Skip to main content

Big-spending Man City top Premier League value table

May 23, 2012 -- Updated 0918 GMT (1718 HKT)
Manchester City fans saw their team clinch a first English top division title in 44 years.
Manchester City fans saw their team clinch a first English top division title in 44 years.
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
  • Manchester City fans received the best value for money during the 2011-12 season
  • The English champions topped a table produced by the ING Direct bank
  • The table took into account season ticket prices, matches won and goals scored
  • Queens Park Rangers were adjudged to have provided the least value for money

(CNN) -- Manchester City's English Premier League title came at a staggering cost, with the Abu Dhabi-owned team splashing huge amounts on transfer fees and wages for high-profiles stars like Yaya Toure, Sergio Aguero and David Silva.

Whether City's expensively assembled squad is worth the astronomical wage bill is debatable, but it would seem City's fans are getting their money's worth after the English champions topped a "Value League" released this week.

The league, compiled by the ING Direct bank, ranks England's top-flight clubs based on how much fans pay for their season tickets compared to how the team performed during the 2011-12 season and how many goals they scored.

And it is City who emerged on top, with the team's home fans enjoying 18 wins, one draw and 55 goals in the club's 19 Premier League games at the Etihad Stadium.

Value League

1. Manchester City
2. Wigan
3. West Brom
4. Manchester United
5. Norwich
6. Stoke
7. Swansea
8. Newcastle
9. Everton
10. Bolton
11. Blackburn
12. Sunderland
13. Fulham
14. Aston Villa
15. Arsenal
16. Chelsea
17. Tottenham
18. Wolves
19. Liverpool
20. QPR

Who are European football's "Most Valuable Players?"

Just like on the pitch, City beat off competition from neighbors Manchester United, who placed fourth.

Second on the list were Wigan Athletic, who, despite flirting with relegation for the majority of the season, provided their fans with more entertainment than their more illustrious rivals.

At the other end of the scale, Queens Park Rangers have been ranked as the worst value for money for their fans.

Despite escaping relegation to earn a second successive season in the Premier League, QPR -- owned by Lotus F1 chief Tony Fernandes -- offered their fans the worst performances based on the cost of a season ticket at Loftus Road.

Brand power: Football's most valuable clubs unveiled

Just above Rangers are Liverpool, who last week dispensed with the services of legendary manager Kenny Dalglish after fans endured the club's worst Premier League campaign.

Manchester United is the most valuable brand in football according to a report by independent consultancy Brand Finance. The global appeal and on-field success of the 19-time English champions has helped establish a brand worth an estimated $853 million. Manchester United is the most valuable brand in football according to a report by independent consultancy Brand Finance. The global appeal and on-field success of the 19-time English champions has helped establish a brand worth an estimated $853 million.
Manchester's money machine
HIDE CAPTION
<<
<
1
2
3
4
5
6
>
>>
Brand power: Football\'s most valuable clubs Brand power: Football's most valuable clubs
Fans celebrate Man City's sweet revenge

Supporters gathered in the famous Kop stand at Liverpool's Anfield stadium saw just six home wins for the Reds during 2011-12, with the five-time European champions finding the net on only 24 occasions.

A survey was also conducted to find out what percentage of season ticket-holders in England's top division would be renewing for the 2012-13 campaign.

Out of a sample of over 2,000 fans, 9% said they would not be renewing their season tickets regardless of price, with 7% set to renew if the price does not increase and 13% yet to decide.

ING Direct CEO Richard Doe is not surprised a section of fans are questioning the need to attend games given the current economic climate.

"Football fans face the same economic difficulties as everyone else and supporting their team can be a costly outgoing," Doe said in a press release.

"So it's not surprising that many fans are questioning the value for money they're getting from their club."

Despite facing financial difficulties, Doe said many fans will ultimately renew their season tickets due to the emotional connection they feel to their team.

"Come the excitement that the start of the new season brings, it will also be interesting to see how many fans put the love of their club ahead of other financial priorities."

It's not surprising that many fans are questioning the value for money they're getting from their club
FSF spokesman

Of the 20 clubs in the Premier League, 12 have frozen or lowered season ticket prices ahead of the new season while five have announced price hikes.

The Football Supporters' Federation (FSF) is a voluntary organization representing fans across Britain.

The FSF told CNN that, while ticket prices differ throughout the league, the issue of admission prices is still a pressing one for football fans.

"Prices vary from club to club so it's unfair to put every one in the same category," said an FSF spokesman. "But it is fair to say ticket pricing is a major concern for fans."

The FSF went on to explain how ticket pricing and the possible introduction of safe standing areas into football grounds were two issues which fans would like to see addressed.

Football stadia in England's top division are required to be all-seater after the Hillsborough disaster in 1989, when 96 fans lost their lives during an FA Cup semifinal between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest.

"Alongside fans telling the FSF that they'd like to see the introduction of safe standing areas, and individual complaints relating to policing or stewarding, (ticket pricing) is one of the most frequent topics the FSF receives calls and emails about," the FSF said.

