Often Partisan

Taking Stock

As I may have said before on this website, I’m not a fan of the international break. Whilst I know it’s necessary because of qualification for the World Cup it seems like everything shudders to a halt just after it’s got going and after the hustle and bustle of transfer deadline day we’re all left twiddling our thumbs for a couple of weeks before the next club game. However, I think it’s also a good time to take stock on what is happening.

On the pitch, there could be an argument that the break has come at the worst time; Blues come into the international window with a win under their belt and will have wanted to take the momentum from that into their next game. However, judging by the amount of players that were suffering knocks prior to this hiatus, it could just be the right timing to get everyone to fitness for the Forest game on the 15th. Blues have very few players away with national teams at the moment (just Jack Butland, Jonathan Spector and Nathan Redmond from the first team) and thus the majority of the side will get to rest any niggles and return to peak fitness.

Off the pitch there is still a gloomy outlook. Whilst Blues still have the spectre of Carson Yeung’s trial hanging over them – it is still two and a half months away – there will also be concerns regarding the matchday attendance with the 14,929 who attended on Saturday being the lowest home league attendance for almost fifteen years – since the game on 4 November 1997 against Bradford City to be precise. In the seventeen consecutive seasons Blues have been in the top flight encompassing three hundred and sixty-five home league games only seven of those have seen lower attendances than on Saturday; even in the last year we were in the old Division Two (League One as is now) Blues had a higher attendance in sixteen of those twenty-three games.

It’s a worrying trend and I have no doubt it will be causing consternation around the money men at St Andrews; matchday revenue isn’t the be all and end all for clubs but a hit to expected revenue will hurt the club as it tries to remain within it’s means. I’m not going to go into the wherefores about why the attendance is so low – suffice it to say it’s an emotive subject that has many complex factors – but if Blues are going to keep on an even keel it will be something that has to improve.

Blues young guns won their third match in the Professional Development League 3-2 against Barnsley, meaning that after three games they are unbeaten having won two and drawn one and have scored no less than ten goals. Akwasi Asante is currently top of the hit parade with four goals in his last two PDL fixtures and will no doubt be pushing his claim to Blues’ fourth choice striker slot. His chief rival for that role Jake Jervis, is currently on loan at Carlisle United and was powerless to prevent the Cumbrians from exiting the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy last night on penalties, missing his spot kick as the Cumbrians went down 3-1 having been deadlocked for 120 minutes.

As attention turns to the international fixtures there are three to keep an eye on with regards to Blues players – Nathan Redmond turns out for the England u19s tomorrow night against their German counterparts in Hamburg; Jack Butland is in the full England squad for the World Cup qualifier away to Moldova on Friday and Jonathan Spector is in the USA squad for their double-header against Jamaica which will be played on Friday and Tuesday.

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84 Responses to “Taking Stock”

  • Jaffa says:

    Can anyone tell me why ticket prices increase by 5 pounds at 9:00 oclock on matchdays.

    • almajir says:

      I think people have read this all wrong. Is it really a penalty for buying your ticket late?

      The price you pay on matchdays is the full price – you get a £5 discount if you buy your ticket prior to that.

      Or do people not see it that way?

      • Kaje says:

        I see it that way, almajir.

        Why anyone would want to purchase their ticket on match day – meaning they have to then queue at the ticket office for purchase or collection – is beyond me.

        It’s much, much, much simpler (and cheaper) to purchase in advance and beat the queues!

        • FelixMonster says:

          Yes it’s simpler to buy in advanced but many people don’t know their Saturday plans until Saturday morning, depending on a million unpredictable factors from work/kids/missus/weather/money/health so to make it more expensive for people who can’t fix plans in advanced due to other commitments it means they just don’t bother – short sighted from BCFC in my opinion…

          • almajir says:

            It’s been confirmed by the club on twitter that the prices are fixed with the league for the year, so they’re not going to drop them.

            would you prefer a flat figure (which would be the higher one) for whenever you purchase a ticket?

        • Julian Glass says:

          I agree

        • Julian Glass says:

          Maybe they’ve just had a late change of heart?

