Macclesfield Town..

[Lookers_Carl]

No idea, very little information coming out about the progress of the stadium plans. I'm sure if you emailed Alan Hardy as a concerned fan he'd give you as much information as he could.

 

To be fair though, its all hinging on this land swap. The next bit of news we are likely to hear is whether the charity commission have approved the swap or not.

[Goal89]

Simple for me. Im a uni full time and work 2 nights a week to subsidise going out football etc. I simply refuse to pay them prices to watch 3rd tier football (and this would happen despite any success on hte pitch). I would rathr pay 3 pound a week to play myself than do that. I'll probably get to 1 in 3 or 4 home games.

[BlueJazzer]

Yup

 

And all too often the emotional blackmail/sympathy card is played. It has pretty much gotten to the stage where people will drag themselves to BP, enter the ground a ten to three, then piss off as soon as possible afterwards.

 

 

Am i missing the point here? I come to the game, i watch, cheer, support, and then go home?

 

Im certainly not gonna stand outside the main entrance at 1 o'clock autograph hunting and i'm not collecting the kit and going to the launderette after either!!!

[JoeP]

Cost, cost, cost!

 

The end of the debate in my opinion whatever it costs at Latics these days it's clearly too much. I have a ST so I don't know, I envisage about £20?

 

In this day and age where everybody is fighting for a cheap deal ( I work in the retention department of a local ISP, we are not the cheapest but are the best and as a result people leave in droves to go to plusnet etc for £7 p/m) so I understand what it is in a nutshell, the economy.

 

The club will obviously say the wage budget etc has to be accommodated & other costs but I do believe slashing the gate prices would see an upturn in the long run. Then again, I don't run a football club.

 

I disagree. What evidence is there to suggest that we can get a larger support on a consistent basis? The casual fan only seems to want to turn out if it’s free or £2 – they’re not willing to meet the club half way. We’ve had a good start to the season, yet the gates are reducing. Slashing the entrance fee over a long period is too much of a risk for the club.

 

I don’t think there’s anything we can do at the moment. The Oldham public are just not interested. It’s sad, but I think the club would be better concentrating their efforts on seeking income from elsewhere. There’s no way we can rely on the assumption that we’ll get more fans through the gate if we play well – it just ain’t going to happen.

 

£20 isn’t an unreasonable amount to charge, I don’t think. We paid £20 at Peterborough last week and that was standing!

 

[opinions4u]

£20 isn’t an unreasonable amount to charge, I don’t think. We paid £20 at Peterborough last week and that was standing!

£25 for a seat at Posh, and £12 for kids. So £14 more than you'd pay on the day for Latics and the legroom at London Road was awful.

[boundaryblue80]

+1

 

I have in the past listed the reasons why I no longer go... To sum up though it simply isn't fun any more...

 

The club really needs to get a promotion to kick start the club I think...

And then you'd be gone as soon as we struggle in the next division...

 

Reasons people don't go - excuses and too busy wanting value for money and claiming to be a customers of a business and if the service/product is :censored:, then it's not being bought...next minute they're scoffing at the Greedy League and teams like Man U for the way they've turned a sport into business etc. They created the "customer" and lots of ours have bought into it...

Edited September 19, 2010 by boundaryblue80

[oafc0000]

And then you'd be gone as soon as we struggle in the next division...

 

Reasons people don't go - excuses and too busy wanting value for money and claiming to be a customers of a business and if the service/product is :censored:, then it's not being bought...next minute they're scoffing at the Greedy League and teams like Man U for the way they've turned a sport into business etc. They created the "customer" and lots of ours have bought into it...

 

You seriously think the picture you just painted fits me How little you know... Then again, we already know how little you know

[boundaryblue80]

You seriously think the picture you just painted fits me How little you know... Then again, we already know how little you know

 

It fits you like a glove! And many more of your ilk!

