PHIL SMITH

KINGSTON-UPON-HULL, ENGLAND - Tuesday, April 28, 2015: Empty seats as Liverpool supporters boycott the game to protest at high ticket prices during the Premier League match against Hull City at the KC Stadium. (Pic by David Rawcliffe/Propaganda)

ISN’T it funny how things just seem to happen? How certain events seem to fall on a relevant date?

Tomorrow, Liverpool fans will travel to Hull City in the Premier League for the first time since December 2013.

Don’t try and correct me because the trip to Hull in April 2015 was watched in The Solly by the majority of the away end following a boycott of the game.

The silence from the away end would have been deafening to the top table of the Premier League.

Pictures of empty seats were shown around the world. How the Premier League try and sell their brand was blowing up in their faces.

Back in 2015, Hull had the nerve to try and charge adult away fans £50 for that game.

In fact, I dug out the full selling details for the game.

The ticket announcement on the official Liverpool website said: “Liverpool FC have released the following ticket sale information for the Barclays Premier League match at Hull City on Tuesday April 28.

KINGSTON-UPON-HULL, ENGLAND - Tuesday, April 28, 2015: Empty seats as Liverpool supporters boycott the game to protest at high ticket prices during the Premier League match against Hull City at the KC Stadium. (Pic by David Rawcliffe/Propaganda)

“The club has received an allocation of 2,506 stand tickets for this all-ticket fixture, to be played at the KC Stadium with kick-off at 7.45pm BST.

“Continuing with the Premier League initiative announced last season, Liverpool Football Club will be subsidising the cost of every match ticket purchased for this game by £2. The full face value of the ticket is in brackets.”

  • Adults – £48 (£50)
  • Young adults (16-22) – £28 (£30)
  • Over 65s – £28 (£30)
  • Juniors (11-15) – £18 (£20)
  • 10 and under – £10 (£12)

Fans bought £10 tickets and decided they would not travel to Humberside that night.

Before the boycott was announced I had arranged travel plans, but as soon as word spread about the boycott my plans had changed.

I would jump a taxi to Anfield, take part in the protest outside the ground before heading the pub to watch the match.

Following numerous protests, there was a feeling after the Hull boycott that the ball was firmly in the fan’s court.

Fast forward just under 10 months to February 4, 2016.

LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND - Saturday, February 6, 2016: Liverpool supporters protest with black flags and banners "Football without fans is nothing" before the Premier League match against Sunderland at Anfield. (Pic by David Rawcliffe/Propaganda)

It was announced by Spion Kop that they planned to walk out of Anfield on the 77th minute in protest of the initial ticket price announcement by FSG.

Despite many saying it wouldn’t happen, thousands walked and Liverpool were leading the way.

Yes, the walkout was more focused on the Anfield ticket prices, but it was also a message to the Premier League about prices in general.

Those over in Boston reacted first and changed the pricing structure for matches at Anfield and one month later the Premier League introduced a £30 cap on all away Premier League tickets for the next three seasons.

People doubted change would happen, but it did, and fans will continue to fight on making football affordable for all.

But more to the point of my opening line, when I said about things falling on certain dates.

The fixture that was the final straw for many falls on the one year anniversary of the walkout announcement. Seems fitting, doesn’t it?

This time it will be a full away end and nobody will have paid more than £30 for a ticket.

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Pics: David Rawcliffe-Propaganda Photo

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