UCD support!

[eoinh]

175 fools turned out to get soaked at Belfield. And watch us draw on the side... :rolleyes:

Con Martin on the radio said it was 50!

[Poor Student]

Con Martin on the radio said it was 50!

Not a chance, it was definately closer to 200.

[pineapple stu]

Con Martin on the radio said it was 50!

Con Martin's wrong, I'm afraid! The attendance was hand-counted as usual...

[eoinh]

It seems silly for the FAI to have UCD playing a home match on a long weekend when many students would be going home for the long weekend.

It should have been penciled in as an away fixture. With the FAI we shouldnt be surprised though. :rolleyes:

[pineapple stu]

It seems silly for the FAI to have UCD playing a home match on a long weekend when many students would be going home for the long weekend.

Not really - we've pretty much given up on students as a fan base, especially with summer soccer, so it doesn't affect anything. Bank Holiday weekends seem to lower attendances anyways - and we've had home games on three or four of them... :mad:

[eoinh]

Not really - we've pretty much given up on students as a fan base, especially with summer soccer, so it doesn't affect anything. Bank Holiday weekends seem to lower attendances anyways - and we've had home games on three or four of them... :mad:


So, who do you hope to attract to your games then? :confused:

[pineapple stu]

Southside of Dublin, basically. Bohs, Shels and Dublin City are Northside teams, Pat's are more inner city and Rovers are Tallaght. That leaves the likes of Dún Laoghaire, Stillorgan, Blackrock, Booterstown, Mount Merrion, Dean's Grange, Monkstown, Cabinteely, Ballybrack, Clonskeagh, Dundrum, Ballinteer, Glenageary and others - easily 250,000 people not being directly targeted by any of the other Dublin clubs. We've got links with schools and a couple of local clubs, do summer soccer camps and also free soccer camps with children from disadvantaged areas. All this is only going for two years really, but it's paying dividends slowly but surely.

[Dr.Nightdub]

Stu, Pats are more the whole west side of Dublin, from Inchicore out through Ballyer, Clondalkin, Tallaght, Palmerstown, Lucan and north Kildare. I'd say Rovers draw support from all over the city, having played all over for so long. As for yourselves, your own description seems to suggest youse are more or less targetting the rugby heartlands, in which case good luck!

[pineapple stu]

Stu, Pats are more the whole west side of Dublin, from Inchicore out through Ballyer, Clondalkin, Tallaght, Palmerstown, Lucan and north Kildare.

Yeah, that's more accurate alright. What I meant to say, of course! ;) Still, far away from us, which is good.


I'd say Rovers draw support from all over the city, having played all over for so long.

Very hard to tell. Where would their new supporters come from? Without being condescending, I'd say you'd have a different type of people going to Rovers games and UCD games, in which case there's not as much competition as there could be.


As for yourselves, your own description seems to suggest youse are more or less targetting the rugby heartlands, in which case good luck!

Nail on head alright. :( Still better than students! Basically, though, there's a decent catchment area which we're starting to tap into, so hopefully we'll start getting somewhere. Not a big fan of going to games with 175 people at them!

[Colm]

Southside of Dublin, basically. Bohs, Shels and Dublin City are Northside teams, Pat's are more inner city and Rovers are Tallaght. That leaves the likes of Dún Laoghaire, Stillorgan, Blackrock, Booterstown, Mount Merrion, Dean's Grange, Monkstown, Cabinteely, Ballybrack, Clonskeagh, Dundrum, Ballinteer, Glenageary and others - easily 250,000 people not being directly targeted by any of the other Dublin clubs.

Buit surely if you live in one of those areas and decided to start supporting a football team you're going to pick a proper club like Rovers or Bohs and not fcuking UCD?

[Slash/ED]

Southside of Dublin, basically. Bohs, Shels and Dublin City are Northside teams, Pat's are more inner city and Rovers are Tallaght. That leaves the likes of Dún Laoghaire, Stillorgan, Blackrock, Booterstown, Mount Merrion, Dean's Grange, Monkstown, Cabinteely, Ballybrack, Clonskeagh, Dundrum, Ballinteer, Glenageary and others - easily 250,000 people not being directly targeted by any of the other Dublin clubs. We've got links with schools and a couple of local clubs, do summer soccer camps and also free soccer camps with children from disadvantaged areas. All this is only going for two years really, but it's paying dividends slowly but surely.

I think the name alone is a problem for attracting support, people would be more reluctant to support a college side than they would be to support Pats or Rovers for whatever reason imo, which is going to limit the potential support for you.

[pineapple stu]

I think the name alone is a problem for attracting support, people would be more reluctant to support a college side than they would be to support Pats or Rovers for whatever reason imo, which is going to limit the potential support for you.


