Who's A Big Club, Now Then?

[Bristol Boy]

Our average attendance was 12,818-The second best in League One.

Based on last seasons Championship Attendances only FIVE clubs had less, Colchester being the lowest at just over 5,000:

Burnley

Barnsley^

Luton*

Southend*

Colchester

*Relegated

^ Nearly Relegated

There is no doubt that the big club/sleeping giant tag that hung around our necks like an Albatross for the last nine seasons doesn't apply in The Championship and I for one am absolutley delighted.

With, I predict 10,500 ST Holders (More if they are on sell for the EE) and bigger away followings arriving, our average may well touch 14/15,000 depending on price, signings (pre-season) & performances once we're under way.

So!

• How many ST's will we sell?
• What will our average attendance be, assuming we don't develop the EE

[Nibor]

I think your estimates are pretty much on the money, however some enlightened marketing from the club could push them up a bit.

I'd like to see them going into colleges and universities to sell them, selling them through unions and trade associations, and doing some deals with supermarkets and the like. Lets drag all these migrant workers we have in Bristol and their kids along.

[Bristol Boy]

I'd like to see them going into colleges and universities to sell them,

Sell? As in getting them to stop listening to The Levellers, have a wash and part with some dough?

Lets drag all these migrant workers we have in Bristol and their kids along.

Well at least they'd be able to translate the next time we go to Millwall

[Nibor]

Yeah, though it would have to be a thorough wash. Seriously though that's where we could hook people in. Discounts with NUS membership, ditto on the gig tickets.

Migrant not immigrant

Though in fairness I don't care where they're from as long as they're prepared to learn the words to a few Ashton Gate classics.

I was really meaning the untapped resource of people from some random village who moved to bristol for uni/work and ending up starting families here. There are hundreds of thousands of them, they're the floating 10,000 that come out for the Millenium stadium.

[Eddie Hitler]

Third this year actually, Swansea were 2nd with 12,720 (surprised me too). Forest ran away with it with an average of 20,617 highly disappointed fans for each league game.

If we're genuinely thinking big we cut the price to fill the ground so improving results due to our vocal support. Accompanied kids should be let in for buttons as they're tomorrow's fans.

Greedy Ken Bates' high ticket prices at Leeds got the fans on the teams' back from day one.

[Nibor]

Third this year actually, Swansea were 2nd with 12,720

They were third with 12,720 which is less than our 12,818.

I'll put it down to an extended hangover

[Eddie Hitler]

They were third with 12,720 which is less than our 12,818.

I'll put it down to an extended hangover

It had a 7 in it. No, wait......

[JudgeRed]

I think your estimates are pretty much on the money, however some enlightened marketing from the club could push them up a bit.

I'd like to see them going into colleges and universities to sell them, selling them through unions and trade associations, and doing some deals with supermarkets and the like. Lets drag all these migrant workers we have in Bristol and their kids along.

Best get Jacki Dziekanowski back at the club he would pull in the Polish people by the thousands.

[Chivs]

Our average attendance was 12,818-The second best in League One.

Based on last seasons Championship Attendances only FIVE clubs had less, Colchester being the lowest at just over 5,000:

Burnley

Barnsley^

Luton*

Southend*

Colchester

*Relegated

^ Nearly Relegated

There is no doubt that the big club/sleeping giant tag that hung around our necks like an Albatross for the last nine seasons doesn't apply in The Championship and I for one am absolutley delighted.

With, I predict 10,500 ST Holders (More if they are on sell for the EE) and bigger away followings arriving, our average may well touch 14/15,000 depending on price, signings (pre-season) & performances once we're under way.

So!

• How many ST's will we sell?
• What will our average attendance be, assuming we don't develop the EE

I don't think you are comparing like with like. In League One I guess our average away attendance (i.e. people from the oppo who visited us) was <500?? In the Championship this is more likely to be >1500?? And these better away followings are bound to draw more people to AG. So, in summary, we are still a sleeping giant.

I believe pre-season STs will be around 10000 and average attendance, though reliant on many aspects not least results, will be 15193.

[Bristolian76]

Id say 10,500 will be about right, the walk up should/will be a lot more though with the average Championship sides at Ashton Gate attracting a lot more walk up than playing the bigger ties in League One.

Of course when you add on the larger away followings week in week out we'll be looking at a fairly decent average, of course a few decent signings and a good start to the campaign and who knows....

[newboy]

Yeah, though it would have to be a thorough wash. Seriously though that's where we could hook people in. Discounts with NUS membership, ditto on the gig tickets.

Migrant not immigrant

Though in fairness I don't care where they're from as long as they're prepared to learn the words to a few Ashton Gate classics.

I was really meaning the untapped resource of people from some random village who moved to bristol for uni/work and ending up starting families here. There are hundreds of thousands of them, they're the floating 10,000 that come out for the Millenium stadium.

Floating? Ever since I came to AG 4 years ago I've had a season ticket! We're more loyal than you'd think. Ironically a mate of mine who's Bristolian since birth only turns up for the glory games...

