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Thread: Why are attendances so poor?

  1. #26

    Re: Why are attendances so poor?

    Quote Originally Posted by Organ Morgan. View Post
    As I implied, not enough season tickets have been purchased. That's at the heart of the poor crowds. If 20,000 had been sold then last Saturday's attendance would have been in excess of 20,000 as would every other game regardless of however many physically attend. Slash the ST prices by a third.
    Not enough fans have bought into the reincarnation of Cardiff City yet.

  2. #27

    Re: Why are attendances so poor?

    Quote Originally Posted by jeremy corbyn View Post
    You are right. I've followed the bluebirds 50 odd years and crowds go up and down. There is certainly not the passion for football generally that you get in other parts. Perhaps the egg has something to do with it. All Welshmen are supposted to be fanatics.
    Also so many false dawns with Cardiff City over the years. There is an unrivaled fan base there, it just needs reassuring that the club isn't going to do a Cardiff.

  3. #28

    Re: Why are attendances so poor?

    It’s a long season. If you are top two/three by March time the attendances will definitely pick up.

  4. #29

    Re: Why are attendances so poor?

    Quote Originally Posted by Organ Morgan. View Post
    Whomever posted the Leeds metro population number omitted to mention it includes Bradford so that club's average attendance should be added to Leeds'.
    I don't remember the post.I thought it was just Leeds and not the metro area.

  5. #30

    Re: Why are attendances so poor?

    Quote Originally Posted by Don Corleone View Post
    It has been done to death but the rebrand killed a lot of the "magic"

    We were plucky Cardiff, a Welsh team in an English league, battling our way up the leagues, always dreaming of the promised land.

    We gained some momentum with promotions with Hammam then the Dave Jones years , knocking on the door. Then finally we crashed through but with an owner who made sure at the time that we knew it was his club not ours by changing the colour of the shirts to what he wanted. The Premier league was a disaster, people turned up to see us play in the premier league but with little affinity for the club. We didn't have the emotional attachment after promotion that say Huddersfield or Bournemouth or even the Jack's had. The rebrand made it feel somehow we bought our way up ( which I know that is what a lot of clubs do, including Wolves this season)

    We lost loyal fans because of the rebrand, we lost the casual support when we were relegated and we lost even more with dire football under Slade.

    Now should be good times under Warnock, the team on the pitch are certainly worthy of our support with the effort they put in every game but for a lot of people that emotional connection with the club has gone

    Whereas before I would arrange my whole social calendar around Cardiff games if it clashes with something I now think, oh well, I can skip the City game today.

    I have a good mate who is a Bolton fan who always said enjoy the journey as it's the best part because once you get there it's not all it's cracked up to be and he was right.

    Don't get me wrong I would be delighted to see this team win promotion, it will feel much different than the previous one. I'm just trying to explain that I think a lot of people lost that " I can't miss any City game" during the rebrand and the subsequent seasons.

    I stillhope it will return at some point
    Good point on the us and them mentality.

  6. #31

    Re: Why are attendances so poor?

    There's not one encapsulating reason; probably everything said in this thread is relevant. South Wales has been a glory hunting area for as long as I can remember. Look at Newport - a town bigger than Norwich but relatively few are interested in County.

    I still think the rebrand has been underestimated in all this. It changed the perception of the club for many; Tan said the opinions of 25% of 'customers' were irrelevant, a number that would've included fans from the dungeon days.

    There was a tweet the other day that said an adult ticket in 1980 was £1.30 and allowing for inflation the same ticket should now cost £5.12. But the cheapest ticket today is £18, and most of the time it isn't worth it.

    Which brings me to the thing that's usually overlooked in these discussions - football is generally rubbish. No amount of 'loyalty' and 'passion' and marketing can change the fact that deep down we want something for that (minimum) £18, especially as we're all customers now.

    There's a good podcast out called Quickly Kevin, about '90s football. They had the comedian James Acaster on the other week talking about how he used to follow Man U but the narrative ended in '99 with the treble. That was the end of the movie for him, then he gave it up. They also quoted Jack Dee who said he used to like football but stopped because he realised 'it just never ends'. Football can be such an omnipresent and dreary routine and it's always there. And yet we're told more and more that it's vital and important.

    I didn't go last year but even observing from afar it was interminable. What kind of narrative is that? 46 games and most of that time wished away and waiting for next year. Why are we told the next game is vital when there are 6 months of the season still to play? The storyline we once viewed as the greatest story ever told has become Eastenders (although Home and Away might be more apt).

