Madejski last night on radio berkshire........

[Guest]

..... pleading for fans to turn up at SC's first game.

'Please come and support SC and make him welcome'

Readings captain was doing the same.

13,011 - Not many for 'A Big Club'

You made a huge mistake Stevie.

 

[Marc]

13,011 for a midweek match? in the first division? jesus f***ing christ (sorry excuse the swearing) but that is PATHETIC! We we're getting them crowds in the last days of the Goldstone floating 1 place above the conference!

 

[Albion Dan]

Crabtree, the Goldstone only held 13,000 at the end and then we opnly filled it twice for what were our last games to ever be played there. When we were last in Div one we averaged 8-9,000. Why does everyone think well get better than what Reading are now? I for one am not convinced!!!!

 

[tinx]

I reckon for a midweek game in division one we'd be getting around the same but as it was the new managers first game in charge I would have thought we'd get an extra 3or 4 thousand at least.

Still I guess we'll find out in a few years time when we have a stadium to match theirs.

 

[Cheeky Monkey]

I agree in part Albion Dan, and while the figures you quote are correct, football in general draws bigger crowds these days. South Today did a Falmer piece last night comparing Reading's and Southampton's new stadiums and the crowds they now get compared with what they got at their old stadiums, although their 'amazing research' showing that Saint's have doubled their home crowds in their new stadium was due to nothing more than the fact that 10,000+ people who wanted to watch at The Dell could never get tickets, and nothing to do with the new stadium attracting bigger support as they made out.

 

[Icy Gull]

Crabtree, the Goldstone only held 13,000 at the end and then we opnly filled it twice for what were our last games to ever be played there. When we were last in Div one we averaged 8-9,000. Why does everyone think well get better than what Reading are now? I for one am not convinced!!!!

The Goldstone figures were very suspect towards the end. We either have the fattest fans in the land or they were being fiddled by a few thousand. We were also at the bottom of Div 3.

13,000 for a midweek game when you've just appointed a new manager and aspire to the Premiership is crap.

 

[zefarelly]

do we care, theyre another 2nd rate team from Berkshire, forget them!

 

[Albion Dan]

I think being at the bottom of Div 3 and fighting for our lives in the last few games ever to be played at our ground would guarantee much more interest than a mid table mid week Div 1 clash.

At the end of the day I cant remember the appointement of Jimmy Case putting any extra numbers on our gate!

 

[Wilts]

My arse. 13,000 for a team that isn't performing and with 200 opposition fans isn't bad at all. In the corresponding fixture last year there were 11,000 fans. So an improvement.

Strangely, over half of this division can't do that, so I'm OK with that.

 

[Seagullsgonnagetya]

Mad man is still a supercilious, dishonest twat

 

[Titanic]

and Steve Coppout's team were boo'ed off the pitch at half time.

Great bunch of supporters you've got there, Wilts

 

[Stumpy Tim]

do we care, theyre another 2nd rate team from Berkshire, forget them!

Not me. I couldn't care less about Reading. They may have an ex-Albion manager, but so have Port Vale & I don't give a monkeys about either team

 

[Icy Gull]

and Steve Coppout's team were boo'ed off the pitch at half time.

Great bunch of supporters you've got there, Wilts

Coppell will have loved that I may be wrong but I don't recall a game when Coppell was here that the Albion were booed off the pitch. (except possibly 26 October )

 

[Wilts]

and Steve Coppout's team were boo'ed off the pitch at half time.

Great bunch of supporters you've got there, Wilts

Hardly. Its exaggerated on HNA (as most things are), and came down to about 20 people booing max. I could only hear it because I was near it, but I very much doubt Coppell could hear it.

 

[Gary Nelson]

To be honest Wilts, a team that has done so well last season and a new manager who stated in the press conference that you are pushing for promotion, should be getting more than 13,000. A spanking ground like that should be getting more than that. However it does also show Gillingham's poor effort to take 200 over there. Didnt we double that to Hartlepool

 

[Hamilton]

Crabtree, the Goldstone only held 13,000 at the end and then we opnly filled it twice for what were our last games to ever be played there. When we were last in Div one we averaged 8-9,000. Why does everyone think well get better than what Reading are now? I for one am not convinced!!!!

Dan, I understand your point. If you look at the crowds we were getting when we were last in Div 1 and had capacity to take people in then yes, we were only averaging 8,000/9,000.

However, football has changed a lot since that last decent Div 1 season that we had. That was back in 1991 and in the last decade the premiership has come into being, money has poured into marketing the game, the diversity of supporters has begun to improve with more families and women attending, Sky (whatever you think of them, and I hate them) have pushed the whole game into a different stratosphere.

Even in our own backyard, we have won two championships, we now have a presence in the town in the form of a shop - the only good thing to come out of the Archer reign by default was the move of the club shop into the town - and we're are marketed well through associations with SKINT and with Brighton having steadily improved its stock as a trendy place to be.

This has changed conditions beyond belief. The game has changed, the crowds have changed and the appetite for football has changed.

If you were to look back to 1991 and at others clubs attendances, you will find that they are all markedly lower. I would imagine Reading's were no more than 4000, and I grant that they were probably in Div 2 or 3 at the time.

I understand your hesitancy when considering the size of crowds we might attract, but I do believe that if in Div 1 at present then we would attract more than 13,000 for a game (especially the first game of a new managers career at a club.)

 

[Storer68]

But look at Hull.

All of a suden they've found crowds of 19,000 FOR A THIRD DIVISION GAME!!!! They never got that when they were stuck in the crumbling Boothferry Park

Of course having a superb new stadium with facilities will always attract new supporters. As Falmer will prove.

All the clubs that have moved into new stadiums are showing an increase in attendances over their old grounds

Our crowds droppped when we went into DIvision 1 in 1979 becaue we were the MOST EXPENSIVE CLUB in the top flight, with the WORST ground - not enough seats (the Lego Stand!!) - no room . And at the end in 96 over half the ground was condemed as unsafe.

 

[Lammy]

Sunderland proving the exception to the rule.

Sunderland = shite fans.

 

[Storer68]

Average gates courtesy of Tim Carders web site

1997-98 FL D3 2,328 (Games Played at Gillingham)
1996-97 FL D3 5,850
1995-96 FL D2 Relegated 5,256
1994-95 FL D2 7,562
1993-94 FL D2 7,730
1992-93 FL D2 6,699
1991-92 FL D2 Relegated 8,010
1990-91 FL D2 Play-off finalists 8,386
1989-90 FL D2 8,658
1988-89 FL D2 9,039
1987-88 FL D3 Promoted 8,934
1986-87 FL D2 Relegated 8,282
1985-86 FL D2 9,722
1984-85 FL D2 11,789
1983-84 FL D2 12,286
1982-83 FL D1 Relegated 14,676
1981-82 FL D1 18,247
1980-81 FL D1 18,969
1979-80 FL D1 24,795
1978-79 FL D2 Promoted 22,074
1977-78 FL D2 25,264
1976-77 FL D3 Promoted 20,183
1975-76 FL D3 15,317
1974-75 FL D3 11,755
1973-74 FL D3 10,848
1972-73 FL D2 Relegated 14,188
1971-72 FL D3 Promoted 17,679
1970-71 FL D3 9,803

 

[Lady Whistledown]

football in general attracts higher gates since the late 1980s. Partly due to the new grounds, partly because of the influence of Sky, partly because football became more fashionable after the 1990 world cup.

Even teams in the same position as 10 years ago have typically increased their crowds. I'm sure Palace used to average 8000 or so at the end of the 80s, now they must pick up around 15000 (probably not for long lads).