According to a poll on the Swansea Independent website over sixty five percent of current season ticket holders will not be renewing their season passes under the current club regime. Some have cited the lack of investment in the club, others have stated their lack of faith in the head coach, Russell Martin.

Now, even though that’s not as damning as first indicated, these are registered members of this website, and the poll has been answered by over one hundred registered users. The real issue from this poll isn’t about actual season ticket holders, we have canvassed fifty of them, and we can confirm they are all currently paid up and in the main have been for years. What we do have is sixty seven percent of Swansea City supporters who are not satisfied with the current fayre on offer at the Swansea.Com stadium. Irrespective of their position as Swans fans - for, against or indifferent, the majority are not happy. This was reflected in last weeks attendance for the game against Blackpool, and will no doubt again be evidenced this evening for the home game against Stoke City.

That surely must come as some concern, and we don’t even need that confirming, it’s blatantly obvious.

A call for the managers head isn’t the point, nor are the cries for the club to be sold. What needs to be done is a thoughtful and responsible reset. It’s time now to think about how Swansea City is perceived and what can be done to make the backbone of the club ( the fans ) more supportive, confident and understanding of the direction of travel. This hasn’t been done for the last two years. There’s a general acceptance within the stadium walls that seats will be filled, and sufficient season tickets will be sold with minimum effort. Well, that’s all changing, and the alarm bells should be ringing.

Anyone fancy some proper communication ?

Cups of tea mean nothing but when carefully added up alongside match day purchases within the clubs concourses, profit on beverage consumption as an example, especially alcohol and hot food it really does mount up. Walk up ticket sales are also of considerable concern. What we do know is spontaneous purchases in the club shop will also be affected, a supporter browsing merchandise can easily be parted with their hard earned money and many of us have done this over the years. But of course if they are not there, they are lost income.

The overall loss will be in its hundreds of thousands across the board. Excuse the pun.

Football today may not rely on cash sales in total, but there is a bigger picture. Game to game sponsorship, the opportunity to take advantage of match day hospitality will obviously fall as will all the sundries associated with that experience. Really this isn’t just about season tickets, it’s about value for money on the pitch set against value for money off it. We know many supporters who are students or on minimum wage salaries who spend over half of their income on watching the Swans. That’s not unique, everyone can point to someone who does this. The current economic situation regards day to day living, be that travel, domestic bills, rent, mortgages and debt will all impact on a supporters choices. Be that paying their credit card / overdraft or trekking down to the stadium on a cold Tuesday night to watch ninety minutes of frustration.

To follow Swansea away is a huge commitment. If you are a local supporter then a trip to the average away game will cost you in excess of thirty pounds just to get there by coach. Then there is the average thirty pound ticket, food, refreshment, ancillary purchases and before you know it the average day can be one hundred pounds. That can happen twice even three times a month on average - plus home games and all of a sudden you are forsaking basic comforts at home to watch forty thousand pound a month footballers ( Swansea have them and more ) in a white shirt lose football matches.

If you go to every game it’s a fact that you can spend up to four thousand pounds a season. Don’t forget parents have kids, a family of four is a frightening match day cost. Yes students can get reduced rates, so can retirees, but everyone has to put their hands in their pockets. The average government pension is nine hundred pounds a month. Some get less, some get a bit more. There are players at Swansea City who earn that a day, and as we said much more.

We of course shouldn’t forget the eighteen percent ( from records held at the club in 2017 ) who travel from outside of Swansea, plus the ex pat Jacks and Swans fans who travel from all over the world to watch games. These people actually exist, and we all know this. Five hundred Swans fans at the play off final to witness promotion to the premier league from Holland isn’t a myth. Cast all that aside and we fall back on a basic poll on this website. Sixty seven percent are against the current situation, be that going to a game ( and these people bring others not polled ) or renewing their season ticket.

And let’s not forget the lost youngsters who won’t go to games if they are not taken by an adult. That’s a double loss, and of course they want their best mates to go as well. That’s a future supporter thrown away. The community needs a club they can believe in, businesses want to be associated with somewhere thousands of people go every week. Others like to be seen being a part of something they can ‘ tell their friends about’

That lost revenue is definitely cause for concern, especially to majority owners who thrive on financial income to keep this club afloat. We must remember these votes are registered users of this site, easily checked and in amongst the three hundred plus contributors to the forums, be that by likes or comments. You don’t get to like, comment or be registered on this website if you haven’t signed up. Then we have the many thousands of floating, non registered users of the site who make it a ritualistic daily routine to visit this and other sites or social media.

If anyone out there doesn’t think these floating supporters can’t be influenced by opinion, observation or critique then they are not reading the script. Fewer fans encouraged to make the effort contributes to breaking the camels back. Influence is everything in todays modern technical world. People earn millions by being just that, influencers.

This is really nothing to be concerned about of course, three thousand off the gate each home game may not sound a lot for the rest of this season or next. But add the loss of season tickets and associated revenue and you can’t tell us it’s a drop in the ocean, because the tides out and it’s getting further away. When protests start, and dissatisfaction is heard on the terraces and streets the race is lost. When banners are made and calls for change are headlines instead of football games the blame lays squarely at the feet of those who could have prevented it from happening. The crowds drop and faith is lost along with revenue and hope.

Someone at the club needs to recognise this, you can’t rely on the magnificent support this club gets forever, you have to give something back, and currently it’s a one way street to nowhere. Some of us remember three thousand gates and financial ruin, others couldn’t even comprehend that reality. But have a guess what.

Reality it is.

Photograph Open Source

GlaisSwan added 12:34 - Feb 21 Excellent read. Lets hope there are people in the club taking note. Well reasoned and insightful article as usual Keith.
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