Attendance on Saturday (and Thereafter)

[Darren]

OPR a recently promoted club got less than us for a prem fixture, its all relative, ive been at the lane in league 4 (old) with 25k+ and in the championship with 12K- so 17K against brentford in league 3(old) i dont think is bad considering the last couple of seasons.
im still expecting when everything settles 18K average and definately top 3 average attendences for our division.

MunXy

Average attendances in our previous 3rd tier seasons (rounded):

1979-80 16,600
1980-81: 12,800
1982-83: 11,800
1983-84: 12,900
1988-89: 12,200

So, yes, you could say yesterday's attendance was above average for the 3rd tier

 

[BexleyBlade]

As disappointing as the attendance is in comparison to say 4/5 years ago it's only natural. As with any product or service if the quality is jeopardised, less people buy it.

I do think in the current climate, our car-crash last year, contentious managerial appointment, season ticket marketing etc. 17K in the 3rd tier is pretty remarkable. Would also hazard a guess that we might get 22,000+ when the likes of Huddersfield/Chessie/Wendy are in town too.

Average of 18,000 would be nice (and likely should we be competing come May). That should see us in top two with Wednesday, Charlton's following isn't great - even if they are in contention.

 

[Deleted member 4506]

As disappointing as the attendance is in comparison to say 4/5 years ago it's only natural. As with any product or service if the quality is jeopardised, less people buy it.

I do think in the current climate, our car-crash last year, contentious managerial appointment, season ticket marketing etc. 17K in the 3rd tier is pretty remarkable. Would also hazard a guess that we might get 22,000+ when the likes of Huddersfield/Chessie/Wendy are in town too.

Average of 18,000 would be nice (and likely should we be competing come May). That should see us in top two with Wednesday, Charlton's following isn't great - even if they are in contention.

I can't believe that someone from Kent can be so naive about Charlton. If Charlton have a good season they can easily average 20k. There fans don't travel well though.

 

[BexleyBlade]

I can't believe that someone from Kent can be so naive about Charlton. If Charlton have a good season they can easily average 20k. There fans don't travel well though.

So if they don't travel well is their following good?

Last two seasons in League 1 they averaged well under 20,000

2010/11 - 15,582
2009/10 - 17,606

Their first game of the season Vs. Bournemouth only saw 16,111 turn up and I imagine Bournemouth will have taken around 800-1,000 what with it being a relatively short journey, first game, bigger club.

Charlton can go up Champions and still won't average 20,000

 

[Deleted member 4506]

I still believe they will average around 20k if they stay in the top 4 all season. Remember it's holiday season still. The only thing letting them down is that they don't have any decent size London clubs to play.

You have the Owls,Hudders and possibly Preston. Carlisle fans also travel well.

Anyway i don't care as i don't support Blades or Chalton.

 

[BexleyBlade]

In 2009/10 they finished 4th with the added optimism of expecting an immediate return to the Championship. The still averaged less than 18,000

 

[stannyblade]

There is only one table that means anything and thats the League table. Personally we would get a better atmosphere with 15000 than wendy would with 25000. Lets not get like them and be all hung up on "our crowds bigger than your crowd"

 

[broomhillblade]

Tonight v Walsall - I reckon 14,000 will be an acceptable figure.

 

[oldblade]

When i first started going in the early to mid 80's, 8,000 crowds were not uncommon. I think football crowds have increased in general due to the improved facilities and the amount shown on television.

On your point about 17500 on the opening day against Sunderland in 97/98, that was still a decentish crowd as the seasons before we had got used to crowds of 12/13/14,000. Our crowds did take a leap during the magical 2002/03 season a lot of the supporters who came on board then are still on board now.

Even during that 2002-3 season our attendances remained stubbornly low relative to the success and quality of football we were playing.

The season's average was in the 18,000s which is not great considering we reached 2 cup semi finals and a play off final. And a good midweek cup result was not followed with a boost to the next home league attendance. After the memorable league cup win against Leeds we only got 15,884 at home to Ipswich on the saturday. Afetr beating Palace to get to the league cup semi final for the first time in our history, we only got 16,342 at home to Preston. After beating Walall in the FA Cup to get to the quarter finals we only got 16,884 against Reading (and that was a top end of the division clash), the win against Leeds that put us through to the FA Cup semi final was followed by a league attendance of only 17,359 against Burnley.

I think it was really only in the following season that our attendances seemed to increase noticeably - possibly on the back of increased seaon ticket sales following on from that 2002-3 season.