    I've been to a couple of DVP games this year and I went to Devon to see a friendly because that's my kind of narrative now. The churning Championship is not. Neither is the Premier League cabal.

    Perhaps this is unique to me or I'm a miserable middle aged man and that one day the bug will come back. But for now the narrative, laden with routine, hack marketing, the over-riding impression we're being sold a pup, the cultivated image of the club and the overall football landscape is not worth the time and money. Maybe we all know football is generally rubbish and sometimes circumstances combine to mine that into daylight.

  7. #32

    Re: Why are attendances so poor?

    What fecks me off is if by some miracle we do go up the same tossers who jumped on the bandwagon before will rock up to see Manu and liverpool again.
    Feck the premier league i say.

  8. #33

    Re: Why are attendances so poor?

    Our support is shocking

    No excuses

    When we sell players if we don't get promoted then you will have the usual bullshit trotted out

    Plymouth are bottom of the league and had 10000 on Saturday

    We are third in the championship and can't even get 20000

    It's pathetic

    The support from the people of Cardiff and south Wales for this football club is terrible ........I can't think of another club with our catchment area with such poor attendances

  9. #34

    Re: Why are attendances so poor?

    Quote Originally Posted by SLUDGE FACTORY View Post
    Our support is shocking

    No excuses

    When we sell players if we don't get promoted then you will have the usual bullshit trotted out

    Plymouth are bottom of the league and had 10000 on Saturday

    We are third in the championship and can't even get 20000

    It's pathetic

    The support from the people of Cardiff and south Wales for this football club is terrible ........I can't think of another club with our catchment area with such poor attendances
    Aye we know sludge. You've mentioned it before a few times :)

  10. #35

    Re: Why are attendances so poor?

    Quote Originally Posted by insider View Post
    What fecks me off is if by some miracle we do go up the same tossers who jumped on the bandwagon before will rock up to see Manu and liverpool again.
    Feck the premier league i say.
    This. Although “tossers” is a bit harsh. At some point we were all new fans. The tricks is getting them to keep going, and the best way to do that is stay up this time.
    Rest assured, if we did make the play off final, the queue for tickets will stretch back to Asda’s

  11. #36

    Re: Why are attendances so poor?

    lets be honest, we have always had fairly fickle fans, even back to the early 90's when we were on a high with Eddie May's team, we had a storming season and were getting good crowds, 15 K plus in the 3rd Div ( last Div ) was great, then we went up and struggled and the crowds fell of a cliff

    its nothing new, we might have 15 K hard core fans now, no point in knocking the few extra who turn up for the odd game

  12. #37

    Re: Why are attendances so poor?

    Quote Originally Posted by TH63 View Post
    This. Although “tossers” is a bit harsh. At some point we were all new fans. The tricks is getting them to keep going, and the best way to do that is stay up this time.
    Rest assured, if we did make the play off final, the queue for tickets will stretch back to Asda’s
    A few people in my local think that Cardiff fans have a bit of a bad attitude. You are correct in your assessment of calling people tossers. We are criticised by quite a few...at the end of the day people can support Liverpool and United if they want..i think a lot of Cardiff fans need to get over that.
    In my few locals there are fans of forest, leicester, leeds, aston villa, newcastle, chelsea, QPR, Liverpool, arsenal, spurs, man united...possibly missed a few.

  13. #38

    Re: Why are attendances so poor?

    It’s often been said on here there’s a theory that once you start to find reasons not to go to a game, then it becomes very easy to kick the habit all together.

    After 39 years as a regular supporter I gave up my season ticket at the end of last season mainly because increasingly there are fewer and fewer Saturday afternoon games – the only time I can get to a home match. Basically it was a waste of money, combined with the cost of getting to/from the ground (100 miles each way). I was gutted really, but I bought a Flexi-ticket hoping to get to a few games at least. However I have found that the afore-mentioned theory is correct in my case – previously it would have been unthinkable to miss a game that I could get to, but now I find that there are other priorities and I am not missing the “buzz” at all. In fact the first time I will use my Flexiticket will be on Boxing Day because I will be on holiday near Cardiff!

    Could this be the reason why many others have given up going regularly? The root cause may be different e.g. travel costs, the rebrand, the Slade factor or whatever, but the result is the same.

  14. #39

    Re: Why are attendances so poor?

    A factor not mentioned on this thread is that there's just too much football on TV these days. Four Premier League games at the weekend, European Cup games many weeks on Tuesday and Wednesday and lower league games as well.

    I've had a surfeit of it and pick the live TV games I really want to watch. Most weeks I don't even want to watch MotD.

