more fans???

[heysham_mfc]

was reading the otherday about how Derby give out free tickets for matches at local sports centres and though maybe they could try something like that at Morecambe even if only a few people take up the offer it would still get more people coming thorough the turnstiles

[Gnasher]

They've tried a few schemes in the past including giving away tickets, the see you on saturday scheme. What disappointed me watchng them queue up at the turnstile with their free ticket was I recognised a large number of them from the terraces. Rather than boost attendance, it gave some people free admission, a pie & a pint for something they usually paid for. I'm not sure how you could control the giveaway to make sure something similar didn't happen again. Maybe you don't control it and hope you get more newbies than regulars.

[Abbo]

Personally i would feel a bit naffed off, i pay my £17 for me and my lad to get in then more on refreshments etc. Why should people be allowed in for free when once inside they mat not spend any money. As has been posted on loads of times why cant the club have some sort of familly promotion for the last home games ?????????????

[RedRedWine1]

Crowds will pick up when the team starts climbing the league, or we have a game against either a local side, or a big-ish name.

What the club does not do very well is market itself to the general public. Take the bus idea for example. You'd assume that it would increase the exposure of the club locally, possibly even enable the club to advertise the next home game on the front or back of the vehicle. Yet it is a group of supporters who has done all the leg work in getting this idea off the ground.

We also have a problem (like most clubs IMO) in that we lose a large number of fans when they reach their late teens. People leave the area for various reasons, or suddenly take on new responsibilities and I can see how supporting a team becomes less of a priority. When I first started attending regularly about 10 years ago I used to go with a group of about 10 lads. Now that's down to 2 or 3, yet when it's Boxing Day that number soon picks up again. Why is this? Clearly an interest in the club is still there. Is the jump between in price between 16 and adult too steep?

I've always noticed that we have a conveyer-belt of teens following the side (probably due recently to the excellent free season tickets for kids starting high school, and the work done by the football in the community scheme), only for for large pockets of them to fall away once their voice breaks. Is it just a case of adolescence and that 'can't be bothered Britain' attitude setting in? I'm not sure it is. At the moment there is a group of around 30 youths at the top of the North Stand, like them or loath them they do a great job supporting the side and its clear to me they have a great enthusiasm for the club. I've even noticed a few of them starting to attend away games this year. The club need to look at a way of maintaining and increasing that interest or what happened to my group of mates could easily happen to them.

[marky]

I would would guess a few of them, like myself, move to different parts of the country when they go to uni. It so happens that I liked Newcastle so much that I stayed here and so don't get to as many games as I'd like (would would be every home game as opposed to 5 or 6 a season). It's been said before but the club really does need to reach out to the Polish community.

[Crooky MFC]

We are winning games now, and the crowd should slowly start to go up again. 1800 yesturday with only 100 or so Chester fans.

[Harry]

Personally i would feel a bit naffed off, i pay my £17 for me and my lad to get in then more on refreshments etc. Why should people be allowed in for free when once inside they mat not spend any money. As has been posted on loads of times why cant the club have some sort of familly promotion for the last home games ?????????????

Family tickets are on sale - 2 adults and 2 kids for 25 quid, a saving of 9 quid.

[Gnasher]

Family tickets are on sale - 2 adults and 2 kids for 25 quid, a saving of 9 quid.

IIRC, they have to be bought from the club shop before kick-off. In the back of my mind I'm thinking it's upto half an hour before kick-off but I'm not 100% sure about that.

[Harry]

Family tickets are on sale - 2 adults and 2 kids for 25 quid, a saving of 9 quid.

IIRC, they have to be bought from the club shop before kick-off. In the back of my mind I'm thinking it's upto half an hour before kick-off but I'm not 100% sure about that.

Seem to remember it being 2.45, but the point still stands.

[Martin]

I think the crowds have been dwindling because we've not been winning (even though we've not lost that many) and the football has been generally unattractive.

Now we're starting to win games and the standard of football is improving all the time, the crowds should start to rise again. It always helps as well when the casual attendee looks at the bottom of the table and can't see our name there.

[Gnasher]

but the point still stands

It sure does, I just wanted to make sure anyone that wanted to get a family ticket didn't turn up too late or turn up at a turnstile.

[PUNKISDEAD]

The family ticket does not work that well because it means an average family (2 adults two children) would not normally attend, a discounted ticket for, say, one adult pays and the child gets in free would offer a better deal,and would probably appeal to a wider range of potential new fans,it costs me £21.00 for my son and i, then food and drinks etc, not cheap in the P.E.C.

[Abbo]

Thats what i meant by family ticket, 1 parent with 1 or 2 children going a long too.

[sgt major]

I would would guess a few of them, like myself, move to different parts of the country when they go to uni. It so happens that I liked Newcastle so much that I stayed here and so don't get to as many games as I'd like (would would be every home game as opposed to 5 or 6 a season). It's been said before but the club really does need to reach out to the Polish community.

Sorry mate, dont agree with comments regarding the Polish community - they dont hardly support anything local and spend all their money in Polish shops. They send lots of their money to Poland and very rarely venture into local businesses.

