Catchment and support

[mattitouk]

Spot on.

I agree, for one I was born and raised in Basildon and was / is always a true shrimper (but sadly remember even back then, i was in the minority). Despite being only a 20 minute short journey up the road to Southend and raised by a family of wet spammers. Roots hall was always my favourite day out.

As 70'sNB said, The club could do a hell of a lot more to promote our club within the Basildon area especially considering it is so close by train or car, & their town council has predicted a population of 181,300 next year.

On that basis, even if we picked up just less than 1% of the towns population, that could bring in an extra 1,800 home fans through the turnstiles. Even 0.3% could turn our crowds from a 7k into an 8k, an 8k into a 9K etc.....

All being said, you local lot don't know the luxury of living outside of the Southend borough, I live in Thurrock and practically every dustbin, flower pot and council pebble dashed house seems to be painted in claret & blue.

Even my local ice cream van!!...shame I used to like a Mr Whippy, but no way am i funding that plastic West Ham fans season ticket!....In the words of Peter Kay,... "I would rather have a solero & shut the fck up". :smile:

 

[Floval Flyer]

Agree with above comments, but also you can say that we don't even help ourselves within the parimeter of our town; let's not forget we have a SPURS shop in the high street, and a Wet Spam shop in the precinct before that IIRC.

Problem is, it's all about money and our inept local council / landlords will take the rent money without 2nd thought, to the detriment of our local football club.

I have however managed to convert my nephew from supporting Arsenal, he is now a shrimper and very recently got the new orange away kit for his birthday, I took him to MTBD (he said it was the best day of his life:smile:) and has been down to RH to support us!

BTW: He's never been to the emirates, and my brother will unlikely be able to afford to take him. (So, 1 saved!!)

 

[SeaSideDoughnut]

I agree completely with your argument, but how easy is it to swap 'loyalties'?

Surely if it is your team, it is your team.

However, i do struggle with people (generally kids) wearing manchester shirts, liverpool shirts (although they have never won the premiershite), london clubs 'cos all of a sudden theyre successful, etal.

Surely you base your support on a team 'cos its your local team or maybe 'cos theres a family connection. Not 'cos they have millions to spend and/or theyve just won the league/cup.

I dont know how you encourage people to support (ie actually attend matches rather than wear the coat or just watch the scores come in at final whistle) their local club.

But there should definitely be a law against supporting the most successful club at that time (unless you live within the 'city' boundaries of course).

Loyalty?

Pah!!! :cry::cry::cry:

My post [#15] was in response to TSNB and like me, if they're young they probably wouldn't have established a strong affinity with their club whoever that may be. They probably wouldn't have been to a match and once you feel that matchday atmosphere I think a change would happen just like that!

If the club were to offer training sessions and include a ticket at a discounted rate for them and a guardian in the price it could be a fantastic outreach. Image if you were 8 or 9 and you'd just finished six weeks training with a player, let's use Ben Coker as an example, given that time to build a rapport with these kids they'd be screaming 'go on Ben'. Before they know it they're invested in that player/person and soon the club.

 

[Jam_Man]

I agree completely with your argument, but how easy is it to swap 'loyalties'?

Surely if it is your team, it is your team.

However, i do struggle with people (generally kids) wearing manchester shirts, liverpool shirts (although they have never won the premiershite), london clubs 'cos all of a sudden theyre successful, etal.

Surely you base your support on a team 'cos its your local team or maybe 'cos theres a family connection. Not 'cos they have millions to spend and/or theyve just won the league/cup.

I dont know how you encourage people to support (ie actually attend matches rather than wear the coat or just watch the scores come in at final whistle) their local club.

But there should definitely be a law against supporting the most successful club at that time (unless you live within the 'city' boundaries of course).

Loyalty?

Pah!!! :cry::cry::cry:

Most people commenting are doing so from the perspective of people who actually do support a team, and actually go to games.

Thats a big difference to what the majority do.

