The club should look at the away following yesterday

[mastoola 185]

10 hours ago, Nuff Said said:

Nothing to do with the time of year then. All that’s happened is the 20% are staying at home to eat Quality Street.

well at least they get something if quality

[Branston Pickle 3,679]

1 hour ago, Commonsense said:

This is simply untrue. Boxing Day has no trains making away games much more difficult to attend for non drivers. The reality is that last year we played Luton and around 1, 000 was the capacity of the away end. Prior to this we had played at home on Boxing Day. The previous away fixture was in 2019 in the Premier League at Aston Villa. We took 1,500, far fewer than on a normal Saturday. Maybe worth checking facts before making claims!

Quite so.  Travel on Boxing Day is definitely not overly easy.  I recall in years when we played at Ippo or in London (I think I recall Charlton and QPR since the 90s) we had a really good following, but less so elsewhere. 

[JonnyJonnyRowe 451]

1 hour ago, essex canary said:

The 12th man is always needed. Not everyone wants long coach journeys ending at 4am. A match ticket for say 500 fans each at Swansea and Middlesbrough midweek, £25,000 cost. Swansea attracted only 340. Home games need that atmosphere and edge even more. Given the potential rewards for getting to the Prem, a bargain at the price.

How many of those 340 actually live in Norwich though, presume we'd have fans in Bristol, Bath, Cardiff etc, in the modern world people move around. 

Lets be honest, the biggest driver of us taking so few to Swansea away is because the away regulars went all the way to Plymouth 11 days before and saw us get tonked 6-2. Had we beat Plymouth 6-2 I'm sure we'd have seen a few more make the effort. We took 1,600 to that, despite it being the furthest away fixture of the season.

Edited December 27, 2023 by JonnyJonnyRowe

[TIL 1010 4,781]

7 hours ago, essex canary said:

How about a cheaper ST renewal option of Saturdays only or non-Saturdays only?

So how does that work when after the fixture list is released in June and Sky move fixtures to Sunday and Monday ?

[Duncan Edwards 2,261]

12 minutes ago, TIL 1010 said:

So how does that work when after the fixture list is released in June and Sky move fixtures to Sunday and Monday ?

Tough. Unless you own a significant number of shares and missed out on the Bond issue. 

[Greavsy 2,421]

13 minutes ago, TIL 1010 said:

So how does that work when after the fixture list is released in June and Sky move fixtures to Sunday and Monday ?

Don't counter argument with factual reasoning Tilly, thats not how it works with Essex. 

 

[nutty nigel 7,592]

1 hour ago, Commonsense said:

This is simply untrue. Boxing Day has no trains making away games much more difficult to attend for non drivers. The reality is that last year we played Luton and around 1, 000 was the capacity of the away end. Prior to this we had played at home on Boxing Day. The previous away fixture was in 2019 in the Premier League at Aston Villa. We took 1,500, far fewer than on a normal Saturday. Maybe worth checking facts before making claims!

Most factual post on the thread.

Added to those things is the changes since COVID. 

But really instead of posting about other people and what they do if we all post the reasons for what we do we'll end up with some truth at least.

I no longer go away. I used to have an away season ticket but for the last ten years life had changed. I now can't justify the expense, traveling is more difficult as is obtaining suitable tickets. It's mainly the expense though.

 

[canarydan23 4,060]

4 minutes ago, nutty nigel said:

Most factual post on the thread.

Added to those things is the changes since COVID. 

But really instead of posting about other people and what they do if we all post the reasons for what we do we'll end up with some truth at least.

I no longer go away. I used to have an away season ticket but for the last ten years life had changed. I now can't justify the expense, traveling is more difficult as is obtaining suitable tickets. It's mainly the expense though.

 

I stopped going away regularly once I became a Dad 14 years ago. It wasn't do much the expense as the fact that it took out a whole day. Since then away days are generally done to coincide with visiting relatives or friends around the country and making a weekend of it, so we'll all go, but not everyone would go to the game.

I can't remember the last time I went there and back to an away game in a single day.

[essex canary 504]

There is always an excuse for doing nothing when losing 6-2 to a team with a total wage bill only a small fraction of ours and sitting there hoping the next pay day will roll in soon to raise the Club's wage bill above £100 million whilst once again getting thrashed every week. Challenge is even to get back to that point they will need to work for it.

[Duncan Edwards 2,261]

2 hours ago, essex canary said:

There is always an excuse for doing nothing when losing 6-2 to a team with a total wage bill only a small fraction of ours and sitting there hoping the next pay day will roll in soon to raise the Club's wage bill above £100 million whilst once again getting thrashed every week. Challenge is even to get back to that point they will need to work for it.

