[Archived] Poll - Falling Attendances.

[roverich]

I've gone for "poor standard of entertainment" but this very closely linked with the other (currently) leading vote "overpriced tickets". If the entertainment was better then the tickets wouldn't be overpriced but for the current level of entertainment, the tickets are way overpriced.

[Duff's Minder]

Overpriced tickets are the problem, full stop. Yes better football will bring more crowds as well but I have no idea how half the people at a football ground afford it.

I have no kids, no mortgage and a pretty good wage and going to football is still hugely expensive. I took a couple of people along to the match at Fulham last year and it cost over £100. How are people on low wages with kids supposed to afford that?

This isn't even a dig at the club because I know Rovers are about as cheap as anyone but the game needs to get back to it's senses, the huge increase in TV money over the last ten years should have gone on making attendance cheaper not £20m+ transfers!

Apart from the big games a match like saturdays should be £10-£20 max. Terracing would be one very good way to make some of this back.

[bob fleming]

they have an allocation of 3,000

340864[/snapback]

I'm sure that if they sell those 3000 we'll find some more seats for them somewhere.

£250 for a Season Ticket at Ewood / 18 home games = £ 13.89 per match. Surely "too expensive" isn't really the reason? Or is that the one that those who don't go anymore use as it springs to mind quicker than any other?

I don't think there's any one main reason - all those factors listed above plus some others.

[OscarRaven]

it's all right coming up with excuses,we need remedies like i have said it's up to the 16,900 that went on saturday to do something about it

340861[/snapback]

The 16953 are doing something about it!

i.e. turning up. No its the club management who need to address the "missing" fans situation.

[CAPT KAYOS]

They are ALL contributing factors that have culminated in the attendance on Sat.

340848[/snapback]

This is the be all and end all, which I have said before Rovers have managed to contribute to themselves.

Add this to the sterilisation of the game , standard of refereeing, attitude of players, players salaries, agents, overkill of the game on TV, 'new breed of fan' and cheaper alternatives, social communities or lack of it, FA/UEFA and the structure of the game etc. etc etc etc

Take your pick but all contribute in some way or other and snowballed into one are creating the problems/ dissatisfaction we are seeing now.

[SIMON GARNERS 194]

I'm sure that if they sell those 3000 we'll find some more seats for them somewhere.

£250 for a Season Ticket at Ewood / 18 home games = £ 13.89 per match. Surely "too expensive" isn't really the reason? Or is that the one that those who don't go anymore use as it springs to mind quicker than any other?

I don't think there's any one main reason - all those factors listed above plus some others.

340877[/snapback]

Most of the championship sides dont offer a season ticket that cheap...£13 a game!!!

What more can the club do?

[den]

There certainly are quite a few contributing factors, but what Ozziejones wants to know, is which is the SINGLE BIGGEST factor.

[cletus]

Football is no longer within the ecconomic reaches of the working class family.

Correct. Could cheap terracing be the answer then? Maybe the Riverside.

Never a truer word said!

I know lots of parents with families who`ve been to the Rovers before, but find it just too expensive to go every week. These are working class people who have to budget their lives. On more than one occassion, i`ve taken advantage of the £10 adult £5 child tickets & taken my nieces/nephews to games that they wouldn`t have gone to before. I once took 5 kids with me, ALL for £35. How much would that cost me at normal prices??

[CAPT KAYOS]

There certainly are quite a few contributing factors, but what Ozziejones wants to know, is which is the SINGLE BIGGEST factor.

340882[/snapback]

That's the thing Den /Oz- there isn't only one

Put up an argument for one side and something will happen that puts a question mark against it.

However, all rolled together and the interest as we see happening now begins to wane.

[DavidMailsTightPerm]

I think there is one thing that is missing from the list - much of our increase in fan base was during the "glory years" with Uncle Jack bankrolling multi-million pound transfers every season. We were linked with all the best players - and even managed to buy some of them.

Contrast that with the current Rovers set up - where we are paupers in comparison to Wigan !

I think this is one of the reasons why our attendances are falling quicker than average - but I feel we are just leading a trend which will eventually effect most of the Premiership. The prices are too high, there is saturation TV coverage (football first being largely to blame) and we have a league where nobody outside the top three has a realistic chance of winning anything.

[SIMON GARNERS 194]

Never a truer word said!

I know lots of parents with families who`ve been to the Rovers before, but find it just too expensive to go every week. These are working class people who have to budget their lives. On more than one occassion, i`ve taken advantage of the £10 adult £5 child tickets & taken my nieces/nephews to games that they wouldn`t have gone to before. I once took 5 kids with me, ALL for £35. How much would that cost me at normal prices??

340883[/snapback]

1 adult, 4 children = £35 this Wednesday....go get 'em Rovers fans!

Edited August 22, 2005 by SIMON GARNERS 194

[stuwilky]

they have an allocation of 3,000

340864[/snapback]

Well given that they have sold the lower tier allocation and a friend who is coming is rigth at the back of the Darren End I suspect they have sold closer to 4000 already.

[Biddy]

Something is going to crash sooner or later within football and it could be a toss up between premiership clubs and Sky (Sky Sports).

We are already witnessing the trend of falling attendances on the terraces but I believe that Sky's viewing figures could follow suit.

