Home attendances.

I haven't been down the Valley since the Leamington game, but since then only two of our home fixture have met that 'magic' 250 marker (Cambridge and WBA). Now I know it is cold out but I am surprised attendances have been that low for a number of games, especially when we haven't played badly at home probably for a while achieving decent results!

Was just wondering if anyone has any thoughts as to why there might been a decrease? Hopefully things will change. I believe the Redditch apathy can be changed in at least some ways (Something I am trying to understand better through my Uni dissertation). I'm a new town fan and had no intial reason to be attached to the reds, just went down one day myself because I saw how cheap at the time it was to get in as a child. I think the simple flyers through doors around the town, especially new town areas and maybe buy one get one free offer on tickets if you bring a mate. Everyone loves something for free!

I think Kids for a quid seemed succesful at start of the season, but from sound of it the kids that came in acted like idiots and got ejected from the stadium. So that is a shame.

I'm back from uni for the Banbury game so at least we will have one more through the gate

Apologies for that waffle!

Well i'm sure 300 people would come if we played on a friday

The only way we'll get a crowd is a FA Cup run... or wins on the bounce.

Other than that people won't care.

Team have been distinctly average, lack of results, bad press (eg Chesham game), continued off the field problems, cost of entrance, lack of suitable marketing and no teams with decent away followings. All part of the problem IMO.

Oh & Tommy Warmer has been injured quite a lot and certain fans only go when they know he is playing Cough Rawlings

I think we need to get another rally on the go (ie. Project 500).

If we could drum up some match day posters I'd gladly get them up in all the pubs on the Evesham Rd. Maybe with tear-off strips at the bottom that offer a special entry price (one for the club to decide, I know).

If offering a special entry price, then use an advert in the Standard/Advertiser as a cut-out to qualify for reduced entry.

OR...re-introduce the family ticket (2 Adults 2 Kids for £12) and a free programme.

Also we desperately need the tv ariels sorted in the clubhouse, as people enjoy keeping up with the prem scores.

Leethall wrote:Team have been distinctly average, lack of results, bad press (eg Chesham game), continued off the field problems, cost of entrance, lack of suitable marketing and no teams with decent away followings. All part of the problem IMO.

Oh & Tommy Warmer has been injured quite a lot and certain fans only go when they know he is playing Cough Rawlings

And where were you on saturday, Mr. Leethall? I rest my case.

I go each home game to see if tommy is all better He'll be fine, and for the record, it shows when he doesn't play

Yeah...my ideas are as follows:

1. It is too expensive. It is a problem at all levels of football. The problem is the playing budget is directly linked to the gate income. It is too risky to drop the entance fee as the numbers may not increase significantly?
Fans are already complaining about the quality of player we can afford...I want a BMW car but my budget only allows me to have a Toyota....what do I do? Get a loan for the BMW so I can boast about it for 12 months before it is taken back by the bank?...or do I buy a Toyota, that will do the basic job but not pull the chicks?
We tried the BMW route and look where we ended up...no chicks and nearly no club.

2. No marketing. Easy to say, not easy to do. I personally took 1 day vacation last year to introduce the local businesses to the club. I am sure no follow up has been made due to workload, other priorities etc.
I am not referring to calling for advertsiing etc...I mean to get involved with HR to offer tickets as incentives for employees etc.
The 'England to the World Cup' day and 'project 500' were pretty successful and needed to be built upon.
Link up with the pubs/clubs in the town....discount tickets sold on a Friday night before matchday.

3. No advertising. TRUST started to advertise on the club's behalf with minimal success. Advertising is a long term strategy after the initial surge, but we were unable to continue as the cost was too high.

4. Not enough involvement of youth teams....how to engage the 'untapped' resource of parents!

5. Tap into the football supporter...One weakness we have is that we have many WBA/BC/AV/WW fans in the town. Flip the weakness to a strength and offer CHEAP tickets to these fans etc.

