From the Press box

Football finance is always a hot topic, be it from the wages which top players are earning or to the transfer window slamming shut on a record spending spree.

It’s become a little bit more local to me however with Kidderminster Harriers now looking at the threat of administration and the potential black hole this could bring for the club and its supporters.

Kidderminster Harriers are a great thing for the local area. Throughout my years at school we came into contact with coaches from the club who used to run half term footballing camps, giving away tickets to their home matches. My younger brother was and still is a fairly talented footballer and Harriers nurtured him at a young age and really gave him encouragement (shame he couldn’t keep his eye on the ball, otherwise he’d be keeping me in the lap of luxury right now!). The little things count to the younger football fans, and the reward of playing on the pitch for a good performance at the summer camp was a great incentive, and I spent many Saturday afternoons in the past watching my brother go on the pitch at half time, and usually watching the Harriers lose (I’m a curse when I go there).

Perhaps however, the growth of other local teams in the Premier League are killing this friendly community club.

With Blues, Villa, WBA and Wolves all representing the West Midlands in the top division, Harriers are fighting the big Premier names to get bums on seats at Aggborough, and they are seemingly struggling, as is evident with their supporters group press release this week www.khist.org.uk/?p=1677

I’ve had a look on the Harriers main website, in particular casting my eye over the match day ticket prices. If I’m not mistaken, they appear to be around £14 – £17 a game for an adult.

This is comparison to a recent match at Albion which was £12 for adults, whilst Blues offered a two for £20 scheme for Premier League matches.

I’m not criticising Harriers pricing at all – they have to charge those prices to keep the club afloat. It seems like everything is against them however when local clubs can open the doors to show off Premier League stars for less than what the Blue Square Premier has to offer. With Sky television money and massive advertising revenue, Premier League clubs simply have the financial support that Harriers could only ever dream of.

I really hope the local area gets behind Kidderminster Harriers. They have enriched the childhoods of many lads in the area over the years and they have devoted and loyal fans as is evident from the press release. As much as it is fantastic to raise the profile of the Midlands football through the Premier League,  I just don’t want the rise of the Midlands teams to spell the end of another.