        • Max Rogers says:

          Reason 1 : I could take the family (2adults 2 kids 1 Infant) to Dudley Zoo for the day, it would cost me approx £25 + a picnic. Alternatively I could go down St Andrews on my own, and it will cost me £30 + extras for a drink and food for a couple of hours. My family have to stay at home because our disposable income isnt vast. As of most of Birmingham City fans, we are a WORKING CLASS family supporting a WORKING CLASS club.

          Reason 2 : When we were in the old 2nd division with Barry Fry at the helm, it was THE best time to be a Blues fan. Entertaining football to the extreme. Goals galore fore, Goals galore against. Running home from school to read the mail to find out ANOTHER transfer target, ANOTHER new signing. Atmosphere was electric. The Club was rising from the ashes. The ground was being re-built. BLUES were back.

          Reason 3 : Sky have ruined the game. Its not about Blues. Look around the country. Grounds are empty. Middlesboro, Forest, Leeds, Derby etc. Look around the city centre. Kids are wearing Man Utd, Man City, Chelsea tops. My girl says her classroom has 2 Blues fans in it. Reason…. Because families cant afford to take there kids to the games anymore. All they see are big clubs on the box. Thats where they pick there team from. All clubs need to take heed of this because in 10 years time, no clubs other than the top 5 or 6 will have a fan base.

          Reason 4 : pathetic £5 extra on matchday. Its not a concession to buy early. Its a f*&king kick in the teeth to blokes who work on a saturday and can shoot off early to watch the game.

          BCFC – A WORKING CLASS CLUB FOR WORKING CLASS SUPPORTERS. NO PRAWN SANDWICH BRIGADE HERE.

          • almajir says:

            Max

            Are you saying that you can’t buy a ticket in advance because you don’t know if you’ll be working or not on a Saturday or because you don’t know what time you will finish? Just trying to understand here.

          • Max Rogers says:

            almajir

            I work in the building trade on a self employed basis. Im not sure what percentage of fan would be in a similar Position to myself, but would suspect a fairly high portion of the pie. It works like this. I may have a big job that I can work on Monday to Friday, whether its a weeks work or 3 months, as long as im there during the week, customer is usually satisfied. However, if my phone rings for a small job, maybe a few hours or a days work, Id usually try to complete it on a Saturday. Small work when completed well and on time, regularly turns into bigger projects. On numerous occasions on a Saturday, ive worked without breaks so I can get to St Andrews for a 3oclock kick off. In fact, if I think about it, this happens more often than not. That is why this extra £5 is a disastrous idea for people like myself. Quite honestly, I feel like im having my pants pulled down by the Club once again.

          • almajir says:

            Max

            I get you. The problem as I see it is that the club are trying to encourage people to buy their tickets early – it’s better for the club planning-wise and stewarding-wise if the majority of fans have tickets prior to the game – what they don’t want is a massive amount of fans turning up on spec at 2:45 on a Saturday because it causes major issues. I know that this doesn’t suit your situation and I do sympathise with you but that is how I understand that they are looking at it.

            The thing to remember is Max is if they got rid of the discount as is, the matchday price wouldn’t change – just everyone who bought their tickets in advance would pay more. The prices for games are set in stone for the year. The club have to supply pricing details to the league before the season starts and there is only a limited amount of special deals that they can do – talk of a price drop across the board just isn’t going to happen.

            The site is undergoing some maintenance at the moment but once that is completed I will be writing something fully up on the ticketing situation, hopefully for tomorrow, the weekend at the latest

  • DoctorD says:

    Having on several occasions bought stuff online from the club shop, I now get regular emails from the club urging me to buy stuff from the store. But why don’t the club send emails encouraging me and other punters to buy tickets for upcoming matches? Or am I missing something?

  • bluenose 11 says:

    not everyone has a debit card to buy a ticket online thats why some people buy on matchday. also some people go on spec there are lots of reasons.
    but if the price remained the same then maybe the gate might be higher no point in empty seats
    kro

    • almajir says:

      But the price would be the higher one and not the lower one – you are aware of this?

      There would be no drop in prices.

