Football The 2011/2012 Season Thread

[Wazzerphuk]

And the record for the longest period without any silverware?

So many people with short memories

 

[Wazzerphuk]

Battersea is currently a shithole and is in major need of regeneration. It's one of the worst places in London.

 

[Billargh]

I reckon Newcastle could easily sell upwards to 60k tickets per game, we pretty much sell out every game, and thats with 52k seats.

 

[cHodAX]

Stamford Bridge is already full of tourists tbh.

Torres was a tourist for 13 months before someone started doping his cornflakes every matchday morning!

 

[cHodAX]

Battersea is currently a shithole and is in major need of regeneration. It's one of the worst places in London.

Thanks for clearing that up, I did a google street maps and got that impression but I didn't want say it without having been to that part of the city.

 

[Wazzerphuk]

I reckon Newcastle could easily sell upwards to 60k tickets per game, we pretty much sell out every game, and thats with 52k seats.

Much bigger and more loyal fan base for Toon than Chelsea though. Most notably the loyatly fact.

 

[Wazzerphuk]

http://www.football365.com/news/21554/7729410/Reds-hint-at-Dempsey-swoop

Please don't go there Dempsey, I love you and I couldn't stand to see you in that scummy shirt playing for utter cunts as fans.

Also hate this kind of scummy statement: "We never talk publicly about transfer targets, however, any team would be lucky to have Clint Dempsey playing on their squad," said Werner.

 

[cHodAX]

I reckon Newcastle could easily sell upwards to 60k tickets per game, we pretty much sell out every game, and thats with 52k seats.

For years I would have thought the same but looking at your actual club revenue and merchandise sales I don't think that it stands up. Even indicators like Facebook where you have under 400k followers tend to point to a moderate but very loyal and active support. Nationally and globally though the numbers don't grow much, the vast majority of your fanbase is in the north east and they already have access to games with reasonable prices, if the demand was really there then surely the stadium would have organically expanded as Old Trafford did over the course of a decade to accomodate massive demand.

Don't take that as a slight to your club by the way, one of the best things about your club is that it is very much a local club.

 

[Embattle]

Much bigger and more loyal fan base for Toon than Chelsea though. Most notably the loyatly fact.

It is an interesting statement often used when describing other clubs but at the same time I'm interested in knowing where the actual facts come from for it?

 

[Raven]

A lot of Chelsea fans are only fans since the money was there and they were successful, a dry period will see much of that fan base evaporate, flag waving is only fun if you are winning. Toon fans generally stay through thick and thin.

 

[DaGaffer]

The problem with your theory is that it doesn't happen for Champions League games as Wazz has already said. Also how does moving it out to Battersea make that any more viable? Moving south of the river doesn't automatically mean it is going to be a better area does it? I don't know that part of London that well but isn't Chelsea fairly upmarket and Battersea less so?

Champions League is week nights and most Chelsea fans don't want to commute in from Guilford. (I've been in OT for CL games and seen empty seats, its not as big a draw as you think in the group stages). From what I understand, the whole Battersea Power Station thing is a big redevelopment of which the stadium would only be a part; it will be a tourist destination in its own right. Stamford Bridge on the other hand is surprisingly inaccessable (You DO NOT go anywhere near The Fulham Road on a Saturday afternoon).

 

[Wazzerphuk]

It is an interesting statement often used when describing other clubs but at the same time I'm interested in knowing where the actual facts come from for it?

Look at their consistently high attendances in the Championship. You think the Chelsea plastics would stay? I don't.

 

[cHodAX]

A lot of Chelsea fans are only fans since the money was there and they were successful, a dry period will see much of that fan base evaporate, flag waving is only fun if you are winning. Toon fans generally stay through thick and thin.

Also not true, NUFC have averaged just under 47k this season, that is 5k under capacity iirc. If it isn't full every week then they won't add capacity, both United and Arsenal are both considering expansion because they hit in excess of 95% capacity every home game and so the expansion will pay for itself, especially Arsenal just by adding extra seats. St James's Park requires about £30-40 million quid to add another 8k to capacity, the only way those numbers add up is with Champions League football for at least two years.

 

[cHodAX]

Look at their consistently high attendances in the Championship. You think the Chelsea plastics would stay? I don't.

High but not capacity, 47k is not 52k. There are empty seats for a large amount of games, even in the PL. Newcastle could potentially grow to fill it though and a 60k stadium, it just requires moderate success whereas Chelsea would require sustained success to keep growing the fanbase.

 

[cHodAX]

Champions League is week nights and most Chelsea fans don't want to commute in from Guilford. (I've been in OT for CL games and seen empty seats, its not as big a draw as you think in the group stages). From what I understand, the whole Battersea Power Station thing is a big redevelopment of which the stadium would only be a part; it will be a tourist destination in its own right. Stamford Bridge on the other hand is surprisingly inaccessable (You DO NOT go anywhere near The Fulham Road on a Saturday afternoon).

Have been going to CL games since the birth of the CL and our entry into it. The numbers are something like 96% capacity over those 20 years for CL. The business model we run demands 90% capacity as a minimum.

