hantsred Posted October 22, 2016 Report Share Posted October 22, 2016 8 hours ago, ChippenhamRed said: I find it hard to describe a city the size of Bristol as a "football city" when two clubs have a combined average of around 25,000 over the past 20-30 years or so. Compare that to almost any other city in the country of comparable size and it doesn't stack up well. Not having ever experienced PL football is only a partial excuse in my opinion, not least because football didn't start in 1992. Love it or hate the premier league is in-your face marketed as the only league to be in and for a certain type of modern fan it is the only league they will watch/show interest in. I actually think it has a far greater influence then you suggest in making fans come to a ground and then stay coming. The question is how many that is and for what reason. Perhaps new 'fans' would come to see the opposition in the first instance(man u, arsenal etc) but then become fans over time. Younger fans especially. I had a quick look at Portsmouth who we regularly played in the lower leagues and who had similar average attendances to us in the 90's (circa 12-13k). When they reached the PL they generally reached close to capacity of 20-21k and even now they are in the bottom division they attract 15-16k average. Like I say needs more closer inspection. I would hedge my bets though that City going in an out of the PL would add 15-20% longer term through the gates with only a slow drift down from this (depending on the club is doing). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChippenhamRed Posted October 22, 2016 Report Share Posted October 22, 2016 8 minutes ago, hantsred said: Love it or hate the premier league is in-your face marketed as the only league to be in and for a certain type of modern fan it is the only league they will watch/show interest in. I actually think it has a far greater influence then you suggest in making fans come to a ground and then stay coming. The question is how many that is and for what reason. Perhaps new 'fans' would come to see the opposition in the first instance(man u, arsenal etc) but then become fans over time. Younger fans especially. I had a quick look at Portsmouth who we regularly played in the lower leagues and who had similar average attendances to us in the 90's (circa 12-13k). When they reached the PL they generally reached close to capacity of 20-21k and even now they are in the bottom division they attract 15-16k average. Like I say needs more closer inspection. I would hedge my bets though that City going in an out of the PL would add 15-20% longer term through the gates with only a slow drift down from this (depending on the club is doing). Absolutely agree that Premier League football draws certain people in like nothing else, and I accept that a period in the top division would have a lasting impact on our attendances. But I don't consider Bristol to be a "footballing city". Historically, the true footballing cities in my mind are the ones where there have been very large working class communities, from which large and consistently well-supported clubs have emerged; think Manchester, Liverpool, Glasgow, London. Bristol doesn't really fit that description. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bristol Rob Posted October 22, 2016 Report Share Posted October 22, 2016 Barnsley were of a similar size to us when they got promoted, pretty sure that in the couple of season before they went to the Prem gates were comparable as we're expectations. Obviously they got a few things wrong (like allowing Ridsdale to get involved with the club), but they'd be a good comparison. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Claverham_Red Posted October 22, 2016 Report Share Posted October 22, 2016 So today's crowd of 21,452 minus the alleged 556 from Blackburn means at least 20,896 were City fans which is more than the number of City fans at the Newcastle game in August. (Total: 22,512 minus 2,501 of which were from Newcastle meaning 20,011 home fans). Let's hope the Hull attendance will be okay, 14k+? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hantsred Posted May 30, 2017 Report Share Posted May 30, 2017 On 2016-10-21 at 14:58, hantsred said: ..there are currently 45 clubs in the leagues who have not been in the PL and based on current average attendances we sit comfortably in the top 3... so you would have to say, along with being perennial underachievers, we are getting great support for a club that has not had the PL effect on swelling our numbers. ~20k average is a fine target for now with or without mates rate offers. Ave attendance (current season) Brighton & Hove Albion 25755 Huddersfield Town 20037 Bristol City 19886 Preston North End 12305 Brentford 9799 Rotherham United 9743 Bristol Rovers 8943 Plymouth Argyle 8706 Millwall 8463 Luton Town 7765 Peterborough United 6934 Southend United 6254 Northampton Town 6077 Gillingham 5879 Chesterfield 5519 Grimsby Town 5119 Carlisle United 5018 Notts County 4908 Shrewsbury Town 4883 Burton Albion 4871 Doncaster Rovers 4810 Leyton Orient 4633 AFC Wimbledon 4522 Cambridge United 4452 Walsall 4436 Port Vale 4425 Scunthorpe United 4406 Crewe Alexandra 3994 Exeter City 3957 Bury 3758 Rochdale 3745 Hartlepool United 3670 Oldham Athletic 3426 Mansfield Town 3421 Colchester United 3407 Yeovil Town 3213 Wycombe Wanderers 3153 Fleetwood Town 3040 Cheltenham Town 3014 Stevenage 2624 Newport County 2484 Crawley Town 2257 Morecambe 2179 Accrington Stanley 1956 Barnet 1752 we are now head and shoulders the undisputed best supported team never to have graced the premiership!! (not withstanding these average attendances were done back in October) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rossi the Robin Posted May 30, 2017 Report Share Posted May 30, 2017 2 hours ago, hantsred said: we are now head and shoulders the undisputed best supported team never to have graced the premiership!! (not withstanding these average attendances were done back in October) That's quite amazing tbf Not sure you could make it a pub quiz question and I'm not sure whether it's good or bad? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bs3 Posted May 30, 2017 Report Share Posted May 30, 2017 I was speaking to someone today who said they have been 50 clubs who played in the Premier Leauge. It is really shocking for all the money and investment SL have put into the club we are still miles away from promotion to the top flight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robin1988 Posted May 30, 2017 Report Share Posted May 30, 2017 4 minutes ago, bs3 said: I was speaking to someone today who said they have been 50 clubs who played in the Premier Leauge. It is really shocking for all the money and investment SL have put into the club we are still miles away from promotion to the top flight. I don't know about miles away. For all we know we could be a season away. Huddersfield finished 19th last year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bs3 Posted May 30, 2017 Report Share Posted May 30, 2017 Two seasons of struggle in this division, nothing to suggest that anything have changed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mtimmy11 Posted May 30, 2017 Report Share Posted May 30, 2017 29 minutes ago, Robin1988 said: I don't know about miles away. For all we know we could be a season away. Huddersfield finished 19th last year. I would not bet on it,for the first time in a long time I can see us struggling all season Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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