Dalymount, then...

[UCD_4_Life]

So it's back to "the home of football" Dalymount Park on Friday.

I sense another one of those nights when I feel like taking my own life on the trip home.

Not much else to say really, hopefully our recent good form and confidence will see us get a point and maybe a famous victory. But I'd be happy enough to be in the same position when we meet $h£l$ at home in a few weeks.

[Schumi]

The less said about these masochistic trips to Dalymount the better. I've only seen us win there once and I wasn't exactly sober at the game so I can't remember too much about it!

[UCD_4_Life]

From eleven-a-side.com

Bohemians will hand out as many as 1500 free juvenile tickets for the league leaders’ meeting with UCD at Dalymount Park tomorrow night (Friday) in an attempt to boost crowd numbers – and atmosphere – for the game against the UCD.

UCD have impressed many by the quality of their play in recent weeks, during which they have managed to climb off the bottom of the table for the first time in three months, but they remain the worst-supported side in the Premier Division, and there are unlikely to be vast numbers of visiting fans in attendance at the Phibsboro venue.

The venture, initiated ahead of the Dublin derby against St Patrick’s Athletic a month ago, has not been confined to games against the league’s lesser lights – free tickets for children were also handed out for the top-of-the-table clash with Shelbourne three weeks ago.

All children must be accompanied by an adult, and with striker Glen Crowe recently winning his international debut, it has ensured that there is currently a huge incentive to go to Dalymount Park on a Friday night.

Bohemians marketing director, who was helped to implement the move, said: “If there is better value than seeing an Irish international without having paying a penny, then I haven’t come across it!”

Bohemians hold a nine-point lead over second-placed Shels, and with three of their next four games at home, they could have the title as good as wrapped up in time for Christmas.

[UCD_4_Life]

1. I wish I was 10.

2. There's going to be about 1000 annoying kids running around is Bohs get their way.

3. This game is looking worse by the moment.

[pete]

Top of the league & they have to give away free tickets to try & fill the seats...

:rolleyes:

[UCD_4_Life]

Originally posted by pete
Top of the league & they have to give away free tickets to try & fill the seats...

:rolleyes:

What's even worse is that they're probably Ireland's most professional club.

And the whole kids thing won't work out, they're more interested in messing and screaming than actually watching football. The Jodi stand was more like a creche than anything else.

[Schumi]

Originally posted by UCD_4_Life
2. There's going to be about 1000 annoying kids running around is Bohs get their way.

Running around on the pitch for the most part. A whole pile of them ran on at half time for some reason!

[The Money Man]

Originally posted by UCD_4_Life

but they remain the worst-supported side in the Premier Division, and there are unlikely to be vast numbers of visiting fans in attendance at the Phibsboro venue.



Lads, this always bemused me to an extent. There must be about 8,000 fellas between 17 and 27 in UCD. So why is it that a decent support base can't be mobilised? I've asked some of yere players over the years why this was the case but never got a full explanation.

[Schumi]

Originally posted by The Money Man
Lads, this always bemused me to an extent. There must be about 8,000 fellas between 17 and 27 in UCD. So why is it that a decent support base can't be mobilised?
The major problem as I see it is exactly that: students are a bad group of people to try to get as supporters. By the age of 17/18 when they enter UCD, the proportion of students that are interested in football mostly fall into 2 categories. Either they don't care about the EL and are only interested in English TV football or they already follow Bohs, Rovers, Pats or whoever.

[Éanna]

You have a point Schumi, but I think there are people who can be won over. I mean a lot of people in UL (for example) will go to college rugby/soccer/gaa matches, so why UCD can´t try and promote their eL team as representing the college is beyond me

[Schumi]

In regard to this, I think that the summer football may lead to the club putting more effort into trying to get support from the local area rather than from students. We've been saying that to club officials for ages but they seem to have taken that on board lately.

I think the difference between UL and UCD teams is that the UL football team (as far as I know) only play in intervarsity competitions but a Bohs fan (for example) isn't likely to go to UCD games.

[Éanna]

Originally posted by Schumi
I think the difference between UL and UCD teams is that the UL football team (as far as I know) only play in intervarsity competitions but a Bohs fan (for example) isn't likely to go to UCD games.
Well they´re in the U-21 league now, but yeah mainly intervarsities. My point remains though, if people are willing to go out and support their college, surely there´s a market there.

[The Money Man]

I think that its difficult to motivate students to go and watch football full stop! I've been to 5/6 Collingwoods since 1992 and it never ceases to amaze me how few people turn up to watch. I could give any number of examples but for illustration purposes -

Mid 90's, Collingwood in UCD;
Trinity vs DCU;
At stake - semi final place against Queens;
Combined student population of hosts (UCD) and teams involved (TCD & DCU) = 35,000 ish
Crowd = less than a hundred! (and about thirty of those were parents or girlfriends!!!)
Pathetic, and its not just TCD or DCU - most universities are the same!

[Aberdonian Stu]

Bellaghy vs. Kilmacud Corkes & Birr vs Dunloy 1995 All Ireland club finals - total population with a direct interest was somewhere in the region of 250,000 to 300,000 (most from Crokes least from Birr). Total attendance including neutrals 18,000. It was considered a good crowd.

The point I'm trying to make is that estimating a crowd based on the population of the college's is an inaccurate means to gauge it.

But it's still tough to get Students out!!!