6. Winning team...not easy as described above.

7. Move ground...new facilities, new interest, new place to go etc..

Otherwise, we are back to the step by step, gentle crawl that we are now in.....frustrating but sustainable.

Not easy, but we are not alone...

The aim of reduced entry (for a one-off game, or two) is to attract a few more through the gate, and 'hopefully' add to our regular fan base.
If successful then the increase in attendance should iron out the short-fall from the discounted entry. Yes, we'd be relying on 'ifs' but I suppose anything we try would have an element of risk to it.

This would need to be promoted properly or it will definitely fall on it's arse.
We've had a fair few new faces become regulars this season, many of which are disgruntled Villa fans. They've all caught the bug just from giving it a try.

I think we're blaming a lot of it on general apathy rather than 'lack of awareness'. People can't be apathetic about something they're unaware of.

Referring back to Lewis' post - he states he had no connection to the club before he became a regular, and simply caught the bug after dragging himself to a game. That was the same scenario for me, and many others, so why wouldn't this work with a few more new-comers?
The hardest part is getting them through the gate, and in order to do this, there needs to be an incentive.
Then we need to contain the new fans and convert them to regulars, this will mainly be down to themselves (if they enjoyed the day).

If not the above then I really think the family ticket should make an appearance once in a while, as this went down well when introduced last year.

Probably not the best time of year to push the offer with cold weather and Christmas upon us, but maybe one to look at next year.

EDIT: Another thing, as soon as the final whistle sounds, most people head for the exit (with the regulars heading to the clubhouse). Maybe a few leaflet handouts to people leaving, promoting the next home game/club function, or a £1 reduction voucher for their next visit. This can be done on entry or exit.

We need success on the pitch. It’s that simply really. Since we won the Dr. Martens Western, apart from a half decent season in our first year in the Conference, it has been one relegation fight after another. Even before we won promotion, we generally struggled more often than not.

Advertising is a waste of time. I’ve used this example before and I’m going to use it again. The FA Cup 4th round qualifying replay against Kettering, was attended by 1100+. I reckon that maybe 250-300 were from Kettering. We had massive support that night. And 1100 was only the official, declared attendance. I reckon you could add another 200-300 (at the very least) onto the real attendance.

My point is that the replay was arranged at short notice, for just three days after the game at Kettering. There was no time to advertise, there was no time to promote, there was no time for a mention in the local rags. There was no time to do anything, yet the gate was huge. People know where we are and they know when there are games on. But they will only come down for the occasional big game.

That game was an absolute cracker. Ok we lost, but in was a classic cup tie. A few days later, we were back in league action at home and the crowd was back down to 300 ish. That’s Redditch apathy for you.

Look at Crawley Town. As a new town near London, they are comparable to us. As a struggling Conference team, their home crowds (without big away support) were generally 700-800. This is the kind of crowd I think we could potentially get in the Conference. At the top of Conference, their crowds doubled. Now flying high in League 2, they are averaging 3000 per game. I’m not suggesting for a moment that we should be bankrolled in the same, unsustainable manor that they are. But success brings about these massive improvements in attendances. You can look at any club in the football league who has climbed or dropped through the divisions and the attendances adjust accordingly.

When Mr. Swan first took over, he did indicate that he was looking at improving the stadium or possibly moving to a new ground. I don’t know what his current intentions are, but nothing else has been mentioned since. A new ground of a decent standard would double / triple our attendances over night….at least for the first few years. That would then become the window for the club to retain fans with good football. I know it’s a huge expense!!! But for a significant increase in attendances we need something big to happen…

- consistent success on the pitch
- a good FA cup run to the 3rd round proper
- a new ground

Sorry, but nothing less will make a difference.

Totally agree with everything del boy says. I know that advertising and promoting the club is important but the fact remains that the best crowd we've had in the last 5 or 6 years (against Kettering) was achieved with no advertising, no promotion, no leaflets, no special offers etc.

