Last Nights Crowd

[CHBench]

Absolute disgrace to the number 22,440. Piss weak.
We have 30000 members, half of them bothered to show up. Obviously this is the some supporters way to let the club know that they're unhappy. We're just about to enter a rebuilding stage at the club and if we pull those numbers every week we can kiss Moorabbin, Frankston and Victoria goodbye.

C'mon people get your arses to the game.

 

[Armitage2Riewoldt]

lol it was shocking, half of level 3 was empty, Im thinkin yeah this will fill up, still 20 minutes till the game then I realise theres like 4 minutes to the bounce...

 

[Axcellence]

Absolute disgrace to the number 22,440. Piss weak.
We have 30000 members, half of them bothered to show up. Obviously this is the some supporters way to let the club know that they're unhappy. We're just about to enter a rebuilding stage at the club and if we pull those numbers every week we can kiss Moorabbin, Frankston and Victoria goodbye.

C'mon people get your arses to the game.

St Kilda is not entering a "rebuild phase"... as per comment by Nathan Burke (board member).

 

[Kildonan]

St Kilda is not entering a "rebuild phase"... as per comment by Nathan Burke (board member).

This doesn't change CHBench's point - that the crowd was disappointing and although nearly every match in Victoria involving Fremantle has a poor crowd, we should be getting more to our games.

 

[Armitage2Riewoldt]

Collingwood got double that in Round 1.

Double!

 

[saintsownthedome]

This doesn't change CHBench's point - that the crowd was disappointing and although nearly every match in Victoria involving Fremantle has a poor crowd, we should be getting more to our games.

Lets be honest. I was there last night and wasnt surprised by the lack of crowd.

This might shock some people, but a lot of people expect to be entertained when they put their hard earned on the line to go to the footy.

The Saints have become what the Swans were in 2004/5, that is clearly the worst team in the AFL to watch. As a long time Saints fan, that hurts me - but if we were to all take off our red white and black coloured glasses, that is the harsh reality.

Put on a good show and people will pour through the gates.

 

[Sainters66]

Does anyone know why Gram's kick wasn't a goal? He kicked it before the siren went. Any ideas? Thanks..........

 

[CHBench]

St Kilda is not entering a "rebuild phase"... as per comment by Nathan Burke (board member).

Perhaps not rebuilding phase but they won't be happy times.

Does anyone know why Gram's kick wasn't a goal? He kicked it before the siren went. Any ideas? Thanks..........

Ball threw it to him

 

[Sainters66]

Perhaps not rebuilding phase but they won't be happy times.



Ball threw it to him

Ok. Thanks mate..............

 

[McCrann]

Absolute disgrace to the number 22,440. Piss weak.
We have 30000 members, half of them bothered to show up. Obviously this is the some supporters way to let the club know that they're unhappy. We're just about to enter a rebuilding stage at the club and if we pull those numbers every week we can kiss Moorabbin, Frankston and Victoria goodbye.

C'mon people get your arses to the game.

No, not a disgrace mate - a perfectly understandable response to a team playing soulless and lifeless football.

I am a member - but there was no chance I was ever going to go last night.

Why?

Because I follow my football team to see them play with passion and desire - and that doesn't just mean going in hard and tackling hard, it also means playing in an attacking and risky manner, to me that is part of being Australian really, part of the attraction to this free-flowing game we call "Australian Football"

If my team want to play boring, lock-down football, denying the opposition the chance to score, that to me is not Australian Football, that is some type of foreign way of playing, perhaps European - have you seen French or Italian Soccer?

Its no surprise English Soccer is the most popular and well-supported around the world - and hence brings in the most money.

Its simple really, because in England they play exciting and attacking soccer - the teams go all out to score goals which attracts fans, which attracts TV networks, which sucks in money from all over the place.

If St. Kilda want to exist as a team in Melbourne in 30 years the most important thing is not winning by and of itself (although it is of course an important facet) - it is playing exciting, risky attacking football. That will bring the fans in, bring in the money, and ultimately make the team succesful long-term in terms of Premierships - given that greater financial muscle for developing facilities and recruiting the best type of administrative, coaching, fitness and conditioning staff etc.