I for example grew up supporting Arsenal because thats the family team, my mum was from Islington. However we lived in Benfleet next door to a Southend season ticket holder who took us to games in the 1980 era and when I was a bit older I was keen enough on football that as soon I could go with mates Southend was not only the only option it was one Id already been to. I never switched allegiance, I just went to games and over the years lost interest in Arsenal.

However compare it to my brother, same upbringing but he was never really into watching football, although he did play. His two kids "support" West Ham and Tottenham. The latter because its their mothers family team and West Ham probably because his daughter is wrong in the head or something, I have no idea. (she isnt lol). I have even taken him and his kids to Roots Hall, but hasnt taken.

So theres the crux of the problem there, local lower league teams don't mean anything to non football fans and they will simply latch on to the big name. They will not even be actual supporters and rarely if ever go to a game.

The answer is for the local non league club to simply be more attractive than the likes of West Ham, Chelsea and whoever wins the premier league that season, and thats never going to be easy. The new stadium is the biggest attraction we have but at moment is not much more use than offering free unicorn rides.

Other than that its the community work that goes on, but in Prittlewell the club do stuff at my lads primary, they get free tickets etc, yet when I pick him up from football he is the only one wearing a Southend shirt amongst the Premiership and Barcelona shirts.

As for catchment areas, its not really as straight forward as saying we have a bigger catchment area than Manchester United, their catchment area is the entire country and beyond. They have season ticket holders in kent who travel up to every game on coaches. Amazing dedication even if its frustrating to see.

 

[leeblue]

Snagging those kids is vital.....parents allowing of course. My dad is a fanatical supporter so I was literally brainwashed in the early 80s....southend all the way....i repeated the cycle with my son (he's now 20) and the philosophy is simple.....football for us is about community not entertainment not value for money. Unfortunately this isn't the case with many fans nowadays.

 

[Jam_Man]

Snagging those kids is vital.....parents allowing of course. My dad is a fanatical supporter so I was literally brainwashed in the early 80s....southend all the way....i repeated the cycle with my son (he's now 20) and the philosophy is simple.....football for us is about community not entertainment not value for money. Unfortunately this isn't the case with many fans nowadays.

And snagging the kids is pretty difficult without someone like your dad or my next door neighour willing to to take people to games.

The club can do all the work in the schools but if the adults aren't attracted to go then hard to influence the kids.

AS you say going to watch Southend isnt about a great matchday experience or being entertained, more about the way of life. And most people dont get that so wont make the effort to brainwash their kids like we do :smile:

 

[leeblue]

And snagging the kids is pretty difficult without someone like your dad or my next door neighour willing to to take people to games.

The club can do all the work in the schools but if the adults aren't attracted to go then hard to influence the kids.

AS you say going to watch Southend isnt about a great matchday experience or being entertained, more about the way of life. And most people dont get that so wont make the effort to brainwash their kids like we do :smile:

Indeed. I think my overall point is the club has to do so much to get 'New' support its a tough task. Not helped by a crumbling ramshackle venue and wildly fluctuating form on the pitch coupled with the lure of the premier league (I refuse to subscribe to sky sports)

 

[Jai]

When I was younger I wasn't really into football until Italia 90 when I was eight and after that I took an interest. I didn't want to support my dad's team (Man Utd) so my mate persuaded me to support Spurs as they had Gazza and Lineker. But the media saturation of the top level, even then, was so much that I didn't really realise for quite a while that Southend even had a football team, despite the fact that at the time we were enjoying a great period under Dave Webb. But you just didn't hear about it even growing up six miles up the road from the ground. Only about two kids in my year at school supported them.

My Southend interest mainly came from being driven past the ground on Saturday afternoons (on the way back from going shopping with my parents) and seeing people streaming out of the ground. However, I wouldn't have attended my first game had it not been for the community work by Frankie Banks and Ray Scott who took a training session with my kids football team and we had match tickets to the Ipswich game (infamous sit-down protest, April 1992). After that I lost interest in Spurs pretty fast, and now they are just another team to me, in fact I actively dislike them because of that club shop in the High Street and I always have a good chuckle when they lose.

