Was going to post this on the moaning thread, seeing moaning was being solicited! For some reason that thread was locked...

Crowd down on Batley game.



Stock answers to choose from:

1) The weather
2) Carling Cup Final
3) Batley game was first home game of season
4) Batley brought 3 more fans than Whitehaven did
5) Fans knew it would be a cricket score, so what was the point?
6) Attendance was still x hundred over the same fixture last year, so still a good result.

I am not having a go - I just wish the Leigh public would attend in greater numbers to see the great things on show...

I was at work.

What was the attendance?

Just over 2k mate, positive in light of the fact forecast was dire Haven fetched nobody, SL sides locally playing at home and Lge Cup Final on TV.

While not the increase on Batley I personally would have liked we are in on budget again and well up on last year so it's very much a glass half full.

I think that's about right. Very few haven fans, there was about 20 in the north stand, not sure about the west stand. If we have best part of 2000 leythers in the ground for a supposed easy game, then with better weather and a bigger match, reckon we could top 4k at some point this season. That's for league games, dependent upon cup results and draws that could easily be a lot more!

Yep, there's no need to press the panic button, by any means. I think the longer term trend is more important as well as year-over-year comparison.

Still, there will always be excuses and reasons why the fans didn't turn up - at the end of the day they all have to make a choice to be there or not. Hope some more make the right decision!

I know 5 who would normally have been there today but could not attend for various reasons.

Chatting in the pub pre game today to a lapsed Leyther who has never been to the LSV.

Bet he will be there for our next league game.

Think it will take time for gates to really jump as a lot of people got bored with RL who followed clubs in the Championship due to the closed shop nature of the sport and importance of match results in all reality counting for nothing - that is now to change and slowly that will have a impact as the sport slowly gets those lost fans back.

For now I'd look at what we got last season at the same time for a better picture of how we are going.
I think the 2,006 gate today is progression and a positive with lots of work still to be done (and of major importance is that the long term planning and work to get the crowds back is being done)

The 'gate' was [size=15032%[/size up on the Batley game last season, and [size=15032%[/size up on our second home fixture last season - Doncaster.

Given the counter-attractions, weather and very limited support from 'Haven, (substantially less than from Batley, in my opinion) I would think the BOD would be happy with that sort of percentage increase.

Haven fans only really travel in numbers here if the pies are at home in the same weekend. They make a weekend trip of it. Being a bunch of not reets they think tha Leigh is the other side of the world.

Let's just keep above 2,000 and work from there.

I think that's a cracking attendance. You carry on playing the stuff you're doing when the warm weather comes you'll be looking at 2,500. Featherstone & Leigh clearly getting things right at this crucial crossroads of the game.

Rich we have a fan with car space travelling to LSV on matchdays you will be far happier here