Sunday Independant

[beaverface]

Nogbad

It would be a mistake to limit the potential market to the City of Bristol. A realistic catchment area (especially if we were in the Prem) is up to 50 miles radius, That probably includes about 4 million people living in that circle. Let's assume just 10% of them are interested in football - that's 400,000 and that just 10% of those football followers would consider coming to home games regularly. Bingo! there is 40,000 which I believe is the "extended" (if required) capacity of the new stadium.

Although I live in Bristol, I work in South Somerset and I know of very many "sleeping" BCFC fans living round here who follow the club, very rarely come to home games but who certainly would turn up regularly if we were in the Prem. Remember there is not another Premier League side within that circle - except of course if, god forbid, Cardiff beat Blackpool, but actually I was not really thinking of South Wales as a happy hunting ground for new fans for BCFC. However I would suggest that the 50 mile radius could be extended much further down into the South-West especially if Plymouth continue to slide (as I think they will).

So I am confident that we will see regular crowds around 20K in the new stadium and if we get to the Prem I forecast that the club will be very pleased that they designed in expansion capability at the Adidas Ashton Arena - or whatever it ends up being called.

Come to think of it, I like the sound of a AAA rating for the new stadium !

So do these sleeping City fans actually want to watch City, or are they more interested in watching the Premier league sides?

I can guarantee that they'll see a much better game in Championship than they would in Premier League with City playing at home to the likes of Man Utd, Liverpool, Arsenal etc...

The game would be so one-sided that City would be clinging onto a draw with the hope of grabbing break-away goals or goals from a set pieces.

So, I'd like to know what the attraction is with having a Premier League Bristol (doesn't matter whether it's City or the Gash) team, when let's be honest, the team would most likely get a tanking each week and would be based in a permanent relegation battle (obviously ignoring Readings first season in the Premier League of course under Coppell)

[Nogbad the Bad]

So do these sleeping City fans actually want to watch City, or are they more interested in watching the Premier league sides?

I can guarantee that they'll see a much better game in Championship than they would in Premier League with City playing at home to the likes of Man Utd, Liverpool, Arsenal etc...

The game would be so one-sided that City would be clinging onto a draw with the hope of grabbing break-away goals or goals from a set pieces.

So, I'd like to know what the attraction is with having a Premier League Bristol (doesn't matter whether it's City or the Gash) team, when let's be honest, the team would most likely get a tanking each week and would be based in a permanent relegation battle (obviously ignoring Readings first season in the Premier League of course under Coppell)

All these thousands who aren't really interested in BCFC at the moment, and don't attend, would be able to see the players and teams they are really interested in, in the flesh.

Not Maynard and Hartley or indeed any in the home Red shirt, but players they know far better from Premier League clubs.

We might get 25,000, or even many more, but there would be neutrals and away supporters all around the ground.

A day out, an occasion even, but a massacre most weeks in a diluted atmosphere and a Bristol City matchday experience that many of us would neither recognise or enjoy.

As I've said many times, the Championship is ( mostly!) a very enjoyable division to be in, and City's natural home - I don't like anything about the Premier League and don't care if City never get there.

[CiderHider]

I'd like to know what the attraction is with having a Premier League Bristol (doesn't matter whether it's City or the Gash) team, when let's be honest, the team would most likely get a tanking each week and would be based in a permanent relegation battle (obviously ignoring Readings first season in the Premier League of course under Coppell)

If you cant see the attraction of playing premier league footy then I doubt there is nothing I can say which will change your mind.

Its simply the best league in the world, the home of football. its global, I spend a lot of time in Asia, and to some people the Premier league is the most important thing in their lives. The Malaysians for instance are scary in their support of it, I mean scary, some are total nut jobs. There is a ManU bar in KL the size of Cribbs causeway, its ridiculous.

And If the likes of Wigan, Stoke, Blackburn and Sunderland can do it I don't see why we can't. Bristol is one of Englands top Citys, not sure the same could be said for long standing Prem side Blackburn.

Its a question of time before we establish ourselves in the Top flight, I think it will happen with Coppell, maybe not this season, but hopefully the next.

[Guest]

So your support is conditional on you being about to get a ticket in a stand with a poor view, just so you can put a flag up?

Its about choice; not restrictions. Why shouldnt fans have the choice to go in a part of the ground where other City fans are; its just another part of our ground and fears of mass riots and punch ups are way off.

[havanatopia]

1979-80 season

28,783 home to man utd

27,333 home to arsenal

27,187 home to liverpool

1980-81 season

14,921 home to cardiff

13,554 home to bristol rovers

12,020 home to derby

Appreciate you putting all those stats there Cider.. lot of work and very interesting.

The two seasons above are very telling aren't they... a halving in the highest 3 from each season. Can we dream that the numbers might reverse when we get promoted?

If you look at most of the teams getting promoted to the prem in recent years you will see they often have sell outs each home game. When they have been there a while you see those gates slipping off such as Blackburn and Bolton and i consider Wigan being a bit of a basket case of course. I genuinely feel City will have regular sell outs in the top flight assuming 30k. as for increasing our average next season to 16k.. i am sure that will happen if we are in the top half and playing attractive football so i think SL's dreams will be realised.

Once in the Prem it should also be a lot easier to reduce prices anyway.

[beaverface]

If you cant see the attraction of playing premier league footy then I doubt there is nothing I can say which will change your mind.