    The less committed football fan may simply prefer to watch the best games on TV rather than suffer the rain and the wind and the cold we endured last Saturday.

  15. #40

    Re: Why are attendances so poor?

    Our average is 19k the leagues average is 20k .

  16. #41

    Re: Why are attendances so poor?

    Quote Originally Posted by The Bob Banker Spanker View Post
    2 and a half dire seasons of football with OGS/Slade/Trollope is enough to put anyone off.
    People are probably waiting until the new year to see if we can maintain our position.
    Half season tickets will probably sell quite well come December.
    quite a lot of factors
    maybe its the recession mate
    a mate of mine points out its pretty hard financially for him to go
    himself his mrs and their 2 children its £100 plus there is drinks for the kids a bite to eat programmes
    travel ect and that is just an afternoon out for them
    so they can only manage about 8 league home games a season
    and cup games
    not that the club are overly expensive, they are not
    but the people I speak too all say the same
    a lot of belt tightening

    the fans are slowly coming back , if we keep our form then
    I wouldn't be surprised to see a lot of half season, season tickets sold

    our away support is fantastic all ages too

    my reason is that I been living in Kent the last 2 and half years and can only manage about a dozen home games
    because of work and logistical reasons

  17. #42

    Re: Why are attendances so poor?

    Quote Originally Posted by jeremy corbyn View Post
    I know this has been done to death, but i was quite shocked how poor our attendance was compared with others Saturday. In fact there was only 1 lower than us. I despair at finding the reasons behind this and in a way does it really matter given that tv money is keeping football afloat?
    Has anybody out there got a crystal ball? There must be a reason.
    To me, it's simply that walk-up prices are way too high

  18. #43
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    Re: Why are attendances so poor?

    Quote Originally Posted by Organ Morgan. View Post
    Whomever posted the Leeds metro population number omitted to mention it includes Bradford so that club's average attendance should be added to Leeds'.
    I posted the comparison figures with Leeds in the previous thread on attendances - and it was city to city, not metropolitan areas.

    Our attendances are disappointing, but as a % of the city population are much better than Leeds.

    Include wider catchment areas and it becomes a different argument - but I'm not convinced that Cardiff fans and potential fans are so different from those in every other part of the UK.

  19. #44

    Re: Why are attendances so poor?

    Quote Originally Posted by TDA View Post
    This has absolutely nothing to do with the so-called "rebrand" . I have followed City for 52 years and we have one of the most fickle followings in British football.

    16,000 after a couple of dodgy results, with rugby on the same day is pretty good, particularly if you also take the crap weekend weather into consideration.

    Those sitting on the fence have yet to be convinced that City are going to do great things this season and, until they are, we are unlikely to see 20,000+ crowds.

    A good run from here until the New Year will see quite a few more bums on seats in 2018. This is nothing new.
    A few years ago, that game would have pulled in 20000.

    You say the rebrand has "absolutely" got nothing to do with it. The rebrand killed any passion or loyalty I feel for Tan's club. That's 5 season ticket sales gone. Don Corleone has it spot on. Whereas I would think nothing of dropping all plans to join 1800 others for a game against Wigan in the 90s, I stopped buying season tickets post rebrand, my last season being the promotion season.

    The average of nearly 20000 is boosted by the freak 27000 crowd against Leeds.

    Ticket prices are the same now as they were when I last bought one pre-rebrand. The team is looking good for a promotion challenge. The club has a striker valued in the 10s of millions.

    I think that, although only a few have stopped attending altogether, many have stopped attending religiously. For many, watching Cardiff on a Saturday is not the main priority anymore - when an owner makes it clear that you are not the club, and he is the owner, it sort of affects your perspective on what the club means. He made me feel like an outsider, and many on this board have too. So, feck the club, and feck those who boasted that I would be easily replaced. And feck those who told me to stick my blue scarf up my arse at a few games in that last season.

    As for loyalty - I missed a mate's wedding to go to Sheffield United in the Cup, I missed a cousin's 18th to see a game against Halifax. I left work early to get to a game against Exeter in the LDV - the crowd was 650.

    People may not like my answer, they may disagree. I'm one of the few posting here that is "missing", so I think putting my reasons here (again) is valid.

    I won't consider going to another game until Tan has left. When he has gone, I'll probably take in a game or two when it suits me. Without the rebrand, I'd still be a season ticket holder - of that I have no doubt.

  20. #45

    Re: Why are attendances so poor?

    https://www.transfermarkt.com/champi...wettbewerb/GB2

    This is an interesting read.

