Barrow AFC.net

PRR wrote: ↑Fri Sep 15, 2017 7:47 am

Shaun wrote: ↑Fri Sep 15, 2017 6:11 am

I agree with that. Football is too expensive everywhere. And when you go to 10 games to see one special one, it's no wonder it tests people's resolve/desire.

Not going to make this political but there is an ever increasing number of people who will have to make the choice between eating and heating this winter. In work or out of work. Football is going to be very low on the budget hierarchy. I'd personally like to see at least a couple of pay what you can games a season to allow people who wouldn't normally be able to afford the ticket price to attend.

I know the club isn't a charity bit if it's serious about being part of the community then there is a certain social responsibility attached to that.

I agree. Me and my lad go as often as possible, but with him going back to school as well the cost is too much so the football goes on the back burner.

DaveP wrote: ↑Fri Sep 15, 2017 10:14 am I understand there are a lot of people in the town who spend a fortune each week getting on coaches to watch Premier games out of town.

Those people can clearly afford it and we need to try to attract some of them for some games.

Play proper passing football instead of hoofing it up the field, and head tennis, and you might attract some of those people to Holker Street.

barrowfan wrote: ↑Fri Sep 15, 2017 11:46 am

DaveP wrote: ↑Fri Sep 15, 2017 10:14 am I understand there are a lot of people in the town who spend a fortune each week getting on coaches to watch Premier games out of town.

Those people can clearly afford it and we need to try to attract some of them for some games.

Play proper passing football instead of hoofing it up the field, and head tennis, and you might attract some of those people to Holker Street.

If they spend the amounts they do following Man U, Liverpool, Leeds, City etc then it tells me they are real supporters of those clubs and i don't believe for 1 minute they are going to change aliegence to support Barrow. It's the armchair superfans who've never been to see the teams they claim to love so much that i would try and target, those who go to the pub to watch games Saturday dinner and tea times

When supporters only have a limited amount of available cash for themselves and their families then clearly choices have to be made. If it were a choice between taking my family out for a meal or going to the football I wouldn't have any hesitation in putting my family first - and I say this as a delusional if committed BAFC supporter.

There is a grey area however between being able to afford the football and wanting to watch the football. Its not a great example but take Newcastle or Sunderland. Now you cant really argue that standards of living on Tyneside or Wearside or materially much different than those in South West Cumbria. Yet as we know each of those clubs fills their grounds with tens of thousands of fans each week and the bulk of these cannot be prawn sandwich wielding members of the Geordie middle class. I've known a few in my time and they have been the most working class and cash limited borasic members of society you'll find. Yet thousands of them will travel to away games never mind at home. Without questioning the rationale.

Of course, these clubs are playing at much higher levels - at which there are vast amounts of money available. Generally however this rarely finds its way to supporters of any club let alone the least wealthy. Despite this Sunderland fans during the close season voted not to accept an offer from their club to reduce gate prices following their relegation.

I'm not trying to make any political points here. But a number of things strike me. Firstly is that whatever Paul Casson's financial capability is, then it is. Before he was at the club money was a very serious drawback to any progress we could make. Now it would appear that with a reasonably affluent but not fabulously wealthy owner on board, money for many people (including our previous manager) is still an issue. There is a tendency to value his contribution in purely financial terms at the end of the day and when comparisons are made with other clubs (close by) that comparison always comes down to the financial investment. Clearly any judgement made on such a comparison is futile unless we've got a queue of even wealthier millionaires waiting in the wings with even bigger bank accounts.

Secondly and a point that's been made before many times, because of these limitations the club needs to consider the quality of the customer experience as being as important as the quantity of the investment. People and kids in particular need to want to come to games. Kids need to be pestering reluctant parents to go to games even if funds are limited. The club needs to compete for your attention and money. Whilst the club does seem to be reaching out to the community in this respect what is it actually doing to make you want to spend your money - with them?

Undoubtedly a key factor in this is and has always been HS itself. Personally I love it to bits but it has absolutely no pulling power. It has been around for a 100 years but it has never been seen in my memory as any kind of community asset. Because of this the affinity between the club and its community broadly is poor. and by this I mean the basic attitudes and behaviours of the Community to the club are poor. In times of trouble, people turn away from the club rather than gather round it, placing the blame on the club itself and demanding that it reform itself before they are willing to give back if only with their presence. This attitude actually pervades this forum so ingrained is it in even the most hardy BAFC supporter.

