For Fck Sake,Sort it out.

[Eastside Urchin]

Can i just ask,where the fck was everyone last night.

While a crowd of 220 on a Tuesday night is not the worst in the world,why on earth with us being 2nd in the league are we getting crowds that low,have people given up.

Sorry for harping on about this but its nothing short of a disgrace given the time and effort people have made getting this club back up and running and to now be so close to a return back to the conference south they are rewarded with paltry crowds like that.

Margate had about 40 fans there,there was no doubt the odd Billericay fan,even Aveley fans so we probably had no more than 170 in the ground,shocking.

For those who make it to the majority of games,i applaud you but some others,many who come on here and moan when we are not doing well but dissapear the minute our form goes out the window,have a think about things.

This club could of gone out of existance 3 years ago had no one had the bolloks to take it over,two mediocre seasons which we would of took and this season,which has surpassed everyones expectations and we are getting crowds like that with 6 matches to go and a 4 point gap.

I know some of you were on Holiday so obviously you couldn't attend and i know some have season tickets at other clubs,like spurs who were in the quater final of the FA Cup so naturally you would probably have a hard choice but i bet many sat indoors watching chelsea on tv for whatever reason,or west ham on the internet,was it really worth it,do they need you to sit indoors and watch them on tv,do they even care???? Answer no.Do Hornchurch,yes,they need every drop of support at the moment and are not getting it.

We have 5 spaces booked on the coach for Tooting away next Friday,is everyone suddenly turned catholic and going to mass instead????

I understand some people work or have other commitments,that some live a little further away than others but crowds like last nights and hastings are a kick in the teeth for the club and the staff/players who have put in so much hard work in the last few years.

So turn up Saturday,cheer the team on,you never know we may just be starting another winning streak like earlier in the season and last season,we have done it before and can do it again.

Just get your ar$es over to the bridge and create an atmosphere like we did at Grimsby in January,it makes all the difference and was probably something we could of done with when we have lost at home the few times we have this season.

[BUFC]

Can i just ask,where the fck was everyone last night.

While a crowd of 220 on a Tuesday night is not the worst in the world,why on earth with us being 2nd in the league are we getting crowds that low,have people given up.

Sorry for harping on about this but its nothing short of a disgrace given the time and effort people have made getting this club back up and running and to now be so close to a return back to the conference south they are rewarded with paltry crowds like that.

Margate had about 40 fans there,there was no doubt the odd Billericay fan,even Aveley fans so we probably had no more than 170 in the ground,shocking.

For those who make it to the majority of games,i applaud you but some others,many who come on here and moan when we are not doing well but dissapear the minute our form goes out the window,have a think about things.

This club could of gone out of existance 3 years ago had no one had the bolloks to take it over,two mediocre seasons which we would of took and this season,which has surpassed everyones expectations and we are getting crowds like that with 6 matches to go and a 4 point gap.

I know some of you were on Holiday so obviously you couldn't attend and i know some have season tickets at other clubs,like spurs who were in the quater final of the FA Cup so naturally you would probably have a hard choice but i bet many sat indoors watching chelsea on tv for whatever reason,or west ham on the internet,was it really worth it,do they need you to sit indoors and watch them on tv,do they even care???? Answer no.Do Hornchurch,yes,they need every drop of support at the moment and are not getting it.

We have 5 spaces booked on the coach for Tooting away next Friday,is everyone suddenly turned catholic and going to mass instead????

I understand some people work or have other commitments,that some live a little further away than others but crowds like last nights and hastings are a kick in the teeth for the club and the staff/players who have put in so much hard work in the last few years.

So turn up Saturday,cheer the team on,you never know we may just be starting another winning streak like earlier in the season and last season,we have done it before and can do it again.

Just get your ar$es over to the bridge and create an atmosphere like we did at Grimsby in January,it makes all the difference and was probably something we could of done with when we have lost at home the few times we have this season.

 

Slate me if you want, but i reckon HX burnt a load of bridges (no pun intended) with fans KW days.............like a boozer - you can change a name but not a reputation

[Eastside Urchin]

Not having that one bit,they left the club over 3 years ago.

They had their fallout with fans when we originally went bust but gates were still healthy.

