Crowd numbers

[SydneyRover]

Can anyone point me to the home crowd numbers, I would like to see if and how they have changed since the installation of the new manager. I would of course be expecting to see a gradual increase as confidence returns along with the wining form. Nothing compares to watching your team win.

[idler]

I would think that we are slightly up .  This could be skewed by playing Bradford City and Barnsley at home in this period though.

[DRFC-Hanksie]

They're increasing slightly, which is good news. Be nice to get it to 8kish, sort of around what we had for Swindon game on the season we went up, I think we'll have a decent 2nd half to the season and be interesting to see who DF brings in come January, could attract a few more fans back.

[Copps is Magic]

They're not increasing, they are consistently down about 10-11% on last season. The Rochdale game was the only game that showed an increase and like every time we get a crowd in - we lost.

[mrfrostsdad]

That's very interesting Copps.
I personally think it's a bit of a backlash for the shite we served up at home last season. It's also worrying, because once a fan leaves it's very difficult to get them back

[IDM]

That's very interesting Copps.
I personally think it's a bit of a backlash for the shite we served up at home last season. It's also worrying, because once a fan leaves it's very difficult to get them back

Good football, goals and wins..  When folks realise they'll get entertained, the numbers should go up.  How quickly, and when, is another matter...

[mrfrostsdad]

And thereby goes the problem IDM: the only increase (of 13%) was against Rochdale and we were tosh

[SydneyRover]

Thank you for all your info and comments. Do you think ticket prices are a factor?

[idler]

Prices are always a factor but more so when you are losing and playing badly.

[Copps is Magic]

You would get peculiar results if you compared ticket prices and our attendances because we were getting higher attendances when we charged higher prices. Ticket prices are only a factor relative to people's long term perceptions of success (and what constitutes good value) - which is actually the most important factor.

In the short-term, each time I've looked at it I have found that results have no bearing on attendances. If we win the previous week or have a good string of results attendances do not tend to increase. The most important short-term factor, by far, is the number of mid-week games we play. We consistently lose between 500-1,000 fans on a mid-week game compared to a weekend game.

[Copps is Magic]

..and I think that is why people frequently mis-construe the debate over ticket prices. Of course people are going to pay more the higher up the leagues you go but it always remains relative both to the other leagues and people's perceptions of value.

You can't say - 'so and so are paying X amount at Chelsea so ticket prices can't be a problem'. It misses the point of principle entirely, which is really the only point that ticket prices cant be campaigned on. Otherwise 'the market' will always find some sort of happy medium that extracts money just above what a sufficient number of people are content to pay.

[SydneyRover]

I was talking to my cousin recently about crowds, and he agreed that there were times in the sixties and seventies where the crowds were better than most other teams outside the old First Division. The rovers rarely got out of division 4 then.

[idler]

1966 was our big missed opportunity. Very good crowds and a chance to build on our championship season. The car crash when we lost our best two players was bad enough but to not replace them and sell Laurie Sheffield was greed and gross stupidity by the board.
We never got the regular over 10,000 gates again. The 21,000 against Darlington being an exception. The final straw was the Kitchen and O'Callaghan era when we flattered to deceive, playing great attacking football but no promotion. I think a lot of people got disillusioned then.
In 1966 with the right investment and vision we could have maybe followed Coventry to the top league attracting long term crowds.

[The Red Baron]

You could say the same about 1969, Idler. When I started watching Rovers in November 1969 we were high up in Division 3 and there were over 10,000 at my first game - against Bristol Rovers.

A few weeks later, on Boxing Day, we had just shy of 20,000 for a local derby with Rotherham. We lost that and went on a poor run and by the end of the season crowds were down to 4000.

We did have a chairman with vision then in Frank Wilson, but he didn't have much support from the rest of the board. JR was a big admirer of Wilson, and I think his decision to bring Messrs Bramall and Watson on board was influenced by that time. Had Frank Wilson had someone alongside him with a bit of financial clout who bought into the same vision, the sky could have been the limit.

Unfortunately for Rovers, the late 60s- early 70s was also a time when football fans became more "footloose." Easier travel and the greater exposure of football on TV meant that fans weren't restricted to their local side. And up the A1 there was a club that was doing rather well at that time!

[Bentley Bullet]

Exactly correct,  Idler. Each and EVERY Rovers Supporter would have agreed with you back then. It was a fans duty to object to missed opportunities due to lack of investment.

[RedJ]

We really do need a popcorn eating emoji.

[The Red Baron]

Exactly correct,  Idler. Each and EVERY Rovers Supporter would have agreed with you back then. It was a fans duty to object to missed opportunities due to lack of investment.

Would they though? There was really no such thing as Fan Activism at that time. Although I do recall reading a match report from the time shortly after Laurie Sheffield was sold to Norwich. Hubert Bates, the chairman, got something of an earful from the patrons in front of the Main Stand.