Just reading Leisure’s thread about Leicester away and there isn’t many replies, I know it’s a ground we have played at a lot but it got me thinking why is our away support so bad ?

We used to have brilliant away support even in the Championship, but I think now the novelty of the Premierleague has worn off people have been to all these grounds and there’s no wow factor.

We always take the smallest allocation offered and still don’t sell out, we didn’t even sell out at Liverpool, an hour away and the first away game back since the pandemic.

Put it into perspective I don’t have enough loyalty points and could get a ticket for any away game I want this season, which isn’t a bad thing from my point of view but it’s shows it all when we have Leeds fans in our home ends and we can’t even sell out at one of the biggest clubs in the world with one of the most famous grounds.

I don’t see how this is going to get better I can only see it going worse, remember the first season in the Prem away tickets were like gold dust and that was every game.

We are soon becoming a laughing stock taking less than a thousand to places in the Premierleague. I used to pride myself on our magnificent away support but now it’s not even average it’s awful.

I lost interest in away game when we joined the premier league, some like the big fancy new stadiums but I quite enjoyed random away trips to the older grounds.
I then had children and other things became priority, I can mow watch any game I want on tv without upsetting the Mrs by disappearing every weekend. I’d imagine I’ll start going again soon, now that my kids are wanting to go, I’ve just sort of lost that bug, particularly when we get beat by most away from home.

Stop worrying about what others think of our support btw
That’s twice in a week

We had in the lead up to the start of the season quite a few people saying it was impossible to get tickets and the whole way we sold away tickets and the loyalty points system needed changing so they could attend.

Just as the previous season when away fans were allowed, you can get a ticket for just about any away game you want but they ignore all this and say the system is against them. It used to be that people couldn't take their kids on because the family stand was full and there wasn't 2 seats together for games, there are loads of seats together for every home game in there but a lack of people now needing them.

Money.

£30 ticket
£30-60 - travel
Spending Money

There will also be the factor that, in the current climate, some people may not feel comfortable sat on a coach with strangers for 4hrs, and may make their own way there

I think Liverpool was unfortunate.

Tickets went on sale very late and only online, Liverpool’s responsibility not ours, it was on TV, concerns from many re travelling etc., so I think over 1,500 was excellent.

It's never been about what division you're in so much for away fans, the big numbers turn up when there's a promotion push / relegation battle towards the end of the season. You'll always take more to Barnsley or Doncaster in April if you're in the promotion hunt in any division than to Anfield trying to grab a point in the Prem.

Obviously there’s a fair amount of apathy and boredom around at the minute. But I think having the ability to watch every single Burnley league game on tv must play a massive part. There’s away games that I wouldn’t even consider going to now but will watch on tv instead. This isn’t an option in the Championship.

They are poor because they go away, be a armchair away fan in the main and you will be cash rich.
Seriously cost of tickets,travel hassle and defensive football.

One of the problems is kick - off time. You used to be able to plan ahead knowing the games would kick off at 3pm on a Sat or 7.45 pm on a Tues. Now it could be anytime- which makes planning long trips difficult and more expensive when you’re booking closer to the event

After a great few days with a lot of positivity around do you start a negative post PTN ????

SalisburyClaret wrote: ↑

Wed Sep 01, 2021 1:39 pm

One of the problems is kick - off time. You used to be able to plan ahead knowing the games would kick off at 3pm on a Sat or 7.45 pm on a Tues. Now it could be anytime- which makes planning long trips difficult and more expensive when you’re booking closer to the event

Thats exactly the problem Salisbury

I much preferred pay at the gate then I could decide if I was travelling a couple of hours before ko depending on the distance. Bought tickets in advance for numerous matches mainly Everton and Liverpool and not bothered going

Can anyone tell me can you just turn up these days and pay on the gate or at the ticket office?

I think pure economics plays a large part for a lot of family orientated fans. I for example would love nothing more than return to travelling the country as I used to in the bad old days… but it is no longer just about what I want.

elwaclaret wrote: ↑

Wed Sep 01, 2021 3:23 pm

I think pure economics plays a large part for a lot of family orientated fans. I for example would love nothing more than return to travelling the country as I used to in the bad old days… but it is no longer just about what I want.

