Running a hockey team isn't as easy as some folks think....

As is the norm for the summer months, every hockey club in the country has been taking a long hard look at its finances and making important decisions for the forthcoming season as to how much income it needs to meet its expenditure.

The most obvious signifier of the need for most, if not all, teams to increase their cash flow has been the rise in 'game day' ticket prices. Pretty much every EIHL team will be charging more for 'walk up' sales than they will be for pre-booked sales. The amount varies (between £1 and £2 depending on the club), which isn't a whole lot. For most teams this will be an extra couple of hundred quid at the most.

However, to listen to most of the online fanbase, this increase is tantamount to daylight robbery! Fans on forums the length and breadth of the country are up in arms ('How can they do this! It's not fair!'), with a few souls daring to pop their head over the paraphet and defend the action.

Yes, no one likes to see a price increase, but given the rate of inflation, price rises are inevitable. Its a simple equation: increased expenditure = increased income required to maintain status quo. Thats all there is to it. The clubs are not being greedy as some folks suggest. Nor have they taken the decision lightly. They have made a purely financial decision, designed to help them keep on putting a team on the ice week in, week out.

But what pisses me off the most is the sheer number of people who seemingly cannot see this. Some are complaining about the inconvenience of making an advance purchase (which, in my experience is always more convenient than queing up at a box office waiting for them to serve everyone...especially as at most rinks you have to queue outside, which isn't ideal in mid January), some about how it will 'kill the club' (give me a break....most regualr supporters buy in advance or have a season ticket, so won't be affected), and some are just using it to have yet an other pop at the clubs they just don't like.

Fact is running a hockey team is expensive. People have to accept this and move on. I remember the uproar when ticket price moved above £10 (some 8 seasons ago). Then when the moved above £12, and now £15. Prices are what they are. Most clubs offer way of getting cheaper tickets. Move along people