Attendances

[47er]

4 hours ago, RevidgeBlue said:

That's fine obviously but I think you know full well  no - one is criticising anyone for a genuine logistical reason why a particular person can't make an evening kick off. I'm talking about people who could go but wont, choosing instead to save a tenner and watch it on TV.

When I was on the Fans Forum years ago there were an astonishing number of people on the database who'd bought a ticket in home areas at some point. I can't remember the exact numbers but it would certainly have filled the ground more than twice over. The "can't make an evening kick off" problem will apply to some but certainly not all of them.

One thing's for sure, if there is a miserable home turn out for this one it certainly blows out of the water the notion that cheap(er) prices are the way to fill the ground going forward.

It doesn't. Night match, mid week, on tele. All obvious reasons why the crowd will be low. And that's why they have reduced prices. People screamed for an offer like this over Christmas, when people are back home with their families and there were no offers like this then!

Its not a positive move, its a negative reaction.

[Mattyblue]

15 minutes ago, 47er said:

How did you go with the on the day ticket surcharge?

You mean the 'buy early discount'?

[Leonard Venkhater]

14 hours ago, 47er said:

How did you go with the on the day ticket surcharge?

I have been present in a couple of different situations, where Mr Waggott was challenged very strongly-but politely-about this. My own sense -opinion, for what it is worth,-was that he had made a public noise and was now finding it difficult to climb down.

I would look out for it being removed for a one off game, perhaps, as one rung step down....

The fans' message has been loud, clear and consistent.

Edited January 10, 2019 by Leonard Venkhater

[47er]

Thanks for that Len. Glad to hear it.

No réponse from the Forum that doesn't represent the fans though!

[AAK]

Well unless theres a big rush over the weekend for Newcastle tickets it is going to be a very minimal crowd. Only around 5000 home tickets sold so far.

[JHRover]

39 minutes ago, AAK said:

Well unless theres a big rush over the weekend for Newcastle tickets it is going to be a very minimal crowd. Only around 5000 home tickets sold so far.

More than I expected with almost 6 days of sales to go to be honest.

The season ticket holder window may have spurred some into buying earlier than usual to keep hold of their usual seats.

Edited January 10, 2019 by JHRover

[Leonard Venkhater]

1 hour ago, 47er said:

Thanks for that Len. Glad to hear it.

No réponse from the Forum that doesn't represent the fans though!

Only my opinion mind.....

 

[Hasta]

Well I've done my bit. I've got a party of 10 going with me next Tuesday, only 2 of which are ST holders and 3 have never been to Ewood before. 

If it was £20 there would be 3 of us max.

[Husky]

I see Notts County charged just £2 to get in for their home game against Cambridge today.

A team bottom of the whole football league, playing like rot, opponents not exactly a crowd puller. Yet still they came. 15,026 - which is more than double their normal gate.

[philipl]

2 hours ago, Husky said:

I see Notts County charged just £2 to get in for their home game against Cambridge today.

A team bottom of the whole football league, playing like rot, opponents not exactly a crowd puller. Yet still they came. 15,026 - which is more than double their normal gate.

And they lost..

[JHRover]

Notts County looking doomed at the bottom of League Two. First founder member since Accrington FC in the 1800s to go out of the Football League?

[Mattyblue]

And the Conference is a bloody tough league.

Chesterfield as an example, long standing Football League club. I imagine they expected to bounce straight back, they attract 4/5,000 gates and there’s every chance they’ll suffer a double relegation.

[JHRover]

Ipswich reduced prices yesterday v Rotherham to £12 adults and £3 kids. They had nearly 21,000 on. 

[DavidMailsTightPerm]

3 minutes ago, JHRover said:

Ipswich reduced prices yesterday v Rotherham to £12 adults and £3 kids. They had nearly 21,000 on. 

Different type and size of catchment area to Rovers

[Mattyblue]

They have.

We have a very loyal core, a core that isn’t dissimilar to a lot of clubs at this level, but we just don’t have the same level of floating support that a lot of clubs have (Oxford was a very specific set of circumstances) that just appear in big numbers for a discounted run of the mill game.

However, we do have at least 18,000 empty seats every week, so surely we should try something, even if it didn’t result in a 21,000 crowd?

Edited January 13, 2019 by Mattyblue

[JHRover]

53 minutes ago, DavidMailsTightPerm said:

Different type and size of catchment area to Rovers

How different? Their average gates are similar to ours and have been in a similar or slightly higher ball park for the last few years. Admittedly ours boosted more than theirs by bigger away followings.

I accept that the take-up among home fans probably wouldn't be as high as that, particularly for a struggling side, but two struggling clubs in Ipswich and Notts County took the decision to significantly reduce admission (not a couple of quid off if bought in advance like we had v Norwich) and the evidence suggests the people respond to that. We don't go down that route instead carrying on with £25 admission and our crowds are static.

[Mattyblue]

Different because our gates are always fairly static through the season due to our catchment area. They only really rise in the summer if season ticket sales have risen.

If we ended up around the play offs in the next few weeks, our gates would rise a little, but other clubs in bigger cities or with little local competition (like Ipswich)  would rise by more, largely due to the fact they have that bigger catchment area, so a bigger floating support.

Our support, considering our demographics, catchment area and years of mediocrity have held up well, but we do find it difficult to increase them substantially.

But none of the above negates the need to try stuff.

Edited January 13, 2019 by Mattyblue

[Ossydave]

15 minutes ago, JHRover said:

How different? Their average gates are similar to ours and have been in a similar or slightly higher ball park for the last few years. Admittedly ours boosted more than theirs by bigger away followings.

