On a day when "up to two million" public sector workers are set to go on strike in the UK over pensions, Ipswich Town fans woke up to yet another 'morning after the night before' hangover following last night's heavy defeat at Burnley. This combination of events got me thinking: what would be the effects of football fans taking strike action?

Of course, it would be inappropriate to draw a direct comparison between rowing over pensions and attending football matches. Issues regarding work and pensions have an enormous impact upon people's quality of life, whereas football is - to use that hugely frustrating term - 'only a game'. If you are reading this, however, football is an important element in your daily life. So hopefully you'll forgive me for comparing the two.

My question (for this blog, I admit, will provide more questions than answers) is this: if people are willing to walk out from their workplace in the hope of contributing to a better future, why not do the same at the football stadium? Would walking out on our beloved ITFC, however painful, lead to an improvement in our supporting 'conditions' (cheaper tickets, better atmosphere at the ground, improved club-supporter relations)? We're all frustrated at the moment, but would such 'strike action' be positive, or would it do more harm than good?

Looking at fans' comments on TWTD, some things are very clear. One of these is that supporters feel that ticket prices are too high. This is by no means a phenomenon unique to our club, but the combination of high ticket prices, economic instability, poor footballing performances and over-paid and inaccessible players makes shelling out to attend games much harder to swallow.

Some supporters have voted with their feet and their wallets, as dwindling attendances at 'Fortress PR' indicate. On the other hand, many fans continue to attend games as their hearts rule their heads. Of course I understand this (been there, done that), but my personal circumstances give me a different perspective on following the Tractor Boys.

As my user name suggests, I am currently based in France (where striking is a national pastime!). Obviously this means that owning a Town season ticket, as I did for many years from the age of seven (1993/94 season) until I stopped living in England full time (2006/07 season), is now unfeasible. Thus, I don't face the same yearly temptation to buy/renew a season ticket as many of you surely do.

However, this geographical distance from 'the IP' also gives me a certain (very small) amount of emotional distance from what's going on at Portman Road. Furthermore, my current location also allows me to compare ITFC ticket prices to those elsewhere. Here's an example:

Town just released pricing details for half-season tickets. £260 (or more, in some cases) for 12 league games. Maybe prices are cheaper in other areas of the ground, but in any case the general consensus seems to be 'Given current circumstances, who's going to pay that?'. Fair point I reckon, but the club obviously feel that their pricing, to watch what is currently the 41st-best team in England, is appropriate.

On the other hand, yesterday I bought an Olympique Lyonnais half-season ticket. Granted, the French Ligue 1 season is shorter than that of the Championship, so the offer was for 'just' 10 home league games. However, OL (who are currently fifth in the French premier league, are participating in this season's Champions League and have been national champions as recently as 2008) also threw in a ticket to a Coupe de la Ligue (League Cup) game against Lille, a ticket to watch the Lyon women's team (current women's Champions League champions), two DVDs, a team poster, two pocket fixture lists (men's and women's teams) and a card holder. The total price? 99 euros (currently £84.54). I paid the same amount for just two tickets for me and my dad to watch ITFC's humiliating capitulation against Norwich last April.

I appreciate that ITFC's overheads may be greater than Lyon's (this is an assumption, as I haven't done the research to back this up). I also recognise that Lyon's income through things such as TV revenue, merchandising sales and advertising must be higher than Town's. Even taking all of this into account, however, I still struggle to understand how ITFC (and English football as a whole) can justify these prices - especially at the current time.

Another issue is atmosphere at the ground (or lack thereof). I have no idea how to solve this issue, but I'm 100% certain that paying through the nose to watch p***-poor football isn't going to boost fans' matchday enthusiasm. Nor is being asked to pay £40-£45 for a low-quality replica shirt that's likely to bobble/degrade after the first wear.

