In December, Arsenal announced that from next season the price of match tickets would be going up by 3%... apparently in line with inflation (even though inflation actually sits at around 1 per cent less). Many fans were outraged; already paying some of the highest prices in football and now hit with another hike, despite the club coining it in from a hugely improved TV deal, announcing new big money commercial deals, and of course sitting on around £100m in the bank.

At the time, we condemned the decision. Actually, we were so pissed off with it that we responded with a statement confirming our disgust, half an hour after Arsenal made their announcement. Did we need time to let the information sink in and consider a response? Absolutely not... this rise was pure and utter greed, an outrageous decision which will simply further punish matchgoing fans in the pocket.

Since then we've had a few pops from people bemoaning the fact that we've not arranged a protest or any other form of action. Yesterday we came in for some stick on an Arsenal Facebook page, because apparently we do nothing and apart from a couple of walks and the odd letter we suffer from a "lack of presence".

It was once stated at a meeting of BSM members that "at times of apparent inactivity, the BSM is ALWAYS active". In other words, we're never just sitting here doing bugger all - there are always plans and discussions taking place about how we could get a better deal for matchgoing Arsenal fans.

So just to clarify, here's a run-down of what the BSM have been up to since the end of last season...

5 June - announced our participation in a protest over ticket pricing
We'd been invited by our friends at Spirit of Shankly to join them and supporters of other clubs, in a march to Premier League headquarters. We invited Arsenal fans to come and join us.

19 June - ticket price protest and meeting with the Premier League
We were the Arsenal supporters' group there on the day, together with groups from other Premier League and Football League clubs. We met with Premier League Chief Executive Richard Scudamore, with groups from Liverpool, Man United, Spurs, and the Football Supporters' Federation. At the meeting we reiterated the problems faced by fans, especially highlighting the pressures on fans following their team away from home. This tied in with the FSF's 'Twenty Is Plenty' campaign which we'd got on board with earlier in the year.

1 July - end of season survey results published
We published the results of our 2012-13 end of season survey. Over 3,400 members responded which at the time was (to our knowledge) the largest survey response of any Arsenal supporters' group. Nationwide coverage followed.

18 August - letter to Ivan Gazidis
We wrote to Arsenal Chief Executive Ivan Gazidis expressing our "deep concern" over the apparent lack of activity at Arsenal that summer, despite his assurances in June that we would now be active in the market. This letter summed up the frustration of thousands of Arsenal fans, and got nationwide coverage in the press and on TV.

24 August - boat party on the Thames
Held a pre-Fulham party on the Thames for BSM members, which in turn raised £1,000 for the Ben Kinsella Trust. Some 200 people joined us on board and the event was such as success we've had untold calls since to organise another.

26 September - discounts for away fans
Announced that the Premier League put in place an initiative whereby all PL clubs had to put aside funds (from hugely increased TV revenue) to help away supporters. This followed campaigning by the BSM and supporters groups from other clubs, which resulted in our meeting with the Premier League. For Arsenal fans this means some £600,000 split across the next three seasons, put towards the cost of match tickets. 

9 October - reciprocal away ticket pricing
Revealed that Newcastle were introducing a reciprocal pricing deal for away fans, and encouraged Arsenal to follow suit.

10 October - letter to Stan Kroenke
We teamed up with other Arsenal supporters' groups, and wrote to Stan Kroenke requesting that he fulfil his promise of meeting with these groups.

17 October - Arsenal AGM
We were present at the Arsenal AGM, and presented all attendees with a flyer which asked questions over whether our current Board was equipped to take us forward and make us a European 'Super Club'. The flyer made the national press within half an hour of the first copies being handed out.

29 October - League Cup atmosphere initiative
We'd already written to all BSM members asking them to buy tickets in blocks 17, 18 and 19 for the League Cup game with Chelsea. This was an attempt to get some atmosphere going inside the ground and the idea was praised by like-minded fans who were up for it... and then in came the stewards, which is another story.

20 November - survey on atmosphere at Emirates
We'd asked Arsenal fans to complete a short survey on atmosphere and safe standing, and here we published the results. Over 17,000 people took part; a huge response and by far the biggest we've ever seen from an Arsenal supporters survey. The results went nationwide and brought a lot of focus on the campaign for safe standing. Since then we've had contact from numerous supporters' groups of other clubs, asking to work with them on future campaigns for the benefit of fans.

27 November - heavy-handed stewarding
We'd had a fair few people contact us over issues with stewarding at Arsenal, so we asked all fans to get in touch if they'd encountered problems. This was so we could feed back to Arsenal and see where improvements could be made.

13 December - condemned Arsenal's price rise announcement
As mentioned already, we were straight out with our response. We absolutely disagree that it is needed, we think it's massively unfair on already hard-pressed fans, and it will make next to no difference to the club.

17 December - Arsenal's response over reciprocal pricing
We'd heard from Spirit of Shankly that they'd written to all Premier League clubs requesting that they put in place a reciprocal pricing deal for away fans. Arsenal had responded to this and we analysed the response, feeding back our comments on what we felt was in essence a letter filled with spin. This highlighted Arsenal's disinterest in offering fans anything above the money they'd been made to put aside by the Premier League.

