attendances
- Thread starter depechemode
- Start date
You have to make season tickets worth buying. At the moment a season ticket holder only saves approximately the price of 2 games by buying a ticket up front. By dropping the price of season ticket to under £200 (£198 would be £9 per game) it would encourage more people to pay up front. Options to pay in installments would also help many people, although a slight price increase would be incurred for doing this.
With a season ticket the club would have the cash upfront, whereas by sticking to charging people per game means that when results are poor or the weather is bad, people may choose not to turn up.
With a season ticket the club would have the cash upfront, whereas by sticking to charging people per game means that when results are poor or the weather is bad, people may choose not to turn up.
installments is a good idea but I think if we saw that idea implemented it would have to be over 3-4 months rather than 10-12 due to our season ticket system. Some clubs have the epos type systems where you swipe a card (can be configured to give loyalty points etc), if they are behind on their payments it refuses the card. Because we give the ticketed books then the whole lot would have to be paid for before the ticket is issued.
A mate of mine used to pay for his Rovers ticket at a cost of £25 per month over 12 and it effectively meant that he was paying an average of £12.50 per game, albeit also paying during the summer when there was no game. He was paying less than me!
I think we all agree that direct debits would be the way to go but what price would you charge for the season ticket?
£200? (£16 per month)
£230 inc free shirt? (£19 per month)
half price Cup tickets?
I know its like a salesman asking you how much discount you want but we need to be objective. How much should we be paying? I don't mind paying £13 but the public obviously do. Would a tenner really make a difference?
A mate of mine used to pay for his Rovers ticket at a cost of £25 per month over 12 and it effectively meant that he was paying an average of £12.50 per game, albeit also paying during the summer when there was no game. He was paying less than me!
I think we all agree that direct debits would be the way to go but what price would you charge for the season ticket?
£200? (£16 per month)
£230 inc free shirt? (£19 per month)
half price Cup tickets?
I know its like a salesman asking you how much discount you want but we need to be objective. How much should we be paying? I don't mind paying £13 but the public obviously do. Would a tenner really make a difference?
Some good ideas coming through here from Macca, Dav007, TM and others...problem is, will the club listen?
I pay for mine at the Turf that way. It is run through a credit company so they make a charge but I still get 5 or 6 free games. Not sure if the credit company pay the club up front, they should do as the debt effectively belongs to the credit company.
How about a novel idea, pay a tenner to get in and then chuck some money in to a bucket on the way out if you think you have had value for money. A lot of empty buckets at the end of each match might actually make the powers that be sit up and take notice
Reckon £200 would be about right. Free shirts are all very well, but not everybody wears replica shirts.
As for match day prices, I think a tenner is the psychological barrier. I work with a Burnley fan who used to go regularly when it was £10 or under. He goes very rarely now. He was quite happy to slap a tenner down at the turnstiles, but now he has to get his hand in his pocket for more cash, he reckons it's a step too far.
How about a novel idea, pay a tenner to get in and then chuck some money in to a bucket on the way out if you think you have had value for money. A lot of empty buckets at the end of each match might actually make the powers that be sit up and take notice
I like that idea, Dave, but it'd take someone with a lot of bottle to walk round with buckets after some of our recent matches!
Can't see the problem myself, 15 or 16 volunteers should do it and most teams have a warm down after the game
Can't see the problem myself, 15 or 16 volunteers should do it and most teams have a warm down after the game
This idea gets better and better...although I would also add Stanleymad and Harwood Red to the bucket squad as "enforcers"!
If they ran the membership card for the season ticket then they wouldnt have to keep printing ticket books. The membership card could keep going year after year. The only thing would be getting a computer system to cover the all the entrances. Thing is thats nowt really will recommend one computer system they dont buy though.
forged stanley membership cards
We hve to get into the realms of where Burnley & Blackburn are when it comes to Season Tickets we do not have the T.V. Money of our Bigger neighbours, but if we pitch in at the correct price and undercut them then we might just have a chance. I think the 2000 figure that Davo suggested is achievable but it needs to be supported by a clever marketing campaign which does not neccesarily have to cost a fortune. It is something that the Club are looking very closely at and hopefully will lead the way with
wrong cmon. The system where i work has membership cards - just like osc membership cards. Thing is there is a webcam which takes your picture which is taken when we give you the membership card when we swipe the membership card the photo comes up. If your photo dont match with the person handing the card over - refused entry.
We hve to get into the realms of where Burnley & Blackburn are when it comes to Season Tickets we do not have the T.V. Money of our Bigger neighbours, but if we pitch in at the correct price and undercut them then we might just have a chance. I think the 2000 figure that Davo suggested is achievable but it needs to be supported by a clever marketing campaign which does not neccesarily have to cost a fortune. It is something that the Club are looking very closely at and hopefully will lead the way with
Realistically any price cut will only increase the attendance by a few. The most important thing that makes people go to football matches in bigger numbers is success on the field. Special offers a couple of times a season will attract a few more for those games. Low prices all season will only take the club in one direction UNLESS funds come from another source.
Dont agree totally on the success on the field comment.At Norwich you pay for your season ticket over 8 months,kids tickets are cheaper than at Stanley and the ground is really comfy,and apart from the last 10 games or so we have played dreadful football for the last 2-3 years.And somehow it is still difficult to get a ticket as 25000 still turn up every week.
