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October 13, 2008

Non-League Football in England: Attendance Map for October, 2008.

Filed under: 2008-09 English Football — admin @ 9:35 am

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This map shows the 38 highest drawing non-league football clubs this season (just under one third of the season has been played so far in the 5th Level,  about one quarter has been played in most of the other lower levels).   Instead of just focusing on the 5th Level of English Football…the Conference,  which is officially known as the Blue Square Premier League,  I have included all clubs outside the League that have a current average attendance above 800 per game.  All but one club in the Blue Square is on the list,  the exception being the Essex-based Grays Athletic,  who have seen their average gate dip 27%,  to 665 per game.   The West Sussex-based club Crawley Town currently top the Conference table,  with Kettering Town,  Cambridge United,  and Kidderminster Harriers all within touching distance of first.   For the Blue Square Premier League table,  {Click here}. 

Of the 15 clubs on the map below the Conference,  three supporter-run clubs stand out…AFC Wimbledon,  FC United of Manchester,  and AFC Telford United.  Two were recently formed as a direct result of fan antipathy towards the original club they supported,  and one (Telford) was formed when the original went bust. 

AFC Wimbledon were formed in 2002 by dissident supporters,  when Wimbledon FC announced their intention to change their name to the MK Dons,  and move from south London 56 miles north to the Buckinghamshire town of Milton Keynes (this move occured in September, 2003).   In their 6 seasons of existance,  AFC Wimbledon have won promotion 3 times,  including last May,  when the club won the Isthmian League Premier Division playoffs on the third try.  They are currently in the 6th Level,  in the Conference South.  They sit third in the table,  in the playoff places,  level on points with Team Bath (227 avg. attenadance),  and one point behind Hayes & Yeading United (489 avg. attendance).  AFC Wimbledon seem on course for eventually gaining promotion to the League (which means two more promotions),  and more power to them.  The Wimbledon FC fans who saw their plucky underdog club win the 1988 FA Cup,  only to have their club ripped out from under them 14 years later,  must be pretty proud of how far their AFC Wimbledon have come since.  For Wikipedia’s page on AFC Wimbledon,  {Click here}.

FC United of Manchester were formed in 2005,  after fan disaffection in the wake of US trailer-park slumlord/corporate takeover artist/fish-protein baron/NFL owner Malcolm Glazer’s debt-laden buyout of Manchester United  {see this}.  The club plays at Gigg Lane,  home of League Two’s Bury FC.  FC United often outdraw the club they rent from,  (although it must be mentioned that Bury’s attendance is up 15%, to 2,996 per game,  in the wake of the Shakers’ excellent form under manager Alan Knill).  FC United won promotion to the Northern Premier League’s Premier Division last spring (the league is usually referred to as “the Unibond”),  in the 7th Level.   This season seems one of consolidation for the club,  as they sit right in the middle of the table,  at 11th  {Unibond Premier League table, Click here}.

AFC Telford United were formed in May, 2004, by supporters,  when it became clear that that their club Telford United FC,  noteworthy FA Cup Giant-killers {see this},  were about to fold.  The phoenix club’s motto, numquam obliviscere,  is Latin for “never forget”.   AFC Telford won promotion twice in their first three seasons,  going from the 8th to the 6th Level,  and currently sit 7th in the Conference- North,  six point behind leaders Southport  {Conference- North table, Click here}. 

Thanks to the  King’s Lynn FC  website,  for non-league gate figures  {Click here}.

Thanks to the  Two Hundred Percent  site,  for excellent coverage of non-league football  {Click here}.  [Note:  the 18th September post, 'Stable Management And The Conference',  is good.]

Thanks to Tony’s English Football Site  {Click here}.

Pyramid Passion is a site for nice photos, etc. of Non-League football grounds…{Click here}.

August 12, 2008

Premier League: Clubs in the 2008-09 Season (With 2007-08 Attendance Map, and Final Standings Chart).

Please Note: to see my most recent Premier League map & post, click on the following category, Eng>Premier League.
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The Premier League, England’s top level of football,  begins it’s 16th season,  on the weekend of 16th-17th August.

Below are the average gates (from last season) of all the clubs who are in the Premier League for the 2008-09 season.   Included is the percentage change from the 2006-07 season.

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Thanks to Historical Football Kits {Click here}, for the kits used on the chart: copyright Historical Football Kits, and reproduced by permission.

Thanks to the European Football Statistics site for the attendance figures      {Click here}.

August 8, 2008

2008-’09 English Football: League Championship- Attendance Map (with attendances from the 2007-’08 season).

Filed under: 2008-09 English Football,Eng-2nd Level/Champ'ship — admin @ 10:29 am

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The League Championship is the second level of English football.  Last season, the league averaged 17,022 per game.  Attendance was down 3.4%,  which can be explained by the promotion to the Premier League, last year, of the two highest drawing clubs from the season before:  Sunderland and Derby County.

