3,000

[RegencyCheltenhamSpa]

Marginally over 3,000 home fans today. Poor if you ask me.

[itsallbollox]

Marginally over 3,000 home fans today. Poor if you ask me.

If you ask me someone at the club needs a new abacus.
I reckon and quite a few others I spoke to estimate at least 4500 in there today.

[Malabus]

Averaged 2700 home fans pre-Covid.

[CTFCfan99]

Marginally over 3,000 home fans today. Poor if you ask me.

If you ask me someone at the club needs a new abacus.
I reckon and quite a few others I spoke to estimate at least 4500 in there today.

I'll believe the official figure over some random bloke's estimate but each to their own.

[Horteng]

Covid will have a big impact on figures. There will be a lot of people reluctant to attend

[Si Robin]

Marginally over 3,000 home fans today. Poor if you ask me.

Doubt it'll get much better at £28 a ticket either.

[ctfc-fan]

And it’s still summer holidays so people away.

[Ben version 4:0]

The official attendance was about 3,800...I think capacity is about 7,000

I'd love to know where those extra 3,200 would go!! On the terraces it would seem, as there weren't many spare seats anywhere

[Benctfc]

Unfortunately not a surprise and it will only decrease as the season goes on. Few things to point out.

£28 pound a ticket is crazy for league 1 football even £26 in advance is too much I know people who may have attending today but after finding out the price didnt bother and I dont blame them in all honesty. Highest match day prices in league 1. I get we are a small club the price hike this season was a big increase for what was already high enough prices.

Going "cashless" and not being able to pay on the turnstile will be an issue. People dont want the hassle of having to order in advance and then queue and try and find the ticket office to pick up tickets. No other club seems to do this that I'm aware of. However some caterers were then only accepting cash and not card! Work that one out ....

People again saying they were being given drinks months out of date and poor food quality despite being told this would change in the Summer.

Half the club bar now used for hospitality meaning fans lose out and have longer waits for drinks. No sign of a fan zone as discussed in the Summer.

I would like to see some justifiable reasons as to why some of this is taking place from the new marketing manager and what improvements he is actually making or going to make. We might be in our best place on the field for some time but off it we appear to be very amateur and pricing fans away and not giving value for money.

[Hubert Parry]

Lots of clubs are cashless now. Are there really that many people who only carry physical notes and coins and not cards? I'd genuinely like to know why.

The price of a ticket is an issue and it is a gamble to maximize revenue from away supporters who are likely to pack out the away end. This will inevitably have an adverse effect on home attendances and that is the bed the club have chosen to lie in.

[Jerry St Clair]

Cost is an issue. And it's compounded by having Ipswich at home on Tuesday. Many, who had to make a choice, will have gone for that one.

Fully expect to see something around 5k for that.

[Robin]

And it’s still summer holidays so people away.

This old chestnut Pretty much every club gets a bumper attendance for the first home game (Crewe had almost 5000 fans last week which is way above normal and even Morecambe had almost 3000 home fans). We seem to be the only club where fans go on holiday in August. Far more likely that a lot of older fans are staying away due to the pandemic (it was noticeable how much younger the crowd was yesterday) and some are put off by the ticket prices.

[Robin]

Marginally over 3,000 home fans today. Poor if you ask me.

If you ask me someone at the club needs a new abacus.
I reckon and quite a few others I spoke to estimate at least 4500 in there today.

Disagree here, there was more space than normal behind the goal and clearly a lot of empty seats in the home stands too. When we got in I said to the person next to me that the crowd was visibly below 4000 and a lot lower than we had expected.

[Robin]

Lots of clubs are cashless now. Are there really that many people who only carry physical notes and coins and not cards? I'd genuinely like to know why.

The price of a ticket is an issue and it is a gamble to maximize revenue from away supporters who are likely to pack out the away end. This will inevitably have an adverse effect on home attendances and that is the bed the club have chosen to lie in.

Spot on Hubert. The pricing is an issue but clear the board have targeted away fans knowing it may mean we lose a few hundred home fans and decided it's a gamble worth taking as vast majority of home fans will continue coming. I doubt it's sustainable though especially if we stay up. Current prices are far too high and I fear without a realistic cut next summer it will cause long term damage - let's face it 3000 home fans after winning the league is p1ss poor.

[Benctfc]

I agree I can see the sense in their policy of basically ripping off away fans knowing they will pay it due to being a new ground for most and them having big followings.

At the same time it is very risky to start alternating your own fan base in the long run. If we go down what happens then when away attendances decrease and a lot of home fans have found something else to do on a Saturday? We should be encouraging people to attend and to take advantage of the feel good factor of last season. I remember Lincoln I think it was offered cheaper season tickets after their promotion to the football league and sold thousands more than usual and look at their gates now compared to a few years ago. Not saying we would copy that increase to their extent but sometimes I feel we dont have any imagination or ideas when it comes to ticketing or marketing the club.