[LeylandLatic]

Simple for me. Im a uni full time and work 2 nights a week to subsidise going out football etc. I simply refuse to pay them prices to watch 3rd tier football (and this would happen despite any success on hte pitch). I would rathr pay 3 pound a week to play myself than do that. I'll probably get to 1 in 3 or 4 home games.

 

If you're at uni it's only a tenner a game. Get a student membership ya bum!

 

[RobOAFC]

And then you'd be gone as soon as we struggle in the next division...

 

Reasons people don't go - excuses and too busy wanting value for money and claiming to be a customers of a business and if the service/product is :censored:, then it's not being bought...next minute they're scoffing at the Greedy League and teams like Man U for the way they've turned a sport into business etc. They created the "customer" and lots of ours have bought into it...

Another rare occasion on which i agree with you.

Saying that, even if we got into the prem i would be surprised if we had more than 9,000 home fans (if we move into a newstadium that is..) and our fans would moan because the results are poor..

[oafc0000]

It fits you like a glove! And many more of your ilk!

 

And then you'd be gone as soon as we struggle in the next division...

 

So how do you explain me putting up with the :censored:e being served up at Boundary park for a consistent 14 years

 

IF everything we say is an excuses what is the real reason Do tell me oh worthy one

Edited September 20, 2010 by oafc0000

[Hometownclub]

And then you'd be gone as soon as we struggle in the next division...

 

Reasons people don't go - excuses and too busy wanting value for money and claiming to be a customers of a business and if the service/product is :censored:, then it's not being bought...next minute they're scoffing at the Greedy League and teams like Man U for the way they've turned a sport into business etc. They created the "customer" and lots of ours have bought into it...

Couldn't agree more.

[BigfinLatic]

Am i missing the point here? I come to the game, i watch, cheer, support, and then go home?

 

Im certainly not gonna stand outside the main entrance at 1 o'clock autograph hunting and i'm not collecting the kit and going to the launderette after either!!!

Think you are missing the point. Going to BP isn't exactly an experience is it, in terms of overall facilities I'd say it's pretty much the worst in the division. Even places such as Yeovil and Exeter have a decent indoor bar to get a pint in.

 

It's a very old point re: the facilities. Being a dump that you simply turn up to then sod off home isn't enough fir the club to attract fans or make money.

[GlossopLatic]

Would it also be the case that many have become disilusioned about how the club is run and the direction it is going and how it has been for 18 months now.

 

The owners started distancing themselves last season and have now severed ties. How many of us are looking forward to the next 5 years with real hope and optimism that good times are ahead? Project Failsworth has been a contenious issue to say the least and is already along way behind schedule. Their is no money to bring in players and in the corner we have a burnt out executive box which looks like a real eyesore (seriously is it going to be sat their like that for the next 3 years before we move to spotland.. sorry failsworth)

Edited September 20, 2010 by GlossopLatic

[oafc0000]

Put right what is wrong and people will come back...

 

...problem is, there is that much to fix due to neglect I don't ever seeing it being fixed.

 

Like I said, the club could do with a real period of success to make up for the 16? years or total :censored:e....

[oafcprozac]

Think you are missing the point. Going to BP isn't exactly an experience is it, in terms of overall facilities I'd say it's pretty much the worst in the division. Even places such as Yeovil and Exeter have a decent indoor bar to get a pint in.

 

It's a very old point re: the facilities. Being a dump that you simply turn up to then sod off home isn't enough fir the club to attract fans or make money.

 

Boundary Park is a dump, but cast your mind back to 2003 when TTA rode into town. The ground consisted of 4 stands, had a working scoreboard that generated funding and you could get a pint at the side of the ground - Lees' or not it brought people to the vicinity of BP well before kick off. Then despite knowing that Oldham Arena was a no-goer knocked the stand down anyway along with the Clayton Arms, I was a cynical money-saving ploy that has bitten the club on its arse.

