Surprised no one has mentioned the nut case who was almost having a fist fight with what looked like a 15 year old girl near Alibi bar on Saturday afternoon before it was broken up by the bar manager.
I'm in no way against Hamilton but do many from there drive up to Auckland for matches there? And would Aucklanders travel to Hamilton for their game?
Three for me, and two for them.
I'm in no way against Hamilton but do many from there drive up to Auckland for matches there? And would Aucklanders travel to Hamilton for their game?
That is what I had imagined so why such poor crowds in Auckland? If there is a large group travelling from both Wellington and Hamilton it seems crazy they should have such low crowds over the years.
The thing is I wonder if they would shift an Auckland game to Hamilton or hold one in each place.
I'm in no way against Hamilton but do many from there drive up to Auckland for matches there? And would Aucklanders travel to Hamilton for their game?
That is what I had imagined so why such poor crowds in Auckland? If there is a large group travelling from both Wellington and Hamilton it seems crazy they should have such low crowds over the years.
The thing is I wonder if they would shift an Auckland game to Hamilton or hold one in each place.
Three for me, and two for them.
Shouldnt some of the questions about marketing of the game be directed at the FFA it was after all their regional round,or are the Phoenix still resposible for marketing.If thats the case given what we have seen this season that would explain it.
I'm in no way against Hamilton but do many from there drive up to Auckland for matches there? And would Aucklanders travel to Hamilton for their game?
That is what I had imagined so why such poor crowds in Auckland? If there is a large group travelling from both Wellington and Hamilton it seems crazy they should have such low crowds over the years.
The thing is I wonder if they would shift an Auckland game to Hamilton or hold one in each place.
I wouldn't speculate on the who and what and why regarding the marketing behind the match to be honest. I have been privy to a lot of inside knowledge about the situation in recent days and all I will say is that it is complicated and even with this information I still don't know exactly what happened. So I would wait for the final analysis on this.
Surprised no one has mentioned the nut case who was almost having a fist fight with what looked like a 15 year old girl near Alibi bar on Saturday afternoon before it was broken up by the bar manager.
Surprised no one has mentioned the nut case who was almost having a fist fight with what looked like a 15 year old girl near Alibi bar on Saturday afternoon before it was broken up by the bar manager.
The Heart supporters that came across were pretty awesome too. I may have found myself a second club.
The Heart supporters that came across were pretty awesome too. I may have found myself a second club.
Surprised no one has mentioned the nut case who was almost having a fist fight with what looked like a 15 year old girl near Alibi bar on Saturday afternoon before it was broken up by the bar manager.
I actually said at the time that Ahmad had even organised a fight for us to watch.
The Heart supporters that came across were pretty awesome too. I may have found myself a second club.
The Heart supporters that came across were pretty awesome too. I may have found myself a second club.
I think I put money on ........... to score before the Hearts did.
Supporter For Ever - Keep The Faith - Foundation Member - Never Lets FAX Get In The Way Of A Good Yarn
Ahmed - are you coming up for the last game? Congrats on organising what looked to be the best organised away day for the boys!
Ahmed - are you coming up for the last game? Congrats on organising what looked to be the best organised away day for the boys!
Thanks for that mate. The least I could do for the many that made the effort to come down to my home was to welcome them with open arms and help them have a good time.
Everyone has been asking about that last game and sadly I just can't get up for it. However in a moment on weakness I did enter into an agreement with Dani Sanchez when he told me I had to come for the last match if they win both games in Australia. And I'm a man of my word!
Probably 50/50 with that combination, Perth are good shot, WSW playing well at the moment. Anyway we'll catch you next season if not this one.
Ouch I just look at airfares. Air NZ you are taking the piss. I hope Dani can forgive me - better to hope for that than any less than 6/6 points ;(
Some interesting video analysis of Wellington's team structure vs Heart by Craig Foster (yes, I know) on SBS's The World Game last night (broadcast here in Oz but available online if you're interested). He gave the diamond midfield a big tick and said he thought the team had improved immensely over the last 10 days under Greenacre.
Had a great time in Dunedin.
Lots of friendly people, both fans and locals.
Top work from Ahmad (the Jaguar to and from the airport was very nice!)
