Attendances Are Falling – No, They’re Not, and Here’s Proof

I don’t get involved much on Twitter anymore. Arguing isn’t good for the soul, and so I’ll often let people have their opinions.

However, this afternoon, I saw a claim that attendance is falling and that the club has internal issues. Apparently, players were bickering on the field; Dom Jeffries was unhappy at being subbed, etc. It’s always doom and gloom, but I’d be worried if players didn’t bite at each other, or if players were happy to come off.

Anyway, I did take Umbridge at the attendance claim, because I wasn’t 100% sure it was right. I’ve heard attendances have been falling for years, but have they? Or is it an urban myth peddled by the doom and gloom merchants who took a holiday after we beat Bristol Rovers 5-0?

Let’s see, shall we?

The Attendances

I have used Football Web Pages for my numbers. For a fair representation of attendance, I have removed all cup matches, which skew the figures. That’s not just down either – we got 10,000 against West Ham, but we also had FA Cup games under Michael Appleton that Michael Skubala did not have. I think, fair a fair indication, we need to include just Football League matches.

I have gone back to 2017/18, so these figures include Danny and Nicky’s attendances (from the Football League) up to today. Where there’s an interim period, such as under Tom Shaw, I have removed the games, so the only attendances we’re working with are those from Football League matches that the respective managers took charge of.

There’s a top four, and if the scaremongers are to be believed, our attendance under Michael Skubala is falling. Is it?