      • leedoc says:

        If the prices have been agreed with the league for the season, does this mean BCFC can’t have any speacial offers for league games at all this season?

        • almajir says:

          Something I’m in the process of finding out

          • Atahualpa is a BlueNose says:

            Maybe the Club prefer to have fans purchase tickets beforehand to ensure adequate staffing and resource levels – stewards, blocks, refreshments etc….

            I suppose gone are the days for many where other duties and tasks were slotted around the football…

            Apathy and indifference, a certain malaise seems to have struck down many…

            Hope that LC prescribes the right medicine in weeks and months to come…

            I for one will always stick with the team and club. Why?? Selfish reasons; when things turn for the better, and they will, I can say that I was there through all the testing times and can never be accused of being a fair-weather supporter.

  • AR says:

    I believe our gates are getting lower for a variety of reasons, not least because of everyone’s need to tighten their belts. As we all know, the West Midlands has a very high unemployment rate. But that’s not the only reason. When we were in League 1, we hadn’t been in the top division for ages, so I believe our expectancy was much lower. Since we have been in the Premiership we have been relegated too many times, so that there is a feeling of despair that we will ever be able to stay up & compete. Thus the sometime supporter stays away & gets used to staying away; it is a vicious circle & mid-table or worse in the Championship is not going to attract a lot of spectators.

    • Paul Carter - The Voice Of Reason says:

      It riles me to feck that the filth can pull more than 2.5x the crowd we get if you look at their last league game. Same city, same economic pressures. We took 15K to Bruges FFS so where are they all? Don’t tell me that in a city this size we shouldn’t be pulling at l;east 20K a game. We are now well behind clubs like Brighton, reading, Norwich in the attendance figures and it makes me sick.

      I am not referring to sick people or unemployed or low income people here. We all know several so called ‘staunch’ Bluea who don’t give a feck about going down whatever the price.

    • nicky wicky says:

      Looik AR this team is a lot better than mid table.last year they finished fourth when the teams were stronger. We had a bad start last year after we had a new manager.we have a new manager this year so he has to bed in and get his views across,so it’s not surprising we’ve had a bad start,but it’s no worse than St Chris. It’s only Sept so there’s no need to start pannicking. Jack Butland is improving,and if he is as talented as everyone says then eventually the mistakes will dissapear. I am confident Blues will be in the mix at the end of the season. The players are too good to be mid table!

  • Glosbigblue says:

    it’s all about momentum – our gates in League One were when we were showing upward momentum – a bad situation was improving and there was a general feeling that Blues were on their way back. Similar story for our first year in Prem versus subsequent promotion years.

    Just now, our momentum is definitely downwards and there is zero feel good factor around the club. I think prices, economic situation etc are excuses rather than reasons. Simple fact is that many ‘fans’ just don’t feel like going at the moment and are gereally a bit disillisioned. In my opinion of course!

    • nicky wicky says:

      I think there are a lot of fans out there who thought that after last season Blues would hit tyhe ground running and would be straight out of the blocks with a series of wins,but obvioously there are a few teething problems with the new manager and he has to bed the new players in and get his views over.Whenever you have a new manager it is not uncommon that results don’t always come straight away,but Blues have only played a few games,and theres plently of time to turn it round. Look at Reading they had a bad start and ended up as Champions!

  • Dave MacMillan says:

    I wold have gone on satuday however as my wife was working this means that i would need to take my two daughters, this would mean £23 for yself plus another £14 for my daughters giving a grand total of £37. With the ongoing economic crisis and bearing in mind that you pay to the game to be entertained, which at watford, charlton and coventry i was far from entertained so instead decided to keep my hard earned money in my bank!!!

  • pierre says:

    i agree AR i once was a season ticket holder, but due to financial circumstances cannot afford to go down even on the odd occasion, do miss going down with the old man(rip), drink before the game,putting a bet on, last quick one before nearly missing kick off. but AR is right you do get use to not going down and my saturdays now consist of talksport till 12 then gillette soccer saturday on sky.

