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Post by Lobster on Mar 9, 2017 12:35:12 GMT
Interesting article about a club whose gates have gone from below 200 to over 1,200 in seven or eight years, partly helped by a 'pay what you like' day on Non League Day. I often wonder whether long-term growth for us needs to be about taking a few adventurous risks and doing something that nobody else is doing.
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Post by Hannibal on Mar 9, 2017 12:48:31 GMT
Fully agree lobster.
Didn't Hartlepool Utd do something adventurous 4 or 5 years ago when their gates were sub 2000 and now they're around 3-4,000 despite the club struggling.
I'd love it if we could get our gates up towards the 3,000 average.
I feel the gerry-built nature of our ground and it's location is a big negative to increasing crowds.
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Post by Krankie's Ghost on Mar 9, 2017 13:08:54 GMT
Oh Dear Lobster, you've started another thread on attendances  But yes, a little vision goes a long way, i agree. |
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Post by The One and Only on Mar 9, 2017 13:33:17 GMT
This club was supposed to be all about doing things our way, differently to all the others. A Fans Owned Football club for the City and Community.
7 years on from the rebirth, and what do we have that makes us stand out from the rest?
We're a Football Club owned by the Fans, but run in exactly the same way as everyone else, with the same pricing structure as everyone else, and then we all wonder why people who turned out in their droves in those first 2 seasons have stayed away. Because people bought into the idea of a Community Focussed Football Club that was affordable to all.
And you know what, as soon as we tasted that first championship title success we tasted that little bit of glory and (in my opinion) it was like a drug to some at the club at the time. We voted in the price increase that first season and then kept on raising the prices each year until we flatlined in the Conference, now wondering why we get less than 2,500 home fans in for a derby, when 2,500 should be the norm in the home end.
All the focus that should have been on sustainable growth in those early years were thrown out of the window as soon as they tasted the sweet nectar of success
Didn't matter when the gates started dropping, we were still winning games - they'll come back - was the way most people thought at the time - they still continue to think like that as well judging by some of the attitudes on here.
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Post by sealandender on Mar 9, 2017 13:46:31 GMT
again voice your concerns at a cfu meeting . its our club that's what the meetings are for .
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Post by chesterken on Mar 9, 2017 13:54:12 GMT
It's a fact that as soon as you stop winning all your home games the gates are going to drop, we do have our share of fair weather supporters who only turn up to see a team win every week.when we were winning the leagues in the first 3 seasons the glory boys and floaters all turned up but now we have found our level we have a hard core of 1500 who will turn up every week win or lose,hopefully we will obtain a transfer injection at the end of the season which give us a big boost for the start of next season if used wisely.
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Post by The One and Only on Mar 9, 2017 14:08:17 GMT
And the above 2 replies show the apathy and lack of desire to address the real issue.
And the "well they turned up when we won every week" We had a multi record breaking side in the Conference North winning season and you know what. Our average gate was DOWN on the season before.
So you know what, it didn't matter that we won every week, we won every week and the gate was still down on average. Why was that?
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Post by Deleted on Mar 9, 2017 14:53:28 GMT
Hipster FC
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Post by sealandender on Mar 9, 2017 15:32:14 GMT
Hipster FC  |
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Post by Rio Doherty on Mar 9, 2017 15:47:33 GMT
We need to be doing everything to attract bigger crowds and do a pay what you want on an occasion. It might attract a few more at least.
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Post by billyw on Mar 9, 2017 16:37:07 GMT
We need to be doing everything to attract bigger crowds and do a pay what you want on an occasion. It might attract a few more at least. We could offer 'pay what you want' and some would moan about it not being free! |
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Post by paulie on Mar 9, 2017 16:40:26 GMT
This club was supposed to be all about doing things our way, differently to all the others. A Fans Owned Football club for the City and Community. 7 years on from the rebirth, and what do we have that makes us stand out from the rest? We're a Football Club owned by the Fans, but run in exactly the same way as everyone else, with the same pricing structure as everyone else, and then we all wonder why people who turned out in their droves in those first 2 seasons have stayed away. Because people bought into the idea of a Community Focussed Football Club that was affordable to all. And you know what, as soon as we tasted that first championship title success we tasted that little bit of glory and (in my opinion) it was like a drug to some at the club at the time. We voted in the price increase that first season and then kept on raising the prices each year until we flatlined in the Conference, now wondering why we get less than 2,500 home fans in for a derby, when 2,500 should be the norm in the home end. All the focus that should have been on sustainable growth in those early years were thrown out of the window as soon as they tasted the sweet nectar of success Didn't matter when the gates started dropping, we were still winning games - they'll come back - was the way most people thought at the time - they still continue to think like that as well judging by some of the attitudes on here. Best post I've read for a while. |
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Post by Rio Doherty on Mar 9, 2017 17:54:37 GMT
We need to be doing everything to attract bigger crowds and do a pay what you want on an occasion. It might attract a few more at least. We could offer 'pay what you want' and some would moan about it not being free! Haha knowing the mentality of some posters on Deva chat your probably right. |
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Post by TheTheremin on Mar 9, 2017 18:18:57 GMT
When I lived in London I lived a stones throw from Champion Hill and used to watch Dulwich Hamlet a few times a season. Gates were usually 300-400 and the ground was in those days a cavernous wreck once capable of holding 20,000.
In those days East Dulwich was a bit of a crap area but since then it has become gentrified, really seriously gentrified. Hipster hell. The enhanced support is drawn from the new locals in large part and the support is on terms that are alien to most football clubs. The ground is cheek by jowl with miles on mile of streets of the better type of terrace housing now lived in by a lot of people with way more money than sense.
There is no way that the Dulwich story could be replicated by us. The area is of a type that is unique to only a few of the larger UK cities. And in terms of the club they had no master plan to cultivate a new army of hipster fans. It just happened. Obviously they are pleased with the support and Hamlet is a super little club but this was never the plan.
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Post by sealandender on Mar 9, 2017 18:47:14 GMT
When I lived in London I lived a stones throw from Champion Hill and used to watch Dulwich Hamlet a few times a season. Gates were usually 300-400 and the ground was in those days a cavernous wreck once capable of holding 20,000. In those days East Dulwich was a bit of a crap area but since then it has become gentrified, really seriously gentrified. Hipster hell. The enhanced support is drawn from the new locals in large part and the support is on terms that are alien to most football clubs. The ground is cheek by jowl with miles on mile of streets of the better type of terrace housing now lived in by a lot of people with way more money than sense. There is no way that the Dulwich story could be replicated by us. The area is of a type that is unique to only a few of the larger UK cities. And in terms of the club they had no master plan to cultivate a new army of hipster fans. It just happened. Obviously they are pleased with the support and Hamlet is a super little club but this was never the plan. move to garden lane or hoole then. good write up though .Dulwich sounds a bit like Didsbury . |
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Post by paulie on Mar 9, 2017 20:30:15 GMT
We need to be doing everything to attract bigger crowds and do a pay what you want on an occasion. It might attract a few more at least. We could offer 'pay what you want' and some would moan about it not being free! Season ticket holders like a good whinge too. |
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