The gang of 10 should try to increase their own revenue stream.

[Joe O'Rourke]

[COLOR=#000000:3b904a25]Here is a novel new idea for the Gang of 10 to increase their own revenues; why don’t they try to get more supporters through their own turnstiles? Every ground we attend as visiting supporters (with maybe the exception of Tynecastle) is nowhere near full; with empty seats all around the ground except for the visitors section.[COLOR=#000000:3b904a25]In many cases we bring more supporters to the ground we are visiting than the home team themselves; surely that doesn’t happen in any other League in European Football. You can bet when chief executives and chairmen are doing their budget for the season; a big part of it will be the money derived from the visiting supporters; and most of that comes from the supporters of Celtic and Rangers.[COLOR=#000000:3b904a25]If every team in the League could encourage another 500 through the gates; at even a very reasonable £20 per ticket; that would give them an extra £10,000 per match; and £190,000 per season. I know that is easier said than done; but surely it has more chance of success than hoping the big 2 are going to give them a bit of their pot.[COLOR=#000000:3b904a25]I wrote to Stewart Regan and Neil Doncaster at the start of the season; I said that I thought Scottish Football was in a critical; if not terminal condition. The two main reasons for that were low attendances and TV coverage; I believed that if we tried to lower the cost of going to matches it would encourage better attendances; this has been proved to great effect in the Bundesliga. They both replied to say they disagreed; and that we were in a healthy position. [COLOR=#000000:3b904a25]It is time that the gang of 10’s clubs started doing more to help themselves; I have been to Tynecastle and Easter Road this season for televised matches; we were still charged £28 and £29 to get in; how does that encourage the biggest travelling support in the country to attend televised matches? [COLOR=#000000:3b904a25]Have a look below at the attendance figures for this season. The average attendance for the big 2 combined is 95,682; the combined attendance for the gang of 10 is 69,047.[COLOR=#000000:3b904a25]Team Total Average [COLOR=#000000:3b904a25]1 Celtic 741,616 49,441 [COLOR=#000000:3b904a25]2 Rangers 693,626 46,241 [COLOR=#000000:3b904a25]3 Heart of Midlothian 204,385 13,625 [COLOR=#000000:3b904a25]4 Hibernian 147,842 9,856 [COLOR=#000000:3b904a25]5 Aberdeen 143,262 9,550 [COLOR=#000000:3b904a25]6 Dundee United 119,352 7,459 [COLOR=#000000:3b904a25]7 Motherwell 82,954 5,530
[COLOR=#000000:3b904a25]9 Dunfermline Athletic 75,955 5,063 [COLOR=#000000:3b904a25]10 St Mirren 70,539 4,702 [COLOR=#000000:3b904a25]11 Inverness Caledonian Thistle 59,152 4,225 [COLOR=#000000:3b904a25]12 St Johnstone 55,078 3,934
[COLOR=#000000:3b904a25]Scottish Premier League - Unofficial Average Attendance: 13,800
[COLOR=#000000:3b904a25]I am looking forward to Sunday with great anticipation; hopefully things will go our way on Saturday; and we’ll get the chance to celebrate winning the championship at the home of our rivals; it would be very sweet indeed; maybe we can do a Huddle in front of our own supporters.[COLOR=#000000:3b904a25]I would say this as a word of caution; the eyes of the world will be on us on Sunday; even more so than usual because of the present situation. It will also be the first derby match since the introduction of the new Offensive Behaviour at Football Bill; by all means support our team in colour and in song; but please let’s support our team in a manner in which we can look back on with pride.

[Guest]

If the ten teams don't like the league and how it works they can always set up their own league and share the gate money and TV deal more to their liking. I don't think Dundee Partick or Falkirk would object to the share as it stands.