[Archived] Poll - Falling Attendances.

[Exiled in Toronto]

Quite a few empty seats visible at the Hawthorns today. A crowd only marginally above our Spuds one, and that for a local derby against a "big" club.

[cletus]

.....Alot of empty seats in most grounds today.

[philipl]

This article bears out the contention that crowds are down. Incidentally, crowd numbers also seem to be a lot lower in the Football League as well.

[FourLaneBlue]

This article bears out the contention that crowds are down. Incidentally, crowd numbers also seem to be a lot lower in the Football League as well.

342391[/snapback]

Could this be in part the 'Ashes effect'? Will be interesting to see if crowds increase after the cricket stops dominating all the headlines or whether it is a longer downturn. However, as crowds have been increasing almost every year for a couple of decades there has to come a backlash sometime.

[thenodrog]

This article bears out the contention that crowds are down. Incidentally, crowd numbers also seem to be a lot lower in the Football League as well.

342391[/snapback]

Something that I've been mulling over recently......... How about organising a total BRFC boycott of the Chelsea away game on the 29th Oct? Everybody knows that the new 'media darlings' under the direction of Kenyon are spoiling the Prem League so why not all stay away? Remember... empty terraces make most noise in the boardroom. It would be brilliant if there was'nt a soul from BRFC there, the media could not ignore that and it would be lovely to see the likes of Hanson squirming in his seat trying to explain the unpalatable (to the likes of him) mood of the public.

Who knows if we managed it it might spread to other clubs and a united 'Stay away from the Bridge' campaign would send the best warning shot ever across the bows of the entire FA, media etc. We could all watch the game in the pubs and clubs anyway and the thought of chucking Abromovich £45 quid appalls me.

[waggy]

Something that I've been mulling over recently......... How about organising a total BRFC boycott of the Chelsea away game on the 29th Oct?  Everybody knows that the new 'media darlings' under the direction of Kenyon are spoiling the Prem League so why not all stay away?  Remember... empty terraces make most noise in the boardroom.  It would be brilliant if there was'nt a soul from BRFC there, the media could not ignore that and it would be lovely to see the likes of Hanson squirming in his seat trying to explain the unpalatable (to the likes of him) mood of the public. 

Who knows if we managed it it might spread to other clubs and a united 'Stay away from the Bridge' campaign would send the best warning shot ever across the bows of the entire FA, media etc.  We could all watch the game in the pubs and clubs anyway and the thought of chucking Abromovich £45 quid appalls me.

342469[/snapback]

good idea gord but i doubt pittard/jordan/birdy and co would agree

[thenodrog]

good idea gord but i doubt pittard/jordan/birdy and co would agree

342491[/snapback]

Well they should. Their gardens could probably do with a once over. Anyway such an initiative would be for the overall good of the game of professional football in this country .......... and they are all football fans aren't they?

Also they'd look pretty daft sat there on their own.

Edited August 28, 2005 by thenodrog

[cletus]

good idea gord but i doubt pittard/jordan/birdy and co would agree

maybe they could spread out & hold a boycott banner between them?

or

Maybe a good cause for BRISA to champion?

[ihateburnley]

Something that I've been mulling over recently......... How about organising a total BRFC boycott of the Chelsea away game on the 29th Oct?  Everybody knows that the new 'media darlings' under the direction of Kenyon are spoiling the Prem League so why not all stay away?  Remember... empty terraces make most noise in the boardroom.  It would be brilliant if there was'nt a soul from BRFC there, the media could not ignore that and it would be lovely to see the likes of Hanson squirming in his seat trying to explain the unpalatable (to the likes of him) mood of the public. 

Who knows if we managed it it might spread to other clubs and a united 'Stay away from the Bridge' campaign would send the best warning shot ever across the bows of the entire FA, media etc.  We could all watch the game in the pubs and clubs anyway and the thought of chucking Abromovich £45 quid appalls me.