If the team under Ross Lyon continues to play boring, negative, defensive - and I would say "UnAustralian" Football - then it will lose support, crowds will drop off, it will become financially impoverished, and be at the beck and call of the AFL - and likely end up interstate somewhere.

I have a question for you, have you ever wondered how the historically least succesful team to play in a Top Flight Football League anywhere in the World - coming last in the League a World Record 27 times in just over 100 years still manages to have a very good sized membership base? (And hasn't been disbanded?)

I'll tell you why - its because the Saints have always played with risky abandon. Attacking at all costs - think of the great Saints players and you don't think of too many backmen at all, really only Danny Frawley comes to mind in the last 30 years. But you do have Lockett, Loewe, Winmar, and the present crop of exciting players right at the front of your mind.

If the Saints go negative, as they have in the last 18 months, and stay negative, I'll keep buying my membership, but I'll register my protest at that style of play by only turning up to a handful of games each year - until that changes.

Personally, I can vouch that that is a view shared by many St. Kilda supporters I know, and I don't blame them one bit.

 

[McCrann]

By the way, it was St. Kilda's lowest crowd at home (In Victoria) since Round 18, 2003 when we played West Coast at the Dome.

That game attracted 21,531 - unsurprisingly, we won that day also.

Though it wasn't anywhere near the lowest home crowd we've had in recent years, although it was against the same team.

In Round 17, 2002, we attracted 8,078 to watch St. Kilda v Fremantle. (In Victoria)

So if you compare it to that game, last night's crowd was actually up 300%!

 

[panthers]

I am a social club member as are my wife and 2 adult sons but we didnt go last night....reason is we live in adelaide and we all work till 5pm friday night so a friday night game at the dome is pretty much out of the question for us...thats our excuse as it is with all interstate members....but for the members that live in melbourne and did not go because ross made a few changes ..well... hard to bloody fathom you guys sometimes....hes damned if he does and hes damned if he doesnt

 

[HoldenMCaulfield]

[...]

the historically least succesful team to play in a Top Flight Football League anywhere in the World - coming last in the League a World Record 27 times in just over 100 years

[...]

the Saints have always played with risky abandon. Attacking at all costs - think of the great Saints players and you don't think of too many backmen at all, really only Danny Frawley comes to mind in the last 30 years. But you do have Lockett, Loewe, Winmar, and the present crop of exciting players right at the front of your mind.

[...]

I like your post - everybody likes to see attacking and high scoring football.

But couldn't you actually see a correlation of the two statements made in the two paragraphs quoted above ?

And to be fair, St Kilda also holds most low scoring 'records' of the VFL / AFL.

 

[McCrann]

I like your post - everybody likes to see attacking and high scoring football.

But couldn't you actually see a correlation of the two statements made in the two paragraphs quoted above ?

And to be fair, St Kilda also holds most low scoring 'records' of the VFL / AFL.

I gues you can discount the first few decades of the VFL - especially the first decade, if you look at the record books we were obviously atrocious, its probably a minor miracle we were still in the comp when Richmond & University joined.

Of course there is a correlation, most of those wooden spoons also came in the first half of last century. Basically the only reason the club is around today - with support, is the fact that from 1961-1973 we played finals 9/13 years, which bought us a great deal of present support.

That support has been strengthened in the AFL (ie 1990 onwards) because of the brand of football we've played in the last 20 years - the attacking variety.

Interestingly, we have only "won" 1 wooden spoon since the AFL begun, less than a number of other teams.

AFL (1990-2007) - Wooden Spoon Count

Brisbane - 3 Spoons
Carlton - 3 Spoons
Sydney Swans - 3 Spoons
Fitzroy - 2 Spoons
Richmond - 2 Spoons
Melbourne - 1 Spoon (Soon to be 2)
Collingwood - 1 Spoon
Fremantle - 1 Spoon
W. Bulldogs - 1 Spoon
St. Kilda - 1 Spoon

North Melbourne - 0 (Not since 1972)
Hawthorn - 0 (Not since 1965)
Geelong - 0 (Not since 1958)
Essendon - 0 (Not since 1933)