So there you have it. Not done that much, have we? ;-)

It should be noted that the people who run the BSM (and indeed the other Arsenal supporters' groups) have day jobs and other commitments. We run the BSM through our love of the club and the fact they want all Arsenal fans to be respected by those running OUR Arsenal. We're not in it for ego - we don't go begging hundreds of people to retweet what we say in a desperate attempt to gain popularity. We're not in it for money either - anything we have left over our running costs goes to charity. Fact is we want the best for our fans and our club, and we're prepared to stand up and say it like it is; if there are things the club could do better we're not scared to say so.

Rest assured we are still working on future campaigns and you'll see more of the main Arsenal groups working together, as well as us campaigning with groups from other clubs. Greed is an issue that is spreading through football and those running our game are risking its long term future. But getting those running our clubs to sit up and take notice is no quick fix. It's not something you can rectify by storming the stadium with pitchforks and burning torches every week... a more considered approach is needed more often than not, and we're in this for the long term. After all, it's OUR game, and football without the fans is nothing.

So, if you're not happy with what we're doing, that's your choice. But before you moan that the BSM does nothing, you may want to find out the truth.  

Up The Gunners

'Highbury Harold'

Yesterday, Bayern Munich made a great gesture towards their core support.

Recognising the effort their fans go to in supporting the team, following the club home and away, Bayern made a statement about their "fantastic" support. The statement went on to say:

"The fact that this loyalty comes with such a high number of games not only means a great deal of time, but also tears a big hole in the wallet. Bayern has therefore decided to subsidise the tickets for the away game at Arsenal with nearly 90,000 euros. Therefore every Bayern fan who buys a ticket for the game in London on February 19 will pay only 45 euros (instead of the regular 75 euros). This is intended as a small thank you for your great support in 2013."

In pounds, it equates to Bayern coughing up £76,000 of their own money to help out their loyal supporters. Instead of paying £62 for their match ticket, the subsidy sees around £27 knocked off the price so it'll cost Bayern fans just £35 to watch their team at Emirates.

In November 2013 we handed out leaflets at the Arsenal AGM which referenced Bayern Munich. Our Chief Executive Ivan Gazidis has used Bayern as a benchmark on more than one occasion so we wanted to highlight the differences between the two clubs and how we felt the gap could be narrowed. The image on the right shows the front and back of this leaflet - click on it to see a larger version.

On that leaflet is an absolutely spot on quote from Bayern's President (and former player) Uli Hoeness. This said:

"We could charge more than £104 [for a season ticket]. Let's say we charge £300. We'd get £2m more in income but what's £2m to us? In a transfer discussion you argue about that sum for five minutes. But the difference between £104 and £300 is huge for the fan. We do not think the fans are like cows, who you milk. Football has to be for everybody."

At the BSM we've said for some time that we admire the way German clubs recognise the importance of their core support, and treat them with great respect. We've also said that Arsenal haven't done enough in recognising our own hardcore, and have been more blinded by a short-term dash for cash which has seen many long-standing fans walk away. This means that the chain of passing support onto future generations is broken, and that longer term this is damaging to Arsenal. All well and good looking after the income (and personal fortunes) short term, but where's the real custodianship if you're ignoring the long term health of the club?

Indeed, the recently announced 3% ticket price rises at Arsenal next season have brought a great deal of criticism from fans accusing our club of further pushing our loyal support for the sake of it. That price rise brings in around an extra £2.8m in revenue for the club, which makes Uli Hoeness's quote above even more relevant. What does that £2.8m really mean to a club like Arsenal? But for our fans who already pay more than enough for tickets, further price rises do nothing other than force more loyal supporters away.

Of course the issue of pricing and greed isn't just relevant for fans of The Arsenal. Many other clubs across the country are facing similar, and campaigns against this greed have been gaining pace. A great example was the quest for a fairer deal on away ticket pricing, where we (the BSM) joined forces with other supporters groups on a march to the offices of the Premier League. When there, we met with the Premier League Chief Executive Richard Scudamore, together with fan groups from Liverpool, Man United, Spurs and the Football Supporters Federation. There we stressed the importance of recognising the financial pressures fans were under, right across the country.

Following that meeting the Premier League put in place their away fans initiative which means that £4m will be made available to benefit away fans, for the next three years. For Arsenal fans this means savings of £200,000 this season, and the following two seasons. Take a moment to let that register. A £600,000 saving for our away support, and the same figure applies to fans of all Premier League clubs, with each choosing their own way of how to apply this. 

Without the pressure from supporters groups like ours and those from other clubs, and that meeting we held with Richard Scudamore, would the initiative have been put in place? Unlikely. If we sit on our hands and keep our mouths shut, allowing clubs to charge us whatever they like, as fans we'll keep suffering. And that means more will walk away... so when the core support is dwindled down to nothing, when the corporates continue to walk away (and believe me they have been), and when the 'day trippers' become bored with the Premier League (the bubble will burst eventually) tell me, who is left to come and support the team? Who is left to pay their hard-earned money for match tickets... revenue which supports the club and has done for decades and decades?