Its simply the best league in the world, the home of football. its global, I spend a lot of time in Asia, and to some people the Premier league is the most important thing in their lives. The Malaysians for instance are scary in their support of it, I mean scary, some are total nut jobs. There is a ManU bar in KL the size of Cribbs causeway, its ridiculous.

And If the likes of Wigan, Stoke, Blackburn and Sunderland can do it I don't see why we can't. Bristol is one of Englands top Citys, not sure the same could be said for long standing Prem side Blackburn.

Its a question of time before we establish ourselves in the Top flight, I think it will happen with Coppell, maybe not this season, but hopefully the next.

Apologies, I didn't put my description across very well. I was trying to talk in the third person i.e From the sleeping City fans perspective.

I've personally been following City for a very long time and I've seen a lot of dross in a lot of the divisions, so for City to reach the Premier League would be the pinacle for me personally (even though I hate many aspects of it). For me the enjoyment would be Bristol City trying to effectively do a giant killing act every week.

My previous post was trying to see things from the sleeping City fans point of view. Why are they waiting for Premier League football before coming to Ashton Gate because inevitably the football is going to be a lot worse from a City point of view - and yet they claim to be City fans??!?

[The Red Planet]

Apologies, I didn't put my description across very well. I was trying to talk in the third person i.e From the sleeping City fans perspective.

I've personally been following City for a very long time and I've seen a lot of dross in a lot of the divisions, so for City to reach the Premier League would be the pinacle for me personally (even though I hate many aspects of it). For me the enjoyment would be Bristol City trying to effectively do a giant killing act every week.

My previous post was trying to see things from the sleeping City fans point of view. Why are they waiting for Premier League football before coming to Ashton Gate because inevitably the football is going to be a lot worse from a City point of view - and yet they claim to be City fans??!?

Beaverface, you have to get real here. Just cast your mind back to the play-off final at Wembley. Whether or not you were there, you will know that 35,000 + City "fans" turned up. Including two ladies from the Accounts office where I work who had only ever been to one game before at AG.

OK of course they are not dyed-in-the-wool proper fans and in fact when I saw them the next week they could not actually remember the names of half the Cty players on the pitch that day but - SO WHAT,THEY PAID FOR THEIR TICKETS !

And Cider Hider is right, Bristol is the seventh largest city in England. If Wigan, Stoke and Sunderland (all far smaller populations than Bristol + the surrounding catchment area) then so can we.

[garlicbread]

The fact that some fans cant go for what ever reason, does not make them a lesser fan than you. You should consider distance and affordability, now unless you have deep pockets or perhaps single and with no family/ mortgage etc you will not see the reality that some fans just cant afford it.

I as a youngster would go home and away every week, no family to worry about then.

My cars have been broken into twice and I have received a few parking violations fines too.

If I am not at the match I never miss a commentry of some sort on the game, and my passion for the club has not diminished since I was a kid, however I do see the need for increased attendances and I am sure the new stadium will provide that, along with Prem football and better parking.

The new stadium will have 1800 spaces. Parking will be even worse than Ashton Gate

[garlicbread]

Beaverface, you have to get real here. Just cast your mind back to the play-off final at Wembley. Whether or not you were there, you will know that 35,000 + City "fans" turned up. Including two ladies from the Accounts office where I work who had only ever been to one game before at AG.

OK of course they are not dyed-in-the-wool proper fans and in fact when I saw them the next week they could not actually remember the names of half the Cty players on the pitch that day but - SO WHAT,THEY PAID FOR THEIR TICKETS !

And Cider Hider is right, Bristol is the seventh largest city in England. If Wigan, Stoke and Sunderland (all far smaller populations than Bristol + the surrounding catchment area) then so can we.

The difference is that these (working class) towns have the club woven into their community. It is very much a birthright. That doesnt happen in Bristol as much...certainly not outside Bedminster/southville.

...Bristol is very much a middle class city now, spread over a large area and populated by migrants from all over the country who work in the service industry.

Bristol doesnt have a sense of community, as much as those northern places, it doesn't need to. This reflects in (what I consider to be) the perennially poor support for th esize of club / level it plays at.

[Martyn Hocking]

Steve is spot on as usual - if City fans are serious about seeing us get into the Prem in the next two or three years, we need to turn up in numbers in the first half of the season, get a great home run going and let the chairman and new manager know that we want - we demand - success.

There are 16,000 - 17,000 serious City fans who will need relatively little persuading to get down to AG if we are in the top six by Christmas.

[Pezo]

As far as I can remember the request that fans just turn up is often ignored unless the right type of football is being played on the pitch. That is true especially of City, there is the support out there, it's up to the club to ensure that their hard earned is not wasted by watching boring draws, with the prospect of last minute goals conceded to take home in the car

This is a vicious circle as far as I can tell, supporters saying im not going to go because its not entertaining enough thus meaning we don't have the finances to go out and sign the best players to play the good football we all want. This combined with some people saying they want good football but then being the first people to complain when we lose and play good football (im not saying your one of these).

I personally think SL is pissing into the wind with trying to get us into the prem because all the evidence is that only a small percentage of Bristol wants a Premier League football club and are willing to put there money into getting us there beforehand. If we go up we might sell out for one season, the next season or the season after I think we would be at gates of around 18k for the less interesting fixtures if we stayed there.

I can see us getting promoted sometime but I cant see us ever getting big crowds like we would need to ever be anything more than a relegation threatened club in that league and its very depressing watching your team get beat week in week out and I think a lot of people would lose interest very quickly.