Crowds- where are they?
Top of the league by 5 points. League 1 , the highest position , we have ever been in our history.Better quality players. Stronger squad. Enhanced match day experience. And still we are struggling to extra punters through the door. What more do people want?
Not sure how we are ever going to be a financial sustainable club and compete at this level and in our dreams the next level, without increasing our debt. Clearly we are improving and increasing our sponsorship deals but will it be enough. Cup runs help. Shows what a disaster it was to lose to Tranmere.
Couhigs must be pulling their hair( if Rob had any) to understand why more of local community have not come on board.
Or do we have to come to terms that 4500-5000 is our crowd and plan around that budget?
Comments
Were not going to add an extra 3-4 thousand overnight, no matter how well were doing, it's going to take a bit of time and more effort I'm afraid. Getting out there into the community like they are trying to do will help. But these things take time.
Give it a chance - and crowds are up on this time last season, which is promising at least. There's still a limit to what the Couhigs can do - for example with the existing kiosk operations - until they're officially on the board, which should be in the next few weeks from what Rob said recently? We've had next to no marketing budget for years; that will surely change too.
Steady sustainable increases are the way forward.
Word of mouth needs to spread of the improvements to facilities and offerings as a fair proportion of the community would have had a less than positive experience at previous games.
We seem to have traditionally saved some of our most inept performances for Quid a Kid or other crowd promotions over the years, so it will take time.
Slept in the Beachdean last night for the WHC fundraiser and spoke to a couple of people for whom it was their first time in AP. Many will not return any time soon due to the bogs smelling, well, like a bog, . They are families with older kids not really focused on football, and their post-match day experience was not very enticing. Good people and very interesting night otherwise though.
That is the worst reason for not returning to a football ground that I have ever heard. They seem to never have any soap, but that's about it and easily sorted. Seriously, you do your business, wash your hands and go back to watching the game - or have I been settling for a sub-par lavatorial experience?
People literally telling you why they won't be coming back and you just tell them they're wrong.
That's the way to do it
Name me one other business with toilets as stinky/filthy as at AP. Of course it would never put me off anything but my dinner but I can well understand folks coming for the first time not wanting to return. Anyway, perhaps that is not really our target audience and I did not speak to the teenagers in netball teams, etc.
The toilets are pretty unpleasant
Luton Town Football Club and The Antelope.
And I was just going to say they're probably not our target audience. The toilets could be a lot nicer, but they shouldn't be a deal-breaker. I'd be more concerned about contracting something from the burgers or copious bird droppings in the stands.
Having travelled to many away games over the past years, I can't say that I'd ever come back thinking "wow, those toilets were really great, pity we don't have that standard at AP". Is this really the reason we don't have a bigger fan base?
I don't think the Couhigs are to worried yet based on this from twitter. As @chairboyscentral & @Lloyd2084 say give it some time.
"One of the biggest games in our history"! Not even the biggest game of the week was it?
Every game closer to promotion is the biggest game in our history ?
Our toilets are above average I'd say compared to most grounds. Obviously plenty room for improvement, but they're never going to be pristine when they get zero use for two weeks and then hundreds of people rushing through them in one hour with no chance of maintaining them mid game.
Sounds like an excuse from someone who wouldn't come anyway to me, I've got plenty of friends who have similar reasons, but it's just anything other than saying "I'm not that interested" or "I can't afford it". If the toilets were spotless there'd be another reason... From experience.
If you’d been to the loos at Fratton Park you wouldn’t be complaining.
I remember Alty away in the Trophy semi where the entire terrace became an impromptu urinal. I’ve worn sturdy boots to football matches ever since.
To be honest if you aren't coming to games regularly now I'm not sure what can make you. At half time yesterday a walk in the concourse made me realise how many who go are missing the whole essence of what is going on with this great group of players. Almost every person I have overheard were moaning about now poor we were and how rubbish the game was. What are these people expecting???
For me rather than actually fight to get more fans in just let it happen. Those not going are missing out massively
So many people just do not watch the game. I felt like telling the bloke behind me to shut up when he was raging at Matt Bloomfield for I'm not quite sure what. I'd say we don't need fans like that if it weren't for the money.
Potpourri is the answer and maybe a few of those fluffy toilet mats
Plenty of people only watch football on the tv now and get frustrated at the passing there, let alone at our level. They don't "get" the other aspects of the game. Have taken along 4/5 friends in the last few weeks that hadn't been in ages, the ones that play football or follow another lower league team were impressed, the two that just watch the premier league in TV moaned the whole way through
Agree..what football grounds have good toilet experience? Frank Adams stand are fine.
Alty away holds special memories for me too. I remember going for a lash there and I was slipping up the grassy incline as the urine was travelling down it. Wazzed up the "wall" with no roof and had a huge pile of snow on my hat by the time I had finished. Heady days, the kids of today don't know they're born!!!
It's a football ground not a 5 star hotel. Certainly there can be an improvement, like we've had in the Beechdean, we have now got a cistern over one of the troughs, which we didn't have for the whole of last season. Onwards and upwards.
At Gillingham 18/19 Season the toilets were the most pleasant part of the away end. They were so much better than the rest of the place that most people burst into song.
I think are a complex mix of publicity, expectations and experiences. I am sure this a fine time to watch Wycombe.
I’m sure at gillingham one year the away gents toilet was basically a wall to piss against
You'd feel like a total twat saying you don't go somewhere because the toilets aren't great, surely?!
How about the parts of the ground you're in for the other 99% of the time?!
It'd be like me stopping going because a guy a few rows away in the FA stand was constantly talking about how "Steve" at work keeps sending him dirty videos and must be away as the dirty videos he sends everyday have been in short supply recently.
Must have been on about it for 15mins
I’ve been watching games at Adams Park since it opened, and I can honestly say I’ve never had to use the toilets at the ground. Go before you go is my motto.
Careful chief, when I've said can people not go 90mins without eating I've had an uproar.
You must have a superstar bladder to not have once needed even a pee at any game. And obviously you never go to any away games? Or even have a drink of any description within 2 hours of a game?!
I'm guessing you don't get down the ground at midday and spend money in the bar then!
What amazes me is how many need to do a number 2 at the football. Surely do as @Gordon_Ottershaw says or hold on!
True, I’m not a big drinker, no more than a pint, which helps, but I’ve genuinely never been in the toilets at AP. Maybe I should pop in for a visit next time to get the full match day experience.
Do you live within a very close walk/drive and get in on kick off?
And do no away games ever?