    Up by 3k from previous.
    Down 2 k from season 14/15

    Need to run a check on age groups to find out if it's a drop off from ageism

  21. #46

    Re: Why are attendances so poor?

    Things we have in common with other clubs .....

    It's Halloween

    It's bonfire night

    It's expensive

    My missus took me shopping

    The champions league is on the telly

    Our fixtures are at funny times

    Money is tight

    There are so many different things to do nowadays

    The weather was bad

    Blah blah blah

    Those that do go , from Cardiff , the valleys and the rest of our huge catchment area ........can't fault them


    We are a poorly supported football club and no amount of excuses or reasons , that apply to all other football clubs ......will change that

    If we get to the premier league suddenly everyone will be a Cardiff fan .....my postman has always been a Liverpool fan ......when we got to the fa cup final he managed to get a ticket and dressed himself up in Cardiff colours .......by the start of the next season he was back wearing his Liverpool shirt and talking about how this was going to be the year his team were going to win the premiership title

    That's south Wales for you

  22. #47

    Re: Why are attendances so poor?

    To answer the OP, if anyone knows the answer, then let the club know, I'm sure they're just as baffled.

    I found these stats from the following website http://european-football-statistics....nclub/carc.htm

    I've just selected the years since my first game.

    Couple of key points.

    1. Average attendance during those 48 years is just 11,000
    2. After the rebrand, average attendances actually increased
    3. They only started going down again after we were relegated
    4. Last season in NP, we averaged just under 14,000
    5. Average attendance playing in Red - 24,000
    6. Average attendance playing in Blue - 10,000
    7. Despite all the issues about cost, shopping with the wife, rebrand, rugby, other things to do, attendances are still higher than they ever were during the last 40 years at NP.
    8. Who cares anyway? Did I enjoy standing on the bob bank with my mates in 1981 with 5,000 others any less than I do now sitting in the grandstand with the same mates and an extra 10,000 to keep us company?

    My point being, that despite all the rhetoric and despite some obvious individual opinions, in general terms, our fan base is more interested in league position than the colour of the shirt.

    If we go up, we'll suddenly find an extra 10,000 minimum clamouring for tickets. Maybe for the "wrong" reasons I grant you, but who knows, they may come to see Man U, but over time, maybe they'll be coming to see city.

    If that happens, I dare say some of us will be wishing we were back in NP with crowds of 5,000.


    2017 16564
    2016 16463
    2015 21124
    2014 27430
    2013 22999
    2012 22100
    2011 23194
    2010 20717
    2009 18000
    2008 13939
    2007 15223
    2006 11720
    2005 12976
    2004 15569
    2003 13050
    2002 12523
    2001 7962
    2000 6895
    1999 7131
    1998 3610
    1997 3594
    1996 3420
    1995 4543
    1994 6072
    1993 8560
    1992 6191
    1991 2946
    1990 3642
    1989 4385
    1988 4390
    1987 2826
    1986 3061
    1985 4363
    1984 7067
    1983 7036
    1982 5574
    1981 6767
    1980 9926
    1979 9246
    1978 8365
    1977 12790
    1976 11702
    1975 9143
    1974 10714
    1973 11456
    1972 15510
    1971 21535
    1970 21501

    Average 11157

  23. #48

    Re: Why are attendances so poor?

    Quote Originally Posted by Bluebirdman Of Alcathays View Post
    There's not one encapsulating reason; probably everything said in this thread is relevant. South Wales has been a glory hunting area for as long as I can remember. Look at Newport - a town bigger than Norwich but relatively few are interested in County.

    I still think the rebrand has been underestimated in all this. It changed the perception of the club for many; Tan said the opinions of 25% of 'customers' were irrelevant, a number that would've included fans from the dungeon days.

    There was a tweet the other day that said an adult ticket in 1980 was £1.30 and allowing for inflation the same ticket should now cost £5.12. But the cheapest ticket today is £18, and most of the time it isn't worth it.

    Which brings me to the thing that's usually overlooked in these discussions - football is generally rubbish. No amount of 'loyalty' and 'passion' and marketing can change the fact that deep down we want something for that (minimum) £18, especially as we're all customers now.

    There's a good podcast out called Quickly Kevin, about '90s football. They had the comedian James Acaster on the other week talking about how he used to follow Man U but the narrative ended in '99 with the treble. That was the end of the movie for him, then he gave it up. They also quoted Jack Dee who said he used to like football but stopped because he realised 'it just never ends'. Football can be such an omnipresent and dreary routine and it's always there. And yet we're told more and more that it's vital and important.