Another example was the game against Barrow 3 or 4 years ago which we needed to win to stay up. I was not aware that the game was advertised or promoted in any way (but stand to be corrected if it was as I don't live in the area) but the attendance was 700. I reckon I counted about half a dozen Barrow fans so again there must have been 700 or so 'locals' just as with the Kettering game.

It seems to me we underestimate the number of people in the town who do take an interest, do know what's going on, and do like to come and watch (but obviously not often enough).

Basically what del boy is saying is that we need to get noticed big time. We need something like the success Stourbridge have achieved in the FA cup, something like the success we ourselves achieved in the league a few years ago or something else big in order to get people down to watch.

I have always (much as I love the Valley) felt that it has never been a very attractive venue for new or 'floating' supporters and particularly in the winter months it can be a cold, windswept and frankly rather soulless place when there's only a few there.

If we have no plans to move then some sort of revamp is required which in my opinion would involve completely roofing over the allotment end and the Cedar Road stand as well as a proper permanent roof over the seats at the far end, thus creating a far better atmosphere as well as making the place at least appear more inviting. and looking like a 'proper' ground.

I fully realise how much this could cost but I'm thinking long term here and as del boy says, nothing other than these pretty major things are really going to make a difference.

Mattim, I agree that there are more fans out there than perhaps we give credit for. Personally, I speak to a lot more friends, acquaintances etc. that show a genuine interest but don’t go to games, compared to those that actually do attend. We have a big town (which is going to get much bigger in the next 10-15 years) and we have the potential. Clubs like Rushden & Diamonds, Forest Green and Histon etc, have punched above their weight but perhaps hit their ceiling? We have a huge potential fan base advantage over clubs like this.

Your average football fan in Redditch is ignorant. I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve heard somebody say things like, “Redditch are sh*t, my Sunday league club could beat them” or “I’m not paying £9 to watch that level of football“. The standard we play at doesn’t get enough credit, which is why a cup upset makes a difference. If we could get to the FA Cup proper and knock out a well known team, that would go some way to raising peoples opinions of the standard we play at.

And I agree that the ground isn’t a nice place for the ‘fair weather’ fan to come to. Yes, it looks a hell of a lot better than it did this time last year. For us regulars, I’m sure we all appreciate how much time and effort has gone into the ground improvements. But to the casual fan, I doubt they would notice any real difference. The ground would still come across as a ‘dump’. In reality, the ground has just been given a facelift. But, “if you build it, they will come”.

If the club is happy to stay at this level, then the ground is fine and our crowds are adequate. But I doubt there is anyone on here that doesn’t want to see the club progress!

Speaking of the ground, the temporary stand feels like it's starting to fall apart. Maybe it’s just me, but it doesn’t feel safe to walk on!!!

What is a fact is that there are a large number of seats that are in no fit state to be sat on. The stand needs some urgent work or needs to be made out of bounds!!! At the very least, the offending seats need to be removed or replaced. Most people aren't stupid enough to sit on a broken chair...... but we do live in a compensation culture!

del boy wrote:Speaking of the ground, the temporary stand feels like it's starting to fall apart. Maybe it’s just me, but it doesn’t feel safe to walk on!!!

What is a fact is that there are a large number of seats that are in no fit state to be sat on. The stand needs some urgent work or needs to be made out of bounds!!! At the very least, the offending seats need to be removed or replaced. Most people aren't stupid enough to sit on a broken chair...... but we do live in a compensation culture!

I don't see how that big rusty headache still stands!! I'd put money on a tornado tearing the ground to shreds and that temp stand staying put, undamaged! I do think that it needs to go though because it's the worst bit of the ground and surely a health and safety hazard? Say we do have a big game and have to segregate? 300 away fans in that surely would bring her down! I often wonder, due to the league we're in... do we need those extra seats?
It's Dangerous.

rawlings09 wrote:

Leethall wrote:Team have been distinctly average, lack of results, bad press (eg Chesham game), continued off the field problems, cost of entrance, lack of suitable marketing and no teams with decent away followings. All part of the problem IMO.