Whilst that is true for you and many fans (including myself), in theory at least, as some fans get older, have families etc there should be younger fans getting to the age of going to away games to replace them.

Are younger fans less interested in going to away games as they have grown up on the streaming age?

500+ at Newcastle, up in the Gods, for a mid-week, meaningless Carabao cup game where the Clarets had no shots on target is a pretty good attendance in my opinion. Tickets at £10, £5 concession helped and the result has led to a local derby with Rochdale. What more can you want?

I go to games with my wife. Cost of tickets, travel, hotels and restaurants etc makes it very expensive but I still go to quite a few. Where I live there are no nearby games for us.

Also tv - I can see every game at home.

TheFamilyCat wrote: ↑

Wed Sep 01, 2021 3:30 pm

Whilst that is true for you and many fans (including myself), in theory at least, as some fans get older, have families etc there should be younger fans getting to the age of going to away games to replace them.

Are younger fans less interested in going to away games as they have grown up on the streaming age?

Yes but it used to be get the coach of a few quid, lunch for a tenner and a fiver to get into the ground. Yes prices have risen with inflation, but it is now no longer a ‘cheap’ day out it once was. In an area like Burnley it can cost half a fans wage to do what we took for granted as a Burnley away day.

elwaclaret wrote: ↑

Wed Sep 01, 2021 3:36 pm

Yes but it used to be get the coach of a few quid, lunch for a tenner and a fiver to get into the ground. Yes prices have risen with inflation, but it is now no longer a ‘cheap’ day out it once was. In an area like Burnley it can cost half a fans wage to do what we took for granted as a Burnley away day.

Fair point, getting into The Shay didn't break the bank. You even had the option of watching for free from the bus station.

No doubt those that have stopped attending, or certainly reduced the amount of games they go away will be 1 if not several of the things below combined.

Novelty starts to wear thin after multiple seasons going to the same places.
Kick off days and times that can change at quite short notice, which doesn't allow for planning way in advance.
Transport costs have increased quite a bit.
Lack of regular wins, it's a fact the more your team wins the more people want to watch them away aswell as home.
Maybe linked to above, but some think the product on offer ( football being played ) isnt worth the outlay for s home game never mind an away one were cost is usually more than double at very least for fans living in Burnley area.
So many streaming services about, people can watch away games in the pub, for the cost of a pint.
People can easily watch at home with family and friends with the benefit of only needing to take 2 or so hours out of your day, which for people with families is far better than the 5 hours minimum it takes to take an away trip ( sometimes its 12 hours+ )
We have a very small town, and generally a small fanbase in premier league terms, so will be far lower than most.
% of population wise we are very well supported both home and away

Sh*t ground, no fans

Burnley1989 wrote: ↑

Wed Sep 01, 2021 12:59 pm

. I’d imagine I’ll start going again soon, now that my kids are wanting to go, I’ve just sort of lost that bug, particularly when we get beat by most away from home.

Stop worrying about what others think of our support btw
That’s twice in a week

Far more chance of seeing us get a win away from home if our recent form is anything to go by

I’ve not missed a game this season, and I’ve loved every minute of being back amongst fans.

I went through a spell of not missing a game home or away in a few years, but then my son was born so that stopped due to family commitments. Now he’s older, he comes with me and loves it so can now attend every game again.

The one thing I have noticed is how sanitised atmospheres have become since we were promoted. There’s no banter between fans anymore, the atmospheres are awful at pretty much every ground and barring Man Utd, Man City, Arsenal and Spurs, the away ends are horrible.

ClaretInLeeds wrote: ↑

Wed Sep 01, 2021 4:07 pm

I’ve not missed a game this season, and I’ve loved every minute of being back amongst fans.

I went through a spell of not missing a game home or away in a few years, but then my son was born so that stopped due to family commitments. Now he’s older, he comes with me and loves it so can now attend every game again.

The one thing I have noticed is how sanitised atmospheres have become since we were promoted. There’s no banter between fans anymore, the atmospheres are awful at pretty much every ground and barring Man Utd, Man City, Arsenal and Spurs, the away ends are horrible.

