Super_Ally 0 Posted April 17, 2010 Share Posted April 17, 2010 (edited) by Chris McLaughlin It's the time of year where clubs look to generate a war chest for next year's battle and in the coming weeks Celtic will ask their season ticket holders to dig deep once again, sign on the dotted line and renew. The foot soldiers of Celtic's huge green and white army have been decorated many times in the past for loyalty, but it seems their patience is being tested by the very club they march for. The empty seats around Celtic Park for Tuesday's 2-1 win against Motherwell will not have gone unnoticed by the club's board, but will there be a concern that it could be bad omen for future income? "I think it will certainly be a sign of things to come if they don't bring in better players," said former Celtic midfielder Murdo MacLeod. "For the fans, what's happened recently just isn't good enough, and it's the first time in the last 10 years that the stadium wasn't even half-full." The official attendance for the Motherwell match was given as just over 21,000, but the journalists attending the match had a little more trouble than normal in getting their hands on the figures. It is not surprising that club officials did not want to shout their worst league attendance figures of the season from the rooftops, but it was plain to anyone at the match or watching on TV, that the figures were alarmingly low. The club has always enjoyed the support of a very loyal fan base, with season ticket sales consistently hovering around the 50,000 mark for the last decade, but they may now have to work harder than ever to keep the number up and the cash flowing. "It'll take a prize player or even a prize manager to get fans to sign up again in numbers," said McLeod. "They've already tried that with Robbie Keane, but it failed. Now the board will have to think again. "The biggest problem is that if Celtic don't sell 45-50,000 season tickets then they cannot afford the players to keep the fans happy and they'll be stuck at the level they are at now. "When football fans decide to give up the game, it's very difficult to get them back." However, the fans have not deserted yet. Only when the season tickets go on sale will the extent of this year's damage be gauged in real terms. The Celtic faithful are far from happy, but faithful they are. As the banners are lowered and the board look ahead to next year's battle, the faith of the club's fans may be the only glimmer of hope from a dark year they will be happy to forget. Official attendance for the Motherwell game given at just over 21,000 in this article. Did they not give it as 27,500? The attendance today given on the BBC website is 29,650. Under half again. Edited April 17, 2010 by Super_Ally 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gers4Life 0 Posted April 17, 2010 Share Posted April 17, 2010 Official attendance given at just over 21,000. Did they not give it as 27,500? The attendance today given on the BBC website is 29,650. Under half again. They have even offered supporters more tickets, just wonder how many will be punted to us, 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
gisabeer 409 Posted April 17, 2010 Share Posted April 17, 2010 was talking to a few of the mhanks in work who go to the games and they said that they will be boycotting all the games apart from the old firm game so i wont be expecting us to get any extra tickets. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Super_Ally 0 Posted April 17, 2010 Author Share Posted April 17, 2010 Looked more today than against Motherwell when watching tv today. But not so sure from this pic: 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pete 2,499 Posted April 17, 2010 Share Posted April 17, 2010 I was watching the Motherwell game and i am sure the announcement was 28.???. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
metlika 0 Posted April 17, 2010 Share Posted April 17, 2010 Of course there is pre-numbering all of the attendances for them are always rounded up and doubled. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Union City Blue 0 Posted April 18, 2010 Share Posted April 18, 2010 It's amazing they don't get slaughtered for these attendances and the blatant lies. Their support is so fragile, they must actually be in shock. They only lost the league on the very last day not even 12 months ago but their crowds have nose-dived unbelievably since then, at the first sign of trouble. TGFITW n' aaat, no? 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Super_Ally 0 Posted April 18, 2010 Author Share Posted April 18, 2010 It's amazing they don't get slaughtered for these attendances and the blatant lies. Their support is so fragile, they must actually be in shock. They only lost the league on the very last day not even 12 months ago but their crowds have nose-dived unbelievably since then, at the first sign of trouble. TGFITW n' aaat, no? Yet it was us getting slagged when Hampden wasn't full for a game against a diddy side. Gotta laugh at those muppets and their media lackies. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
metlika 0 Posted April 18, 2010 Share Posted April 18, 2010 I hardly see them fill Hampden when they play in a cup semi final match, hypocrites and liars to boot as well. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Super_Ally 0 Posted May 1, 2010 Author Share Posted May 1, 2010 24,000 today according to BBC. Nice round number again though. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.