[Hubert Parry]

I agree. All very sensible points.

The problem we have is that we have tried the cheaper tickets approach before a few times, but the marginal attendance gains did not make up the shortfall in price. We have a small but loyal core fan base but as you say, that will have its limits.

The sooner the club gets its act together on off the field revenue and other match day sources, the better.

[Robin]

I feel it's a cyclical discussion but a club with our catchment really should be able to pull in 4500 home fans most weeks at this level. Almost 300,000 people live in the Cheltenham/Glos/Tewks urban area, our only real sporting competition locally is Glos Rugby and at a stretch you could drive to Brum for a few big clubs (Wolves, Villa, Blues, WBA etc.). I wish we would invest in ways to find out why more are not coming. Can anyone remember when we had over 6000 for Brighton in a dead game all because the Echo and club ran a 2-1 for ticket scheme?

[RegencyCheltenhamSpa]

I feel it's a cyclical discussion but a club with our catchment really should be able to pull in 4500 home fans most weeks at this level. Almost 300,000 people live in the Cheltenham/Glos/Tewks urban area, our only real sporting competition locally is Glos Rugby and at a stretch you could drive to Brum for a few big clubs (Wolves, Villa, Blues, WBA etc.). I wish we would invest in ways to find out why more are not coming. Can anyone remember when we had over 6000 for Brighton in a dead game all because the Echo and club ran a 2-1 for ticket scheme?

Yes but how many of those people are from the area originally?

Most people I know from school (almost 20 years ago now) moved away for uni and never came back. And of my friends from school, none of their parents are interested in Cheltenham Town as they all moved from other places for work or schools and support their team…one of them travels to Yorkshire to watch his team a few times a season but has only been to WR a couple of times in 40 years. And because their parents all support other teams, my friends view CTFC as their home town team who they look out for and go to the odd game if I make them and organise it but they wouldn’t be classed as fans or supporters. Two of them vowed never to go again after I arranged a group trip to an away game in 2016 where the football was dire and our smattering of away fans just spent the whole time abusing the players.

If you go out for lunch on Regent Street it is obvious most people there have moved to Cheltenham from London or wherever.

And because Cheltenham are a small lower league side, people who move here are unlikely to suddenly become Cheltenham fans. When I moved to London I started watching Fulham because they were in the top flight and it was a good day out. Had I been from SW London and moved to Cheltenham for work I doubt I would have bothered going to the Robins apart from the odd big game.

That will change if we can a) establish ourselves in L1 at least and b) provide off the pitch reasons to come because on the pitch action won’t attract anyone other than existing fans and die hards.

I would not call going to watch Cheltenham a good day out…more of an obligation. There is nothing for the neutral…no good access to good beer or coffee, worthwhile food only available in hospitality, and the stadium and ground is not a place to spend anytime other than the minimum required for the match.

A new stand would improve that but the matchday offer to the regular fan has to be better.

People will turn up to watch Sheffield Wednesday and Sunderland but currently there is little make them eager to return to watch Cheltenham against a random side.

[asl]

I would not call going to watch Cheltenham a good day out…more of an obligation.

Alas, I can only agree with this sentiment. At some point in the next few years, I'll be retiring and downsizing - probably to either Scotland or Ireland (negotiations with my Galway Girl are underway.) I can't see me making many matches per year after that, although I will try to get to Northern away games whenever possible (if I get my way as far as location is concerned...)

[andgarod]

a group of 6 of is went to the DEYA taproom ( result of sponsoring the final match)
I was the only CTFC supporter of the other 5 only 1 was born in Cheltenham, one had lived here for 30 yrs but was a rugger man
The other 3 had arrived in the last 15 years but none of the 5 had ever visited Whaddon Rd
Well they are going to be invited to a match once I can work out what hospitality is available and where
It might all change with a new ( or previous ) commercial manager

[RegencyCheltenhamSpa]

a group of 6 of is went to the DEYA taproom ( result of sponsoring the final match)
I was the only CTFC supporter of the other 5 only 1 was born in Cheltenham, one had lived here for 30 yrs but was a rugger man
The other 3 had arrived in the last 15 years but none of the 5 had ever visited Whaddon Rd
Well they are going to be invited to a match once I can work out what hospitality is available and where
It might all change with a new ( or previous ) commercial manager

Hospitality has been well promoted and the different offers are all in the new brochure on the website. The cheapest and easiest is £35 for pre-match one course meal in one of the lounges/ suites which comes with tea and coffee, programme, team sheet and match ticket in the back of the main stand. This was discounted to £25 for the Wycombe game, which was publicised on the official website as well as the elsewhere online.

