Quote ="SRC"Mick, I think it mentioned in the local paper that the lottery brought in approaching £300,000 a year. Adding the extra 2,000 members would take it to close to £500,000. nwemail.co.uk/raiders/news/raide ... s/1.257647 I think we're a quarter of the way there and the GF win will surely help to sign more up. It is an ongoing campaign and was always going to take several months to get the 2,000 new members. As for Barrow being in Lancashire .... I just don't get it. Counties are man-made administrative boundaries. Cumbria didn't exist before 1974, so by the same thinking Haven or Workington are not in Cumbria either, they're in Cumberland. A county as small as Cumberland wouldnt stand a chance.'" Against what? China in a war? The argument before was about Copeland and Allerdale's population (in Cumberland originally as was Carlisle ). I believe we'd have enough but it seems I'm in the minority. Another reason West Cumbria won't is lack of progress: www.newsandstar.co.uk/sport/have ... port/haven same old same old

Quote ="SRC"Mick, I think it mentioned in the local paper that the lottery brought in approaching £300,000 a year. Adding the extra 2,000 members would take it to close to £500,000. nwemail.co.uk/raiders/news/raide ... s/1.257647 I think we're a quarter of the way there and the GF win will surely help to sign more up. It is an ongoing campaign and was always going to take several months to get the 2,000 new members. As for Barrow being in Lancashire .... I just don't get it. Counties are man-made administrative boundaries. Cumbria didn't exist before 1974, so by the same thinking Haven or Workington are not in Cumbria either, they're in Cumberland. A county as small as Cumberland wouldnt stand a chance.'" Against what? China in a war? The argument before was about Copeland and Allerdale's population (in Cumberland originally as was Carlisle ). I believe we'd have enough but it seems I'm in the minority. Another reason West Cumbria won't is lack of progress: www.newsandstar.co.uk/sport/have ... port/haven same old same old

But that is what I am saying , we already dont have the money or players to properly run the 14 we have , so to add more would surely just weaken the ones already in and also reduce any possibility of providing money to help out the lower tiers , surely we want to close the gap , not widen it

You're doing the same thing. You forgot the NR Cup Semi against Fev at 2,775. We also attracted a sell-out 6,275 against Wigan in the Challenge Cup. Also, adding the Widnes v Gateshead attendance is a bit of a joke as it was free to get in !!

I never said that Barrow had a higher average by any means what I said was that our crowds were up 1,000 in 2009 (and we were the best supported team in NL2 in 2008 by about 400 average). There's no reason why we can't add another 1,000 next season as we head towards license application time.

Widnes had several years in SL and many towards the top of the 2nd tier. Your fanbase should be MILES AHEAD of a club just promoted from NL2 .... but it isn't.

OK, we are outsiders for a SL license in 2012, but I remember many Widnes fans on this forum slagging off pretty much ALL Barrow's signings in the off season prior to the season. 'You'll do well to stay up' etc etc.

Write us off, either on or off the pitch, at your peril.

I included home games where both clubs receive all gate receipts. I certainly didn't massage the figures in the way you did. You may as well include your two finals in the equation if you go down the road you suggest. But that wouldn't give us a real idea of what you get through your own gate every week. This is why I included only League and NRC league home games, which does.


It wasn't for me, or any other season ticket holder. There was a promotion on for that game, but it did attract 5,236. That was the attendance and it is fair enough to include it. Just because it doesn't sit well with you is irrelevant. Either way, it wouldn't make a great deal of difference to the over-all figures. Barrow would still be over 1,400 spectators behind.


If you had just said that, I would simply have congratulated your club rather than give the answer I did.


Good luck to you with that. Perhaps you can brag about it when it actually happens.


Yes it is. We've been out of SL for four years. I don't know why you think, because we were once in SL, it will mean we will retain all our SL fans? There are several clubs in SL now that struggle, or don't actually get as many fans as we do now. I could understand what you say, if we had just been relegated after years in the top flight, but that's definitely not the case. If you think Barrow can match our attendances next season, then good luck to them. But I think you'll find that will be harder than you think. When you get within a few hundred of us you'll have something to shout about.



Do you?

I don't remember any Widnes fans even mentioning Barrow at all at the start of the season, let alone slagging off your signings.


OK

Widnes are the best supported club out the SL by a country mi...... better hadnt say that



But even Widnes had a drop in attendance last season including the (free admission game) but still the best supported by a large margin, so doffs cap to you there.

However Barrow's crowds are flying up and I hope that continues, even if our crowds only rise by 2 or 300 I would be very happy as its steady continued growth, any more and id be delighted.

Barrow away crowd figures are lower than Widnes's due to our location being seen as difficult to travel to and being seen as a lesser attractive fixture historically , however the roads into Barrow have and are improving cutting travel times and the future bridge infrastructures could have a huge impact on this, add in the factor that we are now the defending champions and are producing a quaility side should hopefully incourage more away supporters to inflate out attendance average further.

I think the recession has hit everyone. A major factor with our drop last season was the move to Friday and Saturday evenings. We lost 400 season tickets because of that.


I'm sure, with the players you are attracting and the success you're having, you will.


I think away following counts for very little in this league anyway. Very few clubs bring 100 or more supporters, unless it's in the play-offs. Only Leigh ever bring 400 or more to Widnes. We'll miss them next season as a result. So you'll need to rely almost entirely on your own fans. I did notice that most clubs had their largest attendances when Wdnes were visitors though.



Good luck to Barrow. I don't think Barrow will be in the frame for a licence in 2012. But with a new stadium, a steadily improving fan base and an improved youth structure, Barrow would be a very attractive prospect for a place in SL in the future. You are certainly going in the right direction with that regard anyway.





There's no Halifax fan's looking, so I think you got away with it.