Growing our Support

[Keen Blade]

Our 10k gate last night , compared to Leeds 30k , prompted me to post this on a badly titled thread from a pork OP :

I am a typical Leeds-hating Blade , ever since our loss of Mick Jones + through countless years in between. But after their agony of losing out on an auto spot to us , then promotion in the POs (tee-hee) , I am forced to grudgingly admire the size & loyalty of their support , in turning out 30k for a midweek cup game , when we turn out 10k. If our positions had been reversed at the end of last season , I reckon we'd have got 5k + they'd have filled Elland Road (the bastards).

I have posted in other threads that we should forget expanding the Lane until we've used the £ to establish the team in the Prem and the Lane actually sells out consistently.
We are so fortunate that our newbie "potential fans" can roll-up + grab the great view in the BLUT.

We could improve the catering facilities on the Kop as an interim measure which would itself generate more income.

I have posted in other threads about some of the anomalies of our ticketing policy
It is a challenge to grow our support but I hope the marketing & ticket systems will make it easier than they currently do.

Just to clarify , it is obvious the OP of "Our Shit Fans" is pork , but there is a decent point emerges about how we can grow the ardent percentage of our support - no sense in pretending we don't have the population potential to do it - but the Club needs to tap into the recent upsurge.

And I am not sure whether they understand how to do this.

What about ST holders going for free last night , if £ is the problem in Sheffield ?
An average ticket cost of £10 from 10k supporters is £100k , the weekly wage of 3 players - buttons in £ Prem finance terms.
But in PR terms ?
How many ST holders might have taken a friend and shared the cost of his £10 ticket - for the chance to sit together , which they could never do at Prem game .
Even in Sheffield , £5 each to attend a match can't be too much !
And then that friend gets to like attending a game , and he goes again , and again.

I don't think the Club show the foresight or ingenuity required to develop a fanbase in the most positive era for our Club in my lifetime.

What about doing multi-match deals for the upcoming Liverpool & Man Utd games ?

Let's say it's £40 to get in - make it £60 for Liverpool & Burnley (or even Arsenal since it's Monday night TV).

Make it £60 for Man Utd & Newcastle , since the latter is a Tuesday night in December when families are scrimping for Christmas ?

We all know that Sheffield is not the richest place , but have a look at the gates in the North-East compared to their catchment areas - there is potential here.

I'm retired now , but there couldn't be a better time to be the marketing manager at the Lane.

I am desperate for the Blades to harvest the goodwill they have worked hard to create.

And football fortunes change fast , so make hay while the sun shines - not by charging high prices (which are unnecessary with TV money flowing in) - but by growing support.

 

[FATTYFOULKE]

Not e anybody in the upper tier are newbie fans. I moved my season ticket from the South to sit in the corner and I know 2 others that did. I also know a few who get tickets for the upper who have been going years. I sometimes sit there with my wife or mate. I love it up there, best view and leg room in the ground.

 

[Sheffsteel]

We are so fortunate that our newbie "potential fans" can roll-up + grab the great view in the BLUT.

Visitors/ friends/ family who are potential fans CAN’T simply buy a ticket for a match they wish to attend, even if on the day of the match there are still tickets available.
They are forced to jump through a few hoops due to the minimum points conditions.
These restrictions are something I don’t believe other PL clubs have.

Agree it’s always a good idea to think about ticket initiatives.
Although suspect the club imagines that most games will easily sell out this season....it might still happen.

 

[PokerBlade]

I don't know if the League Cup is the same but in the FA Cup you can't just reduce the ticket prices without agreement from the other side as there's a share of the gate.

Ultimately though, it was a reserve match. That's how we approach the cup. If people thought we would go all out for the cup then maybe they would turn up. But I really don't think there's a way to generate much interest for a game of that standard and I doubt you're going to make many new fans so excited by that performance that they're quick to come again.

If the team aren't going to take the cup seriously then we can't expect fans to be interested in it. And not many people seem to be saying that we should take the cup seriously .

