**** poor attendance

[rebus]

We only got 9,500 for the second leg against Bristol City in 1997.

 

[big neil]

i didn't go yesterday.
5 previous play off blow outs coupled with the pathetic fizzle out v blakpool & hartlepool made my mind up for me.
it doesn't mean i won't be there again next season i just wanted a break from the inevitable empty feeling of disappointment while the away end parties.

 

[ChinaBee]

Two people around me left with 5 minutes of the first half remaining, now I find that very annoying, although I guess we got their money

 

[Garybaldbee]

I live in Staines, where every other **** seems to be a Chelsea fan. .

I'm not

Actually there are quite a few Bees in the Staines area. Its not unusual to see a red and white striped shirt in the Elmsleigh Centre - but I take the general point.

 

[Les Beeavinu]

I'm not

Actually there are quite a few Bees in the Staines area. Its not unusual to see a red and white striped shirt in the Elmsleigh Centre - but I take the general point.

You, sir, are not a **** then.

 

[lalalalalalalalalaBooker]

The realtively poor attendance had a lot to do with way we ended the season. I don't think there was much expectation to drive ticket sales along. I've never queued up for tickets at GP with so many glum unexpectant faces around me. Buying a ticket out of loyalty/habit/stupidity is only a short step away from not bothering to go. Contrast with the rush to get tickets for Bournemouth(A) at a time when we were expecting promotion.

 

[Gee Bee]

Of course. All too vividly. But thats why I said relatively smaller - although our crowds have risen since then its not been at the same rate as the increases most other clubs have experienced since those very dark days. Some examples from 1984/5 of clubs which had a similar or smaller average home gate than the 4,074 we recorded that season;

Swansea 4,421
Cardiff 4,363
Burnley 4,177
Preston 3,793
Reading 3,689
Crewe 2,271
Southend 2103
Northampton 1,824
Tranmere 1,595

Look at the increases experience by all of those since and compare it with the extra 1,500 that we've gained.

Swansea & Northampton apart, all of those clubs saw an upturn in attendances because of successes on the pitch, they all have had consistent stays in what is now the championship. Swansea, Reading & Northampton have also seen new stadia help the cause. It is success on the pitch which brings in the crowds, end of.

 

[Oxford Bee]

I suspect that I'm in a pretty small minority among Bees fans, but 12.15 on a Sunday is not a great time for Bees-supporting clergy, who live more than a stone's throw from GP.

Before anyone suggests that church-going is a minority activity, the statistics say that more people attend church than football matches on any given weekend.

We did pray for those in need of support yesterday, but I didn't actually have BFC in mind as I said it.

 

[WILTSHIREBEE]

I dont blame anyone for not going yesterday.......lets face it most of us that did didnt think we were going to do it.........but you never know in football anything can happen in 90 minutes.......unfortunateley it doesn't look like it will happen to us.



The club is dying through years of mis-management and i'm pretty sure that in my lifetime it will be no more.

I personally will never give up until the very end, its in my blood i'm a third generation bee and i always will bee.

You can't turn back the clock,the royal oak days are gone and this club will never bee the same,we've got no money and very small support,at last ive realised that we are now just a small club with big ambitions(well us fans have big ambitions anyway),plenty of mistakes have been made over the last few years by the various individuals in charge of our club but now theres no going back,no club owned by its fans has been successfull and neither will we bee.

We need someone with a huge bank balance just to keep us afloat or i'm afraid the conference beckons.

So come on bees united we all did our bit to help you take control of our club now lets see you do what you promised and make us financially stable whatever it takes!

P.S. for big club see swansea.....there support was magnificent and i have nothing but respect for them as well as a teeny-weeny touch of envy.

 

[Les Beeavinu]

If we had spent £600k on forwards and were playing the second leg on a Sunday, we would have taken 2500.

 

[nocoat]

Wouldn't be so sure of that.

 

[KD]

B) The number of ****ing ***** I passed on the way back home, in the Brentford/Ealing area who didn't seem to have a clue that a game had been going on and were trying to work out why myself and others look so dejceted. Some of them had Arsenal, Chelsea or Scum U shirts on and it made me sicker then anything else. If these tossers started actually taking an interest and supporting there local team, then we'd have the money to keep players like DJ and the council would have to take us a damn sight more seriously regarding a new stadium (no matter how poorly organised the board.) I came out of that game looking for someone to blame and suddenly it dawned on me its all the tossers in the Brentford area who just completly ignore us, its time our football club got some more support from the whole community.

I had exactly the same experience, compunded by being locked out of one of the pubs on the way home because they didn't want football fans in there and then not being able to find anyone for me and a neutral mate to commiserate with in my local because they didn't have a clue what we were on about. This was all within 20 minutes walk of the ground. I think the (40%?) of the core who live locally have to ask ourselves what we're doing to bring this club to life with our neighbours and friends. I find a lot of comfort, information and laughs on this site but it can also lead me to be too internally focussed on the already converted. I can't wait to bring any kids I might have to Griffin Park but if it is still going to be standing then I have to get to work more quickly and work on those around me. I'm pretty sure a couple of mates who came this year will be back for a bit more next year. This year, for their first experience came my wife, two brothers in law, three mates, a neighbour's son and a work colleague. Even my Swedish mother-in-law now asks me about the Bees at the start of her long distance telephone calls (bless her she thought they had gone down with food poisoning due to a dodgy lasagne).

The club has a great community scheme, they can do more but so can those of us who live locally. YOU REDS.