Source: FOOTYMAD
Something Better Change
A Covsupport News Service Comment Tuesday night's attendance of 12,292 for the Coventry City versus Doncaster Rovers game was the lowest for a league match since the Sky Blues were moved into the Ricoh Arena by the then board in 2005.To be honest, it was not a surprise and this low had been coming for a while and for a midweek game on a school night, the second home game in four days, following a home defeat and against a side who don't travel in massive numbers with Live Champions League on the television, this was always going to be a night for the hard-core support.There are numerous factors behind the low crowd and as to why City supporters have deserted the Ricoh Arena in their droves. Whilst City do look after other age groups well with their discounts etc, your average male or female aged 18-59 has long been neglected by the club. There has not for a long while been anything to attract and retain anyone in this age group. With no disrespect to anyone intended but those paying full whack to get in which nowadays is not cheap even if the club may regularly claim on its Facebook page that an adult can get in for £16, (you actually need a child with you to get in the JSB end to get in for this price), it is supporters in that age bracket which are contributing most of the money to the club. All they get is bombarded with what amounts to 'give us your money' messages from the club via email etc which we understand speaking to numerous supporters leads those to feel that they are simply seen as cash cows by the club. You are told get a season ticket or lose out but whilst getting a season ticket does work out at the cheapest way to regularly follow the Sky Blues at home, it is not always practical for everyone to have one, especially as a good number of City supporters don't live within easy access of the Ricoh Arena.It is true that on the day admission prices are certainly playing their part in keeping supporters away. The club did try a few games last season with no added walk-on but they were for unattractive games and midweek games that pretty much defeated the purpose and made any data gleamed from this trial worthless.That means match-days have to be planned by getting tickets in advance, which to be fair is now easier than it has ever been. However, it still takes time, effort and some times determination, especially if you are wheel-chair bound in order for you to get to a game.Cheaper tickets may work for some games but do they encourage regular support? There is plenty of evidence to suggest that some will only go to games where they can get in cheap and it won't lead to long term gains. Getting to a match is now another logistical problem. Gone are the days of Highfield Road when you could walk from the train station, Pool Meadow or town. So it's drive, cadge a lift or get a bus or two as it's anyone's guess when we might finally be able to use a train to get to the Ricoh. All these options add extra costs onto your match day, which can increase by over £200 a season if you have to pay for parking. And when you do get into the ground after paying out all that cash, you cannot guarantee the entertainment that you would if you were going to a gig, theatre or cinema or even sports such as Speedway and Ice Hockey. The lack of success in previous years which has seen City finishing in the lower reaches of the Championship table for the last few years has certainly put the mockers on big attendances. City supporters are fed up to the back teeth of the same disappointments every season and until the team can get enough wins to get us in a top six position come May, we are unlikely to see an increase in attendances. Chris Coleman paid his price for reducing the crowd with his sacking in May and now it is evident that Ray Ranson appointed Aidy Boothroyd has yet to win over large swathes of the support. Right from his appointment, it was clear that Boothroyd is not a supporters man and to be fair, why should he be? As we all know he is appointed by the club to do a job but if he doesn't come up to scratch then it is the supporters who have the power to fire him.However, if a manager wants a relatively easy ride as Chris Coleman got, then there is no point in making waves when you don't need to and some of Mr Boothroyd's actions and comments have hardly endeared himself to some sections of the Sky Blue support.The banning of supporters from the training ground complete with its high fences to stop those prying eyes (Come on, this is Coventry City, not Real Madrid) and the turning of City Reserves, which have been watched by a number of supporters for more years than the current City manager has been on the planet, into some sort of secret society where you are not even supposed to know the results of matches, plus incidents like the defeat at Morecambe which left a sour taste in the mouths of those who were there that night, has led some to believe that the gap between the players under the control of the manager and their fan base is now wider than it has ever been. The manager's determination to bring in and nurse Marlon King back to full match fitness certainly has split the City support. Whether, it had a detrimental effect on Tuesday night's attendance, it's hard to say but we know of some people who certainly are not going to every home game if King is likely to play.Inconsistency is also a key with the Sky Blues. No matter, who the manager, you never know what you are going to get. We play well against Preston and lose and play in patches against Doncaster but win are just the latest two examples of a Sky Blues inconsistency trait which has been going on for years.For some unknown reason, City have never been able to go on a decent winning run or when we do and we get a good home crowd, it ends with a calamitous defeat which puts supporters off until the next time something happens. So with all this going on, it's not a surprise that attendances have hit a low.
