The great attendance debate.

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Pollingtonblade

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Many years ago we played the Pigs at Wembley in an FA Cup semi Final, taking around 40000 supporters down to Wembley. The next home game we drew 17000 fans prompting the Flashing Blade to produce a front page saying something along the lines of 'missing 23000 Blades fans last seen at
wembley'

We are currently in our best run of form since our promotion season and our attendance yesterday was 15000 - my question is how long will the fans who helped packed the Lane in the Prem stay away?

Personally I'd go regardless of what league we are in so don't understand those who can afford to go not going.
 



I actually find it bizare that we were getting over 20k for large parts of last season with the absolute dross that was served up. Under ale house Micky our form was terrible and we packed in more than 20k and really got behind the team.

Wilson has got us playing the best football we've seen in years, it is our best start in years and we are joint top and we see a pathetic attendence and the crowd is quiet. Of course we are in a lower league, but I find this strange.

To answer your question LS26: I think until we rise up the league again. If we continue with this form I would have thought we might see closer to 20k in the second half of the season. Average attendences will probably rise to above 20k if we get back in the 2nd division. Will the premier league supporters come back? Maybe if we get back there.

It is understandable that people are not coming though to be honest. Many were sceptical about Wilson, there is a recession on and we are in the third tier (and it is an expensive day out). Plus it has been a crap few years to be a United fan. A joke under Robson, shcoking football served up under Blackwell and then last season was the worst I have seen as a Blade. I have started enjoying games again, but last season I did not enjoy them at all. I respect the hardcore fans that turn up come rain or shine, but I am sure you can appreciate shelling 50-100quid for the day out to watch Colchester in the third division is not the most fascinating prospect.
 
I don't know your source in terms of attendance but at least as I recall attendance was around the 18/19k mark give or take 500 for most of last season not 20k plus as mentioned. 15000 yesterday but attendances are averaging higher, we had a much higher number on Tuesday night even with westfield corner closed...I think it was about 17k. I think the numbers were down yesterday because Colchester only had about 200 fans in attendance. It's league 1 and many of the teams in it have less fans and even less away support and that is going to impact on us too. I wouldn't read in to it too much as attendances are fairing pretty well considering last season and relegation. So yes we have dropped a thousand or so per match on average, and I think most of them were the ones who didn't renew their season tickets. Inevitable though really.

To answer your question though. How long will the prem fans stay away? I fear probably until the next time we flirt with the top tier...and they might drop by for Octobers hog roast. Has this not always been the way though?
 
Its obvious league one , and the opposition it provides is not a big enough draw for the casual supporter
Its marketed as a lesser league
Sky sports soccer saturday running score band finishes after championship results scorers
Sunday papers give prem games 1/2 pages , championship quarter , half page , on prem days div 1 gets 5 lines in a box

League 1 gates fell 18% last season , they are already down another 11% as the recession bites
Another factor is the Student ticket , The vast increase in fees means students , who used to come probably dont have the spare cash to swell the gates

As I checked attendances Wednesday actually got 150 less for their home game with colchester last season
so its probably the norm
I said goodbye personally to all the travelling Colchester fans as they got back in their Smart car
 
Wembley showed what support we could have.
PL showed what we could realistically get at the top level
The following seasons were parachute years.

Fans want to see players that they see on sky, not players with potential (which we sell anyway) and players making their way back after playing at losing their way at a higher level and can't sell.

The rest of us will remain until we've also had enough. Looks like a half empty stadium is where we're at for this season.
Improvements in attendances will depend on the level of ambition and the success of the team.

That said, the atmosphere has improved with fewer fans this season
 
If I can add my threepenerth to the debate of match attendance.

One reason could be cost! Two matches in one week. If I had gone to both matches with my son it would have cost me in excess of £100!!! As it happens he was unable to make either of the two matches so I went to both. If he had been able to attend it would have had to be a chioce between the two games as there is no way in this current economic climate that I can justify over £100 in a week for football.

I fear lots of fans will be in the same situation and crowds will fall.

Unless there is a sea change regarding prices there is going to be less people attending football. And not just at the lane. I dont know what the general trend is so far this season but i suspect all crowds will be lower.
 