Our Saturday gates while nothing to write home about are around the 350 mark.The problem OS the Tuesday night gates,I could name 50 people who went to Grimsby who didn't attend last night,yep 50,been through the list,why did they not attend what is a more important match than Grimsby???

Some no doubt had a good reason but people moaned in the past about us not playing football and when we get a team that does,people fail to turn up,just doesn't make sense.

We had fans last season who said they had caught the buzz,came most games and have not been seen since,the atmosphere at the club hasn't gone,if anything it's got better.

If we had Peterborough in the cup tomorrow we would still get 3'000 through the gate so it's nothing to do with KW and the old regime

[andydick]

Totally agree Rob .. given where we are in the league and what's at stake the crowd is shocking. But, and I'm happy to be corrected here, I very much doubt there's much more than a core of 150 supporters .. with the rest made up of occasionals plus away following.

 

Top home crowd this season - 450 v Lowestoft

Top home crowd last season - 557 v Maidstone .. and Maidstone brought a huge following as they needed a win to stay up.

Top home crowd season before that - 531 v Dartford .. and I'm guessing another huge away following as the there was 1200+ at Dartford

 

Simple fact is there isn't the core support.

 

I'll be honest, we've lived in Upminster 12 years and it never occurred to us to watch non league football - we only started when my nephew started playing for Ilford 5 years ago. Watched him for a couple of years, he gave up, we bought a piece of Ebbsfleet, watched them, got the non-league bug so started going to the Bridge .. and love it.

 

So, can we market the club better, how do we advertise the games - flyers, boards, local radio .. how aware are folk of Hx success.

 

Agenda point 1 at the next supporters meeting - how to increase the core support. Better still call an adhoc meeting in the next week and have a good old strokey beard session.

Edited March 28, 2012 by andydick

[Eastside Urchin]

You are right about 150 being our hardcore support.

We probably have between 50-70 fans who travel away to at least 50% of away games.

5 years ago we was knocking around in the Esl/ryman north and our gates were 350-400,forget a recession,has nothing to do with it.

Publicity is the key,we have tried things in the past.This season,any kid under 12 could obtain a free season ticket,think we have had around 25 take up the offer,pretty low despite me e mailing all the local schools offering them this offer.A couple of years ago we put banners up in prominent places but the council took them down and destroyed them (in hindsight we probably should of asked first!!!)

Yesterday we should of had over 250,in theory well over 300 but I would of considered a gate of 260 plus very good,we didn't though.Maybe because we are so inconsistent at home it puts people off,maybe we have to accept some people don't like a stadium with a running track.We have tried posters but the same 2/3 people put them up and it's not good enough,those people have lives away from the club and need help from others.Twenty people dishing out posters would have a big effect,especially if people knew how well we are doing,which some do.I speak to people all the time who keep an eye out for the results without wanting to come.The most common phrase bring used by many at the moment is "will pop over for the billericay game if you are still up there"

[urchinman1961]

To many times this season at home we seem to fluff our lines and the floating fans think [****!!****] this and we lose the moment

[Eastside Urchin]

It will be interesting to see what the gate is.

In all honesty,clubs inside the M25 seem to suffer more with their gates than those outside the M25

Billericay may poke fun at us with regards to our gates but they are 30 miles from west ham whereas we are 12 miles away,it's easier for the locals to get to west ham,Chelsea,arsenal spurs from inside the M25 than it Is outside and quite a bit cheaper making it more expensive.

On the other hand they have a population of around 40'000 whereas Hornchurch & upminster is around double that so that possibly cancels that argument out.

We seem to get a good right up in local paper on a Friday and everyone who I speak to on

my travels seems to know we are having a good season but don't turn up,although if we win our next two games we will have a gate of over 1200 for our bank holiday Monday fixture and I would guess a similar one for leatherhead if we can win the league.

[cup of tea]

Our close proximity to Dagenham/West Ham/Leyton Orient definitely has an impact on the crowds - I do feel that there are Urchin fans out there that we can get back if we can make an effort - don't know how to do that though. Do agree with Urchinman though, some of our midweek performances at home have been disappointing, if that's through lack of support then we really need to work hard to get the fans back. Not sure if the KW factor has any relevance now, he's long gone.

