14,000!!!!

[ancientnloyal]

How's the mass debate going?


You have to look at socio-economic factors. People may well buy season tickets and be swell with that! They may not afford to pay out extra. Chelsea fans are numerous x20 more than Wigan fans in the UK and are expected to bring a large following being a top 4 team. Wigan isnt the richest part of Lancashire by far (nor is it the poorest) and I doubt people would want to pay extra to watch wigan athletic lose to chelsea when they could have paid £15 (or whatever) on their kids or a meal

[Cruncher]

ancientnloyal posted:
How's the mass debate going?


You have to look at socio-economic factors. People may well buy season tickets and be swell with that! They may not afford to pay out extra. Chelsea fans are numerous x20 more than Wigan fans in the UK and are expected to bring a large following being a top 4 team. Wigan isnt the richest part of Lancashire by far (nor is it the poorest) and I doubt people would want to pay extra to watch wigan athletic lose to chelsea when they could have paid £15 (or whatever) on their kids or a meal

That may be a valid argument to some extent, but surely we're not seriously saying that Wiganers are all so poor that they couldn't fit a massive Cup match into their weekly spends? Poverty doesn't seem to stop countless hordes of Wiganers going out and blowing a fortune on ale and kebabs on Saturday and Friday nights.

I'm a Wigan RL fan through and through. They're the only team I support, so I'd have likened that Chelsea fixture to Wigan drawing Leeds at home in the quarter-final of the CC (though admittedly we would probably have more chance against Leeds than Latics would against Chelsea). I'm sure that - irrespective of whether or not we're all season ticket holders these days - we could put on 17-18,000 for a match like that, and we're supposed to be the less well supported game.

I think the Stockport chap has possibly nailed it. Latics in the Premiership was a real novelty, and for a brief time attracted the attention of many of the town's football fans, who probably still outnumber the RL fans (it's just that most of them support teams other than Latics).

I also wonder if there might be a backlash from the RL side of town. Latics fans have tried hard over the years to make us feel unwelcome in our own heartland. Hence, with a very few exceptions, RL folk have never really warmed to their team. I don't suggest for one minute that otherwise we would now be flowing onto the terraces to support them, but I'd imagine there are some who might have gone along to watch occasional big matches against teams like Chelsea who now won't go near the place.

[Fujiman]

Maybe this has something to do with their dwindling fan base as well
http://www.wigantoday.net/wigannews/Man ... 3718037.jp

[Cruncher]

Fujiman posted:
Maybe this has something to do with their dwindling fan base as well
http://www.wigantoday.net/wigannews/Man ... 3718037.jp

Has it really come to that in modern football? They'd refuse someone entrance on the off-chance he's a rival fan (not a trouble-maker, just a rival fan), even though this means yet another empty seat.

Thank God I follow RL.

[the-Bowtun-Warrior]

Both as bad an one another...


shouldn't of told him were to go

but

Bear, u always seem to close and discussion re the 'tics! as said, if u dont like it, dont try to put others off!

the original post was in no way degrading to the 'tics so lets not lower ourselves as Warriors fans!

[ancientnloyal]

Not all Wiganers are poor but only 4 years ago Athletic were nowhere with 'average' attendances compared to all other clubs in a same league 5-6,000...

Most football fans were Man U, Liverpool, Everton, Bolton, Blackburn... you cant expect people to change allegiances now Wigan are in the Premiership. Example, look at Fulham. They were in div 3, div 2... grew like Wigan. Their rivals were chelsea, arsenal, tottenham, west ham etc premiership teams for fans. Taken them years to win a decent audience and their attendances are boosted by Away support.

[GeoffN]

Cruncher posted:

Fraggle posted:
Somehow I can't see this thread lasting very long... which is why we don't really encourage discussions about football on here. They almost always end up descending into this kind of bickering.

What amazes me is how many people don't even want it discussed. It's like the visible, week-by-week decline of Wigan Athletic - a Premiership football club, for Heaven's sake - is of no importance at all to a Wigan sports message-board!

First of all, it's not a Wigan sports message board, it's a Wigan Warriors message board. In any case, the (veiled) locking threat was because of the bickering between you and Bear, not because it was a Latics thread.

Are they serious?

I'm no Latics fan, but let's face reality. In a few years time they may well be down the divisions, but at present they're in the top flight and can't just be ignored. I can only assume those who want to lock this kind of thread have one of two motives. They're either diehard rugby fans, so blinkered they won't even acknowledge that Dave Whelan's football experiment ever happened in Wigan. Or they're diehard football fans, so blinkered they won't acknowledge that it was only an experiment. Either way, heads need to be pulled out of asses.

For those interested in open discussion, the question remains unanswered: why did Wigan Athletic get a plumb draw in the fourth round of the FA Cup - glamour club Chelsea at home - and only 14,000 people attend? I find it astonishing.

Is it that Wiganers are totally parochial and have no interest in the wider world of sport? Or is it that, having being exposed to real sport for the last 100 years, they refuse to buy into football's great lie (i.e. that it's more entertaining than anything else)?

