Writer, analyst, podcaster, Spurs fan. Three out of four is not bad. If there is a data angle, I will find it.
The Best Value Premier League Clubs for Fans to Support
Last season, we looked into which Premier League teams provide the most value for money when home fans come to watch their team throughout the season. This time, we’ve taken the same approach in ranking how much value for money each club provides for its fans, by taking the cheapest season ticket cost and dividing it by the number of home goals scored. This allowed us to work out the exact amount fans paid per goal during the 2022/23 campaign.
The Real Cost of Following Your Favourite Premier League Club
We then separately looked at each club and their other matchday expenses - such as the cost of a beer, a pie, an official programme, and the price of an adult-sized replica home shirt. Then we added these four costs together and ranked the clubs from cheapest to most expensive.
Here’s how every Premier League club fared in terms of their fans getting value for money…
The Loyal Fans
| Stadium | Club | Capacity | Season Tickets Sold | Percentage Of Season Ticket Holders |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Goodison Park | Everton | 39,414 | 31,500 | 79.92% |
| The Etihad | Manchester City | 53,400 | 40,000 | 74.91% |
| Tottenham Hotspur Stadium | Tottenham | 62,850 | 45,000 | 71.60% |
| Selhurst Park | Crystal Palace | 25,486 | 18,000 | 70.63% |
| Villa Park | Aston Villa | 42,657 | 30,000 | 70.33% |
| Old Trafford | Manchester United | 74,310 | 52,000 | 69.98% |
| Stamford Bridge | Chelsea | 40,343 | 28,000 | 69.40% |
| Molineux | Wolves | 31,750 | 22,000 | 69.29% |
| Falmer Stadium | Brighton | 31,800 | 22,000 | 69.18% |
| Turf Moor | Burnley | 21,944 | 15,000 | 68.36% |
| Kenilworth Road | Luton | 10,356 | 7,000 | 67.59% |
| The Emirates | Arsenal | 60,704 | 40,000 | 65.89% |
| London Stadium | West Ham | 62,500 | 40,000 | 64.00% |
| Bramall Lane | Sheffield United | 32,050 | 20,000 | 62.40% |
| Vitality Stadium | Bournemouth | 11,307 | 7,000 | 61.91% |
| Brentford Community Stadium | Brentford | 17,250 | 10,000 | 57.97% |
| St James' Park | Newcastle | 52,305 | 30,000 | 57.36% |
| The City Ground | Nottingham Forest | 30,332 | 16,000 | 52.75% |
| Anfield | Liverpool | 53,394 | 27,000 | 50.57% |
| Craven Cottage | Fulham | 29,600 | 12,000 | 40.54% |
If we first look at the club’s that sell the highest proportion of season tickets, that accolade goes to Everton. Although they have struggled in recent years, the Toffees’ fanbase has stayed incredibly loyal.
With a capacity of just over 39,000, their Goodison Park ground is taken up nearly 80% worth of season ticket allocated seats. Considering the allocation that also has to go away fans, there are not a lot of spare tickets being left over for general sale.
While for all the talk that Manchester City struggles to get supporters through the doors, their current 53,400 capacity is nearly 75% taken up by season ticket holders. However, with plans to increase the size of the ground in the works, that figure could soon see a sharp decrease.
A Look at Premier League Season Ticket Sales: Everton and Man City's Loyal Fanbase
The Club Shop
With a new Premier League season soon getting underway, the 20 respective club shops are soon to be rather busy and we have kept busy by keeping track of new shirt costs. In addition to this, we have also looked at the three matchday staples. The pint, the pie and the programme.