[newboy]

I don't think you are comparing like with like. In League One I guess our average away attendance (i.e. people from the oppo who visited us) was <500?? In the Championship this is more likely to be >1500?? And these better away followings are bound to draw more people to AG. So, in summary, we are still a sleeping giant.

I believe pre-season STs will be around 10000 and average attendance, though reliant on many aspects not least results, will be 15193.

Actually I was thinking more like 15,195 myself.

[Redminster]

They were third with 12,720 which is less than our 12,818.

I'll put it down to an extended hangover

Where did you get the average from? I put all our home league games into a spreadsheet and got 13,401. Sad I know.

On the ST front, I don't think we'll sell 10,500. More like the 9,000 ish we had last time we went up. Depending on the opposition on the day though and obviously if we were doing well, then there could be as many sell-outs as this season which would be pretty impressive seeing as this was a promotion season. Average 15,000 ish so long as we're not in a relegation scrap.

[Eddie Hitler]

Where did you get the average from? I put all our home league games into a spreadsheet and got 13,401. Sad I know.

Taken from the stats page of www.football365.com

Try not to appear a #### by not understanding which numbers are bigger than other numbers

[Bristol Boy]

Where did you get the average from? I put all our home league games into a spreadsheet and got 13,401. Sad I know.

On the ST front, I don't think we'll sell 10,500. More like the 9,000 ish we had last time we went up. Depending on the opposition on the day though and obviously if we were doing well, then there could be as many sell-outs as this season which would be pretty impressive seeing as this was a promotion season. Average 15,000 ish so long as we're not in a relegation scrap.

Football League Official Site

[Portland Bill]

I think your estimates are pretty much on the money, however some enlightened marketing from the club could push them up a bit.

I'd like to see them going into colleges and universities to sell them, selling them through unions and trade associations, and doing some deals with supermarkets and the like. Lets drag all these migrant workers we have in Bristol and their kids along.

Where i live theres a LARGE armchair premiershit support, but whose to say how many of these could get enticed to the Gate with the right marketing ploy ?.

On a different note did anyone else hear what Charlton have done. They have sold 17000 season tickets already for next year, with the promise that if they go straight back up to the Premier they will get FREE season tickets for the first season in that league

[Nibor]

Where i live theres a LARGE armchair premiershit support, but whose to say how many of these could get enticed to the Gate with the right marketing ploy ?.

On a different note did anyone else hear what Charlton have done. They have sold 17000 season tickets already for next year, with the promise that if they go straight back up to the Premier they will get FREE season tickets for the first season in that league

THAT's a bloody good plan for them, but then the umpteen million TV money you get in the Prem dwarfs their season ticket income anyhow so it makes a lot of sense.

[Bristol Boy]

Where i live theres a LARGE armchair premiershit support, but whose to say how many of these could get enticed to the Gate with the right marketing ploy ?.

On a different note did anyone else hear what Charlton have done. They have sold 17000 season tickets already for next year, with the promise that if they go straight back up to the Premier they will get FREE season tickets for the first season in that league

Makes the £10 cash or £16/18 Voucher seem all the more nigardly.

Watford took their fans to Plymouth FOC and West Ham to Wigan.

That's appreciation for you.

[Bristol Boy]

THAT's a bloody good plan for them, but then the umpteen million TV money you get in the Prem dwarfs their season ticket income anyhow so it makes a lot of sense.

At even £500 each that's still one hell of a gesture @ £8,500,000!!!!

Full compensation for the Millwall debacle would be £6/8,000 allowing for absolutely NO offset.

I'll say no more

[Nibor]

At even £500 each that's still one hell of a gesture @ £8,500,000!!!!

Full compensation for the Millwall debacle would be £6/8,000 allowing for absolutely NO offset.

I'll say no more

The two aren't linked.

If that gesture doubles their season ticket sales and helps get them back into the Prem it will pay for itself 10 times over. It makes sense to me.

[Nibor]

Floating? Ever since I came to AG 4 years ago I've had a season ticket! We're more loyal than you'd think. Ironically a mate of mine who's Bristolian since birth only turns up for the glory games...

I think you're probably the exception

You walk into an office in Bristol and most of the people there won't be Bristolian, and most of those moved here for uni or work and stayed. We need their kids to be Bristol City fans, so by hook or by crook let's drag them down the Gate.

I've got two converts where I'm working at the moment who will be getting a ST next year, one of them with his two lads.

Imagine... 20 years from now, Ashton Gate filled to it's 40,000 capacity week in week out. Rovers fighting bravely for promotion. From the Downs league. We all know it makes sense.

[Port Said Red]

If the difference between the Season ticket price and the pay on the day price is maintained, then I think many more people will try to get a season ticket. Last season the ticket was £275 on the early bird offer which averages out under £12 a match. I can't imagine an early bird offer this year (wasn't it offered before the season end last year?), so I am expecting the total increase for me (Full price ticket + a % increase) to be around £375, which still works out at just over £16 a ticket. I am expecting the POTD price to be somewhere around the Forest figure of £26/27, that's a huge difference especially when multiplied for family groups.