342469[/snapback]

Good idea thenodrog, but would possibly be a bit hard to implement as we couldn't possibly get the word around every single Rovers fan that was considering going. I think we need to set up a protest against the way football in general is being handled financially, rather than simply protest against Chelsea because they are rich and too good and are spoiling it for the rest of us.

For the first time ever this season, I was considering starting to watch a smaller club like Accy Stanley or Colne because of the falseness and tackyness of football today. Obviously, I will always be a Rover - that is in no doubt. But I'm finding it ever more difficult to go and watch the club I love. The first home game against Fulham just about summed it up for me.

I sat in the Riverside stand because they were the cheapest tickets available, and although others might disagree, I have often found it a decent position to watch in terms of viewing and also if you sit nearer the BBE, you generally get a better atmosphere. I paid £20. Now the attendance figure has been well-documented - somewhere around the 17k mark. Fulham brought around 300 fans at a guess but how depressing was it to look across to the JW Stand and see literally thousands of empty seats. In times gone by, demand for seats in the BBE was incredible as the atmosphere was brilliant and always seemed like the place to be. Now though it is meerly a stand that gets filled first. The people that now occupy it feel like they are not supposed to sing, and the majority of the singing ring-leaders are being priced-out of tickets.

Now we simply have a situation where fans have to pick and choose what games they go to - and let's face it you're more likely to choose United, Arsenal and Chelsea at home than West Brom, Fulham and Portsmouth. We need to start reducing ticket prices to a level where we can fill our ground.

So if we sell 16,000 tickets at an average of £25 each, the club makes £400k.

Why not sell 26,000 tickets at an average of £15 each and make marginally less money?

Surely selling 10,000 extra tickets in itself wil generate more interest from the fans who crave better atmospheres! So in fact by selling an extra 10k tickets you might encourage an extra thousand to go on against the likes of Fulham. Everybody will be chuffed at the lower ticket prices so there will be a better atmosphere, people might spend more in the club shop and restaurants/bars as a result so the club will make up the money in other ways. ALL WE NEED TO DO IS START MAKING EWOOD LOOK MORE FULL AND CREATING A BETTER ATMOSPHERE, AND PEOPLE WILL WANT TO COME TO WATCH ROVERS!

B*rnley charge about £20 to go on the Turf and they average about 12k. New fans in the Preston/Burnley/Clitheroe/Blackpool/Chorley areas will look and think 'I can pay a fiver less and go and watch a Premiership outfit in a quality ground with a cracking atmosphere'.

We could even introduce schemes like 'bring your missus for a tenner' or 'bring the kids for a tenner each'. More people will come, trust me. And before people tell me this has been done before - yes you're right....but with the wrong marketing in the wrong areas. There's no point telling fans at Ewood that there is an offer on for the next game, because they will probably turn up anyway! Get posters in town centres, posters on buses, at the cinema in Blackburn, in SHOOT magazine or whatever. Let the world know that we are the Rovers, we play in blue and white, we have Craig Bellamy, we have cheap tickets, we fill our ground, and the atmosphere is ELECTRIC!!!

Or we could just carry on the way we are and slowly dwindle into a Sheffield Wednesdayesque club playing against the likes of Tranmere in the fizzy pop league in a half-full stadium (if we are lucky).

Come on guys - let's sort it out.

Edited August 28, 2005 by ihateburnley

[thenodrog]

B*rnley charge about £20 to go on the Turf and they average about 12k. New fans in the Preston/Burnley/Clitheroe/Blackpool/Chorley areas will look and think 'I can pay a fiver less and go and watch a Premiership outfit in a quality ground with a cracking atmosphere'.

342516[/snapback]

Surely matching that £20 should be enough. Why chuck £100,000 away if there is no need?

btw thats near where I sit in the Riverside and it is a cracking view.

[stuwilky]

I think it has been well proven that cheaper prices do not attract more fans.

[ihateburnley]

I think it has been well proven that cheaper prices do not attract more fans.

