Just seen that the crowd on saturday was 4380. that looks to me like the lowest for a saturday game for a number of years . I know we had middlesborough midweeek, but still being top of the league i would have thought we would have got a few more in.
Well last season ( average league attendance 5142 ) we got 3248 v Rotherham 3784 v Hereford ( 5-4 win -- you remember that game - although brb might struggle ! then in the next home game.. 3751 v Barnet. and despite being 8th in the league - for our final home match v Morcambe we only got 2 more than v Chesterfield on Saturday. We've had a couple of 'nearby' away games in succession - excellent support - I believe that we filled the away end (1200) at Dagenham ( fiddle) , followed by an ' attractive' cup game - money can't stretch indefinitely !
BelfastBlue - I was disappointed when I heard the gate announced at Priestfield Saturday but not surprised on looking around at the empty seats, although my block was quite full. Can only have a few guesses to why... Just had a bank holiday, to which I believe the football league did not take full advantage. Mid week attendance against Middlesbrough which was over 5,000 so people had already spent their money. People have just had their holidays. Parents have just spent out on school uniforms for the kids etc. I'm sure there are a few more reasons as well. Again the availability of product and service within the ground was poor and who was that over enthusiastic charity collector on the entrance to the Medway Stand. Yes I know it was for charity but I was watching the guy and he was practically begging people while I was standing underneath waiting for someone. It's all about the whole experience of the day, did the club meet that within my expectations? No.
weren't those games - Hereford , Rotherham and Barnet midweek? for a Saturday i think its the lowest for years i take your and brb points as to why, and our away support is magnificient( i guess we will take 800 or so to barnet too), but it I am stilled suprised by the low turn out on a saturday when we are top and there is a bit of a buz about the place. id be interested to know when we actually did have a lower crowd for a saturday league game if someone wants to do some digging...
Belfastblue - you are correct about those games being midweek - but not v Morcambe. the last time we got a lower Saturday league attendance -as far as I can establish was Saturday 11th October 2008 v Morcambe ( !!) when the gate was 4316. You have to go to 1996/97 for anything lower. edit - always(right) glad to be of service.
so that's lowest saturday crowd in 4 years and second lowest... in 16 years! maybe a third consecutive year at this level has taken it's toll, especially when you consider Chesterfield would be one of the bigger teams at this level.
4768 for the Bristol Rovers game. 209 were away fans. That leaves 4559 Gills fans. Thank goodness that we're top of the league ! - what would be the attendance if we were in Barnet's position ? Doesn't look promising for Tuesday night - with a little distraction in the form of Real Madrid v Man City in the Champions League ----- I can never understand why there is a full Football League program of fixtures on CL nights. Surely it would make more sense for the FA to arrange the matches in the interim week between the Champions league ties ?
Bizarrely low attendances. It's not every day you can see your team play as league-leaders! I remember last time we were top of the league - the opening months of the 95-96 season - I'm pretty sure our attendances were 7 or 8 thousand for most home games. What is different now?? Ahhh... yes the extortionate ticket prices!
i cant work it out. in the middle of last season, we werent in the play offs spots, we were playing hoof ball and hess's management of the team was beginning to split the fans, yet many fans must have turned up then but choose not too now where they could see table toppers playing neat football. Ticket prices havnt gone up since last year have they? Southend usually bring a fair few but it ill be interesting to see what the home gate is this evening. lets hope for a good one!
The attentences have been quite low considering we are top. I expect 5500 to 6000 tonight against one of our nearest rivals.
I know the opposition is local tonight but with it being a Tuesday I doubt it will be that high considering it was lower Saturday.
I wouldn't expect more than 4800 as its a midweek CL night. A Possible reason the last 2 Saturday games have been lower than predicted maybe down to the success of newly promoted conference side Dartford who had 1600 on Saturday, I know gills fans from that area who are taking a leisurely stroll to Princes Park rather than the hassle of driving to Medway.
maybe they like hoofball and our new improved football has driven them to the conference for their fix. incidentally - what was the number of gills fans last night?
The attendance v Aldershot was 5039. This is only 119 more than the Southend game to which thread relates. It was 'only' the 2nd home game in the 4 weeks that has elapsed. It was over 500 lower than the last home game - yes I know that it was a poor result BUT - we've been top since 1 September, and yet this was ( just about ) only the 2nd crowd over 5000 since we went top. The next few games may have a larger attendance - due to kids for a £ 1 and the following two games @ friends for a £ 5 ( season ticket holders only deal. ) - I just hope that we're not in a scramble ( or should I say shamble ) for play off tickets at the end of the season.
I agree that the crowds have been disappointing, and I have seen various people complaining about the lack of marketing effort by the club. But I think there are a couple of things going on here. Firstly, the years since we were relegated from the Championship (with the notable exception of the Wembley win v Shrewsbury) have been utterly miserable. I know I got fed up of watching dross season after season, and I can't have been alone. A lot of people stopped coming to games to keep their sanity! The other thing is that financial times are unbelievably tough. People are giving up cars because they can't pay for their petrol. For many folk, a ticket to a football game (whether £15, £20 or £25) is a luxury they can't afford. And whether we like it or not, the Medway Towns are hardly a hotbed of affluence. Having said all that, I'm still confident that if we stay in the top 3, the crowds will grow steadily through the season. UTG.
EagerExile Welcome aboard. The only thing that might make me give up my car would be if ever I couldn't afford my Gills tickets - just to keep my sanity on matchday.
