It wasn’t a great watch but there were signs of progress. Defence liked vulnerable to ball over the top for first 15 minutes but after that looked pretty solid. 
Pybus can play the big cross field switch which gives a good attacking option. He played really well. 
The attack was much more direct second half. Harder to watch but probably more effective, especially with Harry on to help win the flick ons.  Good to have this as an option until we see the best of Seb and Josh in midfield. 
A draw a fair result probably but I thought Eastleigh not as strong as last season so an opportunity missed. 

The crowd of 1486 (or whatever it was) was not particularly helped by minimal away support (although the rail strike can't have helped on that front)

This club is fighting as hard as it can bearing in mind the ridiculous injury situation we yet again find ourselves in

However the likes of Prior and Craig (and Alfie) cannot surely be afforded unless more fans come through the gates!

I know £18 is probably in the bottom half of admission charges for this division, however the vast majority of our support don't travel away and don't realise most teams charge £20, £21 or £22+. 

Does anyone else think that putting up the prices from £16 to £18 might be driving away a few neutrals and local 'floating' non league fans?

It's cheaper at Horsham, Leatherhead, South Park, Merstham etc

I know we are offering VNL football and at cheaper price than Woking or Aldershot, but are fans looking for a game now going elsewhere where it is cheaper?

I'm hesitant to say 'fair weather' fans, but if we're struggling at home most of the time you can't blame neutrals for going to Horsham where the facilities are just as good, you've more chance of a home win and it's quite a bit cheaper.

@Dorking Eagle - I m not sure that £2 is going to make a massive difference. It is probably more the type of football on offer and the results. Which matters more will be different for different people - age old debate - but as a season ticket holder I am prepared to see Marc do what he needs to do to stay in the NL - as we know he wants to play decent football if he can. Hard to do on a small budget and part time. 

i don’t know what proportion of revenue is gate receipts?  Probably less than it used to be. But yes, it would be good to get from a basic 1200 home fans to nearer 2000 as the season progresses. 

@dorking-eagle Just out of curiosity, do you have any idea of the average attendance was last year? It would be interesting to see break out of home and away. I would be curious to see how much the rail strikes have disrupted smaller football clubs for away travel. On a side note, the game itself was a step up from the previous weekend. A bit more intensity and speed. Fuller was really pushing it. Does feel like we could have taken the 3 points from that game.

Am also a season ticket holder so the match by match price doesn't affect myself personally.

Last season the average home league attendance was 1,962 apparently

Of course the average can massively benefit from a few mega games and mega away supports - Woking brought 1350 last season I think it was, Chesterfield 750? And a big last day attendance against Scunthorpe. Aldershot brought a lot too.

Sponsorships appear to be doing well and of course the shares issue brought in over £300k but I hope that money is used wisely for infrastructure projects like maybe a roof over the west end of the ground.

I was pretty happy with the effort and performance against Eastleigh - it was better than Solihull and Woking away anyway! 

I do occasionally watch random 'neutral' games through the season, for example on Tuesday there is 

Crawley v Charlton in the Papa Johns (£10 adults)

Carshalton v Lancing in the FA Cup (£11 adults)

Horsham v Leatherhead FA Cup (£13 adults)

And a Merstham v Chipstead friendly - Free entry!

ignoring the last one, all good value and so you can see it's a competitive area trying to attract non league fans

@robh very interesting points there mate. Yes been doing a little bit of ground hopping myself. I've to Hassocks,  Hayward health and on Saturday I went to Redhill.

Interesting comments on the thread ...

I think it may be a combination of factors regarding attendances and I still think it may be Summer related, and some people being away on holidays still .. schools are only back this week 

Also, I think there is an element of 'second season syndrome' (maybe in team's performance and attendances) and also maybe less media focus on the NL after Wrexham (& Notts County) were promoted 

That said, NL is a great league again this year and consolidation is key ... I think the team will come good and attendances will get bigger as the weeks move on ... 

