The re-sale of Huddersfield Town’s 2017/18 season cards for the club’s inaugural Premier League campaign has been short-lived.
The news is hardly surprising considering there were only a limited number which went on sale from 9am this morning for the incredible price of just £299.
Fans reportedly queued outside the John Smith's Stadium from 2am with the phone lines constantly engaged and online sales suspended from mid-morning.
The more than 17,000 who had previously snapped up a season ticket in the initial sales period between March and April could claim an adult seat for just £199 – regardless of the league status of the club at the time.
Already the cheapest in the SkyBet Championship, the price is an absolute steal after the club sealed promotion to the Premier League by beating Reading FC in the Play-Off final at Wembley.
Dean Hoyle has rightfully received plaudits for his commitment to affordable football and bucking the trend of the greedy and derisory prices supporters often have to pay up and down the country.
A trip to Lancashire this weekend for this writer revealed Championship side Preston North End fans were expected to pay between £400 and £535 for an adult season ticket.
Meanwhile, even more eye-watering is the fact newly-promoted Conference side AFC Fylde, a club FOUR leagues below Town, were charging £210 for a standing terrace seat and between £410-550 for a premium view.
Non-league enthusiasts will claim season ticket sales are the lifeblood for clubs at that level who don’t benefit from lucrative TV revenue streams the football league and Premier League do.
But this sort of outlook is akin to emotional blackmail of ordinary passionate supporters – pulling on the heartstrings to delve deep into their purse strings.
The cold, harsh reality is that everything, including football clubs, should be comparable – for instance, you wouldn’t pay £50 for a quarter-pounder meal at McDonald’s, so why should supporters pay over the odds for their footballing entertainment?
Hoyle’s approach to ticketing prices ideally should see a ripple affect throughout the football pyramid but the cynic suggests the Huddersfield Town owner is more the exception, than the rule.
The club has rightfully been rewarded for their progressive stance with record sales as supporters have reciprocated the gesture with a show of loyalty ahead of Huddersfield Town’s first season back in the top-flight for 45 years.
There will of course those who have missed out completely on the limited re-sale period for one reason or another, and although some may have extenuating circumstances, it is hard to have sympathy for the ones who simply did not show belief or willingness in the first place.
That unfortunate number will just have to take their chances with match by match tickets sales and hopefully learn the lesson they perhaps should have shown a little more faith in the owner and what he was trying to achieve a little bit sooner.
After all, the unofficial club motto since the 50-year-old local boy done good took control of the club has always been ‘In Dean Hoyle We Trust’ – a mantra which has not failed in too much so far...
