Source: Northern_Echo
Steel plant closure will hit Boro crowds
MIDDLESBROUGH chairman Steve Gibson has warned that an unsuccessful Save Our Steel campaign on Teesside would inflict further damage on the club's dwindling attendance figures.[LNB] For the fourth time this season a new record low crowd was recorded at the Riverside Stadium on Sunday for the defeat against Cardiff City.[LNB] But while Middlesbrough's worrying form and drop down the Championship table has had its own effects, Gibson is also wary of the impact the closure of Corus.[LNB] The Middlesbrough chairman has joined town Mayor Ray Mallon and multi-union chairman Geoff Waterfield in calling for help from what they see as an uncaring[LNB] Government amid concerns about the ramifications it will have on the area.[LNB] Gibson expects the numbers of empty seats at the Riverside to increase further if the campaign to save the plant proves unsuccessful.[LNB] I don't think I can measure the effect but it is going to be devastating, said Gibson.[LNB] I think the problems the football club will have will be mirrored everywhere in the community. Selfishly, we do not take a great deal from the gate and we were the cheapest club in the Premier League, probably one of the cheapest in the Football League. Net receipts from gates this year were less than £3m.[LNB] Of course we would expect attendances to plummet.[LNB] When you have got to put food on the table and look after little Johnny's Christmas present, football becomes secondary and rightly so.[LNB] Less than 17,000 turned out to witness the defeat to Cardiff on Sunday, with more than 400 fans making the trip from South Wales to boost the official attendance to 17,232 less than half of the venue's 35,000 capacity.[LNB] But a clearly incensed Gibson insists such a figure could drop towards 12,000 if Corus' decision to mothball the Redcar plant next month is not overturned.[LNB] And with such a move leading to 1,700 direct job losses, with a further 2,000 at risk, Gibson is braced for the club to take a sizeable hit.[LNB] He said: We don't know how many steelworkers have season tickets because we think our energies are best served looking elsewhere. But we suspect it could be 25 per cent.[LNB] So, probably, that could be two three, four thousand lost on the gate. Then there is also the ripple effect of these job losses right throughout the town.[LNB] Of those fans that turned out to witness Boro lose for the fourth time under Gordon Strachan, the vast majority greeted the final whistle with jeers.[LNB] Gibson's hopes of leading the club back to the Premier League at the first attempt are fading and striker Marcus Bent, on loan from Birmingham, feels the younger players in the squad have been hurt by the boos.[LNB] We've got a lot of young players so when the crowd do get on their back maybe they go into their shell a little bit,[LNB] said Bent. The gaffer has tried to bring that out of them but as professional players you've got to grow up and be counted.[LNB] The fans pay their good money to come and see their favourite team go on and get three points and win.[LNB] Sean St Ledger is ineligible for the Tyne-Tees derby against Newcastle on Sunday.[LNB] His loan deal expires before the game and he cannot play again until January 1 when his permanent move from Preston goes through.[LNB]