 

[blade too long]

When you factor in the general drop in attendances , league one dropped 18% overall last season , just shy of 18000 is not that bad , wednesday got 21000 , for opening day which last season they got 23000 and the follow up saturday home fixture they lost 5000 to 18000 for the next home game .so they are 10% down on last seasons opener
Our last season in div 3 we only averaged 12289 in 89 so its 50% up on that, we had a couple of 4 figure gates that season , finishing 2nd

QPR started in the prem on saturday and only got 15000
mind you tickets around 50 quid a throw may be a reason for that

 

[oldblade]

Average attendances in our previous 3rd tier seasons (rounded):

1979-80 16,600
1980-81: 12,800
1982-83: 11,800
1983-84: 12,900
1988-89: 12,200

So, yes, you could say yesterday's attendance was above average for the 3rd tier

Although I would say that overall league attendances during the 1980s were probably significantly lower than they are now, so if viewed in that context our attendances then were probably similar to now. I felt the attendance against Brentford was about par for the course.

 

[blade too long]

well the first post offered 18500 as his expectation , less than 800 out , so as Brentford are not the , with apologies to their fans ,not a draw to those who pick and choose games to race down and buy tickets

tonight be glad to match it, a few more after a win being balanced by those who cant travel midweek


But , no matter , you dont get points anyhow for numbers through the turn-styles so its no biggy

 

[oldblade]

When you factor in the general drop in attendances , league one dropped 18% overall last season , just shy of 18000 is not that bad , wednesday got 21000 , for opening day which last season they got 23000 and the follow up saturday home fixture they lost 5000 to 18000 for the next home game .so they are 10% down on last seasons opener
Our last season in div 3 we only averaged 12289 in 89 so its 50% up on that, we had a couple of 4 figure gates that season , finishing 2nd

QPR started in the prem on saturday and only got 15000
mind you tickets around 50 quid a throw may be a reason for that

The total aggregate attendances for all football league matches (including what is now the premier league) in 1988-89 season was 18,453,681.
The total for last season was 29,469,367. More than 50% higher than in 1988-89, so our increase on that season is roughly in line with the rise in attendances across the board in that time. ( Edit - slightly lower than the general rise in attendances, but up on the rise in attendances specific to the third division).


http://www.european-football-statistics.co.uk/attn.htm

 

[stannyblade]

well the first post offered 18500 as his expectation , less than 800 out , so as Brentford are not the , with apologies to their fans ,not a draw to those who pick and choose games to race down and buy tickets

tonight be glad to match it, a few more after a win being balanced by those who cant travel midweek


But , no matter , you dont get points anyhow for numbers through the turn-styles so its no biggy

Thats spot on.
As long as we get enough to tick over then the crowd doesnt really matter.

 

[Jim Chimmerney]

Thats spot on.
As long as we get enough to tick over then the crowd doesnt really matter.

Depends what you mean by 'ticking over' and what the club have factored in as part of their budget. Given the apparent 'bury their heads in the sand' approach to the warning signs of late I bet they still banked on an average of high teens this season.

 

[SwissBlade]

I think the fact that our attendances have been way above the pigs for a number of years our first home game being well below theirs is a little concerning.

 

[Tuns]

Depends what you mean by 'ticking over' and what the club have factored in as part of their budget. Given the apparent 'bury their heads in the sand' approach to the warning signs of late I bet they still banked on an average of high teens this season.

Are you McCabe? If not you should be on the board. It's just the kind of visionary statements we need to drive this club forward and build its foundations for the future..

Crowds and fanbase are everything to club like ours.

Not sure how long you've been a fan but the fact is it's far easier to lose fans than get them back even if the team start doing well, the habit is broken.

ST offers and match offers have to be part of the mix to keep and build support or you just needlessly lose fans and current and future income.

To their credit Wednesday realised this a few years ago though teams like Derby, Bradford and Norwich have been better at it.

Unfortunatley like many fans McCabe has lost his passion hence he has lost his drive and innovation to increase gates and has given up on the good work he started.

Some fans are in for a real shock with some of our attendances this season.

 

[broomhillblade]

I think the fact that our attendances have been way above the pigs for a number of years our first home game being well below theirs is a little concerning.

We were in a higher division, that's why.

 

[PeterNdlovu081]

We were in a higher division, that's why.

and even when we were at the same level we were good and they were shit.

 

[SwissBlade]

We were in a higher division, that's why.

Were we? Only for last season, our PL season and the couple of seasons that they were in 3rd tier before, let me know how our attendances have been when we've been in the same div in recent years.

 

[Micalijo]

I think the fact that our attendances have been way above the pigs for a number of years our first home game being well below theirs is a little concerning.

Way above for many years? Not sure about that at all Swiss. Simple fact for me - Wendy have more fans than us, their away numbers are magnificent and their home crowds are sensational given the 12 years of misery thay have suffered.

 

[Jim Chimmerney]

Are you McCabe? If not you should be on the board. It's just the kind of visionary statements we need to drive this club forward and build its foundations for the future..

Crowds and fanbase are everything to club like ours.

Not sure how long you've been a fan but the fact is it's far easier to lose fans than get them back even if the team start doing well, the habit is broken.

ST offers and match offers have to be part of the mix to keep and build support or you just needlessly lose fans and current and future income.

To their credit Wednesday realised this a few years ago though teams like Derby, Bradford and Norwich have been better at it.