Some of the blame has already been put at Sky's door for putting too much money into the game as a reason for the falling attendances (hikes in players wages thus higher ticket prices and lack of passion from the players for the clubs). However I believe a similar reaction will take place with televised football. Already on here I've seen comments that TV coverage is too saturated and people can't even be bothered to watch most games (myslef included).

Just like myself, I have not been able to justify getting the whole sky package since it broke the £40 barrier. I have since dropped Sky Sports 2 so that I still get Premiership football but don't get Champions League, FA Cup and lower league football. If prices continue to rise then I will drop Sky Sports altogether. What will Sky's reaction be if a lot of subscribers start taking the same stance? More price hikes or paying less during the next round of tv rights? Either option will have a knock on effect.

Hopefully, the upshot will be that all football settles back to a respectable level of tv prices, ticket prices and most importantly, no prima donna players earning more than most of us can dream in one week alone.

Still, if we continue to play like we did against Fulham then I'll probably forget all this very quickly.

Edited August 22, 2005 by Biddy

[trawdenblue]

If there's too much footy on TV, then why are there still waiting lists for tickets at clubs like ManU, Chelsea, Arsenal, Liverpool etc?

In my opinion, crowds flock to watch these clubs because they are succesful and entertaining, something which the Rovers have not been over the last 2 seasons.

People will not get out of the armchair to watch mediocrity whether it costs £5 or £25.

Anyone remember the old 3rd Division in the early 70's? Crowds of 5000 at Ewood when they were struggling. Gordon Lee's champions of 74-75 attracted crowds of 15 - 20,000 on a regular basis.

Even in the championship (Division 1) a few years ago, Rovers average gate was 24,000.

Give people excitement and they will pay to watch.

[Paul]

This is the be all and end all, which I have said before Rovers have managed to contribute to themselves.

Add this to the sterilisation of the game , standard of refereeing, attitude of players, players salaries, agents, overkill of the game on TV, 'new breed of fan' and cheaper alternatives, social communities or lack of it, FA/UEFA and the structure of the game etc. etc etc etc

Take your pick but all contribute in some way or other and snowballed into one are creating the problems/ dissatisfaction we are seeing now.

340879[/snapback]

All very true and all irritate me in equal measure, some points move up and down the agenda depending on what's making the news. If we are talking specifically about Rovers the two points that really get to me are the recent (pre-Hughes) attitude to cup competitions and the appalling home performances for the last two years.

I fully appreciate cost is important to many families but do believe Rovers have done just about all that is possible on this side. I'm paying for four STs at the moment, £905 in total, as I'm having to sub my eldest. Over the season this represents a cost of £11.90 per game per person, it has to be the best value in the PL and Championship combined. However finding £900 per season for many households will be difficult, it would seem the only solution left to the club is to consider charging the equivalent on a matchday - £12 per seat and your still faced with having to find £50 evry other Saturday just to go to the footie.

[bubblerrovers]

We're the cheapest team to watch in the premiership but can understand why people state this as a reason. Wish the club could adopt a buy two get one free policy or something which would still be fare on season ticket holders. Im sure the prospect of seeing england's no. 9 and the best striker in england at the time made a huge difference thats my opinion, obviously we need to sign owen. haha however if mgp carries on he'll be a legend soon in enough in my eyes

[SIMON GARNERS 194]

If mgp carries on like he is he sadly wont be here long enough to be a legend.

[speeeeeeedie]

Innumerable factors are contributing to our decline. You can make decent arguments for all the poll options, but I would rather have one for gerneral health of the game. Football is suffering. Everyone wants to watch the "big 4" because they win everything, so they will be ok. They keep getting the money and buying the better players leaving us with the scraps.

As I've stated in other threads, and other have commented on, we don't have the aura that we did when we were Prem new boys beating all comers iwth swashbuckling Shearer scoring goals aplenty. The local public cannot be bothered watching mediocre Premiership football, it's just not as exciting as a trip to the Trafford Centre, even though it's probably cheaper.

[Uxbridge rover]

We might be the cheapest club to watch in the prem, but that doesnt mean to say the price of a ticket is cheap.I travel from london as often as I can, but with the job I do it is hard for me to get Sat off.The biggest put off for me was travelimg 440 miles at the cost of aprox £50 petrol, then by a ticket /beer/food and THEN see us get stuffed by Boro 4 nil.What a day that was But no doubt Ill be there again this season as often as I can. I hate loving rovers

[SIMON GARNERS 194]

Have to say there's been a steady queue of people at the TO all day.

[promoted2001]

Wheres Lack of success on the poll? Or an "other" option at least

[Presty On Tour]

when duff(quality) and dunn(local lad) left was a big blow to our att!!

i think people just follow the crowd and unlucky for us is that the crowd is leaving ewood park!!

[Scotty]

Have to say there's been a steady queue of people at the TO all day.

340905[/snapback]

Has your attendance obsession taken you to spying on the ticket office queues now? It's never too late to get help you know.

[SIMON GARNERS 194]

Wheres Lack of success on the poll? Or an "other" option at least

340906[/snapback]

Lack of success?????????

I know some bigger clubs than Rovers who would die to have won what we have in the last 10 years!

[SIMON GARNERS 194]

Has your attendance obsession taken you to spying on the ticket office queues now?  It's never too late to get help you know.

340909[/snapback]

Yes,I have a web cam set up on one of the houses on Nuttall st!