I accept that the take-up among home fans probably wouldn't be as high as that, particularly for a struggling side, but two struggling clubs in Ipswich and Notts County took the decision to significantly reduce admission (not a couple of quid off if bought in advance like we had v Norwich) and the evidence suggests the people respond to that. We don't go down that route instead carrying on with £25 admission and our crowds are static.

Ipswich and Norwich have a massive catchment area is his point I think. Next decent team is probably Luton or MK off the top of the head? 

[philipl]

£10 a ticket for Tuesday v Premier League opposition

[Mattyblue]

Not selling well by the looks of it. As said before, Rovers fans don’t do cup ties (unless it’s Liverpool).

[Hasta]

53 minutes ago, philipl said:

£10 a ticket for Tuesday v Premier League opposition

And if we get  10,000 home fans on midweek it will have done its job in that competition.

Recently against Premier league teams we've had 5900 V Swansea for a 3rd round tie and only 13,934 against Stoke for a 5th round tie with 5000 Stoke fans.

I don't even want to look up the Millwall QF attendance.

 

Edited January 13, 2019 by Hasta

[Stuart]

38 minutes ago, Mattyblue said:

Different because our gates are always fairly static through the season due to our catchment area. They only really rise in the summer if season ticket sales have risen.

If we ended up around the play offs in the next few weeks, our gates would rise a little, but other clubs in bigger cities or with little local competition (like Ipswich)  would rise by more, largely due to the fact they have that bigger catchment area, so a bigger floating support.

Our support, considering our demographics, catchment area and years of mediocrity have held up well, but we do find it difficult to increase them substantially.

But none of the above negates the need to try stuff.

I’d argue Waggott thinks it does.

We do have fans in the area. You said earlier that the Oxford game was an anomaly but it still illustrates that the numbers are there it is just attracting them down.

Being in and around the play-offs all season challenging for promotion still wouldn’t bring people down if tickets are £25+. We need attractive matches (or match day experience) at an affordable price.

We we’re getting decent season ticket sales after relegation from the PL on the back of the “Premier League pledge”. This is something that needs further consideration. If we do get promoted, the cash would cover the cost of season ticket renewals for a season. (£349 x 8,000 adult tickets = less than £3m). We only have to get promoted once but that recurring offer is a potential value which, on the back of a good season may bring many back - although I’d also throw in a £299 early bird price offer to get people in.

The trouble is, despite the money Venkys are still putting in, and £7m+ thrown away on Brereton, we seem to still need that matchday revenue. So without any imagination from the folks in charge it’ll not change.

[Mattyblue]

The Premier League pledge didn’t result in season ticket sales much higher than the near 10,000 we have right now. We lost thousands of season ticket holders immediately on relegation and those pledges only slightly raised levels around 2013/14.

Of course we have the numbers, but they aren’t interested at his level most of the time whatever the price.

20,000+ crowd at a tenner a ticket for a May promotion party is a much easier sell than £12 on a cold January day for a game against Rotherham when we sit 14th. But Ipswich due to their catchment area can still attract 21,000 on that cold January day.

Now If we are needing to beat Swansea in May to get top 6, you make that a tenner and they will pour in.

Edited January 13, 2019 by Mattyblue

[Stuart]

You keep saying we need to try something but then you poo-pooh every idea put forward.

Right now you are actually backing Waggott by sayingbthere is nothing that will bring back fans but promotion. This is why prices are staying high and increasing every season. We have a capped fanbase so we need to squeeze as much money as we can out of them.

I disagree with this. I think there are a lot of Rovers fans in and around the town that will watch on red button or in the pub or online rather than go to games. There needs to be a lot more research done into the reasons why and how that can be changed.

Going to football matches is a habit you can get into and out of very quickly. Starting up the habit requires and sustained effort from the club to get people in the door. There are plenty of football fans who have been brainwashed that only PL football matters. They would buy a cheap season ticket just to be able to get a ticket to watch the big 5 or 6 teams that we now have plus Bumley. But with 13 of the teams being Watfords or Bournemouths or Aston Villas they are really get ST for half PL games (at best) and half Championship games. Even worse, with us unlikely to sell out they could just wait and simply buy Liverpool or United tickets on a walk on basis.

The matchday experience and the enjoyment of live football need to be marketed more - at the right price. Yes, there are teams with bigger catchment areas but often it is the style of football that makes a game exciting to watch. As much as we appreciate what they are trying to do (at least part of the time) a Mowbray or a Bowyer isn’t going to excite anyone, not like a Dalglish or a Souness or a Hughes (along with a brand of football) can.

This psychology needs to be understood and more done to change that mindset. Supporting your local club can be a source of pride and joy. People just have to be given a nudge. Prohibitive pricing and surcharges donthe opposite and nudge people away.

[Mattyblue]

Not at all. I’m just explaining why they don’t work as well as they do at other clubs for run of the mill games.

There’s loads of slack between a season ticket average price of around £350 and an average match ticket of £25  (£25 x 23 = £575), so they could offer a load of stuff and it would still be better value for a season ticket - which is an excuse chief execs hide behind to offer nowt.

I have banged the drum over and over again on how picking the right game could work a treat - West Brom on NYD would have been a fantastic opportunity for £10 to £15 anywhere in the ground, we’d have sold plenty more, so would WBA and we’d have had a cracking bank holiday crowd and atmosphere. Something to attract folk back with.

Then I’d have contacted every buyer offering half season tickets with that game discounted off the price.

I’d be doing it again in the run in, with a season ticket pack with every purchase - as we’d actually have them on sale early like every other club.

Not guilty m’lord as I’m up for anything and everything to get the crowds up, but we do need to be realistic, the team must improve too as we won’t be seeing 20,000 crowds every week when mid table in the second tier even if we offer £199 season tickets or whatever else.

Edited January 13, 2019 by Mattyblue