  • suenoble says:

    why the mystery about the low crowd? I assume weve all seen the performances this season, nothing short of disgraceful. we have had poor sides before but I cant remember many Blues sides not fancying the battle. Until LC gets the Blues at it, get used to Stans being deserted,

    • TR7 says:

      As you say Sue , no ‘ mystery ‘ ! just simple , sad , boring and true.

    • Paul Carter - The Voice Of Reason says:

      True fans don’t desert their club when they are palying shit.

      Next

      • suenoble says:

        thats true, unfortunately on Saturday there were 14900 true fans. we get to a final and weve got 40000 true fans, its about us getting into teams, the more we get into em the more true fans weve got, LC has just got to grasp this phenonemon

    • nicky wicky says:

      sue this is when the team needs you. we had a bad start last year under St Chris. I have been bored and puzzled by why they are so dissjointed. Obviously LC needs to get his views across and some players haven’t been performing.I have seen an improvement in Butland,and he defintiely has talent and the mistakes will dissapear. I would go as far as saying that you could put the lsses to Watford and Wednesday down to Butlands mistakes!

  • Tamuffblue says:

    I do believe that the low attendance is the masses showing total dissatifaction with the managment of the club – like it or not – ignore it whatever but the plain truth is that the mass are not happy with these people and are voting with their feet and tightened belts !!!!!!! I for one believe that it is not OUR club anymore and just a financial agenda for totally naive and inept failed business people who are cleverly stripping OUR hard earned cash and some how spiriting it away to the ex colony to help finance the corrupt ( some may say naive ) Barber !!!!!

    • nicky wicky says:

      Tam i think it’s unfair to blame the manager totally for the results so far. I admit that the team does look a little unbalanced and could do with a left sided midfielder,but the twto losses you can put down to mistakes by Butland which will dissapear as the season goes on as he is very professional about his game and always works on his weaknesses. We went out of the League cup early last year too!

  • Macca Salop Blue says:

    Agree it’s a combination of factors why people didn’t go Saturday, bad form, unattractive opposition, extra fiver on the day, etc. I’m a season ticket holder and I’m ashamed to say I didn’t feel like going (but I did), for once the sun was shining and I felt like spending afternoon in garden or day out somewhere witht he family, it was a wrench and while making way to the ground I wondered “Why am I doing this?”. Despite the fact we won I do for some strange reason feel uninspired by what I saw, gone seem to be the days over recent years where I get an adrenalin rush making my way to the ground, can’t explain it but it’s there, and I think others feel the same way too.

    • Julian Glass says:

      I’ve felt the same and been bored during the game.

    • nicky wicky says:

      macca i agree the win was not inspiring,but at least we won. I get the impression from watching games in pre-season that this is not the way LC wants the team to play. I think the errors from Butland will dissapear as he is very thorough and wants to succeed,,and then the performances from the rest of the team will improve eventually. It’s too early to make snap judgments about LC. Under CH last year our league form took eight games to get going. Theres a lot of points to play for so no need to pannick!

  • David says:

    I agree with much of these comments. The reason for poor attendances in my opinion is the lack of entertainment. The football is often poor and there is little evidence to hope things will improve. I don’t understand why they don’t reduce prices to ensure a full stadium which may just inspire our overly paid players to perform and entertain.

  • Tamuffblue says:

    I also agree with the comments about thye pricing structure – I have always been baffled how when we were on the box and gaining the tv revenue yet they still maintained on having overprice admission – surely it would be better to have a full voiciferous and hostile ground at reduced prices than a half empty quiet timid atmosphere and there lies nthe answer people stopped going watched on the box and hey npresto found other cheaper and more entertaining things to do ( the monster we create eventually will eat you up !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  • Bluenosesol says:

    I agree it is a vicious circle. The atmosphere is appaling this season and hence the overall experience is damaged. Every match where this continues we will lose more and more support, so until we turn around our performances and climb to the top of the table, the attraction will continue to wain. Add to this all the off the pitch baggage and things are a bit grim at the moment. I was considering Forest, which is relatively cheap for an away match, but have decided I cant justify a £60+ spend on a day out so have decided to listen to the Blues match on the radio and watch Warwicksire in the CB40 Final instead (Six pack cost a fiver!).

