Why Such Poor Attendances?

The complaint that football is no longer exciting anymore is just as sad as familiar these days. Talk to a group of Villa fans anywhere – the internet, pub or even ground – and it won`t be long until one of them have mentioned how football no longer arouses the senses it once did, or even worse – that they are falling out of love with ‘the beautiful game`.

Whilst I wouldn`t quite go so far as to say I`d join them with the sentiment, I can certainly understand why. The prices for games are ridiculous – even for clubs seen as having cheaper tickets. Our own club recently set the prices for our home game against Newcastle as a top price Category AA game. Yes, that`s right- a game between two midtable teams (at best) being placed at the top tier prices. No wonder the crowd was so low.

There are of course other reasons causing this upset – the most commonly mentioned seems to be the ‘Manchester City` effect. Too much money, we`re told. They can buy the league, and that`s what they are doing, we`re told. And yes, you are probably right – but is that a reason to give up all hope, or to stop trying?

If there is one thing that brings football fans together – even the most pessimistic ones like myself – it`s hope. It`s the praying to the footballing gods that despite only having ten minutes left and being 3-0 down to somehow engineer a draw. It`s that hope of seeing that win against Manchester United that still takes people to the game. Yes – it`s unlikely – but it`s possible.

I think that`s part of the charm that some people saw with Martin O`Neill. He came in and the first thing he said at his unveiling was that it was going to be hard, but we can at least try to match these top teams and compete.

I think more than anything, it`s the lack of hope at Villa that`s causing this malaise. The ‘Manchester City Effect` is something that all fans have to deal with – not just Villa fans. Just like Newcastle had to cope with us coming in and taking Milner off them, Watford had us take Young or even more recently – Sunderland and Bent. It was OK when we had the money (all be it in a lesser extent!) but now we are now one of the Premier League`s paupers (ha!) the hope of matching these teams – if not in a 38 game season then in the game – to – game basis – seems to have slipped.

s that not what caused the anger when O`Neill played the kids out in Moscow? We`d given up even trying to compete in both Europe and the league? And isn`t that we outraged so many when Houllier did similar in the FA Cup last year against Man City? The hope, the belief that we could do it was taken away from us by the men at the very top running the team – and if they didn`t believe they could do it – then how could we?

And now we are in a similar position. Except rather than the manager being at fault this time, it feels like the owner and it`s board have given up. Having started the process of re-shaping the club and it`s whole football philosophy, they had a chance to make a big step forward and appoint a figurehead to continue this development. Instead, appointed is someone we`ve been laughing at for the past four years while he`s played the dullest football in the Premier League and got relegated twice. With defensive, dull football and interviews that often match that style – the hope that we could push on dwindles.

I can understand that with one year left Young was offered good money and we had to let him go. But until Downing went off to Liverpool in a deal which frankly, looks like it was tremendous business if you`ve watched his opening games for his new team – we weren`t going to sign a replacement. And with Downing`s £20million in the bank, we are only willing to spend half of that on one player to replace them both. If we had similar players ready, you could perhaps understand it. If they weren`t our key players last year, again, you could understand it. And if you hadn`t made your first major investment in the squad for years on a top striker who needed service – again, I could understand it. But for £40million and two of our top players left, in their place came a player who`s skills at much different to those players who left and were creating chances for that top striker you`ve bought replaces him – the hope goes.

I don`t have ridiculously unrealistic expectations. I don`t think we should be challenging for the Champions League. But in a short space of time we`ve seen our team dwindle from what was at times exciting to watch, who you felt could nick a win (and sometimes did) against the top lot with a number of players knocking on the door to play for their international team to a team that plays narrow, defensively minded football that is in general made up of misfits unwanted at other clubs and players from our youth team.

A lot has been made of prices of tickets, the general attitude of players and their wages. But I genuinely believe that people will pay this money if you get them actually wanting to go to the game. Get them excited about coming – give them hope that they are going to see something they are going to enjoy and be able to talk about afterwards.

That isn`t being served up at Villa at the moment. And that`s why (in my tiny mind anyway) we are looking at sub-30,000 attendances in the Premier League for the first time in a long while. And of course that drags you into a circle of not investing (and cutting) as you can`t afford it – which means less people want to go – which as you guessed by now – means no investing and more cutting.

And talking of circles we`re back at the beginning – hope. What we need is some hope – some sign that we can break out of it. That`s why they got the managerial decision so hopelessly wrong in the summer.

Perhaps if communication between the club and its supporters were clearer, more often, then that hope might begin to grow or at least calm our fears. We recently were told by the press that every member of the club squad would have to have £10,000 shaved off their wages. Quite a big story. Yet nothing from the club. And yet, when somebody who doesn`t even mention our club directly, suggests some owners may be looking at changing the way the Premier League rules work we are treated to a statement, followed up by McLeish talking about it afterwards. Admittedly it was waffle – that statement said eff all in reality – but why did they feel the need to release something that in essence was more to do with the individual members of the board and yet when it`s something to do with the actual playing staff – the ones people pay to watch – we hear nothing.

Give us clear communication, and give us hope. It`ll be then that people start returning to Villa Park.