The Argus on line

[vulture]

2 same old sport headlines

1)Albion down 500 grand in gate money this year

2)Wilkins and Knight STILL looking for players

Get ready for the same old excues to be rolled out come Jan 31st when the only new players in will be cheap loans

 

[London Irish]

Sadly the two stories can't be disconnected, can they? Plenty of blame to go round about why we can't attract players.


Albion count cost of falling crowds
By Andy Naylor
ALBION are counting the cost of falling attendances at Withdean as the fight for a new stadium at Falmer drags on.

Gate revenue for the Seagulls could drop by almost £500,000 by the end of the season, an Argus investigation has revealed.

Albion played their 14th home match in League One against Millwall last Saturday.

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Millwall were, by coincidence, also the visitors for the Seagulls' 14th game in the Championship last season.

The contrast in the crowd figures make alarming reading for Albion's hierarchy.

The aggregate attendance for the first 14 fixtures has dropped from 93,983 to 82,584, lowering the average gate from 6,713 to 5,898.

Based on an average ticket price of £23, that means Albion are losing £19,000 per match compared to last season.

If the trend continues they will be £437,000 worse off by the end of the campaign.

A drop in away fans, from an average of 625 per match down to 405, is partly responsible for the fall in attendances.

The main reason though - and the big concern for Albion - is the loss of home supporters.

The total figure has dropped from 85,236 to 76,907. That brings the average down from 6,088 to 5,493, almost 600 per match.

The only gate below 6,000 throughout last season was for the final match against Stoke, when Albion were already relegated.

This season the attendance has dropped below 6,000 eight times in 14 matches.

Albion would have anticipated lower crowds in League One than the Championship but it is not just diehard fans who have been turned off.

Corporate hospitality has been hit too. It is much harder to find clients who fancy watching Chesterfield, Northampton or Cheltenham, rather than Leeds, Wolves or Sheffield Wednesday.

The biggest factor of all is apathy towards the Withdean experience. Albion are in their eighth season in their temporary home and people have become fed-up with a makeshift ground with no roof on three sides.

The anti-Falmer brigade are bleeding the club towards a slow and painful death, because the situation will probably only get worse.

Albion's recent slump in form has removed any realistic prospect of promotion back into the Championship.

They are now facing the possibility of relegation to League Two and some season ticket holders have already vowed not to renew next season after missing out on seats for the FA Cup tie at West Ham.

Falmer changes the mood, changes everything. Even though it will take time to build, an end to the Withdean nightmare will be in sight and supporters will have something to look forward to.

We've had more than 90 minutes and extra-time, now a penalty shoot-out. The final whistle for Falmer, signalling an Albion victory, cannot come quickly enough for the club and long-suffering fans.

 

[British Bulldog]

1)Albion down 500 grand in gate money this year

The lack of investment in the team is coming home to roost now, I dont know if it's an individual or the board as a whole but there's been a big miscalculation on the fans generosity and loyalty somewhere. I've spent over £200 following the Albion over the last month and all 4 games have ended in defeats, The only things i've had to cheer are Joe Gattings 1st league goal and signs of a return to form of a few of our young'uns against Millwall. The squad is crying out for a few decent signings to help them develope & go onto better things but the clubs purse strings are remaining tighter than a nuns thingy!

 

[Yorkie]

The club purse strings also rely on gate money?
Yes, the Blooms should dish out more money but what could the club have done with the 500K?

 

[El Presidente]

Yes, the Blooms should dish out more money but what could the club have done with the 500K?

The bank would decide that, not DK.

As Naylor correctly states, the problem stems from LDC rather than the board.

 

[British Bulldog]

The club purse strings also rely on gate money?

This where it becomes a double edged sword though Yorkie because they wont get the crowds through the turnstiles while there's no investment being made in the playing side.

 

[Icy Gull]

This where it becomes a double edged sword though Yorkie because they wont get the crowds through the turnstiles while there's no investment being made in the playing side.

No new faces, further fall in season ticket renewals as well.

 

[El Presidente]

No new faces, further fall in season ticket renewals as well.

It's not new faces though is it, as this season we have had Cox, Rents, Revell, Fraser, Whing, Bowditch, John, O'Caurhill, Elder.

What people want is a BIG NAME, but if you really think that the likes of Danny Dichio, Neil Shipperley, Ben Burgess or that bloke from Orient are going to add a thousand to the gate at Withers you need your head examining IMO

 

[Icy Gull]

It's not new faces though is it, as this season we have had Cox, Rents, Revell, Fraser, Whing, Bowditch, John, O'Caurhill, Elder.

What people want is a BIG NAME, but if you really think that the likes of Danny Dichio, Neil Shipperley, Ben Burgess or that bloke from Orient are going to add a thousand to the gate at Withers you need your head examining IMO

So a striker who knows where the goal is who helps this young and very talented team to climb the table by boosting confidence wouldn't add something to the gate? 1,000 maybe not but 500 plus at least over a short period of time if he made a difference.

Bottom line is do nothing and gates WILL continue to plummet, time for a gamble imo or for me to make an appointment with the head shrink

 

[Publius Ovidius]

Good article by Naylor

 

[Kent Seagull]

Good article and very pro Falmer.