I gave Dura a mock NZ citizenship test (who's on the $5 note, name 3 all blacks, favourite NZ song, etc.) which he had a smile about.
And probably a bunch of other things I've forgotten ...
Here's a clip of the TV report Ahmad mentioned.
http://www.ch9.co.nz/content/phoenix-fans-still-out-supporting-their-team
With such a high number of students present in the town, I was surprised a few if any, actually went to the game. Probably still recovering from their Saturday night/Sunday morning hangovers.
And what was with all the rugby supporters at the game, They couldn't be motivated to do anything except sit there in silence. Good grief, it's a football match. You get up and sing ya heart (Pun not intended) out. I'd like to thank Ahmad and the Fever whom showed up. The Siggy fan club were vastly out numbered by locals but I hope you heard the three of us giving it a go.
I'm really disappointed with the low turn out. Next year I can see it being moved back to Christchurch. I'd like to see the other game go to either Hamilton or Napier.
Just gotta upload a few pics I took for you guys (& ladies) to enjoy!
I'm in no way against Hamilton but do many from there drive up to Auckland for matches there? And would Aucklanders travel to Hamilton for their game?
That is what I had imagined so why such poor crowds in Auckland? If there is a large group travelling from both Wellington and Hamilton it seems crazy they should have such low crowds over the years.
The thing is I wonder if they would shift an Auckland game to Hamilton or hold one in each place.
Poor crowds in Auckland??? Last I checked they got 11,000 for the last Phoenix game at Eden Park compared with 4,000 recently at Westpac and barely 3,000 in Dunedin. Hasn't Auckland produced the largest regular season Phoenix crowd of 20,000 plus as well? I think Napier deserves a Phoenix game - good football supporters there.
I always go to Hamilton for ACFC away games, as do a lot of City supporters. In fact we often exceed the number of locals turning out to see Waikato United. Any Phoenix game played in Hamilton would need a lot of football fans to travel from Auckland to be a success.
I'm in no way against Hamilton but do many from there drive up to Auckland for matches there? And would Aucklanders travel to Hamilton for their game?
That is what I had imagined so why such poor crowds in Auckland? If there is a large group travelling from both Wellington and Hamilton it seems crazy they should have such low crowds over the years.
The thing is I wonder if they would shift an Auckland game to Hamilton or hold one in each place.
Poor crowds in Auckland??? Last I checked they got 11,000 for the last Phoenix game at Eden Park compared with 4,000 recently at Westpac and barely 3,000 in Dunedin. Hasn't Auckland produced the largest regular season Phoenix crowd of 20,000 plus as well? I think Napier deserves a Phoenix game - good football supporters there.
I always go to Hamilton for ACFC away games, as do a lot of City supporters. In fact we often exceed the number of locals turning out to see Waikato United. Any Phoenix game played in Hamilton would need a lot of football fans to travel from Auckland to be a success.
Lots of factors here. The Eden Park 20k had a large number of cheap tickets on offer. Auckland games (like Dunedin games) are of the one-off variety while Wellington crowds are week-to-week (compare with Kingz/Knights). The Dunedin game was seen by many (including those outside of Dunedin) as a completely dead rubber and then a vital All Whites fixture was announced in quick succession.
And let's not forget the population bases here.
0.8713% of Auckland turned up to watch the game vs Perth.
2.364% of Dunedin turned up on Sunday.
The population bases are a huge factor.
EDIT: For comparison, on average, 1.681% of Wellington have shown up the Ring of Fire this season.
^this is something that needs to be considered when looking at attendances acorss the a-league - comparing us to Sydney or Melbourne is stupid, they have more than the pop of NZ in one city.
Queenslander 3x a year.
Sydney and Melbourne both have 2 teams. Different prospect altogether.
Three for me, and two for them.
To be honest, I find all this "we got a bigger crowd than you" stuff somewhat bizarre. To somehow crow or indulge in point scoring that somewhere got a bigger or lower crowd than somewhere else isn't actually achieving anything. For people in Wellington to have a go at people in Auckland, or Dunedin, for not going to games is somewhat hypocritical to say the very least, as crowds at the ROF haven't exactly been scaling the heights this season. If we were getting 12K in Wellington every week then "home" fans would be far more entitled to clamber up onto the moral high ground.
