Lowest Boxing Day crowd in over 20 years

I was struck by how low today’s crowd was.

Managed to steal a bit of time away from the family and being the cool kid that I am thought I’d see how it compared to previous Boxing Day home attendances.

By my reckoning it’s the lowest Boxing Day crowd we’ve had in more than 20 years:

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A drop of 700-odd people for the exact same fixture last season and down by around 1,600 from the exact same fixture in 1997.

Couldn’t find attendance figures going back further, but it’s not a good sign!

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Interesting stats. Factor in a healthy Rovers contingent today and that would be a sub 4k home crowd. Poor.

I remember the Blades match. Announced as the biggest Bescot attendance at the time, to the amusement of SUFC fans.

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Great stats and just highlights how these fools running the club are tearing the heart out of it!

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Are they fools, or do they know exactly what they’re doing?

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Well only one is a real benefactor, so yes the others are just fools in my eyes.

But they would be making a pretty good living doing what the beneficiary wanted. They appear to have done well getting the cooperation of the local media.

Shame they can’t get the same cooperation from the town and supporters.

Same point. Do they actually want it, or is quiet acceptance from the majority of regulars enough for their purposes?

Well I’m not sure how that can benefit the likes of Mole? He will be on an honest salary and will still require employment after WFC.

So you’d think if he had anything about him he’d strive to improve the club?

Providing the myth persists i.e. "This is a well-run club, but the town just isn’t interested, " they can’t fail. They can move on to other jobs when the time comes claiming that they did well in a cause hopeless for reasons beyond their control.

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The lowest since 1991. There were 4675 there for that one against Blackpool in Division 4.

I would guess the ‘home’ turnout today is the lowest ever at Bescot on Boxing Day in that case.

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It’s at least arguable that anyone who could change things has a vested interest in not rocking the boat, and in maintaining the status quo-Bonser,the executive,local press and radio. It might even be that a good percentage of regulars like the idea of being the committed, happy few, staying loyal while the town as a whole is indifferent.

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I stand to be corrected. But it looks as though there were more home fans at Stockport and Torquay in the second tier of non-league football than at Bescot today, and about TWICE AS MANY at Wrexham.

After the game I saw Rob Bonser - my and our kid were very passionate and forthright in giving our views on the club - we highlighted the lack of investment, the lack of development in football, low budgets etc and the fact we feel the club is not moving forward with ageing fan base. He said we are frustrated too, but we don’t have millions to invest, so I said bluntly - then sell it, football has moved on, every club around is invests money whilst you take it out. He said no one wants to buy, so I said what’s the price and add the land into the deal ? He didn’t answer.
Maybe he will mention it to Jeff maybe not but today after another woeful performance it boiled over

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The Bonsers arent stupid, they know full well what the problem is.

You will not sell the business without the land. It’s effectively a loss making business, propped up by frequently selling players to balance the books. The club is worth next to nothing when you add in the debts.

As I’ve said on the other thread, they’ve nailed the deckchairs to the titanic now, they need to realise they won’t sell until they admit their guilt over the land, and do the honest thing.

Yes mate. I said the same on the thread started by Rob last night. Throw Chesterfield in and you have clubs who many at our place would see as the basket cases we could become if we didn’t have the stable stewardship and steady hand on the financial tiller. The current versions of “Bournemouth, Rotherham and Luton” (dunno what happened to them) if you will.

We are non league in everything but our place in the pyramid and the soulless/joyless occasions our home games have become. I believe some clubs have had to venture down there to re-connect with the essence of the game. To re-find its joyful simplicity. And how community and club should be a synonymously unwritten contract rather than a custome/supplier relationship one might have with a shop or restaurant. Luton, Shrewsbury, Lincoln, Doncaster to name but four. I’m sure I will be adding Wrexham and Orient to that list within the next couple of years. Chesterfield and Stockport in a few more.

If we somehow beat Bolton and drew a plum home tie in the next round ,say Spurs, Liverpool, Man Utd, I’m not sure we would be certain to shift the 8,700 tickets we could allocate ourselves. In my 45 years of support that is unique and symbolic of how much the club has drifted away from the people of the town it purports to represent.

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I would guess (might be wrong) that most current Walsall fans would continue to watch the Saddlers even if we did fall to National League North/South level.

If that’s what it would take to get rid of the blood sucking parasites that own the club, then bring it on.

Can’t we have Newcastle away instead please? :slightly_smiling_face:

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Completely agree. I would happily go on a ten year roller-coaster via places like Dover, Solihull and Southport to get the club back.

I think we’d quite enjoy it too, even if the first few years were hard.

However, when home games attracted 381 fans where would the money come from?
Nearly all of the recent imports into the 4th Division have been ‘bought’.
No one, but no one wants to buy Walsall football club.
As someone mentioned in another thread, Walsall F.C. will die if the current downward spiral of attendances, and team performances continue.