All true Stravaigar but the crowds hardly ever went above a 2,000 average in the 70s. For example , I remember the average attendance in 76-7 and 77-8 was around 1700 odd . This was a team featuring many favs like Dickson , O'Hara etc. What was the excuse then for not attending ? There wasn't as much weekend working and full range of hobbies available nowadays . The highest average attendance since 1963 was 2,750 in 09/10, the season after the cup final. I remembered we took 1,000 fans to Somerset in 2009 as we briefly went top of the league. Amazing to think of now a decade on.
Last edited by JRSLEFTPEG; 12-02-2019 at 03:13 PM.
Thank you Francis for your detailed reply. There are a number of valid points which you raise, - but equally they could be quashed. Firstly, - there are many who would never pay £18 to watch Queens, - but equally they would never pay that amount of money to watch quality music or go to the theatre.
I think you have a point with regards to showing ambition, and it is important for the club to start shouting from the rafters about aiming for success in the league and the national cup competitions as soon as the season commences; suggesting that you are aiming for mid table is never going to inspire anyone! However, it must be remembered that with average home crowds of 1250, the BOD are punching well beyond their weight and showing ambition by keeping the club full time.
I think the question of not being able to smoke is quite frankly crazy, - next they'll be asking for shooting gallery's! As for Queens being a laughing stock, that is a puerile remark from someone who thinks that every club has the same disposable income as Celtic or Rangers. My answer to them is that the gap in performance is not proportionate to the salaries earned by players from these massive clubs.
There is room for some sort of questionnaire perhaps via Social Media to try and find out what would inspire the public to turn out and support their local club. Clearly a tiny club like Ross County can command crowds in excess of 3000, - which is approximately 50% of Dingwall's population, - so there are lessons to be learned.
Anyone who says Queens lack ambition is a complete and utter moron.
Last edited by JRSLEFTPEG; 12-02-2019 at 06:46 PM.
aloreburn ,what do you class as queens showing ambition ,the board keeping queens fulltime while making a loss ? prob good enough ambition for a faithful fan ,sitting mid championship punching for a playoff ? accepteble to the faithful fan again ,but go ask a floater or a none queens fan what thay class as showing ambition ,see what there answers are ,after all those are the target people queens need at palmy ,the faithful will always be there .
I’ll pay the first person £100 for the name of arrol1919. That’s a promise.
" aloreburn ,what do you class as queens showing ambition ,the board keeping queens fulltime while making a loss ? prob good enough ambition for a faithful fan ,sitting mid championship punching for a playoff ? accepteble to the faithful fan again ,but go ask a floater or a none queens fan what thay class as showing ambition ,see what there answers are ,after all those are the target people queens need at palmy ,the faithful will always be there ."
Francis, I feel and understand your frustration, but a sense of realism is required.
Of course there will be many more who might come to Palmerston if the club showed "ambition" as you see it, - just as quite a number of people would fly from Dumfries if we built an airport, - but the economies of scale are simply not there to allow either of those pipe dreams to happen.
The reality is that Queens have just made a loss of £200K for the season which equates to requiring another 1000 people through the gates at every home match just to break even!
Now if you can take a wee bit of time to think about that sobering thought and perhaps come up with valid proposals to assist the BOD in persuading an extra 1000 people to come along to Palmy (every other week) that would be a fantastic help, because then the club could realistically look at taking the next step.
As I mentioned in an earlier post, - it is a massive ask, but one that is not impossible as Ross County attract incredible home gates at Dingwall which is a town considerably smaller than Annan! The hinterland (around Dingwall) is not one of great population either, and Inverness lies just across the bridge, so its not as though they are completely out on a limb.
Without being condescending, 'not being able to smoke at Palmerston' is not a valid reason for people not coming to games, - what we need to do is really think outside the box and ask why are Falkirk and Dunfermline able to attract over 4000 to their home matches? Those two towns are not dissimilar in size to Dumfries, yet they are very close to other centres of population and a plethora of football clubs. Most importantly of all, - why is Ross County able to host home gates in excess of 3000?
Perhaps some of us (if we have time) could take an in-depth look at how these clubs attract fans and see if some of those policies could be adopted or adapted at Queen of the South?