Fed Up?

[Bristol Boy]

All I seem to have heard lately is managers & chairman bemoaning the lack of support-particularly at home.

I'm not talking about us, I'm talking about:

Sunderland 10,000 ST's didn't renew.

PNE near the top of The Championship-crowds not great and their collective groaning puts us to shame.

Wigan, Blackburn & Bolton-all succesful clubs have had to reduce prices and Bolton are on the cusp of a Champions League place.

I think that the reason is actually quite simple and what highlighted it to me is how little I watch Football on the TV some weeks.Bearing in mind that I really like Football (despite supporting City.........only joking) and, in fairness, if you're not into Cooking in your garden while some divvy with a double barrelled name covers your gaff in MDF and then Carol Vorderman rips your kitchen out while you've gone to work and then you escape to the country for a place in the sun .........I must go out more

Whilst Sky have taken televised football to a different level and the same can be said with Cricket & Rugby-There's just to damn much of it.Wall to wall Football.

Having just watched the Man City fans reaction (fully justified) to their defeat at Blackburn the worm is slowly turning and people are utterly fed up with players who earn £30kpw (not their fault) and don't give a toss.Remember this is the club that some fringe players left and FORGOT about hundreds of thousands of pounds in bank accounts whch was subsequently pinched by a couple of chavs at the bank!!

So the question is "Are People Fed Up With Football"

[bartolona]

Our average attendance is less than 100 down on last season with the bigger games still to come. So with the general trend of attendances falling our's will be rising.

[BrotherErnieFromBarrowGurney]

Yes, but last year we nearly got relegated and this time we are among the promotion hopefuls so an extra 100? Perhaps the fans will come back when promotion is a certainty?

[bartolona]

Yes, but last year we nearly got relegated and this time we are among the promotion hopefuls so an extra 100? Perhaps the fans will come back when promotion is a certainty?

02/03 season 3rd, average 11,889, so far this season average 11,656.

[Ian M]

02/03 season 3rd, average 11,889, so far this season average 11,656.

Yep, that's the whole season though so includes your typical "end of the season City are going well so I might actually go this week" boosted attendances.

We merely need to average 12,733 over the final 5 games to attain a season average of 11,890.

The Forest & Yeovil games will attract at least 16,000 (if for no other reason than the opposition bringing thousands) which means an average for Bradford, Swansea & Rotherham of 10,555 achieving an increase.

Personally I reckon the average will end up being over 12,500.

[brizzlered1]

I think there are two big problems. One is the rise in prices and the other is the domination of the 'big four'.

Prices for football are not cheap and have not gone up in line with inflation over the past 6/7 years. Finally this season the bubble has burst with other clubs suffering and having to lower or sustain prices - the big question is, is it too little, too late?

I for one won't be able to attend as many games next season being an Adult opposed to being a Student - the mark up is too expensive and this ties in to my other point.

You frequently walk around Bristol and see kids wearing Man Utd, Chelsea, Liverpool and Arsenal shirts - the problem is, how do we get to these people? As a club i do feel that we try especially hard and do the quid a kid schemes and free entry for loads of them at least once a season - its getting them back as a full paying customer that is the big issue.

These two issues are hand in hand. Kids are no longer interested in their local side due to the fact they can watch Man United on Sky and the BBC has shown United in every round of this seasons F.A Cup - isn't it a surprise that parents won't take them, when they happy enough sat inside watching Ronaldo on their 32" Plasma TV with Sky. This in turn adds the problem of families coming to AG. A family of four to come to AG costs roughly 45 - 50 pounds before programmes and food etc. That is a big amount of money and many families don't have that disposable income to spend.

I don't mean to put a downer on this, but I see it as a huge concern for the future but I for one certainly don't know the answers, all I would say is that football needs to return to its 'working man' heritage and be inclusive opposed to exclusive.

[seesaw]

02/03 season 3rd, average 11,889, so far this season average 11,656.

I could be wrong on this but hasn't it been that this season they actually count season ticket holders

whether they turn up or not. I'm sure they didn't previously.

[megansdad]

lost interest in the primadonnaship a long time ago- and if you really want wall to wall football try Asia every Prem game is live or delayed it seems and some people get up at 4am t watch -must be mad-give me 1976 Match of the Day any time

[Show Me The Money!]

I think it is a case of more and more now money is deciding who wins everything

Chelsea, Man Utd, Arsenal and Liverpool are so far ahead of everybody else in terms of money and resources that for the rest of us you sometimes wonder what is the point of trying to compete when it is going to be 1 of those 4 teams who will win everything.

I can't remember the last time I watched a premiership game . The premiership just bores me. Other than Chelsea, Man U, Arsenal and Liverpool I don't know why the rest bother. They can't compete.

With regards to City. If we get promoted this season. Where do we go from there. I belive that we would have a chance of getting to the premiership. Chances of that are probably quite slim I will admit but a least we would have a chance wereas if we were in the Premiership we wouldn't have a chance. We maybe able to stay in the Prem for a couple of years but we would still have as much chance of winning the prem as we do now.