Football without the fans is nothing.
Up The Gunners.

'Highbury Harold'

Since Arsenal concluded their ticketing review and brought along the "90,000 cheaper seats" they love to talk about in the press (conveniently ignoring there are also 90,000 vastly more expensive seats more than balancing it out) the pricing categories have been a constant issue among many supporters. Away fans as well as our own have protested, with Manchester City and Liverpool complaining over the £62 they had to pay last season.

In the 2012-13 season Arsenal decided that following the ticketing review, all FA Cup matches would be classed as 'Category B' in terms of pricing, no matter the opponent. So when Championship strugglers Blackburn came to town, fans had to pay a minimum of £35.50 for their seat. The same happened when Swansea visited in the previous round, despite the league fixture against the same team being Category C which meant fans paid at least a tenner less.

Confused yet? 

The prices for last season's FA Cup fixtures were determined as Category B because if they were any cheaper, it would have meant that if you bought match tickets on a game by game basis, you'd have paid less than a season ticket holder over the course of the season. An odd situation for the club to find itself in, especially when you consider that in years gone by, the one major benefit of buying a season ticket was that your loyalty and up front cash payment to the club was rewarded with a tidy discount. The overall price of a season ticket was a fair bit cheaper than if you paid game to game.

Of course in recent years that discount had more or less vanished. What you paid for your season ticket was roughly the same as what you'd pay if you bought single tickets for every home match. Where's the reward for your loyalty there? Some would argue that the 'privilege' of having a season ticket is your reward... but then those people wouldn't have had to shell out upwards of a grand every year on 1 June.

This season Arsenal quietly slipped in that "UEFA Champions League and FA Cup fixtures will be based on 'A' and 'B' pricing". Therefore, any of the 'glamour' teams turn up to play us in the FA Cup, the club would stand to make a shedload more money - and so when the draw was made for the 3rd round of the cup, the bean counters within Highbury House will have been doing The Macarena (or is it The Mertesacker?)  in celebration. Along came Spurs, along came Category A prices, along came a hefty old wedge of cash, and out went Spurs. Let's ignore the fact there were record numbers of spare tickets still floating around right up until kick off.

The draw for the 4th round pitted us against Coventry City; the once-proud top flight team (who beat Spurs in the 1987 cup final) but now find themselves just above mid-table in the 3rd tier of English football. As it stands, 'small' opposition but the pricing strategy already declared by Arsenal would mean it's classed as Category B. Right? Wrong.

Today Arsenal have announced "Arsenal v Coventry City... This is a Category C priced fixture". Erm, eh?!

Now don't get me wrong this is great for fans who want to get tickets as cheap as possible. Not so great for Coventry City, however, considering they're in desperate need of cash and now stand to make a lot less from gate receipts. Not so great for season ticket holders at Arsenal where the cheapest seat averages out at £38 whereas the same seat will cost a day tripper £25.50? Not so sure on that one, as I think the Spurs match price balanced it out and the price of the season ticket still won't be too much different from the overall price had you bought a single ticket for every home game.

What it does do of course is throw more confusion on Arsenal's ticket pricing strategy. All FA Cup games A or B? Coventry come to Emirates? Category C. A serious case of making it up as they go.

As a supporters' group that pays attention to the prices that our fans have to pay, naturally we'll be seeking some feedback from Arsenal as to why they've changed tack for this game and if the 'finger in the air' approach is something they'll be using from now on. I recognise that there's a balancing act in terms of revenue coming into the club from ticket sales, but curve balls over prices and categories only serve to stir up suspicion among supporters as to why the club employ such tactics.

Personally I'm of the view that prices at Arsenal on the whole are still too expensive. Will they come down? Of course they won't; if the club gives with one hand, they'll more than take back with the other. Category C seats with a tenner off? Blinding, except that the same seat increases by £27 when a 'glamour' opponent visits. In the upper tier, have £21.50 off of the seat price for Category C. Category A? That'll be an extra £52 please.

90,000 cheaper tickets? Superb... but hold on, there are 90,000 tickets where prices are a lot higher.

At the BSM we've always said we disagreed with the introduction of Category C tickets because while some stood to benefit, plenty more would get absolutely clobbered. We understand two of the groups involved in the discussions with Arsenal at that time fully backed it, and that's their call, but we'd say the bigger picture was missed. A lot of our fans have suffered financially as a result. 

My own view? Get rid of price categorisation. Yes I understand this means people will have to pay an extra tenner for a certain match, but it means that the same person would benefit from a seat that's £27 less for another match... or a staggering £52 less for the seat if you're upstairs. No price categories? Everything even, one price band across the board. It'd also mean there's a lot less confusion with season ticket holders worrying that the club aren't recognising and rewarding their loyalty (and the tens of thousands of pounds they've shelled out over the years). Finally, it'd save Arsenal major headaches as well as admin time (and that equals money!) trying to work out how they can price matches effectively. 

Up The Gunners.

'Highbury Harold'