[Revived Red]

Originally Posted by deeayess

It's easier to keep a support in adversity than try and attract fans from other teams when they are playing. Why do you thing Rangers had 50000 crowds in the fourth tier of Scottish football?

There will always be fans lost when teams get relegated from the Premiership but how many go to lower league clubs. The Premiership is so hyped that some people would go to any Premiership game just to say they have been to one. Kids are more inclined to be drawn to bigger teams to see players they have heard of than a league two side where you only read about it in the Accy Observer.

Also football is a habit, break that habit and often you don't miss it because there are plenty of other things a person can find to do. Once you get on a run of not missing a game in a season you are more inclined to go to keep it running but break that run and it's easy not to put yourself out. Just because you stop watching Blackburn doesn't mean you want to watch another team. Some do but most don't.

It is difficult now to build a fan base because there are so many other options to kids on a Saturday and that is the only way we will ever do it. We lost more than one generation by folding. If we had reformed right away as other clubs do now then we might be in a better position but that didn't happen.

We need to do something but I'm at a loss to think what. We couldn't fill the stadium when we let people in for nothing so I don't think cutting the price by a fiver will do much in terms of income or the attendances we would need. I will do my bit chalking up the miles each season but when I'm down you wouldn't know there was a game on when drinking in the town most matchdays. Advertising is one thing but it only works when you promote the "product". Get rid of the tinpot image and joke club and that might help. If I had a pound for every time I heard "who are they" I could get in for free each game and that's up here in Scotland.

Again, I partly agree and partly disagree. Your quote of Rangers is interesting. The average attendance in the 4th tier was in fact 45,750. In the 3rd tier it was 42,938. But last season in the 2nd tier it was only 32,798. Attendances fall when there are significant off-the-field issues. The attendances dropped at Ewood Park not simply because of relegation but because of other matters.

It is partly true that we lost a generation after folding. But we failed spectacularly after winning promotion back to the Football League. Yes, there was a surge in attendances in that first season - but it should have been a greater surge. And we failed to retain and capitalise on that interest in the 2nd season.

You are also correct in the "Who are they" comment. That is the first thing that people say. The second is usually a query about the current state of finances. And how fantastic it is to give them such good news on that topic. The third topic of conversation is, sadly, gambling. It is impossible to underestimate the damage that has been done to the club's reputation by the two major scandals.

It could be argued that external reputation has little connection with domestic attendances. But I suspect there there will be those within the town and surrounding area who are not impressed by the club's reputation. Reverting to my original point, the decline in attendances at Blackburn and Glasgow Rangers would appear to be linked with disillusionment arising from off-the-field issues.