  • NooBloo says:

    All these messages about the cost of a ticket for the match but the simple fact is that, if the team start winning and playing well then attendances will improve. Just so long as the improvement comes in time to challenge for a play off place, which at the moment is looking unlikely, especially since there seems to be a lot more better than average teams in the Championship this year

    • Paul Carter - The Voice Of Reason says:

      We get to Wembley = not enough tickets to go round. Price of tickets never gets a mention. People need to face theirselves and realise you just don’t want to support your club financially anymore.

      My bro lives in NZ and still buys a ST every year to put his money into the club he loves.

      • James Black says:

        Paul, keep agreeing with you today its a funny old feeling mate hehe.

      • QatarBlue says:

        Paul Carter – similar story to your brother here. Have had a season ticket since 1999, when I got my first job post-graduation and could afford it, but moved out to the Middle East in early 2007 for work. Still kept the season ticket for my seat in the Kop every season since then. It’s my connection to the club – if I’m not paying in, then I don’t feel as if I’ve the right to watch them on TV (when they’re on over here, which is rarely now we’re out of the PL) or comment on what’s going on. Someone is always sat in the seat, though – I made a point of giving it to some fellas who’ve been diehards since the 60’s to look after, and they’re now sharing it out out amongst their friends and grandchildren on matchdays. Could be out here for another twenty years, who knows. But while I have the means, the club will continue to get my money, if for no other reason than to appease my conscience about putting in to the club I love.

    • nicky wicky says:

      NooBloo it’s only Sept and Blues have only played 3 games. talk about play-offs or promotion is silly.Blues could yet end up as Champions. We have had a couple of losses caused by mistakes by our rookie goalie. hes going ot get better as he is keen to succeed. We went out of the league cup early last year too.If Blues are still playing like this in 6 weeks time then i will be getting concerned!

      • NooBloo says:

        Ive seen Blackpool, Millwall, Birmingham, Sheff Wed, Peterborough, Watford, Midlesborough and Notts Forrest all live so far in course of my work so far this season and it pains me to say that Birmingham are the worst out of that lot. Yes even Peterborough looked better.

        I agree with you though, I think we will improve and be a force in the division but i think it might take us till well after christmas to get to that stage which would probably be too late to do anything this year

        • nicky wicky says:

          NooBloo you must be one hell of a pessamist. Blackpool are bound to look good they have a manager a team in situ. Jack Butland is not going to take till christmas to iron oout his mistakes,and i think LC will get his message across. he might take a little longer than CH but christmas is being ridiculoius. We can always have a few 1-0 matches. Don’t forget Butland wants to be the no 1 so he has to be competent. If he keeps making mistakes LC will drop him!

  • oldburyblue says:

    Harvey Andrews wrote “Come wind, rain, sleet or snow family tradition says I have to go; It’s in my blood and I don’t care: When the Blues are playing…I’ll be there!” A lovely sentiment for us that can afford it but we must accept some just cannot.

    Life is about making priorities. If we have enough money for “entertainment” we have to choose whether that is spent on Sky, beer, meals out, cinema or other things including football. I would suggest that if people are leaving the ground regularly feeling that they have not received value-for-money you can’t blame them for spending on other things until they can be more sure of being entertained at a match.

    If you left a pub selling bad beer, a restaurant selling bad food, or a cinema only showing rubbish films….would you keep going back for more? I think not.

    • almajir says:

      Life is about making priorities. If we have enough money for “entertainment” we have to choose whether that is spent on Sky, beer, meals out, cinema or other things including football. I would suggest that if people are leaving the ground regularly feeling that they have not received value-for-money you can’t blame them for spending on other things until they can be more sure of being entertained at a match.

      I think this hits the nail on the head

  • Blueboy 88 says:

    I am in the its not a mystery camp.

    Baggie supporters have the same economic issues , but they find the money & pack the place out because its a good entertaining product.

    I also think we didn’t not do ourselves any favours at all when “showcased” on Sky at Watford.
    The ammount of people I have spoken to who described it as the worse Blues performance they had seen in years………it sadly does not sell tickets..

