Peter Jones in Sunday Independent

[acorn]

A win in front of the cameras in style could go a long way to adding a few hundred back on the gate

 

[Verte]

What annoys me is the city has 300000 living in it. Argyle get average of 6500. We have probably 1500 of those from Cornwall and the surrounding Devon towns like ivybridge. So 5000 approximately from 300000 is dire really.

Argyle need to do a marketing and public relations masterstroke to get the plymouth public invested and engaged with Argyle once more.

Another point is this - IF we are in a championship push our gates will go through the roof to probably 10000. It's this extra footfall that is the easiest to capture....

 

[fester]

Might be wrong PJ talks the talk but would I be right in assuming he has himself put no money into club and as a director probably dosent pay the 20 odd quid per home game the rest of us do, coupled with the will it wont it grandstand perhaps your average joe janner has lost believe in the club?

 

[dunlop]

When Jones talks about football as "the product" it shows his complete disconnect with football fans.

 

[ogwellmike]

We are about one third way through our league home games. If you ignore the match against Exeter (which always attracts a big crowd for obvious reasons) our average gate for the first five home games this season was about 6100. That is certainly less than the 6500/7000 figure that people are quoting but, I wonder, did we really get that size crowds for all our home league games last season? And did we get that many for our first five of the season? I don't have access to the figures - so I don't know for certain - but I suspect not.

The next game, when we played Carlisle, the gate went up by about 7% of that average - presumably because the better football and better results were attracting more fans. When we played Cheltenham last Saturday optimism had continued to grow and the gate was about 12% higher than the base figure AND both gates were within the 6500/7000 figure quoted by critics for comparison.

I see no reason why this trend will not continue for as long as the team plays well and we get generally good results. So IMO we should get over 7000 for the Pompey game. If we stay near the top of the league I predict that figure will stay pretty steady and if we are promotion or play-off contenders the last half dozen home matches will see even bigger crowds still.

But what do I know?! I know that I'm enjoying the optimistic buzz about the club at the moment and I feel brave enough to look forward with continued optimism. We need as much gate money as possible this season and I think we are going to get it!

COYG - you can do it!

 

[Tyhee_Slim]

PJ has a different perspective because he can see the books. It must be frustrating when you're privy to information that suggests you could afford a better calibre of player if - say - only another 1,250 fans came through the gates every other week.

Argyle directors and chairmen have a long history of bemoaning Home Park attendances, and most of us would probably take the same view if we had the spreadsheets in front of us.

Very true Paul. I was diggjng out some old programmes and stuff the other day and found a handbook from the early 60s where chairman of the time, Ron Blindell, was moaning about it. I think he was referring to the season when we finished 4th or 5th in Div 2 yet we had a lower average crowd than the previous season when we'd finished in, I think, the bottom four or five. That was difficult to explain and without investigation I can't understand it, though it could have been down to a price increase or something.

I think that at that point we'd spent more seasons in Div 2 than anywhere and, although we'd only seriously challenged for promotion on a couple of occasions, it did seem to be our 'natural level'. SInce then, I believe our 'spiritual home' has become the third tier, but our stock seems be on the wane and unless we buck up we're in danger of dropping another level in the pecking order.

This gradual decline is, I believe, a major reason for our low 'core' support. It is a lot more complicated than that, and other factors are timing (our decline coinciding with the TV era) and that Plymouth is simply not a 'football town' - although the reasons for that are similar.

When Argyle finished as runners up in Div 3S in the 1920s there were rumours that the board didn't want promotion as they feared crowds would drop when we were no longer winning regularly at the higher level. When promotion wss eventually achieved in 1930 it is reckoned that the best players were just past their best. Had we been promoted a few seasons earlier, perhaps we would have been a top level club and would have established ourselves as a 'bigger' club.

When I was a kid there were still people around who remembered that era and there was always a sort of mistrust that was somehow handed down through the generations.

I think every board since then have suffered because of that and that although the big crowds will turn out on occasion, trying to capture the imagination of the public in the long term is incredibly difficult. However, many have not exactly helped themselves by a) not learning from the past and b) by continuing to allow the club to, in my opinion, exude an air of mediocrity and a lack of ambition even at times of relative success. I know it's not easy, but it's happened too many times and each time seems to lead to a bigger slump than before, with the current one being the worst.

Can it change? Is there a way that the club can convince the public that this is a club with ambition? I don't know, but I know it won't be easy, and the longer it goes in the more difficult it will become. But blaming the public is, in my opinion, not the best way to address the problem. We've been asked to show patience, is it too much to ask for some in return? If we're still looking good come January let's see what happens. If there's a bit of team building then I think the board may have earned the right to expect a few more bums on seats, if not or, God forbid, they sell anyone then...

 

[Greenskin]

PJ has a different perspective because he can see the books. It must be frustrating when you're privy to information that suggests you could afford a better calibre of player if - say - only another 1,250 fans came through the gates every other week.

