PARRY PROMISE FOR PREMIER LEAGUE FANS

Premier League chief executive Rick Parry today pledged that the fears and complaints aired by football supporters in the latest in-depth fans' survey would be addressed.

While the responses of more than 20,000 Premiership fans showed the ``feel-good factor'' around the game and that the glittering array of foreign stars had made football more attractive, not everything in the garden is rosy.

Women fans - now making up one in eight of Premiership audiences - are continuing to flock to matches, with two-fifths of all spectators watching more live football than they did five years ago.

The majority of fans are happy with the quality of the product on the field, despite English clubs' lack of success in Europe, with 70% feeling safer in all-seater stadiums than they did in the days of terracing.

But the fans did complain at the lack of ``atmosphere'' in the new-look grounds, the continuing use of bad language and the prices charged for away fans in an age when home fans in London have to get used to paying £20 for a ticket.

Launching ``The FA Premier League Fans' Survey 1995-96'', Parry promised that all three areas would be looked at.

``We've already set up a working party to look at the perceived lack of atmosphere inside grounds,'' said Parry.

``We've sent them to Italy, to look at what happens there and to try to come up with recommendations about what we can do.

``We're also examining ways in which we can eradicate bad language, something which has come up in this survey and from the supporters' panels we have at every club.

``Because we have all-seater stadia now, swearing has become more of an issue. If your season ticket is next to somebody who swears, you can't just move away, and we are looking at this problem.''

The problem of hiked-up prices for away fans was one of the subjects mentioned by report author John Williams, of the Sir Norman Chester Centre for Football Research.

He pointed out that Liverpool fans, who paid £13 for their side's game at West Ham two seasons ago, were forced to pay £22 for the same tickets last term.

``The issue of prices for away supporters is something that's going to be debated for the next six to nine months,'' said Parry.

``There are rules which state that clubs are now allowed to charge differential prices, but the games against the big clubs are always category A, meaning the top prices have to be paid. This is something that will be debated at length.''

Parry admitted that there were fears that younger fans, the supporters of tomorrow, might be priced out of the game, although he maintained there ``was no need to be ashamed'' of the fact that football is now attracting a more affluent fan base.

He added: ``We haven't commissioned this report to pat ourselves on the back or convince ourselves that everything is good, nor for merely academic interest.

``We were interested in getting relevant information from supporters and this research is a vital component in our efforts to understand what fans are thinking.

``We are clearly getting a lot of things right and perhaps our clubs deserve more credit than they sometimes receive for the improvements in people's experience of football over the past few years.''

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