Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Dec 19, 2008 21:19:43 GMT
We've touched on this before - how total attendances in the Football League went from 41 million in 1948/49 to 16 million in 1985/86. The current figure - for the Premier League through to League 2 ("the 92") - has hovered around 29 million for the last five seasons. These tables - taken from Through the Turnstiles by Brian Tabner - show club-by-club figures for the higest and lowest aggregate seasons. I'm not sure which are the more astonishing - the 1985/86 averages certainly make for sobering reading. 1948/49 1985/86  |
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Dave
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Post by Dave on Dec 19, 2008 22:05:14 GMT
Interesting figures Barton and what I would like to know is, was the 1948 figures a result of a season by season increase from the very beginnings of the professional game. Or was there some other reason why 1948 saw the highest record attendances.
I would expect back in 1948 that most of the crowds were made up of normal working class people, if that was the case, then football had to have been priced at a rate that the working man could afford.It would also be interesting to track the rises in entrance fees to attendance figures, to see what effect that has had on gates in all the divisions.
I think we know many of the reasons are own gates have fallen at certain times, we sure have a good idea why they have dropped so much this season. I do wonder if clubs these days are much better off than in 1948. I'm sure the top clubs back then were not as rich as they are now, so lower crowds have not harmed the big clubs, as I'm sure their very big charges bring in so much more money. plus all the TV money they get etc.
I would also think that TV has also played a big part in people no longer going to live games, sky has put so much top football in everyones front room and compared to the prices you would have to pay to watch the games live, I suppose paying sky might seem good value, if you like to watch lots of football.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Dec 19, 2008 23:14:37 GMT
Dave, your wish is my command! Graphs below are taken from the Brian Tabner book and show average crowds per division (rather than aggregates). Any comparisons are best made from 1922 when the four division system - 1, 2, 3N, 3S - started. 88 clubs from 1923; 92 clubs from 1950. Three points to make: 1. The 1948 figures - and those for a few seasons afterwards - were part of a post-war boom for all spectator sports (including non-league football). The chance to watch events had been curtailed during the war and, in a time of austerity, there weren't too many other leisure activities. The very glamour of football was even more appealing against such a drab backcloth. 2. I think you're right in saying the top clubs were nowhere as rich as they are now. Equally most clubs lived within their means and debt was rare. In those days player wages (which had an agreed ceiling known as the maximum wage) were usually covered by gate receipts. That's not always the case now. 3. It's my feeling entrance charges were relatively cheap until the early 1990s. When I was a student in the 1970s it was possible to watch the Sheffield clubs, Rotherham, Doncaster, Leeds or Man U for virtually the same price. Furthermore, you only needed to buy a ticket in advance for the biggest of games and few people had season tickets. That's changed enormously in the Premier League and Championship. The cost of admission increased sharply from fifteen-odd years ago as many grounds were being improved - but did prices rise disproportionately? The current level of 29 million fans a season - for "the 92" - is on a par with most of the 1960s and higher than anything since 1970. Crowds have gone up together with prices. There's been an economic boom for most of the sixteen years since the establishment of the Premier League and, overall for enough people, the product has improved. But, as you ask, what happens now?   |
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