IPSWICH TOWN: The Blues may be stuck in the Championship for another season, but fans are paying Premier League prices for their season tickets this year, new research has revealed.

Roy Keane’s team spent the early part of last season in the relegation zone before scraping a mid-table finish at the close of the superstar manager’s first term at the helm.

So fans may be surprised to hear the Tractor Boys charge more than Manchester United and Liverpool for their top seats at Portman Road.

At �1,001, a season ticket in D block of the Cobbold Stand is more expensive than the equivalent at sixth-placed Old Trafford (�931) and ninth-placed Anfield (�785).

Of the 92 English professional clubs, only Arsenal, Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur are asking for more for than the Blues for their best views this season – making Town’s top season tickets the priciest in the Championship.

The Gunners charge �1,825 for their prime viewing spots while at the other end of the spectrum Accrington Stanley’s most-expensive season ticket is priced at just �230, according to the report by FourFourTwo magazine.

A club spokesman said the 260 seats that make up block D are some of the best in the ground, offering views similar to the directors’ box, as well as some of the corporate facilities enjoyed by VIPs.

The spokesman said: “Block D is right on the halfway line, they are prime seats right opposite the directors’ box, so people get that type of view.

“There are some corporate facilities available, they have programmes and various other corporate benefits.

“They have always been the most expensive seats and views at the club. It is nothing new. They have always been a reasonable price and have always gone up in value in line with other ticket prices.

“I do think geography comes into it. Ipswich is in East Anglia, not far from London. I don’t think it is a coincidence that the clubs above Ipswich were all in London.

“It is a case of supply and demand. Those tickets are in demand. They always sell out, often to the same people year on year. So people want to watch football from these seats.”

The average season ticket at Portman Road this year will set an adult fan back �590.

And with 24 home goals scored on the Suffolk turf last season, fans are set to pay a high price for the moments of magic.

If Town do the same this season it will cost fans �24.58 each time the ball hits the back of the net at Portman Road.

But for fans in D Block that price jumps to a staggering �41.70 per home goal.

At Manchester United the average price of a season ticket is �730 and with 52 home goals scored last season fans would have to pay �14.04 each time their team scores. Chelsea fans only have to shell out �12.10 per goal, with average season tickets this year at �822 and 68 home goals netted last season.

n What do you think of the prices? Write to Your Letters, Evening Star, 30 Lower Brook Street, Ipswich, IP4 1AN or e-mail eveningstarletters@eveningstar.co.uk.