Paper Round: Chelsea give out 'free' tickets - Yahoo! Eurosport UK
If a football club is offering free tickets for a big match you would not expect the team's fans to be unhappy about it but that might just be the case at Chelsea.
Fans of the Blues are planning to boycott Wednesday night's Champions League clash against Genk in protest at the club's decision to up the price from £30 to £40 this season for Champions League group games.
However, the Daily Mail is claiming that the fans' protest could fall flat because the club's hierarchy are now giving tickets away for nothing to ensure that people turn up to the ground.
Trizia Fiorellino, chairwoman of the Chelsea Supporters Group, is quoted in the paper as saying: "We are led to believe from a number of sources that the club have given away a significant number of tickets to give the illusion that the boycott is not as widespread as many of us feel it is."
The last time Chelsea fans boycotted a Champions League match over price increases was four years ago when less than 25,000 turned up for a match against Rosenborg.
It will be interesting to see what the attendance will be on Wednesday, but Chelsea have claimed they have not given away any more tickets than they did for their opening group clash against Bayer Leverkusen when the crowd was just under 34,000.
The Daily Mail adds: "Last season, Chelsea recorded attendances of more than 40,000 for their home group games against Marseille, Spartak Moscow and Zilina. But there are no plans to reassess the £40 price."
Not much in the way of transfer gossip in Tuesday's papers, but the Guardian did pick up on quotes from Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger given to French radio where he admitted that "half the dressing room wanted to leave," the club in the summer.
"You're preparing for a season where you don't know who's going to come in, the players who are staying are asking themselves what's going on at the club, you've got a pre-season tour of Asia. It was extraordinarily difficult," said Wenger.
"What saved us is that we're a club that are extremely solid and united. Other clubs would surely have gone to pieces in those circumstances."
According to the Daily Express, striker Robin van Persie has told close friends that he has "no intention" of leaving Arsenal in January but he also wants to see the club match his own ambitions before committing to a new deal.
In an interview with the Daily Telegraph, David Beckham says he wants to keep playing until he is 40.
Paris St Germain have been heavily linked with the 36-year-old, but Beckham said he only wanted to play for a team that would offer regular first team football, and said there was a "good chance" he would extend his deal with the LA Galaxy.
Chelsea are eyeing Chilean defender Igor Lichnovsky. The 17-year-old is on the books of Santiago side Universidad de Chile, and has played for his country at youth levels. (Daily Mirror)
David Moyes admits it will be difficult to hang onto Ross Barkley, even though the 18-year-old is about to sign a new long-term deal. (The Sun)
The Bristol City board are split on who should be the new manager with former Barnsley boss Mark Robins and St. Johnstone manager Derek McInnes the final two contenders. (The Sun)
Derby boss Nigel Clough is speeding up contract talks with midfielder Jeff Hendrick in a bid to scare off interest from Wolves. (The Mirror)
And finally, Championship leaders Southampton are set to test Birmingham City's resolve to keep Liam Ridgewell with a bid in January.
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Source: http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=t&fd=R&usg=AFQjCNEsQKBJXX9bKEs-B9Fnlw07unzTWA&url=http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/18102011/58/premier-league-paper-round-chelsea-give-free-tickets.html
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