Dulwich thread

[Luton Roman]

Another team out of form and can't keep a clean sheet...say Dulwich fans. Can't see a 0-0 tomorrow !

[comrade powell]

Already a thread started for tomorrow's match (you posted on it!)

https://bathcityfc.forumotion.co.uk/t3011-dulwich-thread

[Luton Roman]

3 points is 3 points however you get them and City got them which is the most important thing. Here were 2 bang average teams contesting a bang average game where they cancelled each other out, not that there was much to cancel out. City started on the front foot and enjoyed far too much space which reminded you why Dulwich were they were in the league. City couldn't create any worthwhile chance from this possession which reminded you why City etc.... The game settled down and neither side could fashion out a genuine chance even though they huffed and puffed around the area, until Wilson inexplicably side footed over a golden chance from an unusually precise cross. He was to make amends just before half time when he calmly slotted home to give City an unexpected lead.

The 2nd half was moments old and many still in the beer queue when Dulwich got a pen for a routine trip in the area and it was 1-1. Thereafter more huffing and puffing with Dulwich more on the front foot but despite numerous free kicks around the area they only tested Harris once which brought an excellent save. With the game in the final moments and neither side in the ascendancy, Frear was again fed the ball and shaped for another cross, which tbf was crying out for Cooke all game, when it flew in at the far post. Cue great celebration from the loud City support and within moments the game was over.

The crowd was 3194 amazing given Dulwich's lower mid table position, and City had decent and loud support. Great vibe before the game in the local Cherry Tree pub, plenty of Dulwich scarves, indeed I've never seen a club have so many fans in scarves, then no other club has such a fan base. Fans snaking into the ground well before 2.30, the ground was filling up, and the pitchside bar doing a great trade, helped by pre pour drinks, and friendly and helpful staff. Very different demographic from most other if not every other NLS club, limited vocal support, but fans pay their money and can do what they want. Any club inc City would want that fan base. We have a growing fan base so we need to be open, imaginative and innovative about how we sustain and grow.

Hope Dulwich stay up, always enjoyable regardless of result, safe, friendly and delightfully different.

[comrade powell]

Agree with your comments on the match, Gerry, but think you may not get your wish to visit Champion Hill next season. Dulwich are in free fall and the bottom four must see them as the obvious target to overtake. From what I saw yesterday they don't look up for a relegation scrap and could be heading for the Isthmian League.

Not that most of their fans will presumably care or even notice. I find the whole experience of going there really weird and far prefer grounds with passionate support even if it's barely a quarter of the size. The only time there seemed to be any concentration on the match in front of them was the minute or so after the penalty award. Then it was back to the quaffing of pints and discussing what was on the agenda for the rest of the weekend.

It's their 'super fans' that I feel sorry for...

[SteveBradley]

Agree with your comments on the match, Gerry, but think you may not get your wish to visit Champion Hill next season. Dulwich are in free fall and the bottom four must see them as the obvious target to overtake. From what I saw yesterday they don't look up for a relegation scrap and could be heading for the Isthmian League.

Not that most of their fans will presumably care or even notice. I find the whole experience of going there really weird and far prefer grounds with passionate support even if it's barely a quarter of the size. The only time there seemed to be any concentration on the match in front of them was the minute or so after the penalty award. Then it was back to the quaffing of pints and discussing what was on the agenda for the rest of the weekend.

It's their 'super fans' that I feel sorry for...

I went to watch a Dulwich game round about 2005, as I was living just a couple of miles away at the time, and the attendance at it was probably in the 200-300 region. So they didn't really have much in the way of original super-fans to feel sorry for to be honest.

[kermit]

A great comment on their forum........ it's almost like we're a beer garden with a football team attached.

[comrade powell]

Agree with your comments on the match, Gerry, but think you may not get your wish to visit Champion Hill next season. Dulwich are in free fall and the bottom four must see them as the obvious target to overtake. From what I saw yesterday they don't look up for a relegation scrap and could be heading for the Isthmian League.

Not that most of their fans will presumably care or even notice. I find the whole experience of going there really weird and far prefer grounds with passionate support even if it's barely a quarter of the size. The only time there seemed to be any concentration on the match in front of them was the minute or so after the penalty award. Then it was back to the quaffing of pints and discussing what was on the agenda for the rest of the weekend.

It's their 'super fans' that I feel sorry for...

I went to watch a Dulwich game round about 2005, as I was living just a couple of miles away at the time, and the attendance at it was probably in the 200-300 region. So they didn't really have much in the way of original super-fans to feel sorry for to be honest.

Yes, a case of quality not quantity!

Reading the same thread as Kermy quotes from above it seems that their few ‘super fans’ are heartily sick of the ‘tourists’ as they’re referred to.

[SteveBradley]

Given the size of Hamlet's crowds, and what are presumably also bumper bar receipts, you have to wonder why they aren't doing better ?

They have to be one of the richest clubs in the league, and with those sorts of crowds could easily sustain themselves at National League level, if not League 2.

What are they spending their money on, as it doesn't seem to be on decent players ?

[kermit]

What are they spending their money on, as it doesn't seem to be on decent players ?

And not on floodlights either. Thank heavens we didn't have to play them earlier in the season.
On previous visits during the darker times of the year it has been a terrible experience with players 'hiding' in the dark shadowy areas of the pitch.
Yes, it would be nice to know what they do with all the loot they claw in from match day revenues.

