Re: Wimbledon planning application : Sat Jul 17, 2021 1:08 pm  

In any event they need a winning season preferably promotion if they are to hang on to any AFC fans. The club needs to find a huge olive branch to hold out to a large number of long term fans.

They also need to set out any plans to change names or colours which a number of AFC fans would appear to favour, especially the 2 that I know or dismiss it.

Re: Wimbledon planning application : Sat Jul 17, 2021 4:16 pm  

people are not going to pay 25gbp for a mid table championship side.... Be amazed if they get over 500 people at that price.. This BTW would be the same at any ground,.

Looking forward to Widnes, as likely to be last time I will see them live (unless they sort the parking out at PL), and don't think I'll be paying 25GBP even if they do

But we don't know prices for 2022 yet, they could surprise me and come with sensible pricing (but then this is London)

Re: Wimbledon planning application : Sat Jul 17, 2021 4:20 pm  

Don't see how a name change would help with overall fan numbers.
AFC Wimbledon fans are football fans, bit like harlequins fans were RU fans, they ain't going to appear in droves just because of a name change. IMO.
Hope there might be some crossover fans from footy but can't see it.
Target has to be the fans that used to come to the stoop and Brentford, they are still out there.

Re: Wimbledon planning application : Sat Jul 17, 2021 6:54 pm  

northernbloke wrote:

Target has to be the fans that used to come to the stoop and Brentford, they are still out there.

They are. Off the top of my head there are 8 of us who attended 75% of games a season who no longer go. Me, for obvious logistical reasons, but the others because it became less enjoyable each year. I know we caught up at ealing for the wakey game in SL a few years back, but the others didn't return........the club never cared about the fans under the current owner and it would take a monumental effort to get many lapsed fans back.
Hughes is hanging his hat (again) on curious locals.

Re: Wimbledon planning application : Sat Jul 17, 2021 7:31 pm  

northernbloke wrote:

Target has to be the fans that used to come to the stoop and Brentford, they are still out there.

Do you think the club will target these fans now when they haven't for years ?

Re: Wimbledon planning application : Sat Jul 17, 2021 8:02 pm  

Not sure what either of the last two posts are suggesting
Fans come to see the product, get a decent squad together in a decent facility. Majority of fans don't really care if the owner gives em a phone call inviting individually to games, they just want to know when and where and is it going to be a decent game in decent surroundings.

Re: Wimbledon planning application : Sat Jul 17, 2021 9:01 pm  

northernbloke wrote:

Not sure what either of the last two posts are suggesting
Fans come to see the product, get a decent squad together in a decent facility. Majority of fans don't really care if the owner gives em a phone call inviting individually to games, they just want to know when and where and is it going to be a decent game in decent surroundings.

From what I take from your comments NB, you think that the club can just dish up at Wimbledon and fans will turn up in droves. I think that you are wrong.
It will take hard work to get people to turn up in decent numbers.

Re: Wimbledon planning application : Sun Jul 18, 2021 1:09 pm  

northernbloke wrote:

Don't see how a name change would help with overall fan numbers.
AFC Wimbledon fans are football fans, bit like harlequins fans were RU fans, they ain't going to appear in droves just because of a name change. IMO.
Hope there might be some crossover fans from footy but can't see it.
Target has to be the fans that used to come to the stoop and Brentford, they are still out there.

The club has to hope there is a large cross over of fans from AFC otherwise where are they going to come from? Those that attended Brentford & the Stoop haven't turned up at Ealing have they?

Re: Wimbledon planning application : Sun Jul 18, 2021 2:51 pm  

northernbloke wrote:

Not sure what either of the last two posts are suggesting
Fans come to see the product, get a decent squad together in a decent facility. Majority of fans don't really care if the owner gives em a phone call inviting individually to games, they just want to know when and where and is it going to be a decent game in decent surroundings.

The minor issue is that people need to a) know the club exists and b) care enough to investigate what if offers. Not enough people fall into those two categories now

My reading is they are suggesting a fan attraction and fan retention policy may be required and the club may have to do a bit better on this front than it has done for well over a decade. I agree with them. If we just chuck up some posts and announce the kick off time, as usual, there's going to be a problem.

The blunt truth is very few people care about the Broncos right now. Too many bridges have been burnt. Remember Rupe1 promising thousands would return just because they reverted to the name London Broncos? They didn't and there's no way thousands will return just because the club moves to Wimbledon. The club needs thousands, not a couple of hundred returnees.

Yes they do have a head start in they should easily be able to get some curious Dons fans in however if they just bung them a free ticket or two and think the work is done, we know how that will end. We've seen it often enough.

Re: Wimbledon planning application : Sun Jul 18, 2021 7:56 pm  

northernbloke wrote:

get a decent squad together in a decent facility.

Like say....oh....I dunno....The Stoop? Mclinden....Dorn.....LMS....we had the stadium and the squad.....then we got Hughes as sole owner.....and he slowly but surely dismantled the club brick by brick.
As for Hughes inviting fans....it's not London Broncos Fans who need the call......we know where they are and what time they're playing.
It's
A. Lapsed fans. They know where we are and KO time but can't be bothered for any number of reasons....a call from Hughes might work....
B. New fans. Let's face it. Without thousands of NEW fans, this move is pointless and to achieve this you need to get big and go early........and we already know that Hughes won't bankroll the sort of campaign that's needed.

To be clear ...he inherited a mid table SL club playing in a state of the art Rugby Stadium 14 years ago that cost £247K a year to rent at a time when ticketing income was about £80k a game......now he has a mid table 2nd division club in a football stadium that is costing him £47k less but he only has £5k a game coming in......

Re-read that back before you and other optimistic apologists say "this could be great".....he's tried this trick before and failed.....it's not the name.....it's not the ground.....it's bloody Hughes!