Argyle directors and chairmen have a long history of bemoaning Home Park attendances, and most of us would probably take the same view if we had the spreadsheets in front of us.

He didn't seem to have a different perspective when he was slagging off Stapes and co,who were making exactly the same noises as he himself is now, for selling Norris,Gosling,Buzz etc in 2007.He would also be very aware that Argyle had a record breaking season in 2001/2 in spite of the average gates at the same stage of the season as now being about 2000 per match lower.Any club,from Manchester United to Hartlepool, could go public and say that more people through the gates would be beneficial-it stands to reason.But the fact is that Argyle are almost certainly going to be in the top three for crowds in this division at the end of this season,which would seem to be a perfectly adequate base from which to finance a promotion challenge,notwithstanding the issues of longer term debt.Mr Jones would do well to remember that other clubs have progressed even as far as the premier league from a position as bad as or worse position than Argyle's present one as far as crowds are concerned.Very surprised that he doesn't remember in all truth,bearing in mind the stance that he took in a different set of cirrcumstances.

 

[justanotherfan]

I would take one of those badges if any are left ?

I always say how when we were doing well a group of 8-12 regulars attended week in week out home away. Now we are all earning and have considerably more disposable income it's now only me who attends regularly.

Horrible word but Apathy is a good work to describe my friends and family when it comes to Argyle ( 30 yr olds)

Personally, I`m neither for nor against apathy. :greensmile:

 

[X Isle]

Me too, I can take it or leave it.

 

[Pogleswoody]

Apathy?? don't know what it means .. can't be arsed to google it!

 

[dennis the menace]

I seem to recall that Peter Jones did state a while ago that if Argyle were doing well at Christmas time the crowds would return in their thousands. I just hope our current form continues up to and beyond Christmas as I believe what he said might turn out to be right.

 

[PL2 3DQ]

I don’t believe the point made by Peter Jones about better attendances was aimed at the fans who have attended this season, it was directed at the people of Plymouth who could attend.
His other point was to increase attendances by bringing a friend to a game, possibly the one against Portsmouth. Last season for a TV game we had less than 8,800 for the Pompey game, I’m sure we can beat that this season. Which is the point Peter Jones was making.
His observation about the attendances has been turned into “Peter Jones having a moan at the fans”.
Just think, an extra 100 fans (or Plymouth people) for each home game will bring in just under £50,000 to the club.

I’m sure the Football League only allow so many ticket promotions per season but I’d like to see something being done, the Pompey game will take care of itself but for the relative unattractive fixtures of York and Dagenham there should be a £30 or less ticket for both games, this should entice some Plymouth people back to Home Park and help out with the finances before Christmas. The Green Christmas Saver!

Our average attendance this season isn’t too bad by our own standards in League Two; helped by the Exeter game our average after eight home games is 6,912, last season it was at 7,093 after eight games which included games against Bristol Rovers and Pompey. In 2012-2013 it was 6,182 and our first season back in the bottom league it was 6,119 – helped by the Fans Reunited game.
So this season is not too shabby, especially when some of the earlier home games were just dull as dishwater. Hopefully, word will spread that not only are Argyle winning but now winning by playing good attacking football built on a solid defence.

Traditionally Home Park crowds start to increase around February time and if we are still in the top six or seven there will be regular crowds of 9,000 up to double figures by April.

 

[Andy S]

Our problem, with home crowds, is that the opposition don't bring any/many supporters with them.

If you compare the away numbers that Argyle provide, against the pathetic numbers that come to HP, we dip out big time.

Consider this (courtesy of GoS)

Cambridge, 1st game of the season, we took 1200 to their ground.

Wycombe, top of the league, they bring 143 to us.

 

[IJN]

That's a lot compared with Burton.

Also Cheltenham on Saturday came in taxi I think.

 

[Glynn]

What annoys me is the city has 300000 living in it. Argyle get average of 6500. We have probably 1500 of those from Cornwall and the surrounding Devon towns like ivybridge. So 5000 approximately from 300000 is dire really.

Argyle need to do a marketing and public relations masterstroke to get the plymouth public invested and engaged with Argyle once more.

Another point is this - IF we are in a championship push our gates will go through the roof to probably 10000. It's this extra footfall that is the easiest to capture....

Totally agree with you, the club will need to do more to advertise/market the game to help increase gates. I work with a lot of people and they never know who Argyle are playing and even if they are playing at home.

A big board somewhere outside the ground visible from Outland Road should help with that, with regards to offers for tickets maybe Argyle should offer something on Groupon not sure what offer but would be visible to others that don't normally attend.

Another idea would be to send an email poster to Argyle fans that sign up and these could then be distributed amongst their friends/colleagues.

They are many ways in which attendances could be raised however I must admit I don't tend to see or hear about any they have attempted.