Swindon Town v Coventry City Official Matchday Thread

[manc_red]

I find it hard to believe they wouldn't make more money from far cheaper tickets and higher attendances

I'm not sure they would tbh. I'm sure someone'll correct me if I'm wrong, but as far as I recall whenever there have been price dips in the past (as there used to be quite regularly under Black/Wray) there wasn't all that much of a corresponding increase in attendances.

[lambourn red]

We still had the second highest attendance of the day which really does beg questions around the whole austerity measures we are experiencing from Power. Our squad cannot be costing as much as many sides in this league yet we still don't seem to invest in 2 or 3 players who could really make us a strong challenger this year. It was evident again today that a goal poacher / centre half and a winger are required if we can get these in we may well be in for an exciting season then surely the stay always will start to drift back.

[pauld]

It's not an issue of perception but expectation - many of our fans expect big name managers, new marquee signings galore, out and out attacking football and none of these will be found at the County Ground for the foreseeable future.

I think you're underestimating the impact the "Oh, Christ, here we go again" feeling of the court case had. That cast a significant pall, which would have needed something quite significant to turn it round (e.g. a few big signings). And as you say, that's just not realistic right now. And quite possibly not the right move anyway. But it meant that "Oh Christ, not again" bled into "Well, looks like there'll be nothing to get excited about" (coupled with the "Oh my God we've let some overpaid players go and not replaced them we'll definitely all be chopped into tiny pieces and sold for firewood") and so produced a very downbeat run-up to the season. That's the damage Reg was talking about.

[pauld]

I'm not sure they would tbh. I'm sure someone'll correct me if I'm wrong, but as far as I recall whenever there have been price dips in the past (as there used to be quite regularly under Black/Wray) there wasn't all that much of a corresponding increase in attendances.

No but then there usually won't be for one-off promotions which was what Fitton/Wray/Black attempted in terms of matchday prices. They gambled on boosting season ticket sales with low ST prices coupled with high matchday prices. Which pretty much worked, but then hit a bit of a (probably natural) plateau. But it then takes more than a one-off price cut to get non-ST fans back in in any numbers - not least because once you stop going for a little while, you quite often don't hear about any one-off price cuts anyway.

[theakston2k]

Attendances are a tricky business and price is only one of the issues.
The summer events combined with England's poor performance during the World Cup leads to a certain level of apathy. When you look around league 1 & 2 attendances are down accross the board so there must be some underlying reason... Namely sky sports I'd imagine.
Also I don't know what the Saturday league structure is like in Swindon but I've got a season ticket and have been roped into playing at a reasonable standard on a Saturday now so I won't be attending much for the foreseeable future. There must be quite a lot of Town fans who play Saturdays, it was first day of the Local leader season today so could partly explain the larger like for like drop off compared to Crewe.
It all will go back to price however as the primary detergant now however, season tickets now they are at the £350 mark aren't quite as attractive and matchday prices in the side stands have been too high for about the last 15 years. I know people will say even when prices are lowered for some games the attendance isn't much different but these matches are usually at the low end of the scale in terms of attractiveness. It's a shame during the Fitton era when we had the money that a season long experiment on matchday ticket prices.
Lambourne mentions about our perceived low budget compared to teams with lower budgets, I guess this could go back to what money Jed has removed from the club and any contracts we are locked into.... Such as the catering. Will be interesting to see if Power does go after Jed in the courts...

[suttonred]

Read the papers, and the economy is on the up, blah blah. The reality is people have less and less money, that's the major factor, myself Included. I cant afford the odd £100 here and there to go any more. If I do 3 games this season it ill be a miracle.

[DRS]

It's not an issue of perception but expectation - many of our fans expect big name managers, new marquee signings galore, out and out attacking football and none of these will be found at the County Ground for the foreseeable future. Nobody has any patience in football, we bemoan clubs for sacking managers and the lack of loyalty shown by players whilst the majority are only interested in the extremes - success and failure. Our fans seem to positively revel in our failures, so it's puzzling that those same people haven't found this summer thrilling.

Is it wrong for football fans to expect more than one signing throughout the summer,is it wrong for the fans to be pissed off that no one had a clue who owned the club or expect us to pay the bills on time.

[Bogus Dave]

I thought it was a good game of football today.

[sonicyouth]

Is it wrong for football fans to expect more than one signing throughout the summer,is it wrong for the fans to be pissed off that no one had a clue who owned the club or expect us to pay the bills on time.

Of course it's not wrong for people to be thoroughly fed up with all the behind the scenes bollocks but the club is where it is right now and if fans adjust their expectations they will be pleasantly surprised by a superb team of talented players who will provide entertainment and frustration in equal measure.

My point about our fans enjoying us suffer was somewhat tongue in cheek but it does seem like it at times.

[OOH! SHAUN TAYLOR]

Of course it's not wrong for people to be thoroughly fed up with all the behind the scenes bollocks but the club is where it is right now and if fans adjust their expectations they will be pleasantly surprised by a superb team of talented players who will provide entertainment and frustration in equal measure.

My point about our fans enjoying us suffer was somewhat tongue in cheek but it does seem like it at times.

I could be wrong but I'm pretty sure it's what Reg lives for.

[DMR]

A superb team of talented players who will provide entertainment and frustration in equal measure

Fuck me, have we turned in to Arsenal?

[OOH! SHAUN TAYLOR]

Read the papers, and the economy is on the up, blah blah. The reality is people have less and less money, that's the major factor, myself Included. I cant afford the odd £100 here and there to go any more. If I do 3 games this season it ill be a miracle.

That's it right there.

Basically, all the stuff that normal people do and need - i.e. going to football, petrol, beer, clothes, paint (yes - paint - £25 for a pot of fucking paint) - has gone up by about a ZILLION %. In the meantime, all our poor employers can give us by way of a pay rise is 2% to 'keep up with inflation'. WHAT'S THAT ALL ABOUT?? THERE'S NOTHING I SPEND MONEY ON WHICH IS ONLY GOING UP BY 2% PER YEAR!

People going on about the people of Swindon being apathetic and not caring, it's fucking bullshit. We're being fucked - IT JUST COSTS TOO FUCKING MUCH. Please try to understand this.

[Shaw Rosso]

Read the papers, and the economy is on the up, blah blah. The reality is people have less and less money, that's the major factor, myself Included. I cant afford the odd £100 here and there to go any more. If I do 3 games this season it ill be a miracle.

Spot on really. You could charge £15 to get in the TE every game but it won't have any impact whatsoever. Turn up on the day fans are the ones who are being put off, £31 for an adult and a kid in the TE is too steep for most, especially those that couldn't afford a season ticket in the first place.

[Costanza]

I took three neutrals yesterday and they all thoroughly enjoyed Swindon Town's performance in the second half. It's a worthless comment but I hate taking friends to games that are rubbish from beginning to end.

We know what we lack. Hopefully the next 48 hours deals with that.

[THE FLASH]

I quite enjoyed the second half and felt confident that we would get the equaliser.

We did and that was that.... Couldn't see us scoring again.

A bit annoying that Ranger is a prick.....with him in the team we could of been sitting pretty.

Overall I'm happy with the start to the season and I was predicting gloom.

Gate was shocking.....I operate a 'guess the gate' sweep and out of 15 guesses only two came within a thousand of the actual gate....all of them including mine far too high.