Not sure exactly how many new fans come out of general curiosity, what percentage are occasionals deciding on the day or how many neutrals don't even class themselves as Wycombe fans but it's fairly sound logic that having a Prem game and various others on TV at the same time would increase competition for attention and attendance.
The games won't all be 1st v 2nd massive matches but inevitably there will be some clashes against interesting games from the UK or abroad to add to people's real life commitments and leisure choices.
There are good arguments to open all up in the name of access, overall growth of the game, publicity, earning potential and fairness but it's not without risk.
Note the tweet widely circulated around the ESL announcement from a Norwegian club that Lfc and Man Utd had more fans in Norway than any Norwegian club and still that wasn't enough for them, let's hope we don't see our gates shrink whilsts kids wander about in Real Madrid shirts thinking Football is a spectator sport. It was bad enough seeing all the spurs fans heading to watch them at Wembley from High Wycombe station.
Lots to be done around fan engagement and selling the fan experience, maybe more than we expected.
@StrongestTeam said:
It was bad enough seeing all the spurs fans heading to watch them at Wembley from High Wycombe station.
What's wrong with this? There will be fans of London clubs in commuter towns all over - who have totally legitimate reasons to support them. Not everyone in Wycombe is from Wycombe. Also, isn't it the most convenient station for getting to Wembley for fans living in this general direction anyway?
@peterparrotface said:
Biggest impact on local non league sides I would have thought - people with season tickets at Watford and Wycombe who don’t go away etc
Would be interested to see the numbers for this - Wealdstone, and I'm sure others, used to give you discount with a PL/EFL season ticket.
@StrongestTeam said:
It was bad enough seeing all the spurs fans heading to watch them at Wembley from High Wycombe station.
What's wrong with this? There will be fans of London clubs in commuter towns all over - who have totally legitimate reasons to support them. Not everyone in Wycombe is from Wycombe. Also, isn't it the most convenient station for getting to Wembley for fans living in this general direction anyway?
Of course they aren't doing anything wrong and people can support who they like but the club needs to be really active in trying to attract these fans.
@StrongestTeam said:
It was bad enough seeing all the spurs fans heading to watch them at Wembley from High Wycombe station.
What's wrong with this? There will be fans of London clubs in commuter towns all over - who have totally legitimate reasons to support them. Not everyone in Wycombe is from Wycombe. Also, isn't it the most convenient station for getting to Wembley for fans living in this general direction anyway?
Of course they aren't doing anything wrong and people can support who they like but the club needs to be really active in trying to attract these fans.
I know some will feel more disillusioned than ever with elite level football after the ESL plot - not least Spurs fans, as Daniel Levy has handled the fallout probably worse than any of the other chairmen - but I don't think we can count on 'converting' supporters of Premier League clubs who have had that support passed down through generations. Maybe we can become their 'second' team, but we're not going to recruit die-hard Wycombe fans that way.
If we moved to another town, would we go and watch the local team a lot? Especially in addition to our main team.
Ticket prices have moved on a bit too much for that to be doable for a lot.
How many of us go and watch whichever non league team if Wycombe aren't playing?
Not a huge amount I'd wager.
@Malone said:
If we moved to another town, would we go and watch the local team a lot? Especially in addition to our main team.
Ticket prices have moved on a bit too much for that to be doable for a lot.
How many of us go and watch whichever non league team if Wycombe aren't playing?
Not a huge amount I'd wager.
If I moved so far that I couldn't make it to Wycombe games then I very much doubt I'd go and watch the local team, whatever league they were in - but I would absolutely stream our games if they were available.
I very occasionally go to Wealdstone (family links) if we're not playing or if we're away and I'm not going - but that's only because away games aren't streamable at the moment.
Having moved away I do go and watch local football (Irish Prem, which is probably league 1 at best, more like league 2/conf) when I can. The fact my partner is a supporter of her local team possibly means I have more of a reason to go rather than going to a match alone though.
As I love live football if I move away I would probably go and see the local side while keeping an eye on Wycombe and Forest and get to games when I could or stream them.. Life could get very complicated though. After all these years away from the Nottsotroplis I must admit my
Reds connection has become far looser compared to having to watch this every week. Virus aside I cannot say I enjoy watching games on the telly that much whatever the format.
