I was going through my old programmes (I have loads), and came accross a load from the time at the stoop, when my dad was the face in the crowd. Made a small tear in my eye to see actual crowds at London games, the crowd photo's in those programmes just show you how far we have fallen.

Thanks Crashmon. You made Bongser recollect a similar face-in-crowd feature in an old Wanderers programme (not retained) from their days at Burnden Park. The featured "winner" was pictured with his right index finger some way up one nostril with the caption "Pick a Winner". Whether the prize was collected is not here recorded.

I was recently having a sort out at home. I found a Rothmans Rugby League Yearbook 1997. The crowd statistics make quite interesting reading.
For the Broncos the 1996 average match day attendance (Charlton) was 5699, it does give the average attendances for previous seasons. For the years 1988 to 1995 the crowds were at their lowest 1992-93 at 554 to highest 89-90 841.
1995-6 crowd average was 2386. This shows me how promotion drives the crowds. The Maranta's, ran promotions in Newspapers, ran a season long promotion in which they gave away a car.
They ran a very proactive Junior Broncos also they offered various things to enhance the match day experience. They offered more than just a game of rugby.
Look at us now.

Yea before I moved saaarth in 1999 (when I started watching the Broncos), I used to go and watch the Whites back at Burnden from the late 70's through to early 90's (stopped when I went to Uni). I actually come from Farnworth (but not been back up to Bolton in about 20 years, apart from London broncos away trips to Leigh). Remember the eyesore which was the Normid superstore which occupied 1/2 of the away stand... Those times stood on the Burnden terrace

Highlights was the 1989 Sherpa van trophy final vs Torquay, the days of Trevor "Sumo" Morgan, Phil "Suntan" Brown, Barry "Crazy-Legs" crowdrill, Steve "tomo" Thompson, JT (John Thomas), and Dave Felgate....

Those days long gone

A lot of these things are gambles. Sometimes they work, sometimes not. I see my local non league football team sells programmes at £2.50. I’d guess their crowds are circa 200 so it must be financially viable for Broncos. Its about will and having someone to do it. I don’t know if the forward plan was completely based on volunteers stepping in- if so it appears to have been based on a false assumption. It seems to me we haven’t invested the money in this side of the operation at all. One assumes the decision was made to put money into the ground/training pitches. Unfortunately that only works if fans turn up and they won’t if the side and match day experience and awareness of the event taking place isn’t where it should be etc.etc.

[quote="Victor" ]The Maranta's, ran promotions in Newspapers, ran a season long promotion in which they gave away a car.[/quote]
To be honest, for me it's all been downhill since Barry Maranta left.

But I think there's a bit more to the crowd figures we had back then than any promotions the club did. I know this may sound unllikely to anyone who isn't a fossil, but for a couple of years rugby league was almost considered newsworthy. There's no coincidence that the years when we had our best attendances were the years when southern tabloids had a Super League pullout section. I'd be in pubs, barbers etc. in Bracknell and people would be talking about rugby league (generally they thought Bradford would win everything). Wouldn't happen now. Obviously.

Of course, a fair section of people thought London Broncos were an American Football team. That still happens now. Obviously.

Still there is one positive since then: I no longer live in Bracknell.

Many non league clubs are going online proggies only, the internet is doing for the proggie bar very big clubs with lots of day trippers who want a souvenir.

Those non-league clubs who proggies are usually reliant upon voluntary editors - I've done it and it takes a surprisingly long time, volunteer advertising sales and proggie sales people. They usually haven't blocked most of their fans in social media and spent years alienating them.and ignoring offers of assistance...

Know what you mean BP. I had scrapbooks with match reports cut out of at least 3/4 daily newspapers 1980 to 84. They would often be as long as football reports. And again when Brisbane got involved & Virgin.

Congrats on escaping Bracknell, you are Broncos very own Snake Plisskin.

Last year, by any metric, the off field effort was, to use a technical term, “not very good”. Even so they eventually managed a sheet with the actual team on it. Is it really to much to ask that the club actually provides the names of the 17 players on each side who are taking part? There are tons of things we could do but the basics would be a start. Those 2020 programmes were pretty smart. They’re only a tiny thing but they indicated a confident club that could match other clubs off the field at least. 2022 we have a sheet with 20. Odd names on for attendees to guess the team from. A fairly good indicator of where we are at.
Let’s see what tomorrow brings.

Recently found a 1980s Leigh (not then Centurions) programme and it was nostalgic to see the lineups. It was however eyebrow-raising to see scantily clad dolly-birds (now probably grannies....) advertising big brand cigarettes (....or maybe not?). It's not just the internet that hits programmes' viability, rather that, without booze and cigs ads, "Pearl & Dean" local promos won't cover much of the production cost - price up - sales down.

Pre-digital programmes were generally printed on Wednesday in prep for a Saturday kick-off and so the published lineup was always unreliable and everyone generally had a pen to hand ready for the team changes announcement over the "tannoy".

However, even in those prehistoric times, there would be a mobile printing vendor beavering away outside grounds to roll off a results copy of The Buff (Bolton), The Pink (Manchester), The Green 'Un (Norwich) and so on, to fans exiting the ground.

So yes, Big Time, in this day and age a single sheet of paper with the two (real time) seventeens on it shouldn't be much to ask for and people would pay more than cost. Seemples.