I'd love somebody like Mr Khan to stump up a 1/4 of a mill to replace gate money for one season - offer free entry all year to anyobdy who has purchased a shirt!!
that'd me out this season though
that'd me out this season though
I'm sure if Stanley was in the back of beyond and had nobody within 500 miles to compete with they would probably get full houses as well
not quite correct,ipswich, just down the road,n colchester aint a million miles away. though the pull of colchester aint much to shout about.I'm sure if Stanley was in the back of beyond and had nobody within 500 miles to compete with they would probably get full houses as well
The apathy argument isn’t completely valid. I put together a few stats when there was the debate about crowds last season.
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<TABLE class=MsoTableGrid style="BORDER-RIGHT: medium none; BORDER-TOP: medium none; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none; BORDER-COLLAPSE: collapse; mso-border-alt: solid #999999 .5pt; mso-yfti-tbllook: 480; mso-padding-alt: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-border-insideh: .5pt solid #999999; mso-border-insidev: .5pt solid #999999" cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 border=1><TBODY><TR style="mso-yfti-irow: 0"><TD style="BORDER-RIGHT: #999999 1pt solid; PADDING-RIGHT: 5.4pt; BORDER-TOP: #999999 1pt solid; PADDING-LEFT: 5.4pt; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0cm; BORDER-LEFT: #999999 1pt solid; WIDTH: 132.8pt; PADDING-TOP: 0cm; BORDER-BOTTOM: #999999 1pt solid; BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent; mso-border-alt: solid #999999 .5pt" vAlign=top width=177>Team</TD><TD style="BORDER-RIGHT: #999999 1pt solid; PADDING-RIGHT: 5.4pt; BORDER-TOP: #999999 1pt solid; PADDING-LEFT: 5.4pt; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0cm; BORDER-LEFT: #e0dfe3; WIDTH: 65pt; PADDING-TOP: 0cm; BORDER-BOTTOM: #999999 1pt solid; BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent; mso-border-alt: solid #999999 .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid #999999 .5pt" vAlign=top width=87>Borough</TD><TD style="BORDER-RIGHT: #999999 1pt solid; PADDING-RIGHT: 5.4pt; BORDER-TOP: #999999 1pt solid; PADDING-LEFT: 5.4pt; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0cm; BORDER-LEFT: #e0dfe3; WIDTH: 67.65pt; PADDING-TOP: 0cm; BORDER-BOTTOM: #999999 1pt solid; BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent; mso-border-alt: solid #999999 .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid #999999 .5pt" vAlign=top width=90>Population</TD><TD style="BORDER-RIGHT: #999999 1pt solid; PADDING-RIGHT: 5.4pt; BORDER-TOP: #999999 1pt solid; PADDING-LEFT: 5.4pt; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0cm; BORDER-LEFT: #e0dfe3; WIDTH: 65pt; PADDING-TOP: 0cm; BORDER-BOTTOM: #999999 1pt solid; BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent; mso-border-alt: solid #999999 .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid #999999 .5pt" vAlign=top width=87>Ave. gate</TD><TD style="BORDER-RIGHT: #999999 1pt solid; PADDING-RIGHT: 5.4pt; BORDER-TOP: #999999 1pt solid; PADDING-LEFT: 5.4pt; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0cm; BORDER-LEFT: #e0dfe3; WIDTH: 32.45pt; PADDING-TOP: 0cm; BORDER-BOTTOM: #999999 1pt solid; BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent; mso-border-alt: solid #999999 .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid #999999 .5pt" vAlign=top width=43>%</TD></TR><TR style="mso-yfti-irow: 1"><TD style="BORDER-RIGHT: #999999 1pt solid; PADDING-RIGHT: 5.4pt; BORDER-TOP: #e0dfe3; PADDING-LEFT: 5.4pt; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0cm; BORDER-LEFT: #999999 1pt solid; WIDTH: 132.8pt; PADDING-TOP: 0cm; BORDER-BOTTOM: #999999 1pt solid; BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent; mso-border-alt: solid #999999 .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid #999999 .5pt" vAlign=top width=177>Brentford</TD><TD style="BORDER-RIGHT: #999999 1pt solid; PADDING-RIGHT: 5.4pt; BORDER-TOP: #e0dfe3; PADDING-LEFT: 5.4pt; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0cm; BORDER-LEFT: #e0dfe3; WIDTH: 65pt; PADDING-TOP: 0cm; BORDER-BOTTOM: #999999 1pt solid; BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent; mso-border-alt: solid #999999 .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid #999999 .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid #999999 .5pt" vAlign=top width=87>Hounslow</TD><TD style="BORDER-RIGHT: #999999 1pt solid; PADDING-RIGHT: 5.4pt; BORDER-TOP: #e0dfe3; PADDING-LEFT: 5.4pt; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0cm; BORDER-LEFT: #e0dfe3; WIDTH: 67.65pt; PADDING-TOP: 0cm; BORDER-BOTTOM: #999999 1pt solid; BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent; mso-border-alt: solid #999999 .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid #999999 .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid #999999 .5pt" vAlign=top width=90>218,600</TD><TD style="BORDER-RIGHT: #999999 1pt solid; PADDING-RIGHT: 5.4pt; BORDER-TOP: #e0dfe3; PADDING-LEFT: 5.4pt; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0cm; BORDER-LEFT: #e0dfe3; WIDTH: 65pt; PADDING-TOP: 0cm; BORDER-BOTTOM: #999999 1pt solid; BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent; mso-border-alt: solid #999999 .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid #999999 .