12th is Simply Not Good Enough

So far this season I've been reasonably happy with the level of our attendances as they seem to be somewhat higher than the 05/06.

However I noticed this morning that we are way down in 12th place in the CCC with an average of 16,414. There are nine clubs who are averaging over 20k and it is at this level that we need to aim. Maybe I am expecting too much but our catchment area is densely populated and earnings are good.

Be interested to know how many ST holders we have.

 

Our Attendances are getting higher,a few seasons back in Say Div 1 we were averaging around 12-14 thousand,so over the last few years it has improved.

Their are many big supported teams in this league,so 12th is not bad and over 17k yesterday was very good IMO.

 

We will be unable to hold more than 19000 this season.

Obviously most of the Main Stand is not being used anymore, which takes away about 1000 seats I think, then there is the partition in the Vic. Road end which takes up a load more seats and the fact that half the lower rous is sparsely populated by casuals until the seats get removed.

We won't get close to 20k this season as it is physically impossible.

 

we can't have attendances over 20,000 as our capacity has been lowered due to the redevelopment.

IMO the attendances have been good so far considering a few years back when they were quite a bit lower

 

the fact is if we got another 3,000 in now they're hardly going to add any atmosphere so no point.

 

No point in an additional 3000 fans ?? HAHA !!

 

we cant get over 20,000 due to the building works so many free seats in the lower rous that we cant use and obviously very few in the east stand

 

To be fair, it doesn't mean we will gain 3k more fans when the building work is done.

I think the whole thing sis pointless personally. for the amount of money it is costing us to have 3k more seats? ridiculous.

 

Considering how close we are to London and the population of Watford itself we're doing well to get the numbers we do IMO. Judging by the amount of under 16's at home games these days I'd say our future support will be much bigger than it is now, so the extra capacity will end up being money well spent.

 

The population of Watford town is about 80,000, to get 17,000 or so yesterday is not to bad with so many big teams around, most of Ruislip are QPR fans, while we have a lot fans in Ricky and Chorleywood.


The trick is how can the club attract new fans to come to games on a regular basis.

 

Free/cheap tickets that youngsters can afford would be a start!

£15/£20 to watch a home game for a kid is disgraceful.

 

They do that already, my sister lives in Carpenders Park, and the school gets so many tickets for each game

 

Fair enough, thats very good.

But the price should be lowered for U16's still i feel, most not working and those that do usually have poorly paid part-time jobs!

 

Once building work is complete and we have alot more seats may be the club might consider a standing area where people can stand through the game like you do at some away games which I think could help the atmosphere at vic rd which might help attract more people.

 

You dont REALLY believe that, do you?

 

Aside from the fact that's against the law as it stands, that's a good idea. Pigs might fly before it changes unfortunately.

 

Nah not really probably not even worth discussing

 

In an ideal world we'd have 20,000+ passionate fans, but i know some fans of those clubs with big attendences and half the fans aren't bothered about the team and that create problems with atmosphere and support etc. When the stadium is complete i think it might attract more people, especially with the improved facilities that will create a better day out.

I think the club tries its best with its community work, but maybe us the fans should bring more people along and try and get them into the Watford way of life, especially those who support premiership teams but have never been to a live game (and i'm sure we all know people like that).

Out of interest didnt Wolves sell over 15,000 season tickets alone?

 

Yes but didn't we sell 10,000?

Thats over half the stadium purely on ST holders. That is very good.

Wolves have the capacity to sell more tickets, and are a bigger club anyway.

I think we are jumping the gun here. A cameo appearance in the Premiership won't give us a huge attendance. If we stay in the Fizzy Pop, then no matter what our stadium is it is only us lot that will go and see.

Considering that at the minute there are only about 7000 tickets available to on-day AND away fans, we have a healthy following.

We spend too much time on here finding problems :dismay:

 

It was 11,000+ ST holders I think.

 

The Manager/Board certainly don't have little club mentality and though it will be a slow process we will become a club capable of challenging for honours.

Support is the bedrock of any club (rugby, cricket, football ... you name it) and I believe that to attract the future supporters of the club we need to be giving huge incentives to attract this type of person.

2nd IMO is image ... like it or not we need to generate an image that inspires people. The stadium doesn't help but that is a work in progress.

What we need is to try and ditch the little old Watford tag and embrace something that will see us progress. 'Watford Hornets' may sound a tad too American for the purist but in the selling game may actually attract the fringe supporter. Even the kit design affects support and in this area I don't think we can fault Diadora, problem is they do a pretty good job for alot of other CCC clubs.

We need to keep the soul of the club alive and be ahead of the game attracting support by being innovative.

These are exciting times, great squad, young keen manager, a board of directors who have worked miracles (starting with an appointment nobody predicted) lets all make the most of it.

 

I don't think any self-respecting Watford fan will ever agree to 'Watford Hornets'. It would be the most pointless and ridiculous sounding name change ever.

The soul of the club is in the 'little club' mentality - it is intrinsic to being Watford FC.

With the replacement of the Main Stand we lose some of the character of the stadium, however it looked like a shed and while I am sorry to see it go, I will be pleased to have an impressive new stand there.

