Redditch v Birmingham highlights

match highlights

https://youtu.be/dmmu39auXjo

good highlights
what was the attendance?

Tommo wrote:good highlights
what was the attendance?

112 mate

Awful attendance but the England game probably didn't help. Will be back down the Valley for the Leam game next tues, haven't been able to get down there for ages!

in2thevalley wrote:

Tommo wrote:good highlights
what was the attendance?

112 mate

haha shockingly funny

112 attendance???????!!!!!!

as i put in the match predictions thread (i gueesed 120) - totally the clubs fault this time arranging such a potentially good fixture the night they did, no doubt there will be press relaease saying how disspaointed they are a town as big as redditch cant suppor their local sides etc.

Sydley and alvechurch both play in same competition - lets see what there attendaces are

The problem is that most fans are more than aware of how little football clubs actually care about these competitions. Any senior cup competition game is usually used as a training session to try out reserve and youth team players. So if the clubs aren’t bothered, why should the fans be?

It’s not entirely Redditch United's fault that the attendance was poor. There is just a general apathy towards these competitions. Fans have also wised up. Most know that the likes of Blues, Wolves and WBA are not going to send any senior players to take part.

Personally, I’d like to see the club take every cup competition seriously; I hate to see any competition ‘cheapened’. But that doesn’t happen so I no longer attend senior cup games. I’d consider it if the admission fee was reduced accordingly, but I don’t believe that it’s right to charge full price to watch reserve players.

It appears as though we played a strong team on Tuesday, but that’s not the norm. And it was still a Blues youth team. Senior cup apathy aside, England were on TV and our start to the season has been pretty dreadful. So the attendance was not a surprise to me.

That said, I think we can expect some poor league attendances in the coming weeks. There will always be the fans who will support the club through thick and thin. However, not everyone will blindly support the team if the performances continue to be as poor as they have been so far. No amount of advertising, promotions, gimmicks can replace what it really takes to get people through the turnstiles…. a winning team, playing well.

A few of my mates are Blues fans and they would have gone had they known about it even though the England game was on! The club should have advertised it better and regardless of the players the amount of Blue Noses in the area would have meant a number going down to see potential kids who play for them in the future.

I am with Del on the point about taking cup competitions seriously, having gone to watch us play Worcester last season and seeing a reserve side (well bar a few first teamers) play and not take the competition seriously was a waste of my time, effort and hard earned cash. I for one decided against it on Tuesday linked in that I was tired and late home from work!

I agree with Del and Leethall about the various points they mention. We can't start moaning about attendances until the performances improve. We need to start scoring goals and winning matches before worrying about crowds, I mean, the Valley is hardly an exciting place to be these days is it ? If we had just won a couple of games 2 or 3 nil then I would be worried about the attitude of the Redditch public but at the moment I am struggling to blame apathy as such.

I also think that there is a wider picture here, in other words about the state of non league football in general which I believe is in danger of over pricing itself. I mean, if it was six or seven quid to watch Reds you wouldn't be too worried about that, especially if the senior cup games were maybe a fiver but at ten quid a lot of people are going to think twice. If I were in charge I'd prefer to get them through the gate, flog them a golden goal ticket (surely you know what those are Leethall!), a raffle ticket, a programme, a cup of tea, a burger a couple of pints etc etc rather than just not have enough people in the ground.

I noticed that Kettering only had 236 for their FA cup replay with Wisbech. Now that may be a lot to do with their huge off the pitch problems but blimey, 236 for a Kettering home game that's ridiculous. A week or two ago I also noticed that 3 Blue Square North (midweek) fixtures attracted crowds of 200ish. If I remember correctly it was something like 204 at Droylsden, 202 at Oxford and 206 at Solihoof (or was it Colwyn Bay) I can't be bothered to check but the signs are there that the recession has had an effect and we need to start thinking about better pricing. Many clubs have different pricing bands connected to the quality of opposition, importance of the competition etc. Maybe it's time to look at a similar idea ?