SwissBlade said:
Fans want to see players that they see on sky, not players with potential
Click to expand...

I don't. I never liked the procession of highly paid wasters who drained us of everything we'd built in the previous decade. When Lowton was left out for Nyron last season it was the final insult to common sense and good housekeeping.

Of course it's our fault for employing them, but the list is an utter horror show: Hendrie, Ehiogu, Speed, Nosworthy, Sun, Bent, and all the rest I don't care to recall...

If you're right and our fans do still want "names" then I despair. I pay my money to watch McGuire, Lowton, Quinn, et al. No disrespect to NML and Williams, but unless they're here to get themselves a move to the Lane, I see them as nothing more than emergency stop gaps. Our medium term aim should be to avoid such signings.

Even the top performers like Cahill and Reid are short term luxuries, most likely at the cost of long term success.
 
It's difficult to summarise what "our fans" want. Fans are a collective of individuals who respond to things differently, and each with their own point where they ecide they've had enough. None the less, there are a few main drivers for attendance;

1. League and opposition
2. Season Tickets sold
3. Match day price
4. Current form
5. Quality of play
After that, it's all fluff (quality of pies, music before ick off, view etc etc)

Given that we've fluffed 1, didn't make the best of 2 and made a poor fist of 3, I think crowds of 15 - 18,000 are the best we can hope for this season.

Either way, it's more enjoyable than the last few seasons, at the minute. That's because 4 is what makes me happy, irrespective of al the other factors.

:)

UTB
 
geekblade said:
I don't know your source in terms of attendance but at least as I recall attendance was around the 18/19k mark give or take 500 for most of last season not 20k plus as mentioned.
Click to expand...


Last season well over half of our attendances were over 20,000. Fourteen of them to be precise. And our season's average was over 20,000.
 
LS26BLADE said:
Many years ago we played the Pigs at Wembley in an FA Cup semi Final, taking around 40000 supporters down to Wembley. The next home game we drew 17000 fans prompting the Flashing Blade to produce a front page saying something along the lines of 'missing 23000 Blades fans last seen at
wembley'

We are currently in our best run of form since our promotion season and our attendance yesterday was 15000 - my question is how long will the fans who helped packed the Lane in the Prem stay away?

Personally I'd go regardless of what league we are in so don't understand those who can afford to go not going.
Click to expand...

They'll stay away until we return to the Premier League.
 
When is everyone going to wake up on this?

It's all about ST sales. These days you pretty much set your attendances in April when you set ST prices.

The team being top of the league wil make little difference to attendances - 10,000 Blades will not go to the hassle and expense of buying a ticket for every home match. It does not happen, especially when the club has made it clear it is not going to try and entice fans back or entice new fans with any offers this season.

We messed up badly on STs again this season and are now down to 11,000.

We had to be innovative and dynamic and instead we got it all wrong and took the fans for granted.

Some of us did predict this would happen I just hope the club doesn't make the same mistake again.

Losing ST holders is easy getting them back is hard work.

For those that said if we get off to a good start we should get 20,000 I really wonder what planet they are on.

When was the last time United regularly had 9,000 non ST holding fans attending games every week?
 
Fans come in lots of different categories:
1. The fanatic. Season ticket holder, regular away attender, life revolves around watching the blades.
2. Die hard Blade. Season ticket holder, the odd away game here and there.
3. Blade / life balance. Regular attender but not ST due to not being able to commit every home game because of other social aspects (or the wife!)
4. Blades aint my priority. The attender of maybe 5 - 10 games in a season mainly down to cash flow and having other priorities at the weekend.
5. The glory hunter. Will only watch the big games - these type of fans are not really affected by cash flow but only want to watch the better players on show, this begs the question - are you actually a sheff utd fan or a football fan?
6. The family man. Cash flow is an issue, but loves to watch the blades and tries to take the family when possible. Results in only a handful of matches in a season.
7. Exiled blade. Lives too far a distance to get to many home games, but attends more away games instead. These fans are usually bladesworld members and listen to all the games when not in attendance.
8. Total exile. Lives too far a distance to get to home games, doesn't attend away games and only keeps an eye on the score on a saturday. Weekday games often come as a surprise to these fans.
9. Cash strapped. Honestly just cannot afford games.
10. Given up. Supports the blades in the sense of wanting them to win but just can't be arsed to go to games.

