789 crowd - request for help

[princes town]

Just read with interest the posts by Quakerz and Santino as to why the crowd was so low tonight when compared to the numbers who attended Saturday at Marske. The truth is we don't actually know the reason for the lower crowd so does anybody think it worthwhile do a little survey as to why people could attend one or not the other or even both. Given the cancellations it seems that midweek games are going to be a fact of life so if there are issues about playing at bishop or other issues its probably worth exploring?

I'd be happy to do it but I don't know what tool you use. If people think it is a crap idea just tell me. If not can somebody advise on the facility.

[m62exile]

1. Winters night
2. Game in doubt until late on.
3. Rearranged fixture so exiles / shift workers will have had other plans.
4. School night - rule out the kids.
5. Frickin freezing
6. Lot of people don't fancy a drive out of town after dark.
7. Loads of people including me work away during the week.
8. England on the tele.

How's that for a starter?

[Darlo.For.Life]

Why don't you start a poll?

[princes town]

Why don't you start a poll?

that's what I want but don't know how to do a poll.

Cheers for the preceding post I can include those. I'm sure denis would be interested.

[Quakerz]

Fuck me, we don't need a poll. We don't need reasons, and nobody needs to justify themselves.

I'm only concerned with the result, not the causes, because we'd never get a crowd for a top of the league team in Darlo on this night, as low as this one.

For me, it is just a wake up call about the size of our fan base and ability to get to Bishop on a Wednesday night.

[princes town]

I'm only concerned with the result, not the causes, because we'd never get a crowd for a top of the league team in Darlo on this night, as low as this one.

That's the bit I wanted to verify. If it is england on the tele then it doesn't matter if it was in darlo or dartford. You're jumping to a presumption that you're not backing up by evidence. I certainly didn't want people to justify anything but just wanted to know if there is anything that can be done. So if it was England we could move the game to a Tuesday, if it was the weather nthing anybody can do. If it was Bishop then you might be right. That's all. I won't do a poll.

[Quakerz]

Look, I'm not so deluded that I think we would have got anything other than a s*** crowd in Darlo too, but not this poor! Especially considering no home game for 7 weeks and many of the hard core itching to go tonight!

[princes town]

Look, I'm not so deluded that I think we would have got anything other than a s*** crowd in Darlo too, but not this poor! Especially considering no home game for 7 weeks and many of the hard core itching to go tonight!

It was seriously poor. You know I've taken the view that we should not go back to the arena but I did just wonder whether this access thing might be so much more important than I think. You've supported the club a lot longer than me so probably are better placed than me to understand the psyche of the local public.

[Quakerz]

The Arena is too far for a lot of them! You can never second guess the Darlo public either, but obviously gates would be a bigger than they are now. We'd still have the same ups and downs though.

[princes town]

The one consolation is that an uninspiring midweek game on a cold night in February still delivered a crowd higher than budget. Last year the gate went down from around 1750 to 1400 roughly at the Arena. At Harrogate a 400 crowd would go down to 180 midweek. There is clearly something about midweek that is not good for grassroots football. I wish they had extended the season now to be honest.

[cameron-darlo]

I knew it would be a pretty low crowd because it was freezing and England were on TV, Although i did think there would be more than 800

[AndyPark]

I know myself and a few others couldn't go due to work commitments!

[Fatty eats roadkill]

Too bleeding cold and the last time I went mid week whilst on earlies I slept in the next morning.

Do I feel guilty? No, but then I have a ST so the club already has my money.

[Bogratsteve]

Couldn't take the risk of the match being pulled last min with a 2 1/2 hour drive and it was snowing down here.

[DarloD]

I went last night.
My sons cried off as it was too cold and after an hour I wished I was with them!!

[Mullet69]

I couldnt be arsed. 130 mile round trip, park football, lateish finish from work.

I'll save myself for Saturday aways on the train. The football means little to me anyway so im really only paying it lip service

Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk 2

[dickdarlington]

Perhaps it was a good thing that the crowd was so low. That performance would have put a lot of fans off. It was woeful.

Getting back to the town is key. But it needs to be done right, and as long as things are progressing, I'm happy to stay at Bish for a couple more seasons.

