Lancashire attendances today ..
- Thread starter OhSitDown
- Start date
Camberwell1
Well-known member
Bring a friend along and the following Dome match get them and you to bring another friend
Within 2 matches, if everyone followed my para 1 then, we‘d never fit everyone friends in !
First things first, I read a lot about Bolton. The local paper I admit it. This is because of where I live. Now there is loads of hype about their crowds. They said yesterday they were going to get the biggest home crowd v Sheffield Wednesday since dropping out of the PL. Did they ?. No. That included around 5000 away fans. Keep hearing so many season tickets have been sold. My conclusion is there are a few people trying to make their fans sound better than what they are.
also that biggest crowd since they were relegated out of the PL was against ???...The Mighty Pool !.
also that biggest crowd since they were relegated out of the PL was against ???...The Mighty Pool !.
JJpool
Well-known member
Not fair to compare ours yet, against 2 sides who arent inspiring, don't bring a lot. Also our high prices in comparison to some.
Burnley just our the prem after years.
If we were priced more competitively we'd do better.
But still a lot of building to do.
TwelveAngryMen
Well-known member
Watford must have brought a few
About 1,200 I believe
It's not just the pricing at ours that is the problem it's the inconvenience. I know a few lads at the pub and work who go occasionally but would go more if you could just pay on the turnstiles like the old days. I understand that they won't allow that for games like preston and Burnley but why can't it be done against Reading and Swansea?
You can travel all round London using your debit card on the tube turnstiles so it shouldn't be too hard to implement at a football stadium.
You can travel all round London using your debit card on the tube turnstiles so it shouldn't be too hard to implement at a football stadium.
Wizaard
Well-known member
How much was it at Turf Moor? Remind me how much they get in parachute payments?
Seasidestevo71
Well-known member
All the free season ticket holders at nob end will stop going soon, already whinging
TonyEllisTopBins
Well-known member
That’s still a ridiculous excuse. It’s 2022 and it’s how it is. My dad’s 86 and can get his head around it.
td53
Well-known member
It's not though. It's not an 'excuse' to them - we've got the fan mentality that going to a game is a duty - a bloke thinking 'i might go down' hasn't.
Saying "I don't want to queue up for 25 mins to buy a ticket' is actually a fairly understandable reason. I frequently think 'nah,can't be arsed' about stuff that looks like hassle. I don't about football because I'm a fan but by definition, there's lots of people in the town who aren't fans. If I'm in town and there's a 25 min queue to go in a cafe, I'd just think 'fuck that' - as will 'the bloke at work who has a passing interest in football' - I'm not making an excuse to not go in to that cafe am I?
Making it easier to get into a football ground isn't a bad thing. Rightly or wrongly, we've made it quite unattractive for anyone who might just come down to the game as it's expensive and fiddly to do.
We will never get bigger crowds unless we turn those 'blokes at work' into people who come down, bring kids and get hooked.
I don't get your point. I'm saying that people want to make a late decision on the day where they can then go to the pub and then just pay at the turnstile with no messing about. It's 2022 technology should make life simpler and provide convenience.
poolseasider
Well-known member
Don't know a single person who hasn't a computer, internet and a printer then can use even my parents at nearly 80 could go on BFC website register and print off match tickets in a couple of minutes.
We need to stop trying to make excuses for the town it's always been the same fairweather,they don't mind a trip to Wembley or the odd game but won't rock up regular.
Those I speak to also won't pay the £30 as they say it's too expensive so it wouldn't matter even if we did have a POG make little difference.
But they can do what they want and go when they want. They aren't obliged to attend every game. They don't have to know the day before that they are going and print a ticket off. They just want to get up on Saturday, have a few pints and pay with their card directly at the turnstiles. Seems like a forward step with technology to me not a backward one, and I know loads of people that don't have a printer, I'm one of them.
JJpool
Well-known member
You get people hooked 1st. Years in the prem tends to do that. Were still at the start of rebuilding and won't be near finished until the east is built, we've had relative success for years and had lots of big games there, thrown loads of deals at getting people in, like the nobbers have.
poolseasider
Well-known member
In the lower leagues POG is the norm as they have lower crowds or take Fylde for example they have a ticket booth by the away end print it off and your in it works no different from going to ours,knowing how many sold in advance helps clubs with security and catering as the clubs don't want loads turning up on the day higher up the pyramid.
