Football fans Census - part II

But the latest findings from our West Midlands Football Survey suggest they are at least making some progress in the battle to fill their grounds again.

Last year's survey warned clubs to brace themselves for a major drop in season-ticket sales and attendances after relegation and under-achievement blighted the region's football.

And with high matchday costs singled out as another big culprit, that's how it panned out. In the Championship, Wolves could only boast the 10th best average attendance (20,968) with Albion one place behind at 20,472.

Birmingham's average of 22,274 placed them eighth but it meant that more than a quarter of Molineux, The Hawthorns and St Andrew's was empty each home game – and this from clubs which like to consider themselves of natural Premiership status.

Our latest poll results suggest, however, that the message from a fed-up public has got through and clubs are responding by keeping prices in check and improving their customer service.

Last year, 34 per cent of the 1,015 fans polled in the census warned Villa, Blues, Wolves, Albion and Walsall that they would not be renewing season tickets or be attending fewer games because of escalating costs.

This year's response sees a 20 per cent improvement in those findings – while 44 per cent of fans across the region remain unconcerned by pricing.

All the clubs, perhaps, deserve a nod for keeping in check the matchday costs for spectators. The survey proves that the bulk of fans (39 per cent) still pay between £21-£40 on their home matchdays while a further 26 per cent between £41-£60.

In all, 88 per cent of the punters do not go beyond an £80 outlay – an identical result to last year's findings. Clearly, prices are being held and with Albion capturing the mood by even offering a price cut, they will hope for more progress over the next season.

But there's no doubt which club the survey identifies as the most fan friendly in the region – and that's why American billionaire Randy Lerner will be beaming today.

Aston Villa's new owner has been on a charm offensive with supporters since buying out Doug Ellis and places great emphasis on keeping the punters happy.

And despite being the only Premiership team on the patch last season, Villa still served up the cheapest football (other than League Two Walsall) and made big gains in customer service. It means the claret and blue recorded the best findings for future season ticket sales which will please Lerner and his cohorts.

A generally encouraging sets of results also suggests football on our patch remains comparatively free of hooliganism and racist incidents, which have so blighted the game in the past.

You will see Wolves, Birmingham and Walsall have reasons to raise concern about some of the findings in this area but generally, the bulk of fans get to the game and home again without encountering trouble.

THE PRICES

Q: Including ticket, transport, merchandise and refreshments, how much on average does it cost you, as an individual, to watch a home game?

The highest priced football on the patch? That goes to Birmingham City, where the fans average outlay for an outing to St Andrew's is £63. That represents a £1 increase on the survey's findings from 2006.

But the results from this section of the survey suggest that clubs are trying to keep a lid on the cost to their fans with Aston Villa the stand-out success.

Villa retain a fixture schedule which includes some of the biggest names in football but still come out as a cheaper match-day experience than Blues, Wolves or Albion.

A Villa Park average lay-out is £52, a £3 increase on last year's result. Wolves fans pay out the second highest average at £59 (£57 was the figure last year) while Albion come in third at £58 (£56 last year).

The Baggies will be eager to hold that position as well because, after a season throughout which they maintained a promotion challenge and scored 100 goals in the process, the one-quarter empty Hawthorns was one of the surprising features of the year.

Saddlers fans are paying, on average, £3 more for their day out than a year ago. But not surprisingly, their £37 average outlay remains the cheapest pro football in the region.

SEASON TICKETS

Q: Will the price of tickets at your club put you off going to games or renewing your season ticket next season?

This part of the survey blew a chill wind across the region's football landscape last year.

In the summer of 2006, 35 per cent of Villa fans warned they would not be renewing, 41 per cent at Blues, 35 per cent at Albion and 33 per cent at Wolves.

Those were scary figures for the chairmen and chief executives to digest but they will all be a little happier with the findings this year – well, all perhaps David Gold and his colleagues at Birmingham.

Villa have got the most encouraging soundings from their fans. They recorded the biggest proportion of fans (60 per cent) who simply answered "no" to this question while another 28 per cent thought the cost too high but intended to still renew.

With the club actively pursuing all manner of cost saving initiatives in this area, Villa Park can look forward to its biggest season ticket sales for quite some time.

Wolves and Walsall, having just played out seasons which delighted their fan base, also picked up good findings in the survey. Some 51 per cent of Wolves fans feel it is too expensive at Molineux but – crucially – intend to renew still.

And another 36 per cent have no problem with the costs at all. It's a similar story at Walsall, where 50 per cent of the Saddlers faithful are happy with the prices and another 41 per cent will be renewing while registering that point about it being too expensive.

