Last season may not have been a particularly fruitful season in the league for Manchester City, but according to the Evening News, The Blues are on top of the “Police Payments Table”, spending more than the other 19 Premier League clubs on police presence at league games.
Thanks to a Freedom of Information request, it has been revealed that last season The Blues spent just under £945,000 on having the Greater Manchester Police at games. Close rivals Manchester United came second (a pattern which many are hoping will be repeated this season) around £20,000 behind City.
However, the London teams – Chelsea, Arsenal, Tottenham, Crystal Palace and West Ham – played a total of just under £180,000 between them, and Chelsea took up more than half of that, at slightly less than £95,000.
The big difference in prices between the Mancunian clubs and the London clubs has led to a defence of costs from the GMP, who say the clubs are charged the right amount for the resources required.
The FOI request also revealed the matches considered to be “high risk” by clubs, including the Manchester derby – and considering the results last season, that is likely to be a fairly astute assessment.
