I think that we need to do something around the pricing to attract floating football fans from around the area. On Saturday gone non committed fans could have paid £20 to see us v Oldham or paid £26 to see Boro v Man City. Before anyone says we dont need them then just look at our recent crowds and it will tell you we cant afford to be choosey were we get people from.
I also think we made a mistake in the summer by bringing in quantity instead of quality. We had known for months that Porter was leaving and the answer to his replacement was to bring back Boyd. I have nothing against Boyd but surely with the amount of time we had we could have looked a bit further than someone who was not in as good form as he was when he left? If we had started looking early enough then im sure a deal could have been put together to bring in a bit of a "name".
I still think that cost has a lot to do with people attending matches as it isnt just the entrance fee there is also travel costs and refreshments costs. A lot better season ticket offer should have been made available to tempt people in.

attracting a 'name' would have cost too much surely?

I meant a name from the first or second division who are proven goal scorers likes of Jack Lester or Le Fondre or even Dagnall. I am aware that names cost money but so does attending games and we are expected to find it.

Le Fondre & Dagnall are hardly names and are both, for the want of a couple of words, cunting shite

Boyd and Bjornsson look capable enough as far as I'm concerned.

Both have shown over this season that if they get decent service they will score goals. The problem lies in the centre of midfield. Without an effective central pairing there is no efficient link between defence and attack and so the forwards never get anything decent to work with. Furthermore it means the defence is stretched more than it should because it isn't hard for opponents to get to our end of the pitch.

In other words we need a couple of competent central midfielders. Not forwards.

And, FWIW, Le Fondre seems to do ok in League 2 but I suspect, like Richie Barker, he would struggle in League 1.

Anyway, midfielders, not strikers.

It's like the economy football, all peaks and troughs, a few years ago it was the dogs borlocks with every Thomas, Richard, and Harold jumping on the bandwagon, spouting "look at me in the most expensive seats in the ground" sh.te. Sadly we are entering our trough as the latest "let's be seen there instead" fad takes over.

Probably "formation winkle picking" or some load of gumf.

To understand how to attract crowds back you need to have some appreciation of how we lost 2000 fans or so.

The deline began when we failed to win league 2, certainly a number of people I know found that very hard to take, the best chance ever of winning something other than the Durham Senior Cup and we blew it.

The first year back in League 1 was awful, no signings worth a light, no preseason excitement and a dire time under Wilson, as if this wasn't enough it was rinse and repeat the following season. What was there in these two seasons to keep any floating fans we had regardless of attracing any new ones? Nothing at all and hundreds of fans drifted away over those two seasons.

Turners pre-season signings this season appeared to give some hope, although pools contrived to mess it up with their season ticket arrangements.

Home form in the early games was dire and failed to convince the floaters to hang around. Form since then has been inconsistent at best and has given further fuel to the Turner out brigade.

How does it get fixed, well we need to start being consistent and hard to beat. Turner did it before but can he do it again?

We have needed a combative central midfielder since Tinks legs went and that would be a start, maybe Gamble could be the answer.

A tactical and charismatic manager would also help.