The Queen of the South thread

[Fae_the_'briggs]

22 minutes ago, Mr X said:

I think theres always more that can be done, certainly in terms of advertising, social media and the "matchday experience" but I agree with your underlying point - its incredibly difficult to get fans through the gates. Hopefully, the free kids will have a positive impact on the cup gates and that carries over into the league games too.

Its unlikely theres a magic bullet for this. In my opinion, its going to take lots of little things, all contributing, to increase the crowds and theres already been some good ideas come out of the supporters meetings

You're probably correct that there's always something extra that could be done to reach out to potential fans but the match advertising at present must surely be adequate enough if you have the slightest intention of attending games. Social media is probably the cheapest and most widely available  method that could be used, other medias probably cost money which is slightly defeating the object of getting more cash into the club. It's the same with the "matchday experience", to improve that would cost money. Everybody has a different idea of what their  matchday experience should be like anyway. Whether free entry for kids at the cup games will reap any benefits we will just have to wait and see.

[Homer Thompson]

6 minutes ago, Fae_the_'briggs said:

You're probably correct that there's always something extra that could be done to reach out to potential fans but the match advertising at present must surely be adequate enough if you have the slightest intention of attending games. Social media is probably the cheapest and most widely available  method that could be used, other medias probably cost money which is slightly defeating the object of getting more cash into the club. It's the same with the "matchday experience", to improve that would cost money. Everybody has a different idea of what their  matchday experience should be like anyway. Whether free entry for kids at the cup games will reap any benefits we will just have to wait and see.

Yes, but like any other advertising the point is to spend less than the ads generate. The biggest problem with football advertising is its very difficult to know if what you're doing is having any impact. 

Matchday experience is a similar thing, if you spend a little money but increase crowds then its worth it. In my opinion, that isnt really about attracting new fans, though, its about making sure the ones you can attract want to come back.

[19QOS19]

I was talking about this on Sunday funnily enough. I don't think we'll ever increase our hardcore fanbase unless we have a sugardaddy come in. It doesn't matter if we're playing attractive football or not, we rarely see an increase. Were our crowds up at the start of last season when we got off to a flyer?

The sad fact is that folk will 'support' the OF rather than go to Palmerston. I don't know what the attendance of the away support was on Sunday but I'd put good money on at least 80% of them being from Dumfries.

The Rangers are the biggest laughing stock in Scottish football yet their 'fans' would still rather watch them than come and see QoS. I don't think advertising can make much difference. Anyone with any interest in football will know where Palmerston is and when we play. We're hardly a Sunday and Monday games type of club.

I used to think if Celtic and The Rangers pissed off to England then we would possibly see a rise in attendances but the whole The Rangers debacle has made me think otherwise.

Television is another massive reason why crowds are poor. Folk can stay in and watch the best players in the world with a drink and a pizza. Few are going to go and watch a poor quality Championship game in the freezing cold. I'll be in a minority but I'd sooner go and watch a South of Scotland game than sit at home watching over-rated shite that Sky dishes up time after time. Being at a game is such a different experience than watching on TV but unfortunately the majority of football 'fans' in this country would rather do the opposite.

[football maniac]

The thing that annoys me is that teams in less populated places and areas have been capable of getting bigger crowd proportions in relation. Dingwall and its surrounding area is minute and surely if they and Inverness from the north can do it, then we can rule the roost from the South. We are equally as remote to some degree which can be used as an advantage if circumstance allows. I saw Ross Countys stadium and training facilities and was in awe. I suppose they don't have Rangers/Celtic as close nabbing away there fans but I just feel we should be getting so many more fans. Teams like Hamilton are who we should be looking to emulate. We are doing so much to attract them yet they still don't turn up. The sad thing is even if we offered free entry I still think we would struggle to get 4000 so I don't think price is as big an issue as some would believe. Basically if someone wants something they will generally pay and not worry about a few extra quid. If only people here weren't so obsessed with the Old Firm and the bloody EPL. Cant get why Scots who supposedly have big rivalry with the English help contribute to there game more than our own.

[Steeplechat]

I was talking about this on Sunday funnily enough. I don't think we'll ever increase our hardcore fanbase unless we have a sugardaddy come in. It doesn't matter if we're playing attractive football or not, we rarely see an increase. Were our crowds up at the start of last season when we got off to a flyer?

