Harrogate Town (A) Dec 21st, 3pm

They serve it in a lovely glass.
Show some Christmas spirit.

They can serve it in the holy grail for all they like, I’m still not buying Neck Oil for that price!!
Much nicer session IPAs out there!

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As an old codger who attended this my first live game of the season with the help of my son, I was able to assess our improvement against Donny away last spring. In particular the newcomers to the squad. The 4 players who impressed yesterday imho were:-
Harry Williams was superb defensively and has a good throw-in to boot. We should aim to extend his contract asap
Nathan Lowe is lean, mean and keen, What a goal from about 23 yds into the wind giving Belshaw no chance
Connor Barrett is a tremendous signing and a vast improvement on Knowles
Albert Adomah stood in for Matt superbly. He seemed to relish playing with the wind and rain behind him in the second half. He obliged with a well taken strike to seal the game
A final mention to the 586 away fans who sang and cheered all afternoon with a touch of Black Country humour too. “Is this a library?” springs to mind
Hope to attend with my sons help the games at Donny and Bradford away . Up the super Saddlers

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This is definitely an area our club could improve in, especially when you consider the offerings other clubs make to their fans.

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I still wonder how Bournemouth can sustain premiership status and it’s crazy how they haven’t already extended the capacity of the stadium

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I think it is because gate receipts are a small part of a Premier League clubs income. Mostly TV money that keeps them afloat. They have obviously done some smart business though.

They are having a great season but sooner or later it will catch up with them. Saying that they are pretty established and the teams that come up from the Championship are usually tat.

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Funnily enough, I was chatting earlier with a Bournemouth- supporting mate who went to Old Trafford this afternoon with his son to see them (he was obviously very happy!)
I checked that their capacity was 11,500-12,000 still, which he confirmed, and when I asked how they survived off that, he just said that obviously they didn’t have the extra gate income that most teams do in the Premier League but just that they were shrewd and invested well. He didn’t mention at all about any plans to extend etc. As Blazing said, they have the TV money which will be a big help for them.

I mentioned to him about the famous quote from our former chairman, inviting us to go and support, Luton, Rotherham and Bournemouth, and how they had all overtaken us in the years since, and he just laughed!

Someone else used Wycombe as an example of how you can compete in a higher division with a smaller gate compared to a lot of other teams you are playing against, so we just need to keep faith in what we are doing as a club, push and promote where we can to increase the attendance and see what happens over time. I’m sure there are a number of clubs who 10-15 years ago had a lot smaller attendances like we do now and have steadily seen it rise as they progress and do things to engage fans more.

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Spot on. Bournemouth and Brentford - our old mates from the third division are now ranked in the top thirty biggest clubs in the world financially.

This is by dint of being established in the Premier League. As @Blazing_Saddler says being established is really important because it gives you a huge financial advantage over anyone coming up. In prize money and tv revenue Bournemouth will have made around £125m last year before a single person walks through a turnstile. To put that into context if each premier league fan is worth a grand over a season to their club, then even if you get 41,000 fans versus Bournemouth’s 11,000 then that 30,000 attendance advantage “only” gives you an extra £30m. Which sounds like a shit ton of money but you look at transfer values and contract lengths then £30m either gets you an average centre half or pays off your latest managerial sacking.

The successful small clubs in the EPL have established a consistent “way” that enables them to bridge that £30m quite comfortably. The three B’s - Brighton, Bournemouth and Brentford all have a way of working the market. All slightly different but nevertheless successful. Brighton get them young, develop then sell. You’re talking quarter of a billion quid for Caciedo, White, Cucharella and Macallister. Bournemouth try to buy more proven players and then enhance them. But both within an established club framework which means they should always do better than more transient clubs and certainly those who come up. It more than makes up for the lower gate money though you’d expect Bournemouth will have to expand at some point - maybe at the behest of the EPL themselves who undoubtedly want the projection of an elite brand being played out to packed crowds in mega stadiums rather than “slightly better than Bescot” efforts.

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Any idea how donny ticket sales are going?
Always a better attendance on boxing day and especially with us looking nailed on for a decent season at the very least would expect close to 8k.

£1.45 In Preston… But I do agree, not that nice… Amazing for £1.45 though.

Lots of seats still available everywhere

I’d expect them to get a shift along over the next couple of days but disappointed for the players and club that we shan’t be contemplating anything like a full house for this.

As I said last year when we had two festive fixtures next to each other, I’m a bit disappointed the club haven’t offered some kind of Christmas bundle.

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Would expect tomorrow to be a big day for match day sales tbf that’s when I will get mine

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How many donny sold?

900 at present

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Forget the missing 5000 they will never come , never have never will , who needs them anyway, the Mean Machine don’t . The march to 83 is becoming a stroll with the gallop to 100 now well and truly on

To 83

11 wins
7 Draws
8 Defeats

40 pts 26 games

To 100

17 wins
6 Draws
3 Defeats

57 pts 26 games

Have we got this or what , Mean Machine

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By the way just figured out how to increase the attendance by 5000. The 5000 who go each have one off spring - it’s your duty , get bonking , it’s for our club. I expect an increase in babies in the WS1 postcode area call Mat , Matilda, Nathan , Albert among others

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first option could happen
second no chance and i’m an optimist

First option is currently 1.53ppg for the rest of the season, win on Boxing Day and it’s down to 1.48.
So essentially win one lose one from here on in.
Second option is currently 2.19ppg for the rest of the season, win on Boxing Day and it’s down to 2.17.
So that would be exactly same form as the season up to that point. I my not sur we can maintain that, I’d go for getting to 2ppg by the end and 92points, so 49 more at 1.88ppg. hopefully.

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Anyone else notice Uncle Albert giving a bit of a team talk after the first goal on Saturday. I thought it was excellent. He brings a lot of experience to the team.

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