What can we do to get more fans at home?

[DonnyOsmond]

The Mansfield game has been on the official Twitter at least 7 times since yesterday.

[MrFrost]

Cost does come into football but with a similar record in 2003 /4 when we were champions in division 3 (league2) we had crowds of the same level. It's league 2 football

Yes it is league 2 football. It is also league 2 football for all the other teams in our league.
So why are Luton averaging nearly 8000 and Plymouth nearly 9000
Yes Plymouth's population is similar to Doncaster's over 300,000 and they have a huge catchment area, although most of West Devon and Cornwall is sparsely populated. Plymouth similar to us have come down from the Championship in recent years. So why do they command 3000 more fans on ave this season than us?
As for Luton they are a smaller town than us and have been in the conference and league 2 for the last 7/8 seasons. They have spent most of this season in a play off position. So why are they commanding gates 2000 above ours? These are questions we seriously need to address.
Yes I know the last 2 1/2 seasons prior to this one have been dire but when we are top of the league, scoring goals for fun and playing attractive attacking football the crowds should be returning in a much greater number than they are doing at present. What is the answer, what needs to be done that isn't being done to get those empty seats at the Moat filled? I am still trying to work out what will work without the club losing revenue. It has to be something that will increase revenue.

They are bigger clubs.

Brilliant reply Mr Frost is that your most constructive solution to our gates.
Total garbage, how do you come to the conclusion that they are bigger clubs. Answer that statement please because I would like to see the evidence that backs that up.

They are bigger clubs. Look at their comparative histories.

[MrFrost]

I don't think the Mansfield fixture itself needs marketing at all, nor any individual match.

Anyone with a passing interest in Doncaster Roves can easily find out about the fixture and how to get a ticket.  We managed well enough in the days before the internet and social media, so can do so now.

Where marketing promotions can and would help, IMHO, is if there is a ticket offer on.  That is a different matter altogether.

That's very naive.

[idler]

There used to be seven of us, now there's three.

Do you live in Midsommer?

[RedJ]

If he does, he's only got two more weeks then it'll be him getting bumped off...

[Campsall rover]

Mr Frost evidence please not ridiculous statements.
We have spent 5 of the last 9 seasons in the Championship.
Don't think Plymouth or Luton have or have I been on a different planet since August 2008

[normal rules]

Since 1990 lutons average home attendance has never dropped below 5000. In fact looking back through their whole history there was only two seasons below 5k. 1988 and 1989.
Based on average crowds history would show that they are a better supported club purely based on numbers. Source - Wikipedia.

[MrFrost]

Mr Frost evidence please not ridiculous statements.
We have spent 5 of the last 9 seasons in the Championship.
Don't think Plymouth or Luton have or have I been on a different planet since August 2008

I'm sure you can base how big a club is based solely on the last ten years.

Plymouth and Luton are bigger clubs than us.

[Campsall rover]

Mr Frost evidence please not ridiculous statements.
We have spent 5 of the last 9 seasons in the Championship.
Don't think Plymouth or Luton have or have I been on a different planet since August 2008

I'm sure you can base how big a club is based solely on the last ten years.

Plymouth and Luton are bigger clubs than us.

So that's your evidence is it Mr Frost just simply telling me without anything to substantiate it.
Brilliant.

[normal rules]

From 71 to 2003 rovers never got above 5k average bar one season. On many seasons the average never made 3k in this period.

[idler]

How many fans that followed us through thick and thin have either died or become to old or infirm to attend matches?
I can think of loads over the last few years and these are the sort of fans that are hard to replace.

[Bentley Bullet]

There used to be seven of us, now there's three.

What's the story with yours BB if you don't mind me asking?

Three stopped going because after all the endeavour to get to the Championship, they felt there was a lack of further investment to keep us there.  They also thought Sean O'Driscoll wasn't up to the job and should have been sacked long before he actually was, and in fact said they'd not renew their season tickets as long as he was in charge, claiming the 'Tippy-Tappy' style football didn't help in our struggle to compete in the Championship.