The sad fact is that folk will 'support' the OF rather than go to Palmerston. I don't know what the attendance of the away support was on Sunday but I'd put good money on at least 80% of them being from Dumfries.

The Rangers are the biggest laughing stock in Scottish football yet their 'fans' would still rather watch them than come and see QoS. I don't think advertising can make much difference. Anyone with any interest in football will know where Palmerston is and when we play. We're hardly a Sunday and Monday games type of club.

I used to think if Celtic and The Rangers pissed off to England then we would possibly see a rise in attendances but the whole The Rangers debacle has made me think otherwise.

Television is another massive reason why crowds are poor. Folk can stay in and watch the best players in the world with a drink and a pizza. Few are going to go and watch a poor quality Championship game in the freezing cold. I'll be in a minority but I'd sooner go and watch a South of Scotland game than sit at home watching over-rated shite that Sky dishes up time after time. Being at a game is such a different experience than watching on TV but unfortunately the majority of football 'fans' in this country would rather do the opposite.

What's the script with this new BBC ALBA deal ? Do clubs actually receive a penny to compensate the loss of fans attending games . I'm sure I read before we received virtually nothing

[Skyline Drifter]

1 minute ago, Steeplechat said:

What's the script with this new BBC ALBA deal ? Do clubs actually receive a penny to compensate the loss of fans attending games . I'm sure I read before we received virtually nothing

For League games clubs receive nothing at all for a live game whether it's ALba, Sky or BT. The League sells the rights and the money goes in the collective pot for redistribution as prize money.

There's no payment to clubs for Irn Bru Cup live games either but there is a relatively low payment for the League Cup live games. Scottish Cup distribution is up for discussion and potentially changing this season though there will still be some payment for live games.

[Homer Thompson]

1 hour ago, 19QOS19 said:

I was talking about this on Sunday funnily enough. I don't think we'll ever increase our hardcore fanbase unless we have a sugardaddy come in. It doesn't matter if we're playing attractive football or not, we rarely see an increase. Were our crowds up at the start of last season when we got off to a flyer?

The sad fact is that folk will 'support' the OF rather than go to Palmerston. I don't know what the attendance of the away support was on Sunday but I'd put good money on at least 80% of them being from Dumfries.

The Rangers are the biggest laughing stock in Scottish football yet their 'fans' would still rather watch them than come and see QoS. I don't think advertising can make much difference. Anyone with any interest in football will know where Palmerston is and when we play. We're hardly a Sunday and Monday games type of club.

I used to think if Celtic and The Rangers pissed off to England then we would possibly see a rise in attendances but the whole The Rangers debacle has made me think otherwise.

Television is another massive reason why crowds are poor. Folk can stay in and watch the best players in the world with a drink and a pizza. Few are going to go and watch a poor quality Championship game in the freezing cold. I'll be in a minority but I'd sooner go and watch a South of Scotland game than sit at home watching over-rated shite that Sky dishes up time after time. Being at a game is such a different experience than watching on TV but unfortunately the majority of football 'fans' in this country would rather do the opposite.

Total crowds for the games before Christmas were higher then the ones after Christmas for most of the opponents. I dont think theres any doubt that a successful team would increase crowds but probably only be a few hundred, rather than the big increases we might have seen in the past. 

27 minutes ago, football maniac said:

The thing that annoys me is that teams in less populated places and areas have been capable of getting bigger crowd proportions in relation. Dingwall and its surrounding area is minute and surely if they and Inverness from the north can do it, then we can rule the roost from the South. We are equally as remote to some degree which can be used as an advantage if circumstance allows. I saw Ross Countys stadium and training facilities and was in awe. I suppose they don't have Rangers/Celtic as close nabbing away there fans but I just feel we should be getting so many more fans. Teams like Hamilton are who we should be looking to emulate. We are doing so much to attract them yet they still don't turn up. The sad thing is even if we offered free entry I still think we would struggle to get 4000 so I don't think price is as big an issue as some would believe. Basically if someone wants something they will generally pay and not worry about a few extra quid. If only people here weren't so obsessed with the Old Firm and the bloody EPL. Cant get why Scots who supposedly have big rivalry with the English help contribute to there game more than our own.

