2010 attendances

[fionnsci]

That was always going to happen once the novelty wore off. The real challenge will be maintaining their current figures and season ticket sales. Granted, come Europe time or if they go on a title run, I'm sure the crowds will flood back. The thing about Tallaght is the remarkable potential for a bandwagon.

[pineapple stu]

The average is down 13. That's not anywhere near enough to be talking about a decline in crowds. That's probably more than the difference between UCD/Fingal and Derry/Cork away support, for example.

And in any event, their figures this year aren't official, so the decrease can also just be estimate differences; it's way too small to make sweeping statements about like the one above.

[John83]

It's a 0.3% decline. Anyone who thinks that's statistically relevent on the back of 8 games is innumerate.

[Riddickcule]

PD decline is down to Derry/Cork not being there. While the FD upturn is because of the same thing.

Attendances neither up nor down. Happy days.

[pineapple stu]

I think the league average will drop a good bit before the end of the season. Wouldn't be surprised to see it below 1100; pushing an 8-10% drop on last year.

[Riddickcule]

Why do you think so negatively? How about this, crowds push up towards the end of the year for the few clubs in europe.

[John83]

Why do you think so negatively? How about this, crowds push up towards the end of the year for the few clubs in europe.
The accepted wisdom seems to be that the overall average peaks early and declines over the season.

Pineapple, you may have the numbers handy: could you plot the running average at the end of each week for last year, and for the year before, just to confirm this?

[pineapple stu]

Eh - I'll get back to you on that. I don't keep running weekly details on the Excel sheet, so I'd have to go through all the previous years' threads. I may start keeping a sheet of it though.

But for this year, you've got the World Cup for the next two weeks of the season, which will kill crowds even deader than they are now. Drogheda v UCD, for example, will clash with the second quarter-final - potentially England v France. Fingal v UCD will clash directly with Chile v Spain/Switzerland v Honduras. There's two weeks killed, and there's still two more rounds of midweek games and one round of Saturday games (clash with Armenia v Ireland) to come.

[John83]

Fair enough. I previously checked this for maybe the first round of games of two seasons ago, and if I recall correctly, they started high and slid steadily towards the end of season total.

[Riddickcule]

That doesn't mean it'll be set in stone.

[Dodge]

Why do you think so negatively? How about this, crowds push up towards the end of the year for the few clubs in europe.

Thats not true at all. Pats league crowds actually dipped during our european run.

I've no doubt that challenging for league titles helped Bohs crowd more than playing in Europe (and the requisite messing about with game days/kick offs)

[John83]

That doesn't mean it'll be set in stone.
No, it absolutely doesn't. I'd just sooner put money on Pineapple's pessimism being right in this instance than your optimism. :)

[Ciaran W]

Hopefully if the league stays as open as it is towards the end of the season, that should boost rovers bohs pats fingal and dundalk's crowds

[pineapple stu]

Fair enough. I previously checked this for maybe the first round of games of two seasons ago, and if I recall correctly, they started high and slid steadily towards the end of season total.
I'm fairly sure that's a solid trend alright. I know the average has been slipping all this season, to the point where we're now below last year. It'll rise again towards the end, but not by more than it'll fall in the meantime.

[**FrOsTy**]

Surely the FAI will have to take a look at the league. 4 Months is way to much of a break. Start the league a month earlier. Not having as much midweek games woud boost crowds. Plus for the majority of teams it would help with the small squads. Teams with 17/18/19 players struggle with these games as there playing 6/7 games a month which is unfair.

[pineapple stu]

We've been through this though. Adding four weeks to the season adds four weeks' wages. So if your weekly budget is E3k, and if by having four midweek games you lose 200 people off each gate, then you're saving E12k while losing out on E8k.

[**FrOsTy**]

It's very different for each club though. One club may lose 200. Others may lose 4/5/600. We had 1000 at our Derry game, 400 at the midweek Athlone. It's a situation that has to be looked into to remain fair to all clubs. Teams may find themselves having extra players in the squad to accomodate for the midweek games thus more wages.

