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Dedicated United fans could save over £1,300 this season

Old Trafford will host Atletico Madrid in the round of 16 UCL clash this season.
Old Trafford will host Atletico Madrid in the round of 16 UCL clash this season.

This year, COVID-19 has made it difficult for fans to attend matches. But, with home and away costs reduced, this season could be among the cheapest for dedicated fans. In this article, Peter Watton, from experts OddsMonkey, looks at the numbers to get a better idea of the savings.

The first half of the 2020-21 Premier League season hasn’t really been anything to write home about for fans of Manchester Utd. The team have been very inconsistent in the league and, thanks to the pandemic, fans have been stuck at home for most of the year, unable to attend games. It’s only in recent weeks that a small handful of supporters have been allowed into stadiums.

Despite the year being almost overwhelmingly negative for football, there has been one silver lining to all of the doom and gloom: fans are saving money. With most fans staying away from Old Trafford and the threat of further lockdowns if COVID-19 rates go up again, the only option for many people has been to tune into matches on TV or online, which is significantly cheaper than attending every home and away game. This means lots of dedicated supporters will be saving cash this season.

To get a better idea of just how much a hardcore United fan may be pocketing by following the team from home, I’ve compared the costs of last season to those this season. The results are shocking!

  • Looking at the cheapest season ticket prices (GOAL.com) from last season and the away match ticket and travel costs (by car)*, Unitedfans would have been paying £1,836.40 to attend all matches, home and away.
  • This year, the cost of all TV and online subscriptions (Sky Sports, ITV, and Amazon Prime) needed to watch every one of Man Utd’s Premier League matches comes to £535.84.
  • This means United fans will be saving up to £1,300.56 this year, a reduction of 71%.

While a saving of over £1,300 is certainly a lot, Man Utd supporters won’t be clawing back the most in the league, as others are set to save more. Though United’s cheapest season ticket last year was the sixth priciest in the league at £535, the club’s location means that fans only would have had to travel 2,448 miles to away games. Compare this to the likes of Newcastle (4,202 miles) and Brighton (3,377 miles) and it’s easy to see why United followers pay less in travel costs. Overall, the club is the ninth priciest team to follow home and away, which sneaks them just into the top half for savings.

Here’s how Unitedsit in mid-table when it comes to fan savings:

  1. Newcastle United: £1,711.76 (-76.16%)
  2. Arsenal: £1,641.26 (-75.39%)
  3. Tottenham Hotspur: £1,600.76   (-74.92%)
  4. Brighton & Hove Albion: £1,582.26 (-74.70%)
  5. Liverpool: £1,525.86 (-74.01%)
  6. Southampton: £1,385.06 (-72.10%)
  7. Chelsea: £1,372.56 (-71.92%)
  8. Crystal Palace: £1,354.06 (-71.65%)
  9. Manchester United: £1,300.56 (-70.82%)
  10. Burnley: £1,299.86 (-70.81%)
  11. Everton: £1,261.76 (-70.19%)
  12. Wolverhampton Wanderers: £1,182.66 (-68.82%)
  13. West Ham United: £1,170.46 (-68.60%)
  14. Sheffield United: £1,107.46 (-67.39%)
  15. Leeds United: £1,097.16 (-67.19%)
  16. Manchester City: £1,089.66 (-67.04%)
  17. Fulham: £1,060.26 (-66.43%)
  18. Leicester City: £1,029.16 (-65.76%)
  19. West Bromwich Albion: £1,023.46 (-65.64%)
  20. Aston Villa: £1,017.06 (-65.49%)

Please note:These calculations are based on the scenario that a fan doesn’t attend a Man Utd match at all this season — if they do, money would be spent,and the savings would be less.

While going to a match has proved difficult for fans this season, it will certainly be a cheaper one for dedicated supporters. United fans may be able tokeep hold of £1,300 over the coming months, which could come in handy in these testing times.

*Methodology: We took the cheapest season ticket prices from last season and combined them with the cost of travelling by car to each away game. The route was measured from stadium to stadium using Google Maps, and the fuel costs were calculated using the Government’s advisory fuel rates.

Written by Saiyed Karim

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