How to Get More People to Phoenix Games (and Liverpool - A Cup Team)

Black Out The Heart

With the Phoenix struggling to get the crowds in and new owner, Gareth Morgan, imploring fans to come or the team goes, a storm is gathering amongst the public relations staff at Welnix to get the crowd averages back up to what they were.

They've started with the Black Out The Heart at the stadium this afternoon when the Phoenix host the Melbourne Heart. Fans are being asked to turn out in black - easy for this country I guess given what our most followed sports team wears.

The Phoenix may need more themed events like this to get the crowds back. In fact, this could be the way to really establish the Phoenix in a city where sport is not the only show in town. The Welnix consortium could look at the way the Wellington Sevens is marketed as one big party with the rugby as the sideshow - perhaps every game needs to be marketed as a themed party with the football as the sideshow.

E.g. the next game against the Brisbane Roar could be marketed as a Show of Love game given its proximity to Valentine's Day - bring a date along and his/her ticket is half-priced. Then, there's the fact that Phoenix games are often subjected to the worst of Wellington's weather - those rainy, windy encounters could be turned into Wet, Rainy parties with plenty of plastic macks.

Marketing is more required for the mundane regular season games; the fans will turn up if Wellington hosts a playoff game as we have seen in the past, but the regular season games are part of the main source of revenue for the Phoenix and need to be sorted out now.

Yes, traditional football fans and the Yellow Fever will shriek seeing their Phoenix home games turned into parties like the Sevens or Twenty20 but they will probably shriek more if Wellington loses the Phoenix for good because they're the only ones at the stadium.

Something definitely needs to be changed at the Cake-Tin and since the game itself can't be changed, the spectator scenery could be.

Liverpool - A Cup Team?

Liverpool's Premier League campaign thus far has been quite forgettable but their campaigns in the Cups have been the complete opposite. It helps that Liverpool's only non-league obligations this year are the FA and Carling Cups but it still doesn't dilute what they have achieved so far in both competitions.

Liverpool beat Manchester City over two legs to reach the Carling Cup Final - and while Cardiff is the form team in the Championship, they are very much the underdogs and Liverpool fans are expecting none other than the trophy and with it, a ticket to European football.

A few days after that, Liverpool beat the other Manchester club to progress further in the FA Cup. They await the draw now knowing that none of the top two in the Premier League are in the competition. Yes their fellow Champions League chasing rivals, Arsenal, Chelsea and Tottenham still alive but given who they've taken down this season not just in the Cup but occasionally in the league, Liverpool have no one to fear.

After all, cup football is all about getting the results that matter in a one-off situation which Liverpool have appeared to be always good at - they have a good record against the likes of Man United, Arsenal, Chelsea in the league, and have always progressed far in European football's knockout stages.

All you need to really do is just stuff the midfield and have one lone striker up front against a really good side. Just contain the midfield and hit them on the counter-attack - look at Kuyt's winner against Man United, the perfect finish to a Liverpool counter-attack.  

And perhaps now that the Premier League is about to reach the home stretch, these confidence boosting results in the Cups could be the lift Liverpool need in one big but tricky push for Champions League football. Given Arsenal and Chelsea's equally erratic form, Kenny Dalglish and the Kop have to feel, their team is right in the mix - they just need to start putting away teams at home which has been their big failing.

Liverpool is realistically looking at Europa League football at this stage which is some improvement over last season and not too bad an achievement given the race for the Champions League is so tight. But for a club that only just missed out on the title two seasons ago, it's not quite enough and given how much the owners have invested into the club in terms of players, Liverpool must feel this season has been a disappointment and there is room for improvement.

At least, there's the possibility of a cup in the cabinet to make this season seem not too bad.