mongolikecandy 418 Posted November 25, 2011 Share Posted November 25, 2011 I am asking this from the perspective of being based in Northern IrelandMy father formed the first Rangers supporters club in our town in 1970 and at its peak. the town had 3 clubs its back down to oneKids over here now run about in EPL tops now and although Rangers tops are still a common sighti it s the older generations wearing them Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrangemouthRSC 832 Posted November 25, 2011 Share Posted November 25, 2011 People just dont have the cash,our RSC shut a few years ago,same reason lots of pubs are closing.And i think familys would rather save say £100 rather than go out and buy their kid/s 3 Rangers strips a year. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
minstral 5,375 Posted November 25, 2011 Share Posted November 25, 2011 To be honest in my opinion money has killed the game, and many fans are now priced out of attending the game. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
GaryMc 2,394 Posted November 25, 2011 Share Posted November 25, 2011 To be honest in my opinion money has killed the game, and many fans are now priced out of attending the game.This. Along with the fact that Sky has made the EPL the most appealing and most watched league in the world so many young football fans will generally watch the EPL more and support a team from there.I even know people from around Glasgow and elsewhere in Scotland who support Liverpool, Man Utd and Arsenal yet don't support or even have a leaning toward any Scottish teams. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mongolikecandy 418 Posted November 25, 2011 Author Share Posted November 25, 2011 To be honest in my opinion money has killed the game, and many fans are now priced out of attending the game.My father always said The Rangers are your cultural identity on a sports field sonHe was right Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Londonderry_Bear 111 Posted November 25, 2011 Share Posted November 25, 2011 I don't think the support for the club is falling, yes youngsters today have greater exposure to the EPL thanks to Sky and the british papers talking about nothin else and so are more likely to be swayed towards an english team.I can only speak for here but in the mid 90s Londonderry had 3 RSCs that dropped to 2 in the early 2000s, however in the last 18 months we are back up to 3 and 2 new clubs have opened in the surrounding area in the last year. From what I have witnessed among people I know I actually think that the support for the club has been growing in the last while, though that probably goes hand in hand with the success we have had on the field in recent years Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thermopylae 15,287 Posted November 25, 2011 Share Posted November 25, 2011 The EPL really is such a big brand it is very hard to compete on an equal footing with these clubs ... it is a problem too that they are in the same country as us so there are no language barriers when watching on the television or attending matches.I posted before that 20 years ago our most expensive player was Duncan Ferguson who cost 4 million and Man Us was roy keane at 3.75 million. Look at how much they have grown in intervening 2 decades and how much we have shrunk and unfortunately you can only see it getting worse unless the EPL eventually becomes so big that it goes pop Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
albluenose1990 29 Posted November 25, 2011 Share Posted November 25, 2011 I'll make sure my nippers when I have them one day, stay supporting the Gers' like myself! But i'd agree with GaryMc that a lot of it is to do with the EPL constantly being broadcast and most people choosing an English team. But there are still so many Rangers fans about that I see in England, either at the gym, walking around towns/cities or just meeting them while at uni in Sheffield i've met at least 6 without seeking any of them out. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
GaryMc 2,394 Posted November 25, 2011 Share Posted November 25, 2011 I'll make sure my nippers when I have them one day, stay supporting the Gers' like myself! But i'd agree with GaryMc that a lot of it is to do with the EPL constantly being broadcast and most people choosing an English team. But there are still so many Rangers fans about that I see in England, either at the gym, walking around towns/cities or just meeting them while at uni in Sheffield i've met at least 6 without seeking any of them out.Good to hear. At my Uni in Edinburgh almost all of my mates are either Rangers fans or support a team down south with one or two supporting that other lot. Yet to find a Hearts/Hibs fan.And all of the Rangers fans come from Fife, Stirling and other areas outwith Glasgow so in that respect we still have a wide spanning support and we always will (within Scotland anyway). I think the concern though is that I'm meeting more and more people in Glasgow who don't support either of the OF but support EPL teams which I find mind boggling. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