I wonder if Man City have an “Essex Citeh” who is still bitching about getting done 3-2 by a side with a fraction of their expenditure, no fit centre backs and a load of freebies playing?

It’s football for farks sake. Results happen. We got twatted 7-1 at Blackburn once upon a time. We also got thumped 5-1 at Tottenham the same season. Man United beat Arsenal 8-3. Villa smashed Liverpool. It’s just football. You might as well focus on us winning 2-4 at Highbury with that delightful Robins chip. It’s a load of old pony and focusing on one result is idiotic. We lost 7-1 to Colchester; they’re struggling to stay in the football league. Was it Port Vale that thumped us six something? Absolute nonsense to concentrate on a single result especially when you’ve got more sticks in your armoury than that little piggies house. Literally nobody cares about your personal little beef (pork?) with the club. In fact, I’m going to make it my mission to train a pigeon to sh@t on your seat relentlessly. 

[nu_matik 167]

19 hours ago, essex canary said:

Norwich supporters travel many miles in a typical season. The fixture list this season is much less attractive than when the Away Membership scheme was introduced. What efforts has the Club made to attract loyal support in the face of challenging economic circumstances?

The main crux, efforts aside, is both the current cost of living - Xmas has been a very expensive time, and that we aren't exactly setting the world on fire on the pitch. 

It's not rocket science and I'm not at all worried we took slightly less. If it was a half empty way end I'd be worried, but it wasn't.

[DraytonBoy 160]

I think the season ticket renewals coming up are more relevant than Tuesday's away following, if the play-offs look doubtful and the club do little in the January transfer window then people will think long and hard before renewing.

[Jim Smith 2,339]

11 hours ago, nutty nigel said:

Most factual post on the thread.

Added to those things is the changes since COVID. 

But really instead of posting about other people and what they do if we all post the reasons for what we do we'll end up with some truth at least.

I no longer go away. I used to have an away season ticket but for the last ten years life had changed. I now can't justify the expense, traveling is more difficult as is obtaining suitable tickets. It's mainly the expense though.

 

Other than omitting that both those games were sold out because we were given/took reduced allocations. 

900ish to West Brom for a 3 o’clock game will be by some distance the least fans weve taken there for many years. Similarly we’ve sold out Watford most seasons even for evening games. The away following is down significantly this season and indeed since early on in the season. Some of it may be down to fixture timing but it mostly isn’t. 
 

 

[CUSDP 50]

14 hours ago, Commonsense said:

This is simply untrue. Boxing Day has no trains making away games much more difficult to attend for non drivers. The reality is that last year we played Luton and around 1, 000 was the capacity of the away end. Prior to this we had played at home on Boxing Day. The previous away fixture was in 2019 in the Premier League at Aston Villa. We took 1,500, far fewer than on a normal Saturday. Maybe worth checking facts before making claims!

So yes. We took 600 less two days ago than we did 4 years ago to grounds 10 minutes apart. 
 

other teams managed to travel well without trains. Assume coaches were laid on and they got lifts. 
 

or is there a bigger proportion of non drivers in Norfolk?

didn’t seem to matter when we had that midday kick off at Wigan a few years ago on a Sunday. 

 

Let’s see how many we take to Millwall. Usually we pretty much sell out both tiers. Interesting we’ve still not sold out 1 tier. 

[CUSDP 50]

[Creedence Clearwater Couto 1,297]

22 minutes ago, CUSDP said:

So yes. We took 600 less two days ago than we did 4 years ago to grounds 10 minutes apart. 
 

other teams managed to travel well without trains. Assume coaches were laid on and they got lifts. 
 

or is there a bigger proportion of non drivers in Norfolk?

didn’t seem to matter when we had that midday kick off at Wigan a few years ago on a Sunday. 

 

Let’s see how many we take to Millwall. Usually we pretty much sell out both tiers. Interesting we’ve still not sold out 1 tier. 

Some refuse to accept the blindingly obvious. 

Attendances are down both home and away, because the supporter base in general has lost interest. 

Everything else, trains, Christmas… etc.. is just noise that club apologists try to spin.

[CUSDP 50]

Totally agree @Creedence Clearwater Couto  

my graphic just above paints the picture that some may need to see. 

[hogesar 9,722]

I mean overall it doesn't surprise me. We have a lot of soft fans that aren't really interested anymore unless we're in the Prem or winning every week.

I was always brought up with the notion that we're away from home so there's a good chance we'll lose but we'll enjoy the day. That's how my dad used to sell it to 10 year old Hogesar. And I've been happy with that ever since. 

[nutty nigel 7,592]

7 minutes ago, Creedence Clearwater Couto said:

Some refuse to accept the blindingly obvious. 

Attendances are down both home and away, because the supporter base in general has lost interest. 

