The Price of Fulham
Written by Sammy James on 24th July 2017
On a day when the government announced a surprise sharp decline in inflation, it was ironic of Leeds United to announce that Fulham’s travelling support would be charged up to £42 for the upcoming Tuesday evening clash at Elland Road.
Ever the cost-cutters, here at Fulhamish we’ve decided to get the calculator out, and attempt to work out how much it would cost you to attend to every Fulham away league match this season. Particular thanks must go to Harry Fremantle, who helped us to compile much of this information.
- Match Tickets: The majority of Championship clubs have announced their ticket structure for the 2017/18 season. Where clubs haven’t done this, we have used last season’s ticket prices. Due to their relegation from the Premier League, this hasn’t been possible for Hull City and Middlesbrough.
- Train Tickets: We’ve calculated the on-the-day train prices as well as those available 3 months and 1 month in advance. For Cardiff, there are no trains available. Return train travel is not available for Leeds and Sheffield United, so we have factored the cheapest available hotel into the cost.
- Car: We have calculated car travel at 20 pence per mile, from Craven Cottage to the respective stadium and back again.
- Disclaimer: All this research is to the best of our knowledge, and we are more than happy to update our findings if necessary.
Tickets
Clubs with a * have not officially published their 2017/18 prices
| Opponent | Ticket |
| Reading | £20.00 |
| Leeds | £37.00 |
| Ipswich | £30.00 |
| Burton | £20.00 |
| Nottingham Forest* | £19.25 |
| QPR* | £29.00 |
| Aston Villa* | £30.00 |
| Wolves* | £30.00 |
| Sheffield United | £27.00 |
| Brentford | £25.00 |
| Sunderland | £30.00 |
| Cardiff | £23.00 |
| Hull | No info available |
| Middlesbrough | No info available |
| Barnsley* | £28.00 |
| Bolton | £28.00 |
| Bristol City | £27.00 |
| Derby* | £22.00 |
| Preston | £24.00 |
| Norwich | £35.00 |
| Sheffield Wednesday | £39.00 |
| Millwall | £26.00 |
| Birmingham* | £20.00 |
Average Ticket Price: £27
Total Ticket Cost: £623
Train
| Opponent | 3 Month Advance | 1 Month Advance | On The Day |
| Reading | £18.40 | £18.40 | £18.40 |
| Leeds* | £32.00 | £38.00 | £106.20 |
| Ipswich | £20.00 | £23.00 | £40.80 |
| Burton | £26.00 | £26.00 | £40.00 |
| Nottingham Forest | £27.00 | £31.00 | £120.40 |
| QPR | £12.00 | £12.00 | £12.00 |
| Aston Villa | £11.00 | £11.00 | £28.50 |
| Wolves | £18.00 | £34.00 | £55.10 |
| Sheffield United* | £29.00 | £46.00 | £118.50 |
| Brentford | £12.00 | £12.00 | £12.00 |
| Sunderland | £48.00 | £109.00 | £132.70 |
| Cardiff** | No Trains | No Trains | No Trains |
| Hull | £30.00 | £30.00 | £96.50 |
| Middlesbrough | £52.00 | £107.00 | £130.10 |
| Barnsley | £35.50 | £35.50 | £75.50 |
| Bolton | £54.00 | £59.00 | £83.90 |
| Bristol City | £30.00 | £35.50 | £57.50 |
| Derby | £34.00 | £34.00 | £64.50 |
| Preston | £44.00 | £65.00 | £89.30 |
| Norwich | £20.00 | £20.00 | £53.10 |
| Sheffield Wednesday | £34.00 | £34.00 | £75.50 |
| Millwall | £12.00 | £12.00 | £12.00 |
| Birmingham | £11.00 | £11.00 | £28.50 |
*Hotels are necessary for Leeds United (cheapest £37) and Sheffield United (cheapest £67) and we will add this to the total train costs.