keithgersbear 3,225 Posted November 25, 2011 Share Posted November 25, 2011 You don't need a shirt to declare your love for The Rangers. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gazzanova 328 Posted November 25, 2011 Share Posted November 25, 2011 I was playing fifa last week and was playing an American guy and we got chatting on the headsets and he asked me what team i support. After i said the bears he cheered and said he was a big fan, 'seeing broadfoot break Valencias ankle on tv' turned him into a Rangers fan was his words Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thermopylae 15,287 Posted November 25, 2011 Share Posted November 25, 2011 Publicity makes a big difference and it always has. The tea clipper Thermopylae was very much the Cutty Sarks equal and yet no one today knows her. Of course unlike the Cutty Sark she was never preserved at Greenwich but that only came about because of the famous voyage where her rudder broke at sea and she had to sail home from China without one Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duncan8 0 Posted November 25, 2011 Share Posted November 25, 2011 You don't need a shirt to declare your love for The Rangers.True mate, nothing wrong with showing colours but Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
papaguy51 912 Posted November 25, 2011 Share Posted November 25, 2011 It's a hard thing to call.You can't say Mr X supports Rangers more than Mr Y because he gets to more games or buys more tops.Mr Y might have to work odd hours to provide for other things, but he could still love the Gers more than Mr X. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SirWalterSmithLegend 206 Posted November 25, 2011 Share Posted November 25, 2011 People in Rangers strips are targets, like we saw in the thread the other day on here, and that was in Glasgow, it must be doubly hard over the water. We are hated on a wide scale, tarriers have made sure our name is mudd throughout the world and that makes it doubly hard to grow the fan base, couple that with that fact our kit and merchnadise is extremely difficult to get a hold of. As for N Ire, maybe people have been brainwahsed by years of taig infested mhedia to stay away from the Rangers and the alleged baggage our club and fans bring. Maybe its a breeding problem, more tims nowadays, or rather people who cant or dont want to support our club and everything that goes with it. Who knows. We are not just any other footballer club, we are more than a club. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TBagalag 722 Posted November 25, 2011 Share Posted November 25, 2011 I don't think that the support for our club has fallen, but due to the current financial downturn, having to work longer hours and the general poor level of the SPL more and more fans are having to think twice about forking out for tickets. The deal Rangers are doing in the family section for the Dunfermline game is a great idea and hopefully will attract fans who for whatever reason don't normally attend games. Hopefully the same fans spend a few quid in the club shop, generating extra income for the club. This could be the way forward for our so called lesser games. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adoniram 1,919 Posted November 25, 2011 Share Posted November 25, 2011 The only support that has fallen is the one going to the football itself. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
WMT 546 Posted November 25, 2011 Share Posted November 25, 2011 I am asking this from the perspective of being based in Northern IrelandMy father formed the first Rangers supporters club in our town in 1970 and at its peak. the town had 3 clubs its back down to oneKids over here now run about in EPL tops now and although Rangers tops are still a common sighti it s the older generations wearing themI don't think there's a decline in support, but from an NI perspective, it costs me £70 before I even think about drink/food etc. The spare cash isn't there any more for most people, hence fewer trips per year. Most people I know over here use the supporters clubs mainly for tickets, so when there is less demand, fewer people use supporters clubs. There is no doubt, however, that if the Ulster supporters lived in Scotland, most would be season ticket holders. You don't know how lucky you are.When it becomes so easy to watch Man U, Chelsea etc. on Sky, it's hard to get youngsters enthused about a 10 hour return journey to watch some of the stuff we have dished up this year... Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ricksen_da_best 2,034 Posted November 25, 2011 Share Posted November 25, 2011 I was playing fifa last week and was playing an American guy and we got chatting on the headsets and he asked me what team i support. After i said the bears he cheered and said he was a big fan, 'seeing broadfoot break Valencias ankle on tv' turned him into a Rangers fan was his words That didn't happen.Did broadfoot even touch the boy? Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rfcstew 1 Posted November 25, 2011 Share Posted November 25, 2011 If you look at teams like wigan and blackburn they cant fill there grounds either and thats when the big teams come to town. Last year when we were in the europa league we had one of the best attendances. I dont think its just scotland i think its football as a whole Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edmiston Drive 3,846 Posted November 25, 2011 Share Posted November 25, 2011 It may surprise many to hear, but, there are many Rangers fans up here. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adoniram 1,919 Posted November 25, 2011 Share Posted November 25, 2011 If you look at teams like wigan and blackburn they cant fill there grounds either and thats when the big teams come to town. Last year when we were in the europa league we had one of the best attendances. I dont think its just scotland i think its football as a wholeApart from the Bundesliga. They treat their fans with respect. They involve them in their decison making. They play active roles in running their clubs. The ticket prices (whilst high in certain parts of grounds) can still be very affordable. They also do not treat fans like criminals and arrest them for the slightest of offences and crucially they brought back safe standing areas for all grounds and the difference that has made has been unbelievable to the atmosphere.In Scotland the attitude is hostile and totalitarian. The Police and Authorities see football fans as the scum of the earth and an embarrassment to Scotland. We are filmed and photographed everywhere we go. We are asked to pay exorbitant ticketing prices for sub standard fare. We are not involved in decision making. Our views are largely ignored and when we are in the ground the majority of fans are so shit scared to open their mouths the atmosphere has been ruined.Why should football be any different to any other business on the planet which goes after its customers pro-actively. Treats them with respect. Values their views and works their business around the needs of the customer. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rfcstew 1 Posted November 25, 2011 Share Posted November 25, 2011 Apart from the Bundesliga. They treat their fans with respect. They involve them in their decison making. They play active roles in running their clubs. The ticket prices (whilst high in certain parts of grounds) can still be very affordable. They also do not treat fans like criminals and arrest them for the slightest of offences and crucially they brought back safe standing areas for all grounds and the difference that has made has been unbelievable to the atmosphere.In Scotland the attitude is hostile and totalitarian. The Police and Authorities see football fans as the scum of the earth and an embarrassment to Scotland. We are filmed and photographed everywhere we go. We are asked to pay exorbitant ticketing prices for sub standard fare. We are not involved in decision making. Our views are largely ignored and when we are in the ground the majority of fans are so shit scared to open their mouths the atmosphere has been ruined.Why should football be any different to any other business on the planet which goes after its customers pro-actively. Treats them with respect. Values their views and works their business around the needs of the customer.Out of all the leagues the bundesliga appears to be the blueprint in terms of structure and pricing but im sure i read at the weekends game between hansa and st pauli fireworks and other objects were being thrown. I agree with you on the policing matter and the way german teams go about there business but i dont think they are faultless either Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeneralCartmanLee 313 Posted November 25, 2011 Share Posted November 25, 2011 Certainly my experience in the republic us the support of the filth is verging on the non existant.....only a certain type of Irishman supports them now....all they care about football wise is the epl so It shouldn't be. A Surprise if the north is the same.I think in the uk we are as popular as ever just the country is skint...I have only checked a few leagues but attendances are down in most leagues.Remember 99.9% of football fans just want to go to the game then go home so that's what they do...all the other stuff about having a say in how he club is run , singing etc etc is nothing to them and who can blame them.....I am one of them. Nothing would stop me oing o he games I have manged it hassle free for about 27 years....dont see that changing. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adoniram 1,919 Posted November 25, 2011 Share Posted November 25, 2011 Out of all the leagues the bundesliga appears to be the blueprint in terms of structure and pricing but im sure i read at the weekends game between hansa and st pauli fireworks and other objects were being thrown. I agree with you on the policing matter and the way german teams go about there business but i dont think they are faultless eitherNo country and no set of fans are faultless. The very nature of the game and the fans rivalry will always ensure that.However it is fair to say that in Germany as a whole the fans have better treatement, better facilities and moost importantly ..far more respect. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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