West Coast, Adelaide, Port Adelaide - NEVER

Breaking Down St. Kilda's Wooden Spoons

1897 - 1910 - 9 (Out of 14) - Including the VFL's first 6.
Note: 1911 - 1914 - Won 4 Spoons in a Row before being kicked out of the competition.
1911 - 1942 - 2 (Keep in mind we finished last in 1924 before the addition of the Hawks, Roos and Dogs - who between them promptly "won" 8 spoons in a row (1925 - 1932) and 14/18 between 1925 - 1942)
1943 - 1964 - 7 (Prior to the move to Moorabbin)
1965 - 1989 - 7 (All coming in the horror 12 year period of 1977-1988 with 7/12) - thankfully, I am young enough not to remember that period really, having started following the Saints in 1989 - though it was a brave choice given my father goes for the Bombers and I grew up in Hawthorn. (90% Hawks supporters at my primary school - unsuprisingly)
1990 - 2008 - 1 Spoon

(So, actually I was wrong before, it is actually 26 Spoons - for that error I apologise)

A broader breakdown.

1897 - 1950 (15)
1951 - 2000 (11)
2001 - ??? (0)

Another breakdown.

1897 - 1900 (4)
1901 - 1950 (11)
1951 - 2000 (11)
2001 - ??? (0)

Yet another breakdown

1897 - 1899 (3)
1900 - 1999 (22)
2000 - ??? (1)

 

[McCrann]

St. Kilda has the Highest Average Crowd for any VFL/AFL Teams in Finals

An interesting piece of trivia I just stumbled across earlier - given this topic is about the disappointing crowd figure against Fremantle.

If you look at the statistics of the VFL/AFL since 1897, we actually have the best - YEP, no joke - the best, average Finals crowd figures of any team in the AFL.

Rankings are (Average Finals Crowds - VFL/AFL 1897 - 2007)

1. St. Kilda - 77,821

2. Collingwood - 73,299
3. Carlton - 72, 732
4. Hawthorn - 71,753

5. Geelong - 68,955
6. North Melbourne - 68,682
7. Essendon - 68,414
8. Melbourne - 67,897

9. Richmond - 65,301
10. Western Bulldogs - 62,020

11. Fitzroy - 56,133
12. Adelaide - 55,618

13. Sydney Swans - 54,232
14. West Coast - 52,639
15. Brisbane Lions - 51,458

16. Fremantle - 47,214
17. Port Adelaide - 44,462
18. Brisbane Bears - 40,636

19. University - NEVER Played a Final

By a fair margin too, I encourage any and all St. Kilda supporters to point this out when some Collingwood muppet mouths off about Collingwood's great crowd figures - not as good as the Saints at the business end of the year mate.


Stats located here........

http://stats.rleague.com/afl/crowds/summary.html

 

[saintmont]

When the saints agreed to forgo games in Tassie which they were guaranteed $3 hundred thousand a game by the Tasmania State government the club issued a statement basically saying supporters better turn up to game in Victoria so they don't lose money so were are the supports now. As a Tasmanian who went to see the saints play in Launceston were they ave between 16 to 18 thousand to see teams like port and freo It' very disappointing and a concern for the club. I,m going over to see the saint play Port in round 18 how big would the crowd be for that game considering there place on the ladder?

 

[Armitage2Riewoldt]

True, if we hadda played that game at Tassie, and got like 8k less, we would have made a hell of a lot more money lol.

 

[Kildonan]

The reason we were forced to drop Tassie venues was due to the poor results we were having there. We had basically relinquished our home town advantage for money.

We were flying at the time - playing a very attractive attacking form of football. Crowds were our best ever. The deal we had with TD at the time was a safe one - so we didn't reap much benefit from the big crowds. We renegotiated the TD deal to our advantage if we got bigger crowds, I think this was done after the Tassie decision.

It must have been a hard decision to make - because the club had gained a good number of members from the move and financially the club was worse off two ways. But the wins were more important - and in my opinion - still are.

 

[Sainters66]

Re: St. Kilda has the Highest Average Crowd for any VFL/AFL Teams in Finals

An interesting piece of trivia I just stumbled across earlier - given this topic is about the disappointing crowd figure against Fremantle.

If you look at the statistics of the VFL/AFL since 1897, we actually have the best - YEP, no joke - the best, average Finals crowd figures of any team in the AFL.

