Attendances

[drummergull90]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but weren't we getting 3,000+ every game last time we were top of league 2? Its difficult to see what has changed.

[cosmic74]

I have always been a firm believer that the club does not do enough to make it more attractive to the man/woman who wants to go along to the game with 2,3 or more kids. Last season it cost me £21 for me and my 2 boys to get into Shrewsbury thanks to their great family pricing scheme. Whereas at Plainmoor it costs me almost £30. If you can get the kids hooked early, then I believe they are less likely to be running around in Chelski and Man U shirts and instead crave that real feeling of watching a real game on the terraces, rather than Sky Sports 26HD $D or whatever it's called. With money so tight these days, a better pricing scheme that encourages more kids through the turnstiles can only benefit the club in the long run.

Also I would like to point out that there are a lot of Gulls fans like myself that can't get to the games for reasons other than because they would rather sit in their front room on a Sat afternoon that make their way to Babbacombe. Whether that be because they are exiled, work commitments or whatever. I live less than a mile from the ground but can only get to 6 games this season,because I work away for long periods. If I worked in Torquay I would be there every game.

Also, a lot more clubs are giving discount to Armed service personel and their families. Maybe this is something the club could look at doing. Sorry if that sounds a bit selfish!

[numpte]

2600 is about average for September against an undesirable team with no support. Whats all the fuss about.

[Dave]

2600 is about average for September against an undesirable team with no support. Whats all the fuss about.

do not agree,in our first season in the conference in semptember home to the likes of drolysden who have even less away fans,the our average gates were 3158 for that month,which shows what the club are capable of achieving in support.

saturday the gate was 2598,thats 560 less,if say 400 were adults and 160 were kids,that would work out to appox £169,000,in extra income on the gates alone,what would that do for the playing budget.

that to me is what the fuss is about.

[Dave]

WIVELGULL,do not agree with what you are saying re,age groups,iam 41 most of my mates are in there 40's,and if you look around the popsdie next time you go i think you will find the biggest age group on the popside is 35-45.

FONDA,shane i do see were your going with TORBAY UNITED,however i do not think that would work,for a start you have to think about the healthy support tufc has in newton abbot and kingstiegnton,fans from these would proberly say how about us in the name.

its more likely to be traverling from brixham ,paignton,totnes,newton abbbot etc,that may put fans off,i wonder how many think i will go the game saturday,then come saturday think oh the traffic the parking,nah wont bother.

as we all know tufc in the past have run buses in from south hams and teignbridge,and i know a few have suggested the club has a look at re-starting that service,iam led to believe the club has a pretty good deal with hookways,and a park and ride bus from paignton,and from newton abbot,may help to increase gates,and if sucsessful the service would pay for itself and then some,or a small charge for the user if prefered.

for me it is down partly to apathy ,25 years ago you would hear many say tufc lack ambition,cant afford to go up,sadly that same attitude still exsist's out there today.

how many times over the last 25 years have the club had,manager,assitant manager,goalkeeper coach,reserve team,youth team,centre of exellence,and its own training ground,and it does not flood bargin,tufc is no longer the joke league 2 club it once was,agree with plymouth gull we should not just except our level support,the club has to sell the product more,and convince the local man.u and chelsea t.v watchers,that tufc is a serious football club worth watching.

i do not think the club can do any more to target the kids than they are already doing,with football in the community,also local clubs can take there teams in for training with f.prince,the club also host kids birthday party's,to me the trick is attracking a child when he is 11,and keeping him/her as a fan for life,rather than the child reaching 18 and dissapearing of to the premier league.

over all i do not know what the answer is,however so far this season northampton have average gate of 4855,if they can why not us.

[Fonda]

WIVELGULL,do not agree with what you are saying re,age groups,iam 41 most of my mates are in there 40's,and if you look around the popsdie next time you go i think you will find the biggest age group on the popside is 35-45.

FONDA,shane i do see were your going with TORBAY UNITED,however i do not think that would work,for a start you have to think about the healthy support tufc has in newton abbot and kingstiegnton,fans from these would proberly say how about us in the name.

its more likely to be traverling from brixham ,paignton,totnes,newton abbbot etc,that may put fans off,i wonder how many think i will go the game saturday,then come saturday think oh the traffic the parking,nah wont bother.

as we all know tufc in the past have run buses in from south hams and teignbridge,and i know a few have suggested the club has a look at re-starting that service,iam led to believe the club has a pretty good deal with hookways,and a park and ride bus from paignton,and from newton abbot,may help to increase gates,and if sucsessful the service would pay for itself and then some,or a small charge for the user if prefered.

for me it is down partly to apathy ,25 years ago you would hear many say tufc lack ambition,cant afford to go up,sadly that same attitude still exsist's out there today.

how many times over the last 25 years have the club had,manager,assitant manager,goalkeeper coach,reserve team,youth team,centre of exellence,and its own training ground,and it does not flood bargin,tufc is no longer the joke league 2 club it once was,agree with plymouth gull we should not just except our level support,the club has to sell the product more,and convince the local man.u and chelsea t.v watchers,that tufc is a serious football club worth watching.

i do not think the club can do any more to target the kids than they are already doing,with football in the community,also local clubs can take there teams in for training with f.prince,the club also host kids birthday party's,to me the trick is attracking a child when he is 11,and keeping him/her as a fan for life,rather than the child reaching 18 and dissapearing of to the premier league.

over all i do not know what the answer is,however so far this season northampton have average gate of 4855,if they can why not us.

You make a very good point Dave.

South Devon FC...?

