The recent successes of Bundesliga clubs in Europe is all the more remarkable given that many are fan-owned clubs.
Costs associated with going to watch teams in the German top-flight are often a fraction of what supporters would pay to watch their Premier League counterparts.
For example, Borussia Dortmund, who have recently qualified to this season’s Champions League final, sell match day tickets from just €18.50 or season tickets from an unbelievable €250 for adults.
Compare and contrast that with Chelsea‘s prices of at least £50 for an unrestricted view ticket for a single game.
Fan-owned clubs the way forward says Collymore
It’s simply lining the pockets of club owners, and Stan Collymore has had enough.
“How can it be that one club in Europe spends a billion pounds to limp into a Conference League place along with a £5k one-off seat behind the dugout, and another team finds waifs and strays, hones young talent and has affordable food and beverage for fans?” he said to CaughtOffside for his exclusive column.
“Yes folks, that’s Chelsea of England v Dortmund of Germany, both double winners of the Champions League but that’s about all that’s similar about them.
“We NEED a German model in England to avoid the continued greed of the Premier League. To reconnect fans with clubs and for us all to have belief in the English game again.
“That can only come with a 50% +1% fan-owned model so that the club is always going to be put first, rather than the business.
“An ownership model that listens, acts, and STILL remains competitive in Europe is the only way to protect our clubs, to allow them to compete, and to stop this obscene waste of money in English football.
“The future is bright, the future is fan majority ownership!”
Though there would surely be widespread support from supporters across the country fed up with paying through the nose to watch their team, the likelihood of anything remotely like the German model making its way to English shores is miniscule.
There is too much invested from the stakeholders who’ll not want their finances diluted – particularly if it benefits the man in the street rather than themselves.
The Premier League ‘show’ is all about being the best of the best, both on and off the pitch.
The product has value and that evidently needs to be paid for, leaving the notion that the football ‘is for the fans’ sounding a little hollow.
If Collymore does keep banging the drum, however, there could be a movement that rises from the ground up and changes the landscape of football as we know it.
After all, who would’ve said that any Premier League standard players would be plying their trade in Saudi Arabia as recently as five years ago.
You can never say never where football is concerned.