littlehampton Posted December 5, 2019 Share Posted December 5, 2019 Two of our recent cup opponents, who attracted a lot of public interest, and went on make substantial sums of money from televised matches in the FA Cup, are Chichester City and Maldon & Tiptree. Both were back in action last night in County matches, with Chichester losing 2-3 at home to Lewes, and Maldon winning 0-4 away at Witham. After all the excitement last weekend, a bit sad to note their matches attracted attendances of only 84 at Chichester, and just 55 at Witham. How quickly interest and support disappears at non-league level! Think everyone would agree that Maldon', who came to us on the back of a 25 match unbeaten run, are probably one of the best sides seen at the QE2 Stadium this season. Interesting to note that Danny Parish, who scored twice against us, including a penalty, and was a constant threat throughout the match, scored all four goals for the Jammers' in their match against Witham. Some striker! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andyetfc Posted December 5, 2019 Share Posted December 5, 2019 They were County matches as you mentioned and not many Essex, Sussex or Middlesex County games attract vast crowds. It’s a shame but that’s the reality of non league football. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
littlehampton Posted December 6, 2019 Author Share Posted December 6, 2019 Fair comment Andy. Over the years, I have never ceased to be amazed how the local public come out of the woodwork to support their local team in FA cup competitions, but disappear as soon as they are eliminated. Clearly it is a widespread problem and, as you rightly say, it is the reality of non league football. Many new initiatives have been tried by our Club, and many others, to attract interest and support from within our natural catchment area. It is an ongoing process, but as has been pointed out recently, in other postings, our cause is not helped by home fixtures clashing with Spurs fixtures.This is not a new situation, but it is a difficult one to address and overcome. In the case of Chichester and Maldon, generally their average attendance is lower than ours, but having performed so well in their respective FA Cup matches, one would have thought their supporters would have turned out to welcome back their local hero's. On second thoughts, maybe not! Does anyone else have any thoughts to contribute on this topic, and the challenges facing non league clubs in their efforts to increase support and attendances? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andyetfc Posted December 6, 2019 Share Posted December 6, 2019 With the advent of technology it is possible to watch back to back premier league football from the comfort of your own living room or local pub. This is certainly not helping. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andyetfc Posted December 6, 2019 Share Posted December 6, 2019 If you looked over the wall at EFC at half time on a Saturday afternoon you would not have been able to see the grass as every pitch was being used by local footballers. Look out from the bar at ETFC and just how many games are taking place? Not half as many. Now that's worrying. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
behind-the-goal Posted December 6, 2019 Share Posted December 6, 2019 "Josh Davison: ETFC to Charlton. Corey Whitely: ETFC to Newport. Mo Faal: ETFC to the Premier League???? See the stars of tomorrow right here, right now! In the comfort of your local stadium! Wake up and smell the mud! Hear the ball hit the back of the net! (You can't do watching TV! Or while getting ripped off in corporate enclosures!)" Just a thought! I'm no marketing expert! "can't do that" I meant! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
behind-the-goal Posted December 6, 2019 Share Posted December 6, 2019 Oh yes, and see an England international in goal!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
72wemblyfinal Posted December 6, 2019 Share Posted December 6, 2019 @ behind-the-goal add Rian McLean to the list he was signed by Doncaster Rovers. I think the Club and all its unpaid volunteers do a great job in trying to promote football at the Donkey Dome and increase attendances.Our attendances are usually in the top ten of clubs at our level (3) some clubs at our level really struggle to get over 150 at games.But then those clubs usually have an owner subsidising it. Getting people through the gate for a one off game is one thing but the problem is getting them to come back regularly. Maybe something worth trying is to try attract more Spurs supporters,by asking Spurs to put an advert in there program offering initially reduced entrance fees for season ticket holders or something like that.(for games that don't clash) Or give vouchers that get you in at a discount to the businesses that offer discounts to club members to give to there customers,ie the old Halfway house ect.maybe tempt a few more through the door ,and hopefully they will like what they see and come back. It's easy to come up with ideas, but to find people to help promote/action suitable ideas is a different proposition. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovely stuff Posted December 6, 2019 Share Posted December 6, 2019 I think the problem of attracting support for a lot of non-league clubs is two fold. 1.There are so many more forms of leisure and entertainment options to compete against than even 25 years ago 2.The natural fan base for a lot of clubs in London and other big towns are moving out of the area or dying off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andyetfc Posted December 6, 2019 Share Posted December 6, 2019 It's not just football that's suffering. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
behind-the-goal Posted December 6, 2019 Share Posted December 6, 2019 Oh yes, and see an England international in goal!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
behind-the-goal Posted December 6, 2019 Share Posted December 6, 2019 Mmm! I REALLY don't like the idea of offering reduced admission to Spurs fans. And, no, I'm not a Gooner either. Just doesn't feel right. (Apart from the fact that I couldn't care less about Spurs.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Out_Of_Towner Posted December 7, 2019 Share Posted December 7, 2019 Down to earth with a bump then. But they have made their money, Respect to them , looks like we'll be up against Maldon next season . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovely stuff Posted December 7, 2019 Share Posted December 7, 2019 16 hours ago, behind-the-goal said: Mmm! I REALLY don't like the idea of offering reduced admission to Spurs fans. And, no, I'm not a Gooner either. Just doesn't feel right. (Apart from the fact that I couldn't care less about Spurs.) Spurs are our nearest Premiership club.Any association or tie-in with them can only benefit our club. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andyetfc Posted December 7, 2019 Share Posted December 7, 2019 Spurs season ticket holder pays the full amount but brings a child in for free. I could live with that but I wouldn't want the adult paying less than me, unless they were a concessionary rate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
72wemblyfinal Posted December 7, 2019 Share Posted December 7, 2019 Something that may have gone unnoticed about todays game is that the club distributed 200 free entry tickets to local schools,groups,teams ect.To try to attract more people to the game. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andyetfc Posted December 7, 2019 Share Posted December 7, 2019 31 minutes ago, 72wemblyfinal said: Something that may have gone unnoticed about todays game is that the club distributed 200 free entry tickets to local schools,groups,teams ect.To try to attract more people to the game. Did it work? How many of the 200 free entry tickets were given in? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
72wemblyfinal Posted December 7, 2019 Share Posted December 7, 2019 9 minutes ago, andyetfc said: Did it work? How many of the 200 free entry tickets were given in? I don't know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andyetfc Posted December 7, 2019 Share Posted December 7, 2019 I hope someone knows. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
littlehampton Posted December 10, 2019 Author Share Posted December 10, 2019 A couple of observations on recent posts regarding support and our recent home attendances at the QE2 this season. Whilst success on the pitch has always been a key influence in boosting attendances, this season there is little doubt our gates are suffering because of Spurs moving into their new stadium, with its substantially increased capacity, now attracting gates of circa of circa 58 - 60K, plus the fact that a number of their home fixtures have clashed with our own. Enfield is a key catchment area for Spurs support, and quite a number of our supporters are members of both clubs, so it is an extremely difficult situation. I agree with LS that we need to do everything possible to develop our association or tie-in with them for the benefit of our Club. Regarding the distribution of free entry tickets, to local schools, clubs, etc, it is a commendable initiative, but it would be interesting to know the return, and how many took advantage of the offer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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