It's a sparse crowd here tonight . I'd say 16000 or less through the turnstile .

[chaileyjem]

Personally I could not care less if people do not turn up when they have purchased a ticket but the club should as


1) they are not spending cash at the stadium
2) is could be an indication for the club of an apathy that may manifest itself as less ST renewals

Who says the club aren't worrying or caring about it ?
I'm sure theyre forecasting and modelling all sorts of tickets sold data , impact on match day spend, commercial deals and season ticket renewal turnover rates. Why wouldn't they ?

That said, They could probably do without , for example, Albions biggest fan Twitter account tweeting about little else on Tuesday night as if it was a scandal up there with Archer and Bellotti. Im also sure that threads on here predicting that the club has about three hardcore fans left and everyone else is an Arsenal fan with their feet up on the sofa and the club are in collusion with them by making up attendance figures on a cold Tuesday night probably cheers up the club no end.

 

[Tom Hark Preston Park]

Short answer - yes. It's all part of the initial sales pitch: "We have the highest attendances in the Championship, etc etc etc". At the very best it's an obfuscation; potential advertisers/sponsors then have to go and dig a bit deeper (if they can) to find out what the real figure is.

and will be suitably unimpressed when they find out.

 

[British Bulldog]

Does it really matter what attendance they announce? Just looking around the ground should tell you all you need to know about how many people have actually turned up to watch the match.

 

[Brovion]

Does it really matter what attendance they announce? Just looking around the ground should tell you all you need to know about how many people have actually turned up to watch the match.

As far as the fans are concerned you're right, it doesn't matter one iota.

 

[Seasider78]

Who says the club aren't worrying or caring about it ?
I'm sure theyre forecasting and modelling all sorts of tickets sold data , impact on match day spend, commercial deals and season ticket renewal turnover rates. Why wouldn't they ?

That said, They could probably do without , for example, Albions biggest fan Twitter account tweeting about little else on Tuesday night as if it was a scandal up there with Archer and Bellotti. Im also sure that threads on here predicting that the club has about three hardcore fans left and everyone else is an Arsenal fan with their feet up on the sofa and the club are in collusion with them by making up attendance figures on a cold Tuesday night probably cheers up the club no end.

I am sure they are looking at the impact and potential outcomes but I would hope they were spending a bit more time on the cause.

The fact is the real thing that guarantees bums on seats is the product on the pitch which at present is far inferior to what has been served up since the pre amex promotion season and why attendances are tumbling (ticket sales and actuals)

We have taken a backwards step this season and fans are voting with their feet. Whilst of course the club will share the concern you can't really be that surprised supporters are commenting on it given the benchmark of the previous amex season attendances

I am a bit worried given we are already struggling with FFP and we need every pound we can squeeze out of a match day. I trust the club to turn it around and we all want to see a return to a stadium packed with people watching a highly competitive and entertaining side

 

[Thunder Bolt]

Does it really matter what attendance they announce? Just looking around the ground should tell you all you need to know about how many people have actually turned up to watch the match.

As it's nearly panto season, instead of applause when it's announced, all shout out, 'Oh, no it isn't'.

 

[Superphil]

The actual attendance on Tuesday was 16133.

From a FOI request.

"The council are not required to keep records on a match by match basis of attendance. We review safety management arrangements on a quarterly basis and at that time attendance figures are noted. The ground is an all seater stadium and as such has a limit to its capacity. The recent match that we reviewed which coincidentally was on the 4th November had an attendance of 16,133"

 

[Superphil]

This means that 6911 people who had tickets for the game didn't attend. This has to be a matter of huge concern for the club, let's hope they are taking notice and will do something to slow down and reverse this decline.

 

[spanish flair]

That seriously pushes up the number of STH who didn't bother. Bad news for the club in my mind.

 

[8ace]

The fact is the real thing that guarantees bums on seats is the product on the pitch which at present is far inferior to what has been served up since the pre amex promotion season and why attendances are tumbling (ticket sales and actuals)

We have taken a backwards step this season and fans are voting with their feet. Whilst of course the club will share the concern you can't really be that surprised supporters are commenting on it given the benchmark of the previous amex season attendances

This is pretty much it for me.
A lot of the excuses people gave for not attending would miraculously not be an issue if we were at the other end of the table.

 

[Moshe Gariani]

Did anyone really think we suddenly had 23,000 fans who would turn up on a Tuesday night for Wigan on the back of 12 matches without a win...?

