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Post by latecomer on Nov 15, 2023 17:55:39 GMT 1
In the 6 years Ive been attending home games the team has generally been fighting uphill battles to stay in a league or been relegated from a league . That will have had an effect on attendences . This season in the last 8 games We have started to lookupwards with an attractive type of football. Pretty sure attendences will improve if we continue in this form .
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Post by Nik on Nov 15, 2023 20:11:53 GMT 1
I think we did average nearly 1000 at home games in our last year in NL.
I also think our home gates now are higher than I remember in the year we were last in this division, suggesting we've kept a bit of residual interest at least. Back then - and I'm open to correction - I think 300-400 was more typical.
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Post by plasticman on Nov 15, 2023 20:43:17 GMT 1
My memory of attendances in the NL was they were typically 800 to 1000. It dropped to around 650 to 750 in the NLN, and has been around 500 to 700 in the NPL. (I've noticed that you can usually roughly estimate the crowd size by multiplying the value of the prize in the 50:50 draw by 4.)
Hopefully, if the good form continues then, to paraphrase a line from Field of Dreams, "they will come"!
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Post by deejayrobertson on Nov 15, 2023 21:32:36 GMT 1
I’d be wary of drawing a false equivalence with the attendances from 2015-2018. The opposition in the National League generally brought higher numbers of travelling support, and tended to be more the sort of teams the floating voters are more likely to have heard of (Grimsby, pre-Disney Wrexham, York, Halifax) so there was more incentive to drop in. Now, I’ll be at Nethermoor regardless of the opposition but I can see how games against Basford, Atherton Collieries and Gainsborough Trinity might have a more niche attraction.
(I’m not suggesting we’re in any way ‘better’ or ‘bigger’ than those teams by the way - just that our current surroundings may appear to the average Joe less glamorous than that of 5/6 years ago…)
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Post by MrP on Nov 15, 2023 21:41:14 GMT 1
Agreed. We played some big (former FL) teams in the NL and NLN who brought big away following (and segregation). Bar FCUM (and now Macc) their really isn’t a team in this league with significant away support.
Like Nik, I think we’ve clung on to support through NL/NLN as crowds are stronger than when last in NPL. I think anything above 500 is a decent crowd at this level. And when we were in NL/NLN we probably had 500-750 regular home followers, the rest made up by away support. We were often outnumbered!
I too remember Fleetwood which for reasons known only to the Police was not segregated but was certainly the largest crowd I’ve been part of at Nethermoor, Reported as nearly 2500 but felt a lot more. There were quite a few instances were crowds felt more than reported in NL 🙈
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Post by adambrid on Nov 15, 2023 21:59:54 GMT 1
Apart from the match itself, the result of which was most welcome plus the excellent entertainment offered by the action involving both sides (including good attacking play and defensive frailties!), the disappointment for me was the size of the crowd in attendance at Nethermoor to see it. I have been told by one or two other fans that in the good (not so) old days, crowds attending matches at home were pushing 1000. I am unsure if this is true or exaggeration but, it made me think, bearing in mind the number at Saturday’s game was in the 500s. Obviously, when teams do better crowds go up and when they are struggling, they begin to plummet. Only, the ultra loyal and the diehards are ever-present. Thus, crowds in the National League or at a first round FA Cup match may well have been a LOT higher. This is true for all teams, although some have more diehards than others! Since moving to live in Guiseley (although being closer to Nethermoor wasn’t the reason for choosing the location, though I had started attending home matches some years previously!) I have often asked a number of spectators who I happen to be talking to where they live. I have, thus far, to come across one who actually lives in Guiseley. (Maybe, I haven’t been talking to enough of them!) This got me thinking about how many in the local community actually come to watch the Lions. There must be football fans within the Guiseley community, but I wonder how many have ever given matches at Nethermoor a try. Are eg free tickets given out to children interested in football in local primary schools? Do players (perhaps in pairs… for safety in numbers and to boost self-confidence!!) go in to visit these schools and talk to the children to talk up the local team and perhaps wave the flag for the Lions? (I am aware for part-timers-this might have to be carefully planned!) Is there ever a one-off offer given for locals to attend for a discount price? I don’t know the answer to these questions, but I never see other Lions’ fans making their way to the game when I set off walking to it down our street or back home afterwards, which I feel is a shame. They’re missing out and…so is the club! It is good that fans support the team (many of them an awful lot longer than I have) from near or far. Yet, Guiseley AFC lies smack in the middle of the Guiseley community and it would be good, for many reasons to increase the number of supporters from within that local community. I am not suggesting reinvention of the wheel here and perhaps there have been numerous strategies tried in order to increase the fanbase in the past. But, it would be nice to increase the numbers coming from Guiseley itself. There are a lot of reasons why watching a local team, within walking distance, should be a viable and welcome choice when it comes to watching football. And, Guiseley AFC is a family-oriented club and prides itself on this. After all, I went to a game once…and then another…and I was ‘hooked!’ Hopefully, in the coming weeks and months, there will be more reasons for new people to be encouraged (of all ages) to come along to join those who already live in Guiseley and support their local side. The person who I spoke to on Saturday said, “Okay, it’s in the 500s, but it’s gradually improving.” Let’s hope he’s right! Some interesting points here, we have in the past ran leaflet campaigns in Guiseley and Yeadon with discount offers on. One thing to consider is on Saturday Leeds and Bradford were at home along with Bradford (Park Avenue) so there was plenty of football on offer in the local area. Add to that it was Graham Alexander's first game in charge at Valley Parade so that might have pulled a few more 'floating' fans than usual there. AB |
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Post by Nik on Nov 15, 2023 23:16:46 GMT 1
Guess the result will have unfloated them.