I'm sure this will offend the bleedin heart liberal brigade but that is just the way it is.

[Keith]

Sorry mate, dont agree with comments regarding the Polish community - they dont hardly support anything local and spend all their money in Polish shops. They send lots of their money to Poland and very rarely venture into local businesses.

I'm sure this will offend the bleedin heart liberal brigade but that is just the way it is.

Not offended, but I am wondering what you have done to try and attract them that has failed? I was always under the impression that it's up to businesses to work on attracting new customers so I guess you've done so already?

I think we should be attempting to attract the Polish community (and Asian too). Poles have a history of being football fans and demographics suggest the Asian communities are becoming much more football orientated.

[PUNKISDEAD]

I am sorry to disagree but i am sure Mark S will back me up that there are exceptions!!

There are quite a few polish builder/ businessmen that spend a lot of money at Wickes, and other local stores on the properties they have bought and renovated in our town Center. they obviously brought money into town.


I have had dealings with a lot of them over the past few years and they have bad apples in their barrel like any nation does, i have seen one or two on occasion at CP, and i do not see sending their wages to their families a problem.

Morrisons sell a lot of food cheap to some of them they would normally chuck away at closing time.

I have mates working in poland earning good money sending it home to Morecambe,

[PUNKISDEAD]

The mention by keith is interesting too.

Now that the university houses most of its students a lot of surplus central Lancaster property would be left to rot if our local Asian community were not investing in, and improving it, they are also doing their bit in my opinion.

[marky]

Sorry mate, dont agree with comments regarding the Polish community - they dont hardly support anything local and spend all their money in Polish shops. They send lots of their money to Poland and very rarely venture into local businesses.

I'm sure this will offend the bleedin heart liberal brigade but that is just the way it is.

What have you done to make them welcome? I'm not suggesting this of you, but whenever I've been back to Morecambe I've witnessed quite a lot of resentment towards the community and it doesn't surprise me they'd therefore keep to themselves. Different possibly, but there is a small Polish community making a home in Newcastle and I've already seen a large number of them with Newcastle United hats & scarves on. Football is an international entity. The local pub near a railway bridge isn't.

[OvertheBar]

I took a 'newbie' along to the Brentford game and he really enjoyed it. Both teams played attractive and interesting football, the kind of thing the paying public want.

On Saturday Chester were dire in the first half , in the second neither team played much entertaining football and wouldn't have encouraged any 'newbies' to come back. The crowd were understandably subdued on Saturday too and I think that atmosphere is essential for new fans to come back.

Last season, alongside the novelty of becoming a League club, we had the skillful Baker and Thommo to entertain and attract new fans. This season we have much more workmanlike players, who have been gelling well lately to play some great team football.

Maybe Duffy is what we need to get the adrenaline flowing on the terraces?

[wijit]

Sorry mate, dont agree with comments regarding the Polish community - they dont hardly support anything local and spend all their money in Polish shops. They send lots of their money to Poland and very rarely venture into local businesses.

I'm sure this will offend the bleedin heart liberal brigade but that is just the way it is.

What have you done to make them welcome? I'm not suggesting this of you, but whenever I've been back to Morecambe I've witnessed quite a lot of resentment towards the community and it doesn't surprise me they'd therefore keep to themselves. Different possibly, but there is a small Polish community making a home in Newcastle and I've already seen a large number of them with Newcastle United hats & scarves on. Football is an international entity. The local pub near a railway bridge isn't.

Out here in the wilds of eat Mancs we have many thousands of Poles, quite a lot of whom work at my place. They happily tell us they spend as little as possible on English things and seldom go to Pubs, preferring to buy Polish beer and drinking at home.
This annoys me, but in all honesty I'd probably do the same.

[PUNKISDEAD]

Because of the price of beer in pubs, it is a bit difficult for anybody to go out all the time, and i know pub landlords have a tough time, they cannot compete wth the supermarkets who treat booze as a loss leader, but pole bashing is not good, my lodger, polish shrimp has left, he says the work will pay better at home and his wife oxana comes out of jail next week!!


THEIR GOAT SHAUN HAS GOT FIXED UP PLAYING FOR LA GALAXY!!

[sgt major]

Sorry mate, dont agree with comments regarding the Polish community - they dont hardly support anything local and spend all their money in Polish shops. They send lots of their money to Poland and very rarely venture into local businesses.

I'm sure this will offend the bleedin heart liberal brigade but that is just the way it is.

What have you done to make them welcome? I'm not suggesting this of you, but whenever I've been back to Morecambe I've witnessed quite a lot of resentment towards the community and it doesn't surprise me they'd therefore keep to themselves. Different possibly, but there is a small Polish community making a home in Newcastle and I've already seen a large number of them with Newcastle United hats & scarves on. Football is an international entity. The local pub near a railway bridge isn't.

I did make all the Polish families welcome when I first took over but since then my dealings with them have been to chuck them out for harrasing girls and attempting to steal my beer glasses - I know Morecambe folk are as bad as this sometimes but I just get a wall of silence when I catch them out and ask for an explanation. BTW if you want to see loads of Child benefit going back to Poland just go and stand in the que in Lloyds any day of the week.

