One of the topics that we discussed this week was the issue of attendances at Brentwood Town.  This is a real problem and has been for the last few years.

Delving down into the figures, Brentwood were 19th out of 24 teams in terms of average home Ryman North attendances last season, with a peak of 132 and the lowest attendance a measly 33.  In all, 1,651 people went through the gates last season, an average of 72 per game.

Things weren’t much better in the previous season either with Brentwood being 17th out of 22, a peak of 135 and lowest 28.  1,448 went to the Arena, averaging 69 per game.

For a town the size of Brentwood this is simply not good enough.  According to the last census, Brentwood’s population was around 50,000.

Compare that with AFC Sudbury.  Over the last two seasons, they have pulled in average gates of over 200.  The population of Sudbury is much lower, around 20,000, so what are Sudbury doing right that Brentwood Town are missing.

Well, there is the issue of pricing, but I have heard many arguments before about how, due to overheads, there is very little that clubs at this level can do about this.  Another argument is that there are other local teams that potential supporters could turn to – West Ham, Leyton Orient, Dagenham and Redbridge being prime examples.  This argument isn’t very persuasive when you think that Brentwood aren’t unique in this situation, many clubs have big neighbours but still get in a hardcore of support.  No, the big issue with Brentwood Town appears to be promotion.  How many people in the town know about the club and how many could find it on a map?  There is no trace of the club in the high street, and very little media presence.  Given Mark Wright’s standing as a former non-leaguer would a tie up there be of value?  Brentwood Town need, with the help of local media, a promotion drive.

The best way for the club to scale the pyramid is with the support of the town, putting money in the turnstiles and behind the clubhouse bar, dedicating time to the club and giving the lads some support.  The club should be ashamed that a home crowd can be out-sung by a dedicated group of away supporters.

COME ON BRENTWOOD TOWN AND BRENTWOOD RESIDENTS – TOGETHER WE CAN MAKE THE TEAM SOMETHING TO BE PROUD OF!