Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

1,000 or bust

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

    1,000 or bust

    Perhaps it is partly professional pride, partly community spirit, but it is noticeable that even in Football League clubs where attendances can be sparse on occasion (such as Morecambe, Accrington and formerly Barnet), crowds will practically never fall below the psychological four-digit barrier. Indeed, the only such occasion I can recall in my lifetime was Wimbledon v Rotherham, and that was once the infamy of MK had been announced.

    #2
    I'm pretty sure Morecambe dropped below the 1000 mark for a Tuesday evening game last season and there's certainly a number of clubs whose lowest attendance for a league game is below it too.

    Off the top of my head - Morecambe, Northampton, Chester, Torquay, Halifax. Most of them recorded in the late 80s.

    The lowest I can recall though is for a Freight Rover Trophy game between Halifax and Lincoln played on a weekday afternoon in around 86/87 that attracted all of 150. Obviously not a league game but a competitive one between two league clubs.
    Last edited by Greenlander; 22-09-2018, 19:52.

    Comment


      #3
      Against Crewe in mid-November, it seems:

      https://www.thevisitor.co.uk/sport/f...ra-1-1-8870107

      Comment


        #4
        But can you trust these attendance figures (hello Arsenal)?

        Comment


          #5
          Just 790 people braved Hartlepool v Stockport on 5 May 1984. The two years either side of the Bradford fire were extremely grim. Miners Strike had also just started in May 84.

          Five examples involving Wrexham:

          http://www.wrexhamprogrammes.com/low...tendances.html

          It seems that the Freight Rover and its modern equivalents are less squeamish about sub-1000 attendances given that they seem to be guaranteed in some cases. However, do such games even cover their costs?

          Comment


            #6
            It's all different in non-league. We have a group called 1000BC whose sole point is to get the crowds up to the level. We had it once last season and have had it once already this season with the Chippenham local derby to come so we are getting there.

            Comment


              #7
              Scarborough had an attendance of just 625 for a Friday night match v. Wrexham in 1990, the Saint & Greavsie showed the goals the next day & the weather was appalling, with heavy rain & strong winds. Hartlepool had an attendance of less than 800 v. Colchester on Bank Holiday Monday 1983, when it was already clear they were going to finish in the re-election zone that season. The 3-day week in 1974 also meant some attendances were artificially low, because teams had to play any mid-week matches without floodlights, meaning an afternoon kick off. Rochdale had an attendance of about 588 for a midweek game v. Cambridge in the old Division 3, although the Rothman's Football Yearbook for that season listed 450. Workington also had at least one attendance of less than 1000 for each of the last 3 seasons they were in the League before they weren't re-elected in 1977.

              Comment


                #8
                During Doncaster Rovers shitstorm of a 1997-98 season, crowds at Belle Vue dropped below 1,000 three times due to understandable apathy as those in charge effectively tried to force the club out of existence. Only 846 saw our first win of the season against Chester on a Tuesday night in December, whilst an even more paltry 739 watched a 2-0 league defeat to Barnet in March.

                In addition to those two league games, only 580 turned up for an Auto-Windscreens Shield match against Rochdale. A home draw with Cardiff in November was close to making the list, with only 1,004 in attendance.

                Comment


                  #9
                  Originally posted by Bordeaux Education View Post
                  We have a group called 1000BC .
                  Lots of fancy dress potential there. Woad and druid robes and stuff like that.

                  Comment


                    #10
                    I was at this League Cup tie in 2000, att 612.

                    https://www.11v11.com/matches/halifa...ber-2000-1146/

                    Played at Bradford because Halifax were waiting bulbs for their floodlights

                    Comment


                      #11
                      Lowest league game I’ve been to with Reading was early 1990s and away to Chester when they didn’t have a ground. It was an end of season game with absolutely nothing to play for. It was meant to be played on the Saturday, where, I can’t remember but was a very late postponement. It was then rearranged for the Monday night at the not very convenient Macclesfield. I was working on the Saturday but had the Monday off so went up for the game as it was a new ground for Reading.

                      This was pre-internet so the only way anyone could find out about the new date was on the radio or word of mouth.

                      Anyway, a stunning attendance of 621 resulted, with the away support announced as 26.

                      Comment


                        #12
                        My lowest was probably Cosenza v West Ham in the Anglo Italian Cup in 1992. Attendance was officially "800" but I would say that was rather optimistic

                        There were 32 in the West Ham section and I was the only idiot who thought going there and back on the train made any sort of sense

                        Comment


                          #13
                          A few here: http://nonleaguematters.co.uk/forum/...uest=268730668

                          Comment


                            #14
                            Originally posted by Diable Rouge View Post
                            Perhaps it is partly professional pride, partly community spirit, but it is noticeable that even in Football League clubs where attendances can be sparse on occasion (such as Morecambe, Accrington and formerly Barnet), crowds will practically never fall below the psychological four-digit barrier. Indeed, the only such occasion I can recall in my lifetime was Wimbledon v Rotherham, and that was once the infamy of MK had been announced.
                            I was there...

                            Comment


                              #15
                              Fascinating read that GO, with the first-hand count especially.

                              Comment


                                #16
                                There's an article on this theme in the new WSC (with a Newcastle manager and player on the front).

                                Comment

                                Working...
                                X