Fans turning to lower league football

bluealf said:
I had two of those today, within a mile of each other, a luton van pulling onto the Collin bypass, you could see he was not going to stop, good job there was nobody in the outside lane.
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That's why there's so many accidents/deaths on Scotland's roads.
The A9 is just as bad.
They're sorted it abit just after Perth but from Dunkeld to Inverness you have to have your wits about you
 
TheGhost said:
I moved to Leeds 20 years ago and used to watch the local non league side Farsley Celtic. A new owner came in and they went on a run of getting promoted 4 times in 5 seasons and ended up in the National League Conference (5th tier in the Pyramid) and played and drew against MK Dons on TV in the 1st round of the FA Cup.

I was paying £8 a game and could get pie and peas for a couple of quid. When they got promoted to the Conference there were new ground regulations that had to be adhered to.

The pie hut was replaced by a burger van. But more importantly there was a minimum ticket price charge of £18 in the league, a £10 increase per game. I didn’t go to many home games that season.

Farsley were part time and most of the other clubs in the Conference were fully professional. Also 16 of the teams in the League were south of Luton whereas the league they were promoted from was regional and all Northern clubs.

They really struggled on and off the pitch got relegated on the last day of the season at York away. I was there.

That summer the club went bust.

A phoenix side was formed AFC Farsley and they worked their way up to a reasonable level. But over the last two seasons they are back in the financial mire, there’s issues with the land where the stadium is, and for some reason were playing some of their home games in Buxton Derbyshire, 65 miles and 2 hour 15 minutes away from West Leeds.

Life, watching City, having a family and a lack of spare time has got in the way of me going back to the Throstles Nest.

But if I gave up watching City I’d happily watch lower league football instead.
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I was at York away. Didn't see you there.
 
Don't most lower league clubs, particularly the ones in close proximity to big clubs, get the majority of their fans this way? I was always of the opinion this was the case. I dont think its anything new with people turning to lower league, its likely more just your own circle of friends have reached that point now rather than it being some kind of out of the norm trend.

It's not for me, I think i'm edging towards saying i'm no longer a football fan but a manchester city fan. I dont really watch football anymore, I used to watch whatever I could, regardless of whether it was related to us or not but now it's City and very occasionally a match if it has big implications to our season and then maybe finals. So if I ever packed in city, I wouldn't be looking elsewhere.
 
MarcIsTired1986 said:
I don't really have a question, or a point to make here - just opening the topic for discussion really:

I'm a lifelong blue, as are all my Dad's side of the family (Mum's side are reds, but thankfully my Dad raised me football-wise). I'm originally from Stockport, so have a lot of friends and family still living there - I don't, I'm in Urmston now.

I have, however, seen a trend of people who have always supported Premier League teams turning their backs on their team and following a Lower League, and in some cases even Non-League, team instead. Not to say they don't support their PL team at all - but just seem to have more interest and passion in the lower league club they have chose - mostly, in my case, Stockport County. But I know some who have gone to Salford City, Oldham, Altrincham, and even West Didsbury & Chorlton. My Dad, Brother-in-Law and Nephew (all also lifelong City fans) have now got Season Tickets at Stockport, and when I asked my nephew about City's new away kit his exact words were, "I've not seen it - I'm getting County's though!"

Like I'm sure a lot of others are, I too have become a bit disillusioned with football at the very top - the amount of money involved is disgusting really (but that's a separate topic of conversation), the politics involved in ownership (poor Crystal Palace falling victim to this, just this summer), having to comply with various FFP/PSR rules, the constant changing of fixture dates and kick off times to suit the TV channels, the now infamous 115 charges etc. I just don't feel like I support a football club anymore - I feel like I support a business. The players lives are so far removed from the average fan that you just have no connection to them at all - whereas at County you can sometimes (not always, but reasonably often) meet and get photos with the players after the match.

Now, I'm not saying I'm going to go support County - I'm actually very disappointed that so many people I know have turned to them - but I can sort of see the appeal. 95% of the time your game kicks off at 3pm on a Saturday - your players are probably local-ish lads - they still earn good money but not hundreds of thousands of pounds a week - the new shirt doesn't cost £100. Part of me (a very small part) sort of hoped that the 115 charges would stick and we got dumped in the Vanarama North - then at least I can follow the lower league football without having to 'switch sides'.

I know this bleeds into the debate they were having on TalkSport a month or so ago, about whether you can support two teams - I don't think you can! I like Stockport, I hope they win - but I don't "support" them!

Just wondering what peoples thoughts are - is this a growing trend? Is the Premier League going to lose fans in its droves as people turn to a lower league club, and take their kids along with them (as with my nephew)? If so, will the Premier League step in and do something to bring them back? Are you seeing it happen too, or am I just friends with really un-loyal football fans? Are you/have you been tempted to go follow another club as well or instead of City?
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Lower league and non league football is booming. I think it’s great that people support their local team. City were my local team so that’s fine.
 
