EFL Survey | Page 2 | Vital Football

EFL Survey

I have only just started using the iFollow option and have to say, I am pretty pleased with it - the option, not always the football. A home game for me means a round trip of almost a 1200 miles and even Accrington is almost 700 miles there and back. Not something I would relish on a winters day even if we were to win. Thankfully (touch wood) I haven't had any problems with iFollow yet, my only peeve is when the commentary is provided by the home team - as with Pompey the other day - and there is some biased ex pro telling the world how shit we are and how lucky we were to get a point out of the game. The radio Kent commentators are reasonably unbiased and even PL seems to have improved.... although he did inadvertently say "come shot" the other night. Churlish bringing it up but it made me chuckle....
 
My 3 main fears on keeping Ifollow (in the UK) beyond a time that fans are allowed back would be...
1/. The direct effect on season ticket and matchday ticket sales that are the lifeblood of the club and backbone of its finances.
2/. The negative effect on atmosphere at the ground if a significant percentage of local support don't bother easing their arses off their sofas to actually attend.
3/ As mentioned elsewhere, what percentage of any future Ifollow service would be returned to the club.
 
Just completed it - it took some time.....
Only option that was missing was no commentary at all.
Other than that I listen to the away commentary as it is interesting to see what outsiders think of us.

If streaming was available when full capcity is allowed bak into the ground I would happily pay the cost of a real ticket to watch a stream if I could not make it to the ground in time for kick off.
 
I am planning to watch my local side when I can't get to Gills. They play in the local Suffolk league.Equivalent to the Kent league. I have been known to go to the likes of Chatham,Faversham and Sittingbourne so it is not going to be that much of a shock to the system. I don't really enjoy TV football that much so definitely will not be paying large sums to watch more and more.Football for me is only really entertaining live.If this depletes the crowds more i can see it doing serious damage long term .I would only be in favour if it could be proved that the atmosphere wasn't affected. Definitely should be available for those over say 100 to 200 miles from the match and those unable to view games for medical reasons.
 
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Watching at home is convenient and it saves me 2 hours travel and £12 diesel.

But it's nowhere near as being there in the flesh.

Overall i'm not keen. I do wonder if watching WITH the ground back open would make a better experience though.
 
alex_farrells_left_p said:
Where does the money we pay to watch a match go precisely. Does Gillingham FC get all of the cash or only a certain percentage? I'd also like to know how many viewer are there on average. Given the number of different reactions on here during the match, I wouldn't have thought it was that busy but there again, some people have lives and prefer doing something else than hanging around on Vital Gills most of the day - like me.
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I believe that GFC gets 85% of home match subs , so £8.50 of the £10 fee. I`ll look it up later and confirm; same with the formula agreed for working out "away" numbers. Accrington Stanley published the system several months ago. Most clubs don`t tell !
 
Just finished the survey. I've watched every single game home and away on ifollow so far this season, apart from that bloody silly competition with the premier u23s in it. Got to say I've thoroughly enjoyed the experience (not always the standard of football). To be able to witness the ebbs and flows of a season, home and away, the form of individual players, the different tactics, often two games in a week, has been a real eye opener. Often the sense of despair is palpable, occasionally joy, however fleeting, triumphs. I can afford £10 a go so it seems a bit of a bargain. The presentation could be better for sure, more camera angles, better commentary etc. I'd normally go to 10/12 home games a season and can't see that changing when things get back to normal and I'd welcome the chance to watch the other games, particularly away, via ifollow knowing the club will benefit financially. However, home attendances should not be adversely affected and therein lies the problem.
 
I’m all for iFollow being kept in UK (us exiles get it anyway). But as mentioned by a few, have to ensure it doesn’t harm each clubs’ revenue.

It would be almost inevitable that a certain percentage of floating fans would just stay indoors. All clubs attendances would suffer hence their income suffers.

Maybe if it was kept, the price (and income to each club) should be set at what that club charges to actually attend. If people want to watch on TV purely to save money, they will still do that by saving all the associated travel and food costs of attending a game. And the club still gets income.

But I can’t see many fans wanting to watch a TV game if it meant forking out £30-£80 per game.

And it would still affect crowd size and atmosphere.
 
Who gets what via iFollow

Andy Holt (Accy Stanley) spoke about the financial aspects of iFollow early into the scheme. (may have changed)

As I recall, the Home club receives net iFollow revenue from its own fans (determined by how a fan enters iFollow , that is GFC fans entering iFollow via GFC website are identified as GFC fans) and also revenue from away fans logging in via there own website - but not necessarily all away revenue. Back when Holt was talking about it the EFL had adopted a scheme whereby, for each fixture, the participating clubs would agree and define an Agreed Away Attendance (AAA). The home club would gain revenue from the away iFollow passes bought for that game if the number purchased exceeded the AAA. For example, if GFC and Ipswich agree that the AAA for today would be 1,500 Ipswich fans but 3,500 Ipswich fans buy passes then GFC get the revenue from the excess 2,000 fans plus their own home (GFC) purchases. (Ipswich get the 1500 x iFollow net pass money)
As for net fee for the football clubs, I can`t currently find confirmation. EFL says at least 70% goes to clubs.
 
alphabet_king said:
Do you know what, i actually agree with this. Of course I started supporting gills as they were my local team, but now i've moved away I do still support them but I think there's something to be had for actually just supporting your local team. I've started following my local rugby club - Thurrock. It's an excellent way to integrate into the local community and make loads of friends locally.

If Grays Athletic actually had a home in Grays, i'd go and support them.

Until then though, i'll continue to cross the river. I am not exactly an exile though - it's only a 30-40 minute journey to games. Even some in Kent dont have that.
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. alphabet during grays glory years i was seeing a woman in bridge road next to the pub. are they still run by the same owner with lrumours of money laundering
 
shotshy said:
I went to Bideford Town to give it a try, but just didn’t work for me, even though you could take your pint to the pitch.
Anyone who moans about league one should watch the Evostick league south west div one.
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should imagine about the same as south east counties league. i enjoyed watching sheppey in the autumn. will be a regular when i move and soccer returns
 
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