Maybe you would like to carry on this conversation in the local pub near the railway bridge sometime and I can show you the street where we DO get trouble from our Polish community.

[BLS BOY]

Crowds will pick up when the team starts climbing the league, or we have a game against either a local side, or a big-ish name.

What the club does not do very well is market itself to the general public. Take the bus idea for example. You'd assume that it would increase the exposure of the club locally, possibly even enable the club to advertise the next home game on the front or back of the vehicle. Yet it is a group of supporters who has done all the leg work in getting this idea off the ground.

We also have a problem (like most clubs IMO) in that we lose a large number of fans when they reach their late teens. People leave the area for various reasons, or suddenly take on new responsibilities and I can see how supporting a team becomes less of a priority. When I first started attending regularly about 10 years ago I used to go with a group of about 10 lads. Now that's down to 2 or 3, yet when it's Boxing Day that number soon picks up again. Why is this? Clearly an interest in the club is still there. Is the jump between in price between 16 and adult too steep?

I've always noticed that we have a conveyer-belt of teens following the side (probably due recently to the excellent free season tickets for kids starting high school, and the work done by the football in the community scheme), only for for large pockets of them to fall away once their voice breaks. Is it just a case of adolescence and that 'can't be bothered Britain' attitude setting in? I'm not sure it is. At the moment there is a group of around 30 youths at the top of the North Stand, like them or loath them they do a great job supporting the side and its clear to me they have a great enthusiasm for the club. I've even noticed a few of them starting to attend away games this year. The club need to look at a way of maintaining and increasing that interest or what happened to my group of mates could easily happen to them.

A very interesting point there, one which i can relate to. Having been going to c.p for what is now 24 years - albeit mick's wonderful response to seeing my face at accy raised an element of continued loyalty it does answer a good question.

When i was a teenager watching mfc, it cost a fiver. Now, quite understandably at adult age, the price increases (£13).

You are, to an extent red red wine, correct in the essance many of these individuals don't or won't pay the extra x number of pounds anymore.

It is sad, but clearly true as i know many friends of mine who have gone the same way.

Sorry mate, dont agree with comments regarding the Polish community - they dont hardly support anything local and spend all their money in Polish shops. They send lots of their money to Poland and very rarely venture into local businesses.

I'm sure this will offend the bleedin heart liberal brigade but that is just the way it is.

What have you done to make them welcome? I'm not suggesting this of you, but whenever I've been back to Morecambe I've witnessed quite a lot of resentment towards the community and it doesn't surprise me they'd therefore keep to themselves. Different possibly, but there is a small Polish community making a home in Newcastle and I've already seen a large number of them with Newcastle United hats & scarves on. Football is an international entity. The local pub near a railway bridge isn't.

I did make all the Polish families welcome when I first took over but since then my dealings with them have been to chuck them out for harrasing girls and attempting to steal my beer glasses - I know Morecambe folk are as bad as this sometimes but I just get a wall of silence when I catch them out and ask for an explanation. BTW if you want to see loads of Child benefit going back to Poland just go and stand in the que in Lloyds any day of the week.

Maybe you would like to carry on this conversation in the local pub near the railway bridge sometime and I can show you the street where we DO get trouble from our Polish community.

Another honest point sgt major, but in fairness and without wishing to open a can of worms, but why do you think it is they chose Morecambe as their "haven"? It clearly wasn't the football team.

What does wrankle with me though i'm afraid is what happened to the ridiculous number of thousand people that watched us play Chester only 5/6 years ago?!

We are winning games now, and the crowd should slowly start to go up again. 1800 yesturday with only 100 or so Chester fans.

225 from Chester.

[cultured]

I would would guess a few of them, like myself, move to different parts of the country when they go to uni. It so happens that I liked Newcastle so much that I stayed here and so don't get to as many games as I'd like (would would be every home game as opposed to 5 or 6 a season). It's been said before but the club really does need to reach out to the Polish community.

Sorry mate, dont agree with comments regarding the Polish community - they dont hardly support anything local and spend all their money in Polish shops. They send lots of their money to Poland and very rarely venture into local businesses.

I'm sure this will offend the bleedin heart liberal brigade but that is just the way it is.

Only if we don't reach out to them to spend said money in local businesses.

[Wild Bill]

I think we should be attempting to attract the Polish community (and Asian too). Poles have a history of being football fans and demographics suggest the Asian communities are becoming much more football orientated.

Totally agree Keith. Our club's marketing leaves a lot to be desired, (mainly due to lack of resources I know). All kinds of people, from pensioners to sports clubs etc should be targeted with discounted or even free tickets, if nothing else to make the ground look fuller on match days. If only a half a dozen of them decide to come back then it must be worth it.

You hardly ever hear a Polish accent in the north stand or see any black or Asian folk. We should be doing more to welcome the minorities in. I hope no Poles are reading some of the comments on here and feel in any way put off from coming to CP.

Another big group that hardly even knows we exist are the students up at Lancaster uni. I work up here and often have to explain who the hell we are! If someone could send me posters advertising the matches I would be happy to put them up around campus on match days.