Unfortunatley like many fans McCabe has lost his passion hence he has lost his drive and innovation to increase gates and has given up on the good work he started.

Some fans are in for a real shock with some of our attendances this season.

Despite the general drop in attendances, higher costs etc, I think McCabe and the board have taken the fans for granted since relegation from the Prem. They were lucky that the fans mostly kept the faith but matters on the pitch the following season did plenty of damage as is well documented. A good finish to 07/08 meant that fans had high hopes for 08/09 despite the 're-profiling' that McCabe had started behind the scenes and again, crowds remained high. Despite the warning signs, the club hasn't really done a great deal to keep disgruntled fans happy nor attract new ones and last year's drop of 20% should have made the alarm bells ring that bit louder, particularly when we ended up being relegated but no, prices remained the same and the announcement comes that there won't be many deals this season, nor mini season tickets.

There was enough discontent out there which either the board couldn't see, or, decided to ignore and you're right, this season could be a real shock to them which was my point. Despite what you say, I still believe that there are enough floating fans out there for our average to top 20K again this season but only if the club do well, not because of the club's efforts which is the problem.

 

[PeterNdlovu081]

Way above for many years? Not sure about that at all Swiss. Simple fact for me - Wendy have more fans than us, their away numbers are magnificent and their home crowds are sensational given the 12 years of misery thay have suffered.

 

[alcoblade]

Our away numbers have mirrored Wendy until the last season or so. Too many seasons in the same division coupled with poor management and shattered dreams paid their toll. I think there will be very little difference this season. We will have to see.

Our crowds have been higher for the majority of the last decade. How it's thus possibe to deduce that their home crowds are sensational is beyond me (unless I hated United and craved ttention like Mic does....). As for suffering misery, don't get me started.

UTB

 

[oldblade]

We were in a higher division, that's why.

We have had higher attendances than them for the last 5 seasons. For 3 of those seasons we were in the same division as them.

For us to have got a higher average attendance than them when in the same division is very unusual. Before seasons 2007-8, 2008-9 and 2009-10 I think it has happened only once since the war - 1970-1. To have done it for three seasons running is unprecedented and I feel could have been a sign of a shift in the strength of the respective support bases. However, I think that progress has probably been undone by last season, and normal service will probably be resumed.

 

[RealMcCoy]

Crowd tonight then? Less than Saturday presumably. 16 - 17000?

 

[Zlatan]

I reckon we might just scrape 17k.

 

[Jonboy60]

There is only one table that means anything and thats the League table. Personally we would get a better atmosphere with 15000 than wendy would with 25000. Lets not get like them and be all hung up on "our crowds bigger than your crowd"

Not hung up myself, just hate the bastards.hope we have bigger gates, our players are bigger,more skilful and faster.our grounds better,our chairman(although a wanker),is better than there chairman.our grounds in centre of town,there's is in the sticks.Reds a better colour than blue,there pies and ale are shit,ours are scrumptious.Pubs around the lane are better than the ones around pigswillborough.so on and so on. Hung up,NEVER.

---------- Post added at 06:24 PM ---------- Previous post was at 06:19 PM ----------

Not hung up myself, just hate the bastards.hope we have bigger gates, our players are bigger,more skilful and faster.our grounds better,our chairman(although a wanker),is better than there chairman.our grounds in centre of town,there's is in the sticks.Reds a better colour than blue,there pies and ale are shit,ours are scrumptious.Pubs around the lane are better than the ones around pigswillborough.so on and so on. Hung up,NEVER.

Nearly forgot,My cock's bigger than any Wendy fan anawl.

 

[Micalijo]

Our away numbers have mirrored Wendy until the last season or so. Too many seasons in the same division coupled with poor management and shattered dreams paid their toll. I think there will be very little difference this season. We will have to see.

Our crowds have been higher for the majority of the last decade. How it's thus possibe to deduce that their home crowds are sensational is beyond me (unless I hated United and craved ttention like Mic does....). As for suffering misery, don't get me started.

UTB

Wendy fans in their late 30's know real success and know real misery. Younger ones know misery and failure. To get 21k against Rochdale is a magnificent achievement imo - couldn care less about cheap tickets - they have sustained our crowds for ages. I believe they averaged more than us when in 3rd tier and we were in 2nd a few years ago - will stand corrected.

Anyone would think I'm arguing that the world is flat. I'll say again for you Alco - Wendy's support given what they have had to watch in last 12 years is exceptional and deserves credit. IMO their away numbers are bigger than ours imo - again I aint some numopty making this up. I read things (not on wendy sites), read stats, see with my own eyes on TV - their away support is magnificent.

To be honest Alco you should be embarrassed that you seem totally unable to put owt in context or in relative terms.

 

[bricktop]

But then the Wednesdayites i know of the same vintage as me, knew all the glory, all had the shirts, used to sing about Atkinson's Barmy Army, and take the piss out the Blades, but now most of them don't bother going.