Crowds

[tommy toes]

Just been looking at Rovers crowds in the 1950's. Remember this was when football was cheap to watch and there weren't  too many other leisure opportunities.
JR is always going on about how great the crowds were then but closer inpection doesn't bear that out.

True in our first season in Div 2 in 50/51 attendences were regularly over 20,000.
But by 56/57 crowds when the novelty had worn off they were usually below 15,000 and on one occasion only 5,113 turned up.
In the relegation season of 57/58 attendences were generally around the 10,000 mark, often lower and for our last home game before relegation the crowd was 7,046.

So maybe our attendences aren't as surprising as you'd think.

[graingrover]

yep... I was a kid supporter in the 1950's and it was truly wonderful to be in Belle Vue when we had 20,000 plus . I used to stand behind the goal at Town End and got  in 90 mins before ko to ensure I got a place on the wall. I remember having worked out that when there was no more terracing visible .. we had 20,000 in . Donny boys drew 14,000 for the home leg of the final of the English Schools' trophy .
              The decline in our gates was  inevitable, when we lost Alick to his first injury, then sold Harry Gregg to Man U , then  the Board fell out with our Manager Peter Doherty who left to take over at Bristol City ( and Northern Ireland). He took Bert Tindill who had scored 122 for us in about 400 games ... a real faourite . We declined and our gates plummeted .
               There was little unemploymnt with all the local pits working , Hatfield , Thorne, Highfields, Armthorpe, Bentley ,Askern. The railway plantworks, International Harvesters, Fords, Pilkingtons,We had supporters club branches in all outlying villages . You paid at the turnstiles .. easy to make last minute arrangements . Matches were advertised heavily in shops  on buses . There was no live football on TV and we had to buy Charles Buchan's football monthly to get the information about other players.
                Having said that ..... our crowds were never really passionate and we had lots of moaners and groaners in the crowds. At least they couldn't reap havoc like thy can nowadays on forums with their destructive negativity.

                    Rovers forever.

[benaldo]

I agree. Doncaster is just too large and too many other clubs are easy enough to get to. I think the only way Doncaster Rovers will get any decent crowd increase is to get promoted or do something different to other clubs and make the price of the seats appear to be really good value. How they do that, I don't know. Not losing to crap sides like bristol might be a start though.....

[hoolahoop]

Just been looking at Rovers crowds in the 1950's. Remember this was when football was cheap to watch and there weren't  too many other leisure opportunities.
JR is always going on about how great the crowds were then but closer inpection doesn't bear that out.

True in our first season in Div 2 in 50/51 attendences were regularly over 20,000.
But by 56/57 crowds when the novelty had worn off they were usually below 15,000 and on one occasion only 5,113 turned up.
In the relegation season of 57/58 attendences were generally around the 10,000 mark, often lower and for our last home game before relegation the crowd was 7,046.

So maybe our attendences aren't as surprising as you'd think.

51/52............

v Blackburn Rovers.........23,793
v Leeds Utd................22,222
v Brentford................21,154
v Cardiff..................19,676
v Leicester C..............19,732
v Q/P/R....................17,673
V luton....................18,801
v Swansea..................17,797
v W/H/U....................18,956
V Sheff Wed................27,763
v Everton..................23,526
v Rotherham................29,267
v Birmingham...............20,282
v Notts For................25,470
v Notts County.............22,467
v Sheff. Utd...............22,870
v Southampton..............19,784
v Hull City................24,476
v Barnsley.................20,902
v Bury.....................17,453
v Coventry .................8,575  ?

FA Cup v Buxton............20,322 !!

Seems to defeat your argument somewhat TT .

Only 4 home attendances less than 18,000
There were 9  with over 22,000 in attendance.

[Mr1Croft]

I think in this day and age we struggle to compete with other clubs in terms or marketing and organisation. For example the year is 2012 and you cannot buy a season ticket online, you must be present at the ticket office or via the phone.

We may be a Championship Club but the general feeling isn't that.

[MrFrost]

I think in this day and age we struggle to compete with other clubs in terms or marketing and organisation. For example the year is 2012 and you cannot buy a season ticket online, you must be present at the ticket office or via the phone.

We may be a Championship Club but the general feeling isn't that.

You can buy matchday tickets online. But have the club ever mentioned this? And I think it's only adult ones only for some bizarre reason. It's the simple stuff we get wrong.

[Bristol Red Rover]

You can buy matchday tickets online. But have the club ever mentioned this? And I think it's only adult ones only for some bizarre reason. It's the simple stuff we get wrong.

Yep, had that problem so always phone. APALLING system management

[tommy toes]

Yes Hoola...I know that. But if you look at subsequent seasons you will see a gradual decline in attendances down to around 10,000 and many much lower

[hoolahoop]

You're right of course TT but it does show that it can be done even if irt's only for a few seasons. It wasn't to knock your argument but it does show that we can and will achieve such support once this club really gets back into gear again.
Over the last few years, we have never capitalised on our success and it hasn't helped that when we virtually fill the stadium..........the players freeze and the extra support just wanders off into the night c. 79/80 th. minute.

