Non League Football - 2022/23

[grobyfox1990]

27 minutes ago, Leicesterpool said:

Rise of non league attendance on the up of late, signs perhaps of the cost of living take affect, fans unable to avoid the premier league prices and giving the non league clubs a go, which are ten times cheaper. I mean come to the Boro or Coalville for example, you can enter the stadium for just a tenner, programme £2.50, burger £4, pint £3. So that's just over £20 spent in one day, while premier league prices its £40+ a ticket, programme £4, burger £6, Pint £5. Then adding on travel costs. So that's what possible nearly £100 spent one day. Quality of football may not be wonderful at non league level, but least you can say your not ripped off. 

Christ IMO £10 is a mental price for essentially park football. I think it's around £5 at Jersey Bulls with kids a quid or free. They get around 500/600 at each game, granted there's no competition! If you're paying £10 for a park match, then £30/40 for the highest level of football in the world which is probably what the PL is, is a bargain.

[Lako42]

9 minutes ago, grobyfox1990 said:

Christ IMO £10 is a mental price for essentially park football. I think it's around £5 at Jersey Bulls with kids a quid or free. They get around 500/600 at each game, granted there's no competition! If you're paying £10 for a park match, then £30/40 for the highest level of football in the world which is probably what the PL is, is a bargain.

Coalville is absolutely nowhere near park level football

 

 

[Lcfc82]

12 minutes ago, grobyfox1990 said:

Christ IMO £10 is a mental price for essentially park football. I think it's around £5 at Jersey Bulls with kids a quid or free. They get around 500/600 at each game, granted there's no competition! If you're paying £10 for a park match, then £30/40 for the highest level of football in the world which is probably what the PL is, is a bargain.

Bit disrespectful calling the level Coalville and Nuneaton play at park football. It’s a decent standard and well worth the money IMO.

 

Jersey Bulls play a couple of levels lower but £5 is cheap if that’s what it is.

[filbertway]

1 minute ago, Lcfc82 said:

Bit disrespectful calling the level Coalville and Nuneaton play at park football. It’s a decent standard and well worth the money IMO.

 

Jersey Bulls play a couple of levels lower but £5 is cheap if that’s what it is.

Considering they have to pay to fly opposition over for every home game, I'm sure they're not short of a couple of quid.

 

We used to charge £5 when we were in the MFA which is the same level. This was 10 years ago mind.

[CosbehFox]

6 minutes ago, filbertway said:

Considering they have to pay to fly opposition over for every home game, I'm sure they're not short of a couple of quid.

 

We used to charge £5 when we were in the MFA which is the same level. This was 10 years ago mind.

Guernsey used to have all the travel expense covered by a bookmaker based there. 

 

Btw I'd say Coalville's level is the last well priced tier. I know FC United said they preferred Step 3 to Step 2. 

The figures charged at Nat North and South are silly. 

Edited 21 March 2023 by CosbehFox

[grobyfox1990]

24 minutes ago, Lako42 said:

Coalville is absolutely nowhere near park level football

 

 

Sure true maybe not park football, but compared to the PL miles and miles off. The lad who sits opposite me at work went to uni with three lads who now play for Coalville on the side of their full time jobs, not exactly unattainable levels. And if you're paying £30/40 for the PL, in logical terms £10 is a joke. Either the PL is cheap or this is expensive because the upgrade in standards is much more than 3 or 4 times. Overall I am surprised they get so many through the door at that price which seems unjustifiable with the competition on their doorstep

 

Yes Jersey have to pay the costs of those coming over, AND when they travel away!! They rely on sponsors which of course are readily available (my firm included).

 

[Lako42]

3 minutes ago, grobyfox1990 said:

Either the PL is cheap or this is expensive because the upgrade in standards is much more than 3 or 4 times. Overall I am surprised they get so many through the door at that price which seems unjustifiable with the competition on their doorstep

 

 

 

It's quite simple. One relies massively on gate receipts and one doesn't need them at all. 

 

The costs associated with a team at Coalville's level are actually quite big. £10 isn't taking the piss. 

[SemperEadem]

23 minutes ago, CosbehFox said:

Guernsey used to have all the travel expense covered by a bookmaker based there. 

 

Btw I'd say Coalville's level is the last well priced tier. I know FC United said they preferred Step 3 to Step 2. 

The figures charged at Nat North and South are silly. 

Yeah agree

[grobyfox1990]

26 minutes ago, Lako42 said:

It's quite simple. One relies massively on gate receipts and one doesn't need them at all. 

