56 replies to this topic

[The Art of Hand and Foot]

Looking at the widnes v saints game on tv it looks empty? Is it because the capacity is so big or is it because it is empty???

[jannerboyuk]

Looking at the widnes v saints game on tv it looks empty? Is it because the capacity is so big or is it because it is empty???

13000 odd capacity is maybe too big right now but widnes need to be given the chance to grow into it. do they have the potential to do a warrington and regularly hit 11k+?

[Maximus Decimus]

I've been going Widnes games for 20 years and games at the all-seater since it opened near 15 years ago.

I've never seen it so empty for a first team game. Literally never, I'd be surprised if there are 1,000 Widnes fans there.

[Dave T]

Cheapest adult tickets were £20 for advance purchase. That feels too high for 4th rd cup games.

As a Man City fan I could go watching them in Europe for less in the early rounds.

RL gets it so wrong at times with the pricing. We are either too cheap or too expensive.

[jannerboyuk]

wiki says widnes pop is 50k. is runcorn meaningfully part of the vikings catchment as that has 60k. Of course widnes used to get support form north wales but i'm not sure that will come back.

[Wilderspoolmemories]

Empty seats.............empty seats! What a shocking turnout from the "fans" of both Widnes and st.helens.

[jannerboyuk]

Cheapest adult tickets were £20 for advance purchase. That feels too high for 4th rd cup games.

As a Man City fan I could go watching them in Europe for less in the early rounds.

RL gets it so wrong at times with the pricing. We are either too cheap or too expensive.

£20 for the cheap seats for a televised and early cup game is madness!

[Maximus Decimus]

wiki says widnes pop is 50k. is runcorn meaningfully part of the vikings catchment as that has 60k. Of course widnes used to get support form north wales but i'm not sure that will come back.

Our support is a similar level to what it was last time we were in SL and with a competitive squad we would average around 7k with a couple of games a year over 10k.

The problem is the lack of competitiveness.

Trust me, this turnout is far lower than any Championship turn out.

P.s, we do get a fair few fans from Runcorn yes. When we were successful we also used to get quite a few from South Liverpool. Speke is literally about 2 miles away.

Edited by Maximus Decimus, 14 April 2012 - 04:59 PM.

[jannerboyuk]

Our support is a similar level to what it was last time we were in SL and with a competitive squad we would average around 7k with a couple of games a year over 10k.

The problem is the lack of competitiveness.

Trust me, this turnout is far lower than any Championship turn out.

P.s, we do get a fair few fans from Runcorn yes. When we were successful we also used to get quite a few from South Liverpool. Speke is literally about 2 miles away.

i suppose i was expecting with connor at the helm you would be getting a more savvy and energetic approach to promotion. No doubt a competitive team is the anchor of that but surely longterm widnes must be more ambitous in how big support can get. how do teams like wakefield and hull kr maintain a healthy 6-8k attendance despte being in the main shi.te?

[longboard]

I prefer the trouble with the old, modern stadia.

[Dave T]

Whilst the crowd is poor, only 4.1k turned up at Fev in a game that was apparently massive, and Leeds got around 7k, probably half of what they would normally.

It is a wider issue than Widnes.

[Maximus Decimus]

i suppose i was expecting with connor at the helm you would be getting a more savvy and energetic approach to promotion. No doubt a competitive team is the anchor of that but surely longterm widnes must be more ambitous in how big support can get. how do teams like wakefield and hull kr maintain a healthy 6-8k attendance despte being in the main shi.te?

There is bad and then there is Widnes. Our PD is -339, Wakey's is about 1/3rd of this.

We are still averaging about 6k but it's going backwards because of the lack of competitiveness. Put it this way, we've suffered our club record defeat this year, literally the worst defeat we've had in 117 years of RL. Wakey or Hull KR can't say that.

[roughyed8]

Cheapest adult tickets were £20 for advance purchase. That feels too high for 4th rd cup games.

As a Man City fan I could go watching them in Europe for less in the early rounds.

RL gets it so wrong at times with the pricing. We are either too cheap or too expensive.

way too expensive considering the RFL are selling final tickets for a tenner!

[Maximus Decimus]

Whilst the crowd is poor, only 4.1k turned up at Fev in a game that was apparently massive, and Leeds got around 7k, probably half of what they would normally.

It is a wider issue than Widnes.

You have to feel for Fev-Cas even more with it being on at the same time as the National. This surely kept 1k off it at least.

Make no excuses, I've been at Widnes with 2k there and it was much fuller than today (without the Saints fans). The fans are fed up of what we've been seeing and aren't prepared to pay £20 to watch it.

It's meant to be a message to SOC without cancelling Strongholds. For some strange reason I think SOC will blame the fans rather than take the message of the protest.

[DeadShotKeen]

You have to feel for Fev-Cas even more with it being on at the same time as the National. This surely kept 1k off it at least.

The Grand National!!?? Give over! I agree with your other comments though.

You might be interested in my Overseas Player Draft thread? Ties in perfectly with Denis Betts' comments about his frustration at not being able to find any decent free agents, despite having money to spend. Both Widnes and Wakey would have benefited hugely this year if that were in place. Put Hohaia in the white with black vee and you wouldn't see so many empty seats IMHO.

[Harrigan]

It's the Challenge Cup isn't it. Who cares about it? I don't!

Just look at the Leeds/Wakey game last night. 7,140 was the attendance at Headingley. Last seasons league game attracted 15,511 and just to show you how people really devalue the cup... the preseason friendly between the 2 of us got 9,062 and that was with Leeds having about 10 players missing!

[Just Browny]

It's the Challenge Cup isn't it. Who cares about it? I don't!

Just look at the Leeds/Wakey game last night. 7,140 was the attendance at Headingley. Last seasons league game attracted 15,511 and just to show you how people really devalue the cup... the preseason friendly between the 2 of us got 9,062 and that was with Leeds having about 10 players missing!

No thanks, I saw you spouting this rubbish on RLFans - once was enough.

[Maximus Decimus]

The Grand National!!?? Give over! I agree with your other comments though.

You might be interested in my Overseas Player Draft thread? Ties in perfectly with Denis Betts' comments about his frustration at not being able to find any decent free agents, despite having money to spend. Both Widnes and Wakey would have benefited hugely this year if that were in place. Put Hohaia in the white with black vee and you wouldn't see so many empty seats IMHO.

I'll check the thread out mate.

I simply don't believe Betts and his frustration. I can't believe that Brian Noble wouldn't have found a better squad than he did.

Maybe the National is bigger where I'm from but it's one of the biggest days of the sporting year.

[DeadShotKeen]

Maybe the National is bigger where I'm from but it's one of the biggest days of the sporting year.

It's big in the sense that loads of people with zero interest in horse racing (or even sport) tune in but I can't believe any self-respecting RL fan would miss a game to watch it, especially a one off local derby of huge magnitude.

[Harrigan]

No thanks, I saw you spouting this rubbish on RLFans - once was enough.

What rubbish have I spouted?

Are you really bothered about the cup? Are the missing 7,000 Leeds fans bothered about the cup?