So what is the point?

Love of your club I guess and the dream.

Come on you reds!

[Jungle Jim]

I'm not sure that looking at City attendances is a good example, as stated they are roughly comparable with previous recent seasons. BB's original point was centred on the northern teams who really are struggling to fill the ground for big matches, eg Blackburn on sunday.

The general point is that football is expensive, and that is why crowds are struggling. I'm sure somewhere there is research comparing the price of tickets to average earnings & inflation rises, I'd guess that the price has gone up more than it should have. £20 is a lot for 3rd divsion football, £40+ is ridiculous for 1st division football. Compared to other entertainment, eg seeing a band, it is more money for less quality, and you are not as guaranteed entertainment. What you used to be guaranteed was a good atmosphere and a sense of occasion, but that is fading, in part due to the higher pricing.

I don't object to the players getting the wages they do if that is a result of tv money, but what shouldn't be happening is that ticket prices are being driven higher to meet players wage demands.

As for the amount of football on tv, I can't say that I'm fed up with that. I draw the line at watching conference & most basement games, but otherwise I'd still rather watch the footy than any of the other rubbish thats on.

[Bristol Boy]

A family of four to come to AG costs roughly 45 - 50 pounds before programmes and food etc. That is a big amount of money and many families don't have that disposable income to spend.

A Pre Plus Season Ticket costs £50..Per Season..£1 per game, I believe

I don't mean to put a downer on this, but I see it as a huge concern for the future but I for one certainly don't know the answers, all I would say is that football needs to return to its 'working man' heritage and be inclusive opposed to exclusive.

This includes listening to grass roots supporters on issues like terracing, pricing, unallocated seating and realistic POD availability & pricing

I could be wrong on this but hasn't it been that this season they actually count season ticket holders whether they turn up or not. I'm sure they didn't previously.

No that's never been the case.The attaendance includes only ST Holders that show up and about 750-1,000 don't every week.

[seesaw]

Bristol Boy.

You are definately wrong on this I clearly remember when we had the ask Steve facility.

And he stated that all seson tickets would be counted if they turned up or not & this was a change in policy

but can't remember what season it was introduced.

[exiledinwatford]

My answer is no -

I was at Chelski v Spurs on Sunday. Took hours to get in and out (no Distirct or Circle line), Chelsea fans were on the back of their players Ballack, Wright-Phillips and Ferreira who were slagged off at every opportunity. It was plastic and phoney and if The Premiership was the only football to be had then I would only watch on TV - I wouldn't be interested in taking the trouble to watch all the play-acting multi-millionaires.

Adult tickets at Chelsea are between £50 and £65 as well.

[wed wobin]

Bristol Boy.

You are definately wrong on this I clearly remember when we had the ask Steve facility.

And he stated that all seson tickets would be counted if they turned up or not & this was a change in policy

but can't remember what season it was introduced.

I can remember that as well. He said that if the seat was paid for it would be counted.

[Xiled]

So the question is "Are People Fed Up With Football"

I don't subscribe to Sky but I'm still completely bored with the amount of football on the box.

I'm surprised the BBC aren't showing FA Cup mid-week warm-ups or training for Man Utd...... They seem to be showing just about everything else they can.

Channel 5 have a lot of UEFA games, ITV are clinging on to Champions League and then there is Saturday and Sunday's Match of the Day.

It adds up to a lot more football. More than I have an appetite for. All this high level stuff leaves be cold.

Football is about live attendance to me, so although I can't make it to every City game, it is these that I look forward to and enjoy. Apart from Blackpool at the start of the season which was rubbish.

However, I need to feel that the club is moving forward and ambitious. If we can't spend lots of money on players then I would like to see one of the many ground redevelopment plans actually happen. We should never move away from the Ashton Gate site but it would be encouraging to see a couple of shiny new stands built in the near future. And a decent ground would bring in more supporters.

If we aren't careful, Rov*rs will get there first and start mopping up potential fans because they have better match day facilities. We need to strengthen our offering asap.

Xiled.

[Jungle Jim]

If we aren't careful, Rov*rs will get there first and start mopping up potential fans because they have better match day facilities. We need to strengthen our offering asap.

I'd like to think the prospect of watching a team 2 or more divisions higher would prove the greater incentive to potential fans, especially if it was sensibly priced. At present we have twice the gates they get, maybe its because we have an all seater ground and they have a collection of sheds and tents, maybe its because we try to play decent football and are doing relatively well at it, and they are s**t! Its not as if the facilities are particularly bad at AG, but I do agree that the sooner we have a redeveloped, pillar-less East End & Williams, and the capacity back up to 30k, the better.

[054123]

Football has become increasingly expensive, but should start the alarm bells ringing in the chairmans head is this excellent article

http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/sport/2007/03/...onger_a_yo.html

Average age of a premier league fan is 43!!!! Greedy chairman see the quick buck in exploiting those with a bit money behind them, but where are the future fans!!!!!