 

The facilities have never been brilliant, but the complaints only escalated when the Broadway stand was demolished, now we have to look at a burnt out sponsors suite - I mean FFS surely this could be demolished. It's only 6 portacabins on a steel frame. Empty the interior, get a crane - couple of days work and all for the price of the loose change Corney probably has down the back of his sofa. A crane costs in the region of 1-1.5k a day. TTA have allowed the facilities to deteriorate because it fits in with the agenda for the move. I'm all for the move but hate the way TTA have gone about it. If the Charity Commission turn us down then expect to be playing our home games away from the Borough in the very near future. The number one priority now is developing BP in its entirety.

 

If Failsworth happens, I'll be grateful but not sorry to see TTA sod off. I honestly don't swallow their martyrs line anymore, they've perhaps covered losses here and there but this club and has enjoyed a lot of bonus income over the last 7 seasons. Transfer fees, TV money, extra-sponsorship, increased increments from the FL and PL, two new kits every year, admission prices have almost doubled during their tenure, so have programme and refreshment prices (when I get chance I'll do a detailed demonstration of this) etc... If the club gets its marketing house in order it could earn a lot more - Player Sponsorship, Match-Day Corporate Hospitality etc...As it stands, Failsworth won't be a bright new dawn if the club continues in its amateurish approach to making money.

 

I'm enjoying my football this season but the club is being run like a pub-team. The one thing TTA have seemingly got right in 7 years is the appointment of Dickov, unfortunately the damage caused in allowing the ground to fall into disrepair, slagging off the faithful in the press, increasing the on the day admission prices, reactive Transfer Policy, allowing the better players to leave year on year has seen the fans desert in droves.

[Omar Don't Scare]

I disagree. What evidence is there to suggest that we can get a larger support on a consistent basis? The casual fan only seems to want to turn out if it’s free or £2 – they’re not willing to meet the club half way. We’ve had a good start to the season, yet the gates are reducing. Slashing the entrance fee over a long period is too much of a risk for the club.

 

I don’t think there’s anything we can do at the moment. The Oldham public are just not interested. It’s sad, but I think the club would be better concentrating their efforts on seeking income from elsewhere. There’s no way we can rely on the assumption that we’ll get more fans through the gate if we play well – it just ain’t going to happen.

 

£20 isn’t an unreasonable amount to charge, I don’t think. We paid £20 at Peterborough last week and that was standing!

 

 

As did I, tbh, it seems they're damned if they do and damned if they don't

[oafc0000]

Boundary Park is a dump, but cast your mind back to 2003 when TTA rode into town. The ground consisted of 4 stands, had a working scoreboard that generated funding and you could get a pint at the side of the ground - Lees' or not it brought people to the vicinity of BP well before kick off. Then despite knowing that Oldham Arena was a no-goer knocked the stand down anyway along with the Clayton Arms, I was a cynical money-saving ploy that has bitten the club on its arse.

 

The facilities have never been brilliant, but the complaints only escalated when the Broadway stand was demolished, now we have to look at a burnt out sponsors suite - I mean FFS surely this could be demolished. It's only 6 portacabins on a steel frame. Empty the interior, get a crane - couple of days work and all for the price of the loose change Corney probably has down the back of his sofa. A crane costs in the region of 1-1.5k a day. TTA have allowed the facilities to deteriorate because it fits in with the agenda for the move. I'm all for the move but hate the way TTA have gone about it. If the Charity Commission turn us down then expect to be playing our home games away from the Borough in the very near future. The number one priority now is developing BP in its entirety.

 

If Failsworth happens, I'll be grateful but not sorry to see TTA sod off. I honestly don't swallow their martyrs line anymore, they've perhaps covered losses here and there but this club and has enjoyed a lot of bonus income over the last 7 seasons. Transfer fees, TV money, extra-sponsorship, increased increments from the FL and PL, two new kits every year, admission prices have almost doubled during their tenure, so have programme and refreshment prices (when I get chance I'll do a detailed demonstration of this) etc... If the club gets its marketing house in order it could earn a lot more - Player Sponsorship, Match-Day Corporate Hospitality etc...As it stands, Failsworth won't be a bright new dawn if the club continues in its amateurish approach to making money.

