One real observation having looked at the fixtures today

[Des Parrot]

Last 30 years isn't really fair. 20-35 years ago we were really in the doldrums.

As I said you can draw the line anywhere. However, if you look at the majority of those teams I've listed they were in similar positions with regards to crowds (I accept that few have a 8x increase like City). I didn't realise how much crowds had generally increased in since the 90's, in many cases you can see the effect of the new stadiums.

[surge]

As I said you can draw the line anywhere. However, if you look at the majority of those teams I've listed they were in similar positions with regards to crowds (I accept that few have a 8x increase like City). I didn't realise how much crowds had generally increased in since the 90's, in many cases you can see the effect of the new stadiums.

But I don't think anyone is looking at us as a big club over the past 30 years and anyone making that claim doing so over much shorter, potentially more relevant, time period. Could you not do the same just with the past 10 years? I don't think last years crowd was reflective of our stature so would argue that can be removed from calculation.

My instant reaction was that a team like Boro may be an incredibly difficult game in the run in of the season or they may be mid-table or even fighting off relegation - a very inexperienced manager but one unlikely to be sacked quickly - so until you're about 15 games in it's very difficult to know who is a contender. At this point I'm looking out for who we play in the sun and who we're likely to be watching on a wet, midweek game in the middle of winter only.