Average home crowd 1977/78

[Blackadder]

we didn't get promoted that year though, the following year when we did attendances were slightly down, I remember one week in 1978 on the tuesday we got 31,500 (v Charlton I think) and on the saturday we got , oh happy days

'

The 33,500 v Blackpool was on the last day of the season. I moved from my usual place in the South West to the South stand that day. We won 2-0. we thought we were going up! Some put around a rumour that Southampton were beating Spurs, when in fact a policitical 0-0 draw was being played out!

They were heady days alright. We were all caught up in a crest of a wave. Mullery was well backed by Mike Bamber in the transfer market.

5 years later on our last ever game in the top division (to date) we got less than 10,000 against Ipswich!

 

[Brovion]

I don't think you are quite correct. From memory I'm pretty sure we averaged over 24,000 in 79/80. I think we also averaged over 20,000 in 58/59, 76/77 and 78/79. Happy days!

You are correct actually, according to Carder and Harris the average attendance for 79-80 was 24,795. Just out of interest for the ten season that ecnompassed the 'Glory Years' the average averages were:

75-76 = 15,317
76-77 = 20,183
77-78 = 25,254
78-79 = 22,074
79-80 = 24,795
80-81 = 18,969
81-82 = 18,247
82-83 = 14,576
83-84 = 12,286
84-85 = 11,789

They then drop down into four figures from which of course they have never recovered.

So there are TWO seasons in our history when the average exceeded the Falmer capacity. The other ones, whilst high couild have been accomodated at Falmer. BTW 58/59 was 17,020. 59/60 was slightly higher at 17,258

 

[Simster]

However Richie also makes a good point when he says this interest is mainly concentrated in the Premiership - and really only at the top end. If you watch the league round-up on Sky then at ground after ground all you can see are acres of empty seats. That includes places like Wigan.

I repectfully disagree with this. Football crowds have shot up in the last 20 years across the board.

Firstly in the top flight:
The lowest Premiership gate *of the entire season* these days is about 16,500. The lowest Premiership average gate is about 19,000. As recently as 1988/89 you would find some terrible top flight gates. Southampton away to Luton in 1988: 6,300. Southampton away to Chelsea in 1991: 7,300. The year Coventry won the cup, they opened their league campaign at home to Arsenal in front of 10,200.

And what about the rest:
The average gate in the Championship is HUGE. It's about 17,000 these days! Third division gates are also well above 6,000 which is much higher than the 70s, 80s & 90s

And all this has been done while ticket prices have soared. The big moan is that the *money* is hoarded by the top end, it's NOT that interest is not there lower down the leagues. And sadly, the demise of On Digital did nothing to justify re-distributing the income because it just proved that armchair fans didn't want to watch non-Premiership football.

 

[Brovion]

I repectfully disagree with this. Football crowds have shot up in the last 20 years across the board.

Firstly in the top flight:
The lowest Premiership gate *of the entire season* these days is about 16,500. The lowest Premiership average gate is about 19,000. As recently as 1988/89 you would find some terrible top flight gates. Southampton away to Luton in 1988: 6,300. Southampton away to Chelsea in 1991: 7,300. The year Coventry won the cup, they opened their league campaign at home to Arsenal in front of 10,200.

And what about the rest:
The average gate in the Championship is HUGE. It's about 17,000 these days! Third division gates are also well above 6,000 which is much higher than the 70s, 80s & 90s

...

Actually that's true, yes. What I said earlier was complete crap. However a lot of the new all-seater grounds do SEEM to be the result of over-ambitious thinking, I still stand by my 'acres of empty seats' comment, and the biggest example is probably Darlington. I hope Falmer isn't the same.

 

[Man of Harveys]

What I said earlier was complete crap.

Oh for this level of honesty throughout this place...truly a class act

I still stand by my 'acres of empty seats' comment, and the biggest example is probably Darlington. I hope Falmer isn't the same.

That Darlington example was lunacy from its inception though - that dodgy crook of a chairman was completely off his nut. And the loss of a lovely, characterful old ground like Feethams is all the more tragic for it.

 

[The Large One]

Football crowds everywhere plummeted in the 1980s, mainly through hooliganism had reaching its nadir. Although rising prices didn't help.

 

[Seagull73]

Football crowds everywhere plummeted in the 1980s, mainly through hooliganism had reaching its nadir. Although rising prices didn't help.

Absolutely right. There was a game I remember watching on Match of the Day between Notts County and Watford in Division 1, 1983-84 season, the game finished 3-5, and Watford went top. The attendance:

8,070.

So Richie, don't talk about 'working class' clap-trap, even then 'working class' peolpe were not going to games. If anything, the working class - and specifically families - have been tempted back in the last few years.