    • Bluenosesol says:

      Thats the point really, many of us cant afford to watch every £30ish game, but still spend a grand or so on an annual family holiday. That’s prioritisation. One would be happy to push the boat out to watch their team sitting pretty in the Premiership, but far less inclined to do so when sat at the bottom of the Championship.

  • pierre says:

    improved blues performances on the pitch does not make my wages go further.

  • Art Watson says:

    Some very interesting comments which again reflects the knowledge and passion of the Blues supporters.

    For me it’s quite simple- many supporters have lost faith in the current management team and see little hope of improvement.

    Success breeds Success!

    • nicky wicky says:

      Art i think your right, and i think that a lot of people have already started pannicking. I was at the game on saturday,and although it wasn’t the greatest win i saw some improvement in Butland. i don’t think he is going to go through the whole season making mistakes. he wants to succeed.It’s too early to judge the team and if LC can get his views across then the results will improve!

  • Paulo says:

    From my point of view, I saw that leading up to the season we had ‘plenty’ of people shouting out from the rooftops that they were not going to renew their season tickets! We also had plenty of other people grumbling about how crap we were at losing the play off semi final. We also had plenty of people angry at CH leaving us in the lurch, and loads of uncertainty as we didn’t have a manager for a while (in footballing terms – a long while). So we knew what was going on. There is no mystery. People have voted with their feet and stayed away to prove a point. In reality, maybe only a couple of thousand stayed away, who knew what the attendance would have been anyway?

    Now we have LC and as good as the same squad (give or take a few), but hands up all those season ticket holders who can honestly say that they are not nervous and like what they are seeing? Because from where I’m stood, it looks like people are going to stay away due to BCFC being sh*te on the pitch.
    Add together all the off field HK saga and feelings about PP and his ‘communication skills’ (and we remember that debate don’t we?) …like him or loathe him, fans have voted on their feet.
    It all connects, and until we have some relative stability on the pitch, in the dressing rooms, at Wast Hills and on the sidelines ..confidence is going to be low in LC, PP and CY.

    Question ….is this the first time blues have been in this situation? I doubt it. But my pay packet only goes so bloody far ..and so does my patience.

    • Matty says:

      Paulo, You have just summed it up perfectly how I feel about blues at the moment. Spot on mate.

    • nicky wicky says:

      paulo i am a season ticket holder,and i can’t say i like what i am season.it is a little puzzling why the same players can’t pass the ball to each other,but to say i am getting nervous in sept would be going overboard. you don’t get a picture of where teams might finish till Jan and even in the Championship that may not be the case as Reading showedwhen they made a late run to snatch pole position from Southampton. butland is making mistakes at the moment,but they will stop and blues results will improve. LC will get his views across and the teams performances will improve. He had Huddersfield on an unbeaten 43 game run. He has better players and i believe the results wll come even if they are 1-0.

      • Paulo says:

        I never imagined every season ticket holder would agree, but basically, most are able to connect the dire straights we are in finacially to the performance managed by LC and say they aren’t happy …hence my term ‘nervous’ ..as we are simply waiting, and that’s all we can do.

    • NooBloo says:

      CH did not leave us in the lurch. He left us with a side whuch he was able to guide as far as the play offs. He proved it could be done with that squad, even with having to play all the extra European games last year.

      He got offered a new job and took it but if he is capable of getting to the play offs with them, it must be possible for others to achieve it. All they have to do is prove they can do it and i will be a happy chappy

  • poppa999 says:

    Can anyone tell me..if I buy a season ticket but don’t go to a match for some reason, am I counted or not? i.e. is it clicks through the gate or tickets sold?