Future supporters of the club will be attracted to Watford for the same reasons they have been for the last 30 years, its just we will have more of them because we will hopefully be in a higher league. I'm not sure what kind of 'incentives' you are talking about, but the fact is that these 'new' people are exactly the same as us, they just need to be versed in the ways of the Watford.

The stadium will only ever be a 24,000 seater, but it will be our 24,000 seater. The next stage of what you are saying would be to say "well, we are in the big time now, lets go build a bigger stadium miles away so we can get a massive fan base." I don't buy into that one little bit.

We are not Man U, and hopefully we will never be Man U. If we get to the Premiership, selling the club will be **** easy. Local team in Premiership with relatively low prices. It sells itself. It involves no innovation. Hopefully then those people who have come glory hunting will grow to love Watford like we do, so if we ever fall out the League then they will stay and we will have bigger support.

We won't ever have a massive fanbase being so close to London. Pretty much all the people who want to see Watford play in the fizzy Pop are there now. A new stadium won't change that, it will just have more empty seats.

I like having a club that is not massive. It doesn't mean it cannot be successful.

 

Couldn't have put it much better myself. Spot on. 24,000 will serve us perfectly well for the short-to-middle term.

 

spot on there agree completely

 

Also agree with that, our ground does have character and i'm happy being a big-small club. 24,000 seater (and an area of terracing if the F.A does pass these new laws) and i'll be happy. Certainly glad we haven't built one of those purpose build stadiums e.g M.k Dons, Southampton, Reading etc or worse leave Watford (like Everton planning on leaving Liverpool).

I agree about season tickets, 10,000 was a very good number I only mentioned Wolves because I was impressed by the amount they sold and once complete our stadium will be of a similar standard. I still believe that to sell more tickets on the door we should encourage those we know to go, rather than relying on the club to generate interest. Though the clubs decision to put the price up on match days no doubt deters neutrals who might just pick a random game to attend on the day (then again do we want to just fill up the empty seats with neutrals?)

 

It does deter neutrals but the upshot is me and you can get in quicker, as WFC should be better able to predict how many turnstiles need to be open if they know in advance 90% of the attendance.

 

I don't think anyone would want us to become massive but at least large enough to be able to compete in the transfer market and attract quality players.

24k week in week out would be a decent base but just look at the Readings, Charltons and Boltons are they happy with 24k ????

I suppose with more emphasis being on TV revenue there is less on gate receipts and in a way the TV money does actually level the playing field in favour of the smaller club.


Ady has a great chance of promotion this season I just hope that he doesn't start another Prem campaign with his hands tied behind his back playing hoofball just because he can't attract the type of quality he can trust to play the game as it should be played.

 

Bolton aren't a good example - their stadium is a ghost town for 18 home matches a season. Reading have a huge catchments area and their direct competition is very weak (Oxford, Swindon) so they're naturally picking up 'fans'. Even Charlton have a decent catchment area but I will agree their policies for fan attraction are probably the ones to learn from. Those things take years to develop though and anyway, it's always been fans before seats with Charlton, not the other way round.

 

Agreed about Bolton however Reading are on the Westcoast line and fans can reach London in no time at all. Charlton have some of the most innovative schemes to attract fans, I like this season where if the addicks get promoted all ST holders will get next season FREE.


2007-2008 Premiership Attendances
Team Average Attendance
Arsenal 60,107
Aston Villa 38,997
Birmingham City 24,929
Blackburn Rovers 25,899
Bolton Wanderers 22,500
Chelsea 41,545
Derby County 31,646
Everton 36,535
Fulham 22,019
Liverpool 44,000
Manchester City 44,287
Manchester United 75,666
Middlesbrough 25,617
Newcastle United 50,755
Portsmouth 18,809
Reading 23,459
Sunderland 44,806
Tottenham Hotspur 35,658
West Ham United 34,357
Wigan Athletic 16,323

 

I understand that Reading is linked well to London so people can easily 'escape' to Arsenal/Spurs/Chelsea if they wish, but the fact is it's far enough away that with a Premiership club in town RFC are an easy draw. Watford, on the other hand, is a de facto part of London for the sake of football. With the tube and London buses, aside from the 15min mainline, we can easily lose people to the London clubs.

Personally, this is where I think WFC have it wrong. We should stop marketing ourselves as a London club, and start marketing ourselves as Hertfordshire's only professional league club. There are roughly 1 million people in our own county, yet I'd bet 600,000 have never even thought of Watford as their local club. This is the untapped resource the club have only just touched the surface of with it's coaches last season. Time for a re-branding I think.

 

Agree, i've always felt the same. Buckinghamshire and Bedfordshire only have a total of 3 other teams as well so we should be able to tap into those resources to. Transport costs less than getting into london (don't need a travel card) and easier to park.

 

Reading 23,459

Wigan Athletic 16,323



*******s is 24k not enough attendance. Charlton can afford to give up an entire season's ST revenue. We can't.

I don't know how we can make ourselves Hertfordshire's club to be honest. We are pretty much in London, stuck right in the corner of the county. Its a trek for most of the county to get to us.

 

Its even more of a trek for them to watch anyone else aswell though. I am not interested in ever sitting next to "neutrals" if i wanted to do that i would probably support a different club.

 

Absolutely. I have no interest in attracting fringe, glory hunting losers.

They can go and jump on the Man U bandwagon.

 

Make people sit an exam on Watford before you let them buy a season ticket.