This season, there will be an unusually large number of local derbies.  That’s because there will be four clubs from South Yorkshire (with the promotion of Doncaster Rovers,  plus Sheffield United,  Sheffield Wednesday,  and Barnsley);   two clubs from Wales (with the promotion of Swansea City,  plus Cardiff City);   two clubs from the East Midlands (with the promotion of Nottingham Forest,  and the return of Derby County);  and three clubs from the West Midlands (with the return of Birmingham City,  plus Wolverhampton and  Coventry City).   And once again, there will be three London clubs (Charlton Athletic,  Crystal Palace,  and Queens Park Rangers),  along with Watford (which most people consider to be part of London,  although it is just over the border, in Hertfordshire).  

When one factors in the new clubs for this season,  the relegation of two smaller clubs (Colchester United and Scunthorpe United),  and the general trend over the last decade towards higher gates in the Football League, the League Championship will probably have it’s highest drawing season ever.  [It's highest was 2006-07, with an average gate of 18,221.]

Here is a preview of the League Championship (Telegraph UK) {Click here}.

For promotion, the oddsmakers like Birmingham CityQueens Park Rangers,  and Reading   {Click here (statto.com site)}.    But if last season is anything to go by, some clubs in the middle of the oddsmaker’s pack will gain promotion, rather than all the favorites.  It was wide open last season, and going into the final half-dozen matches, fully half the league (actually 13 clubs) had a viable shot at promotion.   In the end,  two of the three clubs who won promotion this May,  Hull City and Stoke City,  were not at all highly rated for advancement.  Hull were 66 to 1 to win the league outright, and Stoke City were 25 to 1.  Eventual League Championship winners West Bromwich Albion were highly rated to win it, though,  at 6 to 1.

What has vaulted QPR into the top three projected clubs is their new ownership and investor {see this}.   Ticket prices have shot up, and some are worried that the new ownership will price the average loyal fan out  {see this, from The Guardian UK, by Benjie Goodheart}.

Here is a nice League Championship preview, from a QPR supporters’ site called Loft For Words  {Click here}.

Staying on the QPR theme, here is a preview of the 08/09 team,  from the great Unprofessional Foul site  {Click here}.   This site is in the process of previewing the whole league,  in their insightul and irreverent way.   [Note: that is QPR's old badge pictured there in the article...the new one can be seen on my map.]

Thanks to the European Football Statistics site  {Click here},  for the attendance figures.  Thanks to the Historical Football Kits site  {Click here}.  Not for images, this time, but for pointing out the plethora-of-derbies angle.

August 4, 2008

2008-09 English Football: League One- Attendance Map (with attendances from the 2007-08 season).

Filed under: 2008-09 English Football,Eng-3rd Level/League One — admin @ 4:49 pm

Note: to see my latest map-&-post of the English 3rd division, click on the following, Eng-3rd Level/League One.
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League One is the 3rd Level of English Football.  This level invariably has the biggest disparity in attendance figures.  In the past decade,  this league has been usually comprised of one or two “big” clubs, who have fallen on hard times;  mixed in with a large portion of medium-small sized clubs;  and rounded out by some rather small clubs who are punching above their weight.  Last season, League One had an overall average gate of 7,992, up 6.7% from the season before (thanks to Leeds’ gate figures, mainly).

This season, in the first category are Leeds United and Leicester City.  Both these clubs, particularly Leeds, have fan bases bigger than some current Premier League clubs.  In recent years (1999 to 2008),  Nottingham Forest,  Sheffield Wednesday,  Manchester City,  and Birmingham City have had spells in the 3rd Level.  These are all clubs that have spent considerable time (at least 45 seasons) in the top flight, and all regularly draw above 20,000 per game. 

In the second category are clubs that presently draw around 5,000 to 10,000 per game.  Some of these clubs, such as Oldham Athletic,  Millwall,  and Brighton & Hove Albion, have had a somewhat recent spell in the top flight (Oldham from 1991 to ’94,  Millwall from 1988 to ’90,  Brighton from 1979 to ’83).  Huddersfield Town won 3 straight English Titles in 1924, ’25, and ’26,  but has not been in the top flight since 1971-72.   Four clubs here spent a single season in the top tier:  Swindon Town in 1993-94,  Carlisle United in 1974-75,  Northampton Town in 1965-66,  and Leyton Orient in 1962-63.   Some of these clubs, like Colchester UnitedSouthend UnitedCrewe Alexandra,  and the just-promoted Stockport County have recently been in the second level, but have never made it to the top tier.  