Agree with your last paragraph. Stoke and Wolves used to be 2 really good away days, both had an edge all day which added to the atmosphere in the lower divisions now they would be up there with 2 of the worst away days.

NottsClaret wrote: ↑

Wed Sep 01, 2021 1:34 pm

It's never been about what division you're in so much for away fans, the big numbers turn up when there's a promotion push / relegation battle towards the end of the season. You'll always take more to Barnsley or Doncaster in April if you're in the promotion hunt in any division than to Anfield trying to grab a point in the Prem.

THIS.

We got some of our biggest crowds in years when we were romping away with the Division 4 title, despite travelling to places like Halifax, Rochdale and Exeter, which are hardly glamour fixtures.

And I think a large part is the feeling that we are never going to be challenging at the top of this league whatever we do due to the big city clubs dominating the scene.

This allied to many folks becoming accustomed to watching on the box over the past 18 months is a major factor in our away fans declining.

Also the PL novelty is now wearing thin, and most people who wanted to visit the bigger stadiums will have now done so.

It'll be interesting how many why take to Brentford, a new stadium may attract some who might not otherwise have attended.

Additionally the access to all the PL games, whether on legal channels or not, means it's far more convenient for some to simply watch on the box.

KO times is also a valid point, Liverpool was 12.30 on a Saturday, and Everton is 8PM on a Monday evening.

Lots of reasons, most have been mentioned already. Football, especially in our league has become too respectable and middle class. For a group of young lads going away isn't as much fun as it used to be, along with the expense.
If we were to get relegated and be challenging at the top end of the table numbers would increase again.

Id go to every championship game away if we went back down

Been most in prem. Cant get excited for it anymore with costings for multiple people

Maybe the new signings and getting stuck into teams with goals changes my mind

I haven't been to an away game for ages... because I like to make that last minute decision to go on the day and pay on the gate. Work commitments don't allow me to get a ticket well in advance. But that's Premier League football for you I suppose. Also, I'd like to go with my family, but if they're not going, I'm not that bothered.

I think your right Tiger , Brentford will definitely sell out .

should we really be having this conversation after having only 1 league game and a crap cup game? What is the OP actually basing this opinion on?

No problem selling our Spurs away at their new ground, unlike the last game at the old White Hart lane but the football on offer was dire let's see what happens this year, Brentford will probably have no problem selling out for the same reason but I attend usually about half the away games but it does get harder with some of the performances that are produced but hopefully a few more games like Wolves, Palace, Everton and people will get their away match mojo back, because other than the Leeds game last weekend the atmosphere at away matches is better IMO

I think it’s a combination of things. Yes the Premier League can be boring at times especially away from home where we are scrapping for every point. You have got to remember that in the Championship so we have been close to or top of the league in recent years so as someone said earlier fans will come out then to watch a winning team. Also I think the people who are still nervous about Covid may be deciding to give away games a miss this season as they perhaps don’t want beer monsters getting too close or falling all over them like at Villa two seasons ago. At least at home they know where they will be seated and who will be around them if they are season ticket holders.
Personally I used to like travelling away in the Championship more than I do in the Premier League, however it did depend on which teams were in the Championship with us. Days out in Derby, Nottingham, Sheffield, and other former big clubs were enjoyable when travelling by train and they had decent pubs in the town centres or close to the ground.

How many clubs actually sell out their away support anyway?

Apart from the big six, plus a few others I'd say just over half.

Man Utd
Man City
Chelsea
Arsenal
Tottenham
Liverpool
Everton
Leeds
Newcastle
Villa
Leicester

I’d say them 11 will sell out every game, maybe could add Wolves to that list.

PadihamThickNeck wrote: ↑

Wed Sep 01, 2021 6:05 pm

Man Utd
Man City
Chelsea
Arsenal
Tottenham
Liverpool
Everton
Leeds
Newcastle
Villa
Leicester

I’d say them 11 will sell out every game, maybe could add Wolves to that list.

And possibly West Ham.

Jamesy wrote: ↑

Wed Sep 01, 2021 6:15 pm

And possibly West Ham.

Yes of corse i did mean to put them on.

