Recession is not to blame for poor attendances at Ricoh Arena
I RECENTLY wrote about the declining attendances atÃÂ the Ricoh and it has brought a mixed reaction.
ÃÂ
All fair comments, but nothing I didn't expect. But it still comes down to excuses at the end of the day.
ÃÂ
Pleasey says I should think before I write. Well, I did, and I have done before this one. Here goes with my further thoughts on the issue...
ÃÂ
Remember last season's great cup run, and how the Ricoh got packed out for the Chelsea and the Blackburn ties?
Well, money was found for those games, and they found their way to the ground okay didn't they, funny that don't you think ?
Obviously we all want to see the big clubs here, and we are all fed up with the lack of success, but it just goes to show that the recession hasn't got a lot to do with it when the attraction is there.
But it gets really annoying seeing the likes of Leicester and Derby etc, getting good gates, Derby got 31,000 at home last Saturday, and the recession has hit those places too, hasn't it?
But I guess until we get back into the top flight, and playing the big boys, we may just have to get used to an average gate of around 17,0000, but if so, that's really embarrassing, for a club with Premier League intentions.
Older/Newer
« Latest Coventry City news from the Coventry Telegraph | Let's get Coventry City to the promised land of the Premiership »
7 Comments
Latest Football League video
have you forgot that when we were in the premiership before we only got attendances of around 16,000?
People may cite the cost, but it's never going to be as simple as a single reason that people stay away. There are many detractors against going to go see CCFC play, and not all that many in favour. Unfortunately I think the most significant one is the one that's most difficult to do anything about: Coventry City just aren't that entertaining to watch.
I've seen Coventry play two matches at the Ricoh Arena this season â against Middlesboro and (recently) against QPR. We didn't lose either match (and in the case of against Middlesboro pulled off a surprising recovery from 2-0 down) but sadly the entertainment value was woeful. I'm atypical in that I have to travel from London for matches, making it around a ã100 expense, but even at half that price I'm sure most people can think of better ways to spend their money.
This is I think the biggest problem CCFC have faced in the past couple of seasons. Comparisons with the likes of Derby County are all well and good, but even with their poor form they've managed to (occasionally) win games by large margins and put in crowd-pleasing performances. It's a long time since City thrashed anyone in the league, and convincing, entertaining performances are few and far between. Maybe that's the real solution â to actually start putting in entertaining performances, so that people want to come to see them play?
Nearly 10 years in this league one 8th place finish. Not one playoff, not one title challenge, Says it all.
It is not fair to expect people to follow blindly with no return.
It is down to CCFC to build a side capable of sustained sucess, then fans will come back in numbers, the ball is in City's court.
A lot of fans will no doubt stay at home and listen to the game on the radio on a Saturday.
And what do they hear after the game from supporters leaving the stadium?
Well if it was something like, "Wow, I really enjoyed my afternoon at the Ricoh, and found it a good value for money experience" then I think more might be encouraged to go next time.
OK, so I know fans aren't going to say that, and of course everyone's entitled to their opinions on the game, but some level of post-match on-air enthusiasm from the fans who went would really help encourage others I reckon.
The reason for the decline in attendances may be surprisingly simple - consistent standard of failure. If we look across at Derby and Leicester; in recent years they've both had disastrous seasons, but they have been interspersed with periods of (agreed short-term) success which has aroused interest and galvanised support. We haven't even flirted with the play-offs in this miserable period which has extended from around the early 90's until today. Just one decent season in 3 would spark a revival in enthusiasm and see sustained growth in support. I know; i'm one of those who has drifted away in recent years after having a season ticket for 24 years. I'm going to the Scunthorpe game tomorrow which is my first league game in over a year. I hope I get the bug again ! Something special on the pitch will guarantee it !
Peter, I hope you enjoyed the game, and you will come back for more ?
We do need the fans to come back, I did the same as you several years back,got fed up etc, but when I got back into watching the City again, I decided to stick with them,and I have.
Wouldn't it be great for us to get into the play offs ?
Teams have sneaked in before, going on a late run,but we have to take one game at a time, but twenty odd thousand City fans making a racket, wouldn't half be good !
thanks for writing an unbyist article. I'm trying to decide if i should visit this