Matt Maher: Aston Villa fans left to pay for the price of success in Europe

Supporters who in recent years have become accustomed to rapidly climbing costs at Villa Park expected them to be high, particularly when last week’s draw threw up home ties with Bayern Munich, Juventus and Celtic.

But not this high. No-one truly believed the club would charge adult season ticket holders a minimum of £70 to attend one group stage game.

That’s a total of £280 if they go to all four ties. For season ticket holders in zone four, it works out at more than a third of the price they’ve already paid for the actual season ticket (£765), with the potential of more expense to come should Unai Emery’s team progress.

Those, remember, are the cheapest adult prices on offer. The price of an individual match ticket, for a non season ticket holder, starts at £85 and goes up to £94. Never will anyone have ever paid more to sit on the Holte End.

Of course, one of Villa’s main defences is this is the first time in four decades those on the Holte have been able to see such calibre of opposition in such calibre of competition.

Yet that argument, while confirming suspicions of rank opportunism, also comes dangerously close to suggesting the club see this season’s expedition into the Champions League as a one-off. Bigging up how special it is almost suggests you don’t expect to be back again anytime soon. Neither does the claim ramping up prices helps Villa when it comes to the profit and sustainability rules of which so much has been spoken this week.