The club are introducing an APP to get in with your ST maybe they'll do the same for on the day tickets as your system is flawed it would allow any Tom Dick and Harry in the home ends.
JJpool
Well-known member
Its a simple concept, the easier you make it to attent, the more attractive the price, also the better the football the more will attend.
If were doing really well that can override price amd convenience somewhat.
However its obvious we should do all we can to make it as affordable and easy as possible to get people in.
If were doing really well that can override price amd convenience somewhat.
However its obvious we should do all we can to make it as affordable and easy as possible to get people in.
It's not doing it because any Tom Dick or Harry can come in that's the problem for me. Local derbies I understand it, don't do it. Swansea and Reading what's the problem? Ground isn't sold out away fans want to sit with their own. All it does is prevent local last minute boozers from making beer driven last minute decisions, it is an untapped market the club misses out on and its not insignificant
!
!
TonyEllisTopBins
Well-known member
This
TonyEllisTopBins
Well-known member
We have this thing called the internet now and you can buy a ticket in seconds.. anywhere. If people prioritise the pub instead of planning to go to a game then that’s their lookout. It’s weird that people have weeks to decide about attending then decide with minutes to go …
JJpool
Well-known member
That also why the digital st news was a good option as hopefully its applied to tickets.
If you can just buy a match ticket and instantly get it on your phone and scan it in, its easy.
You can actually do that with the print at home pdf I've done it, but its awkward to do and means zooming in and turning phone wrong way etc.
A tweak to the pdf layout or a better implementation will mean people could just buy and do that.
Which would be another great option.
However I don't see the harm in having a gate with a card machine or whatever.
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Not everybody lives your life, why exclude them because they don't book things in a diary and have a printer hooked up to the commodore 64.
Purdonkey
Well-known member
Until we are genuinely and consistently in the promotion mix our gates will stay the same. The odd offer on certain games will make the numbers swell a tad but it wouldn't be replicated when the prices rise back up to normal. All in all though, we might have lower gates than others but to counteract this we just happen to have the best supporters. #Qualitynotquantity 
poolseasider
Well-known member
Because you could get away fans in home ends with that system that's why they ask you for your details when buying a ticket.
Anyone would think the ticket office was closed on match day they have loads of staff on so what if you leave the pub at 2 and have to queue for 10-15 mins to buy a ticket we're creating a problem which isn't there.
JJpool
Well-known member
Most the times it's not sold out to away fans so there would be no issue, foe the games it is dont do it.
Tbh I'm more into the digital option being available, but just into the club being as attractive as possible.
midfield general
Well-known member
Good points
poolseasider
Well-known member
The club don't do POG for aways most in the Championship are the same as they go off sale day before so you'd potentially end up with travelling fans in the home ends.
It's a bad idea just go to ticket office if your last minute what's the problem there isn't one.
BFC_53
Well-known member
When people only have a passing interest, they don't need to justify not going. It's up to the club to make it more enticing for them to attend, be that cheaper price, easier and quicker and hassle free ticket purchases, and a good team to watch. I still maintain that the number one thing that will bring people to the stadium is a successful team.
So PNE had 14k home fans, Bolton 17k and Burnley 18k. PNE have slashed prices, Burnley have just come down and are expected to challenge for promotion, and it was a derby game. We increased prices and are expected to struggle. It isn't a fair comparison. If we charged the same prices and played in the same league for ten years, we'd all end up with similar crowds. Possible exception is Bolton who if we're honest do better for attendances than the other lancs clubs, but they're still not a big club by any stretch.
So PNE had 14k home fans, Bolton 17k and Burnley 18k. PNE have slashed prices, Burnley have just come down and are expected to challenge for promotion, and it was a derby game. We increased prices and are expected to struggle. It isn't a fair comparison. If we charged the same prices and played in the same league for ten years, we'd all end up with similar crowds. Possible exception is Bolton who if we're honest do better for attendances than the other lancs clubs, but they're still not a big club by any stretch.
JJpool
Well-known member
There would be no issue in a lot of games.
