Why Are Fans Staying Away?

[The Omega Man]

I don't think low crowds are anything to do with fans lack of money, it's more to do with value for money. This season is not as attractive as even last years dull effort. Changes need to be made to the whole experience.

My recommendation is that the Allams take their management team down to the Amex in Brighton and see how it's done.

Let's get the season going on the pitch, make changes to the pre match, for the better and if the crowd still stay away, we can blame the weather, or the government, or he price of a pie!

 

[PLT]

Brighton have sold 23,000 season tickets this year, so they're obviously doing something right down there.

****ing 23,000!

 

[Hutch_Tiger]

Catch 22

Players wages/Running costs always increasing goes hand in hand with ticket increases.

The low earner is being priced out of football FACT.

 

[SuitedandBooted]

I didn't mean just this thread!

 

[originallambrettaman]

My recommendation is that the Allams take their management team down to the Amex in Brighton and see how it's done.

There's no doubt that Brighton have done a good job with the local pies and themed away end etc, but as the average income in Brighton is almost three times that of Hull, you've maybe shot down your own argument about it being down to lack of funds.

 

[FosseFilberto]

There's no doubt that Brighton have done a good job with the local pies and themed away end etc, but as the average income in Brighton is almost three times that of Hull, you've maybe shot down your own argument about it being down to lack of funds.

Is it because most couples in Brighton don't have kids?

 

[Erik]

odd that 16,811 is "healthy" whereas 15,794 (6% less) and 15,304 (9% less) are appalling. 11 of the 2003-4 gates were below 15,304. rotherham doesn't count. it's a mickey mouse competition and the club rarely seems to make an effort in cup games. so why should we?

This year's gates are appalling because we are a Championship side, whereas in 2003-2004 we were playing two divisions lower in what is now League Two. Five times we got attendances of over 20,000 (as many as last season in the Championship), including 21,000 for our game with Swansea on a Tuesday night.

As for your comments on the League Cup -

I don't think low crowds are anything to do with fans lack of money, it's more to do with value for money. This season is not as attractive as even last years dull effort. Changes need to be made to the whole experience.

Let's get the season going on the pitch, make changes to the pre match, for the better and if the crowd still stay away, we can blame the weather, or the government, or he price of a pie!

I completely agree.

I've got to say, I'm really surprised that 3-times as many people have voted for ticket prices as have boring football and lack of goals combined. I think the stats I posted regarding our (in)ability to score goals at home says a lot, yet nobody seems to appreciate my effort

 

[Hull City Wok Tiger]

I voted for ticket prices but think the other factors have as much to do with it as anything

 

[Newland Tiger]

There's no doubt that Brighton have done a good job with the local pies and themed away end etc, but as the average income in Brighton is almost three times that of Hull, you've maybe shot down your own argument about it being down to lack of funds.

True , and of course the recession has had a much worse effect in the North as usual

Hull is a low wage and high unemployment area , tickets are too expensive for many

 

[Docko]

For me personally I have very much revived my support.

1) Got peed off with Duffen / Brown bullsh&t so stopped buying a season pass / mostly stopped going.
2) Under NP with massive amount of debt our football was boring and no future could be seen other than a bleak one.
3) Allams took over looked potentially exciting but Barmby style of play / lack of goals to excite - boredom / didn't bother.

All these underpinned by my need to spend money on more important stuff - meant I haven't bothered going very much for three years.

As soon as the Barmby / Allams argument kicked off and the statements the Allams were making, I felt the future was going to be more interesting than had been for a while, plus I wanted to back the Allams after all that money they pumped in, so I bought a pass on my credit card - way before Bruce was even mentioned.

I reckon if I had gone all last season, I might have not gone this season to be honest.

 

[x]

This year's gates are appalling because we are a Championship side, whereas in 2003-2004 we were playing two divisions lower in what is now League Two. Five times we got attendances of over 20,000 (as many as last season in the Championship), including 21,000 for our game with Swansea on a Tuesday night.

As for your comments on the League Cup -

go on then, when did we last have a decent home crowd for a league cup game? those gates are not affected by lack of money but by lack of interest.

let's take another look at 2003-4. sure we were in the lowest division, but we didn't know it was a promotion season and the crowds got bigger as the season progressed and it became more obvious that we might go up. the first two gates that season were 14675 and 12522. the first gate over 15k was when top of the table swansea came three days after we put 6 past kidderminster.

look if you prefer to believe that a poll where more than 70% of people say they are stopping away because of money issues is not delivering the right answer there must be something wrong with you or the poll. i know you allowed multiple answers but did anyone know that? i certainly didn't. maybe you need to add combination answers to your list of possibilities.

 

[westhulltiger]

Money talks and the season ticket increase, in my view, is the primary reason why our attendances are down. There is no doubt however that the sacking of Barmby and the lack of goals have contributed. Would our attendances have been even worse had The Allams not appointed Steve Bruce?