But surely if you live in one of those areas and decided to start supporting a football team you're going to pick a proper club like Rovers or Bohs and not UCD?

Wouldn't entirely agree, though I can see where yez're coming from. If you're an 8-year-old kid whose parents send you to a summer soccer camp and the club then give you a season ticket, what's UCD going to mean to you? It'd just be a team you might go and watch/look out for in the papers like any English team and whose players coached you during the summer. The fact that it's a college or not Rovers/Pat's/Bohs/Shels wouldn't have any impact on kids.

[Slash/ED]

That's true from the kids point of view but I think alot of support for EL sides comes from people of all ages who just decide they want to go out and see their local side and get into it all, and I think they're far more likely to pick one of the 'big four' in Dublin instead of UCD for those reasons. Would a move to a new ground off campus be completley out of the question? I know moves are always pretty dodgy affairs over here, but I think it could help UCD in gaining support a bit.

[pineapple stu]

Would a move to a new ground off campus be completley out of the question? I know moves are always pretty dodgy affairs over here, but I think it could help UCD in gaining support a bit.

Don't think so - Belfield has the advantage of being very easy to get to from almost anywhere on the Southside, particularly by bus. There's plenty of parking spaces and it's fairly central. And sure where would we go? Two-acre sites for football grounds don't grow on trees...

Obviously any random punter who decides to start following an eL team in Dublin will likely go for your big four, but we can't have everything, can we? You'd be surprised how many kids around the area are at least aware of UCD through promotions in schools, the soccer camp, etc. A lot will dismiss them as being an Irish team and therefore cráp (though I've not heard any knocking them for not being one of the big four), but a fair few consider UCD their local team now. Maybe in the Premier next season (touch wood), with us actually being mentioned in the media again, some of that interest will be stoked and people will start going to more games. But to get back to the original point, the local route has to be more successful than targetting students. And I think with attendances like ours, we can't be blamed for trying a different tack!

By the way, can a moderator move the UCD bit of this to a separate thread? In the UCD forum would be the obvious place I suppose.

[Fair_play_boy]

There was a thread which answered this question before but I can't find it now, and the FAI web site does not carry the info either, as far as I can see.
Who gets what from EL gate receipts?
Who gets what from European competition gate receipts?
Who gets what from FAI Senior Cup gate receipts?
If the home club has to share a significant % of the gate with the visiting team in any of the above competitions, what independent monitoring, if any, is there? Or to put it another way, what incentive is there for the home club to be honest about numbers in attendance?

[Bald Student]

My understanding is that the home club gets the gat receipts in eL and european games. The gate receipts are split 50-50 for cup games.

[atfconline]

My understanding is that the home club gets the gat receipts in eL and european games. The gate receipts are split 50-50 for cup games.

Cup games up to the semi-final stage, 7.5% off the top goes to the FAI. Remainder is split 60/40 between the two clubs.

[CollegeTillIDie]

Davros

Part of our function in being in the League is to Educate ye all :D

[gspain]

Agree it was about 200 on Friday night. 8 supporting Limerick.

Actually one of the best I can remember in Belfield for quite a while.

[NY Hoop]

Very hard to tell. Where would their new supporters come from? Without being condescending, I'd say you'd have a different type of people going to Rovers games and UCD games, in which case there's not as much competition as there could be.

The late great Dermot Morgan was a fan of both clubs. Some Rovers fans who dont travel to our away games go to Belfield. Of the 13 locations you mentioned as possible support bases I know Rovers fans from 10 of them! There is a good percentage of Rovers fans living not far from Belfield so yes you are being condescending.

But UCD are a welcome addition to the premier as opposed to CHF.

On the Cup receipts 40% goes to each club with 20% going to Carlsberg.

CollegeTillIDie how's work?!

KOH

[CollegeTillIDie]

Well there has been a growth in our core support.
In December 1984 we were in 2nd place in the old Single Division League of Ireland table and were only attracting around 200 to matches.

To be able to get 200, to a First Division fixture, on one of the worst nights of the season, and a Bank Holiday Friday night at that, against a team , which are not enjoying the best of seasons, is not bad.

