With our current squad

[Timmy58]

[QUOTE=MikeSB;38694206]

Of course that is correct and it is comparable and competitive with other football clubs. Other forms of entertainment can cost less and be more enjoyable and we know its difficult to get fans back again once they have left. I wouldn't pay ten pounds or even five pounds to watch Nantwich!

I think ten pounds for L2 without concessions is about the right sort of price just in my opinion though. It would mean less money for the academy and less for the players but even so just compare that to most 21 year old wages outside of football and it is a lot still. I bet most would struggle to get 15-20 grand a year? Of course its why most players are looking for the next move and ours are no different.

You think it okay to be paying the players less than they are on now? You do realise that we would struggle even more to sign decent players. And as for spending less on the Academy. Well combining that with paying players less, I would respectfully suggest that we would very soon be out of business.

[Furberstreet]

I agree. Offering a £10 price of entry might bring some of the disillusioned back to Gresty Road, but it will do little to help the club stay competitive. We would be fielding a team of youngsters in L2 in preparation for the Conference and those attracted back would soon stop coming. Attracting players here is difficult enough without a further self-inflicted blow to the Club's finances. No problem with Crewe's youngsters looking to move upwards provided they put in the effort consistently to warrant it.

I agree with DA that he has a better squad overall than SD had. Even then, I felt that SD was not getting the best out of his squad. DA is guilty of the same thing. It may be that a failure to sign one or two experienced midfielders to replace Bingham and Hollands has meant that a young and relatively inexperienced midfield is being overrun most weeks. There must be a number of players out there still looking for clubs and yet another young loanee is not the long-term answer.

[out0lunch]

To be fair with team selection we are missing 2 key players (some won't agree) I think DA would have had George Ray along with Raynes and of course we are also missing Jones. I think DA didn't expect either of them out this long. I don't think Jones will be playing till New Year

[MikeSB]

I'm not saying that we would bring in a tenner a game. I'm suggesting that is what it should be to compare with other entertainment. Also players are paid far too much as a basic principle compared with other jobs and a darn sight easier too. 90 mins a week plus a few half days training for the money they are paid is indefensible but that is and always been my view. I don't expect that to change any time soon as more's the pity as most lower league grounds are mostly half to three quarters empty and so that speaks for itself.

Just to add to Timmy's comment that if we lowered prices we would go out of business? I think you meant we would lose our league status because most clubs remain 'in business' even clubs like Nantwich and clubs like Tranmere, Wrexham and Chester as well and sometimes get higher gates than us and again its a debatable pov that playing these local derby's in non league whilst paying a tenner a game has its advantages and is not the armageddon it suggests..Who really cares about Colchester or Exeter when you can play clubs more local for a similar standard of football and it is a similar standard when we see how we fare against such teams in pre season or in the cup.

[somersetcrewe]

Jeez!! Lots of points to discuss here – and all in the same thread ....

....... Each one is more than equal to the demands of league2 football. so the answer is that without doubt the squad is good enough ........

Are you sure? Without doubt?
I’m not so sure I am, as much as it pains me to say it, the table doesn’t lie!

....... and the second one is players with pace like R Jack, S Jones and that player NB signed from non league, sorry forgot his name ........ Varney

You raise a good point, Mike.
Defenders hate pace more than anything and we don’t really have that now, nor have we had it for quite some time. Which is a shame!

Some here won't like his views though as he said the academy was way past its sell by date and all it achieved was playing men against boys and young kids that was OK sometimes but was no good against seasoned Pro's in the lower leagues.

Time will tell.
Clearly we are experiencing lean times at the minute but I’m sure there is another gem in there somewhere waiting to explode. And even in these fairly dark times, I still pin my hopes on the next Powell or Murphy coming though. It remains part of our charm rather than relying on journeymen seeing out their last days.

A tenner is too much when compared with other forms of entertainment but over 20 quid is taking the preverbials... Even allowing for concession pricing.

Hear! Hear!
When I went to the Yeovil game, I had to make sure I bought my ticket before match day, otherwise even they were going to charge me £24!!! Way, way, way too expensive for L2. A tenner in my book would be just about right.

I think you will find, Mike, that a tenner might just about get you in at Nantwich. Crewe's prices are pretty comparable with other clubs in the lower leagues.