Jakubclaret wrote: ↑

Wed Sep 01, 2021 6:17 pm

Basically for an illegal worker half a weeks wage or somebody on minimum wage roughly not far off half a week at least 2 day's pay.

Why did you have to make reference to illegal workers?

PadihamThickNeck wrote: ↑

Wed Sep 01, 2021 6:05 pm

Man Utd
Man City
Chelsea
Arsenal
Tottenham
Liverpool
Everton
Leeds
Newcastle
Villa
Leicester

I’d say them 11 will sell out every game, maybe could add Wolves to that list.

Add West Ham to that

ClaretAndJew wrote: ↑

Wed Sep 01, 2021 6:21 pm

Why did you have to make reference to illegal workers?

I think he's demonstrating how difficult it is for illegal workers to afford away-day trips to the football these days.

Rileybobs wrote: ↑

Wed Sep 01, 2021 6:23 pm

I think he's demonstrating how difficult it is for illegal workers to afford away-day trips to the football these days.

I'm merely pointing out people at the lowest end of pay structures, I could have equally mentioned people on zero hour contracts, either way away day at football is a pipe dream for some working class people.

Other commitments
Cost ( compare now to Div 4 when we had good away support)
Family
Ticket restrictions ( unable to make a spontaneous decision to go)
Neanderthals ( don’t know how some find their way out of Burnley)
Defensive football
Poor view at some grounds ( Newcastle and Liverpool spring to mind)

What the club have done with the the supply of tickets to supporters clubs who have to arrange travel based on the number of tickets they got hasn’t helped. Solved a problem that didn’t exist.

I’d like to go to a few…. And I don’t just mean the BIG away games…. I mean some of the smaller less fashionable clubs.
I buy a ticket for Norwich away, then try to get a coach seat only to find there’s nowt left cos the three coaches that would normally have been booked is now just the one because the operators can’t chance losing a fortune if they book the three and no one has a ticket. All the point I should have accrued over the years of booking thru the supporters clubs aren’t in my card so I’ll be quite low down the pecking order anyway, so guess what? I just don’t bother. All because some mard arse couldnt get a ticket for anfield (for his one away day a season) he whinged that people who went away every week got one and he didn’t even tho he had 150 more points than them.
Our away support is poorer than it should be because some muppet at the club changed a system that didn’t need changing. If they’d thought it thru…. Maybe we’d be exactly where we were, decent away following with decent transport available.

Some muppet at the club? Never!

It's a good point about all ticket as well. In the Championship there was loads of times I'd decide I fancied an away game the night before, or even waking up on a Saturday. Obviously can't do that anymore.

Boss Hogg wrote: ↑

Wed Sep 01, 2021 6:34 pm

Neanderthals ( don’t know how some find their way out of Burnley)

Possibly on Leisure’s coach (other ways are available)!?

Can only speak for myself but I’d imagine this is the same for others:
- Games at differing times and days
- Young family
- Travel. Trains aren’t cheap or necessarily easy (compared to the big city fans). Supporters clubs are thin on the ground and pretty much non existent this side of the boarder. Driving’s an option but I enjoy a beer at games and it’s not much fun on your own.
- Cost (aligned with) Competitive chance of performing well (the hope of winning / drawing is far greater in championship for us)

The ability to just go on the day would increase my away trips (usually do 3-5 or so a season).

Many of our premier league opponents come from big cities and catchment areas, which means they have lots more supporters clubs providing regular coaches and much more accessible rail options ( along with bugger fan bases to draw from)
-

Jakubclaret wrote: ↑

Wed Sep 01, 2021 6:30 pm

I'm merely pointing out people at the lowest end of pay structures, I could have equally mentioned people on zero hour contracts, either way away day at football is a pipe dream for some working class people.

But no, that's not what you meant, you purposely wrote your post intending to inflame....you could have just said people at the lower end of the pay structure....

Being forced to stand up. Stopped me going, struggle with long-term standing.

Never have to stand on the Turf.

To answer the thread title you only have to read the posts above to find out.

More reasons not to go then there are to go sadly.

I do keep saying I’ll try and get the away day bug back, my youngest has started playing football and went on the game at weekend so I’ll try and test the waters with an away game on the coach soon, I know I loved it as a kid.