It was fun while it lasted, and I got sucked in as much as most, but we are NOT yet supported to that level and probably never will be.

16,000+ struggling in the Championship is fine.
20,000+ lower mid-table.
23,000+ pushing play-offs.
28,000+ near top of Championship

 

[Hotchilidog]

This means that 6911 people who had tickets for the game didn't attend. This has to be a matter of huge concern for the club, let's hope they are taking notice and will do something to slow down and reverse this decline.

what do you suggest they do? It depends on the reasons for absence i.e. distance, work, kids, illness etc, issues which a number of people do have to deal with, but I hardly imagine that that applies to the best part of 7,000 people. It appears to be one enormous hissy fit as the team are not playing well. Seems extremely fickle to me. Disappointing.

 

[Thunder Bolt]

This means that 6911 people who had tickets for the game didn't attend. This has to be a matter of huge concern for the club, let's hope they are taking notice and will do something to slow down and reverse this decline.

Will a sicknote suffice, for those who were unwell, like my other half?
Do those who live over 70 miles away have to prove that travel is too difficult midweek, or shift workers that they were working?

 

[Superphil]

what do you suggest they do? It depends on the reasons for absence i.e. distance, work, kids, illness etc, issues which a number of people do have to deal with, but I hardly imagine that that applies to the best part of 7,000 people. It appears to be one enormous hissy fit as the team are not playing well. Seems extremely fickle to me. Disappointing.

Thankfully I'm not paid to come up with the ideas to stem the tide. And I agree, it is a response to performances, which is linked to staff/player recruitment, and I honestly do think the costs associated with watching the Albion will have taken its toll on non ST attendees.

Will a sicknote suffice, for those who were unwell, like my other half?
Do those who live over 70 miles away have to prove that travel is too difficult midweek, or shift workers that they were working?

Of course, but that probably wasn't 7000, or even 6000, or 5000, or 4000, or even 3000. And more to the point, I'm not fussed about those who can't come, or choose not to come for whatever reason, just why can't the club buck the trend, and tell it like it is? The howls of derision at the announcement on Tuesday must have made a few execs feel a tad awkward.

 

[Brovion]

This is pretty much it for me.
A lot of the excuses people gave for not attending would miraculously not be an issue if we were at the other end of the table.

That is undoubtedly true, but I don't think it's the whole story. Football fans (not just Brighton fans) are fickle; always have been, always will be. Nothing puts bums on seats like a winning team. The neat trick though is to get people to attend when the team AREN'T selling your product for you. In one respect (and we're getting off the topic of 'pretendance') the massive progress the club have made is reflected in the fact that the hard-core is currently round about the 16,000 mark. We'd have killed for that for most seasons in the club's history. That's not a reason for complacency though; as well as getting back the 'missing' fans those 16000 can't be taken for granted. Saying "Ah well, things would be ok if we were at the top of the league" is on a par with saying "ah well, my life would be great if I won the lottery."

 

[Man of Harveys]

As it's nearly panto season, instead of applause when it's announced, all shout out, 'Oh, no it isn't'.

Please, please let this happen. That would be HILARIOUS.

 

[Superphil]

what do you suggest they do? It depends on the reasons for absence i.e. distance, work, kids, illness etc, issues which a number of people do have to deal with, but I hardly imagine that that applies to the best part of 7,000 people. It appears to be one enormous hissy fit as the team are not playing well. Seems extremely fickle to me. Disappointing.

As it's nearly panto season, instead of applause when it's announced, all shout out, 'Oh, no it isn't'.

This must happen

 

[Return of the Rev]

In our relegation season of 72/73 from the division we are now in the average was 14,188 (no one died)
In our relegation from div 1(premiership) in 82/83 the average was 14,676(no one died)

I think 16k in our present position is pretty good

 

[Buzzer]

The 16k midweek/25k Saturday game attendance ratio is no different to the 5k/7k ratio we used to get at Withdean so as others have said, it's really not that worrying.

 

[chaileyjem]

The actual attendance on Tuesday was 16133.

From a FOI request.

"The council are not required to keep records on a match by match basis of attendance. We review safety management arrangements on a quarterly basis and at that time attendance figures are noted. The ground is an all seater stadium and as such has a limit to its capacity. The recent match that we reviewed which coincidentally was on the 4th November had an attendance of 16,133"

Thats a very quick response to a FOI request. Is it published anywhere ?