Why you’re better off watching Accrington than Arsenal

A popular gripe amongst supporters of Football League teams is that fans of the more glamorous clubs refuse to believe that there is ‘life outside the Premier League’. An assumption that has only been helped by the recent £5.14 billion television rights deal for Premier League matches, which suggests that the gap between the best and the rest is widening. However, despite this, further enhancing the enormous revenues of those at the top, it is unlikely that attending Premier League matches will become significantly cheaper in the near future. Fans accustomed to watching Aguero, Hazard, Rooney and Sanchez may recoil in horror at the idea, but a more affordable way for fans to get their football fix would be to watch their local lower league team. There are more reasons than simply money saving; lower league football can offer up just as much drama as the Premier League.

The most glaring disparity between the Premier League and the Football League and the Football League is of course money. For the average fan, this is felt most in ticket prices. Although all levels of the English game can be accused of asking fans to pay too much to watch their team, it is in the Premier League where these numbers really escalate. The cheapest student ticket at Arsenal will set you back £27 whereas at Oxford United, my local team, only costs around £9. Furthermore, we aren’t even factoring in transport. Travelling to watch your local team will minimise travel costs and the law of averages states that for most fans this will be a Football league club, rather than Manchester United or Liverpool.  It may be a cliché but these costs add up, and for fans in pursuit of regular live football swapping Chelsea for Charlton Athletic may be the only viable option.

The cheapest student ticket at Arsenal will set you back £27 whereas at Oxford United, my local team, only costs around £9

It is also worth thinking about the impact on the clubs themselves of fans going to watch their local lower league team. One aspect of February’s Premier League TV rights deal that gained a large amount of publicity was a tweet by League Two club Accrington Stanley. The tweet read: ‘The Premier League has a new £5bn TV deal. £10m per match. 1 game would pay our annual wage bill for the next 20 years’

In addition to highlighting the inequality in English football, this one tweet is evidence of the precarious financial position of a number of lower league football clubs. As a result, on-field success is imperative simply because it attracts more supporters through the turnstiles, and even a couple of hundred extra fans can provide some much needed extra revenue. To return to the main argument of the article, this shows how much difference a single fan can make to clubs in League One or Two; a concern that Premier League clubs need not worry about. Therefore, going to watch your local Football League team genuinely helps their financial position as well as your own.

The Prem Lge has a new £5bn TV deal. £10m per match. 1 game would pay our annual wage bill for the next 20 years

— Accrington Stanley (@ASFCofficial) February 11, 2015

Following on from cost is accessibility. For the average fan, Football League matches are far more accessible than Premier League matches. Even if you happen to live right next to the Emirates Stadium or Old Trafford, attending every home game is very difficult indeed. This all relates to supply and demand, and for most Premier League clubs demand for tickets far outstrips the supply on offer. In comparison, if you live a stone’s throw from any League One or Two clubs, or even some Championship clubs, you could go to as many matches as your heart desires.

This brings us on to the topic of season tickets. Surely the problem of not being able to access individual matches would be solved by purchasing a season ticket, right? Unfortunately not. The big clubs have waiting lists of tens of thousands of people, many of whom will not be at the top of the list for years. On the other hand, waiting lists are nonexistent for the majority of football league clubs, and it is simply a question of whether supporters are willing to pay between £200 and £400 for the 23 Home league games in a season. Attending matches enables fans to feel closer to the club and is an experience that far outstrips watching games on the TV, and you are far more likely to experience this regularly by watching your local Football League club.

if you live a stone’s throw from any League One or Two clubs, or even some Championship clubs, you could go to as many matches as your heart desires.

It is the experience of being at a football match that leads an average of 500,000 people to attend games all over the country each weekend during the season. Otherwise, the vast majority would not bother and instead spend their Saturday afternoons in their living rooms. Lower league football has some unique aspects regarding fan experience that are unparalleled anywhere else. For example, many of the stadiums in Leagues One and Two appear as if they could belong to any era over the last 40 years. This might mean that they are not the most aesthetically pleasing, but it gives these places some character that the plush new designs lack. Of the 20 Premier League clubs this season, 40% have stadiums that were built in the last twenty years and many others have been recently renovated. In comparison, the terraces at grounds such as Yeovil’s Huish Park serve as a nostalgic throwback to a time alien to modern football.

Another aspect of fan experience more common for Football League grounds is the community feel of each club. Whereas Premier League matches are played, owned and watched by people from all around the world, the further down the football pyramid you go the more you realise that the demographic of attendees comes from a much smaller geographical base. The aim here is certainly not to preach that everyone should support their local team – there are multiple factors that determine which football club you support. Yet there is something to be said for any team that properly represents its town or city, and in the modern game these are generally found in the Football League. One can only speak from experience, but supporting your local team makes you feel much more part of the club than if you support a big Premier League powerhouse. The overall feeling of togetherness and pride experienced by watching your local lower league team is something that cannot be replicated.

there is something to be said for any team that properly represents its town or city, and in the modern game these are generally found in the Football League

However, all of the points mentioned so far are meaningless if the action on the pitch is not up to standard. There is no doubting that the Premier League offers the fastest, most attractive football in the country but there is plenty of quality in the Football League too. The Championship, for example, has for years been called the most competitive League in Europe and this year is no exception. At the time of writing, there are just three points between the top four teams in the table, of which only two will gain automatic promotion. Compare this to the Premier League, where only 7 different teams have finished in the top four since 2003. Furthermore, this competitiveness does not mean that the Football League lacks class, shown by the Premier League success of teams promoted in recent years, such as Southampton, Stoke City and Crystal Palace.

But do not believe that the quality stops when you look below the Championship. Leagues One and Two are littered with clubs with the history, fan base and resources to be playing in the higher divisions – Bristol City, Coventry City, Sheffield United, Portsmouth, Luton Town and Oxford United are just some of these. Local derbies in the Football League are also as hotly contested as in the Premier League, with this year serving up Norwich City v Ipswich Town, Rochdale v Oldham Athletic and Plymouth Argyle v Exeter City. With some clubs knowing that realistically they can only progress so far up the leagues without a wealthy backer the stakes are raised even higher for these matches, making them occasions not to be missed. Every League has its dull 0-0 draws, but the competitiveness and drama of the Football League can make your £10 ticket seem like a steal.

 At the time of writing, there are just three points between the top four teams in the table, of which only two will gain automatic promotion. Compare this to the Premier League, where only 7 different teams have finished in the top four since 2003

Depending on your point of view, and most likely who you support, this argument is either very easy to agree with or very easy to disagree with. Fans of the Premier League will argue against everything I’ve said above. They will say yes, we do have to pay much more, but the quality of the players and the stadiums means this sacrifice is worth it. Yet is this really worth it when you can save a fortune by going to watch your local Championship, League One or League Two club? Cost is a huge factor here but there are far more reasons to watch the Football League than money-saving. Stadiums full of character, rivalries teeming with passion and the genuine competition within each division make watching your local Football League team a no-brainer for any avid football fan.