Skip to main content

Attendances are up, but are they reliable?

Record attendances have been reported in the Football League and National League. A note of caution is needed. In the past, attendances may have understated the crowd, particularly at really popular games. Youths knew ways of getting in for free; clubs may have been trying to minimise their 'entertainment tax' liabilities; and it has been alleged that some gatemen were on the fiddle.

Today, fans complain that attendance figures are boosted by the number of complementary tickets given out (the referee has always been entitled to some for his mum or friends who like the way he flashes a card). Many fans do not like the fact that season ticket holders are counted whether they are in the ground or not. Fans at Charlton who are opposed to Belgian owner Roland Duchatelet think that attendances have been exaggerated to mask the erosion of supporters.

In any event, attendances in the English Football League have reached their highest levels for more than 60 years with more than 18.3 million supporters watching League fixtures in 2017/18. This is the third consecutive year that the 18 million barrier has been broken, with the average gate at all three divisions at over 11,000.

The 2017/18 figures represent a 1.5 per cent increase on the same figures for 2017/18. Sunderland's Boxing Day crowd of 46,069 against Bradford City set a new League One record.

The National League has broken the two million mark in total attendance across the three divisions for the first time in the competition's history. The total average attendance increased by 8.8 per cent from last year.

The top division's average attendance fell by 3.3 per cent but National South saw a 45 per cent increase while National North was up by 11.9 per cent. Of course, such figures are affected by the teams in the division in any one season.

Champions Leyton Orient had the largest average attendance of 5,445, compared to 4,337 last season. Wrexham were second with just over 5,000, while relegated Chesterfield were third with 4,503.

In the National League North former Football League side Stockport County claimed the top average of 4,001, up by 15 per cent on last season. York City, another former League club, took second spot with 2,528. Newly promoted Hereford, a reformed league club, were third following their promotion with 2,367.

Torquay United were top in the National League South with 2,508 followed by Woking with 1,898 and Dulwich Hamlet with 1,842. Three other clubs, including Billericay Town, had four figure averages.

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

It's no deal say Spurs insiders over Taiwanese takeover

Senior figures at Tottenham Hotspur insisted on Friday that they had not been informed of any deal to sell Daniel Levy’s stake in the club. A business group, Eight Sports Capital — which is said to include a billionaire Taiwanese financier — claimed that it had an agreement in place to buy a 24.99 per cent stake in ENIC, the club’s majority owners, from Levy, who owns 29.88 per cent. The Times has been told Ng Wing Fai and Brooklyn Earick form part of the group, having both been linked previously to potential takeovers of the Premier League club. The Taiwanese businessman, Richard Tsai, is also said to be part of the consortium. He is reportedly worth £7 billion.  Last year Earick, the former DJ and tech entrepreneur, was part of an attempted £4.5 billion takeover, which was “unequivocally rejected” by Spurs.  An ENIC spokesperson said: “We can confirm that neither ENIC nor THFC are aware of any sale by Daniel Levy’s Family Trust of its minority stake in ENIC, THFC’...
Post a Comment
Read more

Spurs CEO attacks luxury training base

The Tottenham Hotspur chief executive Vinai Venkatesham has issued a withering assessment of the way the club was run under Daniel Levy, likening the state-of-the-art training centre to a five-star hotel rather than a centre of high performance.  Venkatesham was appointed to his role in April 2025, having stepped down as chief executive at Arsenal the previous summer. However, he has said that some aspects of the club were “in a significantly worse state” than he expected.  “Our training centre is amazing, one of the best, if not the best in the world,” Venkatesham told BBC Sport. “But when you look around, it looks more like a five-star hotel than it does a performance environment. That will change over the summer. I think there are many areas where the club hasn’t got the right level of expertise.”  He explained that the football side of operations was the club’s main downfall when he arrived last year. [One Spurs fan wryly observed that it was like a water company sayi...
Post a Comment
Read more

Fulham requires big funding from owner

After lengthy delays, Fulham’s shiny, new Riverside Stand has finally opened, creating “a unique Thameside destination with first class facilities for supporters and partners on match days, as well as for the wider community year-round”. This ambitious project has increased Craven Cottage’s capacity by around 4,000 to 29,600, while it has also taken advantage of the club’s fantastic location and wealthy catchment area by including two Michelin star restaurants, a rooftop swimming pool, corporate hospitality and event space, all benefiting from views of the Thames. Chief executive Alistair Mackintosh observed, “Fulham is the sort of club that can have a business class or first class and have fans that turn left on a plane.” Indeed, there is also an exclusive members club – with a football season ticket as an optional extra. It’s fair to say that “the times they are a-changing”, as this is a long way from the traditional pie and a pint. However, in a world where clubs face the tw...
Post a Comment
Read more