ADVERTISEMENT
Part of complete coverage on
CNN Football Club
Be part of CNN's coverage of European Champions League matches and join the social debate.
May 23, 2013 -- Updated 1052 GMT (1852 HKT)
The logo of FC Bayern Muenchen is pictured on the hood of an Audi A1 during a promotional event at the Audi factory on August 21, 2010 in Ingolstadt, Germany. Luxury-car manufacturer Audi turned cars over to the players of FC Bayern Muenchen.
When Germany's two biggest soccer clubs go head-to-head in the Champions League final, there can only be one winner: German industry.
May 22, 2013 -- Updated 1356 GMT (2156 HKT)
The Bundesliga model of sustainability is very much in vogue. But are Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund creating a dangerous duopoly?
May 23, 2013 -- Updated 1106 GMT (1906 HKT)
Bayern Munich super fan Boris Becker takes a tour of London ahead of the 2013 Champions League final.
May 23, 2013 -- Updated 1015 GMT (1815 HKT)
CNN takes an exclusive look at the venue of the Champions League final between Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund.
Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund tease
CNN's Pedro Pinto gives his analysis of the Champions League final between Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund.
May 17, 2013 -- Updated 1710 GMT (0110 HKT)
David Beckham embraced his tag as a "gay icon" and has been credited with breaking the big taboo -- homosexuality in football.
May 13, 2013 -- Updated 0750 GMT (1550 HKT)
'King' Alex Ferguson is quitting Manchester United but the $3.17 billion brand will survive, according to experts.
May 7, 2013 -- Updated 1418 GMT (2218 HKT)
Italian football lags behind its other European rivals commercially, but newly-crowned Italian champions Juventus is showing Serie A clubs an example of revival.
April 24, 2013 -- Updated 1434 GMT (2234 HKT)
Luis Suarez's biting of Branislav Ivanovic is the latest episode of moments of madness when soccer stars behave badly.
March 29, 2013 -- Updated 0938 GMT (1738 HKT)
Former South African president and Nobel peace prize laureate Nelson Mandela joins guests at his home in Cape Town, on August 20, 2008 to celebrate his 90th birthday year, at an event organised by the Mandela Rhodes Foundation (RODGER BOSCH
Sunderland's partnership with the Nelson Mandela Foundation is part of its bid to woo the African market.
March 28, 2013 -- Updated 1558 GMT (2358 HKT)
South African children play football in a township in Bloemfontein on June 21, 2010. South Africa will face France in their final Group A, 2010 World Cup, first round football match on June 22.
Each year as many as 700 Cameroonian young footballers leave Africa in search of a professional career abroad.
May 6, 2013 -- Updated 1201 GMT (2001 HKT)
Referees across Europe are feeling the heat. Insulted, threatened, chased off the field, attacked, hospitalized and, tragically, killed.
February 26, 2013 -- Updated 1225 GMT (2025 HKT)
A real human brain being displayed as part of new exhibition at the @Bristol attraction is seen on March 8, 2011 in Bristol, England. The Real Brain exhibit - which comes with full consent from a anonymous donor and needed full consent from the Human Tissue Authority - is suspended in large tank engraved with a full scale skeleton on one side and a diagram of the central nervous system on the other and is a key feature of the All About Us exhibition opening this week.
Footballers have a battery of physios, fitness trainers and doctors all striving to fine-tune their physique -- but are they missing a trick?
February 26, 2013 -- Updated 1424 GMT (2224 HKT)
No Englishman has won the EPL title in over 20 years, while a leading manager reveals that English coaches are now "not respected abroad."
May 13, 2013 -- Updated 0933 GMT (1733 HKT)
Football supporters demonstrate in front of Italian TV RAI after the match between A.C.Milan and Lazio Roma was cancelled 11 November 2007. The spectre of football violence resurged in Italy on Sunday as the shooting dead of a fan sparked nationwide disturbances which forced the suspension of several Serie A matches. Banner reads 'Racism can stop League but death of tifosi has no signification.
Hardcore Italian football "ultra" Federico is a Lazio supporter who happily admits directing monkey chants at black players.
March 5, 2013 -- Updated 1123 GMT (1923 HKT)
When Jupp Heynckes made his Bundesliga debut as a player in 1965, the name of Bayern Munich was a new one for the nascent German league.
February 19, 2013 -- Updated 1902 GMT (0302 HKT)
Football's world governing body FIFA has confirmed it will use goal-line technology at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.
February 19, 2013 -- Updated 1403 GMT (2203 HKT)
Match-fixing has become a worldwide issue, with hundreds of matches under investigation -- but how do you actually fix a football game?
February 18, 2013 -- Updated 1700 GMT (0100 HKT)
U.S soccer star Robbie Rogers has "come out" as gay on the day he retired from the game, making the announcement on his blog.
February 11, 2013 -- Updated 2231 GMT (0631 HKT)
The wealth of owners like Chelsea's Roman Abramovich often fuels success, but for other clubs such backers prove a mixed blessing.
January 30, 2013 -- Updated 1342 GMT (2142 HKT)
The Secret Footballer reveals the complex issues surrounding racism in the English Premier League.
ADVERTISEMENT