A very fitting ovation from the fans at full time yesterday.We've come a long way in the last 16 months and every player deserved the accolades from our supporters.
Totally agree BRI. Sadly there aren't nearly enough of us which makes our achievements of this season even more credible. To be able to attract better players we obviously need money and in our case that has to be generated through the transfer of our better players as well as trying to get more " bums on seats". There were 34,292 at Leeds yesterday, 31,051 at Derby, 30,338 at Brighton, 26,914 at Birmingham, 24,594 at Fulham, 21,884 at Blackburn, 19,177 at Reading, 19,000 at Ipswich and 16,474 at QPR. We attracted 12,952 and bottom of the pile were Preston with 11,032. Carry on at that level and it's always going to be a struggle for us.
Someone talking sense we have had a grear 1st season back despite what some on here say. Like you pointed out we have to sell players as we are in the bottom 6 average attendances in the league. But then people come on here spitting dummy out knocking the club every week and openly admit to not going to oakwell couldn't make it up.
Mate of mine said he'd seen somewhere that our all time average gate is something like 11k. Sent from my SM-G850F using Tapatalk
Not a bad crowd yesterday considering nothing much to play for but when income is at best half of other clubs we have punched above our weight.
All clubs mentioned have had a relatively recent successful history- other than us and Preston. I've said this before - I'm sure a mathematical equation can be found that can predict attendances based on years of historical success and average gates during that period. Success gets passed down through generations of supporters- that's why it's important that Sheffield and Leeds clubs don't get into Premeirship. We have grandchildren in the Barnsley District watching Leeds because their grandfathers started watching Leeds in the 1970s. What comes first - success - or the money gained from increased gate receipts as a result of that success - money that goes into fueling success? Prime the pump.
Can I just remind you that 2016 was probably the most successful year we've had. Wembley twice. Two trophies. Promotion. Hecky appointed manager. Hammill re-signed. Etc etc. That was success.
You are talking about fleeting success - I'm talking about sustained success that results in building a solid fan base - eg the length of time a club stays in the Premeirship
After little football to watch during WW2, we averaged over 19,000 for the five post war years. I believe that was the highest we have achieved in our history.
Over 13k average is very good for us IMHO. Remember days of 4k averages in division 4 in the 1970's. It isn't just attendances we're up against though, there are the huge parachute payments. A lot of work to be done in the close season for Hecky to keep us competitive next season.
Be even higher next season if the work getting done on the ground means we can get back to selling every seat and avoiding away fans having to buy for our ends.
No. You referred to success and suggested that would bring in the crowds. Yet after a hugely successful 2016 our crowds have barely grown.
Exactly right. Attendances are great but we are never going to fill Oakwell every week. What we are up against is 100 million pounds worth of parachute money and owners willing to gamble 100 million pounds worth of debt. We have neither.