[andgarod]

so do I get credit for my 2 ST or is the fixes price
How many of the six can park at the ground and will it cost them
If the ticket is £26/£28 what is the meal sausage and chips
As seniors eat less do I get a discount on seniors

Did anyone try the new hospitality
If so which version and what was the meal?

Did you get thrown out at 2.40pm

Where did all the ST holders go for their tea and biscuits

You cannot answer these questions RCS because the club could not

[London Exile]

In my opinion the club don’t seem to have the know how or desire to change anything.
How many times has the club talked about improving the matchday experience and has anything ever changed? Paul Baker said it multiples times and he’s been departed a few years now.
It’s like the new main stand, it’s a comment that gets thrown out there every so often by the board to make it seem that the hierarchy are looking into it but nothing actually gets done.

Our STs are in the PRE and the wife said that by HT the women’s toilets didn’t flush. My wife said a few ladies had commented about this and one said they never seem to flush! I know there was a plumbing issue there previous so whether it’s been fixed and broken down or never been fixed, I don’t know.
Our facilities are tired and soulless, aside from the die hard supporters what is there to attract new supporters? The £2 on the day ticket hike needs to go, the advance prices are more than enough.
The catering, as has been said countless times, is shocking. I know that EFC are in the last year of the contract but it seems as if they know they’re on the way out so aren’t bothered about changing things.
A fanzone would be a great idea but that can probably be filed with the new main stand plans!
Barrow and Accrington have created some cracking areas for their fans recently which I guess which would be more akin to any budget we had in comparison to the one Tranmere have planned. However, they still found the resources to create them.

Having spoken with new SLO Jenny, she will be a fantastic representative for fans regarding supporter experiences, the issue is you can lead a horse to water but you can’t make them drink!

[RegencyCheltenhamSpa]

so do I get credit for my 2 ST or is the fixes price
How many of the six can park at the ground and will it cost them
If the ticket is £26/£28 what is the meal sausage and chips
As seniors eat less do I get a discount on seniors

Did anyone try the new hospitality
If so which version and what was the meal?

Did you get thrown out at 2.40pm

Where did all the ST holders go for their tea and biscuits

You cannot answer these questions RCS because the club could not

The issue of discount for ST holders is something I would like to know. I suspect they would knock off only £5-10 maximum as the bulk of the cost is the food. I expect it is targeted at people who not usually come to the game so the match ticket is almost a freebie.

The brochure does talk about car parking but I can’t recall how many.

When I have done it before one is not kicked out at all and tea and biscuits is served at the dining table so ST holders have to sit in the designated main stand seats not your usual seats in the CF. This is my main gripe. As an ST I don’t want a ticket, programme or team sheet and I walk to matches. There is no premium offer for STs who want a bit extra (e.g. a nice meal and nothing else).

[Ralph]

Steve Hobin and Andy Wilcox wanted to get rid of the "little old Cheltenham" tag.. that is why both are gone. The board like things as they are. We will always be "little old Cheltenham"

[everyman]

Steve Hobin and Andy Wilcox wanted to get rid of the "little old Cheltenham" tag.. that is why both are gone. The board like things as they are. We will always be "little old Cheltenham"

Even our successful managers realise that and we do represent our town`s old image " Poor Proud and Pretty " But at least the present manager has improved the football side of the club to another level without spending our precious " tanners " .

[Robin]

Steve Hobin and Andy Wilcox wanted to get rid of the "little old Cheltenham" tag.. that is why both are gone. The board like things as they are. We will always be "little old Cheltenham"

The ghost of Paul Baker (who did a lot right) still looms large over the way the club is run. Andy Wilcox was ambitious and more approachable than any chairman we've had in my memory yet was clearly forced out this is fundamentally my concern.

[Ralph]

Steve Hobin and Andy Wilcox wanted to get rid of the "little old Cheltenham" tag.. that is why both are gone. The board like things as they are. We will always be "little old Cheltenham"

Even our successful managers realise that and we do represent our town`s old image " Poor Proud and Pretty " But at least the present manager has improved the football side of the club to another level without spending our precious " tanners " .

But with the board going back to the old dark ways, that will filter through to the playing side as well as time goes on.

I was really hopeful with all the feel good factor that was around the club that this time we could make a decent run in L1. Wilcox in charge, Hobin in the commercial role with great ideas and Wilcox backing him. Maybe this was the start of good things at Cheltenham. All seems to have gone back to the old ways. Sad to see...