Cost wise, I am not sure, but do understand the need to get the balance right between revenue and price point

A number of other NL clubs are more expensive, many at £20, but I think the current price slightly lower is about right as we try an establish ourselves in the NL and gain a bigger following too 

Good comments here - my thoughts;

I don't think price will be much of an issue, and I'd be surprised if that many were going elsewhere - for me it's probably a combination of Uni still off till mid/late Sept (my son is away, for instance) and end of school hols, poor form, Eastleigh not being an attractive draw (I don't think the crowd would've been that different last season if it hadn't been Boxing Day, and a bit of the second season syndrome mentioned above. Novelty for some might've worn off a little perhaps. 

On a positive note, I still think there is a growing fan base, it's mine and my son's first season as season ticket holders and only our second full season overall (I have come across from the dark side - aka Aldershot Town, having been persuaded by him about a year ago!). 

Still a great club doing great things, atmosphere is up there with one of the best for the smaller NL sides and the structure all set to keep on pushing upwards.

BTW - I don't think any of the £300k will be used on a roof over the away end - not really a priority imo - and don't want to amplify any noise the away fans do make 😉 

The £300k from the shares is an odd one - The info said they were hoping to raise £2m, but somewhere else it said the target was £180k. But I guess if you add in the money from Kyle the American and the 'other Marc' (Whittingham) then it's a very tidy sum of invested money.

The flowery wording which was pretty non-committal suggested that training facilities and/or the Academy was the priority. Which I take to mean either the artificial pitch that we have planning permission to install at Westhumble, making Westhumble into a proper training ground, or possibly similar at Pixham sports ground?

We do need to make the ground at Meadowbank more comfortable and attractive to fans though. The shallow rake of the new away terrace (yes I understand the specific reasons for that) has been widely criticised by all those who have used it, and the roof we already have permission for would at least be an improvement to that end. A sponsor for that end could go a fair way towards funding it?

Do bear in mind that if it chucks it down with rain on a matchday, then a lot of people are going to be getting wet! The current amount of cover is as follows:

Away standing shelter - 180

Stonegate Stand - 254

Family Stand - 289

The Bank - 655

So only 1378 are staying dry in the rain, and that's if everyone squeezes up!

A roof over the central third of the West end could keep approx 400 more people dry if it rains! And don't forget, when travelling supports are minimal, the majority of that end is given over to Dorking fans.

I hope the disappointing attendances have just been down to it being summer - when the weather turns lets face it there is little else to do in Dorking other than the Wanderers!

The VNL is a great league, the loss of Wrexham is huge from a publicity pov, the team form is a combination of a vast injury list and starting the season a bit slowly due to a bit of a lousy pre-season.

@dorking-eagle interesting comments 

Also, I am wondering if next season there will be a new grass pitch at Meadowbank

(which from a footballing and NL point of view I would fully support)

... & the 3G pitch is moved to one at Westhumble?, particularly after Marc's post match interview on Saturday and his criticism of the current pitch  

Grass matchday pitches are so much better too 

Agree, lousy pre-season and form will pick up soon 😀 

Although £2m is the eventual target to be raised, a much lower target had to set for the initial crowd funding because if it hadn't been reached by end of August SEEDRS would have been obliged to return all the money back to those who subscribed.  Hence the £180k target.

Hope the money raised will be spent wisely.  Sustainability has to be the top priority rather than another quick promotion.

Yes I agree the ground needs to be made more comfortable - it's not great if there is a larger crowd in, as even on the bank you can only see half the goal because of people standing along the touchline, and unless you're there super early you can see very little along the dugout side as it gets 2 deep on the flat standing. 

But appreciate it's massively a work in progress of course.

@sddwfc Sadly nothing we can do until we own the ground...so big fingers crossed in that respect as I'd imagine that would be an immediate change. Of course if - and appreciate it's an enormous if at the moment - we were to go up to the EFL, it would have to change anyway, so not sure what would happen should we still not own the ground?

@adeb ah yes, the ground ownership - so much change and off the field activity too 😀

Ground ownership on course to be achieved by Christmas.