Season tickets down 20%. Why?

[Libero]

Our season ticket sales are down 20% (see: http://www.dailyreco...86908-23914298/) and that really is quite alarming, questions should be asked as to why we are losing fans who are not renewing their season ticket.

Personally I have renewed mine as I have done for the last 15 or so years

I'm really interested to see if there are fans on here who are not renewing their season ticket. This is by no means a witch-hunt, just something to see where improvements can be made to retain our core support

Edited July 30, 2012 by Libero

[SMEE]

I voted Coz of Economic situation....poor quality football on show...and poor value for money.

I think a fair price for SPL football would be £12 max

[Alex MacLeod]

Maybe people are waiting till payday. Maybe some of our fans were just glory hunters who've decided to move across the bridge for a change.

[Yngwie]

One option that isn't in the poll is the lack of good home results last season.

Its all very well for fans to talk about entertaining football but surely history teaches us that supporters (of any club) will turn out to see a winning team, and they desert in droves when the team is losing week after week. Success on the pitch is by far the biggest factor if you ask me.

[Libero]

One option that isn't in the poll is the lack of good home results last season.

Its all very well for fans to talk about entertaining football but surely history teaches us that supporters (of any club) will turn out to see a winning team, and they desert in droves when the team is losing week after week. Success on the pitch is by far the biggest factor if you ask me.

fair point Yngwie, added into poll now

[Renegade]

People are sick to death of having to watch this long ball/hoof and hope garbage that was served up last season, played with signings who have no connection to the fans, the club or the area and look (and in many cases do) jump at the first chance to leave as soon as it arises (Tansey, Aldred and Davis being some prime examples, and in the case of Tansey and others, they are signings which are simply not good enough). I've heard of quite a few people who aren't renewing, and these are the reasons given every time, with the style of football being the one constant factor.

Edited July 30, 2012 by Renegade

[Yngwie]

fair point Yngwie, added into poll now

Having said all that, I'm not actually sure if any fan would actually admit that poor results are a reason, because it isn't cool to be perceived as a fair weather supporter.

[SMEE]

Maybe people are waiting till payday. Maybe some of our fans were just glory hunters who've decided to move across the bridge for a change.

There is deffo an element of floating support between ICT and C*unty.. . . probably more than anywhere else in the country, who arent nescescarily fans of either team, but who just want to see a game of footie.

I reckon if you were to hit hard times, ICT would have a hardcore support of about 1700, who would be classed as proper supporters, as in, they would attend most home games....regardless of what league they were in

[Huisdean]

It's all very well fans not renewing season tickets but then they cannot complain if the quality of players we can sign then decreases due to lack of money. It will be intersting to see the results of the poll but when you see a team like Hibs increasing their season ticket sales and Aberdeen as well, when they were equally as poor as us last season, if not poorer, it does make you question the loyalty of some supporters. As I have said before, Inverness either wants an SPL team or it doesn't, I think too many fans would be happier being in the lower divisions.

SMEE - while £12 a game would be great, and I agree that football is overpriced, I don't even think that would get fans back sad to say.

[buckett]

Agree with an earlier point - we have always lost supporters to Ross County when in the same division and can expect a big drop in home gates too.

[Yngwie]

when you see a team like Hibs increasing their season ticket sales and Aberdeen

When Hibs fans were scrambling for Cup Final tickets, their club cleverly gave priority to people buying season tickets for 2012/13.

Aberdeen have been giving away STs to under 12s when bought with an adult ticket, which will have given a boost to the numbers but little extra dosh to the club.

[RiG]

As I said in the Season Ticket Thread I didn't renew because I miss a fair chunk of home games that mean the season ticket works out at less value for money. I'll pay at the gate this season and head along to some more away games instead. At least I know I will get to the games.

[RobRoy]

I would agree with Huisdean - There were other teams who were equally as poor as us over the course of the season and yet they have managed to increase ticket sales. I would have thought we would have at least managed to stay about the same level as last season.

[CaleyD]

We also still have (literally) hundreds of people who said they would buy season tickets if the club voted "no" to NewCo who haven't honoured that promise. Some of these were existing season ticket holders, others were people who promised to up their support if the club did the "right" thing.

That alone annoys the hell out of me because there's people who work damn hard to ensure the fans have a voice and get listened too, and when the club do decide to give credence to their thoughts, views and opinions then these people (fans?) let everyone down by not following through.

Unfortunately the DPA prevents these people from being named or you can be sure I'd have a wall of shame that listed them all.

[gordieict]

We also still have (literally) hundreds of people who said they would buy season tickets if the club voted "no" to NewCo who haven't honoured that promise. Some of these were existing season ticket holders, others were people who promised to up their support if the club did the "right" thing.

That alone annoys the hell out of me because there's people who work damn hard to ensure the fans have a voice and get listened too, and when the club do decide to give credence to their thoughts, views and opinions then these people (fans?) let everyone down by not following through.

Unfortunately the DPA prevents these people from being named or you can be sure I'd have a wall of shame that listed them all.

If this is the case I wonder why our club seems (according to the Daily Record) to have bigger problem with this than most of the other SPL clubs?

[gingerjaggy]

well i have not renewed but not for any footballing reason. Alas i have finished uni and the increased price is harder and atm my future is unclear on the job front so i may be along way away but i will still get to games just cant make enough games to make it viable for me

[Libero]

We also still have (literally) hundreds of people who said they would buy season tickets if the club voted "no" to NewCo who haven't honoured that promise. Some of these were existing season ticket holders, others were people who promised to up their support if the club did the "right" thing.