There's no one group responsible for this and in fact its a classic vicious circle in which the club and its supporters are pitted against each other. Until this circle can be broken we will not feel any progress even if its actually being made.

Suffolk Blue wrote: ↑Fri Sep 15, 2017 12:25 pm There is a grey area however between being able to afford the football and wanting to watch the football. Its not a great example but take Newcastle or Sunderland. Now you cant really argue that standards of living on Tyneside or Wearside or materially much different than those in South West Cumbria. Yet as we know each of those clubs fills their grounds with tens of thousands of fans each week and the bulk of these cannot be prawn sandwich wielding members of the Geordie middle class. I've known a few in my time and they have been the most working class and cash limited borasic members of society you'll find. Yet thousands of them will travel to away games never mind at home. Without questioning the rationale.

Sunderland's Capacity is 49,000 and they had 26,026 at their last game against Forest.

Bazinga.

spongebobsquarepants wrote: ↑Fri Sep 15, 2017 12:44 pmSunderland's Capacity is 49,000 and they had 26,026 at their last game against Forest.

I would count that attendance not only as 'tens of thousands' but remarkably good for their present situation. They didn't even get that many when The Mighty Barrow were the opposition...

Big E wrote: ↑Wed Sep 13, 2017 3:01 pm

The Tomahawk Kid wrote: ↑Wed Sep 13, 2017 2:37 pm The best person who should have being asked regarding Paul Casson and what's happening at the club was right on our door-step last night...Paul Cox!

Really? You think he was squeaky clean in all of this...!!

Nail..Head..Hit !!!

barrowfan wrote: ↑Fri Sep 15, 2017 11:46 am

DaveP wrote: ↑Fri Sep 15, 2017 10:14 am I understand there are a lot of people in the town who spend a fortune each week getting on coaches to watch Premier games out of town.

Those people can clearly afford it and we need to try to attract some of them for some games.

Play proper passing football instead of hoofing it up the field, and head tennis, and you might attract some of those people to Holker Street.

I do not believe that this is the reason for low crowds. We have historically had low crowds throughout the ages no matter who we've played or when. The seduction of the premier league and skyfan is the biggest problem we face. Take tomorrow's game v Torquay, interim manager, trying to change style, Sat afternoon, what should we be getting. 1500-1750, what are we going to get crowd wise 1200-1300 tops. Anything above will be pleasing. No we get low crowds because we are not well supported. Simple as that.

Jonty wrote: ↑Fri Sep 15, 2017 4:17 pm

barrowfan wrote: ↑Fri Sep 15, 2017 11:46 am

Play proper passing football instead of hoofing it up the field, and head tennis, and you might attract some of those people to Holker Street.

I do not believe that this is the reason for low crowds. We have historically had low crowds throughout the ages no matter who we've played or when. The seduction of the premier league and skyfan is the biggest problem we face. Take tomorrow's game v Torquay, interim manager, trying to change style, Sat afternoon, what should we be getting. 1500-1750, what are we going to get crowd wise 1200-1300 tops. Anything above will be pleasing. No we get low crowds because we are not well supported. Simple as that.

That last sentence sums it up for me.

As someone who does not go regular anymore I would list the reasons for not going in the follwing priority.

1 cost of entry
2 facilities
3 entertainment factor

Tony you've pretty much identified the three main reasons right there and at any time whatever the trade off is amongst those three things will positively or negatively impact attendances and always will.

A new stadium would bring the crowds back initially, but over a period of time would probably be more or less what we get now....................unless of course we hit the big time.

The cost is an age old argument, some of the lads at work can't believe what it costs it get in and guessed it would be under the £10 mark.

Even if we lowered the cost it wouldn't make that much difference to the attendance.

Middleton Nick wrote: ↑Fri Sep 15, 2017 7:00 pm A new stadium would bring the crowds back initially, but over a period of time would probably be more or less what we get now....................unless of course we hit the big time.

Before stadium development or even new ground the one thing the club can do (and that they can fully control) is to increase community themed activities. The club is a massive part of the town's identity yet (Community Sport aside) I don't see much on the on the community side of things,