 

[THE SEVENTIES NORTH BANK]

The thing to do in a place like Basildon is to target the adults first for a designated game. Something like, come and watch SUFC V whoever, at half price with up to 2 or 3 kids free. The kids will follow the adult. But from then on, it's normally the adult following the kids, once they get the match day experience. All the things we take for granted is brilliant when you're a kid. Walking down the road to the stadium, the excitement as it gets nearer. Walking with Southend fans. The sight of the stadium. Finding your seats. The noise of the crowd especially during the game. Watching the game itself, and as a kid you normally pick out one or two players you like by the end of your first game. It's the whole day that kids love. From the first game it's normally the kids asking the adults if they can go to another game. How many times have we heard on here fans saying that from their first game they were hooked as a young kid? It happened to me.
So it doesn't matter if they or their family support another much bigger club. It's about getting them in to see a game. From then on, most will come back as paying supporters for years to come. There's plenty of families in Basildon that want to go to football but can't afford the Premiership prices.

 

[MK Shrimper]

There's plenty of families in Basildon that want to go to football but can't afford the Premiership prices.

Like most, they watch it on Sky or MOTD in their replica shirts. Basildon is a new town where, historically, residents of the East End moved out during the 50s, 60s, 70s, hence families support West Ham.

 

[THE SEVENTIES NORTH BANK]

Like most, they watch it on Sky or MOTD in their replica shirts. Basildon is a new town where, historically, residents of the East End moved out during the 50s, 60s, 70s, hence families support West Ham.

Yes I know that. I know all about the Spam connection and the East End. I'm talking about kids(mainly boys) watching their first live football match. The live match day experience for a kid is totally different to watching a match on Sky or MOTD.

 

[shamash]

This is a subject which has always interested me. I suspect that there is more than one reason why folk, who are interested in football, don’t go along to their nearest professional club on Saturday afternoon.

A survey might be useful here. We must all have friends/acquaintances who like football, but never, or hardly ever turn up at Roots Hall. It could be worth asking them and then passing answers onto the marketing department, (I’m sure that we must have a marketing department).

I must hold my hands up here and confess that although I’m still a Southend fan, I’m hardly a supporter. In recent seasons my average attendance would probably be around four games during a season. In my case the reason is not so much that I fell out of love with Southend but rather that I fell out of love with league football. I still spend most Saturday afternoons watching matches but these days, the matches of local non league teams. I just enjoy the experience of visits to these games, where it is easier to stand, chat to friends etc. The atmosphere is always more friendly and welcoming than at league games.

 

[TrevorFitzpatrickHattrick]

Surely a lot of it boils down to household income? When you factor in tickets, travel and refreshments, it's going to price a lot of people out as it stands (even for lower league football).

 

[united we stand]

I ran a boys team in wickford for 5/6 years a while back. The club used to ( don't know if they do now) offer very cheap tickets to clubs. We would sell around 30 -80 tickets but more importantly some of those went on to buying tickets themselves--- so it worked to an extent. If we then had some advertising (zero in wickford except one visit and selling of jpt final in last few years years) and if the players came to couple of training sessions it could make all the difference. Daniel Bentley grew up in wickford and the club didn't use that connection at all afaik.

 

[Bearded Shrimper]

Snagging those kids is vital.....parents allowing of course. My dad is a fanatical supporter so I was literally brainwashed in the early 80s....southend all the way....i repeated the cycle with my son (he's now 20) and the philosophy is simple.....football for us is about community not entertainment not value for money. Unfortunately this isn't the case with many fans nowadays.

I like that a lot. Especially when paying a shedload to watch toilet, but I appreciate that sentiment

 

[AndyT]

Football isn't an entertainment industry.

 

[Jam_Man]

I ran a boys team in wickford for 5/6 years a while back. The club used to ( don't know if they do now) offer very cheap tickets to clubs. We would sell around 30 -80 tickets but more importantly some of those went on to buying tickets themselves--- so it worked to an extent. If we then had some advertising (zero in wickford except one visit and selling of jpt final in last few years years) and if the players came to couple of training sessions it could make all the difference. Daniel Bentley grew up in wickford and the club didn't use that connection at all afaik.

