Away Support Getting Worse and Worse

[YoungUttoxRam]

I'd put the main factor being how poor away from home we've been for the last 4/5 seasons, dire. This season is hopefully where we buck that trend!

[Ambitious]

I can't add to much which has already been said, but yeah - ultimately, it is what it is.

 

The top clubs gain thousands of followers upon each year, whilst the local clubs (us) seem to be adding very few and football for some people is a 'trend' sometimes it is in and out, they're not interested too much, but fancy watching sport and think this is a good method.

 

The majority on here I imagine will be die hard fans and will follow the club through thick and thin, and have even gone to the trouble to sign up to this message board to vent their opinion - cannot empertise enough how rare that is for the every day fan.

 

As for tuesday night games in bolton or wherever I don't know how we get ANYONE - I would love to go to every Derby game, but I finish work around half 5 each day, the last thing I fancy doing is jumping straight in my car going to watch us with another small following, and then travelling back late at night. I am as committed as they come, but even for me - that is a big ask. 

 

I haven't gone to many away games in recent years, because it's been no fact that we've been poor away from home - the odd loss I could deal with, but at times last season I thought I don't even need to check the score and on the occasions we won I was genuinely shocked. This season is completely different already, and now I would love to go to away games, not your tuesday nights that are unreasonable (anything that is not officially local, I will be at leicester) but every saturday game, as long as I can afford it I will be there. 

 

Winning away from home will be the big turning point, even though Bolton have been horrendous this season - I would say the majority travel down there, expecting very little. 

[Guest]

I'd much rather spend time with my girls in an atmosphere that's relaxing and fun than drag them to a place of hate and abuse, er sorry, banter, to experience difficult parking, aggressive stewarding, foul language, people refusing to sit so that we can actually watch the mediocrity on the pitch.

Sounds like you really enjoy your football...

[Guest]

I'd much rather spend time with my girls in an atmosphere that's relaxing and fun than drag them to a place of hate and abuse, er sorry, banter, to experience difficult parking, aggressive stewarding, foul language, people refusing to sit so that we can actually watch the mediocrity on the pitch.

Sounds like you really enjoy your football...

[Eatonram]

Ultimately its down to success and the enjoyment that brings. In many ways nothing beats an away win for sheer enjoyment and satisfaction. add that to going to a new ground and its great.

 

If you get a succesful season with good away form the the numbers will return I reckon. Also some people keen enough to run coaches perhaps. I used to remember helping to run them out of Matlock and taking 2 full coaches to Sunderland (1987 I think) and there were probably 4000 there following Derby, but then again we were on a great run in a promotion year.

 

It would be Great for those days to return!

 

Lets hope the away support is just "sleeping" rather than dead!

[B4ev6is]

Under scum bag billy davies we took 8000 at barnsley.

[AndyinLiverpool]

Sounds like you really enjoy your football...

Most football is, and has always been, rubbish. I never went for the rubbish. I always went for the prospect of that little bit of magic.

 

The magic I can get more reliably from time with my kids. And I get to spend considerably less money out of the diminishing pool of spare cash that I have.

 

Enjoy football? Not really since the early 90s, when it was worth going to watch a decent team.

 

It's just a habit now. 

[Gritstone Ram]

I used to go on a coach, train or car in the late 80's i think it was more affordable. I didn't have two kids and a mortgage then. Now i have to get three people to an away game instead of one. I'm priced out of long distances because my kids won't share the fuel costs. I made it to Peterborough, Wendy & Burnley last year what a bundle of laughs them games were.

[PrivateDerby]

Footballs not about winning, shouldn't be for us fans anyway... All I heard at Hillsborough last season was - "fook off Derby, not coming again" there were hundreds of young lads there having a laugh with a few tinnies but as soon as it went wrong, they're gone.

Get a grip... get the train, have a beer, get a bag of chips, shout come on Derby and go home. Not hard is it?

[Ash]

I didn't go to the Millwall game and I live three stops away from Millwall on the Overground...

 

The fact is when I weighed up spending £26 to watch Derby potentially lose or go to the many free/cheaper/better tourist attractions it was a no brainer. Ticket £26 + Tube £2.10 + Drink £4.00 + 'Food' £4.00, I could easily have spent £40.

 

Instead I went up Monument £9, went Tate £Free, Played 18 hole crazy golf £9, ate amazing food £15 (MEAT Liquor - check it out) and knew I would have a good time. 

 

I just don't have the loyalty any more, maybe it's the entertainment factor, maybe its the fact we've been treading water for years. I don't know but to be writing that at 26 years of age is truly depressing 

[PrivateDerby]

I've been a bad fan, I abandoned us in 2002 for more than a few years, including the premier season. I lost a lot of interest and love for the club but its back now. Maybe there are just a lot of lads feeling like that at the moment?

[notts_ram]

After out last 2 seasons away records can you really blame anyone for being reticent about going to see us play away from home? I also think that the joie de vivre has also been gradually wrung out of the club since the Yanks/Clough have been in charge combined with rising ticket/transport prices makes long away day trips pretty unnappetising

[bcnram]

I didn't go to the Millwall game and I live three stops away from Millwall on the Overground...