Having lived less than 25% of my life actually in Wycombe, wherever I have lived I have nearly always gone along occasionally to watch the local(ish) football team (including Norwich/Ipswich, Exeter, Reading (Elm Park days - and never when Wycombe were playing) and Doncaster but very rarely on a Saturday afternoon.
I generally go to evening games as, for me, the atmosphere under floodlights is second to none.
I have a soft spot for all of them (obviously excluding Reading).
Would I go if Wycombe were on iFollow? I actually think yes. I probably saw more Wycombe games last season than I have since I last moved away but i found it quite dispiriting if I’m honest. I used to like the rarity value of seeing us on TV but week in week out?
At a rough estimate I’ve probably spent between £50000 and £100000 following Wycombe in my life so far (okay so mostly on beer). Would I have been stupid enough to do that if my main experience was watching it on an iPad? I think not…
(That was supposed to be an argument AGAINST every game being on iFollow but I’ve just realised my conclusion actually makes me think I could have saved myself a fortune)
Personally I love the away game experience, however with 3 of us to pay for each localish match, ie: Northampton, Cambridge, MK, Cheltenham etc is costing out about £100. £10-15 on IFollow does make it rather tempting. That said, the older grounds like Cheltenham & Cambridge I wouldn't miss them to attend as the experience just brings back memories of the 1970s when I travelled everywhere to watch matches.
that's part of my concern. If other teams' @EwanHoosaami types decide it's easier to stay at home, too, we get not just diminished crowds, but a crap atmosphere, too. Everybody knows what those Tuesday-night-at-home-to-Accrington kind of games are like. We don't need to make that the standard soulless experience.
@Malone said:
If we moved to another town, would we go and watch the local team a lot? Especially in addition to our main team.
Ticket prices have moved on a bit too much for that to be doable for a lot.
How many of us go and watch whichever non league team if Wycombe aren't playing?
Not a huge amount I'd wager.
If I moved so far that I couldn't make it to Wycombe games then I very much doubt I'd go and watch the local team, whatever league they were in - but I would absolutely stream our games if they were available.
I very occasionally go to Wealdstone (family links) if we're not playing or if we're away and I'm not going - but that's only because away games aren't streamable at the moment.
People don't tend to start off as die hards with season tickets, It became pretty clear around the time of our recent games with Spurs for example that many Wycombe fans have allegiances to other teams.
Has there been any further announcement on what the club are doing with iFollow for the coming season?
I can see on the official site it mentions getting passes for the Accy (H) and Cheltenham (A) games, but that they’re not yet available.
But are we back to the “only overseas fans can watch” model? I do understand why this may be preferable from the club’s perspective, but I guess I may be one of the fans who spent far more on iFollow passes last season than I would have attending games in person (even if it were possible to have done that), not living in Wycombe.
@PBo said:
Has there been any further announcement on what the club are doing with iFollow for the coming season?
I can see on the official site it mentions getting passes for the Accy (H) and Cheltenham (A) games, but that they’re not yet available.
But are we back to the “only overseas fans can watch” model? I do understand why this may be preferable from the club’s perspective, but I guess I may be one of the fans who spent far more on iFollow passes last season than I would have attending games in person (even if it were possible to have done that), not living in Wycombe.
I hoped it would continue and initially thought the pandemic had brought forward the inevitable opening up of online availability.
But I suspect it'll go back to how it was, just midweekers.
Which is better than nothing, but I'll miss being able to watch all aways.
Comments
Not sure exactly how many new fans come out of general curiosity, what percentage are occasionals deciding on the day or how many neutrals don't even class themselves as Wycombe fans but it's fairly sound logic that having a Prem game and various others on TV at the same time would increase competition for attention and attendance.
The games won't all be 1st v 2nd massive matches but inevitably there will be some clashes against interesting games from the UK or abroad to add to people's real life commitments and leisure choices.
There are good arguments to open all up in the name of access, overall growth of the game, publicity, earning potential and fairness but it's not without risk.
Note the tweet widely circulated around the ESL announcement from a Norwegian club that Lfc and Man Utd had more fans in Norway than any Norwegian club and still that wasn't enough for them, let's hope we don't see our gates shrink whilsts kids wander about in Real Madrid shirts thinking Football is a spectator sport. It was bad enough seeing all the spurs fans heading to watch them at Wembley from High Wycombe station.
Lots to be done around fan engagement and selling the fan experience, maybe more than we expected.