 

I'm enjoying my football this season but the club is being run like a pub-team. The one thing TTA have seemingly got right in 7 years is the appointment of Dickov, unfortunately the damage caused in allowing the ground to fall into disrepair, slagging off the faithful in the press, increasing the on the day admission prices, reactive Transfer Policy, allowing the better players to leave year on year has seen the fans desert in droves.

 

As always, prozac hits the nail on the head...

 

[Lookers_Carl]

what prozac said....

 

Think the nail has been hit very firmly on the head with many of the things said there, and if this amateurish approach continues, the nails will continue to be hit into the coffin of OAFC.

 

For me, it started to go wrong with the sacking of Moore, and escalated around about the time of the incident at the dogs and Sheridan's sacking, and escalated again once the fans got a taste of the (and I use this term very loosely) 'football' under Cautious Dave and Mediocre Martin. The average attendances suggest that the majority of the damage was done last season (I will admit to losing my cool completely when Alan Hardy went to the Chron and effectively blamed the fans for the cut in the wage bill this season). .

 

2008/2009: 5647 (an increase of 321 from 2007/2008)

2009/2010: 4630 (a decrease of 1017 from 2008/2009)

 

The average so far this season is 4292, but as someone else quoted, the number of Latics fans attending has fallen for each game this season. Given the football that we are playing, and our league position, this suggests to me t hat the problem is not the product on the field at the moment.

[Steve_R]

We’re a poorly supported club stuck in the third division. We’ve been marooned here for 14 years and have shown precious little sign of getting out of it. Whether we like it r not were lumped in with clubs like Hartlepool, Walsall, Orient, Tranmere, Yeovil, Rochdale etc, all of whom get similar crowds to ourselves (or even worse).

 

Most of the clubs at the lower end of the of the attendance scale have at least had a promotion up to this league in recent years to cause a bit of excitement for their fans. We’ve had nothing bar a couple of failed play off attempts since we’ve been here. We came down to this level after being above it for roughly 25 years.

 

The ground’s falling down, the proposed new stadium(if it ever happens) is in the most unpopular place it could be, the owners have buggered off and there is nothing coming out of the club to give any encouragement for what sort of future we may have.

 

To the outsider/lapsed fan we are a club in a rut, going nowhere and heading there pretty quickly. A couple of encouraging early season results isn’t going to change that. The only thing that surprises me about how poor our crowds are is that people are surprised about how poor they are.

 

[oafcprozac]

We’re a poorly supported club stuck in the third division. We’ve been marooned here for 14 years and have shown precious little sign of getting out of it. Whether we like it r not were lumped in with clubs like Hartlepool, Walsall, Orient, Tranmere, Yeovil, Rochdale etc, all of whom get similar crowds to ourselves (or even worse).

 

Most of the clubs at the lower end of the of the attendance scale have at least had a promotion up to this league in recent years to cause a bit of excitement for their fans. We’ve had nothing bar a couple of failed play off attempts since we’ve been here. We came down to this level after being above it for roughly 25 years.

 

The ground’s falling down, the proposed new stadium(if it ever happens) is in the most unpopular place it could be, the owners have buggered off and there is nothing coming out of the club to give any encouragement for what sort of future we may have.

 

To the outsider/lapsed fan we are a club in a rut, going nowhere and heading there pretty quickly. A couple of encouraging early season results isn’t going to change that. The only thing that surprises me about how poor our crowds are is that people are surprised about how poor they are.

