billsportsmaps.com

On the map, club crests are sized to reflect each club’s average attendance from home league matches in the 2009-10 season. At the far left on the map page is the list of all the clubs in English Non-League football that drew over 500 per game. The club’s level is then listed, with any promotion or relegation this season noted; then the average attendance this season, then the percent increase or decrease versus the club’s 2008-09 average attendance.
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Below is a list I put together from data I found on Mike Avery’s Non-League Football Page. The list here shows the highest numerical increase in average attendance for Non-League clubs [the list on www.mikeavery.co.uk lists all clubs, League and Non-League, combined].
Note: in the column named ‘2009-10 Level with Promotions/Relegations’, an up or down arrow preceding the Level number denotes league movement for that club after the 2008-09 season; and an up arrow after the Level number denotes a promotion for that club after the 2009-10 season.
It is worth noting that only one club on this list did not have any league movement in the past two seasons, York City. Also, unlike most situations where a club is relegated and then sees an attendance drop the following season, Luton Town and Mansfield Town saw attendance increases. Mansfield’s higher average attendance was pushed up by their pay-what-you-want promotion in February {see this}, which drew 7,261 to Field Mill in Mansfield, Nottinghamshire.

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The cut-off on this map was 500 per game home attendance in league matches, and this meant there ended up being 50 clubs on this map. The map I made in October, 2009 had a cut-off at 600, but I lowered the bar by 100 because I couldn’t resist cramming a few more clubs into this end-of-season attendance map. The extra clubs happened to include 3 clubs from South London, so to the map page I added the Greater London map you see at the top of this post. Bromley and Welling United are both in the Conference South, which is a 6th Level league. Sutton United are a 7th Level club, and play in the Isthmian League Premier Division.

Other clubs which made it onto this map, and not onto my 3 other previous Non-League attendance maps are…Eastleigh (of the Conference-South), who are from Hampshire, just north of Southampton; Dorchester Town (also of the Conference South), who are from Dorset; and Hayes and Yeading United, who are from Hayes, Hillingdon, West London, about 3 km. (2 miles) north of Heathrow Airport. Hayes and Yeading won promotion to the Conference (aka Blue Square Premier League) in 2008-09, and drew 334 per game. This season in the Conference the club drew 664 per game, an 84% increase. Hayes and Yeading survived the drop by 3 points, finishing in 17th place.
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Hayes & Yeading were the Conference club which had the highest percentage increase in average attendance (+84%)…

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English Football Attendances, Average Attendances 2009-10 by % Change (www.mikeavery.co.uk)
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The Conference club with the highest numerical increase in average attendance was Oxford United, whose turnstile count went up 1,125 per game, to 6,004 per game. Oxford won the Conference play-off, and will play in League Two in 2010-11, thus returning to the League after a 4 season absence. Leading scorer for Oxford was James Constable, who scored 28 league goals (Conference top scorers, here {ESPN Soccernet}), and scored 3 times in 3 matches in the club’s successful playoff campaign.

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The 6th Level club with the highest average attendance percentage increase and the highest numerical increase was the Welsh club Newport County AFC, who won automatic promotion to the Conference by winning the Conference South, and drew over 900 more per game than in 2008-09. The Exiles drew 1,840 per game, a 116% increase from 08/09, to their not-exactly fan-friendly, running track-scarred municipal stadium, the Newport Stadium. Newport County is a club with a pretty long League history (61 seasons, including two seasons in the 2nd Level), and are finally having a resurgence. They will make their debut in the Conference, as they were relegated multiple levels when they were relegated out of the old Fourth Division in 1988.

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The 7th Level club with the highest percent increase was Aveley FC, an Isthmian League Premier Division club located in Aveley, Essex, near the Dartford Crossing. Aveley did not make this map (and in fact, their ground only has a 1,100-capacity). The Millers drew 212 per game, a 47% increase from the 144 per game they drew in 08/09, when they won promotion the Isthmian League-D1 North. Aveley page at en.wikipedia.org .
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The 7th Level club with the highest numerical increase in average attendance was Boston United, of Lincolshire. Boston United won promotion this season to the Conference North, drawing 224 more per game than in 08/09. Boston United drew 1,343 per game this season, and it looks like the Pilgrims are finally starting to recover from the the financial mess/grounds problem that resulted in a protracted time in administration and which plunged them from League Two (the 4th Level) to the Unibond Premier League (in the 8th Level) in the space of 2 years. York Street, home of Boston United, below…

