Manfield Town Are The Future

It’s going to be impossible to do this without referencing Radiohead’s album In Rainbows, which has sort of paved the mainstream way for “pay what you want” retail. From Wiki, for those in the blue:

Days after announcing the album’s completion, Radiohead released In Rainbows as a digital download that customers could order for whatever price they saw fit. Upon its retail release, In Rainbows entered the UK Album Chart and the U.S. Billboard 200 at number one; by October 2008, it had sold more than three million copies worldwide in both digital and physical formats.

Mansfield Town, lounging in the Conference National (5th division), pulled the exact same stunt with similar success. Though probably without the millions upon millions of pounds. Or the Grammy. (Alright, maybe the Grammy – they hand those things out like candy.)

The offer went splendidly, doubled average attendance to over 7k, and some fans rewarding the club’s gift with ‘bonuses’. The fans were then rewarded with a 2-0 loss. Idealism is always fraught with inevitable disappointment.

Extra police and a full quota of staff were brought in on the day to marshal the crowd at the Field Mill ground, which has a capacity of 9,400.

With fans paying as little as three pence and as much as £50 on the day – usual ticket prices are £16 -Stevenson said he expected gate receipts to be up.

Attendance is nice, but the true “value” of such an experiment can only be known once the cash is counted. With such a turnout you’d expect good omens, but one never knows just how many are in the ‘three pence’ lot.

I thought it then and I’ll think it now: absolute brilliance. If someone’s willing to buck the money-grabbing trend and treat the consumer simply as a person interested in what they have to offer, they deserve my money. Corporation X, which would sell its soul for an extra 19.95? Not so much.

And as with evolution, this will not be the final move – even if it takes by a number of clubs. (The Big Four have hastily excused themselves from the discussion for urgent dental appointments.)

Perhaps next will be “pay for what you receive”. Maybe a nice, confident 2-0 win is worth the normal price of a ticket. Perhaps a big win – four or five goals – should see you throw in a lil bit extra, like a good waiter or an extra special massage. (Avram Grant concurs.) And then if it’s a dire game, perhaps only pocket change, and even then it could be thrown at the players, who are forced to pick it up while dancing to “I’m In Love With A Stripper”.

The future of the game is very bright.

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Category: England