Newcastle United revealed that season ticket prices for next season would go up by 5% for the third season in a row despite pleas to freeze prices.
The season ticket price hike comes just a couple of days after the club revealed an impressive set of accounts, which was probably not the best move they could have made.
In January the Newcastle United Supporters' Trust (NUST) wrote to the club requesting a price freeze for another season, setting out some detailed and well-made reasons why the current price should be frozen for another year, chief among which was the big hit those who took the option of the loyalty price freeze under Mike Ashley will see that deal end giving them a huge spike in ticket prices already, without another 5% on top.
The NUST have joined in with the Football Supporters Association (FSA) in their Stop Exploiting Loyalty campaign, which is about keeping the game affordable for fans, and after yesterday's reveal, the NUST has called upon that slogan to make their point.
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NUFC Fan groups have come together to protest the price rise
Several NUFC fan groups have come together to back the messaging put out by the NUST and the Stop Exploiting Loyalty movement.
There are fans who do back the price rise, those who see it as a means to help the club progress financially and therefore on the pitch with one reply to the NUST's statement saying "If you can't afford to go, then don't".
Yes, there will be those who give up their ticket because they can no longer afford it which will open the door for someone who has been waiting to get one, St James' Park is never likely to be empty, but that person who had to give up their ticket might have been going for 30 years and have pumped in an extortionate amount of money during that time. Where's the loyalty? Where's the thank you?
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What even is the point in the Fan Advisory Board if they're just going to be ignored?
As the NUST's statement points out, a season ticket in the Gallowgate End is now going to cost more than one in the Kop at Anfield, the home of the Premier League champions-elect. How does that make sense?
However, perhaps the most salient point in the statement is that the Fan Advisory Board and the NUST have campaigned relentlessly, used their connections within the club and put across the fans' point of view on the subject just to be blatantly ignored.
What is the point of the Fan Advisory Board if they're going to be ignored? We know that the FAB isn't a club initiative, but it's in place now, so use it!