THE CONCRETE ROUNDABOUT (TCR)

No we never had this issue in the NHS (admittedly this was prior to the days of twitter/X where we get most of the attendance police on our backs)

I think thats a really valid point actually. On X/Twitter we always get roasted about the empty ground and someone always points out the actual number of fans there is ok for L2/L1. if we were in a 12,000 seat stadium, I dont think anyone would even care. I have often summised that we get delusions over the size of the club with the size of the stadium. We are a tiny tiny football club, absolute minnows. We just dont look it with the stadium.

I recall as a former Chair of the DSA having a meeting with the club, and one of the questions to our committee was similar to the OP’s question. We went away and came up with a few things and presented them at the next meeting, a number of which they said they had never tried and were excited to give them a go. A year later at our quarterly meeting with the club, we asked them how they were getting on with our suggestions………you can guess can’t you……..they had done nothing.
Also at the start of my 3 year tenure, we challenged the cost of coach travel, they said to us, if you can do it any cheaper you do it, well the current DSA proved you can, and indeed so did we, in fact we came up with a business plan to run it virtually cost free to fans, we presented a very detailed plan, costing, numbers, everything, and that after running it past a few notables to get their thoughts, I may be wrong I don’t think they even read it, they probably didn’t understand it either, because if they had of read it they would have implemented it.
Make your own mind up what that says.

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Read the MELTDOWN after every game, no bullshit, just giving it straight

I’m not sure what this says about the club either, make your own minds up.
Around the same time as the above, we were asked if we were going to sponsor the FOTY awards etc, if so this is how much it costs.
I queried the cost as I have decent knowledge in another role of trophy prices and engraving, I declined their prices and said I would get them done elsewhere ……would you be surprised to know I got them half the price, and the next size up of the very same trophy they obtained.
Another one……framed shirts…..the club supplied them at one price, we managed them £50 cheaper per framed shirt, and much better quality.
It would appear to me the club pays over the top for most things, again make your own mind up why, but if I can use an instance when I managed a company we occasionally did work for the government, everytime we tripled the bill, because we knew they were soft enough to pay it.
I guess what I’m getting at is that is why we are paying nightclub prices at the bar, top prices at the concessions etc, and it was the same for travel, each one is a reason people don’t come, it’s too expensive and for LG2 football in a soulless bowl, people can’t justify it.
I could go with other scenarios but in a nutshell the club to me feel they have sucked the life out of the experience…..or lack of it.

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Read the MELTDOWN after every game, no bullshit, just giving it straight

the powers that be would do well to spend 90 minutes on one of the gates to see how much food and drink is now bought into ground , and then look at why that is.?

The club do some things right...the kids zone is ok for my kids and is not something I've seen consistently elsewhere.

The pricing and safety is great for families even if is more than it has been historically. Having the ability for kids wander around a bit is a real pull as a dad who can then have a moment of peace!

My kids have never mentioned anything about negative comments at school about Dons...most of thier mates of course support Arsenal etc but there are some other Dons fans in thier school (Leighton Buzzard)...as someone has said here they can always reply with the fact they go and actually watch games and it's thier local team

Having gone from 3 or 4 times a year as a family to most home games this year we have enjoyed the season and plan on keeping it up as a joint family interest (a winning home record has helped)

I dint think there is any real substitute for climbing the leagues though....personally I'd look forward to it more if we are backing L1 or even Chanpionship

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Turn Stadium MK WHITE In The Playoffs

I totally agree....a huge number of younger people can't even name the Prime Minister (please believe me; I know) if asked and so to think that they know our history and to say that's why they don't support us is to my mind daft.

IMHO the appalling - to someone with a hangover - noise in The Cowshed over the last year or so seems to be testament to 'a lot of yoof getting involved'.

I'm fairly optimistic.

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Gimme Gimme Shock Treatment

I watch York City now and again, and they seem like a version of how we were a few years ago. Youth fan base is notably growing despite struggling under Ardley in the end and now just about being safe from relegation. The club shop, stadium and community side of things reminds me of us at the NHS. The model is happy for them.

I think since 2007/8 most earlier fans expected us to be stable as a mid to lower table Championship team within 10 years. I did.

The only way we will grow the fan base again is to move up the Leagues to playing bigger supported and ex Premier league teams, week in week out.

Bingo. It really is as straightforward as this. To butcher the work of Maslow, it's all about success. That's the top of the pyramid of needs. Every other thing noted in this thread are just hygiene factors.

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I don't need your ill-informed, half-baked, idiotic opinions. I have plenty of those myself.

Absolutely this.

One of my brother in laws and nephew, used to ask regularly who are you playing Saturday, if it was say Sheffield Wednesday or Ipswich, they’d ask me to get them tickets, now when I say it’s Accrington or Grimsby the response is “ nah, we’ll pass on that”

The numbers will only swell the higher we are in the leagues, in the basement league there is very little interest from anyone, other than the die hard supporters