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Attendance

Alan W (GNFC)

By Alan W (GNFC)
in Ebbsfleet United Forum

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Alan W (GNFC) said:
It must also be said that, whilst people may flinch at paying £12 for 90 minutes of football, what do most people pay to go to the theatre? Most shows are £15 to £20, although they may be slightly longer, yet people dont moan about that.


Do you go to the theatre then? Never been in my life myself. I thought that was the domain of your average Notting Hill, Sophie and Sebastian.

Are we aiming to attract this type of person then? Surely these are the type of people that now think it’s fashionable to watch football - Highbury and Stamford Bridge are full of them.

We should be aiming for the working class man on the street that doesn’t have the money to pay £100 to take his sons to Premiership matches every week but still appreciates what it’s like to watch football live.
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chilled out entertainer said:
theatre is accessible to all! I have been many a time and im not posh. People are guaranteed quality at the theatre, you are not gonna get a poor performance as you could with a 6-0 gubbing or a yawnfest 0-0.


Perhaps I was being a little judgmental with my earlier comment. To be perfectly honest with you I would never have guessed looking around the club bar that there are theatre goers amongst us.

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Chatham Gary said:
This is not a loaded or trick question, zafonic, but since you are a forum newbie, have you just discovered this forum/official website, or are new to supporting the Fleet?
If yes to either, you are the type of person the Fleet is looking to recruit to swell the terraces, cogent ideas, intelligent suggestions.


I would consider myself a new supporter yes. I would guess that thousands of people of local people have been to our matches in the past, some become regulars, others come back occasionally others unfortunately don’t. I am one of those who have come back somewhere between regularly and occasionally. I’ve been going about fifteen years on and off I suppose, but more of a regular now, so hence I would describe myself as a newbie if you like. Went to a lot of games in the early nineties, but drifted away for a while.
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FleetFanatic Newbie

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White Van Nistelrooy said:
The last few posts just about sums up many of the prats that post on this site.

Raise what is a very serious issue and attempt to find answers to that issue and what do you get........nothing but ridicule.

As I stated I am just trying to kick start what is a very important issue that need debating. The possibility of a name change is only a small part of that debate.

In future I won't bother.....You just keep your heads buried in the sand.


You can't blame us considering all the doom and gloom you've posted.

Calling people prats won't help your cause either.

Anyway, what's wrong with AFC Olympique Real Gravesendio del Northfleeto [****!!****]as, apart from I may have missed West Borussia Manchester Hotspurs out of the name?

The only people who are prats are those people put off going to watch a team simply because of the team name.

So much for local pride.
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Vera Newbie

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To WVN as I am obviously one of the 'prats' you mention would you please define to me what your definition of a 'prat' is. I am very interested to know but having looked it up in the Oxford dictionary unfortunately it is not in there - the nearest being PRATING = idle talk or PRATTLE = childish chatter. So there you go something you would know about. I don't believe in arguing about such stupid things on the forum, but neither do I accept what you so obviously meant to be an insult to some of us without replying. Now I refuse to enter into any further discussion with you about this so go on you can have the last word now and then we will all be happy.

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Hirsty Newbie

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Ok here goes with my opinion, for what it's worth:-

 

1) I don't think the £12 is a major factor. Can't even buy a pint for £2. If it was to increase regularly, then yes, I think it would be a factor.

 

2) I do think that the restriction of the capacity of the Northfleet End terrace has had an affect on attendances.

 

3) Change of name ? surely we don't want that ? Only as a last resort ! Thamesfleet ?

 

4) It's no point in individuals getting narked ( for want of a better word !) about debate on this forum. Is that not what a forum is for ? ( as advised once by Super Daz !!)

 

5)Facilities ? Yes...they could be improved, but at a cost. New Stadium on the way....so maybe cost on the existing one needs to be kept to a minumum. As long as there's beer, bog & footie, that'll do me !!

 

6) are there any fixture posters that we can put up in pubs available ? I'd take a few .....

 

Cheers,

 

<img src="/forum/images/graemlins/elephant.gif" alt="" />

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Mepis Newbie

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Interesting, getting people to Fleet has always been a problem, last time in the conference (alliance) 1979-1982 we had below average crowds and we finished 5th in 1979-1980 season, we will always have problems with the London based clubs, always have always will, i was talking to one of my Cousin's the other night and he has no time for Fleet, born in Northfleet hates the club, does come along with me to the FA cup games, same with another cousin, he will never watch a league game, born five minutes walk from the ground, still lives in the town.

The Club has always been considered a joke, i do not know why, but in the 1950's there was a big following, but as transport became better and quicker people travelled to London and unfortunatly still do, also perhaps more people moving here from say North London and other areas will still go to Spurs or support the team from the area they moved from.

I cannot see a great improvement on the fan base even if the Club make the play off's, if we make the play off final you will see 15.000 or more Fleet fans make the journey to Stoke, the next season back to the 1200 odd.