As for the Chelsea stuff, I do see your point but people in the area does not equal sales of £50 tickets. Footfall has very little impact on ticket sales anywhere in the world.

 

[DaGaffer]

Have been going to CL games since the birth of the CL and our entry into it. The numbers are something like 96% capacity over those 20 years for CL. The business model we run demands 90% capacity as a minimum.

As for the Chelsea stuff, I do see your point but people in the area does not equal sales of £50 tickets. Footfall has very little impact on ticket sales anywhere in the world.

Of course not, you have to market it, but football stadia in general aren't usually in the most easy-to-access areas in most cities, and you've got a better crack at making the tourist numbers work in a location like Battersea Park than most places I can think of (I'm sure that will have been part of Spurs' thinking with their bid for the Olympic Stadium - its going to have excellent access from Stratford and the Westfield is destination in its own right).

 

[Wazzerphuk]

Of course not, you have to market it, but football stadia in general aren't usually in the most easy-to-access areas in most cities, and you've got a better crack at making the tourist numbers work in a location like Battersea Park than most places I can think of (I'm sure that will have been part of Spurs' thinking with their bid for the Olympic Stadium - its going to have excellent access from Stratford and the Westfield is destination in its own right).

That and they know that North London is ours, and they feel guilty for trespassing.

 

[Billargh]

I doubt even if an expansion to St. James Park (sod off, not Sports Direct Arena!) were feasible financially, that it would be possible to go ahead, there simply isn't enough room around the stadium. From memory we've had 2 fair sized in the last 20 years anyway.

This season though we're 3rd on the list of average attendances with nigh on 50k (49,799 to be precise), only Arsenal and Man United have higher.

 

[eksdee]

That and they know that North London is ours, and they feel guilty for trespassing.

Even though you're from south London.

 

[Embattle]

Look at their consistently high attendances in the Championship. You think the Chelsea plastics would stay? I don't.

In terms of facts I wouldn't know but in terms of what I would expect then I would say probably not but then that will effect all teams to a degree, however it isn't as if we can base the plans for increasing our capacity and improving accessibility on short term results since even now it has been in the works for many years. I would also like to point out that trying to insult people in the past with the term glory hunters didn't work and in turn the term plastics won't either because in generally those types of short term fans don't really care any way.

I don't think we do bad when it comes to attendance either:

http://itv.stats.football365.com/dom/ENG/PR/attend.html
http://www.worldfootball.net/zuschauer/eng-premier-league-2011-2012/1/

 

[Embattle]

As for Battersea I would be interested in seeing the designs/plans first before we moved since it looks quite hard to keep the towers etc.

 

[cHodAX]

I doubt even if an expansion to St. James Park (sod off, not Sports Direct Arena!) were feasible financially, that it would be possible to go ahead, there simply isn't enough room around the stadium. From memory we've had 2 fair sized in the last 20 years anyway.

This season though we're 3rd on the list of average attendances with nigh on 50k (49,799 to be precise), only Arsenal and Man United have higher.

I got my numbers here, they might not be accurate although the date says 22nd April. If they are incorrect then I apologise...

http://www.emfootball.co.uk/attend.html

 

[Billargh]

I got my numbers here, they might not be accurate although the date says 22nd April. If they are incorrect then I apologise...

http://www.emfootball.co.uk/attend.html

One of us is right either way, no idea who Regardless, still 3rd highest attendances on both links!

 

[cHodAX]

Looks like Stoke are ready to expand as well, 27,598 capacity and a 27,200 average.

 

[eksdee]

The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing 27,598 people Stoke played football.

 

[cHodAX]

One of us is right either way, no idea who Regardless, still 3rd highest attendances on both links!

Still think you need a few seasons in the CL to justify and and expansion, a couple of years of success and 60k max attendance might be viable, especially if they don't get greedy with prices.

 

[cHodAX]

The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing 27,598 people Stoke played football.

They do what it takes to survive, just like Bolton in the early years. Over time it will change but right now the only way they can earn points is brute force and stamina.

 

[caLLous]

Aston Villa's Alex McLeish calls nightclub incident 'slur on club'

The incident occurred in the early hours of Tuesday morning after the team's annual awards ceremony.

Jesus, I bet that dragged. :\

Also nice to see that the club I used to manage has stayed classy.

 

[megadave]

We had ticket boycotts in the champions league group games this year since they raised the prices when these games are generally routine (if you're not from Manchester) If you factor in the reduced capacity for CL games then it doesn't look so bad. I think a 55k stadium would be more suitable assuming prices don't go up but then I guess the club will have better projections considering all the data they have available.

I think battersea is the only remaining vacant place that most match going fans would be comfortable with, it has the potential to be an iconic stadium if done right, however there's a reason every project proposed for the site has fallen through. Perhaps all it needs is a billionaire's deep pockets, he's sunk money into similar rejuvenation projects in Russia so who knows.

 

[eksdee]

They do what it takes to survive, just like Bolton in the early years. Over time it will change but right now the only way they can earn points is brute force and stamina.

What a load of bollocks.