Fact is that this season, no matter where we've played, people haven't shown up in the numbers expected. Given what's been on offer on the pitch it's hardly surprising. "Casual" fans in NZ won't wander up and spend their hard earned cash to watch a bottom of the table team who play dull, unattractive football. Which was us this season. As far as Dunedin goes, I'm sure there were loads of other factors which influenced the size of the crowd.
Next season, they'll have to put a lot of thought into where they play, and once they make that decision they have to market the hell out of the game. It doesn't do Nix supporters anywhere in the country any good to have our team playing in front of ridiculously low crowds.
Apparently I'm apathetic, but I couldn't care less.
"Being a Partick Thistle fan sets you apart. It means youre a free thinker. It also means your team has no money." Tim Luckhurst, The Independent, 4th December 2003
To be honest, I find all this "we got a bigger crowd than you" stuff somewhat bizarre. To somehow crow or indulge in point scoring that somewhere got a bigger or lower crowd than somewhere else isn't actually achieving anything. For people in Wellington to have a go at people in Auckland, or Dunedin, for not going to games is somewhat hypocritical to say the very least, as crowds at the ROF haven't exactly been scaling the heights this season. If we were getting 12K in Wellington every week then "home" fans would be far more entitled to clamber up onto the moral high ground.
Fact is that this season, no matter where we've played, people haven't shown up in the numbers expected. Given what's been on offer on the pitch it's hardly surprising. "Casual" fans in NZ won't wander up and spend their hard earned cash to watch a bottom of the table team who play dull, unattractive football. Which was us this season. As far as Dunedin goes, I'm sure there were loads of other factors which influenced the size of the crowd.
Next season, they'll have to put a lot of thought into where they play, and once they make that decision they have to market the hell out of the game. It doesn't do Nix supporters anywhere in the country any good to have our team playing in front of ridiculously low crowds.
Well said Jag.
Marketing needs to be amped up for next season.
Think there is a canidate in Dunedin who should apply, done something in the last week aswell as past seasons
One off games need to have something riding on them - poor time of the season to play in Dunedin even if it matched up with O - week.
Normo's coming home
If the game in 11/12 was played in March rather than Dec, it would have got a huge crowd. It's not the FFA's fault that we are shit this year.
If the game in 11/12 was played in March rather than Dec, it would have got a huge crowd. It's not the FFA's fault that we are shit this year.
One off games need to have something riding on them - poor time of the season to play in Dunedin even if it matched up with O - week.
Was actually the week after O-week. Though surely students were left too poor to come to the Nix for $15? The O-Week had a Highlanders and Warriors double header.
Plenty of coverage in the ODT today. Bit too late fellas.
These away games aren't just about ticket sales anyway. From a marketing point of view they sold a bucket load of supporters gear, even to people who didn't make it to the game. I do wonder if it will have much of an affect on the upcoming All Whites fixture, with some people holding back. After the blast I had on the weekend I'd definitely be heading back down there for round two if I didn't have to work that day.
I see a sickie coming... dodnt get photographed and you will be fine..
"Who ate all the pies"
I see a sickie coming... dodnt get photographed and you will be fine..
Timmy cannot be faulted for commitment. Hugely impressed with his efforts.
Lots of things to consider with all these crowd angst and inter city rivalry, so its all really a bit pontless. But ill defend the big smoke :P
If you actually tried to estimate an appropriate attendance model you would probably have to consider the other 10+ pro sports teams fighting for the ticket market in Auckland + nat teams, compared to about half in Welly. Ya'll just hate on the big brother city! What was the last thing to "sell out" down there? one off stuff like The sevens? Blues got the same amount to the first game and they actually watch it instead of getting pissed. Warriors always get crowds even when they're shit, sell tons of gear and have like 10 jerseys at 180 a pop..... breakers sell out..... when the nix were half decent they got 20k here with people stuck outside and in bars cuz of a huge walk up
More random stats: Nix hadn't won in 5 games (conceding 14 goals, scoring 5) before playing Perth in Auckland, hadnt won in 4 before Dunedin....