 

[Dandyman]

Absolutely right. There was a game I remember watching on Match of the Day between Notts County and Watford in Division 1, 1983-84 season, the game finished 3-5, and Watford went top. The attendance:

8,070.

So Richie, don't talk about 'working class' clap-trap, even then 'working class' peolpe were not going to games. If anything, the working class - and specifically families - have been tempted back in the last few years.

I think Richie was talking about the 1970's. By 1983-84 we were into the era of mass unemployment which impacted on at least some people's spending habits.

 

[Uter]

You are correct actually, according to Carder and Harris the average attendance for 79-80 was 24,795. Just out of interest for the ten season that ecnompassed the 'Glory Years' the average averages were:

75-76 = 15,317
76-77 = 20,183
77-78 = 25,254
78-79 = 22,074
79-80 = 24,795
80-81 = 18,969
81-82 = 18,247
82-83 = 14,576
83-84 = 12,286
84-85 = 11,789

They then drop down into four figures from which of course they have never recovered.

So there are TWO seasons in our history when the average exceeded the Falmer capacity. The other ones, whilst high couild have been accomodated at Falmer. BTW 58/59 was 17,020. 59/60 was slightly higher at 17,258

Did you get these figures from p294 of "Seagulls! The Story of BHA FC"? If so I think you were looking in the away average column for 58/59 and 59/60. The home averages were 22,460 and 18,272 respectively. But point taken; that still only makes 3 occasions in over 100 years that we have had an average crowd exceeding the capacity of Falmer.

 

[Mackenzie]

Swansea and Reading are good working models for this club to follow as to what can be achieved with a new stadium.

 

[steward 433]

Swansea and Reading are good working models for this club to follow as to what can be achieved with a new stadium.

Spot on MK Dons is also another

 

[Brovion]

Did you get these figures from p294 of "Seagulls! The Story of BHA FC"? If so I think you were looking in the away average column for 58/59 and 59/60. The home averages were 22,460 and 18,272 respectively. .

So I was!

I'm not having a good day today am I? I've been proved wrong three times in a single thread! That must be some sort of record.

 

[The Large One]

Swansea and Reading are good working models for this club to follow as to what can be achieved with a new stadium.

And Hull City.

 

[Simster]

Spot on MK Dons is also another

Yes, we should move Albion to DUBLIN.

 

[Perry Milkins]

Yes, we should move Albion to DUBLIN.

 

[We're the Stripes]

If I remember correctly, it was 70p to get in the North Stand in the mid to late 70s, and going to football was on a par cost-wise to going to the pictures. Nowadays, you can still see a film for £6-8 (or less) and football has gone through the roof.

I'd love to see us recapture the fun and excitement of the glory years, but I suspect that a decent Championship-based side will get 10-15,000 at Falmer, with the occasional big 20k+ gate for Cup specials or top of the table battles.

I'd love to be wrong, mind

 

[sir albion]

Let me see someone said we may get just over 10k in the championship yet we can get 7k at withdean in the worst ground ever now mmmm.Our history is better than many clubs who get 16k now and we have a far larger catchment area.Populations have grown hugely since,so i would exspect us to exceed many of the mentioned clubs above although the only problem at falmer is the small capacity

To many people underestimate the potential at this club

 

[unnameable]

What a truly great season that was.

 

[Storer68]

If I remember correctly, it was 70p to get in the North Stand in the mid to late 70s, and going to football was on a par cost-wise to going to the pictures. Nowadays, you can still see a film for £6-8 (or less) and football has gone through the roof.

I'd love to see us recapture the fun and excitement of the glory years, but I suspect that a decent Championship-based side will get 10-15,000 at Falmer, with the occasional big 20k+ gate for Cup specials or top of the table battles.

I'd love to be wrong, mind

TThe main reason for the drop in attandances after 1979-80 was that we became the most expensive club to watch in the old Division 1 when to watch us from the terraces play Manchester United you would have had to pay over £2

 

[warsaw]

Let me see someone said we may get just over 10k in the championship yet we can get 7k at withdean in the worst ground ever now mmmm.Our history is better than many clubs who get 16k now and we have a far larger catchment area.Populations have grown hugely since,so i would exspect us to exceed many of the mentioned clubs above although the only problem at falmer is the small capacity

To many people underestimate the potential at this club

I think I'm with you here, bit too much pessimism around. We WILL fill the ground for the first game, after that the attendances will depend mainly on what is happening on the field. But we all know people for whom the Withdean experience is just not worth the bother , and I am CONFIDENT that coming to the new stadium will be an experience not to be missed. It had better be anyway