The last 2 days have been full of contrasts for me. On Sunday morning I went to a T20 game at Trent Bridge between Notts and Warwicks. The game had been hurriedly rearranged to allow fans time to get home for the England v Germany game. Playing were 3 current internationals and 4 ex internationals. It was very exciting and another win for Notts consolidated their position as leaders of the T20 North league. They are also leading the County Championship and second in the Pro 40 League, ie in with a very good chance of winning the treble.
In the afternoon I, like all of you, had the dubious pleasure of watching our superstar footballers attempting to beat our old rivals. Need I say more?
Following this, our cricketers did us proud by beating the Australians to give us an unassailable lead in the one day series.
On Monday, I purchased my new LCFC season ticket. I sit in the Executive Stand, and the price of the ticket for this, together with a car park pass, came to over £500. This works out at over £21 a game, to watch what is the 4th tier of English football.
My season ticket for the cricket and the car park charges (£1 a game), with a possible 46 days of play, costs £111, under £3 a day. This is to watch the cricket equivalent of Chelsea or Man Utd., with an array of internationals playing on any one day. I can sit anywhere in the ground, go into Pavilion, and mix with the players. (Incidentally, the players are always available at the end of play to sign autographs.)
What, might you ask, has this got to do with the spineless defeat by the Germans? I think it says everything about the state of English football. Why are our season tickets so high? Because even at our lowly level, the players are vastly overpaid. At an international level, the remuneration is obscene. County cricket does not attract large crowds and yet the admission prices are incredibly reasonable. We need to get back to basics, take a leaf out of their book, and pay players according to their ability. Hopefully we would have players who considered it an honour to represent their country, instead of the overpaid, arrogant prima-donnas who were on the pitch in South Africa.
Lissie Wilkins
