Cheltenham Town: Devon knows just how good the Robins are

“Hi all,
I have enjoyed reading the comments from the thread. I made the initial point regarding attendances as a response to ALChelt. I would like to add in the last five seasons, having no son or as yet grandchildren!, I have made an effort to take a neighbours lad to about ten home games a season. I hoped that in showing him the local club at an early age it would hook him like it has me. Maybe us older supporters need to make it our legacy to the club to introduce a new young supporter for the future.”

“Chelt Robin - imagine that someone said to you that the Everyman Theatre was really struggling and you should start going to every production they put on to help them through. Or one of the town`s retaurants was in danger of closing through lack of support, so you really should just eat in there once a week for 20 quid, to enable them to continue. Why should football supporters be any different ? They are not morally bound to ensure that the town has a league football team - hundreds of nice towns in the UK get by perfectly well without one ! Like all forms of entertainment, you give the people what they want and they will come. And I repeat again - at the risk of boring everyone - that the hyperbole of SKY Sports has convinced a generation (youngsters and adults) that football at this level is not worth bothering with. If you don`t believe me just look around at the number of middle aged, beer bellied, balding men you see walking round any town in the country in Manchester United, or City or whatever replica kits. Makes you proud.”

“Hi Guys - great posts by the way! As far as Sat's match went, the score line probably flattered the Robins a little in the end - but, hey we've had that happen to us this season to us already, so maybe it was just our day!! Were it not for the brilliance of Brown, Exeter probably should have been ahead at half-time. It's so good to see Brown developing into the all-round 'keeper I knew he could be (notice that all the Brown moaners have gone away). Whilst he was here, Butland taught Brown that goalkeeping is so much more than just being a good shot-stopper (which Brown always has been). Now Brown commands his area so much better than before – even his kicking has improved!! Like the way that he also now bowls the ball out to the RB / LB more often, rather than just hoofing it up the pitch. Alongside McGlashan, Brown is the other stand-out player for me in the Robins team so far this season – keep it up Scotty!!
Great to see us score 3 goals in a match for the 1st time this season, as their plenty of potential goalscorers in the team - now maybe after this result, we will see this more regularly - especially at WR. Thought the new guy N'Dah did very well on his debut, scored a great goal, but he also showed his Premiership breeding with some intelligent running with and without the ball - even on just 1 showing, he seems a real find by MY (not for the 1st time either) - 1 of MY's strongest assists as Chet's manager is his ability to find "rough diamonds" and nurture them into proper footballers. If he is still performing the same in a few weeks' time, I'm sure MY will be battering down Reading's door to keep for the rest of the season.
Also, like you 2, very dumbfounded by the awful home attendances so far this season – has the recession hit Gloucestershire harder than the rest of England? Not according to the statistics it would seem, but we still seem to have lost good 500-700 supporters from last season. Will they all return in March if we are still in contention for promotion?? I'd like to think so, but it just seems to me that there is a general complacency amongst the supporters in this area – as if they think that Cheltenham should always remain a footy league club. Well, I can tell you this, if the crowds keep remaining below 3,000 for home matches for this season and the next, then the chances of us making a promotion bid for League 1 are going to stand no chance at all – when was the last time you saw a League 1 club with attendances around the 3,000 mark??
The club knows that these fans are out there – MY and his team can't do any more than they are doing at the moment. It's as PB has said many times – how badly do the football fans in Gloucestershire REALLY want to have a football league club? The choice obviously lies with them + those missing supporters will go a long way to deciding where the club ends up over the next few seasons.

C'mon U Robins!!”

“Hi Bob seems we got this to ourselves,i think I know what your saying,however once again I have to say that M Y does not bring just anybody in,this year he as brought in Carter,a player who is working his way back fro injury,if you were to see him perform you would see that he is playing for the team and is an excellant player from a much higher standard,Harrord once again looks to be working hard for the side and is a pretty good goal poacher which is something Robins have not had for a while,now yayes as brought in D'ath a young man from Reading who as already stated he wants to stay,and this kid like last years Everton lonee is destined for a much higher standard of player.
M Y appear's to use and know his loan market very well as for expectations when this team is on song they are more than capable of playing at a higher level,I admit maybe even stroger strikers would be an advantage,but belive me this side like last year is the best group of players the Robins have had,they are mobile intelligent (by and large) and in Pack (ex lonee) and McGlashen they have two players who could easily step up maybe two divisions .”

“Al - I accept what you say. Let me put it in the way I should have done. Loan players are basically players that their own clubs are happy to farm out because they are not good enough to feature in their own plans (you do not get other clubs best players - especially goal scorers - on loan) and, by and large, they are happy to be paid by anyone and care little or nothing about the long term interests of the club they are passing through. I take your point about the use of the word rubbish - what I meant was that, by and large, many of them or no better - or even as good - as the players that they are brought in to replace. Just a new face to temporarily appease impatient supporters, many of whom are contiuously carping on at managers who are not seen to be constantly bringing in new players, as if that will solve everything. Arsene Wenger suffers from this all the time at Arsenal. It is hard for people to accept that the Robins are playing at the level they should be, with players of the quality they can attract and afford and in front of crowds at the level they are going to be. If the play off had gone a different way last season and promotion had been achieved, costs including wages would have risen, income probably not much, and - perhaps most harmful of all - supporters expectations would have been even more unrealistic.”