Oh & Tommy Warmer has been injured quite a lot and certain fans only go when they know he is playing Cough Rawlings

And where were you on saturday, Mr. Leethall? I rest my case.

I go each home game to see if tommy is all better He'll be fine, and for the record, it shows when he doesn't play

I went to watch Oxford v Cheltenham on Sat as I knew it would be much better entertainment than RuFC v Arsley Proven correct again

Normally this thread or topic would concern me, but not now.

We have Chris Swan and wife Sally running the club, hugely successful business people with our club at heart, so don't panic or come up with suggestions or solutions, for so long so many have put upmost faith in the Swans because of their business backgrounds, so don't question faith now. I'm sure they have a fool proof plan just waiting to unveil as I type.

Won't get me worrying about an old age RUFC problem, my faith is in Swans hands.

ROWLY1971 wrote:Normally this thread or topic would concern me, but not now.

We have Chris Swan and wife Sally running the club, hugely successful business people with our club at heart, so don't panic or come up with suggestions or solutions, for so long so many have put upmost faith in the Swans because of their business backgrounds, so don't question faith now. I'm sure they have a fool proof plan just waiting to unveil as I type.

Won't get me worrying about an old age RUFC problem, my faith is in Swans hands.

Guess who?
http://www.bromsgrovefootball.org.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=5289

Dear me.....!!!!!

Too obvious, but my old friend Mrs Bore thinks I am too stupid to know who it is?

I must return my degree to the University....thick Redditch lump.

The holiday season could be the perfect time for the club/TRUST to boost attendances.

On boxing day, we play Stourbridge in what is likely to be one of the highest attended games of the season. If you ask me, there is little point promoting games and club events on the run up to Christmas, people are strapped for cash and need the time on a Saturday to go Christmas shopping etc. So why not use this game to make a big effort in attracting new fans and show The Valley off at its best with the terraces busy and plenty of noise back and forth between home and away fans.

I suggest we get a couple of fans dressed up in club shirts and scarves to hand out flyers advertising the games coming up over the holiday period. Perhaps we could have an offer along the lines of "half price entry with this flyer" for the Stourbridge game. The club can monitor at the turnstiles how many people have taken up the offer and hence how successful the promotion has been. If nobody takes up the offer then fair enough, but at least we will have made the effort.

Thoughts?

Sounds good but I can't see the club offering special entry fees, weeks after they've increased them.

Shame really as Stourbridge is only down the road, and an offer would also attracts more away fans too.

The Stourbridge fans are a good bunch who love a drink at the football, even more so over the Christmas period.

If not an entry reduction, then some sort of incentive however small.

Ample opportunity this game..

Sorry, I dont think I made myself clear. The idea isn't to give regular fans the offer of half price entrance, but to passers by in the town centre before the game. That way, only new fans pay half price and only for 1 game. The club will still get the same income from fans that would have gone anyway but will also get the additional income from people taking up the offer and the additional takings once inside the ground.

TRUST members handed out 300 flyers in town from 8.00 AM until midday on the day of the Bromsgrove Sporting game. 5 people attended the match with the flyer to get reduced entry.
It's unfair to let people who don't attend games to get in cheaper than the regulars with a flyer.

The idea of season ticket holders of other clubs being given preferential admission fees regularly crops up on here. I have to say, that I absolute detest the idea that any new / occasional / one off fan can pay less than me to attend a game!!!

The home game against Stourbridge will be well attended. There is no point in messing around with the games that are going to get a good crowd anyway. If the club is to start experimenting with prices, promotions etc, then it should be for a low key game. Not that it will work though…..

We could have the advertising budget and exposure of Coca Cola for a 30 second advert during the X Factor finals…..and that still wouldn’t get us the same crowd that we would for an appearance in the 1st Round of the FA Cup.

Spot on.

My point is that people are more likely to reattend if their first game is one that is well attended than one on a cold tuesday night with less than 200 people there, so if you ask me, these are the type of games where we should be looking to attract new fans