Edited March 29, 2012 by cup of tea

[Eastside Urchin]

I think it is,170-220 at home seems to be our tuesday crowds,pathetic really.I know we don't get hardly any youngsters at the games on tuesdays,kids at school the next day and other clubs suffer from this too,Ricay only had 268 against Aveley for a midweek game in December so they obviously have the same problem at times but they get bigger gates on other tuesday games.If us or canvey rolled into Billericay on a Tuesday you would expect 450 plus.We had around 220 last season against Canvey.

We have used the excuse that people don't know that there is a new club after the old one went but thats not correct anymore,3'000 plus against peterborough tells us that people know we are here.

I wouldn't mind the low Tuesday gates so much if our saturday gates were around the 400 mark but they are not.

[Hornchurch "O"]

I'm guilty as charged but can't get Orient out of my blood.

I do like to think I help in other ways like Sponsoring 2 players

and Paying for a win and every goal scored.

A lot of re-arranged games all on the same night as Orient.

Then some Tuesdays with no football at allplaying Wednesday would mean i get to every Mid-week game.

Loads of games this Tuesday, but only a handful last night.

Plus ITV have switched their live games to Wednesdays which we could have on in the clubhouse.

 

Fulham didn't have 500 at Old Trafford on Monday.

Orient only had 73 at Oldham on Tuesday.

Sheff Wednesday only team to sell full allocation at Orient this season.

It is common all over to get low crowds.

[andydick]

3'000 plus against peterborough tells us that people know we are here.

 

Agreed - but having played so well and run Peterborough so close, what was the crowd at our very next home game .. 233. OK, so a bunch will have headed back up the M1 but not all of them - where did the other 2000 go?

 

Agree that the proximity to West Ham etc affects us more than teams farther afield but our core support should not be as low as it is.

[Eastside Urchin]

O,we have always known your loyalties are tied,some seasons you go hornchurch more and other seasons you watch hornchurch more,thats fine,the same with people who go to west ham/chelsea/arsenal etc.

What gets me is people who just sit at home watching games on their pc or sky,they don't seem to realise the effect on non league football and clubs like ours it has.

[Serious Sid]

What gets me is people who just sit at home watching games on their pc or sky,they don't seem to realise the effect on non league football and clubs like ours it has.

 

Most people who do this don't care what effect their non-attendance has on the Club. If they did then they would be at the game. Personally I don't think we are going to 'shame' these people into attending. The answer is to make it worth their while by providing a better alternative than sitting in front of the box. The big question is 'how?' Most clubs at our level are also trying to answer this same question.

[Hornchurch "O"]

I'll still be doing about 30 at each club.

Just seems i'm doing more away days than last season.

[cup of tea]

I remember you going to a freezing midweek game last season away to Folkstone 'O' (was that last season?) when there were a hadful of Hx fans there.

I doubt that anyone would question your loyality to either Hx or Orient.

[kimbles left foot]

I remember you going to a freezing midweek game last season away to Folkstone 'O' (was that last season?) when there were a hadful of Hx fans there.

I doubt that anyone would question your loyality to either Hx or Orient.

 

The famous Tam run from the centre circle? lovely mild evening....

[Eastside Urchin]

Is this the night when a few gobby Folkestone mugs had their scooters vandalised by some naughty people

[NotTheRealSteveWest]

I'm more than a little confused by this thread.

 

Are loyalties really being questioned for those (like me) that don't attend every game?

 

I've been (what I'd call) regularly attanding Hornchurch games for 10 years and I'd say there are very few of those faces still around.

 

Things change for everyone.

 

Personally I'd not question the ones that have been lost as they will always have an affiliation with the club, I'd be more inclined to side with those who suggest the club could be doing more to get the fresh faces through the gate... that is all!

[Eastside Urchin]

No,you was there Tuesday so it's not about you.

Alot of the faces have gone,for whatever reason,some years ago and some in the last couple of years but I fail to see how a club that's 2nd in the league with a great chance of going up can be pulling in gates of 209 v Hastings and 220 v Margate,whether it's a Tuesday night or not,especially when there's less than 10 games left,surely this is the time when crowds are supposed to grow.

For whatever reason some people like yourself come intermittently,some have work,some follow other clubs but some just dont seem bothered.The ones who don't seem bothered are usually some of the first to comment when things are going bad.

I agree re getting new fans through the gate and it does happen but all too often the come,stay a while and are never seen again

[urchinman1961]

Scooter rampage was the season before last