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Doncaster not a football town?

On the back of two good results we entertained Burnley at home. The home fan attendance was less than 6,500. For goodness sake we were giving tickets away via Alliance members and £5 tickets via other sources.
The atmosphere in the ground was flat despite the fact we competed for most of the game. I was in the South stand and despite a few kids singing at the back and a few desultory chants there was nothing. A friend in the West stand said it was like being in church.
The board must be tearing their hair out, they are trying to address the problem with various initiatives but it is not having an impact. The football is 10 times better than last season and more exciting than SOD's offerings.
I have no answers hoping for some on here. I know the club alienated a lot of supporters in the 2nd or 3rd season in the Championship (when we got 11-14,000) but thse fans are not returning.
Are we a town full of other clubs fans? Is the Doncaster public just not bothered, we are one of the biggest towns in the country certainly more population than the other town teams in this league. so should be doing a lot better.
P.S. Away support is brilliant and numerically comparable to the other clubs in this league.

posted on 3/10/13

Sorry, the figure should be nearly 60% not 70%. Anyway you get the idea.

posted on 3/10/13

NY - How much money did the club save in stopping the players wages?

posted on 3/10/13


He would have earned over $ 2 million in that period Hound. But with average ticket prices of $ 35 and a loss of 10,000 on the crowd, for ten games the loss would have been nearer to $ 30 million on seats alone, let alone extra sales of food and merchandise. The $ 10 per specie amounted to about $ 25 million.

They still made money out of a bad situation.

posted on 3/10/13

So the club made $5m out of the deal?
Now which player have we got who earns that type of money and can we get him suspended for the season.
There are plenty of people in Donny who could do with a food coupon.

posted on 3/10/13

By the way, I am not being cynical of your comment.

posted on 3/10/13

Probably more than $ 5m Hound, that was just the cost against 10,000 seats. The point being that they could have done nothing and had smaller crowds with fewer shop sales and food and drink sales. Good marketing I call it.

posted on 3/10/13

By the way the vouchers were to spend on food at the ground concession stands, not outside shops.

posted on 4/10/13

Noted Newyankee. Some might suggest that the average American sports fan is the polar opposite to the target Doncastrian and that going to the game in the US involves an eating and entertainment experience which is an event in itself alongside the game, thus reducing the relative importance of the result of the game itself. That side of the occasion is growing here too I know, but it is still on a minor scale compared with the match and its outcome.
This is just my impression based on far less actual experience than you and of course we know that in the US quite a lot is done to balance out the playing talent to make competition tighter which improves expectations. Potential fans here will not be optimistic about Rovers until they start winning consistently at home.
What more can the club do? We can’t really expect player investment which JR has sometimes hinted at in the past, but then not delivered, perhaps on the grounds that the Doncaster public have let him down.
A takeover might provide some excitement and generate more interest, but I can understand why they will not jump at the current offer. Like others, I enjoy away matches because of the atmosphere in the Rovers end and the freedom to shout. It reminds me of the old standing-up days and of course we quite often win or get some kind of result away. Compared with my occasional home matches the rather quiet surroundings in the east and west stands sometimes make me feel awkward if I offer “advice” in a loud voice.

posted on 4/10/13

To be totally honest. we will not be informed of any business links that the club are involved in, or who likes who etc... Who is in the know or who is not...

If we, that are only supporters of the club, are seen to do just that and concentrate on just that then we will feel a lot better. I like to have a go but nobody cares.. So the results at the end of the day are all that matter, not possession or shots on goals or attendances , it is what ever will appear in the history files at 5 pm tomorrow and every other day that there is a game. DONCASTER ROVERS OPPONENTS. The scores will alter each time no doubt, I am aware that the opponents will too,

posted on 4/10/13

Donaldo - sometimes it is very quiet in the south stand too, it was against Burnsley the other night.
The "noisy crew" in there tend to respond to stuff fired at them by the visiting supporters unless things are going very well for us, for example against Blackburn and Forest it was really noisy.
Having the drummer in always helps and he wasnt there on tuesday.
Against Forest there was a group of musicians at the back of the stand with the lads and it was a terrific atmosphere, they really kept the singing going.
As they say, can you play here every week.
The noise level against Blackburn was as good as it has been for ages, perhaps because we were winning the game.
Against Burnley, although we did play well for half an hour, we didnt really look like we might score and the Burnley fans hardly made a peep so there was nothing to respond to.
However i do enjoy being in the south stand and believe me, i dont feel awkward if i "offer advice" as you so elequently say it.
Perhaps you should come and sit with me for a couple of matches.

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