 

[Blade for Sale]

For a start, when comparing a L**ds attendance with that of either Sheffield side, your 1st step should be to halve it. They are the only football club in a similar sized city to ours. I don't care how fucking impressive their crowds are, they are at a massive advantage in that regards, and the same goes for Newcastle and their fabled support. If you want to compare apples and apples, you have to adjust accordingly.
So, 15k. Still quite impressive I'll grant you, but they've had a strong start to the season and are very much giving off shit or bust vibes, onto which their fans seem to have grabbed. If they fail again this season Bielsa will walk as will half their squad and they'll be fucked. The fans sense this and, to their credit it must be said, are backing the bid so to speak.

 

[Keen Blade]

We are so fortunate that our newbie "potential fans" can roll-up + grab the great view in the BLUT.

Potential fans and visitors CAN’T just simply buy a ticket for a match they wish to attend, even if on the day of the match there are still tickets available.
They are forced to jump through a few hoops due to the minimum points conditions.
These restrictions are something I don’t believe other PL clubs have.

I have misused the phrase 'roll-up'. What I meant was that one if the best views in the Lane is not reserved for ST holders - it is a great marketing tool at our disposal but the Club are not making the most of it.

This is something I've addressed in other threads.
The "marketing" dept need to devise a much better way if picking up newbies , who by definition , will not be thinking about getting a ticket for a match 3 weeks ahead , whilst being fully au fait with complicated Loyalty points.

They will have a passing interest in attending the Lane "sometime" , and then suddenly they will see it's a nice bright day + they are free + their child or mate or wife or g/f is free , and Friday night they decide to go.

BUT THEY CAN'T.

Which is just stupid.

It is not rocket science to ask such a person to take a 'proof of address' with him to the ticket office on Saturday morning , when he can easily park in the SS car park.
This shows he's not come as an away fan , so the segregation/safety is intact.

What is the point in saving BLUT for newbie fans , only to have rules in place which directly dissuade newbie fans ?

Marketing/ticket office need to give their heads a wobble.

 

[Millhousesblade1889]

It's not what you know its who you know.

I didn't receive any loyalty points as a pal played for the first team in our League 1 days, I went to pretty much every game home and away. Since he's left I've pretty much had to rebuild my points.

I'm not saying this for sympathy as I was fortunate to get guaranteed/ complimentary tickets for a while, but I'm screwed now for away games and I don't get near the first week of release.

I do agree that the loyal fans should be rewarded for the away days and this minimum 500 points for home games is a joke. Especially if we've not sold out!

 

[Stretch]

Not e anybody in the upper tier are newbie fans. I moved my season ticket from the South to sit in the corner and I know 2 others that did. I also know a few who get tickets for the upper who have been going years. I sometimes sit there with my wife or mate. I love it up there, best view and leg room in the ground.

Yep, I have been going since the early 90s, regularly switching between the Kop and South Stand depending on who I was with etc, started going in the Westfield Corner a few seasons back and have since settled in the BLUT. I wouldn't go in another stand now unless unavoidable.

 

[Keen Blade]

I don't know if the League Cup is the same but in the FA Cup you can't just reduce the ticket prices without agreement from the other side as there's a share of the gate.

Ultimately though, it was a reserve match. That's how we approach the cup. If people thought we would go all out for the cup then maybe they would turn up. But I really don't think there's a way to generate much interest for a game of that standard and I doubt you're going to make many new fans so excited by that performance that they're quick to come again.

If the team aren't going to take the cup seriously then we can't expect fans to be interested in it. And not many people seem to be saying that we should take the cup seriously .

We have 24 Prem players - 11 will start + 7 will be on the bench. We have strength in depth this season. We have £ multi million players not starting , who'll play in these games.
Wtf does "not taken seriously" mean ?
CW will tell you that all 24 are capable of holding their own in the Prem - and he'll be right !
Never have we had £ multi million players not making the 18 .... Where have you been this summer ?