Even if one accepts the high prices involved in following a football team (after all, what hobby doesn't involve some financial outlay?), the least ITFC fans should be able to hope for is good club-supporter relations. Based, on my own experience however, Town fans are essentially taken for granted by the club. Some club employees (off the top of my head, Rosie who works in customer relations, the 'Northern lady' from Planet Blue and the friendly, competent Welsh steward who I encountered at last season's derby) are kind-natured and good at their jobs. More generally, however, our loyalty is ignored by ITFC.

When booking match tickets online last season, I entered my customer number. Up popped eight pages of previous orders (season tickets, home tickets, away tickets, coach travel...) - 19 years of support, 14 season tickets, thousands of pounds spent. Where does all that loyalty leave me in terms of my relationship with the club (bonus points, discounts, ticket offers, simple 'thanks for your support' messages...)? Precisely nowhere. And I know that many of you have invested much more time and money in following the Blues than I have through the years, so you have even more reason to grumble!

In his book Englischer Fussball: A German View of Our Beautiful Game, journalist Raphael Honigstein (of Guardian Football Weekly podcast fame) writes about the relationship between football clubs and their fans as being completely unreasonable and one-sided, particularly in England. I don't have the book to hand, but the general gist is that fans are the neglected partner who gives everything for little-to-no return, whereas the club is the dominant partner who spends all the family savings down the pub, sleeps around and then comes home expecting dinner to be on the table every night (my own words, not Honigstein's, but you get the point).

Anyway, I'm rambling. In conclusion, it seems that football clubs (not least our beloved ITFC) take our love for granted and give little or nothing in return. If fans were to 'go on strike', depriving the clubs of the financial oxygen of ticket and merchandising sales, the effects could be devastating.

Of course I don't want Town to go into administration (again) or, worse, to go out of existence. However, a supporters' strike (zero attendance at a home FA Cup game, for example) would at least show the powers that be that things can't go on as they are at the moment. After all I, like many others I'm sure, would have more pride in my club if the ticket prices were slashed, the ground was full, the team was full of appropriately-paid, hungry players (youthful and with at least some local representation) and if ITFC showed more respect to its fans.

I accept that my ideas are far from being fully developed, nor are they particularly new or unique, but I'd love to have the thoughts and opinions of other ITFC fans as to what we could do to bring back the joy of following ITFC and football as a whole.

Football is very important to me and ITFC has been (and remains) a hugely significant element in my life. It provides a daily talking point, has led me to meet many fantastic people and is an essential part of our town's - and county's - identity on a national and international scale. For these reasons, I firmly believe that positive changes need to be made in order to bring some respect back to our club. A supporters' strike may not be the answer, but it might be a start.

sharvey22 added 12:49 - Nov 30 Very interesting read.. I especially agree with the fact that those who have been so loyal over the years at least deserve some form of credit!
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Kitman added 13:28 - Nov 30 I can relate to most of that. Well put
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matt98765 added 14:45 - Nov 30 What is wrong with people? If you don't like it just don't go. People strike because they can't not just turn up for work if they have an issue as they will be sacked. Striking is completely the wrong term to use for football.....boycott maybe but don't use strike in relation to football, as it infers football is far more important than a game which people should remember it just is!!!!

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tractorboy2434 added 15:29 - Nov 30 I have advocated a boycott for some time, the only thing the fools in charge at PR understand is money, they could'nt give a hoot for the fans, I hold 3 ST's and had to force myself to renew, completely against my better judgement and where has it got me, hardly finished paying for the damn things and already can't be bothered to go, bring on tghe boycott and let them see what a 10K gate look like or less.

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Reuser31 added 15:47 - Nov 30 Interesting points, the club have been taking the p*ss for the last few seasons. I hope Mr Evans and Mr Clegg read this.
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Garv added 17:31 - Nov 30 Football fans should be prepared to pay money sometimes for next to no entertainment or success, but as you say, not this much.
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fourth added 20:48 - Nov 30 I live near Pau in South West France and hardly dare listen to the commentary these days. I like to have a happy theme to my day. I started supporting ITFC (where on earth did the phrase "Tractor Boys" come from?) in 1953 and have put my small hopes into the ether to push the lads one step forward to the opponents' goal. There is something going on at Portman Rd that defies understanding. Good players. Good Manager. Dreadful results. And I just wonder (as one possibility) whether there is a possible betting scam going on.

