The Missing 20,000 Fans (10 Viewers)
- Thread starter BackRoomRummermill
- Start date
Disorganised1
New Member
Some of you seem to forget that even in the Premiership our gates struggled to make 20,000.
Backroom is so right. All the pathetic excuses just keep getting rolled out and of course the future of the club is so important to them they come out with the sarcasm, put downs and taking the mick. How the club do, nothing to do with them, (even though they have the nerve to call themselves SkyBlue this and that). It is all someone else's fault. Some directors, players, boards, nothing to do with them not turning up. Oh no, not me mate. It isn't a priority, the league (as if they turn much for that anyway) is more important. Or I'll come back when they're in top six, when SISU go, the pies get better, the bloke they don't like behind them shuts up. They'll probably moan about the JPT prices next. The truth is a club is only as good as the supporters. We have a club who have useless non attending 'fans.' They don't see the connection between them not attending and a failing club. Beggars belief. You're just crap supporters and you know who you are.
GaryPendrysEyes
Well-Known Member
ThevSnoz what a load of crap 'the club is only as good as its supporters'. Executives, managers and players are paid very well to produce something that is successful on the pitch. Success is what brings fans in. The truth is most people who go up week in week out whatever the crap on the pitch do it more for the beer and day out, than being a 'true supporter'....
coundonskyblue
New Member
Snoz are you saying that there is a link between our support and where the club should finish? If so I agree with you.
However if that is what your saying then you're ignoring the facts that the club/team gets better support than it deserves.
Third best supported team this year, we will finish no where near that in the league. Last season about 15th best supported team, again we finish a lot lower than that in the league.
First few years the Ricoh we were in about the top 8 for support the team still didn't perform.
Im afraid your argument is completely one sided.
However if that is what your saying then you're ignoring the facts that the club/team gets better support than it deserves.
Third best supported team this year, we will finish no where near that in the league. Last season about 15th best supported team, again we finish a lot lower than that in the league.
First few years the Ricoh we were in about the top 8 for support the team still didn't perform.
Im afraid your argument is completely one sided.
I don t need to make an excuse. My life, my choices.
You go to every city match, I go to some, pretty sure that's just about acceptable even in today's world.
Pretty sure you re on the wind up anyway so I ll move on
stupot07
Well-Known Member
Unfortunately Coundon, we were being well supported against a backdrop of having big debts and no money. Last season we might have had the 15th best supported team but we also have a bottom 3 wage bill.
This season, you're budget might be one of the biggest but that is counterbalanced by the fact we're paying championship wages to a lot of players who aren't good enough/have enough fight to get us out of this league as well as Thorn wasting a lot of money on the wrong types of players.
This season, you're budget might be one of the biggest but that is counterbalanced by the fact we're paying championship wages to a lot of players who aren't good enough/have enough fight to get us out of this league as well as Thorn wasting a lot of money on the wrong types of players.
coundonskyblue
New Member
I agree, but that's not the fans fault is it? Its the club/owners fault.
The Club has no right to the current level of support it currently enjoys. On the pitch there is nothing more than a average league 1 team, average league 1 crowds are about 5k. The fact we are getting twice that amount should be commended.
stupot07
Well-Known Member
It's all relative though and when you compare to other teams with a similar history to ours and catchment area(300k+ in Cov, 500k+ in warwickshire), it's very poor.
coundonskyblue
New Member
Similar history? What other club has gone 40+ years without a good league season?
Who are you comparing us too? We are a league 1 club, therefore if your being relative you compare us to other league 1 teams.
Also how does the % of catchment area who attend games affect how much money is coming in? The only thing that counts is the actual number of paying supporters.
Tranmere are top of the league, yet we average 4200 more fans than them a game. Based on a ticket price of £15, thats £1.45m extra income per annum.
Houchens Head
Fairly well known member from Malvern
To be fair to Tranmere, they live in the shadows of the likes of Liverpool, Everton and to some extent, Man Utd & Man City. That area has a big football following so majority of fans will support a bigger local club. So actually, I respect Tranmere fans for sticking with their smaller club.
coundonskyblue
New Member
<p>
I respect them as well but your missing my point. The Op, snoz, are saying if we had bigger crowds we would be successful.
My point is we do get bigger crowds than all but 2 league one teams, so where is the success?
I respect them as well but your missing my point. The Op, snoz, are saying if we had bigger crowds we would be successful.
My point is we do get bigger crowds than all but 2 league one teams, so where is the success?
WillieStanley
New Member
I don't think necessarily big crowds but viable crowds. Crowds that'll create an atmosphere when things aren't going well and crowds that would enable the club to break even. In our current ground and situation, its harder to achieve than most others. We may get bigger crowds than most other teams in our league but they have smaller grounds and smaller bills.
What comes first? Success or crowds? The people of Coventry are quite clearly saying success but that just makes the task all the more harder to achieve.
What comes first? Success or crowds? The people of Coventry are quite clearly saying success but that just makes the task all the more harder to achieve.
stupot07
Well-Known Member
You could argue that if we actually paid our rent that extra income would go straight input on rent.
