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Barry Ferguson backs Sevco’s Celtic ticket cut

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Image for Barry Ferguson backs Sevco’s Celtic ticket cut

Barry Ferguson believes that Sevco’s decision to boot Celtic fans out of the Broomloan is a money spinner for the Ibrox club.

In July 2017 the former Rangers (IL) skipper declared himself bankrupt before HMRC began work to recover the income tax, national insurance, interest and penalties owed on the £2.7m he received as disguised remuneration rather than EBT payments as claimed.

According to Ferguson the move will bring in an extra £2.5m which could fund the transfer fee for Carlos Pena or pay the wages of Bruno Alves for two years.

Reacting to the news Ferguson told Daily Record readers: “My attitude to Rangers cutting Celtic’s allocation to 800 tickets? So be it.

So much of a fuss is being made over this decision, but if it generates more money for Steven Gerrard, great.”

He explained: “The bottom line as to why Rangers will now look to sell 7,000 more season books is that it will significantly increase revenue this summer.

I’d imagine the cost of a season ticket is just over £350 so by my reckoning that’s almost £2.5m in extra revenue, so it makes perfect sense to do that.

It’s more money in the coffers for the new manager as he looks to recruit new players and he’ll require significant funds to do that.

Having thousands of Celtic fans inside the stadium created a brilliant atmosphere and there is a part of me which is saddened that this will no longer be the case but the bigger picture is about Rangers rebuilding and getting stronger.

I loved to hear them singing and rubbing their counterparts up the wrong way, all of that created the atmosphere but let’s see how it works next season.

The suggestion that Rangers are being petty and this is some kind of tit-for-tat decision isn’t a camp I sit in.

I’d like to think this move has been triggered purely as a way to create more revenue.”

It is highly unlikely that there are 7,000 fans waiting to shell out £350 to watch Scott Arfield and James Collins even though the gullible can never be underestimated.

Season ticket’s generally under price tickets, selling on a game by game basis brings in more money with sell-outs assured to watch the former Liverpool youth coach strut his stuff.

All of the bigger English clubs, including Manchester United, restrict the number of season tickets available. This allows them to sell at a greater price and engage with more fans with occasional supporters spending much more on club merchandise.

Should Sevco uncover an ‘extra’ £2.5m through season ticket sales their match by match income will become negligible with members of their worldwide fan-base struggling to see the Ge55ard revolution live.

In February Close Brothers are due to be repaid £3m plus interest, if Sevco don’t have that cash at hand they risk handing the stadium over to the corporate lender of last resort.

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