I think it's important to point out that there was no away fans grant.
The Premier League asked, and the 20 clubs agreed, to set aside £200,000 of the new Sky money to boost away support. The Premier League doesn't have money of its own as such, and needed the clubs to agree to ringfence some money they were getting from elsewhere for this to happen. So it wasn't extra money as such, but it is fair to say it was a very small part of a very big cash boost that the clubs have recently received.
In the overall scheme of things, it isn't a lot to ask of the club(s) to give a little of the Sky money back. I would definitely agree that the principle of the money being set aside in this way is a good one, and that it was undermined by the club adding up the cost of the free coaches at 'how much it cost them to give them away' rather than 'how much they cost'. However - it being the club's own money, rather than a grant does put a slightly different slant on things & I think it is worth making the distinction.
I also agree that The Lions Clubs didn't do at all well out of the distribution of the money, especially in the first season, but the purpose was to boost away support, not to reward loyalty. Therefore the Lions clubs were not the intended target of this initiative. A therefore separate, but important issue, is how the loyalty of Lions Clubs Chairs and members is rewarded - some balance is needed for existing 'full-time' supporters given the furore over the away fund & the apparent reduction in Lions Club benefits, it just isn't good PR to neglect your core fans in this way.
