Reality Check

[Alanwycombe]

Build it and they will come.

Not so sure about that.

[1973 ranger]

That 11k crowd factired in st holders. Clearly only 7 or 8k there in attendance

[OldR]

And our attendances in L1 increases from the relegation seasons in the championship.

Optimism at its best. We get relegated and suddenly the doom and gloom of the last season is lifted and we suddenly have a chance of a very successful season in a division we can compete in.

By contrast, our history shows that our average crowds drop after a relegation from the top flight because we lose the marquee fixtures which attract casual fans en masse and the smaller teams in the lower division bring less fans: we are a big attraction for teams in the 3rd tier which increases a lot of away followings to Loftus Road when we play in that tier.

[Artful]

The 11, 759 gate was not at odds with our history of playing teams like Bristol City on a Tuesday night in the second division. Our crowds haven't fluctuated in either direction compared to those in our history.

That’s to sensible an observation to be on here!
A new stadium is a must for our survival long term. It’s not about filling with 30,000 plus every other week, but be able to be used 7 days, 52 weeks a year. Also remember seeing figures somewhere on new stadium builds that the average increase in attendance is around 30%

[OldR]

That’s to sensible an observation to be on here!
A new stadium is a must for our survival long term. It’s not about filling with 30,000 plus every other week, but be able to be used 7 days, 52 weeks a year. Also remember seeing figures somewhere on new stadium builds that the average increase in attendance is around 30%

The attendances normally increase at those grounds because they are built by clubs enjoying a period of success at that moment - sometimes unprecedented. There are, however, many examples of new grounds having little impact on comparative attendances such as Millwall for example.

But we do need, as you say, a new ground to allow us to have a multiple amount of uses throughout the year. Its not imperative to our survival but a must if we are going to be able to compete at a level we want to without financial doping or risking our future as we have done so recently.

A bit extra leg room would be nice too!

[Artful]

The attendances normally increase at those grounds because they are built by clubs enjoying a period of success at that moment - sometimes unprecedented. There are, however, many examples of new grounds having little impact on comparative attendances such as Millwall for example.

But we do need, as you say, a new ground to allow us to have a multiple amount of uses throughout the year. Its not imperative to our survival but a must if we are going to be able to compete at a level we want to without financial doping or risking our future as we have done so recently.

A bit extra leg room would be nice too!

Extra leg room a must, sat in upper loft for 25 seasons now and got ingrained ridge marks in my knees from the seat in front

[Kit]

The attendance of 11k is the worst thing we saw last night. A hideous yet understandable reaction to years of losing football fed by mismanagement. Do feel a bit for the coach, and believe he deserves a few more months and a a few more recruits before we pass judgment on his ability to right the ship.

Sky showing all mid week games was a big reason for the attendance especially right after a 7-1 defeat, awful timing. I am dreading Saturday now too v Wigan but in true Rs style we will win 1-0.

[Kit]

Extra leg room a must, sat in upper loft for 25 seasons now and got ingrained ridge marks in my knees from the seat in front

I’m 6ft 5 and believe me and the 2 people in front of me, and either side of me, we need extra leg room

[72bus]

we are a million miles from a new stadium , ST holders not turning up , falling crowds ,poor football , prices , sky ....

[OldR]

I’m 6ft 5 and believe me and the 2 people in front of me, and either side of me, we need extra leg room

I'm 6 ft 3 but am lucky because where I sit there's spare seats on either sides so I can sprawl out but when we get relocated to the South Africa for cup games or have large crowds I really do suffer.

[CroydonCaptainJack]

I'm 6 ft 3 but am lucky because where I sit there's spare seats on either sides so I can sprawl out but when we get relocated to the South Africa for cup games or have large crowds I really do suffer.

Luckily I am in R Block and stand up but when I have been over SAR it is shocking for anyone over average height (or width!)

[Artful]

we are a million miles from a new stadium , ST holders not turning up , falling crowds ,poor football , prices , sky ....

As mentioned before, a new stadium is not all about attendances at games. Doesn’t matter if we had the richest person in the world own us we would still be in 5hit Street.

[OldR]

we are a million miles from a new stadium , ST holders not turning up , falling crowds ,poor football , prices , sky ....

We need a 25 - 28k stadium and we're not a million miles away from that. We just need a board to stop lying/exaggerating about their intentions to build a new ground and get on with it. Call me cynical - I've been called a lot worse in life! - but I think there's a reason why the sites 'identified' for new grounds during the Fernandes era were so heavily contested...

As I have said before, our crowds aren't falling and aren't even fluctuating. They are consistent with comparable stages of our history.

In addition, season tickets are tickets/seats sold, most people don't spend much money in the ground because the facilities are so poor so this isn't an issue at Loftus Road and the match being on Sky on Tuesday didn't have any obvious effect on the crowd we'd expect for a midweek, second tier fixture against Bristol City.

Prices being lowered may have an effect on attendances but, again, if we'd expect just under 12k for a midweek fixture against Bristol City this isn't certain: we certainly won't get 17k on Saturday against Wigan because it is kids for a quid.

[Kit]

We need a 25 - 28k stadium and we're not a million miles away from that. We just need a board to stop lying/exaggerating about their intentions to build a new ground and get on with it. Call me cynical - I've been called a lot worse in life! - but I think there's a reason why the sites 'identified' for new grounds during the Fernandes era were so heavily contested...

As I have said before, our crowds aren't falling and aren't even fluctuating. They are consistent with comparable stages of our history.

In addition, season tickets are tickets/seats sold, most people don't spend much money in the ground because the facilities are so poor so this isn't an issue at Loftus Road and the match being on Sky on Tuesday didn't have any obvious effect on the crowd we'd expect for a midweek, second tier fixture against Bristol City.

Prices being lowered may have an effect on attendances but, again, if we'd expect just under 12k for a midweek fixture against Bristol City this isn't certain: we certainly won't get 17k on Saturday against Wigan because it is kids for a quid.

Agreed, when we are successful we could get 25k in the ground consistently, as we did in the early - mid 70’s. And again in early 80’s the ground was packed at the reduced capacity I think 23k. Our support has always been a hard core 11,000 which drifts up and down depending on how we are doing. Perhaps our younger younger generation haven’t seen times like this before but believe me, we have been there and like Jim Gregory had the vision in the 60’s we now need a better equipped stadium to get a new generation coming in again. Yes Loftus Road is a great old stadium and I love it but we do need a better equipped one to compete in the higher leagues. Sad but true.

[OldR]

Agreed, when we are successful we could get 25k in the ground consistently, as we did in the early - mid 70’s. And again in early 80’s the ground was packed at the reduced capacity I think 23k. Our support has always been a hard core 11,000 which drifts up and down depending on how we are doing. Perhaps our younger younger generation haven’t seen times like this before but believe me, we have been there and like Jim Gregory had the vision in the 60’s we now need a better equipped stadium to get a new generation coming in again. Yes Loftus Road is a great old stadium and I love it but we do need a better equipped one to compete in the higher leagues. Sad but true.

We got 27,000 against Chelsea in the Quarter Final in '86 and I think that was genuinely every ticket printed sold!

You're right about the youngsters though. There seems to be an element among them which can't quite grasp how big as a club we really are and that the Premier League days are an exception to the rule. Crowds of just under 12k against Bristol City on a Tuesday night are nothing to be concerned about.

I don't want to say it but it's almost as if they're supporting the wrong team if they want what they're after.