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We are the best supported club in the Championship

wev17 said:
Attendances are funny things. It's not always the higher the league the bigger the crowd. Mediocrity can set in, even in the PL, and crowds dwindle after a few seasons. Nothing like a promotion campaign or just a general feeling around the town/city for a team etc. to get attendances up.

In 97/98, in the second tier, we had a season ticket sell out. 30k average (before expansion) and probably for some games would have got over 40k. But then when we got comfortable in the PL, under McLaren, the same enthusiasm wasn't there.
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Now that football popularity is off the scale the factors years ago that determine crowds are less relevant. What you are saying was certainly correct years ago. From memory, Boro averaged 30000 in their first season in the top flight under Big Jack and then as the novelty wore off crowds dropped by 10000. Coventry and Birmingham were averaging 34 and 36k respectively when they went up in the 60s and 70s to place them in the top six, before dropping to around 12 or 14k. Coventry were drawing huge crowds as a Third Division club in the sixties.
 

blade01 said:
Agree, there are 3 clubs in the North East.
In reality compared to other clubs you have Newcastle who are massive, Sunderland who are massive and Boro who are a big club.

However it's interesting how the media like to put everything in neat boxes.
So they have for many decades classed Newcastle United as "the team" that represent the North East.
They constantly continue with the stereotype of them having the best supporters, the most long suffering supporters etc etc.

As Sunderland are the 2nd club of the North East, they have never had the recognition they deserve as it doesn't fit the media agenda.
and as Boro are the 3rd club of the North East......well the may as well be Hartlepool United and they don't register in the media agenda.

It's similar in Yorkshire. The media like to put everything in neat boxes.
So for many decades Leeds United were classed as "the team" that represents Yorkshire.

Sheff Wednesday are traditionally the 2nd biggest club in Yorkshire but don't receive anywhere near the recognition compared to Leeds and Sheff United are traditionally the 3rd biggest club in Yorkshire, so we're like a Boro and don't really register, when we're actually a big club compared to most other EFL and PL clubs.
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For a large part of our history we wouldn’t have been regarded as the second club of the north east but the most prominent.
Leeds did nothing pre Revie, Sheffield Wednesday were traditionally the biggest club in Yorkshire.
 
Teesside_Steve said:
Not at all. I'm happy to acknowledge that you have very good support. I also feel our support is good for a club competing in the Championship.

I think it's also fair to acknowledge the difference in our season ticket prices though.

Your cheapest adult ticket was £390 (not sure whether that was the early bird price). Our cheapest was £450 early bird offer, and £514 as a new applicant.

Your cheapest U18 ticket was £48, ours was £166 early bird and £191 renewal.

Don't get me wrong, you'd still average higher crowds than us, even if we swapped price plans but I think if we did then you could add a few extra thousand onto our average, and knock a few thousand off of yours.
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hahahaha yeah that extra fiver a month you pay will make all the difference
 
Building a team is better than buying one. Its what football used to be like. Its like watching the family develop and grow. Very happy with our progress this year. Well done the backroom team.
 
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blade01 said:
The Leeds United all-time average is slightly misleading because their data only starts from 1922, when gates were far higher.
Those clubs that started playing in the league from 1889 will have some really low attendances included in their all-time average
because football was just starting in 1889, so attendances were very low, with many clubs averaging 2K to 8K.

Leeds United took over from Leeds City
If they included the Leeds City attendances when they played in the league form 1906 to 1920, then the Leeds United all-time average would be much lower.
West Ham are another one that didn't enter the league until 1920, so they avoided the era when every average attendance was very low.
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Agree totally. The best measure would be a post second world war average, as a lot of clubs simply gave estimates. Also as an example
1891-92
1) Everton 10,730
2) Sunderland 8,225
3) Bolton 7,500

Now shit like that is killing our average, against the likes of Leeds, Chelsea, West Ham etc
I might get a post war one done , I think I can get all the info.
If it doesnt move us up the chart I will conveniently drop this matter.
 
joebolton said:
Agree totally. The best measure would be a post second world war average, as a lot of clubs simply gave estimates. Also as an example
1891-92
1) Everton 10,730
2) Sunderland 8,225
3) Bolton 7,500

Now shit like that is killing our average, against the likes of Leeds, Chelsea, West Ham etc
I might get a post war one done , I think I can get all the info.
If it doesnt move us up the chart I will conveniently drop this matter.
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I like your style :)
 
Blyth said:
34 and 31k
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Leeds have never had our level of support. At best achieving 40.000 was rare at Elland Rd. Their ground record was broken by Sunderland in 1967 FA Cup replay. As you’d expect over 20,000 from the north east, I was there, loads locked out as well. Which swelled the gate to 57,000. The first game at Roker drew 62,000.
Don Revie was frustrated by their ‘pulling power’, having played for us. He openly stated at Leeds that he wished that they had Sunderland’s support.
The population of Leeds is twice that of Sunderland and traditionally they followed Rugby League. In the last 50 years they have attracted fans from further afield but still lag Sunderland who are in a division below.
Just wait until we get a consistently successful team , I hope in my lifetime.
Honess10 said:
That 51k for the mags was due to the Benitez goodwill effect. A more accurate figure would be the 43k when they came down in 2009. Still cracking attendances by the way, but they won the league like
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Aye and they had not spent years in the doldrums. Experiencing the low points that we have had to endure.
 
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I wonder how much some of those clubs would benefit from bigger grounds? If you look at the likes of Norwich, Luton, Burnley, Rotherham, Sheffield U. Watford etc they are basically full every match.
 
Honess10 said:
That 51k for the mags was due to the Benitez goodwill effect. A more accurate figure would be the 43k when they came down in 2009. Still cracking attendances by the way, but they won the league like
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Agreed. It’s a cracking effort from mag fans in the championship but a lot of people do forget that they kept their revered god status manager, pretty much their entire team and rocked straight to the top of league and then won it. We’d be pushing 44/45k under those circumstances.
 
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