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid #999999 .5pt" vAlign=top width=87>4,477</TD><TD style="BORDER-RIGHT: #999999 1pt solid; PADDING-RIGHT: 5.4pt; BORDER-TOP: #e0dfe3; PADDING-LEFT: 5.4pt; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0cm; BORDER-LEFT: #e0dfe3; WIDTH: 32.45pt; PADDING-TOP: 0cm; BORDER-BOTTOM: #999999 1pt solid; BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent; mso-border-alt: solid #999999 .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid #999999 .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid #999999 .5pt" vAlign=top width=43>2.1</TD></TR><TR style="mso-yfti-irow: 2"><TD style="BORDER-RIGHT: #999999 1pt solid; PADDING-RIGHT: 5.4pt; BORDER-TOP: #e0dfe3; PADDING-LEFT: 5.4pt; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0cm; BORDER-LEFT: #999999 1pt solid; WIDTH: 132.8pt; PADDING-TOP: 0cm; BORDER-BOTTOM: #999999 1pt solid; BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent; mso-border-alt: solid #999999 .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid #999999 .5pt" vAlign=top width=177>Barnet</TD><TD style="BORDER-RIGHT: #999999 1pt solid; PADDING-RIGHT: 5.4pt; BORDER-TOP: #e0dfe3; PADDING-LEFT: 5.4pt; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0cm; BORDER-LEFT: #e0dfe3; WIDTH: 65pt; PADDING-TOP: 0cm; BORDER-BOTTOM: #999999 1pt solid; BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent; mso-border-alt: solid #999999 .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid #999999 .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid #999999 .5pt" vAlign=top width=87>Barnet</TD><TD style="BORDER-RIGHT: #999999 1pt solid; PADDING-RIGHT: 5.4pt; BORDER-TOP: #e0dfe3; PADDING-LEFT: 5.4pt; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0cm; BORDER-LEFT: #e0dfe3; WIDTH: 67.65pt; PADDING-TOP: 0cm; BORDER-BOTTOM: #999999 1pt solid; BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent; mso-border-alt: solid #999999 .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid #999999 .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid #999999 .5pt" vAlign=top width=90>328,600</TD><TD style="BORDER-RIGHT: #999999 1pt solid; PADDING-RIGHT: 5.4pt; BORDER-TOP: #e0dfe3; PADDING-LEFT: 5.4pt; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0cm; BORDER-LEFT: #e0dfe3; WIDTH: 65pt; PADDING-TOP: 0cm; BORDER-BOTTOM: #999999 1pt solid; BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent; mso-border-alt: solid #999999 .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid #999999 .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid #999999 .5pt" vAlign=top width=87>2,076</TD><TD style="BORDER-RIGHT: #999999 1pt solid; PADDING-RIGHT: 5.4pt; BORDER-TOP: #e0dfe3; PADDING-LEFT: 5.4pt; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0cm; BORDER-LEFT: #e0dfe3; WIDTH: 32.45pt; PADDING-TOP: 0cm; BORDER-BOTTOM: #999999 1pt solid; BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent; mso-border-alt: solid #999999 .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid #999999 .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid #999999 .5pt" vAlign=top width=43>0.6</TD></TR><TR style="mso-yfti-irow: 3"><TD style="BORDER-RIGHT: #999999 1pt solid; PADDING-RIGHT: 5.4pt; BORDER-TOP: #e0dfe3; PADDING-LEFT: 5.4pt; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0cm; BORDER-LEFT: #999999 1pt solid; WIDTH: 132.8pt; PADDING-TOP: 0cm; BORDER-BOTTOM: #999999 1pt solid; BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent; mso-border-alt: solid #999999 .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid #999999 .5pt" vAlign=top width=177>Dagenham & Redbridge</TD><TD style="BORDER-RIGHT: #999999 1pt solid; PADDING-RIGHT: 5.4pt; BORDER-TOP: #e0dfe3; PADDING-LEFT: 5.4pt; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0cm; BORDER-LEFT: #e0dfe3; WIDTH: 65pt; PADDING-TOP: 0cm; BORDER-BOTTOM: #999999 1pt solid; BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent; mso-border-alt: solid #999999 .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid #999999 .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid #999999 .5pt" vAlign=top width=87>Barking</TD><TD style="BORDER-RIGHT: #999999 1pt solid; PADDING-RIGHT: 5.4pt; BORDER-TOP: #e0dfe3; PADDING-LEFT: 5.4pt; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0cm; BORDER-LEFT: #e0dfe3; WIDTH: 67.65pt; PADDING-TOP: 0cm; BORDER-BOTTOM: #999999 1pt solid; BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent; mso-border-alt: solid #999999 .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid #999999 .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid #999999 .5pt" vAlign=top width=90>165,700</TD><TD style="BORDER-RIGHT: #999999 1pt solid; PADDING-RIGHT: 5.4pt; BORDER-TOP: #e0dfe3; PADDING-LEFT: 5.4pt; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0cm; BORDER-LEFT: #e0dfe3; WIDTH: 65pt; PADDING-TOP: 0cm; BORDER-BOTTOM: #999999 1pt solid; BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent; mso-border-alt: solid #999999 .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid #999999 .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid #999999 .5pt" vAlign=top width=87>1,915</TD><TD style="BORDER-RIGHT: #999999 1pt solid; PADDING-RIGHT: 5.4pt; BORDER-TOP: #e0dfe3; PADDING-LEFT: 5.4pt; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0cm; BORDER-LEFT: #e0dfe3; WIDTH: 32.45pt; PADDING-TOP: 0cm; BORDER-BOTTOM: #999999 1pt solid; BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent; mso-border-alt: solid #999999 .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid #999999 .