Barrow v Kidderminster match thread

[John Very Little]

Sorry mate Russell Dodd got it spot on, the town just is not interested enough to support this level of football sad but true. Like others have said if the gates don't drastically improve we are only heading one way eventually, and it aint upwards.

I think there are plenty of factors which have been mentioned in various topics on here as to why people aren't attending. As a start off playing the negative tactics that Bayles has done won't encourge people to come through the gates. The board have also seemingly ignored a lot of things off the field over the summer which won't have helped matters either. When did they last make a decent effort to properly publicise matches or engage with fans? They could get better gates and a lot more income but they haven't.

[bobbie moore]

Better performance especially in 2nd half,but other than Boyes we dont have forwards or midfield capable of getting us out of the situation we are in at present.Moore disappointed but was never really given the ball as it seemed to go to right most of time where even though Rutherford had probably his best game for a while he still lacks in basics.Baker not at his best by long way regressing not progressing,Hunter so far back not making the contribution to our play i would expect from a player with his league experience and Rowe a lot to learn.DB looking for strikers but should be looking for constructive midfielder,maybe Harvey and Owen when fit may be the answer i hope so.
Another big game tuesday hope we can build on yesterday were at least we gave an improved performance

[32mile_cul-de-sac]

There is nothing we can do to increase the crowds this is upto the board to do something about it the whole vibe is bad about the football at the moment so the board need to be promoting things about the club to regain the feel good factor and the team need to string a few results together to regain some of the lost support, when was the last time had a crowd as low as today ? Sadly the football is not that appealing as people have other prioritys over the football an people want entertainment value and we are not offering this, even when we are doing well we have never been that well supported as a non league club average prob 1100/1400 in conf prem an 800/1200 in unibond/conf north I just cant see the crowds increasing unless we start winning an playing entertaining football or doing ticket promotions i think it was so low today as its the rugbys final home game tomorrow and people buying kids uniforms an holidays and the fact of having 2 home games in 4 days is expensive an some could only afford to goto the one game an had to choose

The basic problem is the product. The public will come if there's attractive football on offer. OK yesterday's second half was quite entertaining, but the first half was more typical of recent fare. Mainly Barrow start with the attitude of what we've got we'll hold, so Baylis sets his team up to defend 0-0, with the hope of getting a lucky break and nicking a goal. You can't blame people for not turning up to watch boring football, week in week out. The solution is in the club's hands.

The public wont come for attractive football as was proved last season, attractive football was played by Barrow for most of last season but the gates never really improved at all.

[Riseley]

In my opinion people don't want to pay £14 in this town to watch non league football ! They would rather purchase a crate of beer and watch match of the day !!

[spirit of 1990]

The public wont come for attractive football as was proved last season, attractive football was played by Barrow for most of last season but the gates never really improved at all.

Got to agree with this.

There doesn't seem to an easy fix & it certainly looks like it's beyond us, the BoD or the team to be able to sort it, perhaps it's just the way it's going to be for teams at our level.

Someone has mentioned that James Owen was sat on his own in the stand watching the game & said it might be an idea to get injured players to have a walk (or limp) around the ground mixing with supporters, one to think about.

What about getting them players involved in the shoot out at half time with the kids on the pitch?

[barrowaberdeen]

I tell you what was really nice, the younger kids in the Crossbar being taken out pre match to get autographs and pictures when players were warming up.

Good stuff.

[thegaffer77]

In my opinion people don't want to pay £14 in this town to watch non league football ! They would rather purchase a crate of beer and watch match of the day !!

Said this for years, too expensive for many, full stop. Even if we were doing well, they still wouldn't/couldn't come every week. It's about getting those 400 back who have decided to give it a miss over the last 2 weeks we should be worried about.

[dcarradus]

Even when we were doing well we got 1200 but when you look at our averages in this league thats is about what we have always got apart from the first season after promotion as its a novelty if we start playing better an play more attacking entertaining football crowds will be back to 1100/1200 thats all we can expect apart from the odd big game where 1500 is acheivable even if we were top of the league i reckon we would get 1500/1800 there is not the intrest anymore as there are more things to spend money on an cost of living is more.its about getting kids intrested from a young age realy there wasnt as much sport on tv an computer games years ago so it was an afternoon out with your dad that you looked forward to.

[JimmyCrabstick]

The support certainly has gone in the wrong direction in recent years with the cost appearing to be the major factor for non- attendance.I also think the novelty of playing the likes of Luton,Grimsby,Wrexham etc has worn off with some fans.We used to dream of playing these teams 10 years ago and now it's the norm..
Like one of the previous posters has said it looks like we're down to the hardcore support now if yesterdays game is anything to go by.
1100/1200 is about the best we can hope for this season as we're not going to trouble the top half of the league.
I think 1800 would be what we'd be getting if we were a top 3 side now.Maybe a few more if we had a better ground with better facilities.
If we ever got promoted to Division 2 we would be looking at crowds of 2000/2500. This should be achievable. As a guide it's what rivals (one time rivals) Accrington,Fleetwood & Morecambe are getting. All three towns are smaller in terms of population than Barrow and have more competition from local league clubs to get the fans in.

