasn't disappeared up its own bloated arsehole.

Definitely an example to follow.

this...

But we've got the most expensive league in the world,and sky says its the best so it has to be true. Anymore talk like this,and Schudamore will send his heavies round to you!!

[kippaxvilla2]

Ticket prices are the main thing.

I'd love it if one PL club had the balls to give it a go. Not just the occasional two adults for 40 quid style thing we see, but the whole season, saying "right, these are the prices" and cutting them to the bone.

I'm sure the bigwigs at the PL would point to how well English clubs do in the CL as proof our ticket prices have a positive outcome in their role in money in the game, but bar the four champions league clubs, nobody else gets anything out of it.

I was listening to a report about this on five live the other week.  Their pricing policy is low for the ordinary fan because they ensure the corporates pay absolutely through nose for exec boxes etc.  We should absolutely do the same in my view.

[lordmcgrath5]

Yes but isn't it because there stadiums are massive modern affairs, they earn way more, far less of there total income is taken by the state

Errr, having lived and worked in Germany for eight years in total, I can promise you that this is not true. You pay a lot in unemployment/health/care/pensions insurance in Germany on top of a standard income tax rate that's similar to ours. As an ordinary employee, you end up with somewhere in the region of 55% net after all the deductions. I used to say that you got what you paid for in terms of the quality of healthcare and benefits, but they started to hack away at these during the last SPD (similar to New Labour) government. So now you have the shocking situation where you pay all that money and still have to fork out 10 euro a quarter just to see your GP. Unemployment benefit has been slashed as well from what used to be very generous levels. On the other hand, you don't pay council tax, so the ultimate tax take might work out to be similar once you've added in what we pay here in national insurance and the rest of it.

The main thing is they still have standing almost everywhere (seat prices aren't necessarily cheap in Germany), clubs have a social conscience on the whole and realise that to ensure they're still around in 20 years' time they need to encourage the younger generation to come along. And with the Bundesliga so open, the football's far more interesting.

[pauliewalnuts]

Ticket prices are the main thing.

I'd love it if one PL club had the balls to give it a go. Not just the occasional two adults for 40 quid style thing we see, but the whole season, saying "right, these are the prices" and cutting them to the bone.

I'm sure the bigwigs at the PL would point to how well English clubs do in the CL as proof our ticket prices have a positive outcome in their role in money in the game, but bar the four champions league clubs, nobody else gets anything out of it.

I was listening to a report about this on five live the other week.  Their pricing policy is low for the ordinary fan because they ensure the corporates pay absolutely through nose for exec boxes etc.  We should absolutely do the same in my view.

English football also has the advantage is has enormous television revenues to fall back on.

[TonyD]

If you could pay £12 to stand and have a nice tram take you to VP for free,  I could see us full most games.  Other considerations:  do the Germans have a lot of games on and moved times for Sky?

[lennythekad]

The free public transport can cover a big area too, not just a couple of stops or a short bus/tram ride. In the Ruhr area which has a large concentration of clubs, the travel can cover thirty or forty miles radius.
The atmosphere in the grounds towards the visiting support is a lot less threatening than here too. The away sections are usually full, and grounds often have large numbers of visiting fans sitting in home areas, wearing colours, with the home fans not taking any notice of them, which wouldn't happen here.
As someone else mentioned, there is a lot closer relationship between fans and players too. Teams always go to their fans at the end, no matter what the result and thank them for their support, not like the over paid prima donnas here who think they're doing us a favour if they give us a cursory wave on their way off the pitch, and then only if the manager tells them to. I've seen Lucas Podolski climb over the fence behind the goal into the Cologne mob, take the megaphone off a fan and conduct the singing, with the match ball up his shirt!. This sort of thing fosters a brilliant "one big happy family" attitude.
Beer's available inside and outside the ground at all times, which encourages people to get there earlier, and helps build up the pre match atmosphere.

[PaulWinch again]

The prices are cheap, the quality is also very good. That's the perfect combination, as opposed to expensive and largely dull which the Premier League is.