We will find out sooner than you think. Bolton on a cold Tuesday night coming up. I was going to say "two men and a dog will be there", but let's leave Katrien out of it.
I have done that trip on a Tuesday night Don, back in the 80s when they had the plastic pitch. Mike Salmon was in goal that night for us, we drew 1-1. I reckon we had about 100 there. The away end was on the side of the pitch. Absolute sh1thole of a place.
I have also done Grimsby Oldham and Middlesbrough, Ayresome Park midweek. Grim places everyone of them.
@Royston Vasey apparently SkySports estimated that there was around between 7,500 - 8,000 of us. It sure as hell ain't the ticket pricing, given that we have the second cheapest tickets in The Championship. Even if you take away the est. 3,000 plastic fans that we attracted in the premier league days, only turning up to see Manchester United or Liverpool, that still leaves: Total: 27,111 Away: 3,000 Home: 8,000 Unused: 16,111 Anywhere between 15,500 and 16,111 unused seats. I'd also say that we have about 6,500 season ticket holders, which means on average we sell about 1,000 to 1,500 additional tickets each match. I'd say it won't be long before they start closing the East Stands, or the West Upper to save on costs. The average ticket being £24 which means that ticket income per match would be £36,000. Also it means to get to target 20,000 they need to find an additional 10,000 to 14,000 per match (that's counting out away fan allocation). I know her maths is bad with the whole 2% jibe, but they cannot be that bad?
Damn, didn't factor that into my calculations. Well then, the amount we need to sell is a long higher than that. Which unless we get a Christmas miracle or suddenly make Champions League in three seasons, then I think that the max we could potentially get is about 14,000. Think that could be realistic.
I often wonder what Meire must think when she looks around on match days at the rows and rows of empty seats. Does she think she is a success?
Probably thinks"Mon Dieu! I hope Roland isn't watching". The official attendance on Saturday was nearly 16000!!!!! Roland will probably be OK with that but I'd say we were down to about 8000 Charlton fans present, yet they seem more worried by the ones who still go than the ones who can't take any more. If you remember when Ponders stopped going she told him he'd be back once "The Plan" kicked in. That must be the party line at present, but how long can that last?
Ponders, where are you? I have no real problema with CAST. despite a few complaints from me recently. However, my view is they are barking up the wrong tree. I've seen a few on CL who have hailed the coming dialogue as a positive step, and KM has suggested they bring their experties to bear on Target 20,000. However, the vast majority of fans who post on here, ITTV and CL persistently point out the fans are staying away because the team are s**te, and the manager is probably the most unpopular appointment in our history. 10 quid tickets for students, a sofá, cheerleaders etc etc, does not touch the root cause.The ground is emptying, and will continue to do so while we are playing badly, and it will cost a lot to regain the lost fans again. A lot of fans may not know who KM is or care, but for the rest, she is the go between, and her silly statements are causing huge displeasure. A new CEO won't bring the fans back, but a director of football, a proper manager, and an outline for the future that does'nt include a third rate network, plus some solid signings, might yet help. And the first step, Ms Meire, is..........? Go away.
I totally agree with this. My estimate is that 50% of our remaining 8000 are content with RD or oblivious to the consequences of his reign. A fortnightly trip to the Valley is a social event for them, nothing more. The remaining 50% (4000 fans) are the ones who have protested in recent weeks, still post on social media, but are now steadily dropping away. By and large, these fans just ask to see a competitive team on the field, managed by a serious professional and full of committed players. When this 4000 slowly drop off we are in real trouble. We are back in Selhurst territory. Who would have thought it?
Regarding CAST, it was nauseating and stomach turning to read Richard "Look at me" Pemberton posting more GCSE standard cod-emotive guff about how HE was feeling. It's like he is auditioning to be the new Nick Hornby. These ego bloated cretins are setting the cause of ordinary fans back. With no due respect, nobody gives a tinkers cuss about how this unelected windbag is feeling.
He's not wrong. He comes in for a lot of flack as he's yet to predict a Charlton victory for us this season (hasn't been wrong many times to be fair!), but sounds like he was impressive pre game.
Apart from calling Guy Gus and Carol Carl, he was absolutely on the money. Minto was good aswell. Then there was Rob Lee who looked like he was having a stroke.
Yeah I heard he looked way out of his comfort zone. Apparently in production they put word out to stop the close ups. Pretty bad seeming he would have had weeks to do his research. No excuse in truth.