| Stadium | Club | Cost Of Shirt | Programme | Beer | Pie | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Turf Moor | Burnley | £55 | £3.50 | £3.20 | £3.00 | £64.70 |
| Bramall Lane | Sheffield United | £60 | £3.50 | £3.00 | £3.40 | £69.90 |
| Kenilworth Road | Luton | £59 | £3.50 | £4.00 | £3.90 | £70.40 |
| Falmer Stadium | Brighton | £60 | £3.50 | £4.00 | £4.10 | £71.60 |
| Molineux | Wolves | £60 | £4.00 | £4.00 | £3.60 | £71.60 |
| Brentford Community Stadium | Brentford | £60 | £5.00 | £4.00 | £4.00 | £73.00 |
| Vitality Stadium | Bournemouth | £65 | £3.50 | £4.00 | £4.00 | £76.50 |
| Goodison Park | Everton | £65 | £4.00 | £4.55 | £3.90 | £77.45 |
| St James' Park | Newcastle | £70 | £3.00 | £4.90 | £3.90 | £81.80 |
| Villa Park | Aston Villa | £70 | £4.00 | £5.20 | £3.60 | £82.80 |
| Selhurst Park | Crystal Palace | £70 | £5.00 | £5.00 | £4.50 | £84.50 |
| The City Ground | Nottingham Forest | £75 | £3.00 | £5.20 | £3.30 | £86.50 |
| Anfield | Liverpool | £75 | £4.00 | £4.40 | £3.40 | £86.80 |
| The Etihad | Manchester City | £75 | £4.00 | £4.60 | £4.70 | £88.30 |
| London Stadium | West Ham | £75 | £4.00 | £6.30 | £5.00 | £90.30 |
| Old Trafford | Manchester United | £80 | £4.00 | £3.00 | £4.20 | £91.20 |
| Tottenham Hotspur Stadium | Tottenham | £80 | £4.00 | £5.10 | £4.00 | £93.10 |
| Craven Cottage | Fulham | £80 | £3.50 | £5.50 | £4.50 | £93.50 |
| Stamford Bridge | Chelsea | £80 | £3.50 | £5.70 | £4.50 | £93.70 |
| The Emirates | Arsenal | £80 | £5.00 | £6.30 | £4.80 | £96.10 |
It is good news if you are a Burnley supporter and especially for those not looking to put a dent in their wallet. If you were to buy a home match shirt and the three matchday staples of a pie, pint and program, it would cost you just £64.70 more than 30 quid cheaper than the most expensive club in the division.
Burnley: The Premier League's Budget-Friendly Fan Experience
Sitting next in the table are fellow promoted side Sheffield United. A trip to Bramall Lane in the first few weeks of the season would see you £69.90 lighter if you were to buy all the times above.
Somewhat unsurprisingly it is the third and final promoted club which finds itself third in the table and with Luton now reaching the promised land of the Premier League, their supporters will soon be asked to spend £70 and some additional pennies to go with it.
Of the more established top-tier outfits, it is Brighton and Wolves who are commended for the cost-cutting, as a trip to either The Amex or Molineux would see you forking out £71.60 in total.
At the other end of the scale, it is London where things start to get mightily expensive. The four most costly clubs are all found in the capital. Each of this quartet is going to cost at least £93 to buy the items in question.
While it is certainly not helped by having to spend £5 on a matchday programme at the Emirates and that is before you have just spent £6.30 on a pint. Add a pie and a shirt into the mix and the support of Arsenal is going to set you back £96.10 - the highest in the league.
The Cost of Backing the Gunners: Arsenal's High Matchday Expenses
Best Value Cost Per Goal
| Stadium | Club | Capacity | Season Tickets Sold | Percentage of season ticket holders | Cheapest Season Ticket 23/24 | 2022/23 Home Goals | Price Per Goal |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Etihad | Manchester City | 53,400 | 40,000 | 74.91% | £385 | 60 | £6.42 |
| Turf Moor | Burnley | 21,944 | 15,000 | 68.36% | £335 | 49 | £6.84 |
| Bramall Lane | Sheffield United | 32,050 | 20,000 | 62.40% | £404 | 47 | £8.60 |
| London Stadium | West Ham | 62,500 | 40,000 | 64.00% | £310 | 26 | £11.92 |
| Brentford Community Stadium | Brentford | 17,250 | 10,000 | 57.97% | £419 | 35 | £11.97 |
| St James' Park | Newcastle | 52,305 | 30,000 | 57.36% | £438 | 36 | £12.17 |
| Craven Cottage | Fulham | 29,600 | 12,000 | 40.54% | £455 | 31 | £14.68 |
| Anfield | Liverpool | 53,394 | 27,000 | 50.57% | £699 | 46 | £15.20 |
| Old Trafford | Manchester United | 74,310 | 52,000 | 69.98% | £559 | 36 | £15.53 |
| Kenilworth Road | Luton | 10,356 | 7,000 | 67.59% | £510 | 31 | £16.45 |