TonyEllisTopBins
Well-known member
TonyEllisTopBins
Well-known member
Jesus
lol
Satriale's Pork Store
Well-known member
The current stadium capacity and configuration hampers our ability to increase capacity like our Lancashire rivals.
Lytham_fy8
Well-known member
This.
Most people aren't dyed in the wool mentalists who turn up for every game, you have to make it appealing.
The other point is though that there's fuck all else to do in Bolton, Burnley and Preston. Where are you going to go on a Saturday afternoon, a walk around Deepdale Retail Park?
T
TheRealKingKenny
Guest
We should focus on ourselves and what we can do to grow and make sure that kids in Blackpool are Blackpool fans. That certainly wasn’t the case when I was growing up, there were four of us in a group of about 30. They all went to Wembley though and a good number of prem games.
When comparing with the other Lancashire clubs they have always had a few more than us. You can check the figures and compare at every level, every decade, they always have a few more. It probably has a lot to do with the nature of our town compared to theirs but I don’t think it’s worth getting upset over.
When comparing with the other Lancashire clubs they have always had a few more than us. You can check the figures and compare at every level, every decade, they always have a few more. It probably has a lot to do with the nature of our town compared to theirs but I don’t think it’s worth getting upset over.
kuriousoranj
Well-known member
I agree with the original post. I think Blackpool should do better under the circumstances. I've always said 10,000 season ticket holders is decent and 12,000 would be excellent. It would also mean the ground would be full for more than half of the games. Simon deserves the help.
T
Thatseasider
Guest
It’s a slow burner for us to get to regular 15,000 home attendances.
We have a quirky town where a huge proportion of the population have no connection or roots in the town.
We’re still only a few years out from a 4/5 year boycott, the fans who will should have caught the bug in that time frame and now never will could be having an impact and will need to be slowly built up again.
They club with the aid of fans themselves are putting these foundations in place, the shirts for kids initiative, player visiting the local junior clubs etc. but this takes multiple years to come to fruition and can o lay be sustained for approx a decade with decent seasons on the pitch ie Championship promotion/playoff chasing.
For me that isn’t really realistic until the two big infrastructure programs are online.
Ultimately I can see us getting back to 14/15k home attendances but not for around another 7/8 years when everything starts to bear fruit.
We have a quirky town where a huge proportion of the population have no connection or roots in the town.
We’re still only a few years out from a 4/5 year boycott, the fans who will should have caught the bug in that time frame and now never will could be having an impact and will need to be slowly built up again.
They club with the aid of fans themselves are putting these foundations in place, the shirts for kids initiative, player visiting the local junior clubs etc. but this takes multiple years to come to fruition and can o lay be sustained for approx a decade with decent seasons on the pitch ie Championship promotion/playoff chasing.
For me that isn’t really realistic until the two big infrastructure programs are online.
Ultimately I can see us getting back to 14/15k home attendances but not for around another 7/8 years when everything starts to bear fruit.
Victorsponge
Well-known member
Watford will have brought a few, the nobbers benefit from being close to Blackpool, any teams visiting sleepdale bring more fans than normal because they make a weekend of it in Blackpool.
poolseasider
Well-known member
You do know that Blackpool's knickname is minium wage town where half the area is on poor wages who either can't afford football or are working in the tourist industry so have to work weekends.
Add on being a transient town and getting those figures will only happen if we get back to the PL quickly.
Hopefully we can build on the 8k to get near the 10k in ST holders but it does seem a bit rich from someone criticising our attendances when they don't go to games how about buying a ST and because you don't live in the town write off the money as Simon needs all our help.
XBeds-Now-Kings_Meaburn
Well-known member
Difficult to compare & say we should get same or better . all sorts of various circumstances influence attendances .
3 main ones listed below
(i) Blackpool area has highest non indigenous population in Britain , people live there but have other allegiances .
(ii) Burnley, Bolton, Preston etc Sod all else to do on a saturday , Blackpool entertainment centre of Britain other than london .
(iii) Burnley Just out of Prem after doing pretty well there for a few years all things considered .
3 main ones listed below
(i) Blackpool area has highest non indigenous population in Britain , people live there but have other allegiances .