 

[westhulltiger]

go on then, when did we last have a decent home crowd for a league cup game? those gates are not affected by lack of money but by lack of interest.

let's take another look at 2003-4. sure we were in the lowest division, but we didn't know it was a promotion season and the crowds got bigger as the season progressed and it became more obvious that we might go up. the first two gates that season were 14675 and 12522. the first gate over 15k was when top of the table swansea came three days after we put 6 past kidderminster.

look if you prefer to believe that a poll where more than 70% of people say they are stopping away because of money issues is not delivering the right answer there must be something wrong with you or the poll. i know you allowed multiple answers but did anyone know that? i certainly didn't. maybe you need to add combination answers to your list of possibilities.

Would be interesting to see what the ticket prices were in Leagues 1 & 2?

 

[SuitedandBooted]

I don't go to as many games as I used to but that doesn't make me care less about my club ... suspect this is true for many of your fans ... I've been supporting Leicester since 1969 and my financial contribution (home and away) over all these years will have been quite substantial - I certainly don't feel less entitled to my opinion than someone who currently has a season ticket.

But if you're not currently attending how can you form an opinion on how your team are performing?

 

[Erik]

go on then, when did we last have a decent home crowd for a league cup game? those gates are not affected by lack of money but by lack of interest.

let's take another look at 2003-4. sure we were in the lowest division, but we didn't know it was a promotion season and the crowds got bigger as the season progressed and it became more obvious that we might go up. the first two gates that season were 14675 and 12522. the first gate over 15k was when top of the table swansea came three days after we put 6 past kidderminster

Most teams suffer large drops in crowd attendances. I'd expect us to get around 6,000 for a Tuesday night match against a League One or Two team. To get less than 5,000 for a Yorkshire Derby in the first game of the season, on a Saturday, when at least a quarter of the crowd is made up of away fans, is pathetic. I'm not sure how you can disagree.

You can take as many looks at 2003-2004 as you want, but the facts remain the same: we averaged nearly 17,000 that season, and yet for the first two league games of this campaign, when we're two divisions higher, we've had crowds of approx. 15,500

The most ironic part of your post is where you imply that the only reason we attracted such a good crowd for the Swansea game is that we had thrashed Kidderminster three days earlier, before accusing me of having something wrong with me for being surprised that more people don't think boring football and a lack of goals has played more of a part in people not turning up. We have some able players, but also some poor ones. Likewise last season, and 2010-11 too. We have never looked like being promoted in the past two seasons (and don't this year, if you ask me), and the main reason for that is an inability to put the ball in the back of the net. As other posters have said, from a historical point of view, we are actually 'enjoying' one of the most successful spells in our history. Yet the poor crowds suggest 'enduring' might be more apt. Who'd want to spend 2 hours of their Saturday watching City, when they know the best they're going to see is a narrow, low-scoring win that will inevitably contribute to nothing more than a mid-table finish?

As I have said before on this board, regardless of what division a side is in, fans want first-and-foremost to be entertained. I'd rather support a mid-table League Two side capable of at least occasionally turning in a memorable performance and hitting the back of the net than a Championship one who would be better put to use curing insomnia sufferers and not trying pathetically to satisfy the needs of the average football supporter. By the time we play Millwall, do you know how long it will have been since we managed to score more than three goals in a home game? 4 years, 4 months, and 1 day. That must be the longest run in the Premier League and Football League.

Everything from August 2010 to now has been one big blur of dourness and boredom for me. The only game in over two years of football that I look back at with any fondness is the 5-1 win at Glanford Park in February of last year.

look if you prefer to believe that a poll where more than 70% of people say they are stopping away because of money issues is not delivering the right answer there must be something wrong with you or the poll. i know you allowed multiple answers but did anyone know that? i certainly didn't. maybe you need to add combination answers to your list of possibilities

I said I was surprised that so many people had voted for ticket prices. Nothing more or less.

And let's be fair, there's a notice right beneath the poll saying 'multiple choice', so...

 

[suttontiger]

Brighton have sold 23,000 season tickets this year, so they're obviously doing something right down there.

****ing 23,000!

They've just moved into a new stadium after years in the wilderness with no proper home since the Goldstone, are on a bit of a roll and they're all fooking loaded on the south coast compared to us in the recession hit North.

Not only have our gates suffered but the lesser lights of Millwall and Barnsley had 8000 or so at their last home match whilst Leicester had 18.5k (generally 22k last season) and Derby just over 20k (generally 25k last season) at their lsst home match.

I seem to recall Readings attendances early last season were sub 15k but increased to 19k by the end of what turned out to be a promotion season.

Post Premiership complacency has also crept up on us - a friend of mine stopped coming after the first season in the then CCC under PT after being there for both LG1 & 2 promotion seasons and then came back again when we made the promised land and after one season of stability/mediocrity in the NPC has gone missing again. Not a proper supporter but to a certain extent typical of the Sky induced plastic of 2012.

