By Nunya - 5 Dec 2023 11:32 AM
Lowest Crowd in A-League History
Aus Stadiums reported 2043 people. The actual numbers is less than 350 people.
https://www.austadiums.com/sport/comp/a-league/crowds
The actual crowd as you will (I counted them), was less than 350 from all the images I could gather. The main stand is in view at half time, according to stadium planning this would need to have 1 person in every second seat for the crowd numbers to actually be 2043 people, instead they are absolutely dead empty. Every single stand was seen on camera, and there is no way, they had anywhere near those numbers.
Images for reference.
https://imgur.com/TN9dMqn
https://imgur.com/IBbwNai
https://imgur.com/Jrb28pr
https://imgur.com/a1gZEND
https://imgur.com/v1fkow3
https://imgur.com/u76lkMu
https://imgur.com/xUhm5If
I actually counted significantly less than 350, but added 50 on at the end after being extremely generous during the count, to account for people going to the bathroom, going to get food, people in booths etc. The number I hit was actually around 270, that's 270 whilst always assuming any black dots were people, which could be bags, or something else entirely. It's possible the crowd was around 250 if everyone was watching the game and not buying food and getting a drink and some of the stuff I counted, wasn't actually people during my snap shots. Absolutely abysmal.
The question needs to be raised as to why Aus Stadiums would misinform about crowd figures, or who is reporting them to Aus Stadiums. There is no way, there is 1700 people missing in these images. It's absolutely mental they think people would believe that.
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By Monoethnic Social Club - 21 Dec 2023 12:06 PM
+x+x+x+x+x+x+x+x+xAnd yet, take a humble NPL player and offer them an aleagues contract. 1/ They accept it because it is a higher level of competition (and exposure and money are a big part of professional sport). 2/ Fans of the originating club are likely to have a level of fondness for that aleagues club while they are offering the player game time 3/ Family, friends and associates of the player will show some level of interest in the player, club, and by association the league. The aleagues do not have to exist as a part of the pyramid - it can continue to exist as a stand alone product without harming the pyramid. It is fans' expectations that it is not meeting and maybe the fans are expecting too much from the league. It offers a higher level of football. If that is what you want to see then it succeeds. It offers a sense of belonging that goes beyond local, ethnic and historic traditional ties. If that is what you want it succeeds. It gives you a chance to step outside of community and be a part of something bigger. If that is what you want then it succeeds. Ask nothing more of the league and you get what you see to enjoy or pull your hair out from week to week. Growth by this method would be slow, but anything that lifts awareness, involvement and interest to add to the baked on supporters is a plus. 2/ Fans of the originating club are likely to have a level of fondness for that aleagues club while they are offering the player game time - are you sure about that? How many Oakleigh fans suddenly started following the Aleague because of Joe Knowles? Or South fans now religiously follow Henry Hore as examples?3/ Family, friends and associates of the player will show some level of interest in the player, club, and by association the league. - Sure, but with the life of an Aleague players these very same "supporters" will be forced to cheer on at least half a dozen clubs before their son/daughter/friend retries from football... not really the long term rusted on growth the franchises are looking for? I chose the word fondness deliberately (and to be honest I was thinking of you and Henry Hore when I chose it). You would be crazy to expect anyone to become a mad follower because they knew someone who once played for a club - my point is that interest is a start. Same for the clubs they follow over time as their friend/relative moves around. All generating interest. It is then up to the specific clubs to do something with that interest before they move on again. As long as an NPL club and an aleagues club are considered two totally separate leagues there is a chance for a died in the wool Souths fan having an interest and maybe even attending a game or two of aleagues football. I honestly think if you forced everyone in Australia to choose an aleagues club as their favourite there would be a very high number who could not name a club with certainty let alone lean towards it over any other club. Generating interest is just a chance to make another small step forward. I suspected this may have been the case... and fair point too... Yes I will cast an eye on little Henry to see how he is doing but therein lies the problem.. It is not fandom of any worth mate. South , like lots of NPL clubs, has had players move to the "bright lights, big city" of the Aleague who do you show interest in?... CCM where Matty Miller went or Newcastle afterwards? or what about MacArthur where he is know as ONE example? - Shit I think he even played a handful of senior matches at Melbourne City before signing with us :) Forcing everyone in Australia to choose an Aleague club is what the APL is TRYING desperately to do mate, as was the FFA regime before them... I understand your call that "any" interest may lead to recognition, but some of these franchises have been around for 20+ yars now.... I would think there wouldnt be that many people elft in the country (maybe some regional communities maybe?) that wouldnt at least have heard of the anems of Victory, Adealide United, Roar etc etc.... Ask an AFL numpty in Perth who the local sokkah team is they will know the Glory..... the fact they dont watch is another thing all together. Perfect example of what, Im trying, to say is WU .... They are trying desperately to appeal to a demographic that just does NOT exist anymore... Anyone that loves football in Melbourne is either involved in local clubs, and/or possibly is an Aleague fan of either Victory or City.. The other majority either just watch EPL or other overseas football or are just Socceroos/Matildas event going bandwagoners who sometimes play Football computer games ..... As much as I despise what they are and who they represent, they have a snowball's chance in hell of ever getting more than the handful of degenerates that just wanna be different, to their games (and family and friends ofcourse) Henry helped bring you to the Roar - my job as a Roar fan