Football in England has rarely been so popular. At their Annual General Meeting on Wednesday, the Premier League confirmed that the average attendance for the 2022-23 season was a record 40,267, the first time it had passed the 40,000 mark, despite the division having a handful of stadiums far smaller than that.
Manchester United
It’s fair to say that Manchester United are the most
consistently supported club in English football, recording their first
five-figure average attendance in 1902-03 and then hitting impressive peaks in
the late 1940s, 1950s and 1960s. They were also one of the few clubs not to see
a significant decline in support during the 1980s. Between 1979-80 and 1989-90,
United’s average attendance was higher than 40,000 in eight of 11 seasons, a
trend no other club could match.
Chelsea
Although a younger club (founded in 1905) than most of their
rivals, Chelsea have historically had consistent support, both in west London
and in towns on the edge of the capital. They have also never recorded a
four-figure average attendance for league games in their existence.
The club did not hit an average Premier League attendance of
20,000 until the mid-1990s, which was an inflection point for so many teams.
This uptick coincided with Chelsea improving on the pitch, finishing in the top
four three times before Roman Abramovich’s arrival helped them win their second
league title ever and the first of five Premier League trophies.
Tottenham Hotspur
Spurs’ attendance history is testament to the fact that
football fans of all generations enjoy a successful team. Before the current
era, Tottenham’s highest average attendances were 55,509 in 1950-51 and 53,124
in 1960-61. In 2022-23 the huge new stadium
was sold out every week in the league despite Spurs’ worst season in 15 years.
Manchester City
Manchester City may not have the global support of clubs
like Manchester United, Liverpool and Arsenal but they have always had a very
committed local fanbase which, in attendance terms, compares very well to most
football clubs in England. Despite
recent successes, the club undoubtedly has a smaller fanbase than the likes of
Manchester United and Liverpool and the cruel ‘Emptihad’ tag has often been
accurate in cup games, where banks of empty seats are a common sight. But in the Premier League, the Emptihad tag
is not fair — the stadium is generally completely full or extremely close to
it.
Aston Villa
Aston Villa are unusual in that the capacity of the ground
has remained virtually constant despite lots of renovation work — capacity was
40,000 in 1994 and rose to 42,000 six years later. Villa Park was packed
every week during an excellent run under Martin O’Neill between 2007-08 and
2009-10 when the club finished sixth in three successive seasons, but either
side of this purple patch league performances were less good — and so were the
crowds.
The famous old stadium has seen a full house at every single
fixture in the league since the team was promoted back to the Premier League in
2019. The club is now looking to expand
the stadium from 42,000 to 50,000 by demolishing and rebuilding the North Stand
in time to be a host venue for Euro 2028.
Newcastle United
Newcastle is a rare one-team city and the club has had
remarkably strong attendances in the Premier League era despite often not being
particularly good. St James’ Park’s capacity
grew to 52,305 in 2001 and has been virtually full ever since, the only major
dip coming in 2009-10 when the club dropped into the second tier for one season
but still averaged a hugely impressive average attendance of 43,388.
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