And that may well be the case, Timmy .......but it doesn’t make it right!
That's my point – and possibly Mike’s too!!

I think ten pounds for L2 without concessions is about the right sort of price just in my opinion though.

Mine too!
Forget all that market forces nonsense, it’s all about VFM.

I agree with DA that he has a better squad overall than SD had. Even then, I felt that SD was not getting the best out of his squad.

Better squad overall?
Do you really believe that?
Can you name the players now that are collectively better than Powell, Murph, Westy, Clayton, Moore, Phillips, even Big Dave himself were then? – I’m afraid I’m going to have to disagree with you on this one – BIG TIME!

Also players are paid far too much as a basic principle compared with other jobs and a darn sight easier too. 90 mins a week plus a few half days training for the money they are paid is indefensible but that is and always been my view.

Hear! Hear!

[AstonAlex]

The problem with players’ wages starts at the top. We may all think that ordinary PL players are paid too much, however, when the clubs are getting millions from TV rights, advertising and sponsors then that money has to go out somewhere. Frankly, I would rather those people providing the entertainment (the players, coaching staff, etc) get the lion’s share and that it doesn’t go straight into the back pockets of the American, Middle Eastern, Chinese, etc owners of the clubs. True, they could pay the cleaners, office staff, ground staff, etc more, but it wouldn’t make a substantial difference. Neither would a reduction in the entry price, although fair do’s to Peter Coates for doing just that at Stoke.

Of course, if the prices went down in the PL then the pressure to do the same further down the pyramid would increase and then clubs like the Alex, who don’t have a sugar daddy and rely more than many on the fans paying at the gate, would have even less to pay their players - it’s a vicious circle really. It’s worth adding that our players are amongst the lowest paid in the League too; this might still be too much for some of us but we have to recognise the facts as they stand, and that they aren’t going to change any time soon.

Oh, I assume that as it’s only a tenner on Saturday, £7 for those of us over 60, there will be a good turnout - see you at the match Mike!!!!

One last thing - those adverts are bloody irritating on this site; strangely there are fewer of them and the site is much more stable on an iPad (other tablets are available!) than the PC.

[MikeSB]

The problem with players’ wages starts at the top. We may all think that ordinary PL players are paid too much, however, when the clubs are getting millions from TV rights, advertising and sponsors then that money has to go out somewhere. Frankly, I would rather those people providing the entertainment (the players, coaching staff, etc) get the lion’s share and that it doesn’t go straight into the back pockets of the American, Middle Eastern, Chinese, etc owners of the clubs. True, they could pay the cleaners, office staff, ground staff, etc more, but it wouldn’t make a substantial difference. Neither would a reduction in the entry price, although fair do’s to Peter Coates for doing just that at Stoke.

Of course, if the prices went down in the PL then the pressure to do the same further down the pyramid would increase and then clubs like the Alex, who don’t have a sugar daddy and rely more than many on the fans paying at the gate, would have even less to pay their players - it’s a vicious circle really. It’s worth adding that our players are amongst the lowest paid in the League too; this might still be too much for some of us but we have to recognise the facts as they stand, and that they aren’t going to change any time soon.

Oh, I assume that as it’s only a tenner on Saturday, £7 for those of us over 60, there will be a good turnout - see you at the match Mike!!!!

One last thing - those adverts are bloody irritating on this site; strangely there are fewer of them and the site is much more stable on an iPad (other tablets are available!) than the PC.

I'm not expecting our club or most clubs to lower their prices but they should and 20 pounds for PL and 10 pounds for L2 seems more reasonable and yes 7 quid for concessions is about right and would encourage me to go more than I do. It won't happen as more and more fans desert the game like they have golf. Young players at this level should not get more money than others of a similar age. The young carers in my MIL's care home work 12 hour shifts doing what most people would not do at three times the money and these are on the minimum wage. Is that fair or is that even comparable? No and its not exactly what most of us would call entertainment anyway when we see most matches at all levels and you are right that its the TV money and all the other revenue players get that have ruined the game and I would not even go to a ManU/ManC game for free or any PL game for that matter.

I don't expect things will change and the gates at L2 especially will go lower and lower and.....clubs may well go out of business when they all decide its a waste of time and little money coming in...You have to remember that our gate prices have not come down since we were in the Championship playing West Ham and Sunderland and ManC and now we are playing....erm! Get real folks!