But are they getting hooked, or merely hooked on freebies? What club (other than the promoted ones) has reported increased ST sales for 20111/12? A £7.50 bum on a seat is clearly better than an empty seat, but once everyone cottons onto the fact they can pay a lot less instead of £15, £20, £25 etc then the business model becomes unsustainable.
This season has seen more empty seats around the premiership than ever before – Man Utd were advertising season tickets for sale, and even the Emirates has a fair smattering of empty seats for every home game so far. I can only see it getting worse as people cotton onto the fact that if they sit tight they can save a few quid.
