Premier bosses look to tackle poor gates

Premier League chiefs are to study whether rising ticket prices and television coverage have contributed to an apparent slump in top-flight attendances at a special meeting next month.

The league’s attendance working group, headed by chief executive Richard Scudamore, will deal with the concerns of several club chairmen who are seeing a dwindling number of fans coming through the turnstiles.

Blackburn chairman John Williams, a member of the working group, saw just 20,725 fans turn up for Sunday’s home match with Newcastle, 9,000 fewer than last season.