(ii) Burnley, Bolton, Preston etc Sod all else to do on a saturday , Blackpool entertainment centre of Britain other than london .
(iii) Burnley Just out of Prem after doing pretty well there for a few years all things considered .
Livingthedream47
Well-known member
They brought about 1000 tops train strikes & they don’t like travelling .
We have 14,000 15,000 home fans now
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Visting Bolton fan.
I'm impressed with our gates just now. Our brush with extinction a few years ago has wiped the state clean and we built up a generation of new young fans due to spending 13 out of 17 seasons in the Prem from 1995 to 2012.
The capacity of Burnden Park had slipped to about 21,000 and lower divisions football in the 1980s meant that we lost a generation and in the 1990s I was usually quite disappointed with our gates even though we'd improved on the pitch. We had an incredible season in 96/7, winning the second tier at a canter, yet we sometimes only pulled in 13/14,000 and averaged about 16,500. Then in our second, third and fourth years at the Reebok (back in the second tier) our games could often stoop to 11/12,000. Those incredible years in the 2000s under Big Sam meant we could average 25,000 with top gates of 27,000. Some of that support "got the bug" and we're reaping that dividend to this day.
Other than one-off games it takes a while for a support base to "warm-up". You'd all know better than me but I suspect Blackpool's issue just now is similar. You had the feelgood of getting rid of the dreadful Oystons but getting folk consistently back in the habit of going to the match on a Saturday afternoon (including youngeters and lapsed fans) can be glacially slow.
We're in a good phase with gates at Bolton and that's partly circumstances and partly cyclical. Suspect Blackpool's situation is similar. If you sustain tier 2 or promotion hunting tier 3 football over the next decade your gates will incrementally rise. Any brush with the Prem will accelerate things further.
All of the above applies to most clubs ............... unless you're Wigan.
I'm impressed with our gates just now. Our brush with extinction a few years ago has wiped the state clean and we built up a generation of new young fans due to spending 13 out of 17 seasons in the Prem from 1995 to 2012.
The capacity of Burnden Park had slipped to about 21,000 and lower divisions football in the 1980s meant that we lost a generation and in the 1990s I was usually quite disappointed with our gates even though we'd improved on the pitch. We had an incredible season in 96/7, winning the second tier at a canter, yet we sometimes only pulled in 13/14,000 and averaged about 16,500. Then in our second, third and fourth years at the Reebok (back in the second tier) our games could often stoop to 11/12,000. Those incredible years in the 2000s under Big Sam meant we could average 25,000 with top gates of 27,000. Some of that support "got the bug" and we're reaping that dividend to this day.
Other than one-off games it takes a while for a support base to "warm-up". You'd all know better than me but I suspect Blackpool's issue just now is similar. You had the feelgood of getting rid of the dreadful Oystons but getting folk consistently back in the habit of going to the match on a Saturday afternoon (including youngeters and lapsed fans) can be glacially slow.
We're in a good phase with gates at Bolton and that's partly circumstances and partly cyclical. Suspect Blackpool's situation is similar. If you sustain tier 2 or promotion hunting tier 3 football over the next decade your gates will incrementally rise. Any brush with the Prem will accelerate things further.
All of the above applies to most clubs ............... unless you're Wigan.
I have lived abroad npw for 12-14 years ... everytime I am home in the UK I try and get to a game ...
the price to watch a one off game is crazy but what probably purs a lot of people off is simply how complicated it is just to decide last minute to go and watch a game of football.... I always wanna catch a game so make the effort but I guess others just cant be arsed
the price to watch a one off game is crazy but what probably purs a lot of people off is simply how complicated it is just to decide last minute to go and watch a game of football.... I always wanna catch a game so make the effort but I guess others just cant be arsed
Threepeaksphil
Well-known member
Having watched the Pool for over fifty years I remember many times mention made that our gates are disappointing. A great point was made years ago that you are draw a circle of say 30/40 miles around any football town from which a club can expect to draw crowds and Burnley are a great example with lots of fans I remember for example in the Settle/Skipton area. We can’t draw a circle round Blackpool just a half moon, the other half is the sea 
So I think we should be pleased with the crowds we get with a very high level of enthusiasm and noise and backing that must make a difference to the players. After a great week, a couple of good signings this week should make us very optimistic about this season. UTMP
So I think we should be pleased with the crowds we get with a very high level of enthusiasm and noise and backing that must make a difference to the players. After a great week, a couple of good signings this week should make us very optimistic about this season. UTMP
SwannDangerous
Well-known member
You don't even need to print tickets now, if you've got a smartphone you can purchase on there and scan the code to get in... arguably easier to sort, or at least as easy to sort, than paying on the gate
Dark_Side_of_the_Lune
Well-known member
I was about to polish up my CV and put it in the HR intray with a cc to Ben for the Fan Engagement Officer post. After reading this thread I can’t be arsed.
