' DROP IN ATTENDANCES/WHY ARE CITY FANS STAYING AWAY ? '

Wed Sep 16, 2015 6:59 pm

Bluebirds writer Terry Phillips analyses some of the reasons stay away Cardiff fans are voting with their feet

Wednesday September 16th 2015

Stay away Cardiff fans are missing. Just 13,763 turned up for the game last night, with a similar figure having witnessed the 2-0 victory over Huddersfield a few days earlier.

The crowds Cardiff are attracting under Russell Slade are significantly smaller than in recent years under a variety of different bosses.

So just why have the Bluebirds fans lost belief? Why are they voting with their feet.

Terry Phillips looks at possible reasons.

1: THE RUSSELL SLADE FACTOR

Many Cardiff fans didn’t want Slade as manager in the first place and some, it seems, just won’t warm to him despite some highly credible results.

Slade isn’t Tony Pulis, and too many Cardiff supporters who wanted the Welshman to be manager when Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was dismissed can’t seem to forgive him for that.

Slade himself accepts he still has work to do if he is to win over supporters. Some of those who attend matches are for turning, but far too many still don’t believe he is the man for the job and are voting with their feet.

And the stayaway fans can’t see the progress which Slade insists is being made.

2: TERRIBLE FOOTBALL UNDER SLADE LAST SEASON

The dreadful brand of football played during the second half of last season turned many fans off.

It was route one, dire, with some even dubbing it the worst since the Durban days.

This season, Cardiff are playing a much better brand of football. High tempo, flowing, it is light years away from the boring stuff we saw while Slade was slashing squad wage levels from £28m to £16m and many players knew they would be going.

But the fact is supporters did witness awful football last season. Some have stayed away this time around because they couldn’t stand the thought of it any more.

3: END OF THE GOLDEN TICKET

Peter Ridsdale’s Golden Ticket price freeze was introduced in 2009 and ended for this season.

Prices didn’t go up too much. Season tickets remained decent value for money, but fans had been used to no rises.

Many didn’t renew their season tickets and have not been to a match yet during 2015-16.

The Bluebirds had 16,500 season ticket holders in 2014-15, but the club have said the sales figure is 10,000 this season.

4: THE RED LEGACY

The hurt caused by Cardiff City’s rebrand remains a major problem even though owner Vincent Tan reverted to blue. There are those who still won’t return and it’s a sore subject.

That issue will take a bit more time to fade.

That said, Cardiff used to get bumper crowds under Malky Mackay and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer whilst playing in red. It’s ironic that they have reverted to blue, but gates have dipped dramatically.

5: PREMIER LEAGUE HURT

City’s Premier League experience was ended far too quickly. They went down and new fans attracted by the lure of Chelsea, Manchester United, Liverpool and Co were quickly lost.

Those fair weather fans had not built an attachment to the Bluebirds and didn’t return with the team back in the Championship.

Cardiff had 22,000-plus season ticket holders at the top level and the figure is down to less than half that.

6: THE MALKY FACTOR

If many fans still continue to have doubts about Slade, the majority were firmly in favour of Malky Mackay whilst he was manager.

Then the text scandal he was at the centre of became public knowledge and that caused a lot of damage to the club.

There was trust and a growing belief with Mackay in charge... but the reasons and the manner in which he left the club have since left a sour taste.

That is another issue which caused pain for Cardiff City fans.

7: A ROLLERCOASTER RIDE

Over the last four years Cardiff City have faced troubled times, despite going to the Premier League. The roller coaster ride has been even worse than ‘normal’ Cardiff City ups and downs.

Those years of misery have got to Bluebirds fans and many believe enough is enough.

Wed Sep 16, 2015 7:05 pm

I don't think the missing fans are not convinced and will not give team or Slade a chance but that could change over the coming months. :thumbright:

Wed Sep 16, 2015 7:10 pm

Getting bored of this now, it's a combination of everything :sleepy2:

Wed Sep 16, 2015 7:37 pm

Philips....Its really simple mate.

They were never Cardiff City fans.........

They were football fans alright, jumping on the bandwagon of a upwardly moving juggernaut. The driving force was the fear of missing something big in your backyard. Home town boy returned, big talk in the press and even though the dopey owner had messed with things he shouldn't have, it was OK as you were scared to miss out !!!

Then BANG !!!! We implode, but with early season ticket renewals, I better get one in case we win 7 from the last 10 and stay in the premier league, but of course we'll stay in the premier league we have OGS from my "real" team.

Don't worry we'll bounce straight back up Tan is spending money like a kid in a candy shop.......Bollocks, Ole is clueless, ah never mind back to watching united on dodgy Arabian sport channels on Saturday afternoon....."love, where's my man U mug ?" "glory, glory, Man united........"

Nothing to do with Slade, shit football, Addidas shirts, stewards,no locals in team, direct football, expensive beer, no Clarkes pies, Golden tickets or bloody Malky..........

They were just football fans that wanted a piece of the action, and if it happens again they'll return.....Now Mr tan, have you learned your lesson ?