  • 16yrsWFA says:

    I think in general attendances accross the country are going down you can even get tickets for man u now which was unheard of a few years ago, at most grounds now premiership and below empty seats are a regular occurence look at Arsenal the emirates yet they still claim 60 thousand attendances. Ive been going Blues since the mid 80s and even when we were in league 2 as it was then the atmosphere and overall experience was still much better than it ever is now. Standing on the old kop who remembers the infamous stoke game with the riot in a top of the table clash? when we beat the albion on a boxing day in the snow I think peschisolido scored and we won 2-0? and even when we played the vile in the cup and john frain missed a pen it was only the 2nd or 3rd round and the ground was rammed and the noise unbeliveable?! St andrews was buzzing! Now you cant sit with your mates, people moan if you sing, over zealous stewarding and policing etc plus the fact Blues are charging as far as Im concerned too high prices. The Albion reduced there season tickets by 50 quid this year and there in the premiership and I can remember when the vile were doing season tickets in the north stand for 199 quid not so long back for their fans, thats what Blues should be doing in certain areas IMO lower the prices!. By constantly ripping fans off we are losing the fans of the future and charging extra on the day is certainly not fair and having to pay almost 30 quid against peterborough at home is a joke to say the least!

  • James Black says:

    I’m somewhat bemused that people talk as if the poor attendances are a recent thing. I’ve noticed that since our climb from Div 0ne to the premiership we have not had good support for far too many games. Under 2 managers whilst 9th in the premiership we had half empty stadium and remember once we didn’t even sell out against the Villa.
    It gets on my nerves when people blame economics and boring football and before that they was moaning about Sullivan as the reason (the man who introduced huge discounts to raise attendances). Newcastle a traditionally poorer area in the country had a demise too but di there attendances drop? No i don’t believe they did.
    In those days when we was getting good gates is in the times when there was kids for a quid and occasional five pound admission only. Yes then we was getting good gates and for me at least Blues have been a poorly supported club for many years now, or is it only me that has noticed.

  • Smash the vile says:

    Evening all,

    I am a Newcastle supporter and I was on here on Sunday asking for advice because Newcastle are in the same group as Brugges this season and I know you took a tremendous support over there beat them over there last season and I wanted to know what the best (cheapest) methods to get over to Belgium?

    Thanks for eveyone who give me some tips re flights and ferries.

    apologies on Sunday for not doing the business.

    Hope Clarkie can get you up the top end of the table.

  • Paul Carter - The Voice Of Reason says:

    Thought we’d answered this on mate?

    I took the ferry to Ostend something like £100 for the vehicle so £25 each

    Brugges is 10 miles from Ostend.

    You’ll love Brugges, beautiful place.

  • andy says:

    The low crowds are due to people just being p****d off in general. This Carson Yeung trial could go on for years, when the transfer window opens again in January the club will look to sell players to see us through financially, until the end of the season. The club is actually going backwards and the low crowds reflect that.

  • ChrisG says:

    I just wish someone would come in with a bucket load of cash, buy out CY & give whoever they want as manager loads to spend on new players & let us be the next Man City. I think that would solve the low gate problem don’t you???!!!. Here’s to dreaming KRO

  • Tamuffblue says:

    I am much of a mind that Blues fans will only return via better football and a owner who fervently believes in the Blues – I am not asking for a man city or chelski – just someone who does things for the club and fans – prices – players and that shite pink kit sums up the situ perfectly

  • andy says:

    I dont think there will be a sniff of a new owner until everything crumbles around Carson Yeung. Dont forget the guy has invested around £100 Million into the club and he would want a good percentage of that back. His trial, even though we look to November, could go on a few more years. Even if he wanted to, Carson cannot put any money into the club which means we have to rely on gate receipts, sponsorship and player sales to keep the club afloat. There is going to come a point, sooner rather than later, where this wont be enough.

    • nicky wicky says:

      well andy if fans stop going to matches then it makes player sales more likely.I douubt very much whether Carson yeung is ever going to get his money back unless he sells to a real billionaire. i think the fans should stop the moaning and get down the ground and keep the club solvent so they don’t have to keep selling players. Hopefully LC will get it right and we’ll get promotion and it won’t be necessary?

  • Paul Carter - The Voice Of Reason says:

    I don’t get the reasons people throw up for not going. There’s always one for em. The only reason for not going if you are a fan is if you can’t afford it or are sick.

