BOLTON Wanderers are unlikely to follow Blackburn in drastically slashing ticket prices for top Premiership matches at the Reebok, despite sharing their local rivals' concerns over falling attendances.

Reebok officials are looking at ways to attract bigger crowds and are focusing strongly on the cost factor.

But they will wait to see the results of Blackburn's decision to cut ticket prices by more than half for the Ewood Park derby on Sunday, October 22.

Rovers, who have seen attendances plummet from an average of 24,400 in the 2003-04 season to the current level of 19,400, took the radical step this week of announcing prices for the Bolton game of £15 for adults and £5 for concessions - for their home fans and visitors alike.

But, in doing so, chairman John Williams acknowledged that the club's season ticket holders would not benefit directly from the matchday ticket deal - and that is the issue most worrying Wanderers officials as they look to pull the crowds back in at the Reebok, where numbers are dramatically down on last season.

They have not disclosed the various measures they are considering, but they are believed to be looking closely at the categorising of games, which are graded from C (£29) to A+ (£39), as a means of lowering matchday prices.

Commercial director, Gareth Moores, said: "In the past, we've taken some very successful ticketing initiatives and this is something we will, continue to monitor.

"However, we are ever mindful of protecting the interests of our loyal season ticket holders, who have made a strong commitment by paying up front for their tickets to watch football at The Reebok.

"The categories for the second half of the season will be announced in due course and we are looking at other initiatives for the second half of the season."

Whatever initiatives are taken by individual clubs, there is no doubting the widespread concern over the dramatic drop in Premiership attendances.

Wanderers, who averaged 26,718 in 2003-04 are currently running at 22,566 and, apart from the game against newly-promoted Watford, crowds are all well down on last season's corresponding fixtures: Tottenham (26,634 down to 22,899), Middlesbrough (22,733 to 21,164) and Liverpool (27,604 to 25,061).

The Spurs and Liverpool games were screened live on Sky TV, which will have had a bearing on the crowd figures, but there is no denying that there is a worrying trend developing, the first signs of which became evident in the summer, when season ticket sales slumped from last year's record 19,000 to an estimated 16,000 (Wanderers have repeatedly declined to reveal the precise figure) despite prices being pegged.

Sam Allardyce sparked a wave of reaction from supporters when he voiced his concerns and appealed for the stayaways to return and give his team the backing they need.

But the lack of any significant surge at the turnstiles, despite Wanderers riding high in the Premiership, illustrates the scale of a problem that is clearly confronting many top flight clubs and which prompted Blackburn to make their groundbreaking move.

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