 

I agree with a lot of that Steve, don't forget we spent 17 consecutive years in the division above between '74-.91, crowds diminished then between 83-86, the failed play off campaign was the catalyst for crowds to recover. Even then there were poor crowds, sub 5,000 crowd v Plymouth in Sept '89. Attractive football and lots of goals saw many return from '86 onwards, and we benefitted from a lot of positive press from Radio Manchester and Piccadilly, which encouraged Blues and Reds to get down to Boundary Park if goals was what they wanted (we benefitted as City and Utd were :censored:e, now they're global forces!) - as did a good YOUNG team. We've the opportunity with the good YOUNG team we have now to build a team around Black, Lee, Furman, Stephens, Taylor etc... we may have to sell one or two but as long as we sign good young hungry players we have a chance to slowly build something, if the notoriously impatient fans and board allow it to happen. The fans will come back if we get promoted, but even then we'll only be getting 6,500-8,000. If the fans see good consistent progress being made ON the field we may just start to encourage the stayaways. Since relegation in '94 there's been too many false dawns. The crumble from January 2009 added to last season was the straw that broke the club's back.

 

The way we've started this season, suggests we may just have started a very long road back. We won't go up this year imo, but come May if the :censored: does hit the fan financially, there should be something to build in.

[LaticsLee]

wow had more fans by THREE !

[youngen]

I agree. It was mainly full of complete bellends who spouted pure crap for 90 mins but having that fourth stand made a huge amount of difference. It feels like we're just limping along until we get the new stadium which could happen next year or next century really.

 

It is cost and the crap stadium. I got a student pass on Saturday (at a cost of £13, which is a rip off if students are only back a couple of weekends a year). With the student pass it costs me eleven pounds in. Now on Saturday I ended up paying more than I would for an adult price, but thought it better in the long run. I walked out at half time because I was completely bored, by the football, the lack of atmosphere and the overall depressingness of sitting in BP. If I hadnt been able to get a student ticket, I definately wouldnt have gone. And I am now struggling to want to spend any more of my money, even at student rates. Im likely only to go to "big" games now (ie Sheff Weds, Huddersfield).

 

I used to enjoy the Lookers stand, at least it had some atmosphere unlike the Rocky Road end where kids sing stupid songs and think they are in Football Factory, the Main Stand where most would be better suited on Antiques Roadshow and the Chaddy End with its nice view of Steel Stanchions.

 

A new stadium is the only time I will consider spending £20 to get in Latics. And if Im honest, the 3 games I have seen Latics play in this year, I havent seen any major step up in quality or class on the pitch since Penney was here last year.

[maddog]

I walked out at half time because I was completely bored, by the football, the lack of atmosphere and the overall depressingness of sitting in BP.

Maybe you should have persevered a while longer.

[alex_balls]

It is cost and the crap stadium. I got a student pass on Saturday (at a cost of £13, which is a rip off if students are only back a couple of weekends a year). With the student pass it costs me eleven pounds in. Now on Saturday I ended up paying more than I would for an adult price, but thought it better in the long run. I walked out at half time because I was completely bored, by the football, the lack of atmosphere and the overall depressingness of sitting in BP. If I hadnt been able to get a student ticket, I definately wouldnt have gone. And I am now struggling to want to spend any more of my money, even at student rates. Im likely only to go to "big" games now (ie Sheff Weds, Huddersfield).

 

I used to enjoy the Lookers stand, at least it had some atmosphere unlike the Rocky Road end where kids sing stupid songs and think they are in Football Factory, the Main Stand where most would be better suited on Antiques Roadshow and the Chaddy End with its nice view of Steel Stanchions.

 

A new stadium is the only time I will consider spending £20 to get in Latics. And if Im honest, the 3 games I have seen Latics play in this year, I havent seen any major step up in quality or class on the pitch since Penney was here last year.

 

I see where your coming from and I had the same opinion last year, you wouldn't sniff me going coz i hated it, been to two games this season in GH paddock and GH upper and really enjoyed both games and can't wait for the next home game, i'd perservere if i was you, av enjoyed watching a young hungry team battle away to get points from games we wouldn't have done under penney (b rovers and bournemouth). agree with the sentiments about the Rocky/chaddy though so can see why you've got this opinion about going to games.