Attendance next time, season ticket renewals and implications.

I think our home crowds are in danger of collapsing completely. Obviously 3 games and 3 defeats will hardly boost the numbers that bother to go and neither will the standard of performance but it goes deeper than that.

I renewed my season ticket and toddled off to the Cherry Tree to meet up wi' me muckers (no cabal present unless I count as a cabal on my own). Just as per usual. What was not usual was that out of the four of us only two have renewed their season ticket. One has decided that he'll pay match-by-match and save money by not going every week ("at least I won't feel obliged to freeze me bollocks off once a fortnight when it gets cold") and the other has decided not to renew and might not even go at all so disgusted he is at the team's rumbling ineptitude but, most of all, he is aghast at the whole development plan in part because of the negative impact it will have on the park but mostly because of the limitations it will impose on the club ("if Brent is planning for the club to fail then why the hell should I support it?").

These 2 non-renewers have both held season tickets for years and years. One of them even had a season ticket for about 10 years whilst he lived up-country and only saw about half of the home games each season. Yesterday he popped into the boozer, said "hi", had a quick snifter and toddled off into the distance having decided that the Kneehigh Festival would be a better day out.

I am utterly shocked that these people have not renewed their season tickets and if they haven't then I fear for the overall renewal levels at full membership level.

We're currently £5m in debt and we lost money last season. I can't see any other outcome than us losing even more this season.

So don't expect to see much expenditure on the team to see the on-pitch performances improve because that is the only cost that can be cut.

I bet the spreadsheets are out now and the calculation being done is to assess exactly how much money being relegated will cost. Does the Conference allow clubs £5m in debt and with a £3m bill due imminently to join it? It might be interesting if it doesn't.

I had a brief flirtation with the idea of dragging my arse up to Plymouth yesterday, swiftly dismissed as I could find absolutely no reason why it would be a good idea. Had I gone to the CT for some pre match anaesthetic then I could have repeated your chums conversation almost word for word.

Some parts of the cabal are alive and still worming away. They don't want to be associated with ATD though, as it's bad for self promotion at the Theatre of Schemes.

Well if they are they weren't doing it in the Cherry Tree yesterday.

Sir Francis Drake wrote:

Well if they are they weren't doing it in the Cherry Tree yesterday.

They've moved closer to the real action.

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I wish we'd gone some where else for a pre-match pint now.

The other, rather more important, points remain.

I just can't bring myself to go now - ok the football is shite but that's not the overriding factor, it's the faces that are infesting the club now make me urge!! I stated last week I don't care if it all goes pop now - we were not saved for anything to do with football, merely another crony capitalist development which seems to have been rubber stamped from the start!! The fans are being mugged in broad daylight and are always bottom of the list - this will all end in tears and I seriously envisage a point in a few years when you have 200 punters packing the gin palace, overlooking a crowd of sub 3k strung out in the pleb horseshoe!! This corporate nervana will of course be sold to you as the way forward as the sycos chortle and swill the vino - I have no time for Brent and his band of arselickers!!

Bandwagon wrote:

I just can't bring myself to go now - ok the football is shite but that's not the overriding factor, it's the faces that are infesting the club now make me urge!! I stated last week I don't care if it all goes pop now - we were not saved for anything to do with football, merely another crony capitalist development which seems to have been rubber stamped from the start!! The fans are being mugged in broad daylight and are always bottom of the list - this will all end in tears and I seriously envisage a point in a few years when you have 200 punters packing the gin palace, overlooking a crowd of sub 3k strung out in the pleb horseshoe!! This corporate nervana will of course be sold to you as the way forward as the sycos chortle and swill the vino - I have no time for Brent and his band of arselickers!!

Indeed................. I've seen it coming for years, as the silencing of dissent and cosying up to anyone in a suit at HP reached nauseously epidemic proportions on Napoleon's Farm. The reluctant bidder sure knows how to give fools exactly what they dream of, to keep them onside.
An absolute tragedy.

Attendances have held up remarkably over the past 3 seasons despite the shit on the pitch and the blatant lack of any intention to improve things or indeed the lack of any form of ambition at all. But this season will be when attandances finally start to fizzle out. The normal fans who still go won't have the piss taken out of them by brent indefinately. Even ST holders may write off the money they wasted and find better things to do instead.