What's wrong with this? There will be fans of London clubs in commuter towns all over - who have totally legitimate reasons to support them. Not everyone in Wycombe is from Wycombe. Also, isn't it the most convenient station for getting to Wembley for fans living in this general direction anyway?
Would be interested to see the numbers for this - Wealdstone, and I'm sure others, used to give you discount with a PL/EFL season ticket.
Of course they aren't doing anything wrong and people can support who they like but the club needs to be really active in trying to attract these fans.
I know some will feel more disillusioned than ever with elite level football after the ESL plot - not least Spurs fans, as Daniel Levy has handled the fallout probably worse than any of the other chairmen - but I don't think we can count on 'converting' supporters of Premier League clubs who have had that support passed down through generations. Maybe we can become their 'second' team, but we're not going to recruit die-hard Wycombe fans that way.
If we moved to another town, would we go and watch the local team a lot? Especially in addition to our main team.
Ticket prices have moved on a bit too much for that to be doable for a lot.
How many of us go and watch whichever non league team if Wycombe aren't playing?
Not a huge amount I'd wager.
If I moved so far that I couldn't make it to Wycombe games then I very much doubt I'd go and watch the local team, whatever league they were in - but I would absolutely stream our games if they were available.
I very occasionally go to Wealdstone (family links) if we're not playing or if we're away and I'm not going - but that's only because away games aren't streamable at the moment.
Having moved away I do go and watch local football (Irish Prem, which is probably league 1 at best, more like league 2/conf) when I can. The fact my partner is a supporter of her local team possibly means I have more of a reason to go rather than going to a match alone though.
As I love live football if I move away I would probably go and see the local side while keeping an eye on Wycombe and Forest and get to games when I could or stream them.. Life could get very complicated though. After all these years away from the Nottsotroplis I must admit my
Reds connection has become far looser compared to having to watch this every week. Virus aside I cannot say I enjoy watching games on the telly that much whatever the format.
Having lived less than 25% of my life actually in Wycombe, wherever I have lived I have nearly always gone along occasionally to watch the local(ish) football team (including Norwich/Ipswich, Exeter, Reading (Elm Park days - and never when Wycombe were playing) and Doncaster but very rarely on a Saturday afternoon.
I generally go to evening games as, for me, the atmosphere under floodlights is second to none.
I have a soft spot for all of them (obviously excluding Reading).
Would I go if Wycombe were on iFollow? I actually think yes. I probably saw more Wycombe games last season than I have since I last moved away but i found it quite dispiriting if I’m honest. I used to like the rarity value of seeing us on TV but week in week out?
At a rough estimate I’ve probably spent between £50000 and £100000 following Wycombe in my life so far (okay so mostly on beer). Would I have been stupid enough to do that if my main experience was watching it on an iPad? I think not…
(That was supposed to be an argument AGAINST every game being on iFollow but I’ve just realised my conclusion actually makes me think I could have saved myself a fortune)
Personally I love the away game experience, however with 3 of us to pay for each localish match, ie: Northampton, Cambridge, MK, Cheltenham etc is costing out about £100. £10-15 on IFollow does make it rather tempting. That said, the older grounds like Cheltenham & Cambridge I wouldn't miss them to attend as the experience just brings back memories of the 1970s when I travelled everywhere to watch matches.
that's part of my concern. If other teams' @EwanHoosaami types decide it's easier to stay at home, too, we get not just diminished crowds, but a crap atmosphere, too. Everybody knows what those Tuesday-night-at-home-to-Accrington kind of games are like. We don't need to make that the standard soulless experience.
People don't tend to start off as die hards with season tickets, It became pretty clear around the time of our recent games with Spurs for example that many Wycombe fans have allegiances to other teams.
What happens in Charlton and Wimbledon in the summer?
Come along and you'll find out...
Has there been any further announcement on what the club are doing with iFollow for the coming season?
I can see on the official site it mentions getting passes for the Accy (H) and Cheltenham (A) games, but that they’re not yet available.
But are we back to the “only overseas fans can watch” model? I do understand why this may be preferable from the club’s perspective, but I guess I may be one of the fans who spent far more on iFollow passes last season than I would have attending games in person (even if it were possible to have done that), not living in Wycombe.
https://wycombewanderers.co.uk/ifollow/subscribe/
I hoped it would continue and initially thought the pandemic had brought forward the inevitable opening up of online availability.
But I suspect it'll go back to how it was, just midweekers.
Which is better than nothing, but I'll miss being able to watch all aways.