I cannot see changing the name would make a difference, i do detest the name Gravesend, but that is my view, it is a horrible name and i would have changed the town name years ago.

The price for Fleet is right, kids for a £1 is great for one game only because they will also hopefully spend money at the club while there and it is a few quid extra which would not have been there.

Many of the people i used to know at Fleet just cannot be bothered anymore and have stopped going, i would say i only know about 5 people who support the Club and go on a regular basis.

Perhaps the Club is in the wrong area, perhaps public transport is bad, i do not know i do not use it, i only come to Gravesend to watch the Fleet, the odd family do and unfortunatly go to the cemetery, so i cannot comment really on the transport system, a friend of mine who lives in Maidstone, said there are to many non league teams in the County and the Country as a whole and perhaps he is right, not enough fans to go around.

The facilities at Fleet are bad and has been for years, the toilet at the Plough end is a health hazard and should be updated to include hand washing facilities, that is one of my complaints, the other is take down the old tea bar, and remove the Club Shop and Trust Hut to behind the main stand, the terrace's must be for supporters only.

I do not know the answer, wish i did, but in 45 years nothing seems to have changed.

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Wobbly Wayne rides again Newbie

Wobbly Wayne rides again

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I have been watching this debate with interest and if you ignore the name calling and the usual smug know it all comments, then there are important messages to take from it, and I hope get picked up by the board. As this should be their no.1 issue.

 

Our crowd for FGR was just over 700, but if you had gone round the crowd and asked what team people actually supported, ie. their first team , The Fleet would have polled under half that amount. So the problem is worse than the attendances suggest. We are probably only the no.1 club for about 300 - 400 people. This is laughable for a team that seriously harbours League status.

So its obvious something needs to be done to ensure any progression we make is sustainable. But , if you look at the size of the problem it becomes almost mountain like to resolve.

So you need to break it down into 2 distinct issues.

1) Long term to make GNFC the no 1 club for a minimum of 2000 people 2 ) Short term how can we persuade the supporters who view us as a second club to come on more regular basis. We know they are out there as they do turn up for the big games.

 

Long term - I presume the club has ambitions to be around long term, so there is nothing wrong with long term objectives. Yes it takes time and money to get schools/ youth clubs / cubs etc involved. And the pay off may be some years away, but to ignore it means we will always be having the same debates continuously for years to come. ( As mentioned above nothing has changed for 45 years , and until we get more involved locally it won't)

But as Charlton as proved, when they were in their darkest hour, they stepped up their community work and whilst it took time, it has transformed the club into what it is today, rather than the homeless, broke, poorly supported club of 20 years ago.

 

Short term - How do we get more thru' the turnstiles. This is more difficult, but the price rise to 12 quid has not hepled. I attend with 4 no 1 Fleet fans ( including myself ) and on a adhoc basis 15 -20 no 2 Fleet fans, whom attend as and when their teams are away, playing sundays etc. No one mentioned the price when they were only handing over the tenner, but this year I have heard nothing but moans about the cost, and a few 'I can have 5 pints and watch sky sports down the pub for that, I'll catch up with you in the evening'.. 2 quid extra is not a lot, but it seems to have gone past some phsycological barrier. I do think that, we need to review prices. The Pough end has become a joke, this is also putting people off. We hear that we have received a grant, but have not seen any work start yet.

 

My suggestion would be,if the budget is the problem, reduce the playing staff by 1, and utilise the money to employ someone with one and only one focus. This being to increase our profile and attendances.

They should pull together a working ideas team from fans in our broad church. ( The Fleet Trust do an amazing job, but to increase the crowds we would need a more diverse quorum )

The working ideas team should be made up , from ages 16 upwards encompasing the full spectrum of loyal Fleet fans to may I controversially say Fleet loyal, as well as a one of our 'other' club season ticket holders whom attend on an adhoc basis. This will be the only way of getting to the nub of this really important matter, and one that we need to kick off now in order that when we get the keys to a new stadium we are already half way up the mountain.

 

Sorry for the length of this, but there is so much to say on this issue, and if we want to move forward we must do something now.

 

 

PS. Good luck to the Fleet at Accy today.. Having to sit this one out.

Up the Fleet

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Slartibartfast Newbie

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How many full-time players do we have and what do they do on the days that there is no training?

If they were to run a training session at a different school each week and hand out free tickets to the kids and maybe a signed shirt to whichever kid does best it would at least raise the clubs profile.

 

Wobbly is probably right that £10:00 a ticket is seen as some sort of barrier but look at how little you can get for your money elsewhere. Last season Kiddy and Southend where in the same league, this year you could pay £12:00 to watch Kiddy at the Fleet or £29:00 to watch Southend at the Gills, one of those is value for money and one is a rip off.