I'm working when we play up here next week, normally i'd be trying to get a shift swap no matter what but this year I saw the fixtures saw I was working and said "oh well".

This is no longer the Argyle that I fell in love with 20 years ago.

Yep,same here.I know a couple of people who have been long term season ticket holders but who attended yesterday.I didn't see them after the match but you can bet your bottom dollar that they won't be at the next one and now have no reason to feel obliged to turn up for the rest of the season.Must admit that after watching that yesterday,i do wish i'd taken the same course of action and not bought my ST-i was very down last evening,couldn't even bring myself to have a sorrow drowning drink.As you say,there are financial implications involved-biggest gate in the division yesterday but it isn't going to stay that way-expect the stayaways will take the blame again.

Whilst a few guys on here may no longer be going Argyle a hell of a lot of others still are.Yesterday despite only a handful of away fans,the attendance was way over 7000.It was the biggest in the league and a thousand more than the second best attended match yesterday at Bristol Rovers.

Greenskin wrote:

Yep,same here.I know a couple of people who have been long term season ticket holders but who attended yesterday.I didn't see them after the match but you can bet your bottom dollar that they won't be at the next one and now have no reason to feel obliged to turn up for the rest of the season.Must admit that after watching that yesterday,i do wish i'd taken the same course of action and not bought my ST-i was very down last evening,couldn't even bring myself to have a sorrow drowning drink.As you say,there are financial implications involved-biggest gate in the division yesterday but it isn't going to stay that way-expect the stayaways will take the blame again.

You renewed in the end then!

Not to worry John, there are more important things in life, golf for instance. Looking forward to seeing you on Thursday, after the thrashing we gave you at Sparkwell.

greensleeves wrote:

Whilst a few guys on here may no longer be going Argyle a hell of a lot of others still are.Yesterday despite only a handful of away fans,the attendance was way over 7000.It was the biggest in the league and a thousand more than the second best attended match yesterday at Bristol Rovers.

For the first home match of the new season, you would expect a large crowd.

I'd have thought 7,000 was poor given the circumstances. A few more defeats and it'll be way below 5k.

I was surprised over 7,000 turned up Saturday. But after another shocker that will drop to high 5's or low 6's next time.

I also thought we may have been able to reach the dizzy heights of mid-table mediocrity in spite of Brents non-investment this year.

I may have to revise that prediction.  

Yes but the Avivafests, the mural mongfests and the directors' box bunfights all continue unabated. What's not to enjoy ?  

People like Newell, Webb etc think people who refuse to part with there money in return for total cack are weird.

Meanwhile in the real world most people who work hard for there money don't want to give it to an organisation that lets them down time and time again and provides no enjoyment at all.

I say people who give argyle in conditional low are the weird ones

greensleeves wrote:

Whilst a few guys on here may no longer be going Argyle a hell of a lot of others still are.Yesterday despite only a handful of away fans,the attendance was way over 7000.It was the biggest in the league and a thousand more than the second best attended match yesterday at Bristol Rovers.

One would expect that a few short years after averaging over 16 k in the Championship, that England's 14th largest city club should expect something along those lines.
Clubs previously on a par with Argyle prior to top flight exposure hold onto cemented fanbases in tough times. That's why the likes of Norwich and Southampton still averaged about 20k in the third tier.
Argyle could emulate them but the boxed in ministand stadium will make that impossible.

I'm afraid we're stuck with the Avivafesters for a very long time.

greensleeves wrote:

Whilst a few guys on here may no longer be going Argyle a hell of a lot of others still are.Yesterday despite only a handful of away fans,the attendance was way over 7000.It was the biggest in the league and a thousand more than the second best attended match yesterday at Bristol Rovers.

7k is remarkable, cant be much to do in Plymouth these days.
£20 to watch utter dross they must have money to burn.

PlymptonPilgrim wrote:

Greenskin wrote:

Yep,same here.I know a couple of people who have been long term season ticket holders but who attended yesterday.I didn't see them after the match but you can bet your bottom dollar that they won't be at the next one and now have no reason to feel obliged to turn up for the rest of the season.Must admit that after watching that yesterday,i do wish i'd taken the same course of action and not bought my ST-i was very down last evening,couldn't even bring myself to have a sorrow drowning drink.As you say,there are financial implications involved-biggest gate in the division yesterday but it isn't going to stay that way-expect the stayaways will take the blame again.

