THERE is only one way to bring the price of football tickets down and it will never happen.

While last week's protests against the high price of going to the game were worthy of support, they were a waste of time and effort.

As long as people continue to fork out for tickets football clubs will never reduce the price – at least not so much as it would make any difference to fans' pockets.

Why would they? As much as we like to take a romanticist view of our football clubs they are a business, and like any business they charge as high a price for their goods as they can.

If you run a shop and can sell your products for £50 would you choose to sell them for £20 instead?

Of course not, and football is no different. It's all about the bottom line.

So, what is this great plan that can bring down ticket prices?

Simple. Don't go to games.

Whoa! Talk about radical. Not watching your team is unthinkable for football fans, like not turning up for your wedding or being at the birth of your child – even more so for some.

That is in this country. In some other countries fans take a different view of things.

Bayern Munich fans drew up a code of conduct that Manuel Neuer had to abide by when he signed from their big rivals, and they are organised in a way that is so influential the club had to take notice, while in Italy Roma fans have boycotted games this season.

Those fans take no messing. English fans take no initiative.

The Twenty's Plenty campaign to reduce away tickets to a maximum of £20 is not only admirable, it is right.

But it shouldn't stop there. Home tickets of £50, £60 and more is just as exorbitant and only set so high because clubs know if one fan can't or won't pay there's another one who can and will.

If clubs didn't sell them they would be forced to take notice because the financial bottom line would take a hit – and the bottom line what really matters.

Of course mass boycotts of games is a non-starter with the way fandom is set up in this country.

Fans have no common connection other than their affinity to the same team so they have zero influence on decisions taken by their clubs.

Our fans like to moan – probably more than any other country in the world I suspect – and then they pay their money again to watch their club at any price.

Like lemmings they jump off football's financial cliff time and time again, not mindful nor prepared to do anything which might change the situation.

Any kind of influence is impossible. It would take a radical culture change to make it possible.

Supporters would have to act together and be organised together in dominant numbers, and be prepared to abide by the decisions of the majority regardless of how much it goes against the grain.

Moaning and protesting against the rising price of football has been going on for years and made not a jot of difference.

In fact, the price of football has been increased by clubs hungry for fans' money and deaf to their protests.

Fans can join the protests, make their banners and complain at the top of the voices, it will make no difference to the unstoppable trend of ticket prices being raised to pay for players' ever-increasing wages and the demand from clubs' businessmen for increased income.