Which category are you?
I'm exiled (No.7) - I go to away games down south, but trips to Sheffield are limited. This does not matter whether we are playing Man Utd or Yeovil. If I can get, I go. Buzzing for Wycombe this Saturday.
 
I like to think of myself as a 1, but in reality I'm a 2 these days. 3 kids put too much pressure on time, though it's getting easier as the kids become obsessed too. And nothing wil stand in the way of me chalking off 92 this year.

:)

UTB
 



How many gonna turn up against pigs in october?? 24k i'd guess at.
 
im a 7 sometimes a 10 and i will be there with all the true part timers on oct 16th
 
I'm a 3/7. Although it's work rather than personal life which keeps me away. Ironically it's being an exike which also what helped me get back into going to the lane again.

For quite some years I used to play football instead of going to the lane as the league I played in played on a sat afternoon. but as I started working away I wasn't able to commit to the football team training and I couldn't get back every sat, so rather than waste my Saturday on the bench, I started coming back to the lane again.

Now, I'm still a season ticket holder, but because of work, I'm not able to get back as often as I want and its not been as easy t sync my weekends home with home games.
 
All good points, but Sheffield United doesn't operate in a vacuum, free from the economic concerns of every day life. There isn't as much money about, people are unsure of the future (generally) and there is a lot of prioritisation going on as to where 'spending £50 on a game' comes in the list.

The Disorderly's have had to be harsher about priorities with our incomes getting squeezed and raising three teenagers (with the prospect of tuition fees ahead). Kids education or 'SUFC vs. Dreary Seaside Town FC'? Unfortunately something has to give. I doubt I'm the only one with this issue...

Dunc (Solid 6)
 
How about as section for people who can't go due to work commitments? I can and do go to evening games and if I wasn't working every weekend would have a season ticket.
 
It's an interesting point, and one that should be exercising the minds of those in a position to influence things at the Lane far more.

Yes, we're going through troubling times in the economy at the moment, but this will probably change. What will not change is that the number of other things to do on a Saturday afternoon will increase. Personally, I'd far rather watch United than be dragged around Meadowhell, but that's just me. What is certain is that football in general will have to stop throwing up so many barriers to actually going to a match.

As I (an others) have said elsewhere, when we have different 'Categories' of games, when there's no 'pay on the turnstile' (as opposed to spending ages in a queue for tickets), when each game is priced differently, when half-season tickets have been scrapped, when Sky continually fuck about with dates/kick-off times, when you need 'loyalty points' to go to an away game, when United insult people by suggesting 'Only True Blades at the Lane' (thereby potentially alienating those who live away/can't afford a ST/have recently been made redundant), well then it can become too much of an arse to be bothered.

Think of a similar industry which relies totally on the loyalty of it's existing customer base - the pub. 'Sorry, we're normally open on Saturdays but - at the last minute - we've decided next week it's Monday. Your favourite tipple? Well , as it's become popular it's now a quid a pint more. Not been in since Christmas? Sorry, you're not a true customer. And you've haven't got enough bonus points. And you'll have to queue up out in the rain for a voucher to be presented at the bar.'

Wise up, United (and football in general).
 
SwissBlade said:
Wembley showed what support we could have.

Never mind Wembley, Last seasons Youth Cup Final showed the potential, but the board continue to take the Mick. I took a mate who is an Udders fan on Tuesday night £31 for 3rd tier football is a complete rip off. I have a season ticket, but have to say the whole true blade debacle and price of it leaves a shocking taste and being honest if it wasn't for my daughter I probably would have said forget it. 120 mile round trip, cost of fuel and the complete garbage we have been subjected to made it a difficult decision.

Cannot see many big crowds this season unless we are running away with it, I agree with the comment elswhere that ST sales pretty much dictate the crowd size. The fact that you get screwed over before the end of march to renew and there is no reflection pricewise to reflect our 3rd tier status was in my opinion a mistake. I equally don't have a problem with ticket promotions if it gets bums on seats. The only way to rebuild your support is to get them back into the ground.
Click to expand...
 
