Mike Taylor
BBC Radio WM reporter
Image source, Getty ImagesAston Villa’s statement announcing that the general admission tickets for the Bayern Munich game had rapidly sold out included a justification of their prices, attributed to the club’s president of business operations, Chris Heck.
It acknowledged the upset felt by supporters, but sought to set out a reasonable case to explain why prices are necessary. Unpalatable though it sounds, the club does have a credible defence, but this policy comes with a long-term cost that is hard to quantify. Goodwill is a feeling – not a number.
Villa did not offer an apology, but diverted the blame: “Achieving our sporting ambitions while complying with financial stability regulations requires difficult decisions.”
With Villa’s Champions League adventure now almost at hand, Villa may not have expected to be on the defensive with their public relations, but here we are.
The message is hard to sweeten, so they served it straight. They accuse the financial regulations which – to quote Heck again – “prohibit owners from covering shortfalls to finance this ambition, so we need to generate as much revenue as possible, through sponsorships, merchandise, and ticket sales”.
It is a blunt but logical explanation: we have the money to make Villa great, but we are not allowed to spend it, so sorry folks, this round is on you. We do not make the rules.
This is quite hard to argue against, if the alternative is that Villa should simply spend less and by implication lower their ambitions, which nobody really wants.
And, of course, the Bayern game sold out. Unless Villa fall out of the running very quickly, the other group games may well sell out too, such is the obvious pent-up demand to see the club’s return to Europe’s elite level.
The statement noted the “depth of passion” expressed, and the withering commentary offered on this page by David Michael from My Old Man Said will speak for many.
It is not a universal view, though. There is evidence on social media to show that there are also Villa supporters who have no complaints about paying a premium price for a premium product.
So, is this fine? On the club’s terms it probably is for now, but Villa must be careful. Assuming that selling all the tickets means all the buyers are content would be a fallacy, and taking their future goodwill for granted even more so.
Villa are right to say that these decisions are difficult. But, a section of your fanbase finding cause to feel their loyalty is being abused stores up trouble for the future.
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