**We have included the £30 car price to Cardiff since there is no train available.
3 Months in Advance
Total = £744
Average Price = £32
1 Month in Advance
Total = £937
Average Price = £41
On The Day
Total = £1,585
Average Price = £69
Car
Calculated at £0.20 per mile
| Opponent | Distance (Miles) | Cost |
| Reading | 76 | £15.20 |
| Leeds | 442 | £88.40 |
| Ipswich | 174 | £34.80 |
| Burton | 288 | £57.60 |
| Nottingham Forest | 260 | £52.00 |
| QPR | 6 | £1.20 |
| Aston Villa | 246 | £49.20 |
| Wolves | 280 | £56.00 |
| Sheffield United | 324 | £64.80 |
| Brentford | 10 | £2.00 |
| Sunderland | 548 | £109.60 |
| Cardiff | 298 | £59.60 |
| Hull | 382 | £76.40 |
| Middlesbrough | 500 | £100.00 |
| Barnsley | 356 | £71.20 |
| Bolton | 440 | £88.00 |
| Bristol City | 234 | £46.80 |
| Derby | 258 | £51.60 |
| Preston | 452 | £90.40 |
| Norwich | 252 | £50.40 |
| Sheffield Wednesday | 342 | £68.40 |
| Millwall | 20 | £4.00 |
| Birmingham | 238 | £47.60 |
Total Driving Cost: £1284 per car
Average Driving Cost: £55.80 per car per journey
In Summary
Train + Match Ticket: 3 Months Advance
Total = £1367
Average Price = £59.43
Train + Match Ticket: 1 Month Advance
Total = £1560
Average Price = £67.82
Train + Match Ticket: On The Day
Total = £2208
Average Price = £96
Car + Match Ticket
Total = £1907
Average Price = £83
So there we have it, a full season watching every away game will cost you in the region of £1367 to £2208 depending on which method of transport you decide to use, with the average day out costing you between £59 and £96.
If our research proves anything, it shows that if you are a train user, booking in advance can save you serious cash over an entire season. One other important aspect to point out, is that a car goes from being one of the most expensive to one of the cheapest options, when just one paying passenger is added to the equation.
This of course, doesn’t take into account other inevitable costs you will incur on your away days, from unavoidable costs such as food and parking, to more voluntary purchases such as match-day programmes and alcohol.
Twenty’s Plenty
Much was made by many Fulham fans, of Leeds United’s decision to charge Fulham fans a minimum of £37 to attend the upcoming fixture at Elland Road.
The Football Supporter’s Federation have been pushing their Twenty’s Plenty campaign for some time now, in an attempt to limit away ticket prices at £20. So far, this has lead to all Premier League clubs charging only a maximum of £30. Still quite expensive you may claim, but it’s a vast improvement on the extortionate prices that were around only a few years ago.
This pressure however has not resulted in any action in the EFL. So we thought we’d do one more bit of research, how much would you save if each away ticket were limited at £20?
| Opponent | Ticket | Saving |
| Reading | £20.00 | |
| Leeds | £37.00 | £17.00 |
| Ipswich | £30.00 | £10.00 |
| Burton | £20.00 | |
| Nottingham Forest* | £19.25 | |
| QPR* | £29.00 | £9.00 |
| Aston Villa* | £30.00 | £10.00 |
| Wolves* | £30.00 | £10.00 |
| Sheffield United | £27.00 | £7.00 |
| Brentford | £25.00 | £5.00 |
| Sunderland | £30.00 | £10.00 |
| Cardiff | £23.00 | £3.00 |
| Hull | No info available | |
| Middlesbrough | No info available | |
| Barnsley* | £28.00 | £8.00 |
| Bolton | £28.00 | £8.00 |
| Bristol City | £27.00 | £7.00 |
| Derby* | £22.00 | £2.00 |
| Preston | £24.00 | £4.00 |
| Norwich | £35.00 | £15.00 |
| Sheffield Wednesday | £39.00 | £19.00 |
| Millwall | £26.00 | £6.00 |
| Birmingham* | £20.00 |
Twenty’s Plenty Saving Total = £150
Whilst this might seem low compared to the figures we witnessed above, this actually as much as 11% of an entire seasons spending for those who attend every away fixture, and would no doubt make the cost of attending away games much more appealing to a wider number of people.
If you have any comments or questions regarding this article, get in touch on Twitter or E-mail as we will be discussing these findings on our upcoming podcast.
