Lets all laugh at orient

[Tommy2holes]

As part of my job i have to do a fortnightly contract at leyton orients score centre , wich is like there centre of excellence.

Now it pains me to say but the facilities arent bad there , but two things that do make me laugh are:

A) There soccer school with about 200 kids and not 1 single orient shirt.
B) Spoke to one of there coaches and he said that orient were poorly funded and that of 3800 supporters last saturday 500 plus were given out for free and a couple of hundred away supporters leaves only around 2800 paying customers.

Orient are like the farmers in that they re two bob and we are lucky to ge the gates we do.

 

[maninasuitcase]

I saw the crowd on Sunday and was shocked it was that low.

 

[Lord Griff]

The crowd on Saturday was very poor and I have to admit to being very envious of Southends current supporter base. Its a two way thing, and a combination of good pricing and a good team has bolstered your support over the past couple of seasons. However, it wasnt that long ago that we were averaging similar crowds and the key for Southend is to maintain a similar crowd when you're not performing as well on the pitch - especially with the new ground on its way. I think this season will provide such a challenge for you guys as I cant see another play off berth for you this campaign.

As for us, whilst season ticket deals are very competitive, the floating fan has been driven away and this is having a big impact on attendances. Also, the back end of last season was relegation form and this had a big impact on fans reapplying for season tickets. It is certainly a concern for the club and the poor attendances are the main reason why we have such a small squad this season and will find it hard to avoid a relegation scrap come the end of the season.

Still, at least we are guaranteed 4 to 6 points off you lot....

 

[Tommy2holes]

True, but southends tickets arent cheap and we have sold all of our best players, so to get another 8k average is fantastic.

We have a bigger catchment area as you have west ham on your doorstep amongst others. I dount we will see league crowds of -4k again especially when we move to our new ground. I would liken us to swansea tbh.

 

[Grayson]

True, but southends tickets arent cheap and we have sold all of our best players, so to get another 8k average is fantastic.

We have a bigger catchment area as you have west ham on your doorstep amongst others. I dount we will see league crowds of -4k again especially when we move to our new ground. I would liken us to swansea tbh.

You seen the c2c line on a Saturday morning? More of the dirty Spammers come from here than East London.

 

[Lord Griff]

Swansea are a bigger club than Southend IMO, but I understand your comparison especially with the new ground.

Southend cant afford to be complacent when it comes to the fan base, as you will need to maintain your current supporter base at the very least, when you move into your new stadium.

Re Saturdays crowd.....given it was a bank holiday, I thought it would be low turn out, but sub 4k was a poor show IMO.

 

[maninasuitcase]

The crowd on Saturday was very poor and I have to admit to being very envious of Southends current supporter base. Its a two way thing, and a combination of good pricing and a good team has bolstered your support over the past couple of seasons. However, it wasnt that long ago that we were averaging similar crowds and the key for Southend is to maintain a similar crowd when you're not performing as well on the pitch - especially with the new ground on its way. I think this season will provide such a challenge for you guys as I cant see another play off berth for you this campaign.

As for us, whilst season ticket deals are very competitive, the floating fan has been driven away and this is having a big impact on attendances. Also, the back end of last season was relegation form and this had a big impact on fans reapplying for season tickets. It is certainly a concern for the club and the poor attendances are the main reason why we have such a small squad this season and will find it hard to avoid a relegation scrap come the end of the season.

Still, at least we are guaranteed 4 to 6 points off you lot....

Nothing is guaranteed in football. Haven't you learnt that yet?

 

[Harold Bishop Killer]

Thats why I think the family days are a great idea. Come on when you are young every tom, rick and apple are going to want to support the succesful, 'big' teams. The ones they can watch week in, week out the tv. The team that all their mates support. Thats why I think Southend have it spot on with family days - get them while they are young! make them enjoy the delights of lower league football. Ok you can pay 50 pound to sit on your padded seat in the Emirates but to me that is never as enjoyable watching Southend v Yeovil on a cold Janaury Tuesday night on wooden seat which gives you splinters. Personally, if i ever dare, produce offspring then from the moment they are born they will be decked out head to toe in southend blue. (much to my missus annoyance as she is a Borient fan).

The main thing about attracting large crowds when you a lower league club is competitive ticket prices, success and also competition from other clubs. We are resonabley lucky as our nearest main rival is Colchester but then a hour by train is London. This is where Borient fall short - the fact they really have to compete with around 15 other london clubs. (random number, couldnt be bothered counting) and like mentioned last season was a bad season for them so they will decrease numbers. You can only attract so many people with free tickets and giveaways.

As for us - our numbers kept high after the relegation from the Championship and that is a really good sign. It shows our core fanbase is increasing. And with a new stadium on its way and hopefully continued success that core fan base can grow to maybe 12,000 if not more. Where as with Orient - well just hope for a good season to attract back the floaters

 

[OldBlueLady]

Well said BS, that was a very good post until you mentioned "floaters" at the end - seems remarkably appropriate in talking about Orient!

