I was 88 out on saturday and i predicted 3-1 , had a go on the lottery got no numbers , fuck sake
Newsflash, last season we finished 18th in League One. This season we're currently 20th with no signs of climbing any higher (in fact the opposite is very much on the cards).
Our average attendance is currently the 6th highest in the league. Barnsley are the only other bottom half side to make the top 10 for average attendance (and they average just 400 more than us).
The fact we still have so many going considering all the shite we're having to put up with off the field is pretty damn good. But y'know, ridiculous expectations appear to be the craze nowadays.
So yes, booooo, why did we only get 27,000 for that one time. It's 3rd tier football! Everyone should be flooding into the stadium. No excuses, not like the big gate was the result of the cheap tickets and an 18 month absence or anything...oh wait.
Cheap ticket thing? Mmm...the JPT game was only a fiver too and we'd hardly been back for any length of time, so that doesn't wash. The Plymouth game will be a low attendance and the one after that if we are at home. The area final though....that will be a different kettle of trumpets.
Woah, hold the press. People spending money for a big occasion like a final or a return match or a game that may lead us to Wembley but not paying to see us get kicked in the testicles by Bristol City. Well, we must be the only club in the world where that happens.
we are only 6th highest due to the Gillingham game - the equivalent of 3 extra home matches over everyone else at our "average" attendance.
Yes, I agree, of course that happens, which is why I don't think using the "cheap tickets" excuse holds water. They could be a fiver a match all season and attendances would still be shit.
Take that one out and our average attendance would drop to 6057. That would still place us 11th on the averages, which is still significantly above where we place on field.
Remember though that our first 2 home matches were at Sixfields...take those out too...average from 4 league games = 10171, and that would place us 4th.
Our attendance figures, when you consider where we are, the on field performances, the off field nonsense and everything else, well, they're pretty solid compared to our League One counterparts.
oooh 11th best attendance in League One, lets have a fucking party. Did the year at Sixfields mean so little to our supporters?
20th place in League One. Fooking hooray! It must be the greatest football in the world, take my money immediately!
Besides, I see you missed where I say that 2 of those games were AT SIXFIELDS. The 5 that weren't there...one you didn't want counting because it was a one off high, the other 4, we place 4th on average attendances.
We are where we are. Look at our counterparts, we're actually out-performing them in the stands with our attendance despite failing miserable to match them on the footballing field. But y'know, just because of reasons and things and whatever we should get half a billion people at every game.
It really does amaze me that some fail to see we're a struggling League One outfit showing no ability or ambition to change that. If you show the ambition of a little club trying to not get relegated season after season, then that mindset filters through to the rest of the footballing world which ultimately includes our fans. At that point, it becomes a little bit difficult to get 30,000 to turn up every week.
You think 7000 is a good attendance for Coventry City do you - which is what we got in the SECOND home after Gillingham when were were still in the top 10 of the League?
You think being in the third tier of English football is good for Coventry City?? Because simply, the 2 are linked. We show ambition and show a desire to rise up the Leagues and play better then the attendances will go up too. That's the same for every team in the country. As I say, we are where we are, and you can only compare us to those in a similar boat. When you do that, you realise we're hitting the same numbers as those. In fact, we're hitting slightly higher numbers compared to some.
Should we have more than 7000 turning up to games? Well, yes. But should we be in a higher league than the one we're in? Also yes. The attendance suffers as a result of where we are. Simple enough really.
EXCEPT, every man and boy on here was so confident that the return to the Ricoh was all that was needed for massive attendances by people who lurved the club so much. Turns out only 4000 of those "denied" football at Sixfields were really bothered anyway.
You either go, win lose or draw and get on with it or dont bother and dont whinge.
And lets be clear - when you say "ambition" you mean someone with pots of money to invest in the club don't you? Im sure everyone at the club is very ambitious but they cant afford anything better whilst attendances hover around 7k.
I agree. You would still get the 'I'm not going today it's only Crewe/Crawley /Colchester/Gillingham /Oldham.' *delete as applicable.
I'll be there bringing with me 11 others, cheering on the city getting behind the team like everyone else should be doing.
