Opinion: West Brom fans the latest made to pay by unnecessary ticket hikes

This isn’t intended as a rant merely bashing the Sky Blues. They are not alone as guilty parties here. There are other, worse, culprits in the Championship, and that is before you factor the gluttony of the Premier League.

On the night of October 30 the Baggies make the short trip to Coventry and visiting adults will need to fork out £37 to buy a ticket for the match.

Thirty-seven pounds to watch a Championship football match is unacceptable. It has to be unacceptable. Is the product really worth that? Should even a Premier League fixture stretch to that cost? A supporters’ bond with their team is priceless – but only if they can afford it. Albion charge £28 across the board for visitors and that is more than enough.

Many – probably thousands – will still go. Many will be fortunate enough to afford it and some will go out of loyalty even if things are tight. As I said this isn’t just a pop at Coventry. Ticket prices are their prerogative and they will argue supply and demand... why should they go lower if the people will still come? Albion, other Midlands clubs and Leeds, for obvious reasons, are all in the category A bracket. But, when it comes to the end of the month, the decision will cost the hosts.

Albion took almost 4,500 travelling fans on Christmas week last season at £33 an adult, again on a midweek night. The hosts would look at that and argue “they still came” – but an unnecessary increase for a match live on the telly stinks.

That number will surely be down considerably at the end of the month. Talk about counter-intuitive. A family of four – parents and two children – would pay £104 for tickets alone before everything else is factored in. Outrageous pricing and it will keep people away. The clash falls on school half-term, too. Another open goal missed.

Albion argued this but it fell on deaf ears, leaving the Baggies bitterly disappointed.

Also disappointed will be the working person and family, struggling to make ends meet, who can no longer afford to watch live football in person. Or afford Sky TV, for that matter!