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid #999999 .5pt" vAlign=top width=43>1.2</TD></TR><TR style="mso-yfti-irow: 4"><TD style="BORDER-RIGHT: #999999 1pt solid; PADDING-RIGHT: 5.4pt; BORDER-TOP: #e0dfe3; PADDING-LEFT: 5.4pt; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0cm; BORDER-LEFT: #999999 1pt solid; WIDTH: 132.8pt; PADDING-TOP: 0cm; BORDER-BOTTOM: #999999 1pt solid; BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent; mso-border-alt: solid #999999 .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid #999999 .5pt" vAlign=top width=177>Hayes & Yeading</TD><TD style="BORDER-RIGHT: #999999 1pt solid; PADDING-RIGHT: 5.4pt; BORDER-TOP: #e0dfe3; PADDING-LEFT: 5.4pt; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0cm; BORDER-LEFT: #e0dfe3; WIDTH: 65pt; PADDING-TOP: 0cm; BORDER-BOTTOM: #999999 1pt solid; BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent; mso-border-alt: solid #999999 .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid #999999 .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid #999999 .5pt" vAlign=top width=87>Hillingdon</TD><TD style="BORDER-RIGHT: #999999 1pt solid; PADDING-RIGHT: 5.4pt; BORDER-TOP: #e0dfe3; PADDING-LEFT: 5.4pt; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0cm; BORDER-LEFT: #e0dfe3; WIDTH: 67.65pt; PADDING-TOP: 0cm; BORDER-BOTTOM: #999999 1pt solid; BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent; mso-border-alt: solid #999999 .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid #999999 .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid #999999 .5pt" vAlign=top width=90>250,000</TD><TD style="BORDER-RIGHT: #999999 1pt solid; PADDING-RIGHT: 5.4pt; BORDER-TOP: #e0dfe3; PADDING-LEFT: 5.4pt; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0cm; BORDER-LEFT: #e0dfe3; WIDTH: 65pt; PADDING-TOP: 0cm; BORDER-BOTTOM: #999999 1pt solid; BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent; mso-border-alt: solid #999999 .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid #999999 .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid #999999 .5pt" vAlign=top width=87>241</TD><TD style="BORDER-RIGHT: #999999 1pt solid; PADDING-RIGHT: 5.4pt; BORDER-TOP: #e0dfe3; PADDING-LEFT: 5.4pt; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0cm; BORDER-LEFT: #e0dfe3; WIDTH: 32.45pt; PADDING-TOP: 0cm; BORDER-BOTTOM: #999999 1pt solid; BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent; mso-border-alt: solid #999999 .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid #999999 .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid #999999 .5pt" vAlign=top width=43>0.1</TD></TR><TR style="mso-yfti-irow: 5; mso-yfti-lastrow: yes"><TD style="BORDER-RIGHT: #999999 1pt solid; PADDING-RIGHT: 5.4pt; BORDER-TOP: #e0dfe3; PADDING-LEFT: 5.4pt; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0cm; BORDER-LEFT: #999999 1pt solid; WIDTH: 132.8pt; PADDING-TOP: 0cm; BORDER-BOTTOM: #999999 1pt solid; BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent; mso-border-alt: solid #999999 .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid #999999 .5pt" vAlign=top width=177>Stanley</TD><TD style="BORDER-RIGHT: #999999 1pt solid; PADDING-RIGHT: 5.4pt; BORDER-TOP: #e0dfe3; PADDING-LEFT: 5.4pt; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0cm; BORDER-LEFT: #e0dfe3; WIDTH: 65pt; PADDING-TOP: 0cm; BORDER-BOTTOM: #999999 1pt solid; BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent; mso-border-alt: solid #999999 .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid #999999 .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid #999999 .5pt" vAlign=top width=87>Hyndburn</TD><TD style="BORDER-RIGHT: #999999 1pt solid; PADDING-RIGHT: 5.4pt; BORDER-TOP: #e0dfe3; PADDING-LEFT: 5.4pt; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0cm; BORDER-LEFT: #e0dfe3; WIDTH: 67.65pt; PADDING-TOP: 0cm; BORDER-BOTTOM: #999999 1pt solid; BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent; mso-border-alt: solid #999999 .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid #999999 .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid #999999 .5pt" vAlign=top width=90>71,224</TD><TD style="BORDER-RIGHT: #999999 1pt solid; PADDING-RIGHT: 5.4pt; BORDER-TOP: #e0dfe3; PADDING-LEFT: 5.4pt; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0cm; BORDER-LEFT: #e0dfe3; WIDTH: 65pt; PADDING-TOP: 0cm; BORDER-BOTTOM: #999999 1pt solid; BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent; mso-border-alt: solid #999999 .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid #999999 .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid #999999 .5pt" vAlign=top width=87>1,631</TD><TD style="BORDER-RIGHT: #999999 1pt solid; PADDING-RIGHT: 5.4pt; BORDER-TOP: #e0dfe3; PADDING-LEFT: 5.4pt; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0cm; BORDER-LEFT: #e0dfe3; WIDTH: 32.45pt; PADDING-TOP: 0cm; BORDER-BOTTOM: #999999 1pt solid; BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent; mso-border-alt: solid #999999 .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid #999999 .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid #999999 .5pt" vAlign=top width=43>2.3</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
<O</OLiving in a metropolis offers a different perspective. Here are the London clubs in League 2 and below, with their borough populations, average attendance so far this season both numerically and as a percentage of the area population. In all these cases, including Hayes & Yeading, the teams are the most senior in their borough. The most senior team in the borough I live, Ealing, is Hanwell Town, a tiny semi-pro club that attract a couple of hundred in a borough of over 300,000 people that has no Football League representation.
