No Evidence That Fans Boycott Will Weaken

Last updated : 20 September 2013 By KCIC
More Misery for sisu: Result of poll of over 500 CCFC fans


Key results
 
There is no evidence that the boycott of Northampton will weaken

If sisu remain as owners a third of people say they will not watch home games even if CCFC return to the Ricoh


The majority of people boycotting games at Sixfields say they are still supporting the Sky Blues in other ways such as going to away games or by standing on Jimmy’s Hill

However, the next largest group are those who say they are boycotting all CCFC games and 7% say they are no longer interested in CCFC at all

Only 2% say they would like to go inside Sixfields but cannot get there or cannot afford it

 
The number of people saying they will continue to watch the team wherever home fixtures are played remains a tiny minority (6%)

But even fewer people (5%) say they will no longer have anything to do with CCFC or they consider the Club no longer exists and want there to be a new AFC/Phoenix team
 
Results in full

The Keep Cov in Cov (kcic) Campaign decided to test out supporters’ views. It is evident that only a small minority of City fans are paying to go inside Sixfields. The vast majority are boycotting games at Northampton but some are still going to away games and/or Jimmy’s Hill, while others say they have turned their back on CCFC completely and yet others think a new AFC/Phoenix club should be started. There are also fans who would like to go to games at Northampton but are unable to get there due to cost or other reasons. Kcic therefore emailed the 2,500 City fans on the kcic mailing list asking them what their current position is regarding supporting CCFC and what they will do in future.
 
Asking fans for views is part of the kcic approach of trying to find a unifying message when supporters are so divided, and was intended as a quick straw poll with only a few dozen replies expected.
 
However, the total number of responses was over 500. What this has become is if not a scientific survey then certainly a very large straw poll indeed and in the absence of any other polls the results make for very interesting reading.
 
Online polls can be subject to abuse with people voting more than once and, in the case of football issues, distorted by fans of other clubs voting. The advantage of an email approach is it means addresses can be verified ensuring only genuine supporters vote and do so only once.
 
With so much complexity surrounding CCFC it was decided to focus on two key points: what fans are currently doing and, more importantly, what they say they will do in future.

 

Which one of these statements best describes your position regarding the current situation? Percentage agreeing
I am completely fed up and am no longer interested in CCFC 7%
I am paying to go inside Sixfields 8%
I am boycotting Sixfields but am going to Jimmy's Hill and/or away games 55%
I am boycotting all CCFC games 28%
I would like to go inside Sixfields but cannot get there or cannot afford it 2%

 
In terms of the current position with CCFC, the positive finding is that the majority of people boycotting games at Sixfields are still supporting the Sky Blues in other ways such as going to away games or by standing on Jimmy’s Hill. However, the next largest group are those who say they are boycotting all CCFC games and 7% said they are no longer interested in CCFC at all.

The percentage of fans paying to go inside Sixfields (8%) is perhaps under-represented and should possibly be nearer 10% which is reportedly the number of season ticket holders compared with last season, but at the same time only 2% said they would like to go inside Sixfields but cannot get there or cannot afford it. This means there does not appear to be a significant number of fans who might boost attendances at Sixfields if say transport was provided.
 

Which one of these statements best describes your view of these future scenarios? Percentage agreeing
I will never have anything to do with CCFC again 1%
I will continue to watch the team wherever home fixtures are played 6%
I will only watch home goes if we return to the Ricoh and SISU are no longer owners 29%
I will only watch home goes if we return to the Ricoh and I will go even if SISU are still owners 60%
CCFC no longer exists for me and I support setting up an AFC/Phoenix club 4%

 
In terms of the future, the poll results make grim reading. The number of people saying they will continue to watch the team wherever home fixtures are played remains a tiny minority at 6% - there is no evidence that the boycott of Northampton will weaken so attendances at Sixfields are likely to remain at or about the current level. More encouragingly, even fewer people say they will no longer have anything to do with CCFC or they consider the Club to be dead and want there to be a new AFC/Phoenix team.

But the most worrying finding in the poll is that even if CCFC return to the Ricoh Arena a significant minority of those who replied, close to 1 in 3, said they will still not attend home games if SISU remain owners. So while attendances at the Ricoh would be far higher than at Sixfields, the Sky Blues could still find themselves playing in front of significantly smaller crowds than last season while SISU remain at the helm.
 
If this poll in any way represents the views of City fans more widely, then there are some positives such as people who are refusing to pay to go inside Sixfields still supporting the team in other ways and very few turning their back on CCFC completely.

On the other hand there is no indication that attendances at Sixfields will increase significantly and what is most worrying is what happens as and when we return to the Ricoh. In reality returning to the Ricoh is very easy: Joy Seppala simply has to say ‘I will accept Gary Hoffman's offer of three years rent free at the Ricoh plus paying all compensation costs at Northampton’, and then ACL-SISU agree to binding arbitration on a longer term deal. What is more difficult is if something like a third of fans still refuse to attend home games while SISU are owners then the future for CCFC, even back at the Ricoh, may prove very tough.