| The City Ground | Nottingham Forest | 30,332 | 16,000 | 52.75% | £465 | 27 | £17.22 |
| The Emirates | Arsenal | 60,704 | 40,000 | 65.89% | £974 | 53 | £18.37 |
| Villa Park | Aston Villa | 42,657 | 30,000 | 70.33% | £610 | 33 | £18.48 |
| Tottenham Hotspur Stadium | Tottenham | 62,850 | 45,000 | 71.60% | £807 | 37 | £21.81 |
| Falmer Stadium | Brighton | 31,800 | 22,000 | 69.18% | £860 | 37 | £23.24 |
| Selhurst Park | Crystal Palace | 25,486 | 18,000 | 70.63% | £545 | 21 | £25.95 |
| Molineux | Wolves | 31,750 | 22,000 | 69.29% | £525 | 19 | £27.63 |
| Vitality Stadium | Bournemouth | 11,307 | 7,000 | 61.91% | £594 | 20 | £29.70 |
| Stamford Bridge | Chelsea | 40,343 | 28,000 | 69.40% | £595 | 20 | £29.75 |
| Goodison Park | Everton | 39,414 | 31,500 | 79.92% | £515 | 16 | £32.19 |
With 2023/24 season ticket costs being announced, we can now work out what the price per goal would be if they were scored at the same rate as the previous campaign.
The biggest value can be found at the Etihad. The cheapest Manchester City season ticket is £385 going into the new season and with 60 home goals scored in the previous campaign, that works out at just £6.42 a goal.
A phenomenal figure for a phenomenal squad and after winning the treble last time around, Pep Guardiola’s men know they will have a target on their back. However, they do say the fans are the 12th man and at that value, they will be ready to cheer their team on.
Once again, a trip to Burnley looks like it is in order. The Clarets scored 49 goals last season and with their cheapest season ticket being £335 for the new campaign, that equates to £6.84 per goal.
However, we do need to offer something of a disclaimer and with Vincent Kompany’s men earning promotion from the EFL Championship in May, they now have to ply their trade at the top level, and scoring 49 home goals in the process may be something of a struggle.
Sheffield United find themselves third, but once again the same promotion caveats as Burnely apply. This means we will look at West Ham in fourth place instead and their price per goal of £11.92.
The Hammers delivered European silverware at the tail end of 2002/23 and they also delivered rather decent value when it comes to the price per goal. A season ticket is as little as £310 and if they repeat their tally of 26 goals, there would be change from £12 per goal.
Of course, for all the winners there are losers as well and the biggest is Everton. They may have the highest percentage of season ticket holders but they also have the highest price per goal.
Sean Dyche’s men scored just 16 home goals last season and this would work out at £32.19 per goal if based on the cheapest season ticket for the upcoming campaign. Not what you need in the current financial climate.
With that being said, things were not a great deal better at Stamford Bridge. The cheapest season ticket is £595 at Chelsea, only 20 goals were scored last season. Each of the goals equates to just under £30.
The Blues often squabble with both Arsenal and Tottenham in the Premier League. By comparison, the Gunners’ goals cost £18.37 each and Spurs were in excess of three pounds more at £21.81. Once again showing that the value is not to be found in London.
Methodology and data sources
https://www.football-stadiums.co.uk
https://theathletic.com/4625027/2023/06/22/premier-league-season-tickets-price-increase-2023-24/
Club Shirt Data taken from visiting each club shop website and pricing men’s home shirt for 2023/24.
About OLBG
OLBG is a sports betting community whose users help each other to find the best bets and the best betting sites to place them at. If you are interested in opening a new online betting account then you may want to check out the latest free bets. For those who like to try their luck at the casino, OLBG also has lists for the best UK casino sites and latest casino offers.
You May Also Be Interested In
The Cost of Empty Seats: How Much Every Premier League Club Loses Every Matchday From Unsold Seats
All Time Premier League Points Table
Premier League Fans' Cost: Following Your Team All Season in 2024/25