[happytorq]

Have to say that £16 is a bit steep for 4th level football. (I paid less than that at New York Red Bulls the other day, and I got to meet Thierry Henry and ride the train back into the city with him. Good guy)

But more than that, it's that same old story of apathy in the Bay.Our away support is fantastic when compared with the home attendances, and that's almost certainly because South Devon is often either somewhere you move away from, or retire to. Combined with the ubiquitous Sky coverage of pretty much everything, people are always going to be loath to go out to watch live football. This is why the club (and lower league football in general) needs to do more to make it appealing for people to come.

And no, I don't have any great ideas, sorry.

[Jerry]

I blame the low attendance on Sky Sports, fringe supporters who may not come regular are more likely to stay at home with their subscription watching Chelsea drum West Ham than they are to go out to Babbacombe and watch Torquay.

Also I would like to point out that there are a lot of Gulls fans like myself that can't get to the games for reasons other than because they would rather sit in their front room on a Sat afternoon that make their way to Babbacombe.

Maybe this explains the poor attendances, the missing fans are heading to Babbacombe on a Saturday afternoon instead of Plainmoor?

[yellowmonkey]

As I have said on the other forum, it cost me £34.50 Saturday for 90 min of entertainment. I got two free tickets so took along friends who support premiership teams to show them real live football, I stood at the plopside turnstile with my two eldest kids and then was told I couldnt got through with them and had to leave them to pay and meet me on the otherside as it was the juniors entrance. We then stood in line at half time for 15 min to get a drink at £1.50 a time with pushing and shoving of some ignorant people and people wonder why they dont get return business. My kid's asked to go to the cinema instead next time, thaks TUFC for a nice father/son bonding day

[Dave]

Have to say that £16 is a bit steep for 4th level football. (I paid less than that at New York Red Bulls the other day, and I got to meet Thierry Henry and ride the train back into the city with him. Good guy)

But more than that, it's that same old story of apathy in the Bay.Our away support is fantastic when compared with the home attendances, and that's almost certainly because South Devon is often either somewhere you move away from, or retire to. Combined with the ubiquitous Sky coverage of pretty much everything, people are always going to be loath to go out to watch live football. This is why the club (and lower league football in general) needs to do more to make it appealing for people to come.

And no, I don't have any great ideas, sorry.

the thing is happytorq,you can pay up to £20 to go in at barnet,and northampton as said above with an average gate 4855,you pay up to £19 to go in.

whilst £16 may seem steep,it is compared to other league 2 sides a very competative price.

[Mav]

2600 is about average for September against an undesirable team with no support. Whats all the fuss about.

thats so far from being incorrect it's embarrising. From last weekend, only Morecombe who are at the foot of the table had a lower attendance than us. 2,500 for a team top of the table is very very poor indeed. Not sure what the answer is, but something needs to be done to try and encourage more people to turn up on a saturday. If we start to slide and see a run of poor results, is our attendenance likely to slip below the 2,000 mark? The only saving grace for us at times is some of the very good away support which helps bolster our numbers. this is a factor which goes against us compared with other clubs due to the geography. Clubs like Accrington are never likely to bring many supporters as the distance to travel is so huge. With at least 10 Northern clubs in the division, along with a fairly heavy midlands (loosely) based clubs, we are always going to struggle with poorer away support which effects the totals we see.

[Fonda]

thats so far from being incorrect it's embarrising. From last weekend, only Morecombe who are at the foot of the table had a lower attendance than us. 2,500 for a team top of the table is very very poor indeed. Not sure what the answer is, but something needs to be done to try and encourage more people to turn up on a saturday. If we start to slide and see a run of poor results, is our attendenance likely to slip below the 2,000 mark? The only saving grace for us at times is some of the very good away support which helps bolster our numbers. this is a factor which goes against us compared with other clubs due to the geography. Clubs like Accrington are never likely to bring many supporters as the distance to travel is so huge. With at least 10 Northern clubs in the division, along with a fairly heavy midlands (loosely) based clubs, we are always going to struggle with poorer away support which effects the totals we see.

Really...?

Torbay is a poor area. Until things change in the Town as a whole, they wont change at Plainmoor.

[Awayday]

Don't forget Torquay only has a 180 degree catchment area rather than the 360 degree catchment area of most other small town clubs, therefore only have half the catchment area. Along with no money in the area, and quite alot of exciles due to work, no wonder we are not doing 4,000 week in week out. I also heard the other day a family of fairly regular Torquay fans have now purchased Man Utd season tickets........

In my honest opinion the ground could do with a lick of paint and have some upgrading done. The food (in the popside) could do with being..... better.

I have to agree with Fonda's points, also some plan to get people from the local area to the ground as someone else has mentioned.

I am looking forward to taking my daughter to her first Torquay game (Morecambe at home) but just realised for the 3 of us it is going to cost £42, which is not the cheapest day out for us. Again cheaper family tickets may encourage more people to come. If the club do a family ticket can they please remember not all of us have the conventional 2 adults, 2 children. Why don't they do something like 2 adults for £30 and £5 for every child with them, and the kids get a free programme or Torquay notepad or something?

[yellow]

That is an interesting angle on the debate awayday.

Although when you consider all coastal clubs there is no clear pattern. From the crowds at the likes of Newcastle, Liverpool, Sunderland, Pompey, Cardifff and Southampton it would seem that population density and historic allegiances to the club have more influence.

In addition competition from rival clubs affects those with 360 degree catchment areas. Rochdale and Accrington Stanley are but two that spring to mind. There are many more.

As for TUFC fans becoming Manc season ticket holders. May they rot in hell...

[numpte]

[quote="Mav] thats so far from being incorrect it's embarrising.[/quote]

Are you therefore agreeing with me?