A time to act
When the season ticket renewal packs dropped through our doors in June, there was a strong call to arms from our Chairman. The club which he saved from closure is a completely different beast from the wounded animal he took over in the early eighties.
The first purpose built all seated football stadium, one of the finest pitches in the nation, a thriving non-football business and a board room which symbolises old school success. On the field we are the 8th best team in our nation and just a year ago were arguably the best team to watch in Scotland.
Despite this incredible transformation, our crowds are low and season ticket sales have dropped from 2400 to 1600 in the space of just two seasons. That might be understandable if the team had suffered a dip in form, but our record over the last few years shows that we won promotion from SFL1 and finished 8th in the top flight two years on the trot. For a club the size of St Johnstone, this is a golden period.
The older generation preach to the young about how bad things used to be, yet they are among the folk turning away from our club. We sit in McDiarmid Park which was designed and built in such a way that we are almost always sheltered from the elements, we have no pillars restricting our view, we have great leg room, great catering at sensible prices and we watch our team take to a magnificent patch of grass. The stadium boasts the under-utilised Muirton Suite where patrons can enjoy a drink in pleasant surroundings before ambling through the spacious and well priced car park, past the homely club shop (stocked with clothing, magazines and a plethora of products which make excellent presents) and proceed through one of many turnstiles, designed to minimise entrance times.
A close look at the last two seasons makes for worrying reading. Our first season in the SPL saw season tickets at 2400 and the average gate was 4717. Our second season saw the season tickets drop to 2100, whilst the crowd plummeted to 3841. A recent report from PricewaterhouseCoopers, prompted a flurry of tweets and was the catalyst for some truly awful journalism, namely from Reporting Scotland. Our own fans forum leads a constant crusade for lower ticket prices.
The club have announced cut price admission for the cup against Livingston. Whenever our club lowers the gate price, they are let down by us – the supporters. This is a crucial season for Saints. We are in this together, we need to all put our shoulder to the wheel and ensure that Saints get a decent turn out for this tricky cup tie. My challenge is simple, I want each supporter to try and bring one friend with them. I don’t necessarily mean a newbie; it could be someone who has indicated they won’t be going, someone who has given up their Season Ticket or someone who is a casual supporter.
Let’s work together, let’s turn the doom and gloom on its head, let’s show that we understand what it means to be a supporter and not just a fan. The prices are cheap, the timing is fine, the stadium and pitch are excellent and the opponents should be defeated. Let’s share the magic of the cup with our friends and families. Victory will taste sweeter knowing you played a part in boosting the crowd.
What can you do to help:
Talk! We all have several conversations per day. Make St Johnstone a topic of conversation. Start a debate about football, in any guise and you’ve got an opportunity to mention the game and the reduced admission.
Advertise!. The club have produced a number of posters which will be displayed in local schools, colleges, pubs, shops and work places. If you’re local doesn’t have a poster, contact paul@perthsaints.co.uk and he’ll try to get one sent out.
Network! Most of us have Twitter, Facebook or some other social network site. Get plugging the game on those high tech platforms of information technology. It takes just a few minutes to update and you can reach many folk that otherwise might not now about the game.
Drive! If you own a car, offer a lift to someone. The weather is not guaranteed and some folk are put off by the need to arrange transport. If you have a spare seat, and if you’re travelling from a distance, why not join www.weareperth.co.uk and offer a lift? It’ll cost you nothing, you might get a free pie out of it and you’ll certainly have a warm, fuzzy feeling afterwards.
None of the above is hard, none of it is time-consuming, none of it is costly. Let’s get our tails in gear and fight for this club that we all love. We can’t just shrug our shoulders and point to other failing clubs. We shouldn’t care about them; we should be focussed on Saints alone. If we want a better standard of player, we need to pay for it. If we want a better atmosphere, we need to take our pals.
We can improve our fan base, let’s start the mission today!
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