In the third category are a few clubs with very small fan bases,  like Cheltenham Town,  Hartlepool United, and the newly-promoted Hereford United.   Yeovil Town, who until 5 years ago had never been above the 5th level, can be considered as part of this category, even with their rise in attendance (to the range of 5,400 to 6,400) since they were first promoted to the League, in 2004.  Nevertheless, many feel the Glovers, from the Football-deficient outpost of Somerset, cannot maintain their status as a third-level club, and are due for the drop.  Pretty much the same thing could be said for Gloucestershire’s Cheltenham Town, as well as Hereford.  But County Durham’s Hartlepool seem to be holding their own in the third tier (with a 7th place finish last season), despite only drawing 4,500 per game. 

As of 3rd August,  the bookies’ favorites for promotion are Leeds United, the just-relegated Leicester City, and the just-promoted Peterborough United.  The next favorites are the just-promoted MK Dons, as well as Huddersfield, Carlisle, and Southend.  Brighton, and the just-relegated Colchester, are also rated as relatively good bets to go up  {Click here (Statto.com site)}.

Thanks to the European Football Statistics site {Click here}, for the attendance figures.

July 27, 2008

2008-09 English Football: League Two- Zoom Map.

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Note: to see my most recent post on the English 4th division, click on the following: category: Eng-4th Level/League 2.

The map shows all 24 clubs in this season’s League Two, which is the fourth Level of the English Football pyramid.

As a whole, League Two averaged 4,337 spectators per game last season, up 4.8 % from 2006-’07 {See this, from the European Football Statistics site}.  But much of that increase can be attributed to Bradford City, who, when faced with relegation to League Two last year, slashed ticket prices across the board (they ended up increasing their average gate by 5,000 per game: from 8,694 to 13,694).

Last season was an extremely competitive one, for the clubs outside the dominant top two of MK Dons and Peterborough United.  In 2007-08, there were an amazing 208 away wins, compared to only 220 home wins.  {See this, from the English Football [Dot] Info site.}

This season sees both promoted clubs from the Conference (ie, the Blue Square Premier League, the 5th Level) from the southern part of England.

Exeter City has had a long history in the Football League, over 75 seasons worth, and have recovered from their recent near financial collapse and dissolution.  They won the Conference playoff last May, over Cambridge City.  Exeter City has maintained a solid fan base for a club that had been banished to non-League status.  The Grecians drew 3,705 per game last season; second highest in the Conference (behind only Oxford United), and drew better than 10 clubs in the Football League.  

Aldershot Town is a relatively new entity, which has risen from the ashes of the defunct Aldershot FC (as depicted by their phoenix-bird logo), and 16 years later, have made it into the Football League.  They won the Conference handily, and boast a small, but rabid fan base  {See this, from last November, on the Pitch Invasion site}.  The club may have some tough times ahead this season, but the stands will be jumping.

{Click here, for the odds-makers’ favorites for promotion in League Two this (Statto.com site).}     As of 27th July, the bookies are picking  Bradford CityDarlington,  Gillingham,  and Shrewsbury Town to be promoted.  Chesterfield, Wycombe, and Rochdale are the next favorites.

Both clubs promoted from the Conference last year were newcomers to the Football League:  North Lancashire’s Morecambe, and East London club Dagenham & Redbridge.  Both survived.  Morecambe did exremely well, with 16 wins, and an 11th place finish.  The Shrimps’ average gate went up from 1,598 in the Conference, in ’06-’07,  to 2,855 last season.  Dagenham looked to be in a relegation battle, before finding safety through two consecutive wins to end the season.  The Daggers finished in 20th place, and saw their average gate go from 1,756 to just 2,021 (second lowest in all the 92-club League, higher only than Accrington Stanley).

All four of the clubs relegated from the 3rd Level, League One, in May 2008,  have spent most of their seasons above the 4th Level.  Luton Town have notched 16 seasons in the top flight, and even won the 1988 League Cup.  They have spent their most seasons (34) in the 2nd Level, and before their financial problems, the Hatters, under Mike Newell, in 2005-’06, were actually in the running for a shot at the Premier League.  Every thing went pear-shaped fast, and the former board is in disgrace, for their financial improprieties.  A new management team has come aboard, but not until after a fatal points deduction which sealed their relegation.  And what’s worse is that more points will be deducted for the up-coming season.  The same goes for Bournemouth, who put up a valiant eleventh-hour attempt at avoiding off the drop, but to no avail.  Port Vale will be in the 4th Level for the first time in 23 seasons.  Finally, there is Gillingham, who have spent 55 seasons in the 3rd Level, and as recently as 2005, were in the 2nd Level.  But the club from Kent have their own set of money problems, and were unable to afford the caliber of player that would have kept them in League One.  The club has a decent size fan base, though (6,077 avg. gate last season).

Here is a very recent article from the Soccer Lens site, by Gary Andrews, about the points-deduction holes that Luton Town, Bournemouth, and Rotherham United find themselves in…{Click Here.}

Thanks to the Historical Football Kits site {click here}, for the kits on the map, which are copyright Historical Football Kits, and reproduced by permission [note: I have indicated on the map which kits are new for this season].

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