<O</O
I guess the main thing to get across when we’re beating ourselves up about gates is to realise just how small Accrington is compared to some of these places. At our level of football, the vast majority of our support is going to come from the locality, yet if Barnet attracted the same proportion of their local population as us, then their average gate would be over 9,000. The proportion of Hyndburn’s population who come to Stanley regularly is actually more akin to League 1 levels, such as Leyton Orient, whose average of 5,300 works out at 2.4% of Waltham Forest’s population. And we have just the same problems as these London clubs in that there is Premiership and Championship football available close by.
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I’m not arguing that we should be happy with our current gates, for we are clearly on the edges of Football League sustainability, but this does offer some perspective and suggests that Accrington is not exactly apathy-central. I agree with much of what Rob says, especially about establishing a more visual presence in the town, but the club is in an impossible situation trying to undercut Blackburn Rovers’ admission prices. They are being vastly subsidised by Sky. Even Burnley will be in receipt of around £1.2 million of Sky money this season. In the face of this quite unlevel playing field, it’s quite a risk to drop your prices when we are barely subsisting as we are. One potential downside with a £10 admission offer is that the club would have no choice but to revert to the full prices if the initiative fails to attract the numbers to make it pay, and this would undoubtedly cause more discontent. Perhaps one way round this is to try the initiative for the final few games, or to have a donation facility, so that £10 gets you on the ground, but you can then donate a few quid more if you want to. There have been some excellent ideas put forward on this thread; let’s hope that the club, or the OSC, can see some of through to fruition.
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Phil
<O
</O<O</O<TABLE class=MsoTableGrid style="BORDER-RIGHT: medium none; BORDER-TOP: medium none; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none; BORDER-COLLAPSE: collapse; mso-border-alt: solid #999999 .5pt; mso-yfti-tbllook: 480; mso-padding-alt: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-border-insideh: .5pt solid #999999; mso-border-insidev: .5pt solid #999999" cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 border=1><TBODY><TR style="mso-yfti-irow: 0"><TD style="BORDER-RIGHT: #999999 1pt solid; PADDING-RIGHT: 5.4pt; BORDER-TOP: #999999 1pt solid; PADDING-LEFT: 5.4pt; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0cm; BORDER-LEFT: #999999 1pt solid; WIDTH: 132.8pt; PADDING-TOP: 0cm; BORDER-BOTTOM: #999999 1pt solid; BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent; mso-border-alt: solid #999999 .5pt" vAlign=top width=177>Team</TD><TD style="BORDER-RIGHT: #999999 1pt solid; PADDING-RIGHT: 5.4pt; BORDER-TOP: #999999 1pt solid; PADDING-LEFT: 5.4pt; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0cm; BORDER-LEFT: #e0dfe3; WIDTH: 65pt; PADDING-TOP: 0cm; BORDER-BOTTOM: #999999 1pt solid; BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent; mso-border-alt: solid #999999 .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid #999999 .5pt" vAlign=top width=87>Borough</TD><TD style="BORDER-RIGHT: #999999 1pt solid; PADDING-RIGHT: 5.4pt; BORDER-TOP: #999999 1pt solid; PADDING-LEFT: 5.4pt; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0cm; BORDER-LEFT: #e0dfe3; WIDTH: 67.65pt; PADDING-TOP: 0cm; BORDER-BOTTOM: #999999 1pt solid; BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent; mso-border-alt: solid #999999 .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid #999999 .5pt" vAlign=top width=90>Population</TD><TD style="BORDER-RIGHT: #999999 1pt solid; PADDING-RIGHT: 5.4pt; BORDER-TOP: #999999 1pt solid; PADDING-LEFT: 5.4pt; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0cm; BORDER-LEFT: #e0dfe3; WIDTH: 65pt; PADDING-TOP: 0cm; BORDER-BOTTOM: #999999 1pt solid; BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent; mso-border-alt: solid #999999 .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid #999999 .5pt" vAlign=top width=87>Ave. gate</TD><TD style="BORDER-RIGHT: #999999 1pt solid; PADDING-RIGHT: 5.4pt; BORDER-TOP: #999999 1pt solid; PADDING-LEFT: 5.4pt; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0cm; BORDER-LEFT: #e0dfe3; WIDTH: 32.45pt; PADDING-TOP: 0cm; BORDER-BOTTOM: #999999 1pt solid; BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent; mso-border-alt: solid #999999 .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid #999999 .5pt" vAlign=top width=43>%</TD></TR><TR style="mso-yfti-irow: 1"><TD style="BORDER-RIGHT: #999999 1pt solid; PADDING-RIGHT: 5.4pt; BORDER-TOP: #e0dfe3; PADDING-LEFT: 5.4pt; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0cm; BORDER-LEFT: #999999 1pt solid; WIDTH: 132.8pt; PADDING-TOP: 0cm; BORDER-BOTTOM: #999999 1pt solid; BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent; mso-border-alt: solid #999999 .