Thirty quid a ticket? Cheaper at 'alf the price mate!

Crewe Alexandra are to play Crystal Palace in London on Saturday the 15th of April in a game which is clearly important for both sides. It is essential that the Alex win to stand any chance of remaining in the Football League Championship and it is vital that Palace win to maintain their play-off challenge at the top of the table. That much is, I think, uncontroversial.

Just over six months ago, on the 2nd of October 2005, Simon Jordan, the Crystal Palace chairman, in his weekly column in the Observer, made the following observations in a discussion over whether, and to what extent, football tickets might be overpriced and defending the club's pricing policy.

However, when the tickets were finally put on sale, the price was set at a rather tasty £30 per ticket instead of the arguably reasonable £20. It seems that the club, of which Mr Jordan said in the following paragraph of his article, “ … the consumers who pick and choose games, those who want to go to the big matches, … wouldn't be seen dead [watching]” had been inexplicably moved from category C to category A.

Crewe ASi have been in touch with Crystal Palace and have asked that they do one of three things. We have asked that (1) they reduce the prices for the game on Saturday to the £20 that we were given to expect, or (2) Simon Jordan faces, in open forum before the press, a group of supporters of both clubs (who are in total agreement on this issue) to explain the change in pricing policy or (3) that a suitable donation be made by Simon Jordan and Crystal Palace FC to a charity chosen by Crewe ASi and another one chosen by Palace ISA.

We asked the press officer at Selhurst Park for a response to our requests by three o'clock this afternoon. At the time of writing, 17:35 on Monday the 10th of April, we have received no reply.