“Bob,Bob Bob,you were doing so well until your last comment,I know i have a go about certain players on here but I would never say they are rubish,to reach the standard they have they are part of a small minority of players who are good enough and dedicated enough to become pro footballers.I understand your comment about loan players buy Mark Yates tries to get in long term loanees and attempts to get them to buy into the club and as been pretty succesful in his efforts as opposed to some big time charlie managers of the past.
One other thing about pro players I was lucky enough when I was younger to play against and with some ex pros including ex England players it is then you realise how good they are and imagine how good they were in their prime,for the older guys I remember being a very fit young man and considerd a reasonable player I came up against an aging Rodger Thordale,I knew I was loads faster than him and I had a trick or two but his positional awareness and calmness on the ball really taught me a lesson,another ex Robin was Dave Hudd,skill in abundance players would try to kick him off the park but he was a lot tougher than I had thought and always enjoyed playing against him,as for Ronnie Radford I'm sure his arms are six foot long trying to get a tackle in on him was a nightmare,but everyone one thes guys were down to earth genuinely nice guys who would compilment you on your game and were never arogant they just happened to love football and be better than the rest of us.
An ex Robin by the name of Adrian Thorne once put a very young me in my place when I reffered to a player as rubish,his comment "no player who reaches this standard and above his rubish" his words stuck in my head and over the years his words were proven by my expieriences.”

“If I may be allowed to offer a view on this, I think a lot of sense is being made in these posts. I was going to say that the level of attendances is perfectly normal for what is, after all, the very bottom tier of league football but, when I checked this weekend's crowds, I was surprised how many games were watched by 4,000 - 6,000 people. I believe that, basically, Cheltenham is not a 'football area' as such. But, more importantly, modern society does offer people so many alternative attractions these days that people are spread much thinner now and think very carefully about what they choose to spend their money on. Before I moved away, there were a little team of six of us who had season tickets, never missed a home game and went to the majority of away games. Interestingly, none of the other five - all of whom had been supporting the Robins for over twenty years - now have season tickets and attend matches occasionally when they are not going away for a weekend or have family visiting or whatever. A big problem for a club like Cheltenham is that, once people get out of the habit of going to games on 'automatic pilot' it is virtually impossible to get them to feel the same way again. And, as far as getting kids in from an early age, you have to admit that kids these days are seduced by the hyperbole of SKY and the attraction of the big money clubs. Most of them are supporters of a premiership side and prefer the allure of the big screen to a windy - and sometimes very dull - afternoon at Whaddon Road. One more thing - my memory of watching the Robins is of having a team and players who you could associate with and become very fond of - one of the big complaints from my old chums is that it is very hard to feel any affection for a group of 'here today, gone tomorow' loan players and others who seem to be with the club for perhaps one season and disappear. Plus the fact, that most of them are rubbish.”

“Dezer..I think it is probably a bit of all the comments you have made.
I feel if prices were less we might attract more fans,but our prices are quite similar to many teams,i do think that every once in a while especially the night games maybe the club should say £10 a ticket anywhere in the ground,you never know we might attract a few more regular fans or it could show that there is general apathy in the area,but I think it's worth a shout.
Another idea would be to really have a go at the schools have a parties of twenty kids and a few parents for £50,catch them young!sit them in the in2print stand so they can be comfortable where they can grab some chips at halftime or Dads/Mums can have a beer or coffee.Either of these ideas must be worth a shout and it would fill up the ground.
It's also a pity that the away fans get the part of the ground that appears to lend itself to creating more noise our fans on Saturday were trying hard to respond to the Exeter fans but the noise that comes from our end always sounds quiet without the openess of the accoustics from the away area.”

“Just picking up a point from AlChelt regardng attendances, when we were in the Conferance, the two seasons prior to promotion to the Footal League we were attracting average healthy crowds for that level of 1500 - 1750 supporters per game. After the initial novelty of playing League football when we seemed to be able to attract around 3500, the average has dropped dramatically to 2000 - 2500 this season despite a promotion position in the division. When you match this to the success the club has had, the average increase per game at best is about a 1000 supporters during our time in the Football League.
Despite the success it seems a poor return in support. Is it the cost per match to watch football, lack of football interest in the area or the general state of the economy forcing people to stay away,
answers on a postcard as they say!”

“The mighty Robins still not at full tilt yet,but another good win.
Exeter were not a bad team and but for some good saves from Scott Brown they could have easily got a couple of goals.
Another good loan signing by M Y it wold be nice to keep D'Ath for longer than a month.
The switch to Jones taking the dead balls is certainly paying off,he seems to be able to pick Elliott out at will,and Lowe was excellent for poaching a couple of goals.
Well done all (including Mo :-)) Onwards and upwards.
Only negative,only 2500 home fans again.
Whats wrong with the footy fans of Cheltenham and surronding area,you cant all be married."”