 

The costs associated with a team at Coalville's level are actually quite big. £10 isn't taking the piss. 

What I am saying is very very easy to understand. If you can pay 3/4 times more for the highest level of football in the world which is on your doorstep, why would you bother watching some regional part timers flying around, I don't care about their costs. Granted I have played at Owen Road or whatever it's called and it is nice.

 

Given both the PL and non-league are doing well, you cannot argue with the pricing tbf.

[Lako42]

2 minutes ago, grobyfox1990 said:

why would you bother watching some regional part timers flying around

 

Given both the PL and non-league are doing well, you cannot argue with the pricing tbf.

Like  said, because they can't get tickets and so don't bother.  £10 is cheaper than £40 regardless of the quality. 

Edited 21 March 2023 by Lako42

[Durnerz]

1 hour ago, Leicesterpool said:

Rise of non league attendance on the up of late, signs perhaps of the cost of living take affect, fans unable to avoid the premier league prices and giving the non league clubs a go, which are ten times cheaper. I mean come to the Boro or Coalville for example, you can enter the stadium for just a tenner, programme £2.50, burger £4, pint £3. So that's just over £20 spent in one day, while premier league prices its £40+ a ticket, programme £4, burger £6, Pint £5. Then adding on travel costs. So that's what possible nearly £100 spent one day. Quality of football may not be wonderful at non league level, but least you can say your not ripped off. 

 

Pretty much how I think its going. Attendances are climbing in non-league and there's a sense of how football used to be about it all. I can rock up to a pub/clubhouse for a reasonably priced pint (£3.50 San Miguel Saturday at Halesowen!) with no hint of trouble, take the family along, get in for a fair price and enjoy a good game of football with no VAR and better food than I ever had in the Premier League/Championship. 

[leicesterisme]

42 minutes ago, grobyfox1990 said:

What I am saying is very very easy to understand. If you can pay 3/4 times more for the highest level of football in the world which is on your doorstep, why would you bother watching some regional part timers flying around, I don't care about their costs. Granted I have played at Owen Road or whatever it's called and it is nice.

 

Given both the PL and non-league are doing well, you cannot argue with the pricing tbf.

Probably because watching the Premier League for the most part is absolutely mind dumbingly boring & shit, I get so much more enjoyment out of watching non league than I do the Prem. 

 

£10 for step 3 is absolutely not a piss take whatsoever, it’s actually great value. 
 

From what your writing I guess you have no interest in non league & never will which is fair enough, but there is a vastly growing number throughout the country who have given it a go and clearly love it looking at the growing attendances.

[grobyfox1990]

2 minutes ago, leicesterisme said:

Probably because watching the Premier League for the most part is absolutely mind dumbingly boring & shit, I get so much more enjoyment out of watching non league than I do the Prem. 

 

£10 for step 3 is absolutely not a piss take whatsoever, it’s actually great value. 
 

From what your writing I guess you have no interest in non league & never will which is fair enough, but there is a vastly growing number throughout the country who have given it a go and clearly love it looking at the growing attendances.

Yeh that is where the personal touch comes into play, you decide your own value for money. For me a tenner is a p1sstake and something I'd never consider for a park game. Fiver absolutely fair. I think the PL is a great watch, played at 100mph with human beings at the height of athletic ability smashing into each other. I struggle to understand how people can watch it and not admire it.

 

I have interest in non-league, I have an STH at Jersey Bulls (step 5) and go regularly. When I lived in London I went to many games across the steps. I have always kept abreast of how Leics teams do. The quality has always been horrendous but it is something to do, I am a football fan as well as an LCFC fan.

[leicesterisme]

6 minutes ago, grobyfox1990 said:

Yeh that is where the personal touch comes into play, you decide your own value for money. For me a tenner is a p1sstake and something I'd never consider for a park game. Fiver absolutely fair. I think the PL is a great watch, played at 100mph with human beings at the height of athletic ability smashing into each other. I struggle to understand how people can watch it and not admire it.

 

I have interest in non-league, I have an STH at Jersey Bulls (step 5) and go regularly. When I lived in London I went to many games across the steps. I have always kept abreast of how Leics teams do. The quality has always been horrendous but it is something to do, I am a football fan as well as an LCFC fan.

But just like the Prem & League one the quality is worlds apart from step 3 & step 5, hence it only being £5 at Step 5 and £10 at step 3. Don’t know why you keep saying park football, it’s absolutely nothing like park football. 

[Stuntman_Mike]

@grobyfox1990 are you sure this isn't you having a pop at Coalville?  

