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Last night's very low gate, with nearly 800 less Bulls fans attending from the previous home League fixture, can be put down to a number of things.
The club occupying the bottom spot of the table didn't help, nor did the colder weather, but the credit crunch and Champions League football live on terrestrial television are probably the main reasons for such a dramatic fall in attendance.
With a second home match on Saturday, and the media screaming about the current financial turmoil, many will have had a choice of which game to watch rather that whether to go to both - if they have the money available to go to either game. However the offer of free football on the television would have been the real clincher to those caught in two minds.
Walsall recently had to withdraw an offer of free JPT tickets after season ticket holders complained, but many clubs are offering discounts where they have two home matches in a week. Kids for a Quid is back at Yeovil this Saturday after their home match last night, while Leyton Orient are offering a 50% discount on the second ticket when tickets for two home matches in four days are bought.
Repeatedly over the past few seasons I've written about the detrimental effect of ITV's coverage on Football League attendances, yet few clubs seem willing or able to change days to avoid what is an almost certain attendance drain. Of the 35 midweek FL fixtures this week only one is being played on Wednesday - and that is likely due to Chesterfield's proximity to Nottm Forest who played at home on Tuesday night.
At the moment the Bulls have two other clashes with terrestrial TV coverage. They visit MK Dons on November 25th, with both Arsenal and Man Utd on TV, before entertaining Bristol Rovers on March 10th on a night when the opening knockout round reaches it's climax. These games need to be moved, if only for financial reasons, rather than see attendances suffer again.
All football clubs need to act to protect their fanbases. Going to games is a habit and need to remain hooked.