That alone annoys the hell out of me because there's people who work damn hard to ensure the fans have a voice and get listened too, and when the club do decide to give credence to their thoughts, views and opinions then these people (fans?) let everyone down by not following through.

Unfortunately the DPA prevents these people from being named or you can be sure I'd have a wall of shame that listed them all.

Completely agree with this

If fans who have written to the club or emailed saying that they wouldnt renew their ticket if newco was voted in and still havent renewed then can the club contact them directly to ask why they havent renewed? Would this still mean a DPA issue?

[GC35]

I renewed my season ticket but if county hadn't come up this year I may well not have.

That lack of passion, effort and entertainment showed in the majority of home games last season will have put people off renewing. When ICT were progressing up the divisions under Paterson we didn't win every game. However when we didn't win I seem to recall leaving the game disappointed at losing but also feeeling that i had been entertained and the team had given everything. Maybe that's just me looking at things through rose tinted glasses tho...........

I will remain an ICT supporter but if the on field performance does not improve this season I may well give up my season ticket next year.

[Tichy_Blacks_Back]

I don't have a season ticket due to living overseas. My father renewed his very early on and as I will be home for a few days next month I am going to take in the Killie game. I asked him to purchase me a ticket and he was able to get the seat next to him. That seat had been a season ticket holders for many years and it was not renewed I believe due to a mixture of not being able to get to enough games due to other commitments to justify it and also a level of disillusionment with the product on show.

I know that people say the football on show doesn't have a direct influence but if you are on the fence due to financial or other restrictions the thought of watching a poor display week in week out for another season will probably make your mind up.

At the end of the day the attendance element is still in the hands of the club. If the team perform well on the field attendances will naturally rise even though season tickets may be lower than usual due to other issues. Therefore as I have stated previously the first home game against Killie will give the first indication of which way this is going to go. Terry - over to you....

[IMMORTAL HOWDEN ENDER]

_{I can wholly appreciate the annoyance of those fans who said that they would purchase after the Newco position and I wonder if the "confusion" over the misinterpreted press release has created an extra issue. The bottom line however must be the "satisfaction" effect and lets face it last year was atrocious. We really need to put on some performances to encourage the "doubters" to return. I also know of a few season ticket holders who have} ICT _{as their second team and they have voted to stay away because of the standard of the football. Dare I dare to add that quite a few point at Terry Butcher and the fear that he will never change.}

[Proctor]

I wrote to the club about the newco situation and renewed my season ticket shortly after the club announced their stance. I wouldn't like to have not putting my money where my mouth was on my conscience. I know that I will struggle to get to enough games to justify it this year (although I will try) due to being away at uni and working most weekends.

Last week I was speaking to someone who had a season ticket from the beginning who had not renewed due to the direction he felt the club had gone.

My personal thoughts are that you need to give fans something to get behind. Be it a player, a cup run, attractive football etc.

We have been terrible in the cups since joining the SPL. Granted being drawn against Celtic in a number of competitions does not help but trips to Hampden or even quarter finals are a great occasion for fans. Success like this builds a buzz around the club. I was lucky enough to be at the Scottish Cup semi against Dunfermline in 2004. It was the start of my love affair with the club.

Enough has been said about the style of football being played. Teams like St Mirren and Killie played decent football last season, why can't we?

We were lucky enough to have a team sheet full of players who had been at the club a while. Who our support recognised and could identify with. Now we seem to be filling our squads with players who nobody had heard of and fans can not identy with. These players do not stay long. Other teams in the SPL at a similar level to us are finding players from the lower leagues in Scotland who I refuse to believe are damanding higher wages than our boys from accross the border. Am I right in saying Mackay-Steven was on about £200 a week at Airdrie? How are fans supposed to care about a team when the squad changes nearly every season?

It wouldn't be fair to write off Butcher's signings this summer as they have not played a competitive game yet. I do wonder what we will be saying in a few months time. I fear the way the club are doing things at the moment could create a downward spiral. The positive seems to be the youth coming through. Heres hoping they can put in good performances and inspire people to come back or just as importantly stick around.

Edited July 30, 2012 by Proctor

[Alex MacLeod]

Now we seem to be filling our squads with players who nobody had heard of and fans can not identy with.

Over a third of our squad are home grown.

[Yngwie]

One thing to bear in mind is that whilst ST sales are down 20% on last year we still have almost 2 weeks to go til the first home game, so the gap will narrow a bit when people make last minute purchases.

A good performance and result at Paisley would sway the undecided.

[Proctor]

Now we seem to be filling our squads with players who nobody had heard of and fans can not identy with.

Over a third of our squad are home grown.

While that is true. It is difficult to deny that there has been a huge turnover over the past few seasons. Most of Butcher's signings have been from the English lower leagues and a lot of them have not stayed long enough to make a real impression on fans or have simply not been good enough. We seem to have gone from one extreme to another in terms of having a cluster of players who stayed with us long enough to earn testimonials to having players that stay a season or less in the case of some loan signings.

Edited July 30, 2012 by Proctor

[RiG]

Proctor might be touching on something here. Maybe I am getting all misty eyed over some of our previous players but I think a lot of us felt a real connection with the squads we used to have. There was an affinity there between fans and players. These guys looked like they really cared about the club as much as we did. Is that the same now? Very questionable to be honest.

That said, the reasons why this may be the case might not be down to the players themselves and I am certainly not writing off the new guys.