Leicester City’s season-ticket renewal rate may have been at its lowest in the four years for which the club have published the data, but that it’s still just under 90 per cent is rather remarkable.
With members snapping up the couple of thousand seats then left vacant, City season tickets have sold out for next term.
This is for a club that has not only suffered relegation, but one that has just endured the worst run of home form in the history of English top-flight football, and one that has left very few fans satisfied with how it is run. It is an exceptional level of commitment from supporters to not desert the club.
Those who renewed were actually asked to do so during that dreadful goalless, losing run at the King Power Stadium. They signed up to take their seats despite City giving very little reason for them to be excited for the future.
Even now, two months on from the renewal period and two weeks on from the end of the season, there’s no progress.
Fans don’t know who will be in charge, nor why there's been no acknowledgement over the uncertainty. They don’t know if there will be a points deduction, and, if there is one, how severe it will be. They don't know what the plan is.
The one positive to cling to is that there could be a strong homegrown contingent in the team next term, the squad flooded with players who grew up locally and who have risen through the ranks of the academy.
Otherwise, there is no reason to be excited for the upcoming campaign beyond the blind hope that it may get better.
When asked ahead of the final game before the season-ticket renewal deadline if there were reasons for fans to look forward to next term, manager Ruud van Nistelrooy said: “I think the Leicester City fans were born Leicester City fans. They always support their club through thick and thin. That’s what football is about.
“It’s our responsibility to bring back the club to a place where the fans can be proud of it again. But the dedication to the club, how fans support us through thick and thin, it will always continue.”
There is truth to that. Fandom is about standing by the team during the bad times, as it makes the good times sweeter.
But usually those bad times refer to on-pitch performances, when things aren’t quite clicking during the 90 minutes, not when the club is being poorly run to the point they’re charged with three alleged breaches of Profit and Sustainability Rules.
Right now, those fans are not being given anything back. There’s very little transparency and communication from the club.
In fact, the season-ticket data is a small example of the sort of information the club should be providing. There’s a recognition there of keeping the fans in the loop.
But as a rule, it does not feel like the fans are being treated as a core part of City. There’s no reward for their loyalty.
Does being a season-ticket holder entitle fans to a clearer understanding of how the club operates and what the future plans are? Or does it guarantee the seat they pay for and nothing else?
It feels like their dedication deserves more. As at all clubs, fans are the lifeblood. What would the club be if the supporters didn’t show up?
At City, that won’t be answered, at least not next season, because they will be there in their masses.
The danger is that it will be assumed in the upper echelons of the club that, despite the protests inside and outside the ground this past season, everything is broadly fine, because otherwise fans wouldn’t keep showing their faces and wouldn’t keep paying out to come to games.
There are reasons beyond the club and the football on show that prompt season-ticket purchases. There’s a social aspect. It’s a chance to be with friends or family, or be part of a community, and those are valuable experiences.
City provide those experiences, but that’s purely through existing, not through anything they’re providing.
Really, the club should know they are lucky to have such a dedicated fanbase, especially because ticket sales make up a bigger proportion of their revenue in the Championship.
On the basis of the past season, they didn’t deserve to sell out their season tickets. They should not take that for granted, nor assume it means everything is hunky-dory.
It’s time the club let those season-ticket holders know a little bit more about what they're going to get for their loyalty and financial commitment.
If anything, what are you most looking forward to in the new season? Click HERE to have your say.
Get your special Jamie Vardy edition of the Leicester Mercury
Jamie Vardy souvenir edition of the Leicester Mercury
It was certainly a fairytale ending to Jamie Vardy's Leicester City career - netting his 200th goal in his final match for the club.
To celebrate, we are launching a this special edition of the Leicester Mercury where we look back at the striker's amazing career - his journey from non-league to England international, his greatest goals and where he stands in the Foxes' list of all-time greats.
We also revisit the trophy-winning campaigns - the 2021 FA Cup and, of course, the 2016 Premier League title.
And there are plenty of tributes from those who played with him, against him and worked with him.
Jamie Vardy, it's certainly been a party!
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