Years of limping along with a thrown together squad, the habitual selling off of quality players and a lackadaisical attitude to the match-day experience have all contributed to people choosing to stay away. The task for Mr G and his team is to deliver a package that engages with the wider public and gets them on board with the Wakefield brand - a combination of winning games, an entertaining experience and a nice environment should do the trick.

A SL franchise is probably key in the medium term and a new stadium in the longer term, but there's plenty that could be done in the meantime to create some buzz around the club and the brand. Some good things have happened so far, but there is a risk of standing still - change is a process, not an event.

It's a forum, if you don't like the cut and thrust of it you can always leave.

OK back on topic, Me and the nutjob have had our fun, time for some seriousness!!

How do we feel our attendances in 2011 are doing?

Our gates this season after 6 games average out at 6919/game, the only season in SL that has topped that was 08 and that was 6961/game after the full 13 rounds, so that doesnt look too bad but there is a lot of water and bridges until the season.

(These figures are from the RLFans statistics page, and have been hastily put together, please someone check them)
00 4621/game
01 3668/game
02 3889/game
03 4017/game
04 4806/game, you'll notice it took 4 further seasons to reach our initial highest season for attendances.
05 5100/game
06 5447/game
07 6781/game
08 6961/game, 8 years of serious growth to achieve our highest season.
09 6037/game
10 5983/game, in two years we have effectively gone back 4 years, this is the damaging time for us a club and i would guess the time (the end of 0icon_cool.gif that the previous owners, in hindsight should have gone.
11 6919/game, after 6 rounds

So for those out there that think our fans have not returned, it would appear they pretty much have.
Where do we go from here, as i said before, there is a long time to go until the end of the season, but wouldn't it be great in AGs first season in charge, with a rag tag bunch of over achievers playing their guts out for each other, the supporters and the club and in a season where we are the favourite's to lose our licence, wouldn't it be a marvelous achievement by everyone at this great club to show everybody, and have our best supported season ever in SL, and wouldn't it make the RFL luck just a tiny bit stupid?

If that isn't enough to get the good folk of Wakefield to support their team, i don't know what is!

I think the attendances have held up very well this year all things considered. However I think it's more to do with the astonishing loyalty of existing fans and good on field performances rather than any influx of new fans - though obviously there will be exceptions.

That my point, the fans have pretty much returned IMO so far, inspite of everything thats gone on, perhaps if maintained and with eight years of similar improvement, we may go onto achieve a similar level of increased attendence including new supporters, as we achieved upto 2008.
After all the club has now started to give them a reason to return/support, which has not been there for the last 3 years or so.

I agree, but i think one thing that will pull in the fans is success on the pitch and i believe if we do stay in SL and Glover keeps his promise to spend up to the full cap then we really do have a chance of having some success.

Exactly! look what been achieved in such a short period of time with this team compared to the apparent world beaters and big names we've had in the past.
Put a couple of stars in this team and who knows, because that is what we need, guts only gets you so far, but i'll gladly cheer it on until things improve, and bloody enjoy it too!!!

You should put these alongside the Warrington average numbers and also look at when the moved to the new stadium. The reason I say that is I think Wakefield are in a very similar position to what Warrington were before moving and I think that Wakefield have the potential to 'do a Warrington' in a new stadium. Now of course, they have also had some recent success, along with the cash investment in the squad, but if AG is serious about spending the full cap if you stay in SL, it would be interesting to note! You should also put the Cas numbers up and see how they look, bet it could be very insightful reading to the 'kick-Wakey out' brigade!

TBH I_A, you could compare our figures and growth against many clubs in SL and they are comparable or better, the comparison against Warrington is a very good one, and one i have used for quite some time, usually following a "what if"
moment!!!

IA raises some good points. I think what is more notable is that Hull FC virtually doubled their attendances overnight when they moved to the KC. Not too dissimilar for me since the Boulevard also had horrendous viewing positions in the pits where your eyes were at the players ankle level.

Big plus for me this season is the thing that counts the most, the team! They are giving 100% every week and that's all the paying public can ask for. Can you imagine the class of 2010 coming back from 24 - 6 down to beat Cas or letting a 20 - 6 lead slip against HKR but still coming back to win? I would imagine both those games would have been lost by 30+ points this time last season.