Yeah, because bills and day to day costs don't possibly mean anything to people. I forgot that life should be football first, everything else second. I'm sure there are plenty who would like to attend more fixtures but can't thanks to financial restrictions. When you don't have money to throw away every week, you have to make decisions.
Erm...what? So you can only have an opinion on the football club if you're there every week? Tad elitist that. I really truly hope that's not the message you were trying to portray there.
Why does it have to be that ambition = blow millions and sign Lionel Messi! How about keep hold of the talent we have (well...had, because we already threw a bunch of it away). How about owners show us they want to give us a club we can be proud of. How about the money they keep on happily spending on legal battles they say....I don't know...maybe use it for on field matters (or is that a daft suggestion?). You may be "sure everyone at the club is very ambitious" but I've seen nothing to convince me that they are. I'm sure many share my view on that. Until they do show us they're ambitious, people will stay away. Again, that's the nature of football.
To expect our fans to be different to the fans of every other club in the country, to expect us to pack out an arena for third tier football from a side that lack either ambition or talent, that's just unrealistic. We are a League One side and we get League One attendances. I fail to see why that's such a huge shock.
I can understand the crowds being so low (freedom of choice etc) but what I can't fathom is people still claiming to be big City fans despite only attending when we are either playing a big team in the cup, or we are playing in a higher league than Div 3.
Surely you support Coventry or you don't?
It's a lot easier to spend £300 a season to see a team playing nice football and winning matches than it is to spend £300 a season on a team in turmoil that after 2 hours leave you feeling down.
I admit, it's a little disappointing that there are ones that just go when we play Premier League teams or go when we reach the big rounds of cup competitions, but at the end of the day, if we ever do rise up the leagues again, their money will be just as welcome as anyone else's.
Not sure that's right. Our average in our last season at the Ricoh was 10,906. Since then we've had a year away which I seem to remember most people saying would damage the fanbase long term. Ignoring the Gills game we've had 11,085 for Yeovil, 10,006 for PNE and then a big drop to 7,708 for Crawley (off the back of 3 defeats) and then 11,888 for Bristol City. So excluding the Gills game our average is 10,171 not far off what it was before we left.
Why is there an expectation that they will be any better? It's not like there was 30K on the marches, could that many even be bothered to sign the petition? We all know that when we play a 'big' game people come out who haven't been all season, why is this still a surprise to anyone? It can't be hard to work out why there's more demand to see us play Arsenal than there is to play Crawley.
Personally I would be surprised if we get over 10K tomorrow given the run we are on.
My point is that for some reason we have a percentage of fans who think we're completely different to every other team in the country and that we should pack out our ground despite us being an under-performing third tier outfit. The figures don't lie, our attendances are good for where we are. To increase it further, the non diehard fans (aka the average joe in the city) will need a reason to return. What reason do they have currently? No ambition. No investment. No signs of improvement. They need to be convinced. So really, my point is, the constant bashing of non attenders is getting a little tedious, because when you look at where we are, and what's on offer, it's very easy to find things more important to spend your money on.
Look at our return to the Ricoh. That game was an event for the city. Chelsea in the Cup, that was an event for the city. Premier League games back in the day, they were events for the city. You felt like you needed to be there. You felt like there could be history made. A story to share with the family forever. That's why they were well attended. Nothing happening now has the feel of a big event. Nothing happening now shows promise of being the start of history being made. That needs to change if we're to get anywhere. Until then, people really have to accept that to the majority, there are things more important than the football each week.
But we constantly tell ourselves we are a 'big club'.... I have no problem with the attendances being as low as they are. They are above average for a third tier club. Despite all this evidence that we are now a bang average 3rd division team (and it pains me to admit that), as a group of fans we like to believe we are something bigger. Unfortunately we are not and people need to look at the hard facts and see this. Unfortunately those same people are usually the ones who demand cheaper ticket prices alongside huge investment in the team. Oh and a dramatic upturn in results as well, before they consider gracing us with their presence.
Same as all clubs in the JPT most charge a fiver check out our crowd compared to Preston in the last round.
