Why does football treat its most committed supporters so poorly?

Not season ticket holders but the away fans who travel the length and breadth of the country noisily backing their teams through thick and thin.

It is tempting to question their sanity when we should marvel at their loyalty.

They endure clogged up roads and overcrowded trains to reach a ground where they often pay through the nose for a shocking view, to be treated with undue suspicion by over-zealous stewards.

Not every club can be tarred with the same, uncaring brush. There are exceptions, including Albion.

Away supporters at the Amex are treated as equals rather than second class citizens.

They get the same padded seats and access to travel, bar and wifi facilities as home fans. Serving staff even wear their colours.

This is the way it should be.

Some of the Premier League's lesser lights are also putting others to shame.

Swansea have ensured no away ticket this season will cost their supporters more than £22.

Stoke are subsidising as well. For the third year in succession their away fans are receiving free coach travel.

They have also struck, for the second year in a row, a reciprocal pricing deal with Newcastle setting away admission prices for the two fixtures between the clubs at a maximum of £20.

The Football Supporters' Federation are coincidentally advocating the same price cap across the board in the Premier League.

They co-ordinated a weekend of well organised protests at top flight matches which will largely fall on deaf ears.

There is no chance of their key plea becoming reality, despite a recent survey revealing the average cost of attending an away game in England is higher than anywhere in Europe.

It is cheaper to travel to some Bundesliga clashes than, for instance, from Chelsea to Newcastle. How crazy is that?

Too many clubs are far too greedy to respond to the FSF's demand.

The best they can hope for is more initiatives from more clubs like Albion, Swansea and Stoke to improve the lot of the away fan.

Another recent survey, this time by a national newspaper, about ticket prices in the Championship, harshly lumped in Albion as an offender because their most expensive seats at the Amex are £40 or more.

The Seagulls are more pro-active than most in their pricing policy. For Cardiff's visit on Saturday, for example, season ticket holders could bring two guests for a tenner each.

Albion, considering the facilities and matchday experience at the Amex, are much more price friendly than Leeds, where Seagulls supporters will pay £42 on the gate for the next away game, and Sheffield Wednesday. They charge £52 for some matches.

That is too much but the scrutiny should be on the Premier League, not the Championship, for one very simple reason - television income.

Second tier clubs are still heavily dependent on gate receipts, because they have such a small slice of the TV cake, around £9 million apiece from the latest Football League deal with Sky.

The club finishing bottom of the Premier League next season - who knows it could be Albion - will pocket approaching £100 million.

The example should be set by the fat cat powerhouses at the top of the game. They have to pay a lot more to attract star players from at home and abroad but the likes of the Manchester and North London giants run an increasing risk of fans voting with their feet.

Especially as, bearing in mind the failures in Europe, they are now watching an inferior product.