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The 8th Level club with the highest numerical increase in average attendance was the phoenix-club FC Halifax Town, of Halifax, West Yorkshire. The Shaymen saw their gates go up 286 per game to 1,452 per game, which is a figure that dwarfs other clubs at this level. Sure enough Halifax won promotion and are on the path back to regaining the position of their predecessor club, Halifax Town AFC, who had League and Conference history, but were forced to dissolve due to tax debts in 2008. The photo below shows the Shay, FC Halifax’s home. The stadium is owned by the Calderdale Metopolitan Council. Calderdale is a metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, and is made up of 6 former local government districts within the towns of (from east to west) Brighouse, Elland, Halifax, Sowerby Bridge, Hebden Bridge, and Todmorden. Todmorden is right up against the Pennine Chain, and this is pretty much where Yorkshire ends. At the other, western, side of the Pennine Chain (which is a low-rising mountain chain which is often called the backbone of England), is Lancashire.

Seen below is the new East Stand, from a satellite photo taken while that stand was still under construction [the view is towards the south]. The East Stand was opened in March, 2010. You can pretty much see how ambitious FC Halifax Town are, by the size of the stand. The stadium now has a capacity of just over 10,000, and that is a Football League-sized ground for sure.

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The 8th Level club with the second-highest numerical increase at the turnstiles was Bury Town, of Bury St. Edmunds, in Suffolk. Bury Town saw their gates increase 172 per game, from 273 to 445 per game, as they won the Southern Football League Division One Midlands. Bury Town’s Ram Meadow @ Extreme Groundhopping site.
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The 8th Level club with the third-highest numerical increase in average attendance was Lowestoft Town, of Lowestoft, Suffolk. The Trawler Boys won the Isthmian League Division One North by 15 points and drew 733 per game to their Crown Meadow ground, a 30% increase and 170 more per game higher than in 2008-09. And in 2007-08, Lowestoft Town were drawing just 310 per game, so the club’s fan base has more than doubled in two years.


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Thanks to Bing.com/maps, Hayes & Yeading United FC, Church Road ground (Bird’s Eye view). Thanks to Stephen Harris at Panoramio.com, Stephen Harris @ panoramio.com.

Thanks to Sam Mason at Flickr.com,Oxford United FC – Kassam Stadium. Thanks to Jim 2000 at Panoramio.com, Photos by jim 2000 @ panoramio.com. Thanks to Oxford United FC- OxKits, www.oxkits.co.uk. Thanks to Oxford United official site/ Gallery, www.oufc.co.uk. Thanks to The Amber Terrace at Flickr.com, The Amber Terrace’s photostream @ flickr.com.

Thanks to the Pride of Anglia – Ipswich Town Football Club, Pride of Anglia (Ipswich Town).

Thanks to Extreme Groundhopping, Exreme Groundhopping – Crown Meadow, Lowestoft Town FC.

Thanks to Mike Avery for his excellent site.

Attendance in the Conference is up 10.5%.  Last season,  the final average attendance for the entire league as a whole was 1,857.  This season,  as of 4th October, 2009,  the average is 2,051.  The main reason is the huge gates,  in Non-League terms,  of Luton Town and Oxford United (in the 5,00o-6,000 range).  The Oxford v. Luton match of 8th September (a Tuesday) drew 10,613. (!)   Also,  Mansfield Town,  another former Football League club,  is seeing a big upswing at the turnstiles,  with a 40% increase from last season,  to 3,392 per game.  And one of the newly promoted clubs is AFC Wimbledon,  who are seeing a 20% increase to 3,844 per game.  Two more clubs in the Conference are drawing above 3,000 per game:  Wrexham (3,734) and Cambridge United (3,032).

It must be pointed out that all but one of these clubs have spent considerable time in the Football League,  in the past.  The one club without League history is AFC Wimbledon,  but 1). AFC Wimbledon is the heir to Wimbledon FC,  who spent 14 seasons in the top flight,  and famously upset Liverpool in the 1988 FA Cup;  and 2). AFC Wimbledon is almost cetainly bound for promotion to the Football League in the near future.

If you are wondering what all these decent-sized clubs with long histories in the Football League are doing in the 5th Level (ie, the Conference),  it’s because so many small,  but well-performing clubs like Dagenham & Redbridge,  Barnet,  Burton Albion,  Aldershot,  and Morecambe are currently in the League.  All of these clubs are drawing less than 3,000 per game.  In fact,  11 clubs in League Two are drawing lower than 3,000. 