Rankings are (Average Finals Crowds - VFL/AFL 1897 - 2007)

1. St. Kilda - 77,821

2. Collingwood - 73,299
3. Carlton - 72, 732
4. Hawthorn - 71,753

5. Geelong - 68,955
6. North Melbourne - 68,682
7. Essendon - 68,414
8. Melbourne - 67,897

9. Richmond - 65,301
10. Western Bulldogs - 62,020

11. Fitzroy - 56,133
12. Adelaide - 55,618

13. Sydney Swans - 54,232
14. West Coast - 52,639
15. Brisbane Lions - 51,458

16. Fremantle - 47,214
17. Port Adelaide - 44,462
18. Brisbane Bears - 40,636

19. University - NEVER Played a Final

By a fair margin too, I encourage any and all St. Kilda supporters to point this out when some Collingwood muppet mouths off about Collingwood's great crowd figures - not as good as the Saints at the business end of the year mate.


Stats located here........

[URL="http://stats.rleague.com/afl/crowds/summary.html"]http://stats.rleague.com/afl/crowds/summary.html[/URL]

Hi McCrann,
Given that you lived in Hawthorn and your Dad was a bombers man, why did you decide to follow the Saints?

 

[McCrann]

Re: St. Kilda has the Highest Average Crowd for any VFL/AFL Teams in Finals

Hi McCrann,
Given that you lived in Hawthorn and your Dad was a bombers man, why did you decide to follow the Saints?

Dad was from South Africa, by way of Canada, UK, Perth - he grew up in Perth and followed East Perth? (Same colours as Essendon), his family moved to Melbourne when he was about 12/14 or so. Naturally he followed Essendon, but the rest of his immediate family wasn't really into footy.

If you look at my family its quite split

Father: Essendon
Mother: Hawthorn
Myself: St. Kilda
Sister 1: Geelong
Sister 2: Carlton
Brother: No one
Aunts & Uncles: Collingwood

So we're pretty individual.

To tell the truth, I followed St. Kilda because I've always liked the suburb and its image. Much better than boring Hawthorn for instance.

Its a suburb of fun, the beach (the only beach/bayside team left in Melbourne), its got Luna Park - used to love going there as a kid, great colours - red, black and white, it had a reputation for being in the game to have fun and not get too down about poor results - which is good and bad - ie Moorabbin was where everyone went to party on a saturday evening - best looking girls etc. I love Fitzroy St., Acland St., really just the whole area.

St. Kilda Festival is always a lot of fun - can't think of another footy club suburb festival that has anything on that.

Plenty of reasons along those lines, although I live in Fitzroy - so go figure.

 

[Rough_Edges]

Re: St. Kilda has the Highest Average Crowd for any VFL/AFL Teams in Finals

Similar figure last year aswel I think, last yers was 23k from memory.

Simply not much intrest in the dockers + we aren't playing good football, I was their but it's a fact of life, attendance comes with success.

 

[sainter]

Yep, you're spot on Rough Edges.

The die hard supporters will always be there and we're also the type who post on internet boards, listen to talk back and generally live and breathe footy. As hard as it may be for many of us to comprehend, there are plenty of people who aren't as passionate as us and are prepared to pick and choose when they want to go. When we're struggling, that's usually the time they decide not to go.

 

[Ritchie8]

Clearly we have a pretty big history/rivalry with Freo, even in the short time they've been in the AFL...but alas people seem to have short memories.

 

[McCrann]

Clearly we have a pretty big history/rivalry with Freo, even in the short time they've been in the AFL...but alas people seem to have short memories.

And we've played them in how many finals?

 

[mg07]

By the way, it was St. Kilda's lowest crowd at home (In Victoria) since Round 18, 2003 when we played West Coast at the Dome.

That game attracted 21,531 - unsurprisingly, we won that day also.

Though it wasn't anywhere near the lowest home crowd we've had in recent years, although it was against the same team.

In Round 17, 2002, we attracted 8,078 to watch St. Kilda v Fremantle. (In Victoria)

So if you compare it to that game, last night's crowd was actually up 300%!

that game was played at optus oval so take into account max. seating there..but all ur stats are fantastic, never relised the wooden spoon breakdwn and also the finals attrendance...great stuff mcrann...!