We can't even the market the club properly, there isn't a business in the world that can maximise and maintain it's core customers and attract new one's without having this most basic of building blocks in place.

[bobjimwilly]

I also think as long as we don't fall into League 2 time is on our side. I've never seen as many young kids with Rovers shirts on in town! When I was at school there was only 3 or 4 of us who went to watch the Rovers out of hundreds of kids. So hopefully when these youngs uns are old enough to come to every match and then on their own, our numbers will grow

[hoolahoop]

I also think as long as we don't fall into League 2 time is on our side. I've never seen as many young kids with Rovers shirts on in town! When I was at school there was only 3 or 4 of us who went to watch the Rovers out of hundreds of kids. So hopefully when these youngs uns are old enough to come to every match and then on their own, our numbers will grow

bjw you make very valid points about our youngsters and that means we have to give them and whoever is bringing them maximum priority. It's no good encouraging them and then 'pricing out' the adult that brings them.
The future is bright, our young'uns are proud to wear the Hoops and 8-15 years down the line they will bring their kids..........we have to keep them now that's for sure. That to me means being versatile with our ticketing policies, attractive as a venue for this age group i.e cut out all this crap 'I've been going longer than you' nonsense out. We need to  provide other interesting things for them to do before, during and after a match and above all make each and every visit exciting...............that stadium SHOULD hum. We should have inclusive standing areas where they can get into the habit of both going and being with their mates in a proper vibrant atmosphere on a regular basis.
Quite frankly I am tired of sitting in a library, the whole ethos of our support has to change, currently it's like the place is running on a flat battery whereas it should be running on electric.
It is upto each and EVERYONE of us to create that atmosphere.........put down your list of tick boxes, leave the bloody mobiles at home, learn our chants and songs from both the present and the past and ........GET BLOODY INVOLVED that will get them involved and want to come back again.
Ask yourselves this do you return to a pub/restaurant lacking in any atmosphere or watch a boring film again ..of course you don't and by that same token neither will they.
virtually all the efforts of the VSC should be focussed on these aspects of the matchday experience and ways to improve it rather than playing some kind of patsy to the Board .
I'm prepared for all the excuses i.e. I go just to watch footy, I'm too old to sing, let the young'uns take over, the team have to do it for me first before I respond in kind etc...........I've heard them all before sadly.

[hoolahoop]

Bumping this and making no apologies, I thought it was important enough a subject not to get ideas from forum users.
Quite frankly I'm amazed that our supporters have no interest in the subject!!.............or should I be

[Mr1Croft]

Following on from the large number of kids; the price hike from an under 16 ST and a U21 ST is still far too much. Last season saw the introduction of the Under 21 ticket but it was only reapply cheap enough up untill the 25th March (£120 representing a 50% increase). 17 year olds and over are rarely working and their organisational skills lack a bit, and most would possibly wait untill the end of the season. In which case you are then asked to pay £170, which is over a 100% rise or for CAT A £240 which is a 200% increase.

Some will take advantage of the early bird offers but the majority will not pay over 100% more for a season ticket than they did last year. There was about 50 in my year at school who were season ticket holders, now I can count on one hand who still regularly attends matches. We get a good kid following then when they turn 17, with the current economic situation she they flock away and our attendances drop.

[tommy toes]

Indeed Mr C you are bang on. The club should use their database of anyone who has ever bought a ticket or had a season ticket and send them all a mailshot with offers of greatly reduced season tickets that can be paid in interest free monthly instalments.
Filling the ground is the most important thing. It would make such a differnce both to the players and the supporters and make generating a hostile environment for the oppostion that much easier.

[Bentley Bullet]

I don't think the current economic situation is entirely to blame for the drop in attendances at the Keepmoat. Of course some people's absence is down to lack of money, and inevitably some people don't attend when the team is struggling, just like anywhere else. But on the other hand some people have more than enough money to go instead to watch L**ds (for instance), and this has been proven by the fact that our crowds have decreased since L**ds were promoted.

Things will get consistently better when this generation of mercenaries die out, and the site of the new generation of kids in Rovers shirts proves that this is happening.

It's just a pity that I along with many others probably won't be here to witness it!

[Bald Rover]

just a thought and I myself am very post 1952 lol but how easy was it to say get from Doncaster to Leeds and return to watch a game? Im sure it wasnt as easy as paying £5 or whatever it is so surely more locals stayed local?
maybe with the current climate if the club can sort cheaper ticketing then the spiralling cost of travel etc may mean we gather pace on \"local\" supporters who can no longer justifty the extra travel costs to watch local rivals?

[graingrover]

it was not 'easy' nor cheap to travel to matches but in those distant days the club was running trains and buses to matches and even with no internet you were always well aware of upcoming matches , advertised everywhere around town in pubs shops and on buses.
        The population of Doncaster has not declined since the fifties even though the heavy industry working class has . People are still there ... isn't the population of the wider Metropolitan Borough over 250,000?