342525[/snapback]

Has it really? I think not.

If your using past examples like Charlton at home on a wet Monday night when it is on SKY, then I'd say that doesn't really count. We need to try it on the Saturday matches and maybe on the Wednesday nights against the bigger teams. Sunderland tried this idea to great effect in the late 90s when they saw a boom in the attendances at the Stadium of Light. Now however, they have put the prices back up, and you can see red seats all over the place.

I just tend to think that as an unfashinable Northern team, branded as 'bully boys' by the media, and with lousy attendances, we have little else more to offer new supporters looking for a club to support. We don't occupy a particularly large area by any means and we do have a lot of competition around here, so we need to make sure we have the cheapest seats with the best atmosphere. Once we get fans fixed on that, we can build on it and possibly become a 'big club'.

We need to:

o Reduce ticket prices

o Encourage external support from towns such as Blackpool, Burnley, Preston etc

o Advertise properly

o Drop the tacky family approach with the fancy music and entertainment

o Continue playing Wild Rover at home games

o Recognise and liaise with the proposed supporters association

o Turn Ewood into a stadium like The Hawthorns or St James' Park that is automatically associated with a good atmosphere

[philipl]

The Guardian this morning pointed out that the Villa v Rovers attendance was 6,000 lower than Villa's average last season. And Villa were parading their new £7m signing!

The full-on crisis is finally hitting the Prem:

- the effects of the Champs League means the top berths are unreachable for 70% of the clubs and the supporters know it.

- therefore avoiding Coca Cola oblivion is the order of the day in approximately 50% of all Prem games.

- therefore the quality of entertainment in the Prem has plummetted over the last three seasons. Great games are now the exception rather than the rule compared with when Alan Green said just before Christmas 2002 "I haven't seen a bad Premiership game yet this season".

- the fact Charlton have made a storming start is not registering anywhere outside north west Kent.

- prices have risen as the quality of the product has worsened.

- ipso facto, the people who go to football matches for the entertainment as opposed to tribal loyalty are staying away in droves.

Lower prices don't work, signing top players doesn't work, it is the fundamentals of the competition which have gone wrong and the British public recognises that and is now giving football a collective thumbs down.

The options for Rovers are to risk the business by blowing money on a player (or players) who could fail on the field or suffer a long term injury (highly risky) or simply hunker down this season and let the Souness contracts run out next June. The next few days could be interesting at Ewood on the transfer front but I think it will take a miracle beyond the club's control to get the crowds back to an average of 25,000+ any time soon

Edited August 29, 2005 by philipl

[Paul]

How about organising a total BRFC boycott of the Chelsea away game on the 29th Oct?  Remember... empty terraces make most noise in the boardroom.

342469[/snapback]

An excellent idea I'd support, which sounds hollow as our only PL away trip last season was to City. The principle is correct; for years the PL have stitched up the fans. Some of us have been preaching Sky and the PL are killing football for 2-3 years, now the majority are beginning to realise they have been taken for mugs. Our household boycotted Bolton the past two seasons after they stiffed us on prices two years ago. This year we'd be looking at £112 plus all the associated costs - I'm going on a charity bike ride instead and not even considering watching the game live. £112 to watch Wanderers v Rovers - frankly they are having a laugh it simply is not worth the money. It's quite likely we won't even see it on Sky - bad news for the advertisers.

As JW has said recently, I hope he has known this for years but only chosen to say it now, "football has to understand we are competing with other leisure activities." In my view the perceived value of football is dropping like a stone, it no longer represents value for money. For instance the price of a trip to the Reebok would also buy, and give you change:

JJB gym - 3 months membership

Next Generation gym - 1 months membership

Marineland (Nice) - 14 hours entrance including 5 performances, 45 minutes each

Test match at OT - 1.5 visits

T20 - 5 matches

Cinema - 5 visits

Prague - two return tickets

Prague - 4 nights dinner, B&B

It's simple, the clubs have been found out. If we didn't have STs we would not pay £102 in match day prices to watch Rovers v Newcastle. It is no longer value for money. While Rovers ticket prices may compare well within football they do not compare well with other leisure activities.

