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Why the social contract between fans and clubs has broken down

Alex Lowe was writing in The Times about toxicity at Twickenham.   Egg chasers have an historic reputation for being good sports (well outside Wales, anyway).

But what Lowe had to say about the breakdown of the social contract between fans and clubs in football is worth quoting at length.

I'n the Premier League it is now de rigueur for boos to ring out at half-time if the home team are not winning. Why has it flipped?

The cost of watching live sport has vastly outstripped wage inflation. Long gone are the days of paying on the turnstile at a top-flight football match. Now you often need to pay to be a club member for the right to buy tickets that can exceed £100. Fans are treated as consumers, which can lead to an estrangement from the team. There will always be a hardcore fighting against the tide, but the sense of community erodes.

West Ham United fans had to launch a protest campaign to force the club to reinstate junior and OAP ticket prices. The club were prepared to cut off future fans and decades-loyal fans because they had determined they could sell full-priced tickets to Premier League tourists, who would also load up on merchandise.

The consequence of that shift in attitude from Premier League football clubs — and some further down the pyramid — has been an inevitable shift in attitude from supporters. They expect more. There is less patience for poor football or players who are perceived to not be giving everything. They demand value for money.

Stephen Smith, the chairman of the British Psychological Society’s division of sport and exercise psychology, addressed this recently with the BBC. “Previously there was almost an agreement that existed between fans and the club,” he said.

“They wanted you in to come and support the team, wear the colours and support the boys, but they weren’t going to rip you off in terms of cost. Clubs nowadays have changed that model, that psychological contract between club and fans is broken.”'

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