And if you don't want to discuss it, don't try to stop everyone else doing it. Just don't join in.

Agreed, which is why I rarely venture into the "off-topic" section, but when a thread gets us bickering amongst ourselves (rather than debating), it's no wonder it gets the thumbs down.

I have no interest in Latics, or football in general (except for rare examples when it does impact on us, like the state of the pitch, for example).
Whatever crowds they get have no effect on our attendances (which have gone up steadily since they were promoted), so it's of no interest to me, or to most people on here.

If you want a (relatively) serious debate on the subject, go on the Latics board, not this one.

[FROM A TO B]

:eusa2:

[Cruncher]

GeoffN posted:

Cruncher posted:

Fraggle posted:
Somehow I can't see this thread lasting very long... which is why we don't really encourage discussions about football on here. They almost always end up descending into this kind of bickering.

What amazes me is how many people don't even want it discussed. It's like the visible, week-by-week decline of Wigan Athletic - a Premiership football club, for Heaven's sake - is of no importance at all to a Wigan sports message-board!

First of all, it's not a Wigan sports message board, it's a Wigan Warriors message board. In any case, the (veiled) locking threat was because of the bickering between you and Bear, not because it was a Latics thread.

Are they serious?

I'm no Latics fan, but let's face reality. In a few years time they may well be down the divisions, but at present they're in the top flight and can't just be ignored. I can only assume those who want to lock this kind of thread have one of two motives. They're either diehard rugby fans, so blinkered they won't even acknowledge that Dave Whelan's football experiment ever happened in Wigan. Or they're diehard football fans, so blinkered they won't acknowledge that it was only an experiment. Either way, heads need to be pulled out of asses.

For those interested in open discussion, the question remains unanswered: why did Wigan Athletic get a plumb draw in the fourth round of the FA Cup - glamour club Chelsea at home - and only 14,000 people attend? I find it astonishing.

Is it that Wiganers are totally parochial and have no interest in the wider world of sport? Or is it that, having being exposed to real sport for the last 100 years, they refuse to buy into football's great lie (i.e. that it's more entertaining than anything else)?

And if you don't want to discuss it, don't try to stop everyone else doing it. Just don't join in.

Agreed, which is why I rarely venture into the "off-topic" section, but when a thread gets us bickering amongst ourselves (rather than debating), it's no wonder it gets the thumbs down.

I have no interest in Latics, or football in general (except for rare examples when it does impact on us, like the state of the pitch, for example).
Whatever crowds they get have no effect on our attendances (which have gone up steadily since they were promoted), so it's of no interest to me, or to most people on here.

If you want a (relatively) serious debate on the subject, go on the Latics board, not this one.

So talking about Latics isn't even allowed on the 'Off Topic' section of Wigan-Warriors?

Is that a house rule, or your personal one?

As quite a few people have now responded with thoughts and views, I'd suggest your pronouncement that it's of no interest to "most people on here" is a tad presumptuous.

Sorry if I'm irritating you by refusing to let this go. I'd rather have a rational debate too (which I certainly wouldn't get on a Latics board, as you well know), but I tend to get tetchy when I'm told to "shut up because no-one's interested" when it's quite plain that the only person not interested is the one giving me the order. It was possibly to be expected from the first guy, who's always struck me as a bit of a drivel-merchant - but it's a surprise to have to put you in the same category.

For the sake of clarity, I'm not a Latics fan masquerading as a Wigan fan in order to snipe on this board. I'm a Wigan fan watching fascinated as Latics appear to be declining with almost indecent speed and wondering if anyone else shares my surprise.

[the-Bowtun-Warrior]

God posted:
"Off Topic
Got anything else on your mind that isn't about the Warriors? If you do, this is the place to post."

So this thred is not allowed



I enjoy the football also and i also would like to comment on the Football threds that appear from time to time. I feel the football thred was relivent as you could include the rugby in the discussion, compairing crowd numbers and debating weather the football would or might overtake the rugby in terms of fanbase. Talking about the differences between sets of fans Etc,etc.

Im not sticking up for anybody but if people dont like to discuss the football in any way shape or form dont dismiss the thred as nonsence and irrelevant as people may want to add there comment like myself, and dont condem people for wanting to include the football on the message board, and then telling members to go away and discuss this on another website because that is quite childish.

Im fully aware its a Rugby forum this is why i agree its in offtopic so if people dont like it, just dont comment its as simple as that. Read at the top of this thred, its off topic what do you expect? Other people post in here and some of it is utter nonsense.

I dont like some of the rugby related threds sometimes, but i dont pile on there dismissing threds and the people who comment. Telling them to go away and post on a Rugby Union related forum.

Ive said my piece and i think the bikering has stopped, i for one do not want this thred blocked. Even if there is only 2 posters the thred is still open to debate and lots more to discuss. And it looks like other people would like to comment also.

Good essay!


yes sir