Originally Posted by
Canton Kev
The 60’s and 70’s saw bumper crowds all across the UK and up and down the pyramid.
Avg attendance in Division 1
1960 - 1970 was ~31k.
1970 - 1980 was ~27k
1980 - 1990 was ~ 20k
Then in 1992, the first year of the Premier League, the average attendance was 21,600. A decade later the average was 35,500. Last season the average hit 40,000+ for the first time ever.
If you compare that first decade of the PL with the rest of the pyramid you can see why we lagged behind.
1st tier. 21,400 > 35,500
2nd tier. 10,500 > 15,400
3rd tier. 5,400 > 7,000
4th tier. 3,400 > 4,500
Premier League teams on average saw their crowds grow by 2/3rds. 3rd and 4th tier teams by less than 1/3rd.
We missed out and have been stuck playing catch-up.