Pretty sure all of that has very little to do with the low crowd - Covid is no doubt the main reason. High case rates, lack of confidence, changed habits and an ageing fan base. Those who declined season tickets this year due to the uncertainty likely won't buy match tickets.

IF the country has a better grip on Covid in the off season we will have to hope that many will be willing to come back. My guess is we'll end up with something like 25-30% less than our usual average.

I’ll take your first paragraph. In all honesty I agree fully.

But the badge? Really? If fans are staying away for the badge then they aren’t fans. What a ridiculous excuse.

Nowt to do with the badge.

A large % of our supporters are aged over 60 years old. It's this section of support that will be most nervous about milling around the concourses of a stadium. Covid cases are getting higher by the week and it must feel risky for then despite Boris feeding us with his 'Freedom Day'.

Also traditionally our attendances took a dip during kids school holidays. Granted not many going abroad these days but most will be having UK trips/campsites.

Things won't improve till next season (I hope assuming things improve) when the club advertise season tickets.

We have bigger issues though and that's bringing in younger support through. But that's always been the case.

Pre-covid, we had over a decade where the attendance for a regular season league fixture never dipped below 10K.

Now, its highly likely the attendances will only top 10K when Saints & Wire come to town.

I fear that we have now lost a generation of supporters, and not all of them have been lost due to Covid - many will have decided that watching a Wigan side which is, at best, only competitive with the likes of Wakefield & Huddersfield, whilst getting drubbed by Saints & Wire is not the best way to spend £30.

It’s a combination of a few things but it’s a huge worry. Covid is the main issue but not just from the point of people being nervous to come back, it’s also on the fact there was no certainty around selling season tickets. It’s tough for people to commit when you don’t know how many games you’re likely to be allowed to go to and people will only give up their money to the club in certain circumstances where you don’t see it coming. I also think people will have got out of the habit of going and that will take time to turn round. We then come to the real elephant in the room-the rugby is dire and has been in all the time Lam has been here but it’s gone to a whole new level this season. Even last night we played a bit better but it was a one man show really and without that individual brilliance from Hastings, I’m not sure where the points come from. We look devoid of ideas and totally at a loss of how we can break teams down.

The club really need to out in some hard yards to get people back. If we look at this season, we have 6 home fixtures left. Why haven’t we pushed half season tickets? Why not offer the 6 games for £100? I’d be in for that after not getting a season ticket this season. Further down the line they really need to try and create a buzz going in to 2022. I’m not holding my breath though as it feels a bit like Lenagan has given up trying to turn it around.

I said it yesterday, but why aren't the club trying to find a way to showcase games on Wigan TV? It p!sses me off that, if I wanted to, I can watch a stream of Latics playing in the 3rd Division against another generic footy club, but I can't do that for us.

Everyone points to us having an aging fan base and one that's going to be more Covid cautious than anything. Yes, it might have an impact on ticket sales, but I'm not sure how much? Those that have bought season tickets, will be accounted for and I'm sure there's more chance of getting casual or lapsed fans to pay £10 for a stream than, banking on them turning up. You could give it a primetime NFL feel, get cameras in the dressing rooms, interview with Lam at HT and a digital programme or golden gamble etc.

I get it's probably down to Sky, but there has to be new ways of thinking in what is a new world.

Sounds like Leeds had around 10-11k on last night (a guess from one of their fans, I can’t find anything official) which is probably a drop of 2-3k on a normal attendance against Salford. We were down about 5k on what you’d have expected for a game against Wakey pre Covid. That extra 2-3k we’ve lost is a sign of what is being served up on the field.

Apart from Hastings and a nice finish from Bibby the overall quality of the game was very poor.
I’m not sure how things are going to improve in the short term with a limited coach and bad luck on the injury front.

As worrying a time that I can recall since the late 70’s to early 80’s.
It took Uncle Mo and Co to drag us out of those depths but I’m uncertain if IL has the energy or resources to turn it around

The only reason I'm not going to games now we are able is, because of the cr*p standard of rugby where serving up, and I'd imagine there's many more with the same mindset

I don't know exactly what you mean by 'showcase', but I thought the club were unable to do more because of Sky. Is this not the case?

Are other SL clubs doing more in this regard for their fans than Wigan are?

It was a typo and should have said show.

No, I don't think they are but honestly I don't 100% know. I'm sure it is down to Sky, but it's pretty pathetic when Sky don't even pick up a game.

Covid impact

Dire dire style of play (even with a much improved result it was still terrible to watch)

No entertainment in or around the ground

No marketing of the fixture what so ever.

Think sometimes clubs take it for granted that fans will just turn up regardless

More or less this.

I do feel that we are limping to an announcement (around October) that IL has f*cked it off and has transferred the club over to Danson. I mean when was the last time we heard anything from him (other than his half d attempt at buying the DW off Baron Greenback).