 

[BushBlade]

Just accept that Leeds are a bigger club and have been since the Revie days.

 

[BushBlade]

.

 

[PokerBlade]

We have 24 Prem players - 11 will start + 7 will be on the bench. We have strength in depth this season. We have £ multi million players not starting , who'll play in these games.
Wtf does "not taken seriously" mean ?
CW will tell you that all 24 are capable of holding their own in the Prem - and he'll be right !
Never have we had £ multi million players not making the 18 .... Where have you been this summer ?

We made 10 changes to our first team and it was fairly clear that the players on display had one eye on avoiding injuries. Did you watch the game? Did it look like a classy Prem team? Because it didn't to me. It looked like a very disjointed group of individuals who weren't all that bothered about the result over getting some fitness work done.

And, honestly, I was fine with that. I only went because I missed the pre-season games and wanted a look at the likes of Besic and Mousset, and I got exactly that. But in terms of a competitive performance, that was so far below anything else you'll see from us this season and it wasn't that way just because we had an "off day", it was by design. The League Cup is way down low on the list of priorities for us.

You only needed to watch that game to see we weren't that bothered about winning. Same as Barnet last season.

 

[Gin&Juice]

Leeds are probably in the top 10 supported clubs in the country. Unless they flounder in the lower leagues for the next 20 years and we become an established PL club I can't see this changing for some time. They'd still be a PL club if it wasn't for Ridsdale.

 

[SW12 to S12 to S18]

Leeds are probably in the top 10 supported clubs in the country. Unless they flounder in the lower leagues for the next 20 years and we become an established PL club I can't see this changing for some time. They'd still be a PL club if it wasn't for Ridsdale.

But how many of the odious scum are actually from l**ds? I believe that they have one of the highest percentages of fans from outside their own area in the country along with Liverpool and Manchester United but goodness knows why. At least most of ours are from this area and have some sort of affinity to the club.

 

[Kanye]

While I would be delighted to see us fill the ground for every game, I detest the constant comparisons of attendance between us and Wednesday, and now seemingly Leeds.

Leeds are a fantastically supported club (regardless of how many teams the city has), they're historically significant/successful, and had a squad littered with internationals, playing in the Champions League in the last 20 years.

If we are successful, and that success is sustained over a long period of time, our support will grow.

The comparison between the two is pointless.

 

[BushBlade]

But how many of the odious scum are actually from l**ds? I believe that they have one of the highest percentages of fans from outside their own area in the country along with Liverpool and Manchester United but goodness knows why. At least most of ours are from this area and have some sort of affinity to the club.

I think it might be something to do with this

In his 13 years in charge, Revie guided Leeds to two Football League First Division titles, one FA Cup, one League Cup, two Inter-Cities Fairs Cups, one Football League Second Division title and one Charity Shield. He also guided them to three more FA Cup Finals, two more FA Cup Semi-finals, one more Inter-Cities Fairs Cup Final and one Inter-Cities Fairs Cup Semi-final, one European Cup Winners' Cup Final and one European Cup Semi-final. The team also finished second in the Football League First Division five times, third once and fourth twice. In a survey of leading football writers, historians and academics by Total Sportmagazine, Revie's Leeds United were voted as one of the 50 greatest football teams of all time.[35]

 

[Ricky]

I swear we'll still be wasting BLUT 50 years from now.

 

[maidmarion]

I think the lack of time tickets were on sale to season ticket holders and as I read it we weren't even guaranteed our own seats, it was that , that put me off going on Tuesday. Quite fancied going as I knew there would be some of the peripheral players on show. I don't live in Sheffield so couldn't get to the ground and life is pretty hectic at the moment and I don't have time to mess around potentially waiting on the phone or negotiating the internet.
So there, that's why I wasn't there.....

