Well publicised for a long period before the game took place, the offer of 'pay what you want' admission at Aldershot Town on Non-League Day drew an attendance of 2,786 to the EBB Stadium.
With the offer ending at midnight on the day of the Hartlepool game the club's last update on Friday reported the sale of 1,465 tickets on a pay what you want basis.
A £2 minimum was put in place and at the level that Aldershot play at I think that's fair enough as there is an administrative cost involved while online sales also give an indication of what sort of crowd to expect and what to put in place in terms of catering, stewarding etc.
As a rough comparison, the September Saturday fixture against a Barrow, whose supporters would also have had to travel a long distance, drew a gate of 1,163 so the initiative certainly looks to have been successful on that front.
Fans forum ShotsWeb had an excellent thread on the pay what you want offer with season ticket holders, in the main, pleased to see the club looking to attract new and lapsed supporters and those intending to buy tickets either promising to pay the going rate or make a purchase at the ground to make up the difference.
Fast forward to the end of the game and the one variable that cannot be controlled by those off the pitch, the result!
A 3-0 defeat continued a difficult start to the season for the Shots and left many on ShotsWeb lamenting a bad result in front of a big crowd.
As with so many of us who don't support the big clubs it seems Aldershot fans share the common belief that their club always freeze on such an occasion (on a par, perhaps, with the theory that your club always offers a return to form for an opposition team on a long losing run).
But let's hope some of those who came along on Saturday will have enjoyed the occasion and get back to the Recreation Ground some time soon.
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