QPR fans have reacted angrily after learning they will be charged up to £72 to watch their team in the Barclays Premier League next season.
Club owners Flavio Briatore, Bernie Ecclestone and Lakshmi Mittal are cashing in on the club's promotion back to the top flight by hiking the prices of both matchday and season tickets.
The cheapest tickets will be £47 while season tickets are up by almost 40% from last term, although with four home games less in the Premier League compared to the npower Championship, the increase is even more in real terms.
The price rises were widely predicted but have still been met with dismay by many Rangers fans.
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It's an absolute disgrace and, yet again, underlines the total contempt the owners of QPR have for the fans,"
"Flavio Briatore's dream is a 'boutique' club, which has an exclusive feel to it and is the place for wealthy people to be seen.
"Not only is that a slap in the face of QPR supporters, it is not in the long-term interests of a club that has two other Premier League clubs (Chelsea and Fulham) on its doorstep."
That is crazy. The club have just turned round and said that's the price deal with it. I wouldn't be able to afford to go to watch them personally even on a London wage.
Fine until the money runs dry or they get relegated and need the fans once more. May be too late by then ...
... although I've been on their website and you can get a season ticket for £549 as an adult £321 as an under 21 year old, so it's a bit misleading. The expensive ones are £999. However when you think there is 4 games less in the PL, that will increase the average game price but also match day tickets are usually at least double the seaon tickets (ours included), so add London weighting and it's probably not massively inflated just a big hike on this year's cost.
The problem is that it's a small ground. Even 20,000 paying the full price of £999 is less than £20m and as you received £37m for coming 20th in the PL last season it means that matchday revenue unless you're one of the big clubs, whilst still significanti s nowhere near your highest income stream and as such, short-sighted chairman are less than bothered if the ground isn't full providing they can finish 17th+ and keep the gravy train flowing.
As for Warnock not a massive surprise for me if he does go. They are not known for long serving managers, but also is it a bad decision? No room for sentiment as West Ham found out when they bowed to public opinion and kept hold of Avram Grant. Newcastle were deemed ruthless for firing Hughton and West Brom for Di Matteo but which decisions looks better now? (Also Warnock is a tool and doesn't deserve a Premiership job ) He did get them up where others have failed but they had good players and a large budget and anything less than promotion wuld have been a massive under-achievement.