BladeInThatcham said:
Fans come in lots of different categories:
1. The fanatic. Season ticket holder, regular away attender, life revolves around watching the blades.
2. Die hard Blade. Season ticket holder, the odd away game here and there.
3. Blade / life balance. Regular attender but not ST due to not being able to commit every home game because of other social aspects (or the wife!)
4. Blades aint my priority. The attender of maybe 5 - 10 games in a season mainly down to cash flow and having other priorities at the weekend.
5. The glory hunter. Will only watch the big games - these type of fans are not really affected by cash flow but only want to watch the better players on show, this begs the question - are you actually a sheff utd fan or a football fan?
6. The family man. Cash flow is an issue, but loves to watch the blades and tries to take the family when possible. Results in only a handful of matches in a season.
7. Exiled blade. Lives too far a distance to get to many home games, but attends more away games instead. These fans are usually bladesworld members and listen to all the games when not in attendance.
8. Total exile. Lives too far a distance to get to home games, doesn't attend away games and only keeps an eye on the score on a saturday. Weekday games often come as a surprise to these fans.
9. Cash strapped. Honestly just cannot afford games.
10. Given up. Supports the blades in the sense of wanting them to win but just can't be arsed to go to games.

Which category are you?
I'm exiled (No.7) - I go to away games down south, but trips to Sheffield are limited. This does not matter whether we are playing Man Utd or Yeovil. If I can get, I go. Buzzing for Wycombe this Saturday.
Click to expand...

Also a 7, and also very much looking forward to wycombe!
 
I work 1 weekend in 4, and 1 week on afters a month , it can sometimes really bite into my attendance of games, there should be a flexiticket to help shift workers, or people on call

Sometimes get to 3 away games and only 1 home in a 5 week period , made harder by the points system

Ive been forced to buy in the home end at some away games , out of necessity , as its my only opportunity to watch us some times
 
I'm a solid number 2 and have been for years.

Time served Season Ticket for a number of years, been to by my reckoning 600+ games over the years, and attend the majority of home games and go away quite a few times a season.

Been at more or less the same level of attendance for a number of years irregardless of the division and stature of the club
 
Just a point about the MASSIVE club from outer Sheffield who attract much more fans than us. Yeovil got 4551 on Saturday against them ,we got over 5k a few weeks ago. Either they didn't take as many MASSIVE fans as us or they aren't as MASSIVE an attraction that they think they are.
 
sitwell said:
Just a point about the MASSIVE club from outer Sheffield who attract much more fans than us. Yeovil got 4551 on Saturday against them ,we got over 5k a few weeks ago. Either they didn't take as many MASSIVE fans as us or they aren't as MASSIVE an attraction that they think they are.
Click to expand...

Listen to Football Heaven tonight. I'm sure you'll hear that 4000 of those were Wendyites.
 



brownie said:
I'm a solid number 2 and have been for years.
Click to expand...

I'm not going to let you get away with that. :)

This has been something brewing over years, not months. From our time in the Premiership when we could have built and been the only team in Sheffield we have slid down the slide to their level (although not as MASSIVE of course). The actions of the board in their treatment of the fans is partly to blame although by far and away the biggest factor is the lower you go, the fewer fans you get. Blades fans will not tolerate shit like that lot over in S6. We are not lemming like in our following as a rule which is why we can be so hard to please at times. I don't blame anyone not going at the moment, whether they are saying its money (which at £25+ for a ticket for Huddersfield is a fair point) or they just can't be arsed to pump fuel into the club having seen it waste all their previous cash.

The reasons are plain to see from here. We are shit, so we don't get as many fans attend as we used to. It doesn't matter if your Man U or Rotherham, if you are in league one fewer people want to see you than if you are in the Premiership. Had we set our season ticket prices to reflect that fact then it would have helped. But had we not got relegated that would have helped a whole heap more.

As for bowling over teams like Colchester and Bury, its great but it isn't going to get 25k through the gates now is it?
 
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