woeful attendance

[woody4866]

Its not supprising to see empty seats at VP when you consider the state of the economy and people worried about jobs etc
I`ve been down today with my lad which cost £62 and was stupid enough then to pay £3.50 for a can of John Smths

[Villanation]

On the positive side, we had the largest attendance today i believe...

[rob_bridge]

I gave up my season ticket as far back as 1998 due mainly to seeing wasters like Collymore picking up 20k a week and contributing nothing 90% of the time.
Like many others now  I am a casual attendee of 7-8 games per season (and always purchase H&V as a ritual). Last season with the appointment of Houllier I went to 2 games (1 of them away) and the other because my Southend supporting mate had never seen Villa Park and luckily coincided with Bent's debut v Cit-eh.
I knew it would be dire under Houllier - just didn;t know it would be that rubbish as well. This year it will be dire but not as rubbish. I don't mind that the club cuts its' club accordingly in terms of signings and wages, I am a realist. What I mind is the fact we have a manager who has a very negative approach to football and we maybe could have tried harder to get Martinez or made a progressive appointment like Poyet. I think results overall would be similar but the entertainment  would be far better.
I can't go to some games due to work/travel committments and I dare say this season will find other things to do instead. Like I did today. Ticket + Transport + odds and sods from club shop = £75/£80 to see that dross. No thanks - listened to it on 5live for free.

Just out of interest what did you do instead and how much did it cost.  Also claiming it would cost you £75-£80 to go see the match from Nottingham is a bit over the top.  I have just got back home from the match (Sheffield) and it didn't cost me that much.  Also you don't know that the match was dross do you as you weren't there.

==============================================
No I didn't know for sure before the match that it would be dross but have seen some of our matches on the dodgy streams this season and it hasn't been very inspiring considering the opposition.
Don't worry I'm not calling for McLeish to be sacked - he got the job because we couldn't attract anyone better and if I was in his shoes the choice between managing us or That Lot is a no-brainer even for the Noses.

Instead - I went for a long run (one of my other interests) so cost, whilst listening to the Villa match on 5live on pocket radio, was depreciation of 2 small batteries and oft used running gear. Less than a pound I reckon. Sounded like an ok match though they seemed to have more of it.
Granted I wouldn't have to spend that much but still would have put a dent in £50.
£80 - normally like to sit in Witton Lane near to my mate (and his family) who is a season ticket holder (one of the few I still know) to chat before game, at half time and aftter +Petrol/Parking or train and a few items from club shop to send to friends in NZ for their kids. I will do it at least once this season. It was the type of game under O'Neill I would have gone to when I genuinely had a free Saturday afternoon.

Respect to you though for round trip.

[dazzyg]

Well after watching another bore draw this time with an increase of 2,000 fans against Newcastle who themselves usually bring many more fans.

I am still not convinced that the low attendance for villa fans is because of AM.

We are playing just as small heath played last year you can sense the atmosphere (or lack of it in the ground) I sit Trinity Road Middle and the feeling from the other stands is that no one really wants Am there am I right ?

[NeilH]

It’s interesting listening to the match through the telly to gauge what it is like. What struck me was the apparent total lack of atmosphere in the stadium. Apart from one tedious round of the pathetic ‘Mcgrath tune’ the place was just flat. Even the usually animated Newcastle fans only really came to life a little once the goal came in. The whole place stunk of an end of season, nothing to play for affair. It seemed that every time the camera focused on the crowd, it was met with a seemingly bored looking Villa fan staring out onto the field of play.
Based on Saturday’s game, which I normally see as one of the liveliest and certainly loudest among our fixtures, I fear that Villa Park could see some very quiet games in the weeks to come, not only in terms of attendance but indeed atmosphere.

[dave.woodhall]

Meanwhile elsewhere....

Everton got a thousand less than us and Wolves despite their good start are still in the low 20ks. It's not just Villa.

[NeilH]

Meanwhile elsewhere....

Everton got a thousand less than us and Wolves despite their good start are still in the low 20ks. It's not just Villa.

Undoubtedly. Could it be that the fans are finally starting to vote with their feet?

[Risso]

Meanwhile elsewhere....

Everton got a thousand less than us and Wolves despite their good start are still in the low 20ks. It's not just Villa.

The capacity at Wolves is only about 27K at the moment isn't it?

[Dave Cooper please]

Yes, and they can't sell even that many.

[CJ]

Could it be that the fans are finally starting to vote with their feet?

Maybe.  According to these stats the average EPL attendances for 2010-11 were 35283 (Villa 37193), whereas averages for 2011-12 so far are 33779 (Villa 32447). Early days obviously and general attendances are slightly lower but Villa's are significantly down.

[remy]

To me there are a combination of factors as to why the crowds are down now.

First of all its the appointment of Mcleish, nothing to do with him previously managing the knuckledraggers -  its a mark of our current strategy in the Prem. A period of financial constraint, introducing the youth and getting rid of the expensive dross that MON accumulated over 4 years instead of gambling even more sums on chasing that champions league dream. Higher calibre managers were interviewed but werent prepared to work under this - kudos to Mcleish for coming. However... He has a brand of football (seen down the road) that is solid, difficult to break down but as about exciting as a used tea bag.

Football now is a premium priced event. And as such we should be "entertained" accordingly. I didnt go to the match on Saturday - £60 for me and my 2 sons in total, plus progammes, food etc. and I live locally! From what I gathered on the multiple football websites, the newspapers, forums, MOTD, we didnt play that badly, there was a poor atmosphere (from a friend who went to the match) and we were lucky to get a 1-1.

I cant justify the outlay for what I am paying to participate in for the moment.

Other factors include because Chelski, Manure and Man City can now pay past £30m for a player means they will have a monopoly of the top 3 places. We are playing in the Premiership knowing we will never win it. The joy of playing for local pride? Less than 30,000 watched us battle to a stalemate against Wolves.

[pauliewalnuts]

Meanwhile elsewhere....

Everton got a thousand less than us and Wolves despite their good start are still in the low 20ks. It's not just Villa.

Everton were playing Wigan, and Wolves were playing QPR, both of whom traditionally bring a taxi-full, and we were playing Newcastle, who bring far more.

it's not just Villa, no, but it is particularly bad for us.

Also, isn't the capacity at Wolves currently 24,000

[dave.woodhall]

Meanwhile elsewhere....

Everton got a thousand less than us and Wolves despite their good start are still in the low 20ks. It's not just Villa.

Everton were playing Wigan, and Wolves were playing QPR, both of whom traditionally bring a taxi-full, and we were playing Newcastle, who bring far more.

it's not just Villa, no, but it is particularly bad for us.

Also, isn't the capacity at Wolves currently 24,000

There would have still been more Villa supporters in the ground than Everton, and Molineux currently holds 27,828.

[Nev]

Meanwhile elsewhere....

Everton got a thousand less than us and Wolves despite their good start are still in the low 20ks. It's not just Villa.

Undoubtedly. Could it be that the fans are finally starting to vote with their feet?

Whatever you say about MON, one thing kept bringing people through the gates, the same thing that makes people attend football all over the world. For the majority of the Premier League this vital comodity has been overlooked in the chase for more subscriptions and higher veiwing figures. In fact there is more of it in the park on Sunday morning than in our top flight and it is the oxygen on which supporting a team exists.

Hope.

[PeterWithe]

QPR seemed to fill their section from looking at the TV pictures.