West Brom Supporters' Club chairman happy with early bird 'bonus'

The Baggies have reduced the cost of season tickets by five per cent for all those who buy their seats before Saturday, June 3.

John Homer described it as a 'balanced decision' in the face of dwindling attendances.

"I know there are people around saying it should be more," said Homer. "But if you want to compete in this division, you have to make your money so I think the club have taken a balanced decision to reduce them by a little and still maintain the income we need to compete with the teams around us. In anything that you do, if you get a little bit off, it's a little bit of a bonus."

Homer is pleased new chief executive Martin Goodman reinstated concession prices to the Halford's Lane stand and believes the family area in that part of the ground is to be encouraged.

"I'm especially pleased that they've finally given us concessions in the middle blocks of Halford's Lane which has always been a bone of contention as far as I was concerned," he said.

"We were paying maximum prices and I think it was unfair. I've been in there since 1981, since it was built, and I've always paid full whack.

"People that got in there before they changed the policy got the concession and it stayed with them.

"But, at the end of the day the money I was paying was going towards a good cause anyway so I'm not too unhappy that I've paid over the odds."

Goodman has also created a new £45 season ticket for under 11s in the Halford's Lane stand.

Some parents are disappointed the cheap ticket is only being offered in one stand, and the one with the most expensive adult ticket at that, but Homer believes it's a good initiative.

"We need something to bring in the younger generation to the ground, and I think that is an encouragement," he said. "If you can get people in there with young children and they key in to the experience that is a good thing.

"I was 11 when my father brought me up and we stood in the crowd with everybody else, that's the way it was in those days.

"Now we've got the facilities to make it a comfortable experience for families so be it, away from some of the ribaldry and chanting and language you experience at games.

"It is embarrassing if you've got a child and someone is effing and blinding behind them."

However, Homer isn't sure if the savings will be enough to bring supporters back to the ground, and he reckons improved on-field performances this season will probably help more.

"It's a suck it and see situation," he said. "We've suffered a little bit from negativity within the press about how Tony Pulis was setting his team out.

"Within the circumstances that was absolutely essential, and he's developed it very, very slowly.

"It hasn't been a crash-bang thing, it's taken a bit of a time to get to a point where we can at last be a little bit expressive.

"We've got players like Nacer Chadli and Matt Phillips, pace throughout the side, more than we did in the past.

"He's worked with the resources and got maximum out of each resource he has, and I think we should be proud as supporters and a town team that we're in the top 10 and at this moment in time we're as high as we possibly can. That is a great achievement."