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Post by rallyman on Nov 16, 2023 10:16:06 GMT 1
As a matter of interest, I was impressed with the Workington following on Sat. Considering the distance they travelled, (although saying that all their away games involve considerable travel), there was a fair few of them at Nethermoor and certainly added to the atmosphere.
Rallyman
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Post by andyhaines on Nov 16, 2023 15:31:18 GMT 1
A thing worth saying on the subject of bringing in kids and the like. When I started coming as a casual, admittedly crowds were much bigger (first year in the National) but it was very difficult to bring my son along. He was about 5 years old I think and we needed a seat as he couldn't see over the barriers. I had a lot of games where I was unable to watch the game as I tried to work out a way we could watch comfortably. We needed to find a seat really but finding a spare one was quite intimidating, as it involves standing in front of the stand trying to spot somewhere that is genuinely free. I stopped bringing him until I bought a season ticket the following year and had a guaranteed seat. I know there is a family area but it's not well indicated so I had no idea it existed and at that time was often full.
This was just my experience and possibly isn't representative but could prove a deterrent. At the time if I brought him along I found it a rather miserable experience.
On the other side of the coin though. How my son has been treated by staff and fans is generally brilliant and it's such a friendly club. It helps that it's basically free to bring him.. well a tenner for his season ticket but it's pretty negligible.
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Post by danmartin on Nov 16, 2023 15:44:47 GMT 1
Much as I want to see an entertaining, successful team competing as high up the pyramid as possible, I have to say that one of my favourite things about non-league and Guiseley is the lack of big crowds. I like being able to get parked at 2:45, get a cup of tea (OK that does take forever even with a tiny crowd) and find somewhere nice and quiet to enjoy the game. I know I'm in the minority, but I don't want crowds and "atmosphere", I want to watch a football match in relative comfort and chat with the people around me.
I'm very disappointed to have missed the last couple of matches but very encouraged by the reports and it just shows what a horrible fun sponge Paul Phillips must have been. Well done to the board for making a much needed change.
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Post by adambrid on Nov 16, 2023 17:26:48 GMT 1
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matt
League One
Posts: 252 
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Post by matt on Nov 17, 2023 17:11:39 GMT 1
I've been watching since the late 80s. I just dont think that the majority of people in Guiseley care for the football club or are pretty ambivalent about it. No idea why. Lived in the town all my life. Guiseley folk are getting older and older! Probably cant the stand the cold!
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Post by mrsann on Nov 17, 2023 19:01:14 GMT 1
I don't think that you can say that Matt,I've lived here since 1979 and we are now surrounded by new houses and the occupants are mostly young families not elderly.You are probably right in saying the core of Guiseley AFC supporters are in the older age group but I think that's the same for all local football at our level,mostly people disgruntled with the antics and money thrown at the game at a higher level.
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Post by lioncub on Nov 17, 2023 19:13:15 GMT 1
Don’t make the assumption Matt that older folk can’t stand the cold!!Yorkshire folk are made of stronger stuff than that . Remember the saying “there’s no such thing as the wrong weather only the wrong clothes!!” 😃
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Post by plasticman on Nov 17, 2023 19:42:04 GMT 1
I don't think that you can say that Matt,I've lived here since 1979 and we are now surrounded by new houses and the occupants are mostly young families not elderly.You are probably right in saying the core of Guiseley AFC supporters are in the older age group but I think that's the same for all local football at our level,mostly people disgruntled with the antics and money thrown at the game at a higher level. They are very good points about young families and the antics and finances at higher levels. Generalising, 40/50+ years ago, men with young and teenage children weren't expected to spend as much time with them as in recent years, so attending football for males these days has become something for those that are relatively free-time rich i.e. the younger and older. Younger people may be attracted by the "glamour" of the bigger clubs, but are unlikely to be able to afford to attend.
My impression last season was that before the difficulties with behaviour and resultant necessary clampdown, the number of those of school-age attending had been growing at quite a reasonable rate. Unfortunately, my gut-feeling was that attendance was being swelled by the apparent promise of trouble-making without personal consequence.
I'm pleased to see that the numbers of younger more vocal supporters seems to be increasing again this season with no obvious problems, though the powers-that-be would be wise to keep a close eye on the situation.
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