 

[Sheffsteel]

I think it might be something to do with this

In his 13 years in charge, Revie guided Leeds to two Football League First Division titles, one FA Cup, one League Cup, two Inter-Cities Fairs Cups, one Football League Second Division title and one Charity Shield. He also guided them to three more FA Cup Finals, two more FA Cup Semi-finals, one more Inter-Cities Fairs Cup Final and one Inter-Cities Fairs Cup Semi-final, one European Cup Winners' Cup Final and one European Cup Semi-final. The team also finished second in the Football League First Division five times, third once and fourth twice. In a survey of leading football writers, historians and academics by Total Sportmagazine, Revie's Leeds United were voted as one of the 50 greatest football teams of all time.[35]

Another massive factor was tv.

Televisions started becoming common in 1970 and this was the doorway for the masses to watch top level football
So any team dominating, winning honours in the late 60’s to the mid 70’s swept up the “glory hineutral support throughout England Wales.
This explains why Leeds have loads of supporters in their 60’s all over the country and their sons have now become supporters too.

 

[Keen Blade]

Leeds are not really the issue - it's the lack of nouse in our own Club which fails to increase its support in modest increments , by simple but effective changes in marketing policy.
There are loads of ways , in addition to the ones already mentioned.

For example , we have several hundred seats which are restricted view.
In what other competitive marketplace do you sell these at the same price as the ones with a decent view ?

We all know that South Yorkshire isn't exactly a land of financial milk & honey.
These seats should be sold at half price or less , perhaps to children in Care Homes or children's organisations such as church groups or scouts or junior football clubs.
From little acorns do large oaks grow.

The TV money gives us unprecedented pricing scope to introduce 'the watching of football at the Lane' to literally hundreds , if not thousands , of new fans.

I am proud of the "Blades family ethos" epitomised by KMc (reasonable ST prices) , CW (let's have players who'll love the Club) & Billy Sharp (Mr Sheffield United) in the last 3 years.

But let's make the most of our recent success , by including as many of those "would-be" future Blades , as we possibly can accommodate , in terms of price , the ease of last minute ticket-purchasing , etc.

 

[Keen Blade]

Another massive factor was tv.

Televisions started becoming common in 1970 and this was the doorway for the masses to watch top level football
So any team dominating in the late 60’s to the mid 70’s swept up the neutral support throughout England Wales.
This explains why Leeds have loads of supporters in their 60’s all over the country and their sons have now become supporters too.

It's a fair & interesting point.

 

[Keen Blade]

I think the lack of time tickets were on sale to season ticket holders and as I read it we weren't even guaranteed our own seats, it was that , that put me off going on Tuesday. Quite fancied going as I knew there would be some of the peripheral players on show. I don't live in Sheffield so couldn't get to the ground and life is pretty hectic at the moment and I don't have time to mess around potentially waiting on the phone or negotiating the internet.
So there, that's why I wasn't there.....

Mine is in no way a criticism of individuals who don't attend - I am an ST holder who doesn't live in Sheffield + didn't go myself !
But my point is a macro , not a micro argument.
I just don't feel the Club is taking the opportunity to get people on board.
I don't believe it is efficient , in the short time available , to allow ST holders the chance to get their own seat. A cup match which won't sell out us an ideal opportunity for a ST to bring his non-ST mate/child/wife/gf + the 2 sit together , which wouldn't be possible in a stand full of ST holders.
This potentially converts another casual spectator into a fan.
Your point about the difficulty of the actual ticket-purchase , just before the game , us exactly the sort of problem our ticket office cannot seem to grasp.

 

[BushBlade]

Another massive factor was tv.

Televisions started becoming common in 1970 and this was the doorway for the masses to watch top level football
So any team dominating, winning honours in the late 60’s to the mid 70’s swept up the “glory hineutral support throughout England Wales.
This explains why Leeds have loads of supporters in their 60’s all over the country and their sons have now become supporters too.

Very true. If I had to name the four most important things that have influenced football post war it would be:
Abolition of the maximum wage
The televisation of football
European football
Premier League.

