A bit like most of the cabinet, I’m not that good with numbers (strange for someone who “studied” cost and management accountancy in college). But the biggest lesson, perhaps, from last week’s bitter disappointment at the RSC – apart from Waterford United’s best bet being to win the title outright – was that people voted with their feet.
A season’s best crowd of 1,462 supporters came through the Kilbarry turnstiles in the vain hope that the Blues would beat Monaghan and advance to a promotion play-off proper – though even that has tended to be a fate worse than sudden death.
Waterford’s excellent media officer John Kehoe says the club is deeply grateful to “everyone who came out in huge, huge numbers to the play-off game last Tuesday; it really was great to see such a great turn-out on the night, and just a shame that the result couldn’t match the buzz and the expectation.” He adds: “It will be one of the aims of the club for the coming season to try to get a similar level of support mobilized on a regular basis.”
Can it be a coincidence that the bumper turn-out followed the club’s decision to reduce ticket prices for Tuesday’s match by a fiver to €10, with €5 concessions, €2 admission for kids. Eight hundred people times a tenner equals €8,000 every fortnight; whereas 400 multiplied by €15 = €6,000. Overly-simple maths or the way to go next season?