Everything else, trains, Christmas… etc.. is just noise that club apologists try to spin.

We don't have to guess why other people do or don't  do things. Surely there's enough supporters on here at least to get a handle on it.

Did you go to WBA?

If not why not?

Build a picture from people's reality.

[Midlands Yellow 4,049]

18 minutes ago, Creedence Clearwater Couto said:

Some refuse to accept the blindingly obvious. 

Attendances are down both home and away, because the supporter base in general has lost interest. 

Everything else, trains, Christmas… etc.. is just noise that club apologists try to spin.

Correct, numbers are 500 down because of two no show seasons in the PL and because we were poor away again last season and this season. 

[Creedence Clearwater Couto 1,297]

14 minutes ago, nutty nigel said:

We don't have to guess why other people do or don't  do things. Surely there's enough supporters on here at least to get a handle on it.

Did you go to WBA?

If not why not?

Build a picture from people's reality.

Lol… it’s not guess work! Well done for perfectly substantiating my point.

[nutty nigel 7,592]

1 minute ago, Creedence Clearwater Couto said:

Lol… it’s not guess work! Well done for perfectly substantiating my point.

You don't know why people do or don't do things. Pretending you do is arrogant.

Are you going to the Millwall or Southampton games

If not why not?

[Creedence Clearwater Couto 1,297]

Just now, nutty nigel said:

You don't know why people do or don't do things. Pretending you do is arrogant.

Are you going to the Millwall or Southampton games

If not why not?

I’m not pretending anything.

Look at CUSDP table above. And then tell me when Norwich were last as low as 15th best away supported club in the championship.

You’re focusing on ‘noise’ instead look at facts and current trends 👍

[littleyellowbirdie 2,577]

Could it just be people are feeling the pinch financially?

[TIL 1010 4,781]

Two reasons why my attendance at away games has dropped to about a dozen games a season.

1. Dean Smith.

2. David Wagner.

[littleyellowbirdie 2,577]

18 hours ago, Creedence Clearwater Couto said:

Rubbish.

The attendances are well down, there’s not even an argument.. but as a club apologist you’ll find one.

What does the club have to apologise for if attendances are down? That's the club's problem to worry about? Surely your only concern is whether you want to go or not?

Edited December 28, 2023 by littleyellowbirdie

[shefcanary 2,444]

For all his faults, Essex has highlighted an important issue, as backed up by CUSDP. Yet how much financially does that impact the club? I believe very little, perhaps a little margin on Club Cabbage, so it probably isn't focussing yet on the Board agenda, however the players in the dressing room are probably noting it. As Nutty is always keen to point out, the reduction in backing on the terraces is  not good for team morale.

The Board will however be conscious of the home support issue. They will have a close eye on season ticket renewals. I'm sure there will be more incentives this year than previously to try and sell out, but I think it will be a very close thing for them to achieve a sell-out (unless the season ticket allocation is somehow managed downward?).

The club is facing a potential circular descent of quality at present, both in the squad and on the terraces in terms of support. Something is needed to break the club out of it. Will the club decide to throw precious funds at the squad? Will they force a change on performances on the pitch? Or will they focus on potentially a less risky campaign of winning back the fans through other means? For me, it really needs to be a proper approach to all three, but to sit and do nothing would be criminal.

[nutty nigel 7,592]

13 minutes ago, Creedence Clearwater Couto said:

I’m not pretending anything.

Look at CUSDP table above. And then tell me when Norwich were last as low as 15th best away supported club in the championship.

You’re focusing on ‘noise’ instead look at facts and current trends 👍

I could guess why. But my point remains we don't have to guess. Tilly's just said why it is for him. That's reality.

 

[FenwayFrank 2,465]

14 minutes ago, TIL 1010 said:

Two reasons why my attendance at away games has dropped to about a dozen games a season.

1. Dean Smith.

2. David Wagner.

That's an interesting car share 😃

[Faded Jaded Semi Plastic SOB 1,036]

1 hour ago, CUSDP said:

So yes. We took 600 less two days ago than we did 4 years ago to grounds 10 minutes apart. 
 

other teams managed to travel well without trains. Assume coaches were laid on and they got lifts. 
 

or is there a bigger proportion of non drivers in Norfolk?

didn’t seem to matter when we had that midday kick off at Wigan a few years ago on a Sunday. 

 

Let’s see how many we take to Millwall. Usually we pretty much sell out both tiers. Interesting we’ve still not sold out 1 tier. 

It depends what the road network is like at the point of departure. I live in South Norfolk, to drive to WBA and back is a good 6.5 hour round trip.

The cost of fuel, food, ticket etc needs to be factored in.

For just £10  I watched the game live at home with my family. I wonder how many people watched the game live from the comfort of their own homes on top of those that travelled?.........