- Dec 11, 2015
- 54
- 71
Assuming then that the statement '80% of existing match goers are in the 45 and over group' is not too far off the mark, then unless more younger fans can be inspired and have the motivation to get off their backsides to watch live football in Northwich, we will be looking at gates dwindling to less that 100 over the next 20 years.
Northwich will not have a relevant football club which is such a shame as when I was a kid, you could go anywhere in the UK and say you were from Northwich and immediately the response would be 'Ah Northwich Victoria'. If Witton had had the name 'Northwich' in their name they would have been mentioned too.
The younger people need to be attracted now as in twenty years time it will be too late.
Unless some benefactor invests heavily in one of the clubs (and this is often not a good long term solution as we all know) then the ONLY way that I can see relevant football in Northwich for the long term is one united club that can sustain Conference North kind of status for the most part.
To achieve and sustain this you probably need:
A united hardcore fan base of 700-800 (there must be that amount currently split across 3 existing clubs)
A club with 'Northwich' in the name but with a name that satisfies all fans of all three clubs 'Northwich Albion' is the obvious choice. Keep it simple.
A ground that can satisfy Conference standards (Wincham Park can be brought up to standard when needed)
A club that attracts more young fans under 45 (Conference North level football and a united effort should attract more fans)
What have the clubs got to bring to the table:
Witton may have the ground BUT it costs a fortune to maintain and keeping it is not sustainable for Witton at their current level of football.
They have talked about synthetic pitch, selling ground and building smaller one more maintainable etc. this has faced criticism as it shows lack of ambition which is true but they can't afford to keep it in the long term at this level.
If the fan base is split over three clubs and between them not got a ground that could ever support Conference level football (Wincham park replaced with something smaller), with that level of lack of ambition so VISISBLE there is no way younger fans are going to jump on that band wagon.
For younger fans there has to be hope, dreams of what could be, FA Cup runs, drama, romance, chance of being on TV occasionally, chance of Wembley appearance (FA Trophy). As a kid these were the things that made you want to follow your local club.
I suspect that many fans will be totally opposed but they have to realise that they won't be around forever and neither will their football clubs if they don't do something now.
Northwich will not have a relevant football club which is such a shame as when I was a kid, you could go anywhere in the UK and say you were from Northwich and immediately the response would be 'Ah Northwich Victoria'. If Witton had had the name 'Northwich' in their name they would have been mentioned too.
The younger people need to be attracted now as in twenty years time it will be too late.
Unless some benefactor invests heavily in one of the clubs (and this is often not a good long term solution as we all know) then the ONLY way that I can see relevant football in Northwich for the long term is one united club that can sustain Conference North kind of status for the most part.
To achieve and sustain this you probably need:
A united hardcore fan base of 700-800 (there must be that amount currently split across 3 existing clubs)
A club with 'Northwich' in the name but with a name that satisfies all fans of all three clubs 'Northwich Albion' is the obvious choice. Keep it simple.
A ground that can satisfy Conference standards (Wincham Park can be brought up to standard when needed)
A club that attracts more young fans under 45 (Conference North level football and a united effort should attract more fans)
What have the clubs got to bring to the table:
- All three clubs have fans, volunteers, great people to offer (they don't all agree but they all want the same for their respective clubs and would want the same for a united club, people is the most important asset and currently split into three)
- Witton has the ground
Witton may have the ground BUT it costs a fortune to maintain and keeping it is not sustainable for Witton at their current level of football.
They have talked about synthetic pitch, selling ground and building smaller one more maintainable etc. this has faced criticism as it shows lack of ambition which is true but they can't afford to keep it in the long term at this level.
If the fan base is split over three clubs and between them not got a ground that could ever support Conference level football (Wincham park replaced with something smaller), with that level of lack of ambition so VISISBLE there is no way younger fans are going to jump on that band wagon.
For younger fans there has to be hope, dreams of what could be, FA Cup runs, drama, romance, chance of being on TV occasionally, chance of Wembley appearance (FA Trophy). As a kid these were the things that made you want to follow your local club.
I suspect that many fans will be totally opposed but they have to realise that they won't be around forever and neither will their football clubs if they don't do something now.
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