By and large though the longevity of this recesssion is starting to bite.

 

[FosseFilberto]

But if you're not currently attending how can you form an opinion on how your team are performing?

When I say I don't go to as many games as I used to that doesn't mean I'm not 'currently attending' - in the late 1970s early 1980s I went home and away virtually everywhere - and had a season ticket with my old man for many years before that .. can't do that now for many reasons, predominantly family, and that I no longer live in Leicestershire .. . but from the games I do get up to see, plus telly coverage, it is fairly easy to form an opinion on our players and on our performances .... fair to say that we are lon way off the standard set by martin O'Neil and even further away from the Jimmy Bloomfield team of the 1970s (when we actually had four players in the England team playing the Scots at Hampden)...

 

[Chazz Rheinhold]

When I say I don't go to as many games as I used to that doesn't mean I'm not 'currently attending' - in the late 1970s early 1980s I went home and away virtually everywhere - and had a season ticket with my old man for many years before that .. can't do that now for many reasons, predominantly family, and that I no longer live in Leicestershire .. . but from the games I do get up to see, plus telly coverage, it is fairly easy to form an opinion on our players and on our performances .... fair to say that we are lon way off the standard set by martin O'Neil and even further away from the Jimmy Bloomfield team of the 1970s (when we actually had four players in the England team playing the Scots at Hampden)...

Im racking my brains now Fosse. Weller, Shilton? Nish? err err help me...

 

[Hutch_Tiger]

Or are the premiership fans just abandoning ship

 

[x]

Most teams suffer large drops in crowd attendances. I'd expect us to get around 6,000 for a Tuesday night match against a League One or Two team. To get less than 5,000 for a Yorkshire Derby in the first game of the season, on a Saturday, when at least a quarter of the crowd is made up of away fans, is pathetic. I'm not sure how you can disagree.

You can take as many looks at 2003-2004 as you want, but the facts remain the same: we averaged nearly 17,000 that season, and yet for the first two league games of this campaign, when we're two divisions higher, we've had crowds of approx. 15,500

The most ironic part of your post is where you imply that the only reason we attracted such a good crowd for the Swansea game is that we had thrashed Kidderminster three days earlier, before accusing me of having something wrong with me for being surprised that more people don't think boring football and a lack of goals has played more of a part in people not turning up. We have some able players, but also some poor ones. Likewise last season, and 2010-11 too. We have never looked like being promoted in the past two seasons (and don't this year, if you ask me), and the main reason for that is an inability to put the ball in the back of the net. As other posters have said, from a historical point of view, we are actually 'enjoying' one of the most successful spells in our history. Yet the poor crowds suggest 'enduring' might be more apt. Who'd want to spend 2 hours of their Saturday watching City, when they know the best they're going to see is a narrow, low-scoring win that will inevitably contribute to nothing more than a mid-table finish?

As I have said before on this board, regardless of what division a side is in, fans want first-and-foremost to be entertained. I'd rather support a mid-table League Two side capable of at least occasionally turning in a memorable performance and hitting the back of the net than a Championship one who would be better put to use curing insomnia sufferers and not trying pathetically to satisfy the needs of the average football supporter. By the time we play Millwall, do you know how long it will have been since we managed to score more than three goals in a home game? 4 years, 4 months, and 1 day. That must be the longest run in the Premier League and Football League.

Everything from August 2010 to now has been one big blur of dourness and boredom for me. The only game in over two years of football that I look back at with any fondness is the 5-1 win at Glanford Park in February of last year.



I said I was surprised that so many people had voted for ticket prices. Nothing more or less.

And let's be fair, there's a notice right beneath the poll saying 'multiple choice', so...

i did say "top of the table swansea". that crowd was 50% up on the kidderminster one. big scores often make the next gate higher. i dont think what i said really qualifies as irony.

we're mostly blokes on here! we don't read the instructions! how many voted more than once? the names have disappeared now.

i still think you can't compare gates for a season that's had two home league games so far with other entire seasons. look what happened on saturday - we were exactly level with bolton and afterwards we were 5th and they were 19th. if that had gone the other way people on here would be moaning like anything.

anyhow i'm not arguing that there's only one reason for crowds being disappointing. i'll accept that it's 72% ticket prices and 12% boredom and 13% lack of goals and 20% other less or more. even if that does add up to 117%.

paragraph 1: okay, you're surprised and think it was a pathetic crowd. it may be pathetic but it didn't surprise me. i wasn't interested in it and therefore didn't expect others to be. we don't win cup games. the team is not the league starting XI. i started feeling cheated at cup games so i stopped bothering.

paragraph 2: comparing 2 games of this season with a whole other season doesn't work for me.

paragraph 3: i agree with all but the first sentence. yes of course there isn't just one reason. yes i was being mean.

paragraph 4: yes i agree

paragraph 5: not only do i agree but i'd stretch that time backwards by about 20 months.