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PJ_Needs_Duncan added 23:45 - Nov 30 I agree Jewell out
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VanIsleBlue added 04:22 - Dec 1 I enjoyed the article. Somthing that resonates was that Ipswich plays a important part of my life. I to was a season ticket holder until 1999, a regular visitor to PR from 1978 but now live in Canada. My love of the club is too powerful to ever go away- however football has changed even since 1999- money is too powerful and the players don't give a sh?t. I prefer to remember Terry Butcher, Johnny Wark, Kevin Beattie, Ian Atkins and Jim Magilton than Lee Bowyer, Jimmy Bullard, Nathan Ellington and Ingimarsson...RIP

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Daleyitfc added 09:46 - Dec 1 It's coming to something when Ian Atkins is one of the players you prefer to remember ...
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yorksblue added 12:08 - Dec 1 At least he had some balls, unlike the current bunch of misfits.
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Vexorg added 12:33 - Dec 1 "if people are willing to walk out from their workplace in the hope of contributing to a better future" Better future? Er, no, because, like most people in the modern world, they want something for nothing i.e. to pay the same/nothing into a gold-plated pension plan that lasts them their lifetime despite that the fact that since they were born their life expectancy has increased by a good ten years i.e. an average 17 year retirement vs a 7 year one. Ah, but then they didn't do basic economics at any stage of their lives so that's OK.

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ITFCenFrance added 19:16 - Dec 1 Thanks for all the feedback. Just to respond to some of your points: matt98765: Fair point. My tongue was firmly in my cheek when I used the word 'strike'. It seemed topical due to yesterday's news and the fact that I live among strike-loving Frenchies, but you're right in saying that 'boycott' is a much more suitable word. In fact, I even employed it while discussing this blog with a fellow TWTD contributor yesterday, so I agree with you on that point. I also agree that football is, after all, a game. Indeed, I even mention this at the beginning of the article. I disagree with you, however, when you use the phrase 'If you don't like it just don't go'. Many fans would love to go, but have been priced out over time. Garv: I didn't intend to imply, through this blog, that fans should only go to games if the team is entertaining and/or successful. Obviously there is no guarantee of either of these things and the very definition of a supporter must be someone who offers support, through think and thin. I still think that fans should be rewarded for their loyalty by being shown respect, however- and I include reasonable and appropriate ticket pricing within the idea of 'respect'. fourth, VanIsleBlue, Daleyitfc, yorksblue: I love hearing about the heroes and villains of each different ITFC era! it does seem that, during each successful period at the club, there has always been a 'local' (Ipswich/Suffolk) presence in the squad. Largely lacking at the moment sadly...

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ITFCenFrance added 19:41 - Dec 1 sharvey22, Kitman, tractorboy2434, Reuser31: So what are the solutions? I suggested zero attendance at a cup game as it would perhaps be unreasonable to ask current season ticket holders to sacrifice an already-paid-for league game, but what other options are there? PJ_Needs_Duncan: Now now, I didn't say that! Things are grim at the moment but I'm always hesitant to suggest a change of manager. Who does the defensive coaching though? And what about motivation of the players? Obviously Jewell is the head man, but they players, backroom staff and execs all have their role to play. Vexorg: Those who went on strike ARE hoping for a better future- but you're right that they're motivations are arguably egocentric. I promise that this blog says nothing about my political views! You're right about the 'wanting for something for nothing' attitude of many people, though... I include footballers in this. I understand that their 'shelf life' is shorter than that of most careers, but their wages are still enormously disproportionate and I believe this is one of the factors that spoils modern football- the players are simply out to make as much as they can and they no longer care about 'representing their people' on the field.

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