[Midsomer-steve]

I gleaned that they are intending to build another ground which will be adjacent to where they are currently - so maybe this is where all their huge profits are aimed for. One of their fans told me that they make about £10,000 on food and drink sales alone each match day! If so this could be why the admission fees to the ground are so low - get em in then charge em high! The drinks queue along from the main stand was neverendingly long from KO to the final whistle, even though the bar staff were very efficient, in pouring beer out in anticipation of what people wanted!
Oh, and it was very nice to see that they were serving a much more palatable beer compared to our last visit there, when it tasted like bilge-water. You still had to choose carefully though as only one of them was at a reasonable price of £5 a pint, but it was OK  - just steer clear of the craft beers in cans which worked out at nearly £8 a pint (not a problem for the 'locals' though as I understand it is in an unbelievably 'posh area').

[Pink Panther]

Reading the same thread as Kermy quotes from above it seems that their few ‘super fans’ are heartily sick of the ‘tourists’ as they’re referred to.

Don't make the mistake of thinking a handful of people moaning about their own club on a forum are representative of the few hundred who've been regulars for more than a decade, or that these people are "super fans". They're the type who'll always find something to complain about and I'll bet some of them weren't even there yesterday.

I've been to well over 2,000 Hamlet games since 1978. I missed two league matches in a decade during the 1990s and attended every match in a season when we were relegated by a wide margin. Personally I have no problem with the newer, younger supporters who are the club's future. Ideally they'd get a bit more passionate and animated during the game, but I'd rather they're there than having empty spaces on the terraces. They may include a minority of "tourists" but most are genuine locals who are simply new to watching non-league football, including a large proportion of women and children. I'm much more annoyed by malcontents sneering at their fellow supporters, as if they're somehow not good enough, and a lot of my friends feel the same. I've endured countless seasons in the doldrums at Step 4, full of dismal games played in front of crowds of 200 or less. Even so, I'll take what we have now every time.

Dulwich have an above average budget for the division, but it was spent poorly by the previous manager at the start of the season, and now his successor is having to pick up the pieces without much scope to offload contracted players or bring in replacements. The club's large fanbase obviously makes it an attractive proposition for sponsors wanting to promote their brand. However the largest shareholder is the Supporters Trust and the club will not become a vehicle for the sort of big spending owners who want control of the club, as seen at Ebbsfleet and other clubs in recent years.

[SteveBradley]

I gleaned that they are intending to build another ground which will be adjacent to where they are currently - so maybe this is where all their huge profits are aimed for. One of their fans told me that they make about £10,000 on food and drink sales alone each match day! If so this could be why the admission fees to the ground are so low - get em in then charge em high! The drinks queue along from the main stand was neverendingly long from KO to the final whistle, even though the bar staff were very efficient, in pouring beer out in anticipation of what people wanted!
Oh, and it was very nice to see that they were serving a much more palatable beer compared to our last visit there, when it tasted like bilge-water. You still had to choose carefully though as only one of them was at a reasonable price of £5 a pint, but it was OK  - just steer clear of the craft beers in cans which worked out at nearly £8 a pint (not a problem for the 'locals' though as I understand it is in an unbelievably 'posh area').

You'll forgive me Steve for pointing out the irony in a supporter of Bath referring to other places as "unbelievably posh"

East Dulwich has become very gentriied over the last 10-15years, but I wouldn't call it unbelievably posh personally -  and it was fairly down at heel before the gentrification started. Lordship Lane even had a very old Irish shop n it when I first started going there about 15years ago (in the days when Peckham Rye park used to hold Southwark Council's Irish Festival), so it was very much a gateway neighbourhood for new immigrants.  Dulwich village itself is bloody posh - but it's a different neighbourhood, and is Peckham Town FC's patch really. Champion Hill is surrounded by a lot of old school council housing, so the immediate area around the ground is very mixed indeed.   

I'm with Pink Panther above on this. Whenever a club attracts a significant influx of new support, there are always some longstanding fans who moan about it. Like they preferred it when the club was crap but their's alone, and the misery of it all could be worn as a badge of honour. Some people just don't like change. And there weren't very many Hamlet fans around to be in the longstanding category back then anyway.

[comrade powell]

Reading the same thread as Kermy quotes from above it seems that their few ‘super fans’ are heartily sick of the ‘tourists’ as they’re referred to.

Don't make the mistake of thinking a handful of people moaning about their own club on a forum are representative of the few hundred who've been regulars for more than a decade, or that these people are "super fans". They're the type who'll always find something to complain about and I'll bet some of them weren't even there yesterday.

Note my use of the word 'seems' - from what you go on to say just maybe it's you who is guilty of making generalisations.

Interesting that you go on to mention the high proportion of children attending your matches - no doubt you have the stats from your club but that was an age group I didn't notice in large numbers on our last two visits.

Still, we only witness the large groups of disengaged drinkers once a season and if you and your club are happy to take their money that's fine. Like you we have witnessed a considerable rise in attendances and in the main I get the impression most of the newbies are actually there to watch the match.

On another subject - what is happening about your new ground?

[Midsomer-steve]

Steve B - You are totally forgiven mate for saying, that, as a Bath supporter, my comment about the ground being in an "unbelievably posh area", is ironic. I only mentioned it because that is what I was reliably informed. I just stared at the person concerned and then shrugged my shoulders in disbelief, because I saw nothing on our way to the ground to substantiate what this person said. It proves as much by what you have since said - so maybe he was just referring to the village of Dulwich. As for it being ironic - As you know, Bath has posh areas but it also has the opposite, so regardless of what I said my comment was hardly implied poshly.
Would just like to add that I thought their crowd this year, besides being so young on average, were more vociferous, and showed that more of them have taken to watching the game - which all augers well for the Club.

[Luton Roman]

Highlights on You Tube now

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cWXCTSZxmOA

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