Attendances at BP

Many have posted about crowds being low and sat in near silence at BP but todays article on Cod Almighty is at least thought provoking.


http://www.codalmighty.com/site/ca.php?article=5324

That is a really interesting comparison. Genuinely shocked by it.

Were there any mitigating circumstances for such a shocking gate that night?

I cant rememebr us dipping that low but one thing I will say is that the Championship is a different league now.
I suspect if you checked everyones attendances from back in the early 90s they was all low around that time

This is quite interesting, especially when you look at the average gates for seasons when we had great teams and success.

http://european-football-statistics.co.uk/attnclub/grit.htm

In 1994-95 the average attendance in the 2nd tier was just under 11000 when more recent seasons see around 16/17k.

Clubs in the 2nd tier at that time included Town, Port Vale, Burnley, Charlton Southend, Swindon & Tranmere, non of which could really be described as big and contributed to the lower average attendances

It doesn't surprise me at all. When you look at our average gates from the last spell at Championship level then they were hardly enormous. 2000/2001 there was an average of 5646 and that will include away supporters as well. I think some of our fans look upon our past gates with rose-tinted specs and don't realise the realities.

Quoted from psgmariner

That is a really interesting comparison. Genuinely shocked by it.

Were there any mitigating circumstances for such a shocking gate that night?

Not as far as I can see. There was no England game that night and although it was a UEFA Cup night, the only English teams playing were Blackburn and Newcastle and I don't know if either was live on TV that night.

This is a full list of games played that night.

http://www.statto.com/football/stats/results/1994-09-13

Fulham beaten at home by Scarborough in the bottom tier is one result that sticks out that evening, with Lincoln beating Wigan that night too.

Youre right Rancido
I remember going to gamesin that period when we were getting less than 4k. Port Vale always seemed to be one of the worst attended games of the season. Even when teams like Oldham turned up we would get less than 4k, even though they were a premiership team only a couple of years before.
There just isn't enough town fans. Lots of football fans who will turn up for the big games but not enough buying season tickets. Even with the stadium I think we'd struggle to get 10000 against the big teams in the championship. The Sheffield teams and Leeds would probably get around 10k. Alot less than the likes of Rotherham I think?

Around that time was probably the low point for attendances throughout the leagues not just our own in fact whilst Hull City were in league 2 they struggled to attract more than 2000 and I remember Doncaster under 2000. Nowadays crowds have increased and with a new stadium you have the potential of local rivals such as the Sheffield clubs ,Leeds etc easily bringing 4000 then factor in the attraction of a new stadium and decent facilities with a decent side and you could be surprised at what we attract in modern times. It would certainly lead me into buying a season ticket for the first time ever .

Quoted from nightrider

Youre right Rancido
I remember going to gamesin that period when we were getting less than 4k. Port Vale always seemed to be one of the worst attended games of the season. Even when teams like Oldham turned up we would get less than 4k, even though they were a premiership team only a couple of years before.
There just isn't enough town fans. Lots of football fans who will turn up for the big games but not enough buying season tickets. Even with the stadium I think we'd struggle to get 10000 against the big teams in the championship. The Sheffield teams and Leeds would probably get around 10k. Alot less than the likes of Rotherham I think?

I hope that I get the chance to see you proved wrong!