Basically, and no doubt like the vast majority, whatever reasons people give for no longer going, the common denominator is we simply stopped winning regularly.

[MrFrost]

Mr Frost evidence please not ridiculous statements.
We have spent 5 of the last 9 seasons in the Championship.
Don't think Plymouth or Luton have or have I been on a different planet since August 2008

I'm sure you can base how big a club is based solely on the last ten years.

Plymouth and Luton are bigger clubs than us.

So that's your evidence is it Mr Frost just simply telling me without anything to substantiate it.
Brilliant.

Like I said. Look at our comparative histories. All the evidence is there.

They are bigger clubs.

[normal rules]

Plymouths average attendance has only dropped below 5k for three seasons in the clubs history. They have been a very well supported club whose average season attendances are mostly in 5 figures.

In summary, Luton and Plymouth have much better attendances historically than rovers. Plymouth significantly more. In a lot of cases double what rovers have had

[Campsall rover]

From 71 to 2003 rovers never got above 5k average bar one season. On many seasons the average never made 3k in this period.

We were in league div 3/4 and conference during those years.
What about all the years in late 40's and 50's when Belle Vue regularly had gates of 20,000 plus.
2008/09 11,994 2009/10 10,950

[Move DRFC]

Why did Murrant leave?

[Campsall rover]

Mr Frost evidence please not ridiculous statements.
We have spent 5 of the last 9 seasons in the Championship.
Don't think Plymouth or Luton have or have I been on a different planet since August 2008

I'm sure you can base how big a club is based solely on the last ten years.

Plymouth and Luton are bigger clubs than us.

So that's your evidence is it Mr Frost just simply telling me without anything to substantiate it.
Brilliant.

Like I said. Look at our comparative histories. All the evidence is there.

They are bigger clubs.

Show me the evidence. What is your definition of a bigger club?

[normal rules]

From 71 to 2003 rovers never got above 5k average bar one season. On many seasons the average never made 3k in this period.

I'm not trying to paint rovers support in a bad light, merely signposting some to the facts about our crowds compared to the likes of Plymouth or Luton. Even during the twilight seasons in the champ both Luton and Plymouth were still matching our support.

We are, all things considered, not as well supported as either club.

In the 40s and 50,s every club got huge attendances. They were the hay days of football.

We were in league div 3/4 and conference during those years.
What about all the years in late 40's and 50's when Belle Vue regularly had gates of 20,000 plus.
2008/09 11,994 2009/10 10,950

[steve@dcfd]

Mr Frost evidence please not ridiculous statements.
We have spent 5 of the last 9 seasons in the Championship.
Don't think Plymouth or Luton have or have I been on a different planet since August 2008

I'm sure you can base how big a club is based solely on the last ten years.

Plymouth and Luton are bigger clubs than us.

But we have proved on the pitch we are the best team so far this season in the league. Supporters don't win games managers and players do.

I don't see all this preoccupation with club size and supporters, get it right on the pitch consistently and supporters will return, if they are still interested in the team. We have a level of support this might improve if we play at a higher level.

What the club needs to do is not turn off supporters, they have done that, I hope the tide is turning but it will be a slow rebuild when it comes to supporters.

[DonnyBazR0ver]

From another angle, as inferred above, the life cycle means we lose supporters through natural causes. Have we done enough to replace them? I hold my hands up, I've not fathered any offspring (To my knowledge) so I'm a contributor to the decline! 😉

[idler]

My son goes mostly when I do as do the grandkids but not always together.
The problem is that I drive and pay for the kids and drinks.
At 68 I don't go to every game now so when I stop coming or driving that might be it for my family.

[Campsall rover]

Lincoln City got over 7000 gate tonight so does that mean Lincoln are a bigger club than Rovers. We averaged 3,600 when we were promoted out of the conference.
I think we are a bigger club than Lincoln but how do you measure accurately the size of a club?