    Does it matter a feck whats happening with CY? It’s your club yeah? Do people get up on a match day and think righto I’m off down the Blues, oh hang on a minute what about that cant Carson Yeung? Feck that then I aint going – no way! Course they fackin don’t. Don’t like the fact we’re broke? Most clubs are. We’re shit? Nothing new. Not in the prem? And?

    Nope when it comes right down to it you don’t wanna go anymore. You aint got the feeling anymore but you can’t face up to it and admit it. Better to hide behind a load of bollox excuses than man up and admit you just don’t give a feck anymore.

    • DoctorD says:

      The point is that there is a hard core of season-ticket holders and regular fans. The club then relies on the marginally interested to fill the rest of the seats. If you like, it’s those on-off fans who should be targetted, e-mailed, seduced, flattered etc by the club. There must be loads the club could do — go five times, get a sixth free; bring a mate, get a free bag of chips; buy a ticket get one free etc.

      • Bluenosesol says:

        They could start by bringing the prices down. I can get a burger chips, salad and a pint in Wetherspoons for a fiver, sit by the fire in a comfy seat. The Blues management seem to think that standing in a concrete block of a wind tunnel and paying over a fiver for a pint of poor quality beer and a luke warm pie represents good value. If they charged £2 for a pint, I’d make a point of getting there early and having two or three and they would make money on the transaction. Also cant take a tom tit cos of the spliff rollers and smokers in the traps. it all adds up to the total experience.

    • James Black says:

      Paul i totally agree. Its all Carsons fault then was it when the stadium was half empty when 9th in premiership too and it wasnt just under Mcliesh was same with Brucie and i have no idea why people talk as if we had 30 thou every week and then Carson comes and they all fed up and were down to 18 thou at best some weeks, bullpoop. Its been that way since kids for a quid and a fiver to get in days.
      I’ve heard them whinge under Carson, Sulivan, Wheldon, Kumars whoever. We are what we are we are Birmingham City and i dont wanna be a Chelsea or a Man City. I want us to be a local club that promotes local talent as much as possible, serves its community and are well supported by that community.
      Well the fans are a factor in our demise as far as i am concerned always expecting the unreal and thinking someone is out there stupid enough to bankrupt himself for the advancement of a badly supported team, get real some of you.
      We have a great hardcore beyond them we are a poorly supported team and yes we can fill it for the big games and i mean they have to be big before we fill it like a play off semi.. I moved to Asia 6 years ago, we had crap crowds then we have crap crowds now, why they laying even there cant be bothered attitude at Carsons door.
      Then we get to a cup final and them that cant remember what colour we play in want a ticket. They are out there but they don’t come, but its nothing to do with Carson, they don’t come for there own reasons but its nothing to do with Carson. If you don’t go that’s your choice but the excuses are abysmal as this way before they had heard of Carson. What was the reason them day? i dunno probably the pies was too hot.
      Oh by the way i don’t go anymore either as i cant get a bus from the Philippines. But before i emigrated i was there every game..

  • andy says:

    Im afraid thats the way it is and thats the way it always will be. It shouldnt be i know, but Blues fans are like that.

  • James Black says:

    The same people that were criticizing Sullivan for not getting a 50,000 seater stadium swearing we would fill it every week if only the ground was better. I’m old ive heard it all but ive heard mostly bull from the fans.Look at yourselves before you pull down the individuals such as boards managers and the tealady.
    You dont go cuz its cold its wet or your too tired. get real.

  • James Black says:

    They even complaining that a guy that has invested 100 million quid and is now awaiting prison possibly and is totally out of pocket doesn’t care enough so im not going cuz he only cares 100 million worth. Jesus ive heard it all today.

  • Art Watson says:

    Blues have signed Leroy Lita from Swansea on a 3 month loan.

    Don’t know much about him but it appears hes been around a bit.

  • Tamuffblue says:

    Sullivan – wheldon – Kumars even back to Coombes family I have lived under them all AND THEY WERE ALL SHISTERS TO A MAN – BUT I ALWAYS THOUGHT THE CLUB WAS MINE – OURS !!!! BUT NOT ANYMORE

  • Adblues says:

    The club will die if we continue with this we are a ‘working clas club’ mentality – we need a new type of fan base to survive.


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