Knee jerk reactions both ways will not achieve anything beneficial. Unless we can get the Arena for 25KPA then Bish wins hands down, and the stance of the board to find a home SUITABLE to our needs will continue without many of us knowing what is happening until a time where things can be communicated.

[princes town]

Too bleeding cold and the last time I went mid week whilst on earlies I slept in the next morning.

Do I feel guilty? No, but then I have a ST so the club already has my money.

nor should you feel guilty. Too mnay cancellations, too many midweek games is the problem compounded by a 10 mile trip

[sada8022]

I was there last night and indeed it was cold but no colder than some nights in the arena, i really belive its the out of town problem. I think all this call for us to be back in town is correct but i cant see us back for at least 5 years if the arena is out of bounds (which i think is madness).
I have said it before how are we going to find somewhere in the town in the next couple of years if its not the arena ?

[Quakerz]

I have said it before how are we going to find somewhere in the town in the next couple of years if its not the arena ?

We won't.

If we were in a position to be back in a couple of years, we'd already have plans drawn up, a site identified, planning permission granted, and would already be fundraising and applying for grants to enable the build. We'd know where we stood and what we needed to do to make it happen.

Let's not forget that even with all of the above in place, fundraising could go slower than expected, thus putting the ground further back.

The fact is, we don't even have a firm plan in place. How do I know? Because if we had one, we'd know about it.

Bottom line, we are nowhere on this. That's not having a go at the board by the way, they can only do what they can do. I don't know the reasons why we are nowhere, but it could well be that, ooh I dunno, due to buying the club and paying debt, we have no money...sounds feasible!

It could be that members of the board can't agree on priorities, remember we are no longer a club where the chairman says what goes, everything has to be agreed by all. In some ways this is a good thing for obvious reasons, but in other ways it can be a bad thing because you could often end up in situations on a project where no one can agree and progress is halted...

[Darlo_Pete]

Wednesday's are really bad for me, but I couldn't make it last night anyway, as I'm signed off work for 3 weeks.

[loan_star]

Wednesday's are really bad for me, but I couldn't make it last night anyway, as I'm signed off work for 3 weeks.

Council worker in long term absence shock!!

[JazzyM]

Partner works shifts and young kids in bed so we only ever can make Saturday games unfortunately. Have to say, we live in Darlo and the way the buses are organised to Bishop by the Trust, its actually a lot easier for us going to HP than getting to the Arena.

[number_one]

Wednesday's are really bad for me.

Talk to us Pete, we can help you get to Thursday.

[Darlospike]

Wednesday's are really bad for me.

Talk to us Pete, we can help you get to Thursday.

he's right though Peter, we could set up a new forum room and everything.

[jimmyht]

I have said it before how are we going to find somewhere in the town in the next couple of years if its not the arena ?

We won't.

If we were in a position to be back in a couple of years, we'd already have plans drawn up, a site identified, planning permission granted, and would already be fundraising and applying for grants to enable the build. We'd know where we stood and what we needed to do to make it happen.

Let's not forget that even with all of the above in place, fundraising could go slower than expected, thus putting the ground further back.

The fact is, we don't even have a firm plan in place. How do I know? Because if we had one, we'd know about it.

Bottom line, we are nowhere on this. That's not having a go at the board by the way, they can only do what they can do. I don't know the reasons why we are nowhere, but it could well be that, ooh I dunno, due to buying the club and paying debt, we have no money...sounds feasible!

It could be that members of the board can't agree on priorities, remember we are no longer a club where the chairman says what goes, everything has to be agreed by all. In some ways this is a good thing for obvious reasons, but in other ways it can be a bad thing because you could often end up in situations on a project where no one can agree and progress is halted...

Ive done the paperwork and stuff for a Football Foundation Grant - just for a set of floodlights, with all the stuff that has to be done it was 12 months from start to finish. Times that by what it would entail to sort out a ground from scratch with planning etc - its a long road ahead

[Quakerz]

Indeedy.

Arena please.

[sada8022]

As we are now a community club should a decision as important as this go to the vote and not just the directors choice

[m62exile]

As we are now a community club should a decision as important as this go to the vote and not just the directors choice

Not at all. Membership vote in the board who make decisions on behalf of them. If the members don't like it, they don't get voted back. Good communication and a rationale for decisions is a key expectation, but voting rights on commercially sensitive decisions is too much open to error in my opinion.