You renewed in the end then!

Not to worry John, there are more important things in life, golf for instance. Looking forward to seeing you on Thursday, after the thrashing we gave you at Sparkwell.

Succumbed once more i'm afraid Gary.It was the closest i've ever been to not renewing and in fact i waited until last week before doing so in the hope that Sheridan could assemble something decent this year.Yesterday was a fairly shocking experience,a real eye opener.Trying to be as objective and fair as possible,the loan market is there to be exploited but it really shouldn't come to that.The main impression of the Brent regime so far has been that managers have been permanently fire fighting rather than building a team-i can't think of anyone,possibly Blanchard aside,who could to be said to have been a good signing in the long or even medium term.I suppose there is an argument that new players can take a while to settle into a club and i hope that is the case with Morgan [who actually looked quite useful at times yesterday],Boco,Allassandro etc but on the eviidence of the Fletwood match,it sure is a long way off.

Looking forward to Thursday as well-our results have been as bad as Argyle's so far this year in the club matches,hopefully we can put out a decent team and reverse the trend.I've had a bad back in the last couple of weeks and had to pull out of a tournament last week but a bit of physio and a few Ibuprofen sandwiches will hopefully do the trick for Thursday.A mate of mine who plays off 3 at Teignmouth GC came down and played Hurdwick a few weeks ago-he went round in 70,watching that was as big an eye opener as Argyle yesterday. 

Elias wrote:

greensleeves wrote:

Whilst a few guys on here may no longer be going Argyle a hell of a lot of others still are.Yesterday despite only a handful of away fans,the attendance was way over 7000.It was the biggest in the league and a thousand more than the second best attended match yesterday at Bristol Rovers.

7k is remarkable, cant be much to do in Plymouth these days.
£20 to watch utter dross they must have money to burn.

That's the thing though, Elias. I could spend £20 in and or around Plymouth and have a really good, fun, interesting day our somewhere. Why would I spend that £20 on going to watch the current POS at HP?

Vegas33139 wrote:

Elias wrote:

greensleeves wrote:

Whilst a few guys on here may no longer be going Argyle a hell of a lot of others still are.Yesterday despite only a handful of away fans,the attendance was way over 7000.It was the biggest in the league and a thousand more than the second best attended match yesterday at Bristol Rovers.

7k is remarkable, cant be much to do in Plymouth these days.
£20 to watch utter dross they must have money to burn.

That's the thing though, Elias. I could spend £20 in and or around Plymouth and have a really good, fun, interesting day our somewhere. Why would I spend that £20 on going to watch the current POS at HP?

Or you could of stayed in and watched a good game of cricket for less  

mcfry wrote:

Vegas33139 wrote:

Elias wrote:

greensleeves wrote:

Whilst a few guys on here may no longer be going Argyle a hell of a lot of others still are.Yesterday despite only a handful of away fans,the attendance was way over 7000.It was the biggest in the league and a thousand more than the second best attended match yesterday at Bristol Rovers.

7k is remarkable, cant be much to do in Plymouth these days.
£20 to watch utter dross they must have money to burn.

That's the thing though, Elias. I could spend £20 in and or around Plymouth and have a really good, fun, interesting day our somewhere. Why would I spend that £20 on going to watch the current POS at HP?

Or you could of stayed in and watched a good game of cricket for less  

Now watching the cricket is exactly what I was thinking. The football season starts far too early these days.

I haven't renewed my ST for the last 3 seasons, having had one for the previous 10 years. My interest is reducing and it's quite apparent the board's hope is to finish just above relegation. The unambitious ministand and tossers running the club don't help my diminishing interest. I also don't want to line the pockets of Brent whose only ambition is to build his awful retail park and then disappear into the sunset (of Milbay) citing the workload at the pavilions will mean he will have to "reluctantly" hand over his ownership of the club.

What is alarming is the reduction of the amount of POTD adult customers paying the full whack, the Trust survey putting most of the supporters into both ends of the age spectrum.
Finances must be taking a serious hit, years ago i am pretty sure a large percentage of the fan-base were adult paying customers.