If the team are giving 100% every game, win, lose or draw, people will keep coming back to watch them.

Maybe, but only 6,000 or so people who are 'serious' RL fans, able or willing to appreciate the effort and endeavour involved. To get to the talismanic 10k+ crowds, we need to win stuff.

I don't think that is a necessity, i think first people of wakefield need to take us seariously, and then need to believe we are capable of achieving something. I dont even think that the ground is as important (of course it cant harm) as some think.
Just good old fashioned belief, look at what gates the catalan dragons achieved, based on little success, but huge passion and local identity.

I refer the right honourable gentleman to my previous response; marketing is the key - to get them to believe, they have to know about what it is they're being asked to believe.

Yup, that's the catch 22. NM would certainly secure the clubs future but there is nothing like winning to drag in the punters. At the end of the day £20 is a lot to ask the less committed fan to hand over to watch a relatively uncompetitive team (where trophies are concerned).

We the insanely committed on here often forget that. Without wanting to re-ignite the Ted debate it was something that he never quite understood IMO - IMO he was a committed fan but failed to grasp that others were not the same. The one thing I'll give AG so far is that he seems to understand the need for the dream to at least appear a possibility. Sometimes you have to make people believe and the fact that we don't deny we are after Eastmond is a prime example. The old regime would have somehow transpired to be out of the running straight away. The same is probably the case now but by at least appearing to be in the running gives us all hope or at least something to talk about.

Of course we will have to do something in the end else people will lose faith. If we could do well in the CCup especialy win it that would give the new club a fair few good will years something the club has lacked for many a year. And as you say or as Kevin Cosner did say "they will come" and the catch 22 will be broken so fingers crossed

I would actual say that a new ground would bring you an average of above 8k (probably more in the first season) and that winning stuff is the road to 10k+.

I agree with that, even if success is a very hard thing to achieve, you have to create the illusion that it is a real possibility among fans.

The best possible outcome this season to influence fans would be to have a good cc run -semi final atleast and promote it well along with quarters. And to nip into the top 8 playoffs. A tough ask but the players could achieve I believe with raw effort and continued development.

If these could be achieved on field then there would be a big buzz on the terraces and it would bring in a few through the gate short term.

Would like to see 6k plus for catalans possibly 7 and feel this could be achieved through marketing and offers.

You don't want to agree with me to often, I'm an idiot apparantly

The CCup has always been our get in but apart from 2008 we've made a real hash of it.

One, it's easier to win than SL (that's not to say it isn't hard, it is).

Two, some clubs win titles some win cups. Although we have won two titles it's as cup kings that Trinity will always be remembered. I think it's the trip to Wembley that would get the Wakefield public going rather than Old Trafford. For me the SL title is the premier trophy but for most older or lapsed fans the romance is at Wembley.

I'd go for CCup glory, I'd go for broke even if it costs us the odd SL game - it's risky but what isn't.

Bit OT but I've always wondered. How are match finances distributed from cc matches?

Is it shared gate? Or is it set monies on what round team reaches/ exits?

As far as i am aware it is split 50/50.

So the more of us who travel the more money goes to the club. good.

Be good to draw a team like Cas at home or away at some point if its a split gate. money to be made.

IA asked about Cas numbers this year . Our attendances so far , are up on every comparable game to last year . We have had 7 home games so far this season , with an aggregate attendance of 51,079 at an average of 7,297 . For the same 7 games last year we had an aggregate attendance of 43,731 at an average of 6,247 , that's an average of over 1k per match increase .
You will probably think that I am coming on just to rub it in and say , ' hey look how good we have done ' , that is not my intention . I genuinely believe that the start we have had to the season has played a major part in out increased attendances , and as such , I feel that this adds weight to your argument about being able to increase your attendances if you were performing better on the pitch . I do feel that your new ownership will have helped , and the fact that you were almost out of existence before season started is a fine testament to the increase in your crowds this season ( maybe in a strange way that helped , as you were probably just pleased to have a team to support this season in SL )
A new stadium would also add to attendances for both clubs , and with the increases seen this year so far , there is absolutely no reason why Cas and Wakey couldn't get 10k averages in the future if we were allowed to stay in SL

Probably only drawback with that would be that the game would be televised so that would affect the crowd. A semi against cas would be great that would more than likely sell out. Be great to break their hears again too!