West Ham fans leaving the Olympic Stadium early may not be getting full value for money - being as they missed a minimum of five goals last season.
Research has shown that the average Premier League football fan ducks out of home games seven minutes and 37 seconds early to avoid the hustle and bustle of leaving the stadium and the inevitable traffic getting away from the ground.With this in mind, a new study has analysed the closing stages of each Premier League side’s home games to evaluate what fans could be missing out on by leaving before the final whistle.
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The findings, from money saving website voucherbox.co.uk, reveal that the average Premier League fan missed eight goals by leaving early last season, representing an average wastage of £72.63 of a season ticket price, based on the share of goals missed.
However the average West Ham fan's wastage was slightly above the average figure at £76.05 - the tenth highest of the 20 Premier League teams.
The fans who wasted the most money on their season ticket by leaving 7.5 minutes early during the 2016/17 season were Arsenal, with the top five as follows:
1. Arsenal: missed 18% of home goals, accounting for £185.77 of the season ticket
2. Chelsea: 20% of goals, £150.00 wasted
3. Southampton: 24% of goals, £137.41 wasted
4. Everton: 24% of goals, £122.62 wasted
5. Swansea City: 24% of goals, £108.63 wasted
Meanwhile the fans who wasted the least amount of money on their season ticket by leaving 7.5 minutes early during the 2016/17 season were headed by Stoke City:
1. Stoke City: missed 4% of home goals, accounting for £12.25 of the season ticket
2. West Brom: 4% of goals, £14.78 wasted
3. Huddersfield Town: 15% of goals, £26.32 wasted
4. Newcastle United: 8% of goals, £26.86 wasted
5. Brighton: 7% of goals, £32.28 wasted
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Chelsea fans who lasted the full 90 were able to celebrate the most late goals. Accounting for all goals from the 83rd minute onwards, the Blues scored 11 times last season - more than double West Ham's late goals tally.
Including goals scored by visiting teams, early-leaving supporters of Everton and Swansea missed out on the most action, with 13 goals being scored after the 83rd minute at both Goodison Park and the Liberty Stadium respectively.
That being said, six of the goals at the Liberty Stadium were scored by the visiting team.
At the other end of the scale, Crystal Palace fans might want to duck out early – they conceded more late goals (six) than any other side last year. However, given that they also scored 21% of their goals in the closing stages, an early leave would waste £87.50 over the season.
The findings also reveal that Stoke followers would lose the least by heading home early. Just 4% of all Potters goals were scored in the final seven minutes, which equates to a £12.25 loss based on the cost per goal.
Sezer Yurdakul, Global Head of Online Marketing at Voucherbox said, "While we understand that some fans may want to leave games early to avoid the traffic, or perhaps just to get away from their team’s poor performances, our findings show just what fans could be missing out on."
League table of last 7.5 minutes of home fixtures
Goals scored/equivalent cost of ST wasted*
1. Arsenal: 7 goals, £185.77
2. Chelsea : 11 goals, £150.00
3. Southampton: 4 goals, £137.41
4. Everton: 10 goals, £122.62
5. Swansea City: 7 goals, £108.63
6. Crystal Palace: 5 goals, £87.50
7. Manchester Utd: 4 goals, £84.62
8. Bournemouth: 5 goals, £78.57
9. West Ham Utd: 5 goals, £76.05
10. Liverpool: 4 goals, £60.89
* Late goals define as goals scored from 83rd minute onwards. Cost per goal calculated as season ticket price divided by the total number of home goals scored by a team.
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