Atmosphere today

[aylesburyos]

Good loud singing by the South Stand today. The West even joined in. Seemed to be more singing in the South today. Well done all

[Cheshunto]

Over 6,500 tickets sold as well……..wonder what the actual attendance was……

[Bergen]

Average this season is 7024. Last season was 5115. Happy days.

[Ghostkidofthenorth]

Are they now including non attending season tickets in the attendance? No way was there over 6500 there yesterday

[aylesburyos]

Are they now including non attending season tickets in the attendance? No way was there over 6500 there yesterday

Seem to be doing that. Bit like Arsenal do

[Chelmsford Swimmer]

Are they now including non attending season tickets in the attendance? No way was there over 6500 there yesterday

I suspect this is a Mark Devlin initiative. Publishing higher attendance encourages more advertisers.

[Petrov788]

Are they now including non attending season tickets in the attendance? No way was there over 6500 there yesterday

I suspect this is a Mark Devlin initiative. Publishing higher attendance encourages more advertisers.

Yes, we know the truth....but sshhh lets keep quiet about it.

[tuffers#1]

Quite a few other clubs seem to be doing this in lower leagues, must be some new directive

[essexfootball]

Makes sense to make it more attractive to sponsors and sound bigger, we get 6k on average etc rather than probably 5k

[RedDwarf 1881]

Average this season is 7024. Last season was 5115. Happy days.

The moral of the story is entertaining football and top of the league puts bums on sets .

[o-no]

The trouble with this is that any meaningful comparison with previous attendances is now impossible.

[OyinbO]

All those season ticket holders who don't turn up eh? I guess the problem isn't just confined to kids in the North.

[tuffers#1]

Makes sense to make it more attractive to sponsors and sound bigger, we get 6k on average etc rather than probably 5k

Exactly , new tv deals to be done & bums on seats means you can charge more to potential viewers, digital advertising is always going to be more appealing if its to 7000 + instead of 5000 as well . Helps move clubs forwards

[Cheshunto]

Wonder how they manage at Salford where they struggle to get 2,000 home fans

[soloman]

All those season ticket holders who don't turn up eh? I guess the problem isn't just confined to kids in the North.

Why do you think they are not turning up? Is it due to traffic , parking ,ULEZ or congestion charge or fans staying away due to covid ?

[Long slender neck]

Or its summer and people are on holiday?

[OyinbO]

Season Ticket holders have always "not turned up" in fairly significant numbers - that was my point. That's what accounts for most of the sudden surge in the attendance figures that we're reporting. There is some uplift from the fact that we're doing well, but the c2,000 additional bums on seats seem to be mostly bums that bought tickets but didn't show up.

[Friend or faux]

It seems to me that the boom in season ticket sales is a bit of a poisoned chalice. If you have an excellent pre-season sale of the season tickets, and then have a dire season, the club is a financial winner. But if you have an excellent start like this season, and hopefully continue as a strong promotion contender; is it such a good thing? If you have priced the season tickets so low, that hundreds or even thousands deem it, financially reasonable to miss many matches, are you being all that clever? The current system deters people like me. I can only turn out when the weather is warm as I feel the cold badly. With the vagaries of our climate, it is often difficult on a Monday, to guess what the weather will be like on the following Saturday. Throw into the mix, the uncertainties of transport strikes and the ever greater problems of getting a parking space within reasonable ( for an oldie ) distance of the ground, it becomes quite unattractive.
Gone are the heady days, when you just turned up at the ground before 3 and paid on the gate. Alright, the don't have to pay men to man the gates and there can be a lot less fiddling, but it must deter quite a lot of people. Also they will loose out on purchases at the ground: food, programmes, booze and shirts scarves etc and also the feeling of fraternity. I have met many nice people at football matches and made some lasting friendships. I am still friends with 2 ladies I pulled at Chelsea 55 years ago! Then there is the all powerful atmosphere, if you have a ground packed to the rafters when the team is playing a blinder, you will reinforce loyalty. Still perhaps Orient enjoys playing to a half-empty ground.