Put your shirt on Chelsea to save

Chelsea might think they're big name stars but they're really the Premier League's smallest and cheapest squad while Blackburn are the proper big names, according to Virgin Money.

In reality the Blues are not big names - research by Virgin Money shows the average length of surname at Chelsea is the shortest in the Premier League.

Chelsea score because when a fan wants a player's name on the back of a replica shirt at 50p a letter, the average surname length is shorter. And that means the cost is £2.83 compared to an average £3.50 at Blackburn.

But that's just the average and parents better hope their children don't support real big names like Man City and England's Shaun Wright-Phillips. With 15 characters in his name he is the Premier League's most expensive. However his Brazilian team-mate Jo is the Premiership's cheapest with just the two letters making him £1 to Shaun Wright-Phillips' £7.50.

The Virgin Money name game shows the average length of a Premier League player's surname is 6.64 letters which would cost £3.32 to put on the back of a shirt. There are 33 players with four-letter surnames including major stars such as Michael Owen, Darren Bent, Ledley King, Petr Cech and Dirk Kuyt.

And the influx of foreigners is not the only influence behind long surnames - along with Shaun Wright-Phillips there is Tom Huddlestone of Spurs and Danny Higginbotham of Stoke among the big names.

Virgin Money's Grant Bather said: "We now know who the real big names in the Premier League are and Chelsea are left trailing. Man City must be kicking themselves for the signing of Jo which has sent their average down.

"Parents with kids who are big Shaun Wright-Phillips' fans must be hoping they'd turn to Jo as every little helps in the current economic climate and a £5.50 saving is not to be sniffed at.

"Of course Shaun Wright-Phillips and the other big name players are worth the money and the cost of putting a player's name on the back of a shirt is not the biggest issue facing football today.

"There is though a serious point that fans are paying through the nose to follow their teams. Our Football Fans Inflation Index shows the costs of going to a game have risen 21 per cent in the past few months and by more than 36 per cent since 2006. Clubs often seem like they'd be happy to take the shirt off fans' backs."

Virgin Money's Football Fans' Inflation Index has been tracking the costs of being a supporter since January 2006 and currently shows the cost of a match day for an individual is £106.21 - the first time the index has broken the £100 barrier. Since the index began costs have risen by more than 36 per cent and new figures are due in January 2009.

The index is aimed at helping supporters keep track of the rises and falls in the costs of supporting their team. The company identified the match day essentials fans buy and keeps tabs on increases and decreases.

At the launch of the index in January 2006, the match day basket of goods cost £77.95. However the most recent analysis puts the cost at £106.21 - a rise of £28.26. An increase in the cost of replica shirts, petrol, food, alcohol, match tickets and rail fares are primarily the cause of the extra expenditure facing fans.

Virgin Money's Football Fans' Prices Index runs every three months and looks at the cost of a typical basket of goods monitoring the ups and downs of prices. The next index will be available in January 2009.