I buy my season ticket each year but even though I have paid in advance I am still put off sometimes by the thought of standing alongside the miserable morons who spend all their time and energy moaning at our own players or at the fact that they can't stay in the bar while the match is on.

Its not the team name that needs sorting out and its not the standard of football its the bloody supporters.

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Wobbly Wayne rides again said:
I attend with 4 no 1 Fleet fans ( including myself ) and on a adhoc basis 15 -20 no 2 Fleet fans, whom attend as and when their teams are away, playing sundays etc. No one mentioned the price when they were only handing over the tenner, but this year I have heard nothing but moans about the cost, and a few 'I can have 5 pints and watch sky sports down the pub for that, I'll catch up with you in the evening'.. 2 quid extra is not a lot, but it seems to have gone past some phsycological barrier. I do think that, we need to review prices. The Pough end has become a joke, this is also putting people off. We hear that we have received a grant, but have not seen any work start yet.



WW - The people I go to matches with if question would all say they consider the Fleet to be their second club if I have to be honest. Most of us have watched hundreds of matches at Arsenal, Chelsea, Tottenham or West Ham over the years and the only time we get to watch football together is when we go to Stonebridge Road.

Trust me when I say that I would love it if it became a regular fixture for me and my mates to regularly watch the Fleet home and away, but these season interest from one or two others has seemed to cool – so I find that more often than not we still watch the above mentioned clubs.

Don’t underestimate the size of the task involved when you talk about attracting people to support GNFC as their ‘first club’.

For perhaps a handful of matches in the last 4 or 5 seasons there have been as many as 20 of us, but usually the number is no more than 6 or 7.

I remember a couple of years ago the London club I follow played a Tuesday night match against a lower league opposition, but a coach made up of Gravesend based supporters was full with 50 or so fans. How many other London clubs have fan bases this big in the area? Probably most of them. I would think nothing of spending upwards of £100+ watching my tea, inc entrance, travel, beers and so on, and there are quite a few from round the area who are the same, it’s just a shame that the Fleet haven’t attracted them yet.
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Wobbly Wayne rides again Newbie

Wobbly Wayne rides again

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Don’t underestimate the size of the task involved when you talk about attracting people to support GNFC as their ‘first club’.

 

For perhaps a handful of matches in the last 4 or 5 seasons there have been as many as 20 of us, but usually the number is no more than 6 or 7.

 

I remember a couple of years ago the London club I follow played a Tuesday night match against a lower league opposition, but a coach made up of Gravesend based supporters was full with 50 or so fans. How many other London clubs have fan bases this big in the area? Probably most of them. I would think nothing of spending upwards of £100+ watching my tea, inc entrance, travel, beers and so on, and there are quite a few from round the area who are the same, it’s just a shame that the Fleet haven’t attracted them yet.

 

 

Certainly don't underestimate the task.. Your experience above is one I know to well,

But the people you mention are the ones we need to tap into and get down here more often.

As it goes I too have spent many a season on the terrace home and away ( and then unfortunately seats) of a London club, as well as England/European games. So I appreciate it is hard to persuade someone that following the Fleet can match it.

But it shouldn't stop us trying, and its surprising the more people that you see of this ilk on the terraces , does encourage others to come down. My mates also support the clubs you mention plus a few others , as we have always said wouldn't it be better if we all supported the same club. We just need to make sure that they can, and that club is the Fleet.

Keep the faith and keep getting as many down as you can.

 

One of our aims should be to target the guy who used to regulary travel up to London, but now has a few kids in tow and can't afford / get tickets anymore, or is just pissed off with the ever changing Ko times. Thats how I got back involved with the Fleet again after a long absence and have been pretty much ever present since.

 

For those of you interested in long term objectives , I was a regular on the terraces late seventies / early eighties as a kid , and despite a few odd apearances over the interim years , was fortunate to come down to a game at the start of the Fordy era, and have been here ever since. So targeting kids does work albeit, a delayed response.

 

 

Up the Fleet

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League football is a different game now to what it used to be. The good thing about watching the Fleet now is that you can stand with your mates at matches whereas in at a lot of clubs you are pretty much told where to sit, and that the option is there to go to whatever games you like – no need for telephone booking months in advance.

 

Part of the problem with attracting younger supporters to matches is that they have missed out on ‘growing up on the terraces’, all they know about the whole experience of watching football is gained from watching Sky sport – they know nothing about getting up at 6am, meeting your mates and setting off for some far flung northern town – I’ve done it because I was lucky enough to be around in the days where you could get on a train using a student rail card or a Persil voucher (happy days), and more or less turn up at an away match and pay on the gate and then make as much noise as you could.

 

The lads in the pub I drink with (a handful of which sometimes go to the Fleet with me) range from early forties right down to early twenties, more often than not there out most Saturday’s watching results come in on TV whilst spreading their wages in the pub – there’s so many football supporters locally, and I reckon that sooner or later something will click and they’ll cotton on to how good watching the Fleet is

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