[tictactoe]

On the attendances we are getting, the club must be losing money so they are going to have to think of something, if not now, in the near future if things don't improve.

I would like them to try all adults £10.00. just try it for a couple of games and see if gates improve but they will have to really advertise it well. I know some will say they can't afford it and why lose more money, but it would be interesting to see if the gates improve and if they have to lose a little bit more just for a couple of games then so be it. Like someone said football is a luxury to some now and they can't afford to go.

Obviuosly kids cheaper is another option, but they can't do everything at once.

[Uncle Peter]

On the attendances we are getting, the club must be losing money so they are going to have to think of something, if not now, in the near future if things don't improve.

I would like them to try all adults £10.00. just try it for a couple of games and see if gates improve but they will have to really advertise it well. I know some will say they can't afford it and why lose more money, but it would be interesting to see if the gates improve and if they have to lose a little bit more just for a couple of games then so be it. Like someone said football is a luxury to some now and they can't afford to go.

Obviously kids cheaper is another option, but they can't do everything at once.

You say "we might lose a little bit for a couple of games" like we can afford too. If we drop the price by 4/5 quid will it really be enticing? I don't think it would personally, certainly not enough to offset the loss.

I think we need to look at things that won't cost too much extra, but add value to the matchday experience. What that is I don't honestly know.

[spirit of 1990]

I would like them to try all adults £10.00. just try it for a couple of games and see if gates improve but they will have to really advertise it well. I know some will say they can't afford it and why lose more money, but it would be interesting to see if the gates improve and if they have to lose a little bit more just for a couple of games then so be it.

TK mentioned at the meeting the other night that they had thought about pay what you want/kids for free/reducing adult prices but it sounds like they just simply don't have the money spare to be able to take the hit if it doesn't pay off (which I dont think it will)
If they do create a loss, who makes up the shortfall? They'd be then dipping into their pockets to give the club a loan which you disagreed with the other day.

[Steeley]

I would like them to try all adults £10.00. just try it for a couple of games and see if gates improve but they will have to really advertise it well. I know some will say they can't afford it and why lose more money, but it would be interesting to see if the gates improve and if they have to lose a little bit more just for a couple of games then so be it.

TK mentioned at the meeting the other night that they had thought about pay what you want/kids for free/reducing adult prices but it sounds like they just simply don't have the money spare to be able to take the hit if it doesn't pay off (which I dont think it will)
If they do create a loss, who makes up the shortfall? They'd be then dipping into their pockets to give the club a loan which you disagreed with the other day.

But they do have the money to blatantly ignore people trying to book into corporate.

[Always Ultra]

Save your breath Henney,I'm afraid your never gonna get your man sat in pub watching a satellite match and wearing a premiership shirt into H st.

Why not take the mountain to Mohammed and put BDF collection pots on every bar in the Furness Peninsula. That way we can make some money, while the casuals watch their made-for-TV football. We don't even have to re-programme anyone to move their arse.

realy there wasnt as much sport on tv an computer games years ago so it was an afternoon out with your dad that you looked forward to.

Football Manager is one significant example of a video game that features AFC. Why aren't we using social media to engage the kids that play these games, to encourage them to play as Barrow and to share their experiences online? This can only increase their sense of involvement.

Basically, rather than pining for the 1970s, why don't we start working with the modern tools that are at our disposal?

Sorry mate Russell Dodd got it spot on, the town just is not interested enough to support this level of football sad but true. Like others have said if the gates don't drastically improve we are only heading one way eventually, and it aint upwards.

If he's right, then what factors are to blame for the level of interest dropping by 50+% over a couple of years? What's responsible for the disappearance of the corporate fans and the away fans? How many of these factors have been fan-created and how many have been the fault of the BOD?

Even better, how did we fail to trap more of the 8,000 that went to the big away games of a few years ago? How did we fail to make a killing on merchandise sales back then, that we could be benefitting from now?

I'll give you a clue...

When the Boro tickets were on sale, I stood there in the Club Shop and watched people pick up merchandise, stand there for 15mins waiting to get served, and walk out again, money in pocket. The club would probably have us believe that, in that situation, the fans should have shown "hunger" and waited 20mins.

We've shrugged off a number of diversionary statements from BOD members and Bayliss over the past few years but, as you pointed out, we're right in the shit now, so maybe it's time for us to stop acting like battered wives.

[Lancaster Branch]

Here's my personal situation...I don't live in Barrow. This means that it costs me £15 on a train to get to Barrow, £14 to get into a game, £2.50(?) for a lazily-written program, and £3.50 for a shit cheese burger. It's getting to the point where I'd be better off flying to Munich every week, to watch Bundesliga football.

Whereabouts do you live? If it's anywhere Lancaster/Morecambeish I'd happily offer you a lift to home games (assuming I'm going to the same ones you can make)