Some supporters need to look at the present crowds of other sports instead of making a excuse that in our game, it is due to the pandemic.

And where some get the idea that another reason is due to our fan base being 60 plus is hilarious when you see supporters of all ages and both sexes in crowds at the DW Stadium.

More a case of many older supporters no longer finding the game as entertaining as a result of the constant rule changes and lack of verity in play and also not containing as many classier players and characters as there used to be in the days before RU going professional.

Yeah was watching some of the Olympics last night. Really packing the crowds in they were.

And I don't think you can compare the Euros and Wimbledon to a SL fixture against Wakefield.

And a lot of people are comparing it to the Hundred in cricket but they’re literally giving tickets away. I’ve got six for a game at Old Trafford next week.

We thought there was more than 5500 at the game. Not massively more but the announced figure did seem low.

Any number of reasons, the main one Covid. Anyone who's uncertain about the law, regulations or guidance will err on the side of caution. Wigan last week had one of the worst Covid numbers in the country. Again, anyone worried would stay away.

Then there is the rugby. At times its been utterly dreadful. We all know about injuries but often the teams main play makers have been playing. Clueless, headless chickens, disorganised are some of the words used to describe the standard of play. Lam's team selections, interchanges and game plan, or lack of are many of the reasons supporters are unhappy the way the team has been playing.

Things will improve and we will get used on how to handle Covid.
Onward and upward, Come on Wigan!

I think the fact it looked more than 5,500 is down to the fact that we’ve seen crowds not too dissimilar to that announced as being 10/11,000 in the past. That’s because they’d count all the season ticket holders regardless of them turning up or not.

The club just seems totally uninterested in trying things to get the crowds in. I read a Wire fan saying he picked his half season tickets up the other day. Us? Nothing, no word on that being an option. I guess we’ve laid the marketing team off to save costs? It seems like we’ve laid most people off going off the lack of communication from the club, the shrinking content on social media and Wigan TV. We need a huge injection of energy from somewhere, energy and investment in the right people to push the club forward.

Response this evening on Twitter from Lenagan (Not Ian but his son Simon):

Fair enough I suppose but I’d have to ask when they’re thinking of making a start on pushing tickets for games and trying things to get people in? He says they’ll be looking at creative ways to get people in. That’s great but ‘now’ is the time surely. They’ve had one game where they could sell as many tickets as they wanted and next week they’ll have the second and there’s no sign of doing anything other than putting a post on the website saying ‘tickets on sale’ yet.

Stop blaming the situation on Covid19 and in the case of Wigan, on Lam and face the reality that the game as a whole is in dire straits compared to other team games.

For example, as a result of declining crowds at county games, Cricket introduced one day and twenty twenty games to bring in the crowds which proved to be more entertaining and exciting.

In contrast, Rugby League has in the eyes of many supporters has gone backwards and become stereotype with less variety in play due to constant rule changes including the decision to scrap contested scrums which is part and parcel of the game, less quality players, no characters or personalities like in the past.

The fact that Wigan are still around the top four clubs is only because of the poorer squads of most of the other clubs which is also not helped by having thirty six clubs in three divisions when there is less quality players being produced due to not every Super League Club having Academy teams and less people attending games like there also used to be.

A situation which is also not helped by some Super League clubs still playing on sub standard grounds and in the case of clubs like Swinton, no ground in their own town.

The game needs a complete shake up from top to bottom before the situation goes even worse!

I'l say what I always say about contested scrums, the use of the corner flag, 40/20s, etc etc

It's a naturally tendency of mankind to think everything was bettor when they were kids. Who saw all the best bands, eh?



I watched (the highlights of) the RU Test between the Lions and SA yesterday. Are those piles of bodies what people want to go back to?

I'll tell you what: I'll wager that 95% of those who want to see contested scrums and all that, are 60+, more likely 70+. Those people (and I include myself) are not the future of the game.

Ask anyone who's under 25 at a game if they'd like to see a return to contested scrums. The answer will either be "No way!", or "What's a contested scrum, Granddad!"

And people may not like the way the game is played in the NRL, but I'll say this: it is the future. Fast,and exciting. What modern audiences, not a bunch of old coffin-dodgers, want!

I disagree wholeheartedly.

Don’t get me wrong, I love the fast expansive exciting rugby but I’m also a sucker for the tough ground out games. I feel that in SL we [idid [/ihave a balance between the 2 a few years ago but the scale has tipped to conservative, dogged, safe rugby.

I did watch the NRL most weeks (work dependant) but found it so confusing with their rules v our rules v international rules. It’s ridiculous. We have 3 codes of the same game, so I chose our code over the up themselves Aussies. I may only watch Wigan and a few select other teams but I’d rather that than watch whatever code of RL the Aussies want to play.