wanting the club to grow to give you reasons to look in from time to time, and the clubs job to give you something to maintain that interest beyond just one of your lads. And if you are interested enough with what you see you might just bring a few mates along one day - but at the least you will be one less voice opposing the Roar and to a very very minor degree less brutal on the aleagues competition as a whole (you know - like it isn't ALL bad). Your own interest is not fandom, but more of a chance at a longer term awareness and hopefully association that I think holds a great deal of value. For WU there are plenty of football fans in greater Melbourne who do not have a club in the aleagues mens competition. Up to WU to be smart about drawing their attention - be it school visits with giveaways, visits to local and community clubs and the like - as I expect most clubs do(?). Take the same show on the road to fresh markets (Ballarat even) and hand out merchandise and some of those people will notice sports results for that club where before that they were an irrelevant bit of sports noise (like baseball, basketball and rugby scores ;) ). As you say, greater Melbourne already has baked on fans and jaded/ruined relationships to contend with - so anything regional gives them a fresher chance to get attention - then up to them to play well enough to hold that attention. Can't overstate the potential benefits down the road of a 'sports star' visiting kids and lighting a fire in their imagination. With the aleague mens as it stand now I am lucky enough to only have been burned by poor football and not fallen foul of the political and authoritarian issues that have soured so many. As such it lets me say this is where we are now - where do we go from here - even choosing to ignore the number of years we have had the aleague to be in the position we are now. Every new person who pays attention to the aleague mens competition is another possible long term interest. I wasn't looking to force anyone to choose a club - just saying if they had to you would have a lot of people saying things like Sydney or Adelaide without actually knowing it was SFC and Adelaide City they were thinking of. I heard someone on a quiz show naming Wellington Glory as an aleagues club. Perth is not a fair example because WA is quite insular as I understand it (there are 2 states in Aus - WA and everyone else) and their focus might be more regionally oriented. My point is, people may have heard of the Roar but they have not shown it enough interest to know anything about it other than maybe orange and maybe the name. Certainly not enough to say they would rate it higher or lower than any other aleagues club. There is such a massive pool of untapped interest (for any league or code for that matter) among the unknowing masses that every little visit to a regional town helps. Every person we can get to a live football game is a win (as long as they can do their part and entertain). Thats a well presented response my friend and absolutely, perfectly, reasonable... My only, really mild, counter, is that APL IS trying to force people to choose an A league club to the detriment of all others (the APL, not you RiMB, sorry if my comment sounded like that), their very existence depends on it... By closing it off from any relationship with the other 1000 clubs in the country and having clearly defined (at least according to them) geographical catchment areas. By desperately trying to appeal to the family friendly "mainstream" sporting public and by alienating any semblance of active support from within their own ranks, they dont WANT people like me (or even some of the rusted ons here) attending their games or watching them. As for WU and regional areas ... sure it may sound good on paper but ...... I spent 3-4 hours seeing clients in Ballarat yesterday .... not ONE single mention of WU or Aleague, not ONE flag or sticker on a car or jersey or sign on a shopfront or ANYTHING... The two blokes that mentioned soccer at all during the day both wanted to ask me what I thought of Ange in the EPL.. When I asked them about if they went to any of the WU games at Mars stadium they where genuinely surprised that these where even played there.... Sure, my 15-20 people sample size is minuscule but thats what the reality was. P.S you are doing your job as a Roar fan perfectly... passion for the club drips from every keystroke of your posts..... Love to see it and can confirm Roar is my defacto Aleague club of sorts :) Feet on the ground beat armchair theories every day - I will now say that WU did a poor job marketing in Ballarat and missed their chance this time. I did not think you took it that I was demanding people choose a club - just that it was a hypothetical "if you were forced to" supposition. Before I got into football I would hear results of Aussie games and the names were just names. I still think after all these years that most non-footballing sports fans wouldn't have a clue about football other than knowing the big EPL club names and maybe a few clubs from around the world. How we can show them what they are missing out on is the change of the bottomless market. Possibly true but there ARE more than 2 million (depending on what stats you choose to believe based on participation and viewership and attendance) FOOTBALL fans in Australia that are well aware of both overseas and local clubs... thats more than enough of a market to try and appeal too... scratching stragglers away from NRL and AFL doesn't work, it hasnt for 20 years now and it wont in the future....
Exactly. The only step some will take is to watch the Socceroos + Matildas at a world cup. They won't take that one more step and follow an AL or NPL club. That being said, I reckon I've noticed a bit of a shift with the young kids. There seems to be a bigger interest in football, mainly the euro leagues, but locally as well. I know of quite a few kids that are raised in typically 'AFL' households but for whatever reason have gravitated towards football instead.
I hope so... I have seen quite a few of these kids at local soccer clubs over the years, where mum and dad are clearly not interested in anything other than AFL and see just taking the kids to soccer training as a bit of a chore... Hopefully their interest is kept and they pass this on to the next generation.... One benefit of having "effnik" background is that football and love of the club is a "cradle to the grave" type love.... Everything else like swimming, AFL, basketball, athletics, golf is sport... Football is life :)
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