Personally I feel we have reached the point where £10 is a realistic match day ticket price. Why?

- the product is readily available

- 90% of the product is relatively poor quality

- widely available products have no market value

- the quality of the experience is very questionable

- nowhere else would I tolerate the treatment I receive at a football match

A product can only be sold at high market prices when it is unique or in limted supply. I happily shell out £40 for a major rock concert because it's an annual or less event but £40 for one of hundreds of matches taking place virtually every day? No, it isnt worth more than a tenner.

If the clubs don't see the warning signs now the problem will accelerate dramatically next year.

[waggy]

paul you have already like me made the decesion football is not worth the sacrifice anymore,this season being a world cup year i am not going to any away games apart from highbury this season,highbury being the last season arsenal will play there.i love going to old trafford but i refuse this season after glazier's take over.can jordan reply to this topic

[thenodrog]

An excellent idea I'd support,

342727[/snapback]

Made easier of course by the root cause of the problem........ after cost. The inescapable fact that the likes of the Knowles / Hordens / Woodlands etc etc show every game live on the telly.

ps .......as for

JJB gym - 3 months membership

Next Generation gym - 1 months membership

Marineland (Nice) - 14 hours entrance including 5 performances, 45 minutes each

Test match at OT - 1.5 visits

T20 - 5 matches

Cinema - 5 visits

Prague - two return tickets

Prague - 4 nights dinner, B&B

I'll go with the Prague bit but I'd rather stick pins in my eyes or suck worms than swap for the others (current test series excepted of course btw your day there Sat was washed out wasn't it?)............ good job we aren't all the same eh Paul?

[thenodrog]

Finally voted and am suprised to find that the alternative of watching the match in the pub is not top of the list. Without sounding pompous I wonder if people have considered the options through? Cos poor entertainment / cost of tickets or whatever most people will still watch in the pub and spend the money on beer......... imho.

[Paul]

We went to OT on the Friday and had a great day out.

[thenodrog]

We went to OT on the Friday and had a great day out.

342755[/snapback]

Sorry I thought you said you were going on Sat.

Dont want to be unsporting but 3-4 days rain at the Oval would be just the ticket in making up for the loss of a day at OT when we should have won.

Edited August 29, 2005 by thenodrog

[Ste B]

I'll go with the Prague

Thats exactly what I am doing instead of Bolton. Cost 70 quid for a long weekend, and it will still be on the box over there.

As for Chelsea.. at a suggested 48 quid a ticket then a "Boycott the Bridge" campaign sounds a good idea.

[ABBEY]

little un been bending my ear to take him to the bridge...think hes on for big fat no chance ,sadly.

[cletus]

JJB gym - 3 months membership

Next Generation gym - 1 months membership

Marineland (Nice) - 14 hours entrance including 5 performances, 45 minutes each

Test match at OT - 1.5 visits

T20 - 5 matches

Cinema - 5 visits

Prague - two return tickets

Prague - 4 nights dinner, B&B

.....or two days on the losh!

[andy82]

I reckon it would only cost me a couple of quid more to go watch Bayern than Rovers, all things included.

[SAS]

As for Chelsea.. at a suggested 48 quid a ticket then a "Boycott the Bridge" campaign sounds a good idea.

342777[/snapback]

i`d agree with that

but what help does it do to the team

[MCMC1875]

Another bank holiday wasted by the Premier League. Before anyone says 'international week', there are plenty of non bank holiday weeks to lobby UEFA/FIFA for internationals. The same happened last Easter (for the first time). Crackers!

Also, has anyone noticed that the majority of derby matches are now played the week before Christmas, with the return match the week before Easter, instead of a week later? I suspect this is on Police advice, but it's all chipping away at the traditions of the game and perhaps the attendances.

Edited August 29, 2005 by MCMC1875