[Herman Hessian]

Brilliant reply Mr Frost is that your most constructive solution to our gates.
Total garbage, how do you come to the conclusion that they are bigger clubs. Answer that statement please because I would like to see the evidence that backs that up.

more extended periods of playing at a higher level; Luton were first tier barely twenty years ago and had remained at that level for over a decade prior to that; that's the single biggest factor in establishing a bigger fan base; the only possible criteria that you could say Rovers are "bigger" than either of those two is the number of fourth tier promotions we've won, which is fairly piss-pot given that every one of those follows a relegation (or promition from the conference, if you want to be pedantic) !

even a cursory look at plymouth's league record shows them to have been a second/third tier side for the majority of their history; luton are div one/two - we're three/four - there's no real contest....

[normal rules]

For the record, I am not pre occupied in supporter base size, whether a club is big or not etc etc. I don't care about it.

The numbers speak for themselves.

We are what we are. A club that has dwelled mainly in the lower leagues, three and four as they were for many years, with a limited support base, affected by geographical proximity to historically more successful clubs with more perceived social appeal (eg Leeds)

The crowds will swell if we skirt into the championship again. It will be another fleeting spell though.

History has shown rovers to be a yo yo club over the years. I predict this will continue.

Rovers are on an upward curve though at the moment, so let's enjoy it while it lasts.

[normal rules]

Lincoln had a spell from 1948 to 1960 where they attracted 5 figure crowds (old league 2). On the whole though, on average, I'd say Lincoln have a lot of similarities with Rovers based purely on numbers, taking out league differences.

[Herman Hessian]

What about all the years in late 40's and 50's when Belle Vue regularly had gates of 20,000 plus.
2008/09 11,994 2009/10 10,950

for the post-war years that we managed five figure averages, plymouth attracted more fans than us on for all but two seasons, when we had marginally higher gates; since 1945 luton's attendances have topped five figure averages for the season on more than twice as many occasions as ours have, and plymouth have managed it a couple more times than luton, so that removes the attendance argument from the equation fairly categorically...

[normal rules]

Lincoln City got over 7000 gate tonight so does that mean Lincoln are a bigger club than Rovers. We averaged 3,600 when we were promoted out of the conference.
I think we are a bigger club than Lincoln but how do you measure accurately the size of a club?

How big a club is, is very subjective.
Looking at attendances alone and ignoring league differences, Lincoln and rovers are very similar.
I would say they are about the same.
They are on the verge of league football again, have a similar support base, and are even talking of a new out of town ground.
Within the next 5 seasons, I have no doubt we will be seeing them v rovers in a league game.

[GazLaz]

My lad used to come with me but then he turned into an Emo so he just stays at home, plays his guitar and listens to My Chemical Romance instead.

[Herman Hessian]

have a look at the "all time" figures

league position - average attendance

rovers  -  64th  -  7061

luton  -  44th  -  10317

argyle  -  49th  -  12301

lincoln  -  61st  -  5606

that includes seasons out of the football league, as 10th in the conference equates to a position of 102nd or whatever

so, by the numbers, we're pretty much on a par lincoln but can forget competing with the other two

other factors - trophies won, relative quality of players based on something quantitive like the total number of international caps won while at each club, possibly - but i can't quite be arsed to work all that out right now

however, what can be said absolutely unequivocally is that red and white hoops are a far, far better kit than green, orange, or whatever lincoln might be poncing about in, so on that basis, they can all get to f**k, really....

;-)

[Alan Southstand]

And none of the above has absolutely anything to do with the op's question!

But Herman gets my vote for the best response to the side-tracked subject.

Back to the original topic, I hope, we are doing some good things, but I just get the feeling we could be doing a lot more. Like I said previously, you simply can't argue that the team and management are not doing their bit, but do we really think the Club are fully in sync?