 

[Harold Bishop Killer]

Or Col Ewe - can be used for both. Its diverse like that.

But in todays age of football the gap between the rich and poor is getting wider. Unless you can attract the fans and keep them there through hard times you are looking a grim future. Fans bring the money into the club. Its a viscous circle. You have a bad couple of seasons and fans no longer want to pay 25 quid to watch a team on the down. They leave for bigger teams - especially in the London region - tickets sales drops so that revenue drops. Investment in the team is can not be as plentiful as maybe it once was. Sponserships may move on, who would want to sponser a team which no one watches and is a downward spiral? their best players leave and as investment is at a minimual, average players fill the void. Off field problems translate on to the pitch and once you are in this slump its very hard to get out of without the investment, time, dedication and a bit of luck.

Sounds a bit like a team i know??

but of course again this is just a theory. A lot more factors go into it and this is basic stuff.

 

[TrueBlue]

a combination of good pricing

what the hell?

 

[leeblue]

I will always say that 380 quid for my son and I for an entire season is great value for money

 

[Andyhsufc]

What is also quite exciting is the potential there is for the support to increase. I mean, there is around 190,000 people who live in Southend alone and with there being no close rival, that is a good base to build from

 

[Jonny_Stokes]

My dad never used to support a football club, but when I was nine and mad-keen on the game he decided it was time to have that father/son thing and pick a club for us to go to.

Obviously, as he's a complete arsehole, he thought "balls to the top division, I'm going to give young Jonathan a lifetime of misery by taking him somewhere crap". Why did he choose the Os? Because he's a tight Scottish ******* and Orient were doing child season tickets for a tenner - stunning value. He could get in for £14 a game. We didn't have any fans then either, but it was a decent value day out in a proper ****ing football ground.

Now? Child seasos are £100. It's £20 a game if you sit in the cheap seats and the ground is a matchbox lego effort surrounded by H£arn's housing estate. We've signed three players for money (95k's-worth...) in the past 6 years and the fans are treated like utter ****e in the ground. It's so bad I actually want us to move to the Olympic Stadium.

Aside from a billionaire investor appearing from nowhere, we're never going to be able to compete with more established sides, or sides with more ambition. The whole situation, as LG states, is even starting to kill off our dyed-in-the-wool support. There were some mitigating circumstances, so we'll have to wait and see if attendances improve (the stayaways will come crawling out of the woodwork for the Leicester game, no doubt). But I'm not holding out too much hope, tbh.

Still, at least we're not West Ham.

 

[Ozzer]

My dad never used to support a football club, but when I was nine and mad-keen on the game he decided it was time to have that father/son thing and pick a club for us to go to.

Obviously, as he's a complete arsehole, he thought "balls to the top division, I'm going to give young Jonathan a lifetime of misery by taking him somewhere crap". Why did he choose the Os? Because he's a tight Scottish ******* and Orient were doing child season tickets for a tenner - stunning value. He could get in for £14 a game. We didn't have any fans then either, but it was a decent value day out in a proper ****ing football ground.

Now? Child seasos are £100. It's £20 a game if you sit in the cheap seats and the ground is a matchbox lego effort surrounded by H£arn's housing estate. We've signed three players for money (95k's-worth...) in the past 6 years and the fans are treated like utter ****e in the ground. It's so bad I actually want us to move to the Olympic Stadium.

Aside from a billionaire investor appearing from nowhere, we're never going to be able to compete with more established sides, or sides with more ambition. The whole situation, as LG states, is even starting to kill off our dyed-in-the-wool support. There were some mitigating circumstances, so we'll have to wait and see if attendances improve (the stayaways will come crawling out of the woodwork for the Leicester game, no doubt). But I'm not holding out too much hope, tbh.

Still, at least we're not West Ham.

Good post JS, spoken from the heart as a true fan.

 

[WickfordShrimper]

East London no one likes football anymore.... they all done a runner when the foreigners move in.. and moved to Essex, Suffolk or Norfolk

If the SadOs get promotion then crowds will go up…

If the Hamsters dropped to Division one, they will be lucky to pull 10 to 15,000 they kept there support cos have survived mostly to stay in the premiership and thats what most footie Fans what to see the likes of Man U... Liverpool etc

Match day tickets are £22 ( not cheap) and I cannot remember the last family day we had ??


If we average 7000 plus this year will be a result :-)

 

[Scamps]

I reckon u have lost ur fans due to southend doing well and a better atmosphere so they have been sliding into the hall to watch better football.
How many u bringing tuesday?

 

[Jonny_Stokes]

I reckon u have lost ur fans due to southend doing well and a better atmosphere so they have been sliding into the hall to watch better football.
How many u bringing tuesday?

Actually, Lord Griff is a well-known Southend fan who masquerades as an Orient supporter. Other than that, I'd say that our low crowds have a lot to do with us being crap.

As for Tuesday, er, who knows? 400? Quite a lot for a midweek reserve game, anyway.