 

The fact is when I weighed up spending £26 to watch Derby potentially lose or go to the many free/cheaper/better tourist attractions it was a no brainer. Ticket £26 + Tube £2.10 + Drink £4.00 + 'Food' £4.00, I could easily have spent £40.

 

Instead I went up Monument £9, went Tate £Free, Played 18 hole crazy golf £9, ate amazing food £15 (MEAT Liquor - check it out) and knew I would have a good time. 

 

I just don't have the loyalty any more, maybe it's the entertainment factor, maybe its the fact we've been treading water for years. I don't know but to be writing that at 26 years of age is truly depressing 

That isn't a big deal, supporters come and supporters go. That's how football is, always has been and always will be.

[-JW-]

There is no excuse really.

 

Look at Wolves they sell out everywhere in league 1 and sold out nearly everywhere last season when they were ****. Sheffield Wednesday always sell out and they are *****, Forest, Leicester, Leeds all the same and these are clubs that are very similar to ourselves in size (although as a City they are bigger). 

 

It just depends how loyal and how fanatical you are about your team and the sad fact is that the huge majority of Derby fans, including myself, are not.

 

All the excuses such as cost, how the team are playing, the manager, long distances are ******.

[Ash]

That isn't a big deal, supporters come and supporters go. That's how football is, always has been and always will be.

 

I think you're missing my point.

 

How would you rather spend your money?

 

I'll always be a Derby supporter, the fact is there is little incentive without ticket prices coming down or Derby showing some ambition...

[AndyinLiverpool]

 

 

All the excuses such as cost, how the team are playing, the manager, long distances are ******.

Really?

 

So you think people should show up regardless of the experience, regardless of how you are treated by 'fellow' supporters, regardless of how much it costs, regardless of the quality?

 

Blimey.

[Derbydave96]

Personally i love away days, but the fact is, its just not the done thing anymore, amongst my friends i am definitely in the minority who go to derby matches.

For me the main reason i dont go to more away games is the price of it, with me still being at school, just cant afford £50 a time, even though i'd love to go to more games.

I think that money is the major sticking point as the majority of our hardcore support that sings at the home games is younger lads and many just cant afford it.

So when you combine that with the fact that going to watch derby away from home has been a pretty unattractive proposition over the last few years, i think that we get virtually no casual support at away games and alot of the loyals cannot afford it.

 

IMO the best thing the club could do would be to follow up on the initiative of providing free coach travel, as if it was just the cost of the ticket i'd definitely go to more away games and you'd get to know more fans, and so the atmosphere would improve aswell

[LeedsCityRam]

Undoubtedly Derby's poor away form & tactics for the past few seasons has been dragging our averages down - people aren't going to bust a gut to watch a team that until this season looked to hang on for dear life in practically every away game. Even though we've started this season like a train away from home, people's memories are far longer than 4 weeks. Once folk are lost to a team, it can be hard persuading them back unless success is more or less guaranteed.

 

I also think public transport is a factor. Not only the ridiculous cost but the logistics of getting to some of our more remote away games (Middlesbrough, Ipswich, Swansea) is basically a joke, particularly as these games always seem to be on a Tuesday/Weds. I remember looking at getting to an away game at Swansea once & the last train getting back up north was leaving around 2145, before the final whistle. Not feasible midweek.

 

In my opinion, Derby have away support the exact opposite of the home support. Whilst we'll turn up in numbers at home whatever the situation (still only once below 20k for a league match at PP) - the away support is glory hunting. If we get to the top of the league, then we'll take 8000 to Barnsley & 2500 to Leeds.

[Guest]

I didn't go to the Millwall game and I live three stops away from Millwall on the Overground...

 

The fact is when I weighed up spending £26 to watch Derby potentially lose or go to the many free/cheaper/better tourist attractions it was a no brainer. Ticket £26 + Tube £2.10 + Drink £4.00 + 'Food' £4.00, I could easily have spent £40.

 

Instead I went up Monument £9, went Tate £Free, Played 18 hole crazy golf £9, ate amazing food £15 (MEAT Liquor - check it out) and knew I would have a good time. 

 

I just don't have the loyalty any more, maybe it's the entertainment factor, maybe its the fact we've been treading water for years. I don't know but to be writing that at 26 years of age is truly depressing 

 

£9 for crazy golf and you think £26 is expensive for football?!

[sage]

I didn't go to the Millwall game and I live three stops away from Millwall on the Overground...

 

The fact is when I weighed up spending £26 to watch Derby potentially lose or go to the many free/cheaper/better tourist attractions it was a no brainer. Ticket £26 + Tube £2.10 + Drink £4.00 + 'Food' £4.00, I could easily have spent £40.

 

Instead I went up Monument £9, went Tate £Free, Played 18 hole crazy golf £9, ate amazing food £15 (MEAT Liquor - check it out) and knew I would have a good time. 

 

I just don't have the loyalty any more, maybe it's the entertainment factor, maybe its the fact we've been treading water for years. I don't know but to be writing that at 26 years of age is truly depressing 

I'm not having a go and each to their own, but if you can't be arsed to go 3 overground stops to watch Derby, then why bother with this forum? You can go to the Tate any time and buying crap food/drink isn't really necessary when you live so close. As I said, not having a go, just puzzled.