Im not sure the highland clubs are really a fair comparison. We're not anywhere near as remote and travelling from Inverness to Glasgow takes almost three times as long as from Dumfries. What about Hamilton should we be looking to emulate? In terms of crowds they're no better off than we are

[Rjc-1988]

I remember that momentous week when we beat Hibs away, Rangers at home and faced Falkirk at home on the Sunday. It was effectively our play off clincher and if my memory serves me right we struggled to get a crowd of 2000 even including Falkirk support.

In Queens' long history there can't have been many times where we have beaten Hibs and Rangers back to back and there is still apathy from the Dumfries public.

It is now an impossible task for clubs like ours. We have a hard core of great supporters but the so called "floating element" only "float" along if it is a dry sunny day, no Dumfries Show, no competing live Rugby Internationals, Queens have gone on some monumental run of success , the opposition has some glamour appeal. You almost need that sort of combination for us to pull in 1750+ of home supporters. I am finding it hard to imagine a set of variables that could possibly pull in 2000 home supporters for a league fixture. That has dire long term consequences for FT football. The only saving grace is the increased Pay Outs for League positions in Champ league - without that PT football would be inevitable.

[19QOS19]

I don't think there are any glamour ties left now either, to make it even more depressing. I remember the first time The Rangers visited years ago and going to the office during the week to ensure I got a ticket. On their last trip to Palmerston I sauntered up on game day. The novelty wore off long ago and the same goes for Hibs, Hearts and Utd.

I can recall games in the cups against United, Aberdeen and Hearts and it was (or at least looked like) a full house. No team in Scotland is a big enough draw for floating fans to turn out twice a season.*

I think the only time we'll have a full house again is if we draw Celtic or if we have another Scottish Cup quarter final against a well supported club.

* I'm aware crowds will of course been up in general in these games, I mean packed.

[Steeplechat]

For League games clubs receive nothing at all for a live game whether it's ALba, Sky or BT. The League sells the rights and the money goes in the collective pot for redistribution as prize money.
There's no payment to clubs for Irn Bru Cup live games either but there is a relatively low payment for the League Cup live games. Scottish Cup distribution is up for discussion and potentially changing this season though there will still be some payment for live games.

Did Queens and the other teams have a say when this new 3 year BBC ALBA deal was agreed ?
It seems we're actually losing out financially when games are shown live
What exactly is the point in that ?

[Distant Doonhamer]

1 minute ago, Steeplechat said:

 

 

Did Queens and the other teams have a say when this new 3 year BBC ALBA deal was agreed ?
It seems we're actually losing out financially when games are shown live
What exactly is the point in that ?

 

 

It`s for the greater good of Scottish football. A bit like the "fact" that scottish football needs a strong Rangers.

[Skyline Drifter]

24 minutes ago, Steeplechat said:

Did Queens and the other teams have a say when this new 3 year BBC ALBA deal was agreed ?
It seems we're actually losing out financially when games are shown live
What exactly is the point in that ?

I presume the whole League voted on it. I know there were full details circulated before it was agreed. I don't actually have a problem with it though. The league HAS to sell rights as a group and keep the money for redistribution. If it was based on individual clubs the skew of income towards two would be much worse. There's an argument there maybe should be a nominal compensation for inconvenience I suppose but I don't actually think its an unreasonable approach. You do, and always will, lose when a home league game is shown live. Given there are only four live Championship games under the new deal, and no more than 1 home game per club, I doubt it's likely to concern us much. There are far more obvious home clubs to show than us.

[Northfield 53]

7 hours ago, SUPERSOUTH said:

Who says we ain't going to have the ball? With Mcfadden in the team we are more likely to have it, get him signed till Xmas, see how he can influence games. Sign defender McLean then just a striker with pace and Joe Thomson on loan, would complete squad for start of season.

Remember we have a very tight budget .It would be great to do what you have said but don't think the budget will go that far.

 

[football maniac]

2 hours ago, 19QOS19 said:

I don't think there are any glamour ties left now either, to make it even more depressing. I remember the first time The Rangers visited years ago and going to the office during the week to ensure I got a ticket. On their last trip to Palmerston I sauntered up on game day. The novelty wore off long ago and the same goes for Hibs, Hearts and Utd.

