We’re averaging just under 5,500 in the fist three home league games which isn’t bad for us - this compares to an average of just under 4,200 from the first three league games last year.
Fear this will drop to between 4 and 4.5 if the results don’t start getting results from games we should be winning.
We only averaged 6,000 when Terry Ramsden’s money took us to the heady hight’s of the championship.
I’m not sure how much Ramsden’s money had to do with it in the end.Didn’t he ,after buying the club , just agree to stand collateral for borrowings? Certainly after Black Monday , we were already on our uppers,ending up having had to sell Cross to stay afloat. I think it was an amazing achievement of Coakley to get that team up, even with Kelly. On deadline day, when our rivals were splashing, we only had a free transfer from Newport. It couldn’t, and didn’t, last.
Football has changed massively in recent years. Crowds across all leagues were in decline in the 80’s.
If we’re were on The Championship now, I’d expect us to average 8-9000, especially with Boner gone.
My point was that basically, even with the feel good factor that Ramsden brought with him in his flashy helicopter we still couldn’t break the 7,000 barrier.
Average away fans would be 1500 + across the season, so only 6500 home fans to get to the lower end of that prediction.
That’s around 1500-1800 more than current.
If we can’t do that 2 divisions higher then there is no hope for us.
I get your point Sid. Football is far more popular now than then. You only have to look at attendances across the four divisions.
Good point. Our third home match that season we beat Birmingham City 5 nil, watched by just 8,790. Our next match was against Stoke, 7,795 was our second highest gate of the season. But the away gates were mostly below 10,000.
There were just under 9k for that Blues game.
You are right, 8,790. I am trying to get by without reading glasses, and misread the small print in The Complete History.
The two away teams accounted for thousand’s of those.
Which reinforces my point about the difference in popularity of football then, compared with now.
Indeed. Our highest away attendances that season were much smaller than they would be nowadays:
v Manchester City 17,104
v Sunderland 14,203
v WBA 13,977
v Leeds 13,280
v Plymouth 11,505
The attendance for the return match at St Andrews (on a Saturday afternoon) was only 6,558, two thousand less than the Tuesday night match at Fellows Park.
Things were different then.
To continue the point, the attendance tomorrow at Bradford in League 2 may not be too far off that top away attendance at Man C in the Championship back then.
Bradford’s last two Saturday league games have had crowds of 16,541 v Crewe, and 16,704 v Newport.
I’m on your side Belph, I would really love to see 8,000-9,000 in there on a regular basis mate. And if we ever do you can seek me out and I will buy you a sausage roll (the least burnt one) 
As long as it’s a veggie one.
The way they burn em Belph, you can’t even tell if it IS a sausage roll until you scrape the burnt bit off, let alone tell whether it a veggie or not 
Can’t see that would have anything to do with it. All these people who apparently said they’d come back once Bonser went still haven’t turned up. Not even at first when there was this new wave of optimism.
Some have, judging from the numbers showing up, but more importantly, existing fans and potential new fans are hearing a more positive message now, than when he was milking it for every spare penny.