Shrimpsvoices

Just to confirm what we all know. Our gates for this season are really worrying with the biggest fall of any club in our division , down 22%.

Some of the decrease is beyond our control , ie Dagenham having 3 international players meaning a Saturday game went to a Tuesday.

The loss of a decent Boxing Day gate.

Some of the shortfall should be made up when Portsmouth come although on a Tuesday night it will be nothing like what they would bring on a Saturday. Carlisle will probably bring 2 million especially if they are still in the top part of the league !

But in the last few seasons our crowds have averaged about 500 more than Accrington and now we are less than 100 per game more than them.

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Very worrying and no doubt of major concern to the powers that be BUT maybe if the team played a more entertaining game at home with a return to the free flowing play we all complemented the management on at the start of the season then those who used to class themselves as regulars but no longer turn up would be tempted back.....

The current boring and sterile play at home isn't really conducive to encouraging an increase in gates.

Only my opinion and others will no doubt disagree.

Christies Child wrote:Very worrying and no doubt of major concern to the powers that be BUT maybe if the team played a more entertaining game at home with a return to the free flowing play we all complemented the management on at the start of the season then those who used to class themselves as regulars but no longer turn up would be tempted back.....

The current boring and sterile play at home isn't really conducive to encouraging an increase in gates.

Only my opinion and others will no doubt disagree.

I agree... but who's to blame

No one person is to blame. Kids in the area grow up supporting premiership and even championship teams the price of a game is to high and the football on offer is pretty poor.

Im sure the christie park brigade will say its down to moving but its not the case. The overall average attendance at the end of the season will be false really when you consider how many tuesday games we will have played i honestly cant remember the last saturday game

Sorry, I meant who's to blame for the boring home (and, to be fair before today, away) performances? The players or the management?

To be fair most of the blame for the tactics have to come from the management. It's then up to the players to implement their instructions out on the pitch. The dwindling crowds are mainly as a result of the poor standard of football played at the globe. I don't buy into the quality of service associated with food as a major factor for the reduced attendance. For me personally £17 is enough money to find every week. I still think we have a good nucleus of players when fit its a case of playing them in their correct position and picking the correct formation. I like to feel I'm getting entertained for my admission fee but that's been sadly lacking especially this season. If the football improves on the pitch the crowds will increase. Carry on the way we have been playing at home and they are going to continue on a downward spiral.

-22% drop in attendances is very worrying. Why so bad this year in particular?

- Very poor home win ratio and some shocking performances to boot. Its not just this season. We have been crap at home now for five seasons and people have simply had enough.
- No cup runs to generate enthusiasm (JPT were all away matches after beating Walsall)
- Crap fixtures. Very few northern teams, no home matches over Xmas, hardly any Sat matches, potential bumper crowd against Luton lost due to being played on a Tues etc.
- Atmosphere and tension between fans/stewards/club. All the bother with the young scrotes fighting in the stands has ruined the atmosphere and put a wedge between groups of fans, officials etc. After it all kicked off we seemed to lose about 200 fans instantly. The home end used to sing as one with supportive and witty chanting. Who now wants to join in with the sectarian chants and other juvenile crap comes from the centre Omega?
- Customer service and matchday experience. Home end facilities are still appalling and if anything getting worse. Food prices went up this season, but the club didn't bother changing the menu prices. Used to be umbrellas to keep people dry at half time, but these have now gone. Have to walk to the far end of the ground to get access and often queue for 10 mins to get in despite the numbers. No smoking not enforced by stewards. Toilets are usually filthy. Beer is often served warm. Food can be hit and miss and things like pies sell out but staff don't inform the queue. In general you feel like the staff and management don't give a monkeys about customer service.
- Match promotion and marketing. We don't seem to get this right either. The Cambridge offer was a classic example of a missed opportunity because it was made far too complicated and wasn't promoted nearly enough.