I was actually comparing us to
Sheffield united c18k
Sheffield Wednesday c21k
Charlton 17.5k
Southampon c21-22k even in the fist season when they struggled but won the JPT
Norwich 24.5k
Leeds 24.8k
Leicester 20k - admittedly Leeds are a far bigger club than us
Forest 20-28k
Swansea 13.5k
Even Portsmouth are averaging an extra 2k more than us. Huddlesfield averaged 14-16k for the last 4-5 seasons in league one , Bradford averged nearly 12k a couple of season ago in league two
coundonskyblue
New Member
So consecutive owners have made bad mistakes, left us on the verge of homelessness, and wasted our money, and because of all that we should be getting 20k crowds at league 1 level?
The club had very good support levels, but years of lies, bad management, selling every player on the first bid has driven them away. The club should be grateful for the fans it has left, and people on here shouldnt be so moralistic.
MusicDating
Euro 2016 Prediction League Champion!!
Aside from a handful of clubs, it's always been success that brings crowds.
For example, Swansea AVERAGED 3,690 in 01/02.
Feel free to pick out historical stats from here to aid your particular argument...
http://www.european-football-statistics.co.uk/attn.htm
For example, Swansea AVERAGED 3,690 in 01/02.
Feel free to pick out historical stats from here to aid your particular argument...
http://www.european-football-statistics.co.uk/attn.htm
WillieStanley
New Member
Coundonskyblue... I completely disagree with your "40+ years without league success". Every season spent in the top flight without relegation was a good season compared to what we now have. We achieved so much in that time, claimed the biggest of scalps, saw some of the best players in the world and had some of the best players in the country wear our shirt. Admittedly I've only been going since the early 90's but, barring the season we wen't down, every one of those seasons I had the privilidge of being a season ticket holder for was "good"... in fact more than good... it was immense. A fantastic time to grow up as a Coventry fan.
coundonskyblue
New Member
Sheff Utd & Portsmouth is a fair point and as fans I agree we have no right to expect us to finish ahead of them until we get up the Ricoh in greater numbers.
But all those other teams are not in our division at the moment. We are not competing against those teams. If we had gone down into this division in 2008 instead of Leicester then whos to say we wouldn't have got high crowds then?
We are only competing against clubs in our league now. If we want to talk about the past I could point out that Birmingham, Wolves and WBA all had crowds of about 6k when they were down here.
WillieStanley
New Member
Well... That's your quote of the day!!
I don't begrudge anybody for feeling hard done by and chosing not to attend at all... that wasn't the point I was trying to make. I was simply saying, without that, it makes it harder to do anything.
coundonskyblue
New Member
I'm sorry but from a fans point of view just staying up is never a good season. My first ever game watching City was a 4-1 loss to Crystal Palace, are you saying because that was a Premier League game I should have been grateful for that? Losing games in the Premiership hurt just as much (actually, probably more as I'm numb to it now) as it does in league 1.
coundonskyblue
New Member
That wasn't aimed at you, it was aimed at the OP & Snoz.
I also agree that if we had 20k up there it probably would be easier to do well, but we still have a large support for our position yet that is dismissed on here.
WillieStanley
New Member
Actually, that is a really good point. I do think that what contributes to the lower crowds is the Boothroyd campaign and the events last season. There were a lot of final straws for a lot of people. Be that Marlon King signing or not signing, KD, Brody, the exodus of players or errrrm.... Andy Thorn to name a few.
WillieStanley
New Member
I think the reason that this is dimissed is because our overheads are bigger than most teams in our postion.
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coundonskyblue
New Member
I don't deny that at all. Our overheads probably do cancel out the extra income we receive. But the fact that successive owners have screwed up our finances is not going to bring in extra fans.
stupot07
Well-Known Member
But survival is the primary aim for all bar 5-6 clubs in PL every season.
WillieStanley
New Member
No I'm not saying that at all. I'm just saying that the highs were higher. Every win was amazing because we were on the world stage. There was absolutely nothing expected of us other than defeat to the outside world. When we got relegated, we were 2/1 for promotion back to the Premier League. There's always been an element of how well we should be doing, since.
And I would not swap that day at White Hart Lane for anything in the world, or that time we beat Utd at HR amongst so many many other occasions. I could count on my hand how many occassions I have come anywhere close to that feeling since 2002... one of them was a 6-1 defeat.
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WillieStanley
New Member
coundonskyblue
New Member
Do you not think after being there so long our aim should have been a bit higher?
First few years just staying up is fine, but after that the club should have pushed on.
I think it was the 3rd season after promotion in the late sixties that City got into europe. That should have been the catalyst to push on, but bad decisions must have been made at the club which resulted in a long drawn out decline which is still happening now.
stupot07
Well-Known Member
We did, and Richardson took a 'punt' which is why we're in this mess
Brighton Sky Blue
Well-Known Member
The catalyst would've been taking part in a competition we couldn't due to the kind actions of some Scousers.
coundonskyblue
New Member
Well I could never understand that really. Sell your best players, then go and spend more to replace those players with worse ones. Why not just hang on to the good players you have?
Its the same as selling Gary Mcsheffrey in his prime, then using pretty much all that money to bring in Kevin Kyle & Leon McKenzie