[pineapple stu]

It is different for each club. But I'd say it probably does make financial sense for most clubs. We've maybe lost 100 on each gate? So E4k gone to save E12k. I don't think clubs would bring in players just for the spate of games; that's why you've U-20 and A teams, which are presumably largely amateur.

(That's assuming that 8/18 home games on Fridays, as we're looking at this season at best, has no effect on trying to make regulars out of people).

[SkStu]

We've been through this though. Adding four weeks to the season adds four weeks' wages. So if your weekly budget is E3k, and if by having four midweek games you lose 200 people off each gate, then you're saving E12k while losing out on E8k.

but dont players get paid for the term of their contract and not for the amount of weeks in a season?

[John83]

but dont players get paid for the term of their contract and not for the amount of weeks in a season?
Only pros.

[SkStu]

okay - so theres no term contracts for players who arent pros? They run week to week or "per season"?

[John83]

That's my understanding of it. It's one of the reasons it's so costly for teams to go pro.

[SkStu]

good stuff. didnt know that.

[Green&whitearmy]

Decent enough crowd in bray last nite, i'd say about 2000 with about 1500 or so from rovers.

[Candystripe]

Derry v Longford 1,288

I thought it was a bit more than that!!!

[fionnsci]

Irish Times had 1,615 for Bohs-Dundalk. Also it gave 600 for Drogheda-Galway.

[Athlone Town FC]

Athlone Town vs Monaghan Utd

Official attendance 276

[Sam_Heggy]

Harps - Shels - 497.

[listowelceltic]

cork limerick 1247

[bullit]

cork limerick 1247
is that good or bad attendance wise for cork?

[Lim till i die]

is that good or bad attendance wise for cork?

Controversial is what tis.

Crowd looked every bit as bad as our league cup clash earlier in the year and that was with a sizeable Limerick contingent.

They brought nearly as many up to Jackman on Good Friday as they had there last night. Midway through the second half you could actually audibly hear a giant bubble popping.

[bullit]

Controversial is what tis.

Crowd looked every bit as bad as our league cup clash earlier in the year and that was with a sizeable Limerick contingent.

They brought nearly as many up to Jackman on Good Friday as they had there last night. Midway through the second half you could actually audibly hear a giant bubble popping.
Very good

[Acornvilla]

many corkies coming up to longford?

[Martinho II]

many corkies coming up to longford?

there a bus coming up for starters!!

[Martinho II]

Derry v Longford 1,288

I thought it was a bit more than that!!!

i assume thats a official attendance candystripe! the talk in Longford was the crowd was a lot less but what do they know!

[poster]

1,550 at Rovers/Patrick's last night.

[Riddickcule]

Many pats?

[Darkglasses]

60 to 70 at Youths against Salthill. 12-15 Youths fans, but probably countless more still lost all over Connemara.

[Dodge]

Many pats?

ABout 120 or so.

[Schumi]

300 at most in Santry.

[total hoofball]

300 at most in Santry.

511 according to extratime.ie

http://extratime.ie/fixtures/detail/12046/2/

[**FrOsTy**]

Decent enough crowd in bray last nite, i'd say about 2000 with about 1500 or so from rovers.

That's not much of a decent crowd if 3/4 of it was the away team.

[The Lep]

511 according to extratime.ie

http://extratime.ie/fixtures/detail/12046/2/

Schumi is closer but i'll go with extratime on this one :)

[Rasputin]

1,550 at Rovers/Patrick's last night.
Really poor crowd last night, I was expecting alot more.

[Partizan]

about 500 at the RSC for Blues v Mervue. WC really not helping.

[micls]

Controversial is what tis.

Crowd looked every bit as bad as our league cup clash earlier in the year and that was with a sizeable Limerick contingent.

They brought nearly as many up to Jackman on Good Friday as they had there last night. Midway through the second half you could actually audibly hear a giant bubble popping.

You'd have to be blind to think those 2 attendances were the same.....I actually expected it to be under 1000 with the Spain game on.

You're right though, the atmosphere was shocking.