[Andy]

The ghost of Paul Baker (who did a lot right) still looms large over the way the club is run. Andy Wilcox was ambitious and more approachable than any chairman we've had in my memory yet was clearly forced out this is fundamentally my concern.

From what I heard at the weekend, even today we have a lot to thank PB for let alone the years he made sure this club stayed as financially solvent as possible.

[Shade]

Bloody hell. One home game and the club is falling apart, it seems...

[RegencyCheltenhamSpa]

The ghost of Paul Baker (who did a lot right) still looms large over the way the club is run. Andy Wilcox was ambitious and more approachable than any chairman we've had in my memory yet was clearly forced out this is fundamentally my concern.

From what I heard at the weekend, even today we have a lot to thank PB for let alone the years he made sure this club stayed as financially solvent as possible.

It is not a binary position though. What you say is correct and cannot be argued against. I also think Robin is correct that we have not moved on and made a step up from how PB left things.

[Si Robin]

It's whispers isn't it that cause theses issues.

I think we've all heard the same things, Wilcox wanted to up the budget, then was told to resign. There's clearly no love lost between him and the others, etc...

Call me old fashioned, but I'm happy having a club to watch. Can we guarantee that upping the budget would bring success? Did he want to raise it to such an extent that failure could put the club in financial danger? Who can say, but clearly the board were concerned by it, and he clearly disagreed.

I think our board are overly cautious these days because of how close to admin we got funding Allen and trying to stay in League One before. Some may call that defeatism, and little old Cheltenham, and how we have to speculate to accumulate, but this is also a club that had just over 3,000 home fans on Saturday in our first home game back in the 3rd tier of English football, and on the biggest high since May 2008. With that level of support, then I find it hard to dispute the caution.

[Robin]

It's whispers isn't it that cause theses issues.

I think we've all heard the same things, Wilcox wanted to up the budget, then was told to resign. There's clearly no love lost between him and the others, etc...

Call me old fashioned, but I'm happy having a club to watch. Can we guarantee that upping the budget would bring success? Did he want to raise it to such an extent that failure could put the club in financial danger? Who can say, but clearly the board were concerned by it, and he clearly disagreed.

I think our board are overly cautious these days because of how close to admin we got funding Allen and trying to stay in League One before. Some may call that defeatism, and little old Cheltenham, and how we have to speculate to accumulate, but this is also a club that had just over 3,000 home fans on Saturday in our first home game back in the 3rd tier of English football, and on the biggest high since May 2008. With that level of support, then I find it hard to dispute the caution.

I agree with this ^^^^^^^. This board is being extremely cautious from the outside looking in. The concern is this also backfires as it annoys the manager and isolates the fans. The increase Andy Wilcox wanted in the wage budget again from the outside looking in (and assuming the figures are correct) looks reasonable when given the context it was a total amount in line with clubs operating on similar or smaller attendances (and certainly cheaper tickets) than we are - but equally are they being propped up by investment?). Andy Wilcox had the connection with fans, does David Bloxham? I'm not sure there to be honest. Equally was Andy Wilcox only popular with the fans because he would be in the bar and was willing to buy the drinks?

[Ralph]

It's whispers isn't it that cause theses issues.

I think we've all heard the same things, Wilcox wanted to up the budget, then was told to resign. There's clearly no love lost between him and the others, etc...

Call me old fashioned, but I'm happy having a club to watch. Can we guarantee that upping the budget would bring success? Did he want to raise it to such an extent that failure could put the club in financial danger? Who can say, but clearly the board were concerned by it, and he clearly disagreed.

I think our board are overly cautious these days because of how close to admin we got funding Allen and trying to stay in League One before. Some may call that defeatism, and little old Cheltenham, and how we have to speculate to accumulate, but this is also a club that had just over 3,000 home fans on Saturday in our first home game back in the 3rd tier of English football, and on the biggest high since May 2008. With that level of support, then I find it hard to dispute the caution.

I agree with this ^^^^^^^. This board is being extremely cautious from the outside looking in. The concern is this also backfires as it annoys the manager and isolates the fans. The increase Andy Wilcox wanted in the wage budget again from the outside looking in (and assuming the figures are correct) looks reasonable when given the context it was a total amount in line with clubs operating on similar or smaller attendances (and certainly cheaper tickets) than we are - but equally are they being propped up by investment?). Andy Wilcox had the connection with fans, does David Bloxham? I'm not sure there to be honest. Equally was Andy Wilcox only popular with the fans because he would be in the bar and was willing to buy the drinks?

Bloxham has no connection with the fans and he won't be in the stands with the fans or in the bar - he's a lawyer lol

This has a real risk of annoying Duffo if he can't get the backing he needs from the board

[Si Robin]

When did having a drink with fans become a prerequisite for being a good chairman?