    I didn't go last year but even observing from afar it was interminable. What kind of narrative is that? 46 games and most of that time wished away and waiting for next year. Why are we told the next game is vital when there are 6 months of the season still to play? The storyline we once viewed as the greatest story ever told has become Eastenders (although Home and Away might be more apt).

    I've been to a couple of DVP games this year and I went to Devon to see a friendly because that's my kind of narrative now. The churning Championship is not. Neither is the Premier League cabal.

    Perhaps this is unique to me or I'm a miserable middle aged man and that one day the bug will come back. But for now the narrative, laden with routine, hack marketing, the over-riding impression we're being sold a pup, the cultivated image of the club and the overall football landscape is not worth the time and money. Maybe we all know football is generally rubbish and sometimes circumstances combine to mine that into daylight.

    I get that about football never ending. I’ve seen Cardiff go through all the leagues and yes although the Premier league one was tainted I still saw Cardiff up there.

    Maybe as I’m slightly older and going through a mid life assessment thinking what is my long term plan That I’m just not as arsed about football as I was .

    I still enjoy it but a case in example was last week watching Ireland get thrashed in that play off. 15 years ago I’d have been devastated and replaying that for weeks in my head and getting wound up by my mates. Now I was disappointed but realised there’s other campaigns and that’s that.

    Last time I was truly disappointed and couldn’t talk about defeat and was gutted was the Blackpool play off final defeat in 2010. It was all set up that day and that lingered.

    Now as was said it comes around again and it just isn’t as important as it was for me lately. More of an excuse to catch up with mates and to be honest o haven’t been been as much as I enjoy watching my local rugby club .

  24. #49

    Re: Why are attendances so poor?


  25. #50

    Re: Why are attendances so poor?

    Quote Originally Posted by TH63 View Post
    To answer the OP, if anyone knows the answer, then let the club know, I'm sure they're just as baffled.

    I found these stats from the following website http://european-football-statistics....nclub/carc.htm

    I've just selected the years since my first game.

    Couple of key points.

    1. Average attendance during those 48 years is just 11,000
    2. After the rebrand, average attendances actually increased
    3. They only started going down again after we were relegated
    4. Last season in NP, we averaged just under 14,000
    5. Average attendance playing in Red - 24,000
    6. Average attendance playing in Blue - 10,000
    7. Despite all the issues about cost, shopping with the wife, rebrand, rugby, other things to do, attendances are still higher than they ever were during the last 40 years at NP.
    8. Who cares anyway? Did I enjoy standing on the bob bank with my mates in 1981 with 5,000 others any less than I do now sitting in the grandstand with the same mates and an extra 10,000 to keep us company?

    My point being, that despite all the rhetoric and despite some obvious individual opinions, in general terms, our fan base is more interested in league position than the colour of the shirt.

    If we go up, we'll suddenly find an extra 10,000 minimum clamouring for tickets. Maybe for the "wrong" reasons I grant you, but who knows, they may come to see Man U, but over time, maybe they'll be coming to see city.

    If that happens, I dare say some of us will be wishing we were back in NP with crowds of 5,000.


    2017 16564
    2016 16463
    2015 21124
    2014 27430
    2013 22999
    2012 22100
    2011 23194
    2010 20717
    2009 18000
    2008 13939
    2007 15223
    2006 11720
    2005 12976
    2004 15569
    2003 13050
    2002 12523
    2001 7962
    2000 6895
    1999 7131
    1998 3610
    1997 3594
    1996 3420
    1995 4543
    1994 6072
    1993 8560
    1992 6191
    1991 2946
    1990 3642
    1989 4385
    1988 4390
    1987 2826
    1986 3061
    1985 4363
    1984 7067
    1983 7036
    1982 5574
    1981 6767
    1980 9926
    1979 9246
    1978 8365
    1977 12790
    1976 11702
    1975 9143
    1974 10714
    1973 11456
    1972 15510
    1971 21535
    1970 21501

    Average 11157
    Thanks for taking so much trouble in getting those figures together. I think the figures prove that we are poorly supported unless we are really very successful. Our fan base is small for the size of the area and fickle. I am still not sure as to why. You can throw in all sorts is reasons, perhaps the rebrand did skim a few hundred off our formerly die hardship, but I doubt much more. I wonder if it is because we are fed so much egg down this way that people are almost scared to admit they like football and consequently only come for big games. I don't know but perhaps it is a cultural thing, like rugger would never take off big time in Newcastle.

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