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid #999999 .5pt" vAlign=top width=177>Brentford</TD><TD style="BORDER-RIGHT: #999999 1pt solid; PADDING-RIGHT: 5.4pt; BORDER-TOP: #e0dfe3; PADDING-LEFT: 5.4pt; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0cm; BORDER-LEFT: #e0dfe3; WIDTH: 65pt; PADDING-TOP: 0cm; BORDER-BOTTOM: #999999 1pt solid; BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent; mso-border-alt: solid #999999 .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid #999999 .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid #999999 .5pt" vAlign=top width=87>Hounslow</TD><TD style="BORDER-RIGHT: #999999 1pt solid; PADDING-RIGHT: 5.4pt; BORDER-TOP: #e0dfe3; PADDING-LEFT: 5.4pt; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0cm; BORDER-LEFT: #e0dfe3; WIDTH: 67.65pt; PADDING-TOP: 0cm; BORDER-BOTTOM: #999999 1pt solid; BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent; mso-border-alt: solid #999999 .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid #999999 .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid #999999 .5pt" vAlign=top width=90>218,600</TD><TD style="BORDER-RIGHT: #999999 1pt solid; PADDING-RIGHT: 5.4pt; BORDER-TOP: #e0dfe3; PADDING-LEFT: 5.4pt; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0cm; BORDER-LEFT: #e0dfe3; WIDTH: 65pt; PADDING-TOP: 0cm; BORDER-BOTTOM: #999999 1pt solid; BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent; mso-border-alt: solid #999999 .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid #999999 .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid #999999 .5pt" vAlign=top width=87>4,477</TD><TD style="BORDER-RIGHT: #999999 1pt solid; PADDING-RIGHT: 5.4pt; BORDER-TOP: #e0dfe3; PADDING-LEFT: 5.4pt; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0cm; BORDER-LEFT: #e0dfe3; WIDTH: 32.45pt; PADDING-TOP: 0cm; BORDER-BOTTOM: #999999 1pt solid; BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent; mso-border-alt: solid #999999 .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid #999999 .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid #999999 .5pt" vAlign=top width=43>2.1</TD></TR><TR style="mso-yfti-irow: 2"><TD style="BORDER-RIGHT: #999999 1pt solid; PADDING-RIGHT: 5.4pt; BORDER-TOP: #e0dfe3; PADDING-LEFT: 5.4pt; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0cm; BORDER-LEFT: #999999 1pt solid; WIDTH: 132.8pt; PADDING-TOP: 0cm; BORDER-BOTTOM: #999999 1pt solid; BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent; mso-border-alt: solid #999999 .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid #999999 .5pt" vAlign=top width=177>Barnet</TD><TD style="BORDER-RIGHT: #999999 1pt solid; PADDING-RIGHT: 5.4pt; BORDER-TOP: #e0dfe3; PADDING-LEFT: 5.4pt; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0cm; BORDER-LEFT: #e0dfe3; WIDTH: 65pt; PADDING-TOP: 0cm; BORDER-BOTTOM: #999999 1pt solid; BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent; mso-border-alt: solid #999999 .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid #999999 .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid #999999 .5pt" vAlign=top width=87>Barnet</TD><TD style="BORDER-RIGHT: #999999 1pt solid; PADDING-RIGHT: 5.4pt; BORDER-TOP: #e0dfe3; PADDING-LEFT: 5.4pt; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0cm; BORDER-LEFT: #e0dfe3; WIDTH: 67.65pt; PADDING-TOP: 0cm; BORDER-BOTTOM: #999999 1pt solid; BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent; mso-border-alt: solid #999999 .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid #999999 .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid #999999 .5pt" vAlign=top width=90>328,600</TD><TD style="BORDER-RIGHT: #999999 1pt solid; PADDING-RIGHT: 5.4pt; BORDER-TOP: #e0dfe3; PADDING-LEFT: 5.4pt; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0cm; BORDER-LEFT: #e0dfe3; WIDTH: 65pt; PADDING-TOP: 0cm; BORDER-BOTTOM: #999999 1pt solid; BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent; mso-border-alt: solid #999999 .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid #999999 .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid #999999 .5pt" vAlign=top width=87>2,076</TD><TD style="BORDER-RIGHT: #999999 1pt solid; PADDING-RIGHT: 5.4pt; BORDER-TOP: #e0dfe3; PADDING-LEFT: 5.4pt; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0cm; BORDER-LEFT: #e0dfe3; WIDTH: 32.45pt; PADDING-TOP: 0cm; BORDER-BOTTOM: #999999 1pt solid; BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent; mso-border-alt: solid #999999 .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid #999999 .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid #999999 .5pt" vAlign=top width=43>0.6</TD></TR><TR style="mso-yfti-irow: 3"><TD style="BORDER-RIGHT: #999999 1pt solid; PADDING-RIGHT: 5.4pt; BORDER-TOP: #e0dfe3; PADDING-LEFT: 5.4pt; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0cm; BORDER-LEFT: #999999 1pt solid; WIDTH: 132.8pt; PADDING-TOP: 0cm; BORDER-BOTTOM: #999999 1pt solid; BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent; mso-border-alt: solid #999999 .