It means both clubs can be confident at advancing their season ticket sales this time around while Albion will be concerned that 11 per cent of their fans suggested they would be attending less games. But the poll indicates that 84 per cent of this season's regulars will be there again.

The anomaly in all this is Birmingham, where Premiership football is back on the agenda. But according to our survey, 13 per cent will not be renewing season tickets and another 19 per cent will be attending fewer games.

This could fit in with the growing theory across football that supporters are becoming weary of the elite's monopoly in the Premiership – and sceptical about watching an inevitable survival fight for the newly-promoted.

SERVICE

Q: How do you rate the level of customer service (stewarding, ticket office, club shop) at your club?

Albion's results are of particular interest here because, with this survey conducted just 10 days after their play-off final, they might have expected a higher level of dissatisfaction after complaints about the on-line ticket sales for Wembley.

But that has not materialised – and instead, all the clubs fare reasonably well in this section with Villa the outstanding success story.

The poll gave five categories for the answer with only two in the negative at either "bad" or "very bad". Only three per cent responded that way for Villa with 26 per cent rating the club "very good", a whacking 46 per cent at "good" and another 21 per cent "ok".

Wolves fans are a little more downbeat about their Molineux service but with 47 per cent rating it "good" and another 31 per cent "ok" the contented outnumber the grumblers.

Albion's 18 per cent spread between "bad" and "very bad" is higher than last year and does hint at a reaction to the Wembley ticket sales but the Baggies have made gains too, with 12 per cent rating customer service at very good, compared to six per cent last year, and a 69 per cent spread between the "ok" and "good" categories.

This improvement is a theme for all with Blues halving their dissenters from 22 per cent in 2006 to 12 per cent this year. And despite having 13 per cent of their fans who think the service to be either "bad" or "very bad", Walsall still come out with a strong showing of contentment.

In all, a positive response for the clubs.

HOOLIGANISM

Q: Have you witnessed any football hooliganism at your club this season?

It's been a worrying few months for English football with violence returning on the European stage and blighting the latter stages of the Champions League.

But in the West Midlands, it remains an isolated problem and this will be one of the most pleasing findings for all the clubs as the responses fit into line with a general perception of domestic football winning its battle to drive out the thugs.

Asked this question in 2006, only a little over half could answer "no". But a year on, and the figure has shot up to 79 per cent, with only two per cent witnessing trouble inside the ground.

The fans surveyed suggest the bulk of the trouble comes outside the grounds, something witnessed by 15 per cent.

Perhaps Villa's results are the most revealing. Last year, 25 per cent had witnessed trouble outside Villa Park, five per cent in and beyond.

But this time, they get a staggering 91 per cent saying "no" to seeing trouble which may well pass an accurate comment on the removal of the derbies against Blues and Albion from their fixture list.

In contrast, a season of Championship dust-ups between Wolves, Albion and Blues was always going to make a blip on the radar and the blackspots were Wolves and Blues.

Some 31 per cent of Wolves fans, and 29 per cent of Blues fans, witnessed trouble outside the grounds while the most worrying finding must be the 16 per cent of Blues fans – by some way the highest – who saw trouble inside the stadium.

Despite being caught in the thick of those derby contests, 81 per cent of Albion fans saw no trouble and again registered their biggest trouble-spotting vote (12 per cent) for problems outside the ground.

With smaller attendances, its not surprising to see 89 per cent of Walsall supporters answering "no".

RACISM

Q:Have you witnessed any incidents of football-related racist abuse at your club this season?

Like it or not, the Saturday afternoon football experience is still a white-dominated experience and all the clubs know there are still big banks of support to be wooed from the ethnic communities.

That makes this section of vital importance – and the findings are encouraging with Villa (94 per cent), Blues (90 per cent) Wolves (93 per cent) and Albion (89 per cent) all registering high "no" responses to this question.

There will be concern for the Saddlers, though. The 10 per cent who responded to hearing racist abuse inside and outside the Banks's Stadium represented a slight increase on 2006 (seven per cent) and is still a significant enough proportion to concern Jeff Bonser and Roy Whalley.

But in general terms, the Stamp Out Racism campaigns which feature prominently in and around football appear to be contributing to a less-hostile environment for the non-white supporters.

Don't miss part three of our census tomorrow.

To see yesterday's report click here.

But now we want to know what you think. You can either post your comments on the form below (please include a name and address) or email: [email protected]