Not for me , although totally disillusioned with top flight football . Don’t watch any football unless we are playing. Renewed my season ticket mainly out of habit . Can fully understand why people are attracted to watch the lower leagues.
 
Occasionally go and watch Hyde , when city aren't playing but the standard is awful but the pies are good
 
I stopped going to City when my health deteriorated to an extent I could no longer go.

I get some joy from the fact that my eldest lad takes my Grandson after City allowed him to have my season card, changed into his name.

I watch on the TV, still love the club, and occasionally buy a new City shirt, this new black/silver one is fantastic.

I won't watch anyone else, City are in my DNA.
 
As a youngster in the 70's and 80's I must have said, and actually fully believed I was "City till I die!" No amount of being shit, and suffering the horrors of the late 80's and 90's would convince me otherwise. I even remember saying to my wife that the only thing in life I could guarantee was being City till I die.

Incredibly however, and going against everything I ever could conceive in those dark days, I was wrong. And this change is down to the realisation that this club has moved on and simply no longer gives a feck about the fans who kept this club alive in those dark days. We never made an enemy of our club or deserted them when things didn't go to plan, unlike our club, who with the current match attendance rules, left me with no alternative but to relinquish my seasoncard (before it would be taken from me anyway) and a genuine feeling of becoming 'persona non grata'.

It was a tough pill to swallow, but the sense of release and not becoming further subordinate to this institution that has governed my emotions for almost all my life was immense. Frankly, I no longer give a feck what happens with City, as it simply isn't my team anymore. It's their doing, they served the divorce papers, and I have accepted my fate and moved on.

I have now bought a season ticket at Lincoln United who play step 4 football in the Northern Premier League East. I have watched all 6 pre season friendlies, and on Tuesday evening I will use my new £120 season ticket for the first of 21 games. Nobody will be emailing me if I can't make a game, and I can hand my ticket to anyone I choose. The games I do attend will see me park within a 150 yards of the ground for free, I will arrive 20 minutes before kickoff and still have time to buy a £1.50 brew, collect my team sheet and sit in any free seat I fancy. Once complete, I will be back home inside 10 minutes. Yes, I won't see superstars, but I will see super effort and frankly I would rather see lesser players trying hard than ponces like Grealish and Foden, who care more for their haircuts than they do for those who pay their wages.

My message is simple, the people's game still exists; you just have to go and find it!
 
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It's CTID as my local team and I'll always support the lads on the pitch but have never felt as distant from the actual club as I do now.

Been to quite a lot of Bury matches over the last few years as they recover from a horrendous time and will be at Gigg tomorrow for their opener. £11 and a decent pie and pint whilst watching the match. Can never hope to be as emotionally involved as with City but that sense of grass-roots, community spirit is just so apparent and is infectious.
 
It's an interesting topic and one which raises more questions about the PL football experience going forward......not just City. Whilst I'm really looking forward to getting the train to Wolves next weekend and having a few beers before the game I am concerned that the whole sanitisation of our game at the top level makes it unsustainable for normal fans of my generation.
My lad is off to watch Bury with his mates tomorrow and just maybe he'll enjoy that more than next weekend ?
 
Not for me. I’ll watch any type of football but I wouldn’t go and see someone else’s team.

It’s not a quality thing, I’ve seen enough crap football (City) to last a lifetime!
 
Bournemouth Blue said:
I started supporting my hometown club Yeovil, when I was 7. First match I saw with Dad was against Crystal Palace in the FACup, and we won 3-1. Next round we were home to Bury, and lost. How times changed! Meanwhile my grandad in Saddleworth took me to watch City at Maine Road and that changed everything. So whilst I haven’t attended any home Yeovil or City matches in recent times, I still follow both. I did see City away at Bournemouth early last year and City won, which made me happy. One of our grandsons started playing for junior teams and we went along for local games for a year or two, but the team he played for fell apart and he was invited to play for a better team, but they played over a wider area and it was taking up too much time for him and his parents to travel and train, so he quit. I will always be a fan of Yeovil and City.
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I suppose the question is , if we met in the cup who you supporting?

Please dont say youd be like those gimpy Plymouth fans wearing half plymouth half liverpool shirts!!!
 
If I ever decided I was stopping going watching City, I'd never start watching another team or go watching non-league... I'd just become a full time city armchair fan
 
I'm down in Brighton and there's plenty of old school Brighton fans who don't watch them anymore and go to Whitehawk or Worthing FC (owned by a paraplegic who bought the club with his RTA compensation money).

Personally I can't get excited about any football not involving City and if you're not personally invested I find shit football a bit of a yawn.
 
I go to Alty a bit, and went to Stockport against Bolton last week.

Enjoy a bit of non-league/lower league. Would definitely go to Alty more if City wasn't an option.
 
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