[pineapple stu]

Averages after round 18. Official figures in bold. Club averages in bold means more than half of their figures are official.

PREMIER DIVISION
Bohs - 2,012 (2009 - 2,366; 2008 - 1,993; 2007 - 1,924; 2006 - 1,463; 2005 - 1,976)
Bray - 900 (1,169; 1,106; 1,200; 1,027; 1,550)
Drogheda - 1,109 (1,106; 1,631; 1,919; 1,751; 1,682) (missing Galway)
Dundalk - 2,215 (2,371; 1,459 FD; 1,406 FD; 1,078 FD; 474 FD)
Galway - 886 (1,076; 1,393; 2,199; 1,148 FD; 566 FD)
Pat's - 1,873 (1,631; 1,795; 1,910; 1,342; 1,599)
Rovers - 3,598 (3,611; 1,468; 1,715; 1,089 FD; 1,539)
Sligo - 1,895 (1,756; 1,960; 1,448; 1,806; 1,794 FD)
Sporting Fingal - 1,032 (635 FD; 688 FD)
UCD - 573 (272 FD; 546; 663; 546; 653; 306 FD)

FIRST DIVISION
Athlone - 495 (462; 387; 670; 421; 316)
Cork - 2,021 (2,681 PD; 3,142 PD; 2,897 PD; 2,941 PD; 3,644 PD)
Derry - 2,094 (2,436 PD; 3,363 PD; 2,614 PD; 3,229 PD; 2,698 PD)
Harps - 642 (480; 1,607 PD; 1,164; 428; 1,347 PD; 1,106)
Limerick - 609 (429; 517; 670; 364; 669)
Longford - 253 (260; 406; 885 PD; 681 PD; 1,004 PD)
Mervue - 157 (166)
Monaghan - 259 (183; 177; 292; 204; 183) (missing Shels)
Salthill Devon - 138 (N/A)
Shels - 725 (972; 986; 888; 1,690 PD; 1,949 PD)
Waterford - 734 (434; 670; 1,181 PD; 915 PD; 1,513 PD)
Wexford - 319 (494; 767; 810)

Premier Division average - 1,614 (2,010; 1,746; 1,687; 1,535; 1,759)
First Division average - 714 (417; 641; 722; 570; 520)

Overall average - 1,144 (1,175; 1,221; 1,235; 1,070; 1,195)

Attendances for last weekend (i.e. the figures I've gone with) -

Premier Division
Bohs v Dundalk 1615
Bray v Rovers 2000
Drogheda v Galway - nothing yet
Fingal v UCD 511 (I'm aware of the comments that the 511, which I assume if the official figure, is too high, but I'm putting in official figures anyway as to do otherwise would just create open gates on challenging any official figures. Many people have commented that Fingal's official figures in particular look dodgy; I think it's enough to add schumi and The Lep's comments to that list for now)
Sligo v Pat's 1550

First Division
Cork v Limerick 1247
Derry v Longford 1288
Waterford v Mervue 500
Harps v Shels 497
Salthill v Wexford 70
Athlone v Monaghan 276

Recent games missing -
Drogheda v Galway

[TheBoss]

500 Est. for Cork v Limerick - http://www.extratime.ie/fixtures/detail/12053/2/
600 Est. for Drogheda v Galway - http://www.extratime.ie/fixtures/detail/12045/2/

[John83]

Pineapple, you're missing FDs in Sporting Fingal's older figures.

[The Lep]

Fingal v UCD 511 (I'm aware of the comments that the 511, which I assume if the official figure, is too high, but I'm putting in official figures anyway as to do otherwise would just create open gates on challenging any official figures. Many people have commented that Fingal's official figures in particular look dodgy; I think it's enough to add schumi and The Lep's comments to that list for now)

You can take away the suggestion that i agree that Fingal official figures are Dodgey. My comment was about extratime.ie's figure and to single out Sporting Fingal's official figures as dodgey ( Maybe not your doing ) out of order seeing that you could question the official figures of plenty of clubs in the league.