 

[1889]

But how many of the odious scum are actually from l**ds? I believe that they have one of the highest percentages of fans from outside their own area in the country along with Liverpool and Manchester United but goodness knows why. At least most of ours are from this area and have some sort of affinity to the club.

Leeds have ‘fans’ from all parts of the country because, back in the 70’s they were the equivalent to a current top six Premier League team, with just Man Utd for similar competition in the north.

Their support now, is a legacy of that era, old boys who went in the 70’s, their sons and grandsons. Most have no heritage or other affinity with West Yorkshire, they are the plastic, tinpot, Chinese tourists of yesteryear or descendants of such.

People who follow a team, purely due to its success and a perceived reflected glory, are absolute wankers now and they were absolute wankers then................not that it bothers me of course

 

[SW12 to S12 to S18]

I think it might be something to do with this

In his 13 years in charge, Revie guided Leeds to two Football League First Division titles, one FA Cup, one League Cup, two Inter-Cities Fairs Cups, one Football League Second Division title and one Charity Shield. He also guided them to three more FA Cup Finals, two more FA Cup Semi-finals, one more Inter-Cities Fairs Cup Final and one Inter-Cities Fairs Cup Semi-final, one European Cup Winners' Cup Final and one European Cup Semi-final. The team also finished second in the Football League First Division five times, third once and fourth twice. In a survey of leading football writers, historians and academics by Total Sportmagazine, Revie's Leeds United were voted as one of the 50 greatest football teams of all time.[35]

I know all that, of course I do, and I had to put up with this being rammed down my throat by smug look leeds every night of the week which is one of the many reasons I really do dislike them, and I agree with you that that is the main reason they still get decent crowds. Take all those outsiders from the equation and I wonder what sort of crowds they would get then.

 

[bypassblade]

Irrespective of who you support Leeds is good support, so is ours in a 2 team city, what I hate is people who say I supported Man Utd but when City started winning thins I now support them You support your team cradle to grave IMO, you can 2 time a woman you NEVER 2 time your football club. When I die it's written in a letter I've done and told wife I get cremated in Blades shirt and shorts, and wife and daughters and son wear Blades shirts no black.

I have long believed that you are BABLABDAB, that is born a blade, live a blade, die a blade.

 

[Kenilworth]

Disappointed this thread wasn’t an informative piece about hemp based undergarments.
I expected a detailed description of how to plant and nurture the raw materials from seed, when it becomes mature enough to harvest, how to process it, the design of the most comfortable features and how to construct the final piece.

Misleading title of the thread,

 

[cahill]

Leeds are probably in the top 10 supported clubs in the country. Unless they flounder in the lower leagues for the next 20 years and we become an established PL club I can't see this changing for some time. They'd still be a PL club if it wasn't for Ridsdale.

Not sure we should be whipping ourselves about our support given it will be 30,000 + average this season.
Who cares about Leeds !

 

[BushBlade]

Disappointed this thread wasn’t an informative piece about hemp based undergarments.
I expected a detailed description of how to plant and nurture the raw materials from seed, when it becomes mature enough to harvest, how to process it, the design of the most comfortable features and how to construct the final piece.

Misleading title of the thread,

It’s pretty easy to grow, essentially it’s like a weed. You just plant the seeds and let it grow. You’re not growing it for ‘medical’ use so no special lights or anything like that is required.

Hemp fabric is made from the long strands of fibre that make up the stalk of the plant. These fibres are separated from the bark through a process called “retting.” These fibres are then spun together to produce a continuous thread that can be woven into a fabric.

The various stages of this process can be done organically through a mechanical process that requires no chemicals. However, many companies now produce hemp fabric chemically, in a process that is much more intensive on the environment, but faster and cheaper to create.

The impact of the fabric doesn’t just stop once it has been woven, either. Once the fabric has been created, it may be dyed, which again can result in various environmental outcomes, depending on the technique used.

 

[ThatJa]

Just accept that Leeds are a bigger club and have been since the Revie days.

Bigger does not mean better.