[Bald Student]

There were much more that 50 people at the game. 175 was mentioned and seems about right. If the man on the radio said there were 50 people he was deliberatley telling a lie, so I'd advise you not to put much faith into what he says.
The reason for the terrible attendance was the incredably unpleasant weather. While things like the bank holliday might have had a small affect the rain was definatley the main cause. Remember that the Limerick team only arrived about 20 min's before kick off and the game was very close to being called off due to the wet pitch.
On the more general points I would say that a move off campus is not even worth debating. The club doesn't have the money to move to a new ground. The club would never get permission to move off campus (remember that the club is 100% under the control of the college sports Dept.). Finally, the club is unlikely to get a better facility off campus with thousands of car parking spaces, flood lit training pitches, gym etc.
The club has a small support compared to the 'Big Four' in Dublin and has cut it's cloth accordingly. UCD will never compete with the wages offered by the big four Dublin clubs and there is no point in trying. What attracts young players to UCD is the training set up where a player can combine getting a degree with playing football at a semi-pro level. The financial situation of the club is sound, the players wages and scholarships are all paid on time.
The support for the club comes from both the college and the local community. Increasing the support from within the college seems to be impossible. All the staff and students know the club is there and will come along if they want. No ammount of advertising around college increases their numbers. I know this because I spent about two years putting up posters and organising events, none of which made any difference. Any increase in support is going to come from the local communities and the club is encouraging this by bringing kids to the games by the bus load (usually one or two bus loads per game). This is a long term plan, however, but the thinking is that the kids will grow up supporting UCD as their eL team. And if any of them do decide to regularly attend football matches, they would likely go to UCD games. As someone said earlier they are unlikely to pick UCD ahead of one of the other Dublin clubs otherwise. While I accept that there is more money for the club in the medium term by attracting more adults to games you have to remember that adults aren't as prone to gimmicky promotions as kids are.

[CollegeTillIDie]

Bald Student

Very well put that man! :)

[CollegeTillIDie]

..... especially as we got a smaller crowd for the Cobh match on the Friday of the August Bank Holiday weekend.

[CollegeTillIDie]

NY Hoop

Not bad mate drop us an e-mail sometime will go into detail. See you are back in the land of the intellectually challenged.... how's tricks? :D

[CollegeTillIDie]

I think the bloke on the radio counted the crowd about 15 minutes before the game started ( would have been just over 50 at that point) then came into the tea room then went into the press box. Anyone familiar with Belfield Park knows that on a wet night a crowd gathers Under the press box to shelter from the rain. There were about 20 there alone and of course there was a sprinkling of people along the press box touchline side of the pitch who are not completely visible from press box.

But it was nearer 200 than 50.... 175 seems accurate.

[CollegeTillIDie]

By the way who the F*** is Con Martin on the radio anyway?
Surely not Mick Martin's brother? There is a Con Murphy in RTE who used to be a Hoops fan but would not be 100% sure if Mick Martin's bro is in there or not.

[eoinh]

By the way who the F*** is Con Martin on the radio anyway?
Surely not Mick Martin's brother? There is a Con Murphy in RTE who used to be a Hoops fan but would not be 100% sure if Mick Martin's bro is in there or not.


Hes actually excellent. RTEs Friday night service is very very good. And yes he is a Rovers supporter. Hes admitted it on air.

He asked Pat Dolan after the last city match wether Billy Woods had learned all his skills at Rovers. Pats asked him was he trying to him in trouble again :D

[Schumi]

Apologies in advance for the bitty nature of this reply as I've only been able to get on here now.

Firstly, the figure of 50 is rubbish. I counted 175 in the second half, and there wasn't much of an influx after kick off. All of the crowd bar about 5 or 6 were in the stand in the first half so I can't see how someone in the press box across from the stand could say there was only 50 at the game unless it was in an 'around the grounds' type feature 10 or 15 minutes before kick-off.


Surely if you live in one of those areas and decided to start supporting a football team you're going to pick a proper club like Rovers or Bohs and not fcuking UCD?
There'll be an element of this of course but it's a fair trek to get from South Dublin to Drumcondra or Phibboro or Inchicore at rush hour on a Friday. If you live near Belfield, it would be so much handier to go to UCD games. I think a lot of new football fans are likely to start going to games first before supporting a team.


Would a move to a new ground off campus be completley out of the question? I know moves are always pretty dodgy affairs over here, but I think it could help UCD in gaining support a bit.
Apart from the lack of an obvious new location and the expense, I don't know that ground moves are all that helpful anyway. Shels' moves haven't really led to much of an increase in crowds and Cork's move to Bishopstown was a disaster crowd-wise.


Allegedly nearly 17k people have viewed this thread......some strange stuff going on here.... 10 times minimum UCD's active fan base.....

DaH.et al......can anyone explain.....surely the work of a sad individual?
This was split from the attendances thread in General so it seems to have kept all of its views.


Agree it was about 200 on Friday night. 8 supporting Limerick.

Actually one of the best I can remember in Belfield for quite a while.
You must pick the cráp crowds! That was the second worst of the season!


Without being condescending, I'd say you'd have a different type of people going to Rovers games and UCD games, in which case there's not as much competition as there could be.
An interesting point coming from you! :D