My son's school have plenty of activity in his school in prittlewell less than a mile from the ground. Free tickets, Southend training schooles etc Yet he is the only one who ever wears a Southend shirt and we rarely ever see anyone from his school in the family enclosure. Same was when my daughter was there too. Get a few on the family days when they give tickets away, but they rarely come back.

Due to where we live there are a lot of football parties at Chase High which my lad goes to, again no one wears Southend kits at the ones he goes but him.

If it doesnt make that much of an impact in a school that close then its not going to make much to those further out unfortunately.

Indeed. I think my overall point is the club has to do so much to get 'New' support its a tough task. Not helped by a crumbling ramshackle venue and wildly fluctuating form on the pitch coupled with the lure of the premier league (I refuse to subscribe to sky sports)

Indeed, if giving people free tickets doesnt grab their attention other than the one game I dont know what they can do. Kids tickets are already cheap, I go to games for the same price with a kid than I did on my own, albeit have to go in the family stand.

Form you cant account for, after all no team will always be in good form other wise you would be top of the premiership. If peoples' requirement is for the team to constantly be winning games there are few teams they would ever be happy attending.

That just leaves the facilities. Theres nothing wrong fundamentally with Roots Hall, it suits its purpose for football, the seats work. However a shiny new stadium would make a difference to attracting those people who turn up for one free game and never go again.

Until the new stadium gets completed (not 3 sides) then I cant see what else the club can do.

 

[Liam AAS]

According to this map the following clubs have the following potential fan bases:

Southend: 600,776

Arsenal: 726,688
Plymouth: 870,803

West Ham: 416,756
Dover Athletic: 581,943

Liverpool: 573,995
Newport County: 588,736

Man U: 417,641
Gateshead: 486,317

I realise that this thread may have moved on since the OP but these figures are absolutely laughable.

 

[londonblue]

I live in Basildon, my dad is from Islington. I supported Arsenal as a boy with my dad but do you know what did it for me? Steve Tilson and a Southend coach came to my school and done a weekly training session for six weeks. I was 8 or 9 years old and I didn't have a clue who he was, or that there was a league club so close to me. The internet wasn't what it is now so my world was still so small. But there was a professional footballer with Southend United on his tracksuit teaching me how to be better and I was in ore. Later that season me, a friend and his older brother went to go see a game. We didn't tell our parents. I might only be 13 miles but it seems a long way and I've never looked backed.

There's great facilities at the sporting village and they should be used.

Let me guess. After the training sessions you really smelt?

 

[Leoblue]

My son's school have plenty of activity in his school in prittlewell less than a mile from the ground. Free tickets, Southend training schooles etc Yet he is the only one who ever wears a Southend shirt and we rarely ever see anyone from his school in the family enclosure. Same was when my daughter was there too. Get a few on the family days when they give tickets away, but they rarely come back.

Due to where we live there are a lot of football parties at Chase High which my lad goes to, again no one wears Southend kits at the ones he goes but him.

If it doesnt make that much of an impact in a school that close then its not going to make much to those further out unfortunately.



Indeed, if giving people free tickets doesnt grab their attention other than the one game I dont know what they can do. Kids tickets are already cheap, I go to games for the same price with a kid than I did on my own, albeit have to go in the family stand.

Form you cant account for, after all no team will always be in good form other wise you would be top of the premiership. If peoples' requirement is for the team to constantly be winning games there are few teams they would ever be happy attending.

That just leaves the facilities. Theres nothing wrong fundamentally with Roots Hall, it suits its purpose for football, the seats work. However a shiny new stadium would make a difference to attracting those people who turn up for one free game and never go again.

Until the new stadium gets completed (not 3 sides) then I cant see what else the club can do.

Are you sure? The place is a dump and a health hazard.