QuoteSince switching to a summer league, Irish football attendances have improved,
Grand, apart from the fact that the opposite is true.
TG
See here for more details.
Since switching to a summer league, Irish football attendances have improved,
Grand, apart from the fact that the opposite is true.
TG
The opposiate is not true. Attendences were up alot in the first season and while they decreased in the second season they were still as good if not better than in the days of winter football imo. It certinaly hasn't seen a reduction in attendences.
It certainly has for us, and the board have said as much.
In terms of travelling to away games, I reckon that with a few exceptions the same could be said
I see Jimmy Mcgeough is calling for change in the Irish League as well. see here
Didn't the league issue a brief overview of the attendances noting that the lowest crowds were in July and August? Seems fairly damning.
I wonder how much up attendances were in 2003. If there's one thing the attendances thread showed, it's that no-one really had much of an idea about attendances across the league... I certainly didn't think they were up a lot - ours were down a lot, though partly to do with being bottom of the league for the whole season. Unfortunately, with no proper stats, we'll never really know...
Well I'd imagine mid season is always the worst for attendences, at the start of the season everybody goes to games then attendences tail off for a bit before the end when it starts getting dramatic the crowds reach their peak, I'd imagine that's how it works for every league at any date.Originally Posted by pineapple stu
Maybe, but it has to be said too that Bank Holidays were particularly bad for attendances. Euro 2004 hit hard as well, and summer holidays...
Overall, I'd still say that the general comment about Irish football attendances improving is more yer man wanting to believe it than him having any hard facts.
Attendances during the summer months were brutal at Harps despite having one of our best runs in Div 1. The crowds came back strongly once the season moved into the autumn. This is fact.
Summer football matches on long evenings, in good weather have been disasterous for attendances, particularly in provincial areas. Many people will not finish work early enough on a Friday while are making use of their weekends with family or outdoor work. This is the casual fan wea re talking about, not the hardcore who would be there if games were on at 11.00am on a Monday!!
Reports we have heard from our league rep would indicate that the story is very similar at most other clubs. I think that the general consensus is that most clubs were down up to 20% in the first full summer season compared to the last winter season.
I'm not arguing against summer football, playing conditions and european results (although this affects only 4 teams from 22) have improved, but it is a myth that it has in any way helped attendances.
TG
Correct, our crowds are significantly down on winter football, many people in rural areas work long hours in summer time and can't take the time off to come in for matches
Upwards to the vanguard where the pressure is too high.
Anyhow, how would a Shels fan notice attendances getting worse....you need to have a crowd to begin with.....
[SIZE=1]sorry couldn't resist...[/SIZE]
It may have affected attendances at some clubs but I don't think anyone can argue that summer football is a bad thing. No more waterlogged pitches and better European results (and if this only affects 4 from 22 teams, then surely the rest of the league has to raise standards to match these 4 teams). I think in the bigger picture, summer football is a good thing.
As I said it has many positives and is unlikely to be changed any time soon.
However, the benefit to european form can only ever help 4 teams, unless we get some more European places, the counter argument is that the success of these 4 teams does have knock on benefits for the league as a whole.
However, if you are a team sitting at the lower end of Div 1, light years from ever getting into Europe its hard to see how these benefits counter balance your gates being down 20% in the summer.
What is needed is more improvements in facilities and playing standards combined with much better marketing of the league to improve attendances in general, but it is a myth to say that one of the benefits of summer football is improved attendances like the Welsh article claims.
TG
If Derek said it, it must be true
Finn Harps Dot Com
www.finnharps.com
Even if attendances generally seem to be down (based only on guesswork but probably accurate) I still think summer football is a good thing overrall.
Bank holidays and summer holidays don't stop big crowds going to GAA matches.
Therefore the problem not when the games are being played but with the way the league and the clubs are viewed by the public.
The improvement in pitches and European results are positives that can't be ignored and in the long term should help to attract more spectators.
Given the current weather I'm bloody glad I'm not wondering about whether City's next game will be postponed or not.
I'm what? I'm ants at a picnic?
Part of the problem with the Bank Holidays, is where the games are scheduled. For example the Monday night, rather than the Monday afternoon.
Personally, I find it a lot harder to get away for a friday night in the summer than I do in the winter, and it's only going to get harder....
If you attack me with stupidity, I'll be forced to defend myself with sarcasm.
The key to increasing crowds at Eircom League games (and more so Welsh games) is not in itself simply switching from Winter to Summer football. That's akin to merely rearranging the seats on the Titanic. Summer football alone won't save our league.
Seasonal weather is a handy excuse and an easy issue for the FAI to address in attempting to tackle a very complicated problem - namely, the poor appeal of Irish club football. Irish people would turn out in their droves in a force nine gale at 3am on a Monday morning to watch the Celtic first team play their local schoolboy side on a muddy field with no lights. We can't get anywhere near the numbers to turn out to watch their local team even on a glorious Summer's evening.
The key probelm with Irish football is it's appeal - particularly in relation to competitive football products which are viewed as superior, more exciting and more glamorous (Premiership and SPL). Switching to or from Summer football will in itself do no more than add or subtract a couple of hundred at most form an average crowd. Likewise the choice of evening a game is played on is only tinkering around the edges.
The core benefit Summer football will deliver, however, is in having our teams better prepared for European matches. Continually better European results will in turn generate positive media (albeit for a small number of teams), a degree of hype (albeit for a small number of games) and will go a large way towards addressing the perceived gulf in quality between Irish football and that played almost anywhere else. Overtime (and it will be a long-term process) this will eventually erode the idea that Irish football is completely pants.
The other way to tackle the inherent problem of 'appeal' alongside better European results this is through Marketing. That's the FAI's job. Which explains why it's never been done, then....
Improvements to the condition of pitches etc are also not real benefits from Summer football. Freak snowfalls aside, any half decent ground will function regardless of the time of year (they can do it in the English 3rd division...). We just happen to have very few half-decent grounds in our league...
To expect people to suddenly turn up in their thousands to watch our teams just because its July is ridiculous. It suggests there's significant pent-up demand for our league that's been forced to sit at home huddling round a fire in the cold Winter months, when all they really wanted to be doing was watching Eircom League matches. No such demand currently exists.
Therefore - Summer football should be looked at almost entirely as being an exercise in improving our European football results. That is the only way in which it could possibly create the change in 'appeal' required to generate any significant long-term increase in crowds.
Well put.
TG
In Longford attendances will always be lower for during the summer and not just because of seasonal work. The fact is that, in view of the small population in the clubs catchment area, you can only have large attendances when traditional GAA supporters attend matches. In the summer there is just too many high profile Gaelic games on to retain this support. Even though in Longford the powers that be (in both codes) have been very sensible as regards avoiding clashes, there is just too many fixtures for fans to attend everything. The expense involved would also make it impossible for the average earner to support both codes during the summer months.
I didnt realise Longford were involved in big GAA matches in the Summer.
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