I've noticed a few digs in the past.

 

£10 is great value for money and the level is decent.

I'd genuinely pay double that knowing I'm helping a club out rather than being over charged at a higher level with my money not really making a contribution to ridiculous wages etc.

[grobyfox1990]

25 minutes ago, leicesterisme said:

But just like the Prem & League one the quality is worlds apart from step 3 & step 5, hence it only being £5 at Step 5 and £10 at step 3. Don’t know why you keep saying park football, it’s absolutely nothing like park football. 

Good point. Yes slip of the tongue re park football, it's the only way I can describe it to non-football fans. Which obviously no one on here is

 

15 minutes ago, Stuntman_Mike said:

@grobyfox1990 are you sure this isn't you having a pop at Coalville?  

I've noticed a few digs in the past.

 

£10 is great value for money and the level is decent.

I'd genuinely pay double that knowing I'm helping a club out rather than being over charged at a higher level with my money not really making a contribution to ridiculous wages etc.

Haha true but not this time. My digs on here are targeted at people droning on weekly about how they are 'done with LCFC mate' but never do anything. Coalville is the convenient peg for it as I follow this thread. Nothing against Coalville at all, I massively respect anyone going to Coalville often, you're miles better than the moaners and droners on here. I used to go to Emporium often, people were friendly if you ignore the obvious weirdness. I also always used to score there when I played, again oppo were always friendly albeit very strange. 

Edited 21 March 2023 by grobyfox1990
typo

[CosbehFox]

21 minutes ago, Stuntman_Mike said:

@grobyfox1990 are you sure this isn't you having a pop at Coalville?  

I've noticed a few digs in the past.

 

£10 is great value for money and the level is decent.

I'd genuinely pay double that knowing I'm helping a club out rather than being over charged at a higher level with my money not really making a contribution to ridiculous wages etc.

Tbf I’ll be quite open with Coalville.
 

I’m glad they are doing well because it’s more organic than a lot of success stories at non league. However if people think Owen Street is a good day out - there are some non league clubs which provide a far better experience, problem is none of them are in Leicestershire. 

[filbertway]

1 hour ago, CosbehFox said:

Tbf I’ll be quite open with Coalville.
 

I’m glad they are doing well because it’s more organic than a lot of success stories at non league. However if people think Owen Street is a good day out - there are some non league clubs which provide a far better experience, problem is none of them are in Leicestershire. 

What constitutes a good experience that you can't get at Coalville out of interest?

 

That's not a set up or me having a mardy btw, just generally interested.

 

The one thing I'd love is a stadium like Hednesfords with a massive terrace. But the stands behind the goal are getting bigger every year, so the progress is there

 

[Lako42]

Coalville were lucky to get 200 at a game 2 years a go. They are making great progress on and off the pitch. 

 

These things take time, especially when not bankrolled like some other clubs. 

[Finnaldo]

1 hour ago, grobyfox1990 said:

Good point. Yes slip of the tongue re park football, it's the only way I can describe it to non-football fans. Which obviously no one on here is

 

Haha true but not this time. My digs on here are targeted at people droning on weekly about how they are 'done with LCFC mate' but never do anything. Coalville is the convenient peg for it as I follow this thread. Nothing against Coalville at all, I massively respect anyone going to Coalville often, you're miles better than the moaners and droners on here. I used to go to Emporium often, people were friendly if you ignore the obvious weirdness. I also always used to score there when I played, again oppo were always friendly albeit very strange. 

In my experience, non-league is a lot more personable an experience. If things aren’t going well or there’s issues at the club, you can usually have a decent, civil chat with the club chairman or board who’ll usually be around on matchday. Look at the scenes at Leicester games with arguments and even occasional fights in the stand at this point because the owners, board and manager are so far removed from fans that it ends up being pro-owners fans against anti-owners fans, pro-Brendan fans vs anti-Brendan fans etc. 

 

In non-league, from Coalville/Barwell’s level down, it feels like you’re all in it together. It’s al most therapeutic going from a Leicester game, with the matchday experience feeling pretty soulless and arguing in the stands, to watching Barwell or Hinckley  

Edited 21 March 2023 by Finnaldo

[grobyfox1990]

In conclusion you are all right, I was looking at it as a pure play value for money based on quality only metric. In which case £10 is not fair. Whereas clearly there are other metrics with which to judge value for money upon, and £10 is very fair. As stated I am a football fan and enjoy going to live games across the world at all levels, I certainly respect the people on this thread far more than those continuously moaning but continuing to go to the KP.