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid #999999 .5pt" vAlign=top width=177>Dagenham & Redbridge</TD><TD style="BORDER-RIGHT: #999999 1pt solid; PADDING-RIGHT: 5.4pt; BORDER-TOP: #e0dfe3; PADDING-LEFT: 5.4pt; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0cm; BORDER-LEFT: #e0dfe3; WIDTH: 65pt; PADDING-TOP: 0cm; BORDER-BOTTOM: #999999 1pt solid; BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent; mso-border-alt: solid #999999 .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid #999999 .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid #999999 .5pt" vAlign=top width=87>Barking</TD><TD style="BORDER-RIGHT: #999999 1pt solid; PADDING-RIGHT: 5.4pt; BORDER-TOP: #e0dfe3; PADDING-LEFT: 5.4pt; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0cm; BORDER-LEFT: #e0dfe3; WIDTH: 67.65pt; PADDING-TOP: 0cm; BORDER-BOTTOM: #999999 1pt solid; BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent; mso-border-alt: solid #999999 .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid #999999 .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid #999999 .5pt" vAlign=top width=90>165,700</TD><TD style="BORDER-RIGHT: #999999 1pt solid; PADDING-RIGHT: 5.4pt; BORDER-TOP: #e0dfe3; PADDING-LEFT: 5.4pt; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0cm; BORDER-LEFT: #e0dfe3; WIDTH: 65pt; PADDING-TOP: 0cm; BORDER-BOTTOM: #999999 1pt solid; BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent; mso-border-alt: solid #999999 .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid #999999 .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid #999999 .5pt" vAlign=top width=87>1,915</TD><TD style="BORDER-RIGHT: #999999 1pt solid; PADDING-RIGHT: 5.4pt; BORDER-TOP: #e0dfe3; PADDING-LEFT: 5.4pt; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0cm; BORDER-LEFT: #e0dfe3; WIDTH: 32.45pt; PADDING-TOP: 0cm; BORDER-BOTTOM: #999999 1pt solid; BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent; mso-border-alt: solid #999999 .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid #999999 .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid #999999 .5pt" vAlign=top width=43>1.2</TD></TR><TR style="mso-yfti-irow: 4"><TD style="BORDER-RIGHT: #999999 1pt solid; PADDING-RIGHT: 5.4pt; BORDER-TOP: #e0dfe3; PADDING-LEFT: 5.4pt; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0cm; BORDER-LEFT: #999999 1pt solid; WIDTH: 132.8pt; PADDING-TOP: 0cm; BORDER-BOTTOM: #999999 1pt solid; BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent; mso-border-alt: solid #999999 .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid #999999 .5pt" vAlign=top width=177>Hayes & Yeading</TD><TD style="BORDER-RIGHT: #999999 1pt solid; PADDING-RIGHT: 5.4pt; BORDER-TOP: #e0dfe3; PADDING-LEFT: 5.4pt; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0cm; BORDER-LEFT: #e0dfe3; WIDTH: 65pt; PADDING-TOP: 0cm; BORDER-BOTTOM: #999999 1pt solid; BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent; mso-border-alt: solid #999999 .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid #999999 .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid #999999 .5pt" vAlign=top width=87>Hillingdon</TD><TD style="BORDER-RIGHT: #999999 1pt solid; PADDING-RIGHT: 5.4pt; BORDER-TOP: #e0dfe3; PADDING-LEFT: 5.4pt; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0cm; BORDER-LEFT: #e0dfe3; WIDTH: 67.65pt; PADDING-TOP: 0cm; BORDER-BOTTOM: #999999 1pt solid; BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent; mso-border-alt: solid #999999 .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid #999999 .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid #999999 .5pt" vAlign=top width=90>250,000</TD><TD style="BORDER-RIGHT: #999999 1pt solid; PADDING-RIGHT: 5.4pt; BORDER-TOP: #e0dfe3; PADDING-LEFT: 5.4pt; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0cm; BORDER-LEFT: #e0dfe3; WIDTH: 65pt; PADDING-TOP: 0cm; BORDER-BOTTOM: #999999 1pt solid; BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent; mso-border-alt: solid #999999 .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid #999999 .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid #999999 .5pt" vAlign=top width=87>241</TD><TD style="BORDER-RIGHT: #999999 1pt solid; PADDING-RIGHT: 5.4pt; BORDER-TOP: #e0dfe3; PADDING-LEFT: 5.4pt; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0cm; BORDER-LEFT: #e0dfe3; WIDTH: 32.45pt; PADDING-TOP: 0cm; BORDER-BOTTOM: #999999 1pt solid; BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent; mso-border-alt: solid #999999 .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid #999999 .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid #999999 .5pt" vAlign=top width=43>0.1</TD></TR><TR style="mso-yfti-irow: 5; mso-yfti-lastrow: yes"><TD style="BORDER-RIGHT: #999999 1pt solid; PADDING-RIGHT: 5.4pt; BORDER-TOP: #e0dfe3; PADDING-LEFT: 5.4pt; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0cm; BORDER-LEFT: #999999 1pt solid; WIDTH: 132.8pt; PADDING-TOP: 0cm; BORDER-BOTTOM: #999999 1pt solid; BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent; mso-border-alt: solid #999999 .