kuriousoranj
Well-known member
I thought It was a town full of wealthy Tories or maybe everyone though Brexit would be an instant success?You do know that Blackpool's knickname is minium wage town where half the area is on poor wages who either can't afford football or are working in the tourist industry so have to work weekends.
Add on being a transient town and getting those figures will only happen if we get back to the PL quickly.
Hopefully we can build on the 8k to get near the 10k in ST holders but it does seem a bit rich from someone criticising our attendances when they don't go to games how about buying a ST and because you don't live in the town write off the money as Simon needs all our help.
Everything considered, crowds are still poor. Half the supporters I travelled the country with watching the Pool in the 80s and 90s weren't from the town. I'm still not sure it would make any difference if season ticket were 30% cheaper? Many Blackpool born locals support other teams, I doubt there are many Man U fans in Bolton? We have a decent catchment area but the figures are disappointing in my view.
If I lived in or near Blackpool I'd 100% have a season ticket. A lot of my spare cash goes on my kids as well as a huge commitment to my son who plays at the highest level for a 8 year old.
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SeasideTerrier
Well-known member
And Blackpool is the only three sided conurbation of those you mention (Codwood and Eric FC are too,but well, just but.)
If you delve deeper into the stats then you may see:-
Middle Earth Turf Moo-er count fingers for their attendance
Knobberville - count the number of times 'Cha' is heard in the month of the game (rolling)
Notlob - Count the number of cars that visit Middlebrook.
Toastrack
Well-known member
According to this site, away fan numbers were....
Us at Burnleh - 2,197
Watford at PKE - 1,125
T'Rovers were top of the table on Saturday morning - bit surprised that they didn't take more than 1,536 to Sheff Utd.
Away Attendances at the Weekend - 22nd August 2022 - Page 2 of 5 - Fan Banter
These were the top five away attendances for the Championship at the weekend… 1) Sunderland fans at Stoke City – 2,629 Full-time scenes 🤩 #SAFC pic.twitter.com/eki3XdRPSN — Sunderland AFC (@SunderlandAFC) August 20, 2022 2) Cardiff City fans at Bristol City – 2,400* 3) Blackpool fans at Burnley...
fanbanter.co.uk
Wizzerboy
Well-known member
I've been going to Blackpool matches for the best part of 50 years and in all my time watching them in Division 2 (for the oldies) and the championship I bet our average attendance (being helped by our stint in the 70's) is around 15,000
We will always have the odd larger crowd but in the main 15k is it for championship football. Of course it would rise if we were promoted and possibly if the layout is sorted once the east stand is redeveloped but that would be allowing more away fans in.
There is only a small dyed in the wool contingent of Blackpool fans. You could give tickets out for free to some of the floaters and they'd make some sort of excuse not to go.
I have no answer as to how the fan base is increased, I just thank the lord the 10,000 who normally go on match days make the noise of 20,000
We will always have the odd larger crowd but in the main 15k is it for championship football. Of course it would rise if we were promoted and possibly if the layout is sorted once the east stand is redeveloped but that would be allowing more away fans in.
There is only a small dyed in the wool contingent of Blackpool fans. You could give tickets out for free to some of the floaters and they'd make some sort of excuse not to go.
I have no answer as to how the fan base is increased, I just thank the lord the 10,000 who normally go on match days make the noise of 20,000
Fatboy
Well-known member
We just need to breed more Wizzer , if we all have another two kids each we will need a 45 to 50000 stadium in no time