I can recall games in the cups against United, Aberdeen and Hearts and it was (or at least looked like) a full house. No team in Scotland is a big enough draw for floating fans to turn out twice a season.*

I think the only time we'll have a full house again is if we draw Celtic or if we have another Scottish Cup quarter final against a well supported club.

* I'm aware crowds will of course been up in general in these games, I mean packed.

I agree to some degree, but if Rangers were to return to the force they were and had a high quality of player again then I think the clamour would return. Part of the problem is we see the same teams too often but things will never change as they will never want to lose out the four old firm games and Edinburgh derbies as these are the games which attract the sponsors and bolster the income.

 

4 hours ago, Mr X said:

Total crowds for the games before Christmas were higher then the ones after Christmas for most of the opponents. I dont think theres any doubt that a successful team would increase crowds but probably only be a few hundred, rather than the big increases we might have seen in the past. 

Im not sure the highland clubs are really a fair comparison. We're not anywhere near as remote and travelling from Inverness to Glasgow takes almost three times as long as from Dumfries. What about Hamilton should we be looking to emulate? In terms of crowds they're no better off than we are

I suppose how despite there poor crowds which are marginally better than ours that they can hold their own in the league above so they show it can be done. Hopefully our youth development can eventually produce a McCarthy and help us establish a reputation for producing quality players which they have lived off for 10 years.

[Homer Thompson]

38 minutes ago, football maniac said:

I agree to some degree, but if Rangers were to return to the force they were and had a high quality of player again then I think the clamour would return. Part of the problem is we see the same teams too often but things will never change as they will never want to lose out the four old firm games and Edinburgh derbies as these are the games which attract the sponsors and bolster the income.

 

I suppose how despite there poor crowds which are marginally better than ours that they can hold their own in the league above so they show it can be done. Hopefully our youth development can eventually produce a McCarthy and help us establish a reputation for producing quality players which they have lived off for 10 years.

Ah ,fair enough, I thought you were talking about crowds.

Hamilton have, of course, made significant amounts of money from selling players but another large part of their income comes from non-football related stuff like renting out office space - or at least it did. So, in that sense we are already emulating them with the Arena, KGV and other potential projects

[Doonhamer doon south]

9 hours ago, Mr X said:

I think theres always more that can be done, certainly in terms of advertising, social media and the "matchday experience" but I agree with your underlying point - its incredibly difficult to get fans through the gates. Hopefully, the free kids will have a positive impact on the cup gates and that carries over into the league games too.

Its unlikely theres a magic bullet for this. In my opinion, its going to take lots of little things, all contributing, to increase the crowds and theres already been some good ideas come out of the supporters meetings

What more could be done to enhance the match-day? Where can I aim suggestions to? 

[Homer Thompson]

3 minutes ago, Doonhamer doon south said:

What more could be done to enhance the match-day? Where can I aim suggestions to? 

In answer to the first question - I dont really know but Im sure better people than me will have suggestions. Second question - anywhere really, social media, email the club. The SLO is still there for a couple of weeks and Im sure her emails etc will get picked up if the new person isnt in place when she leaves

[RandomGuy.]

That is absolutely spot on .
He was a waste of a shirt ,and that was being polite ,was the comments i got .

He had some glimpses of things. Ran the show v County in the cup, I think, might have been the league, but only for about 30 minutes. Played an important late pass to set up a winner away to Aberdeen aswell.

He was just too slow. No pace to get up and down the park so ended up just wandering around the middle as the game passed him by. Could see intention in his eye when he got the ball but he took a split second too long and mucked it up as he'd be pressured by then.

It was a shame to see, tbh, but fair fucks to him for keeping at it. No idea how he'd do down here, especially since he's barely played in the past five years, but I doubt he'd play over 500 minutes in your whole season.

[Doonhamer doon south]

3 minutes ago, Mr X said:

In answer to the first question - I dont really know but Im sure better people than me will have suggestions. Second question - anywhere really, social media, email the club. The SLO is still there for a couple of weeks and Im sure her emails etc will get picked up if the new person isnt in place when she leaves

cheers mr x

[Homer Thompson]

1 hour ago, Doonhamer doon south said:

cheers mr x

No problem. Of course if you wanted to start a discussion around some ideas you could always post them on here. Or you can PM me on here and I'll pass them on