The Chief Executive of the Premier League, Richard Scudamore, is confident the top flight can survive the credit crunch and that gates will only fall by one per cent. "Of course the credit crunch is an issue because it is an issue for fans," said Scudamore. "People will be making choices with what they can do with their money. I can't predict whether they will give up their ticket - they might give up a couple of beers in the pub. But watching the game in the pub is a pretty poor substitute.
"Clubs like Bolton, Middlesbrough have addressed the issue, putting in the effort with marketing to get people in.
"Occupancy was 92% last year, a record. It may go down one per cent but we will hold at 91. The three clubs who came up are at 97% occupancy and above."
On the issue of corporate hospitality Scudamore was equally bullish - "But football is a relatively inexpensive form and also one that is easy to get plenty of people interested in. The most important income to most of our clubs is TV revenue - about 60% of clubs' average turnover.
"The second is season ticket revenue and merchandise. There are not seismic drop-offs in merchandising income."
Scudamore also believes the recession will encourage clubs to be financially prudent.
"There is a 'sobering' out there at the whole financial system. The ability to borrow money is restricted so clubs won't be able to do things. It is not unwelcome to us centrally.
"There is much less chance of a 'Leeds United' - the funders aren't going to take those chances, which is good."