Last edited by llan bluebird on Wed Sep 16, 2015 7:40 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Wed Sep 16, 2015 7:40 pm

Very simple firstly not as many ST holders as in previous years # so this season 100% garaunteed to be lower than any other season, walk up crowd will not make up the shortfall as in previous seasons only had around 4k walk up fans even when successful? so no way Will there be any More this season! People really should take this season as a fresh start and not harp on about inflated crowds of previous seasons! Absolutely no comparison :thumbup:

Wed Sep 16, 2015 8:00 pm

To say the stay away fans were never real fans is not true for all cases. I know a lot of people who used to go for years, before VT and the years since we made the championship. The rebrand stopped them from going and like any routine you break its hard to get back into it. Once you've made the break you start doing different things with your time and money, and once a long sequence of attending games is broken it becomes easier to miss games going forward.

I suspect they will never fully get back into it again.

Wed Sep 16, 2015 8:24 pm

Carpe Diem wrote:To say the stay away fans were never real fans is not true for all cases. I know a lot of people who used to go for years, before VT and the years since we made the championship. The rebrand stopped them from going and like any routine you break its hard to get back into it. Once you've made the break you start doing different things with your time and money, and once a long sequence of attending games is broken it becomes easier to miss games going forward.

I suspect they will never fully get back into it again.

Those who stayed away in the promotion season have my fullest respect, they were true fans who took a stand......

The Man U analogy is for the greater part of our lost 7K.
We also had the Ninian Park lot, who after the several season in the sanitised CCS realized football had changed for good and they only went for the craic.
NP was one of the last bastions of "English" football before the Soccer AM generation took over. But, the soccer AM lot were the extra seats, and wanted to talk tactics like Mourihno and bought the club shirt which was the wrong colour, because the franchise had fallen in their lap...... They are the ones who have gone

Vinny thought they would outnumber the core fans by 3 :1 he got it the wrong way around :oops:

Wed Sep 16, 2015 9:44 pm

the football is ok this season, not a crowd puller :roll:

Wed Sep 16, 2015 9:57 pm

I don't know the reason, but probably a combination of things. Someone said it's because we have'nt sold as many season tickets, but that's not an answer as we need to know why we have'nt sold as many as in previous seasons. Someone else said we have'nt lost the true supporters, only football fans. Five of us have been regulars for well over 40 years, but three have stopped going over the last year. I know why they stopped, and it was'nt one particular reason but several things. I suppose lots have their own reasons for not going, and it may be more than one thing that is causing this.

Wed Sep 16, 2015 10:27 pm

Steve Zodiak wrote:I don't know the reason, but probably a combination of things. Someone said it's because we have'nt sold as many season tickets, but that's not an answer as we need to know why we have'nt sold as many as in previous seasons. Someone else said we have'nt lost the true supporters, only football fans. Five of us have been regulars for well over 40 years, but three have stopped going over the last year. I know why they stopped, and it was'nt one particular reason but several things. I suppose lots have their own reasons for not going, and it may be more than one thing that is causing this.

we havnt sold as many ST because last season we was not playing good football and was 1st season without protected cost of ST,
and of course no expectations of doing anything not like previous years? so fair weather fans didnt renue

Wed Sep 16, 2015 10:38 pm

Everyone is blaming everyone bar the fans themselves
last season me my old man and son considered not renewing for one main reason not the football was poor it was, not the red/ blue although we should have stayed blue, it was the poisoned atmosphere listening to fans slagging off there team, manager, tea lady stewards etc Christ it was bad enough losing playing crap football but the atmosphere was toxic
we decided to give it 1 more season and see if it got better and Tuesdays game was the most enjoyable game for about a season and a half yes we lost but the players gave there all and atmosphere was ok

Wed Sep 16, 2015 11:13 pm

And there is a number 8
8/ The factor of the Fans being treated like crap by the Club whilst the away fans are treated like royalty. Being treated like kids by Stewards that have obviously been bullied at School. Told which way you can look for fooks sake.
Everything being done by the Club to kill the atmosphere in every area apart from the Canton.

Thu Sep 17, 2015 6:20 am

Nuclearblue wrote:And there is a number 8
8/ The factor of the Fans being treated like crap by the Club whilst the away fans are treated like royalty. Being treated like kids by Stewards that have obviously been bullied at School. Told which way you can look for fooks sake.
Everything being done by the Club to kill the atmosphere in every area apart from the Canton.

Totally agree Nuclearblue and this should be number 1 because for so many people being treated the way they have been and not being felt valued as a fan just for wanting to create a bit of atmosphere was and will be the final straw. Club needs to take a big look at the way it currently treats it's fast decreasing paying customers because the sterile atmosphere is driving more fans away than reasons 1 to 7. Away games have become their fix for many and that's the way they choose to support this Club now.

Thu Sep 17, 2015 6:24 am

I have been supporting city since 1967....but what did it for me was that idiot Tan coming in changing colours and managers at a whim.. and the saying he now knows a lot about football...we are told that some of the signings are his...he brings in Slade who was about to get sacked by orient...the style of football changed after Trollope came in and I still can t warm to Slade....he still thinks Mason is the answer...not impressed by him, agreed the football has improved but is that Slade or Trollope?

For me..i will go back when Tan and his circus are gone and I hope Slade goes with him ..nice guy but not for me.

Before the usual knockers have a go at me...its my opinion.

Thu Sep 17, 2015 7:05 am

Answer - Can get 100 times more entertainment for the same price of a ticket . Just not a very good side and are now seen more as a comedy club than anything else.

Cant believe he only got 7 reasons . I think you could write a book on why nobody wants to go watch them .

Thu Sep 17, 2015 8:26 am