I don't think it's big names that will get the fans back, it's a winning team that's needed. Who wants to sit in the wind and rain watching another defeat? Start challenging for promotion or playoffs and the crowds will return.

I buy tickets for Withdean on the morning of the game. If the weather looks like rain I won't go. It costs me a lot of money to make a round trip of over a hundred miles + ticket etc, I'm not gonna pay good money to get soaked to the skin, especially when the football's crap as well.

 

[British Bulldog]

I'm not gonna pay good money to get soaked to the skin, especially when the football's crap as well.

I can tolerate getting soaked but I need an incentive to do it and the board are not providing that at the moment.

 

[Brovion]

Good article by Naylor

Agreed, that is a very good analysis. I hope he gets some credit on here, people are quick enough to jump on his back whenever he splits an infinitive or whatever.

I'm ALMOST coming round to your view and the views of people like British Bulldog. Even though (as the article clearly demonstrates) we can't afford to buy any new players perhaps it is time to stick the last of the housekeeping money in the transfer market fruit machine and hope for the best. A couple of wins and a few hundred more on the gate to see a successful new face and the transfer could pay for itself. On the other hand of course ...

 

[Stinky Kat]

£23 to get soaked will not encourage floating supporters.

But if they do a special offer they upset all the season ticket holders.

The only solution is to win games playing attractive football.

EASY!

 

[Albion Dan]

Its simple commercial sense, something this board fails to adhere to time and time again.

Lack of investment in players = poor football and poor league position = LOWER ATTENDANCES!!!!!!!!!!!! Liken it to another business... If you own a restaurant and start selling shit food you lose customers!!!

Regardless of Withdean, and I admit that has lost us a fair few supporters, if we were pushing at, or in the play offs then crowds would be much much healthier and the club would be generating more revenue.

If we fail to invest in the team we could well go down, and with this squad there is a good chance wed struggle in Div 2 and be at risk of Conference football. If that happens then kiss Falmer goodbye forever people!!!!

 

[vulture]

Its simple commercial sense, something this board fails to adhere to time and time again.

Lack of investment in players = poor football and poor league position = LOWER ATTENDANCES!!!!!!!!!!!! Liken it to another business... If you own a restaurant and start selling shit food you lose customers!!!

Regardless of Withdean, and I admit that has lost us a fair few supporters, if we were pushing at, or in the play offs then crowds would be much much healthier and the club would be generating more revenue.

If we fail to invest in the team we could well go down, and with this squad there is a good chance wed struggle in Div 2 and be at risk of Conference football. If that happens then kiss Falmer goodbye forever people!!!!

Nail-Head 100% correct

 

[vulture]

It's not new faces though is it, as this season we have had Cox, Rents, Revell, Fraser, Whing, Bowditch, John, O'Caurhill, Elder.

What people want is a BIG NAME, but if you really think that the likes of Danny Dichio, Neil Shipperley, Ben Burgess or that bloke from Orient are going to add a thousand to the gate at Withers you need your head examining IMO

You sure you are not on Tights payroll

 

[Simster]

We need better players. £23 is far too steep to watch a losing bunch of kids, especially in those conditions.

We don't need a single big name signing (it's not as if the locals need to be made aware that the club even exists), but the money does need to be made available to improve the team otherwise gates simply will not increase.

And there is no excuse for this lack of investment. Sorry if its taking years to get Falmer pushed through but its not the fans' responsibility to stump up the extortion that is Withdean rent. And that is what we are expected to do all the while we're watching a shit team of local kids at £23 a pop. The board should have thought about this long before now - they are afterall - going to be the ones making any cash out of the stadium when its built (presumably).

 

[Brovion]

...If we fail to invest in the team we could well go down, and with this squad there is a good chance wed struggle in Div 2 and be at risk of Conference football. If that happens then kiss Falmer goodbye forever people!!!!

Why? A Falmer 'Yes' decision doesn't depend on which division - or even which league we're in. Indeed you could argue that if we were in the Conference, winning games and pushing for promotion, the crowds would be significantly higher than they are at present. Look at Oxford. That would strengthen the Falmer argument not weaken it.

That's why (and I know I'm in a TINY minority) I don't think that relegation, even to the Conference, is the end of the world. However I'm not a STH and I don't have to sit in the rain week after week watching defeat after defeat. I quite understand the 'spend money we haven't got on ANYBODY!' view even if I don't totally agree with it.

 

[Stinky Kat]

Its simple commercial sense, something this board fails to adhere to time and time again.

Lack of investment in players = poor football and poor league position = LOWER ATTENDANCES!!!!!!!!!!!! Liken it to another business... If you own a restaurant and start selling shit food you lose customers!!!

Regardless of Withdean, and I admit that has lost us a fair few supporters, if we were pushing at, or in the play offs then crowds would be much much healthier and the club would be generating more revenue.

If we fail to invest in the team we could well go down, and with this squad there is a good chance wed struggle in Div 2 and be at risk of Conference football. If that happens then kiss Falmer goodbye forever people!!!!

Hmmm speculate to accumulate, nah wont work. DK wont risk putting the club into debt