[Ian M]

Migrant not immigrant

I know a few Slovaks who took great interest in City over this season (including buying replica shirts). One of them is actually planning to buy a season ticket this Summer and spent the whole of this year greeting me with renditions of "What's that coming over the hill is it Showunmi"

[Nibor]

I know a few Slovaks who took great interest in City over this season (including buying replica shirts). One of them is actually planning to buy a season ticket this Summer and spent the whole of this year greeting me with renditions of "What's that coming over the hill is it Showunmi"

Perhaps they can convince some Slovakian players to head this way!

Róbert Vittek or Filip Šebo would be nice

[tin]

Our average attendance was 12,818-The second best in League One.

Based on last seasons Championship Attendances only FIVE clubs had less, Colchester being the lowest at just over 5,000:

Burnley

Barnsley^

Luton*

Southend*

Colchester

*Relegated

^ Nearly Relegated

There is no doubt that the big club/sleeping giant tag that hung around our necks like an Albatross for the last nine seasons doesn't apply in The Championship and I for one am absolutley delighted.

With, I predict 10,500 ST Holders (More if they are on sell for the EE) and bigger away followings arriving, our average may well touch 14/15,000 depending on price, signings (pre-season) & performances once we're under way.

So!

• How many ST's will we sell?
• What will our average attendance be, assuming we don't develop the EE

I don't think you'll be too far away from that. This season we had around 8,000 season ticket holders, for 98/99 I think I'm right in saying we didn't quite break the magic 10k mark but came pretty damn close to it. This time round I would expect no more than an 11k maximum season ticket sales and, mix that with 15+ away sell-outs in the EE, the average attendance should be around the 16k mark.

I would really like to see the club make strides in two departments:-

1) Cap the away following to 2k in the EE and open the rest available to home support, maybe season tickets. The EE will be an even bigger influence on the team next year and it would be ridiculous to suggest giving it all to away support. I put forward something similar to what they have at Ninian Park, where they have built two fences separating the away fans from the home fans on that terrace behind the goal.

2) Make football affordable to the working class man again. I know this would never happen but it would be nice to think we could emulate what we've seen from certain Premiership clubs in lowering/freezing prices. I've got loads of mates who simply cannot afford to go anymore and it would be good to see the club make efforts to regain the faith of the 'walk up attendance' for those who can't afford to buy season tickets.

[Claverham_Red]

I don't think you are comparing like with like. In League One I guess our average away attendance (i.e. people from the oppo who visited us) was <500?? In the Championship this is more likely to be >1500?? And these better away followings are bound to draw more people to AG. So, in summary, we are still a sleeping giant.

I believe pre-season STs will be around 10000 and average attendance, though reliant on many aspects not least results, will be 15193.

You are correct there, Chivs. I've guessed that there was 250 Rotherham fans on the weekend meaning a total 15,090 [of which 7,362 were from Forest, Yeovil, Swansea] away fans visited AG this season ~ this averages at 656 fans per game (which was largely helped by the Forest, Yeovil and Swansea games). This means City home support this year was 12,161.

In comparison in 2004 the total amount of away fans was: 17,821. Meaning the average away support per game was 774.

This means City home support that year was 12,104.

Looking through the Championship sides I would fancy most sides will bring at least 1,500 fans (exceptions of Colchester, S****horpe, Burnley, Barnsley, Oldham/Blackpool (if either of them go up)).

Therefore, would easily expect City's average support to be at least 14,000 if not 15,000.

[giles_23_bcfc]

You are correct there, Chivs. I've guessed that there was 250 Rotherham fans on the weekend meaning a total 15,090 [of which 7,362 were from Forest, Yeovil, Swansea] away fans visited AG this season ~ this averages at 656 fans per game (which was largely helped by the Forest, Yeovil and Swansea games). This means City home support this year was 12,161.

In comparison in 2004 the total amount of away fans was: 17,821. Meaning the average away support per game was 774.

This means City home support that year was 12,104.

Looking through the Championship sides I would fancy most sides will bring at least 1,500 fans (exceptions of Colchester, S****horpe, Burnley, Barnsley, Oldham/Blackpool (if either of them go up)).

Therefore, would easily expect City's average support to be at least 14,000 if not 15,000.

I think we will easily sell out quite a few games next season. Obvious teams like Plymouth and Cardiff. But also teams like Preston, Wolves/West Brom (whoever stays down), Southampton/Derby (same goes) Yeovil (if they come up).

Games like Norwich, Ipswich, Leicester, Coventry, Forest (if they come up) etc will provide crowds of 16,000-17,5000 IMO.

Then smaller clubs like Colchester, Barnsley, Hull, Scunny, Oldham/Blackpool (should one of them come up), Burnley, QPR will attract 13000-14000 i think.

[Redminster]

Football League Official Site

DOH! Divided the total by 22 not 23. It's not like I work with Excel every day is it? :noexpression: