2013 Attendances

[oriel]

These are very disappointing attendances, not even hitting 10k overall is very poor for any week. Granted 4 of the top 5 teams in terms of attendance averages were away, but its still bad.

The figure for Pats is just dreadful.

[oriel]

when we were last up in premier we get over 2000 for big games ie shamrock rovers and derry.can remember derry bringing over 1500 for last league game of season and they had beat athlone r even draw win league.they missed pen and lost 1-0 I think.they must rattled bar about 5 times.shuda murdered athlone dat day lol

I think Derry drew 1-1 in that game, final match of 1995. I'm sure Donal Golden scored for Athlone after one minute. Liam Coyle scored a screamer for Derry who had to win, but couldnt force a winner. We held on for a 2-0 win over Galway, and our game finished 5 mins early, last 5 mins from Athlone was played from rte radio on the PA system in oriel park, we then won the league by a point and got some pretend trophy, as the real one was sitting in St Mels.

Shels/Pats was also a 3rd game that could have had an impact that day, but that result didnt matter in the end.

[dejadem]

Shels/Pats was also a 3rd game that could have had an impact that day, but that result didnt matter in the end.

Didn't both of the other results not have to go Dundalk's way? I thought Dundalk were 3rd going into the games that day? My memory isn't what it used to be, so could be wrong about that.

[oriel]

Yes you're right, both did, we were defintely 3rd on the last day, Shels had to win also, but only Derry could win it with one result, their own match with a win, which they didnt get. Shels also needed results elsewhere I think. Crazy day, but we were the longest odds to win it, for sure.

[dejadem]

Yes you're right, both did, we were defintely 3rd on the last day, Shels had to win also, but only Derry could win it with one result, their own match with a win, which they didnt get. Shels also needed results elsewhere I think. Crazy day, but we were the longest odds to win it, for sure.

Derry could have 'punished' Athlone for that result a year later by beating them on the last day to relegate them, but that ended in a 1-1 draw too, Athlone stayed up and we went down instead.

[nigel-harps1954]

I reckon about 330 at Cobh ramblers v wexford, also in attendance one Roy Keane.

You weren't far off. It was 321. An extra 9 Roy Keanes and you'd have been spot on.

These are very disappointing attendances, not even hitting 10k overall is very poor for any week. Granted 4 of the top 5 teams in terms of attendance averages were away, but its still bad.

The figure for Pats is just dreadful.

It's terribly worrying. It's another argument against summer football in my eyes. One of the main arguments was always that crowds had improved dramatically for summer football, it's very clear, people are not attending matches during the summer for a number of reasons. Clashes with the GAA and weather are a major factor.

[Comic Book Guy]

[QUOTE=nigel-harps1954;1695831]You weren't far off. It was 321. An extra 9 Roy Keanes and you'd have been spot on.
If we had an extra 9 Roys I'd put them straight in the team!
Our crowds have held up pretty well bar last Saturday, a number of other events took from the crowd, also the
weather can be too good sometimes.
The recent bad run of results didnt help

[buttyk]

well fai need change leagues plit up into 2 leagues and not having like fin harps and derry going down cobh n corked have 2 pools top 2 go into play offs to win league and decide euro places. pool 1 cud be athlone derry,finn harps,galway,bohs,shels ucd, sligo....pool 2 cud be bray,shamrock,cork,waterford,limerick,cobh,pats,du ndalk,drogs,.then next year move dublins team to different pools.ie pats,shamrock and bray go pool 1 and bohs shells and ucd go pool 2.change it around every year but athlone Longford derry finn harps galway and Sligo stay same pool. cobh cork Waterford limerick stay together .cuts out travelling and cost for fans and clubs. WHAT DO YEE THINK?????

[wonder88]

Martin Russell spoke of his dismay at how only a few people turn up to watch UCD play on mns. The owner of St Pats must be also very disappointed with the drop in support for his club this season when they are playing such a nice style of soccer. Is reducing the number of clubs in Dublin the answer? Maybe but it has not worked in Galway.

[Charlie Darwin]

Martin Russell spoke of his dismay at how only a few people turn up to watch UCD play on mns. The owner of St Pats must be also very disappointed with the drop in support for his club this season when they are playing such a nice style of soccer. Is reducing the number of clubs in Dublin the answer? Maybe but it has not worked in Galway.

You can't just reduce the number of clubs. The FAI has screwed over Galway United, but even so they at least waited until GUFC destroyed itself first. And still, it's clear to everybody but a small few in Galway soccer and the FAI that they only viable senior club in Galway is GUST.

Nevertheless, the issue isn't that there's too many clubs in Dublin - it's that Dublin is apathetic to its clubs. Even at their low ebb, Galway were able to bring 1,000 into Terryland, or 1 in 75 people in the metro area. By contrast, Dublin has 6 clubs (including Bray) in the metro area and 10,000 fans at a pinch, equating to 1 in 150+. Both numbers are far from impressive and well below the capabilities of either city. And even if reducing clubs was an option, where do you think the 100-odd Fingal fans have gone? They certainly haven't gone to the other Dublin clubs, they've gone to Croker or the RDS or anywhere but the LOI.

[gufcfan]

And still, it's clear to everybody but a small few in Galway soccer and the FAI that they only viable senior club in Galway is GUST.

Just speaking for myself, but I think the aim of GUST is to have a Galway United that is answerable to supporters, run sustainably and heavily involved in the community. I know is sounds like a much of a muchness, but it can be mistaken or often portrayed as an attempted power grab of sorts. Some individuals need to be removed from the equation for certain, but everyone else has a part to play.

We just want the mess sorted out and GUST are just part of the solution.

Edit: Was just pointing it out, didn't think GUST were being accused.

[Charlie Darwin]

Oh, I wasn't implying for a second that GUST are trying to take over anything. I'm saying that Galway United is the club that Galway people have looked up to for generations, and it would be a real tragedy for the league if the coming generations are lost to Irish football like Shamrock Rovers were post-Kilcoyne. Unfortunately in Ireland it's far easier to kill a club than it is to build one.

[gufcfan]

Sorry, the post does sound very defensive but that wasn't what I meant, just making a point since you brought GUST up.

Anyway, attendances...

Crowds really flocking to Drom this year.

[Redzer]

913 in Limerick last eve for Cup QF. I'd say less than 100 from Sligo.

[disgruntled]

Crowds are really down all over.
People are under savage pressure elsewhere in their lives so League of Ireland football is the last thing on their minds.

When I look at clubs like Pats who are top of the league I say to myself. "What have clubs to do" ?
If you're top of the league & the fans don't come to games then what ?

[oriel]

Not that it matters much but back up to a few posts above, the game we were discussing, last match of 1994/95 season, not sure but possibly one of the smallest crowds to see a side clinch the title. Granted we were 3rd on the final day, but still only 1,500 or so turned up to see us beat Galway 2-0, hardly anyone had any hope as Derry were in such great form. Enter Donal Golden and the Athlone keeper ! Must have been 3 or 4,000 at the Athlone v Derry match same day.

With this seasons poor crowds, its hard to offer a view on why they are so poor for so many clubs. Derry should be getting a lot more, Pats too, it doesnt help having Cork in lower mid table.

Whats the solution, hardly a return to winter football, I think a super league of 16 teams would work much better, and the way things are going in the FD, it could be forced upon the Lge.

[Spudulika]

Made a presentation to a convention tonight, last weekend I was trying to put together some figures to compare Ireland and Russia in relation to sports. So I decided to look at attendances for professional/major sports leagues. Using very basic figures (from standard sources) I found that 0.0042% of Dublin's population follow the capital's clubs (didn't include Tallaght of the South, ie Bray) compared to 0.0044% of Muscovites.

[gufcfan]

I was going to say, apples and oranges, but they are more similar than what you have compared there

So many factors involved there.

[peterc1992]

Not that it matters much but back up to a few posts above, the game we were discussing, last match of 1994/95 season, not sure but possibly one of the smallest crowds to see a side clinch the title. Granted we were 3rd on the final day, but still only 1,500 or so turned up to see us beat Galway 2-0, hardly anyone had any hope as Derry were in such great form. Enter Donal Golden and the Athlone keeper ! Must have been 3 or 4,000 at the Athlone v Derry match same day.

With this seasons poor crowds, its hard to offer a view on why they are so poor for so many clubs. Derry should be getting a lot more, Pats too, it doesnt help having Cork in lower mid table.

Whats the solution, hardly a return to winter football, I think a super league of 16 teams would work much better, and the way things are going in the FD, it could be forced upon the Lge.

Thats cool to hear of 3k or so down in mels. Our attendances are improving but only because we have improved.

But as ye have been saying Pats are getting very average attendances yet are top.

Obviously the recession is a big thing in recent years but is the fact that the Premiership in England got more commercialised in the last 10-15 years meant less people go to local games?

I can't imagine even if we were doing well in mid table next year in the Premier Division that we would be able to get anything near 3000.

Also in regards to changing the structure. I think a bigger Premier Division would bring better crowds all round.

If Salthill had big clubs like rovers, Bohemians, St pats, Derry at home in the League twice a year then people who dont usually go to games will go to see some of the best players in Ireland.I'm not saying Salthill would be in the Premier Diviosn but if they were it would be an improvement on there attendances.

Fai also need to sort themselves out. We need more commercialism , more games on tv. Better promotion or our games and less of the English games.

[peterc1992]

Made a presentation to a convention tonight, last weekend I was trying to put together some figures to compare Ireland and Russia in relation to sports. So I decided to look at attendances for professional/major sports leagues. Using very basic figures (from standard sources) I found that 0.0042% of Dublin's population follow the capital's clubs (didn't include Tallaght of the South, ie Bray) compared to 0.0044% of Muscovites.

It's a bad country to compare it too.

Moscow is a way bigger city than Dublin so generally there going to have better teams and there best team(s) is going to be better than ours. They also have better footballers in that league because its a bigger country and because of that they will progress more in Europe and the cycle is better as people come to watch the games.

Also Russian football has a lot of money in it so despite getting the figures they would desire(comparitive to England,germany) they are able to keep going and bring good players into the country.

In general, that number is quite low so even though it is similar to ours it is still bad but it works in Russia because it is a bigger country and because they have money regardless.