[CosbehFox]

2 hours ago, filbertway said:

What constitutes a good experience that you can't get at Coalville out of interest?

 

That's not a set up or me having a mardy btw, just generally interested.

 

The one thing I'd love is a stadium like Hednesfords with a massive terrace. But the stands behind the goal are getting bigger every year, so the progress is there

 

I think Owen Street lacks charm. But I could accuse that of all Leicestershire based grounds. Says a lot that the Dovecote is probably the best on that regard. 

 

The clubhouse is fairly small and awkwardly up a set of steps. Sort of place you'd pop in to grab a drink and then back out again rather than getting down the ground early a good couple of hours before. 

 

Little things like food outlets are hardly stand out. Admittedly from a far, Coalville do some cracking ticketing deals but they don't advertise a great deal of community work for the town (I could be wrong). 

 

I just never felt overly warm to the place - as someone who could quite easily adopt a Leicestershire non league club as a second team since moving back to Brum. As I said I think Leicestershire really lacks a pro-active non league club. The city based clubs in particular let themselves down despite having some cracking facilities ( eg. Aylestone Park). We have a good concentration of Step 5/6 clubs with decent facility based grounds but a lot of this is funded via kids football. 

 

When I lived in Brum, I'd regularly go Halesowen, ALvechurch or Bromsgrove. Halesowen has this proper ground - couple of decent bars, brilliant pub down the road. Alvechurch is basic as can be but the setting is stunning - helps the chairmen is a nice bloke. Bromsgrove again another proper ground - three bars around the ground - shame its gone really downhill there. When I went Boldmere in January, the food was utterly brilliant and the clubhouse really well fitted out. 

Edited 21 March 2023 by CosbehFox

[filbertway]

1 hour ago, CosbehFox said:

I think Owen Street lacks charm. But I could accuse that of all Leicestershire based grounds. Says a lot that the Dovecote is probably the best on that regard. 

 

The clubhouse is fairly small and awkwardly up a set of steps. Sort of place you'd pop in to grab a drink and then back out again rather than getting down the ground early a good couple of hours before. 

 

Little things like food outlets are hardly stand out. Admittedly from a far, Coalville do some cracking ticketing deals but they don't advertise a great deal of community work for the town (I could be wrong). 

 

I just never felt overly warm to the place - as someone who could quite easily adopt a Leicestershire non league club as a second team since moving back to Brum. As I said I think Leicestershire really lacks a pro-active non league club. The city based clubs in particular let themselves down despite having some cracking facilities ( eg. Aylestone Park). We have a good concentration of Step 5/6 clubs with decent facility based grounds but a lot of this is funded via kids football. 

 

When I lived in Brum, I'd regularly go Halesowen, ALvechurch or Bromsgrove. Halesowen has this proper ground - couple of decent bars, brilliant pub down the road. Alvechurch is basic as can be but the setting is stunning - helps the chairmen is a nice bloke. Bromsgrove again another proper ground - three bars around the ground - shame its gone really downhill there. When I went Boldmere in January, the food was utterly brilliant and the clubhouse really well fitted out. 

 

The clubhouse actually had a decent makeover 2 summers ago, unfortunately, it's not really suited to crowds of 500+ due to a chronic lack of space. We do have the permanent downstairs bar now though and there is seating in there as well as service outside.

 

The food is massively overpriced now unfortunately. That is a negative. Especially compared to Bromsgrove who do great food at reasonable prices.

 

In terms of the community, we have an unbelievable amount of youth teams, girls and boys that provide football opportunities for anybody no matter your ability or sex. https://www.pitchero.com/clubs/coalvilletown/teams

 

I think charm and character are something that develop at a club over a long period of time. The Coalville Town Football club is still a relative baby but the people that volunteer there help the club improve season after season. Local council voted to withdraw £20k a year funding which usually goes to supporting community projects, so hopefully they are able to continue.

 

As a ground hopper you probably won't take much from the ground compared to others, but much like most other non league clubs. The community spirit and desire to improve is fantastic.

[westernpark]

Anyone recommend a non league team near Buxton for this weekend?. I’m in Buxton this week, for business and a bit of relaxation, but unfortunately they’re not playing at home. Don’t mind driving 35 minutes from there.

[CosbehFox]

24 minutes ago, westernpark said:

Anyone recommend a non league team near Buxton for this weekend?. I’m in Buxton this week, for business and a bit of relaxation, but unfortunately they’re not playing at home. Don’t mind driving 35 minutes from there.

Leek Town nearest at home on Saturday. Great ground, shame they’ve stuck 3G in