philiph20 said:
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You are absolutely spot on, there is a huge market within a 20 mile radius if not more from the Etihad and even the most myopic Rag wouldn’t admit the massive sea change in the number of kids wearing City shirts.
We have missed generations of support before hence the low numbers of fans in the 18-30 age bracket, you only have to look around you At games home and away and look at the various visual blogs out there to see how few we have compared to other clubs which although isn’t a given must contribute to the lack of atmosphere.
There appears to be a neglect and a real lack of vision when it comes to attracting local fans, we should be hammering the local schools with tickets for Cup games, players visits, coaching and raising the awareness. We could even branch out into deepest Cheshire, the Peak District, south Lancashire and possibly even venture into areas without or having very few football clubs on their doorstep like Shropshire, Cumbria and the Scottish Borders. However great the football is there doesn’t seem to be many outward signs of fervour for some reason whether that’s related to the aeging fan base I don’t know.
Get the extension up, reduce the prices and get out and about spreading the word and invite people back into the fold and get the uninitiated on board.
Spot on.
I work at a school in Wythenshawe and haven’t seen anyone with a City badge walk through our door for eight years or so. The school is crawling with Blues. If they came down and gave away ‘X?’ tickets away for a Cup game it would go down a storm.
What this suggests to me is that what others have said regarding the match day revenue not being of great significance to the major teams, is true.
I think if you look at the elite globally, it doesn't seem to bother them who walks through their turn-stiles. Truth is a day tourist will probably spend more in the shop anyway.
I think the big money is in TV and worldwide sponsorship and the top clubs could probably survive comfortably on that alone.
I agree with all of above though. If you want to secure the future support and create an atmosphere worth talking about, you need to secure the 18-30 year old fanbase.
You want to attract as many of this demographic as possible and you need to make it possible for them all to be together.i.e. safe standing, first come best spot.
That is how you create a noise.