Prior to 1987,  there was no automatic promotion and relegation between the Football League (Levels 1-4),  and the leagues that made up Non-League football.  What we are seeing today is a sort of levelling out…all these clubs that spent decades in the lower reaches of the League,  and never had to worry about relegation (like,  say,  York City) now find themselves out of the League.  And clubs like Yeovil Town,  with no League history,  have punched above their weight and climbed up to the League.

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The biggest increases among clubs in the leagues below the Conference are found at Havant & Waterlooville (+55%),  Newport Country (+51%),  and Tamworth (+47%),  all 6th Level clubs.  Newport County,  of south Wales;  and Tamworth,  of south-east Staffordshire,  were promoted last season.  That explains the gate increases there.  With H&WFC,  the club has seen an increase from 722 to 1,122 per game most likely due to the matches against other clubs within close vicinity,  which produced travelling support that increased the gates.  Their recent matches v. Bath City,  Eastleigh,  Basingstoke Town,  and Dover Athletic all fall into this category,  with gates in the 1,100-1,400 range rather than the normal 700-800 range.   [I guess that's one problem with doing a map like this,  when only about 30% of the season has been played...certain matches will skew the figures.  So I will make an updated version of this map in May,  2010.]

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51 weeks ago I made a map for Non-League attendance leaders,  with a cut-off point of all clubs drawing above 800 per game {see it, here}.  This year,  I have put the cut-off at 600 per game.  This added 7 more clubs total to the map.  Meanwhile, 33 of the 38 clubs on the map last season are back on the map this season.  Gone via promotion to the Football League are Burton Albion and Torquay United.  Gone from the map because of a drop in attendances are Bath City,  Lewes,  and Northwich Victoria.

Here are the clubs that were not on the Non-League attendance map last October… Braintree Town,  nicknamed the Iron,  are from Essex,  and play in the Conference South (a 6th Level league).   Truro City play in a location pretty far off the beaten path,  in Cornwall.  The club are currently in the Southern League (in the 7th Level).  Truro City have now been promoted four straight seasons.  Truro City are the only football club from Cornwall in the top 10 Levels of the English football league system   Farnborough are in the Conference South (6th Level),  and are from that north-east Hampshire town where ’The Football Ramble’ originated {see this recent article in the Guardian.co.uk,  about the unlikely rise of this independant sports show…click here}.   Havant & Waterlooville are also from Hampshire,  and also in the Conference South,  and are located in Havant,  which is about 10 km. north-east of Portsmouth.  The club,  nicknamed the Hawks,  made it to the 4th Round of the 2007-08 FA Cup (after beating Swansea in the 3rd Round).  Their 4th Round match versus Liverpool,  at Anfield,  was widely broadcast,  and saw the plucky south coast side take the lead on the Reds twice,  only to fall 5-2.   Eastwood Town are in the Conference-North,  and are from Nottinghamshire.  The club,  nicknamed the Badgers,  made it to the 2008-09 FA Cup 3rd Round (after beating Wycombe Wanderers in the 2nd Round).   Leamington are from Whitnash, Warwickshire,  that county which wraps around the eastern end of the West Midlands.  Leamington Spa and Warwick are both neighboring towns of Whitnash.  Leamington are in the Southern League (7th Level).   Lowestoft Town are from north-east Suffolk,  on the North Sea 33 km. (20 miles) south-east of Norwich;  and 59 km. (37 mi.) north-east of Ipswich.  The club has the great nickname of the Trawler Boys.  Lowestoft Town are in the Isthmian League, North (aka the Ryman North),  an 8th Level league. [note- there are just two clubs from the 8th Level on the map: Lowestoft Town and FC Halifax Town (who are the re-born Halifax Town AFC].  Gateshead are located in Tyne and Wear,  within Greater Newcastle.  The club crest features the town of Gateshead’s Angel of the North sculpture {see this}.  Gateshead were promoted to the Conference last season,  and have seen an attendance increase of around 300,  to 718 per game.

Thanks to the contributors to the pages at en.wikipedia.org {click here for the page on 2009-10 Conference National}.   Thanks to the King’s Lynn FC site’s Turnstile Count {click here}.   Thanks to ESPN Soccernet {click here},  for Conference attendance figures {click here}. 

Thanks to the Blue Square South official site {click here}.   Thanks to the BBC site’s Non-League page {click here}.  Thanks to the Two Hundred Percent site,  for it’s excellent coverage of the Non-League scene {click here}.