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid #999999 .5pt" vAlign=top width=177>Stanley</TD><TD style="BORDER-RIGHT: #999999 1pt solid; PADDING-RIGHT: 5.4pt; BORDER-TOP: #e0dfe3; PADDING-LEFT: 5.4pt; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0cm; BORDER-LEFT: #e0dfe3; WIDTH: 65pt; PADDING-TOP: 0cm; BORDER-BOTTOM: #999999 1pt solid; BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent; mso-border-alt: solid #999999 .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid #999999 .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid #999999 .5pt" vAlign=top width=87>Hyndburn</TD><TD style="BORDER-RIGHT: #999999 1pt solid; PADDING-RIGHT: 5.4pt; BORDER-TOP: #e0dfe3; PADDING-LEFT: 5.4pt; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0cm; BORDER-LEFT: #e0dfe3; WIDTH: 67.65pt; PADDING-TOP: 0cm; BORDER-BOTTOM: #999999 1pt solid; BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent; mso-border-alt: solid #999999 .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid #999999 .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid #999999 .5pt" vAlign=top width=90>71,224</TD><TD style="BORDER-RIGHT: #999999 1pt solid; PADDING-RIGHT: 5.4pt; BORDER-TOP: #e0dfe3; PADDING-LEFT: 5.4pt; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0cm; BORDER-LEFT: #e0dfe3; WIDTH: 65pt; PADDING-TOP: 0cm; BORDER-BOTTOM: #999999 1pt solid; BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent; mso-border-alt: solid #999999 .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid #999999 .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid #999999 .5pt" vAlign=top width=87>1,631</TD><TD style="BORDER-RIGHT: #999999 1pt solid; PADDING-RIGHT: 5.4pt; BORDER-TOP: #e0dfe3; PADDING-LEFT: 5.4pt; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0cm; BORDER-LEFT: #e0dfe3; WIDTH: 32.45pt; PADDING-TOP: 0cm; BORDER-BOTTOM: #999999 1pt solid; BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent; mso-border-alt: solid #999999 .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid #999999 .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid #999999 .5pt" vAlign=top width=43>2.3</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
<O
</OLiving in a metropolis offers a different perspective. Here are the London clubs in League 2 and below, with their borough populations, average attendance so far this season both numerically and as a percentage of the area population. In all these cases, including Hayes & Yeading, the teams are the most senior in their borough. The most senior team in the borough I live, Ealing, is Hanwell Town, a tiny semi-pro club that attract a couple of hundred in a borough of over 300,000 people that has no Football League representation.<O
</OI guess the main thing to get across when we’re beating ourselves up about gates is to realise just how small Accrington is compared to some of these places. At our level of football, the vast majority of our support is going to come from the locality, yet if Barnet attracted the same proportion of their local population as us, then their average gate would be over 9,000. The proportion of Hyndburn’s population who come to Stanley regularly is actually more akin to League 1 levels, such as Leyton Orient, whose average of 5,300 works out at 2.4% of Waltham Forest’s population. And we have just the same problems as these London clubs in that there is Premiership and Championship football available close by.
<O
</OI’m not arguing that we should be happy with our current gates, for we are clearly on the edges of Football League sustainability, but this does offer some perspective and suggests that Accrington is not exactly apathy-central. I agree with much of what Rob says, especially about establishing a more visual presence in the town, but the club is in an impossible situation trying to undercut Blackburn Rovers’ admission prices. They are being vastly subsidised by Sky. Even Burnley will be in receipt of around £1.2 million of Sky money this season. In the face of this quite unlevel playing field, it’s quite a risk to drop your prices when we are barely subsisting as we are. One potential downside with a £10 admission offer is that the club would have no choice but to revert to the full prices if the initiative fails to attract the numbers to make it pay, and this would undoubtedly cause more discontent. Perhaps one way round this is to try the initiative for the final few games, or to have a donation facility, so that £10 gets you on the ground, but you can then donate a few quid more if you want to. There have been some excellent ideas put forward on this thread; let’s hope that the club, or the OSC, can see some of through to fruition.
<O
</OPhil
People know my opinion on the gate figures and I happen to believe we are nearer to this 2000 figure that keeps being mentioned. Pendle you want it supported by a clever marketing campaign but we already have a clever counting system. Lancsdave has the answer, people will come if we are winning, that's it bottom line.