Might as well start a thread for the new season!
Less than 600 tickets left for Pats/Derry next Friday night….
Irish by birth ,Harps by the grace of god.
https://kesslereffect.bandcamp.com/album/kepler - New music. It's not that bad.
I feel like we just chance selling as many tickets as possible for the Camac sometimes, feels like the sell outs always have varying numbers.
One of them last season was something like 5,106 so I'm guessing around that range anyway depending on the number of away fans.
Dundalk were only getting 3k to 3.5k under Kenny peak era on avg, of course some games were 4k + and the very odd 5k, (last game v Cork City was over 5k in 2014 to win the league) but sometimes during that period crowds dipped well below 3k. Modest size town, a lot of other sports, same as most I suppose.
Last season getting close to 3k avg was a near miracle in my view, never mind 'the bounce seen elsewhere' given the car crash of p6 in 2020 and 2021, it meant fans stuck with them.
However what is clear is this, even if we get close to 3k avg, we will be well down the pecking order in biggest crowds, just the way it goes, our crowds have maintained, and have been almost same for a near decade, a lot of other clubs have moved from quite small averages and in some cases well under 2k to very impressive figures now of over 4k.
Overall the league is showing massive increase, almost all showing huge increases and super to see, ours have mainly stagnated. The poor facility on offer has to be a reason, nothing to attract the floating fan on a wet night, yet still a good base there.
Another thing to note, LOI has overtaken the Irish League by a massive leap, overall we must be pulling in 1500 more per avg v NI league?
#DundalkFC - First Irish club to win an away game in Europe (1963), first Irish club to win points in a group stage in Europe (2016).
BetweenTheStripes.net - Home of Between the Stripes LOI podcast.
100%, if I was a floating fan, or a parent with a kid really into it, a wet night, I can see full well why most in that case would probably not go.
Thankfully for the club in my case and not so (at times) for my 10 yo, they don't have that worry, amazing what the promise of a hotdog on the way home can do to make the call, will I or will I not go !
#DundalkFC - First Irish club to win an away game in Europe (1963), first Irish club to win points in a group stage in Europe (2016).
An average of close to 3k in Dundalk, with the facilities on offer is massively impressive.before the total domination of shams, despite the good groundwork of the club and the best facility in the country you’d be lucky outside of a derby with bohs/pats to see 2k on any given friday. Now with a bit of success it’s 4k and you’d like to think at least a third will stick around when the inevitable Bohemian domination comes around in the next two seasons .
The LOI overtook the IL on average attendances quite some time ago. They've seen an uplift in crowds as well, but not as big as our's in either percentage or real terms - so the gap continues to grow.
The IL's best-supported club (Linfield) is currently averaging 2,850 at games, despite their excellent stadium and years of success/dominance. That would place them 7th in terms of average crowds island-wide, and wouldn't even make them NI's best-supported team
Last edited by EatYerGreens; 12/02/2023 at 12:37 AM.
Don't know if the President's cup game counts here. Shamrock were allocated 670 tickets but sold less than a hundred over a week ago. Derry city sold out their home tickets in 9 minutes but as rovers returned most of theirs paper tickets were sold locally in the normal outlets. Shamrock rovers then got an extra 20 tickets which were not sold.
So with the additional terrace tickets now for the Brandywell, the est attendance for the game is 3,800.
#DundalkFC - First Irish club to win an away game in Europe (1963), first Irish club to win points in a group stage in Europe (2016).
Coleraine are only just behind Linfield in the averages this year too.
Latest from IL Premier:
Glentoran: 3,099
Linfield: 2,852
Coleraine: 2,687
Cliftonville: 1,818
Larne: 1,774
Crusaders: 1,640
Ballymena: 1,327
Portadown: 1,025
Glenavon: 934
Newry: 845
Dungannon: 663
Carrick: 663
https://kesslereffect.bandcamp.com/album/kepler - New music. It's not that bad.
Important to note that the LONGEST away trip in the Irish League (between Coleraine and Newry) is 95 miles and 1hr 40mins by car. With all but 3 of the 12 top tier clubs located within 30miles of each other. It's basically a glorified Belfast & District League.
I've been to a few Newry games, that figure seems very high to me, unless they got a run of big away supporters visiting, very little interest locally on most I speak to there.
Good point by EYG on the travel distance, longest one in NI being 95 miles. That's only 9 miles less than Derry's second 'shortest' trip to Sligo !!
#DundalkFC - First Irish club to win an away game in Europe (1963), first Irish club to win points in a group stage in Europe (2016).
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