Historical attendances

[HillingdonFFC]

I`m currently having a debate with a Charlton fan on another message board about Fulhams plans to increase capacity, he said we haven`t got the fanbase for it.
Now someone posted a league table for average attendances since the war on one of our boards  a while back. I`m absolutely sure it put Fulham in about 31st? place a few hundred over Charlton on around 15000 odd, he has now posted something lifted off google which shows them above us which is irritating. Anyone know where to find the definitive table because I cant find it anywhere,  cheers

[TonyGilroy]

I don't see the relevance.

Both clubs have had spells in the top and lower leagues and periods ground sharing. With large terraces attendances in the past have occasionally been far greater than current capacity.

By any test both clubs are of a very similar size.

In the future either club could grow or contract.

[Peabody]

I am not suggesting that Charlton do have a bigger fan base but back in the 1940'/50's/60's, The Valley was the biggest ground in the Football League. This was prior to the renovation, which saw Charlton go back to the Valley after a few seasons of being nomads.

[LBNo11]

...HillingdonFFC, is this what you are looking for..?

http://www.european-football-statistics.co.uk/england.htm   (Click on 'Fulham')

[Burt]

You could have a great deal of fun with this, but there are so many variables at play if you start trying to prove trying to compare which club is bigger than another e.g.
1. How far back do you go?
2. Was the club always at its present ground?
3. Were there any restrictions on capacity due to renovations?
4. How many local rivals compete for the same fan-base?
5. What divisions were the clubs in?
6. Were the attendances impacted by cup runs?
7. Have there been any differences in admission prices?

And so on.

It is almost impossible to compare apples with apples.

[HillingdonFFC]

...HillingdonFFC, is this what you are looking for..?

http://www.european-football-statistics.co.uk/england.htm   (Click on 'Fulham')




Thanks for that but what I was looking for was a table of average attendances , the one with Man Utd at No1 etc and I cant seem to find that on there ? Its only to prove to this Charlton fan who like a few others I`ve met ,think they`re a bit bigger than what they are.

[Burt]

I maintain that this is an impossible argument to have with any objectivity.

For example, their ground capacity is more than ours. Does that make them a bigger club? Not at the moment, because they are getting smaller crowds by virtue of having to play the likes of Hartlepool, Walsall and Oldham rather than ManU, Liverpool and Chelsea. But what if they were in the same division as us?

[HillingdonFFC]

Actually I completely disagree,objectivity doesn`t come into it,  its a question of historical attendances, success, divisions etc doesn`t come in to it, im just trying to let him know that historically speaking Charlton in terms of support are similar to Fulham. Its not a we`re bigger than you argument

[Burt]

If it is just a matter of comparing attendances rather than taking in to account the context then the following will help Mr Hillingdon sir (note on the left side menu you can just click to see Fulham's historical record):

http://www.stadium-attendances.com/Charlton,historical,attendances.html

[Vinnieffc]

I used to attend quite a few Charlton games when my Missus used to live around the corner from the Valley. Although you can't do an exact comparison I would say thet we and Charlton are very similar in regards to attendances, ground, history etc. They also like us do not have that 'yobbish' element of support like some clubs I wouldn't care to mention - like us they're quite family orientated. I used to drink in the Village on matchday wearing my Fulham shirt with no problems.. They don't really have any issues with catchment area - the nearest club being Millwall who attract a diffeerent type of clientele..

[richie17]

Millwall fans even call charlton fans trainspotters owing to their slightly 'different' ways.  I think we have a lot in common with Charlton!  Probably the best comp out there.

[LBNo11]

...the old Valley was huge, with the natural extremely high terracing that resulted from the Valley originally being a sand/chalk pit. Their record attendance in football was around 75 thousand, and there must have been more that that when The Who played there in 1976 in The Who Put The Boot In tour.

That said their ground has had a much smaller capacity in the last 20+ years and like some of the other posters I would think our attendances are pretty similar...

[alfie]

I am not suggesting that Charlton do have a bigger fan base but back in the 1940'/50's/60's, The Valley was the biggest ground in the Football League. This was prior to the renovation, which saw Charlton go back to the Valley after a few seasons of being nomads.

correct me if i am wrong, but was it more of the biggest standing terrace in the football league, not necessarily the biggest ground?

[HatterDon]

Millwall fans even call charlton fans trainspotters owing to their slightly 'different' ways.  I think we have a lot in common with Charlton!  Probably the best comp out there.

I liked some of the promotional ideas that Charlton had while they were still in the Prem -- the river cruise away trip to the Valley being one of them, and the effort they made to incorporate their Asian neighbors into Charlton and football. I'd like to see them back up in the 2nd tier at least. I'm not sure if they're a de-facto top flight club -- of course, I'm not sure if we are either.

[Scrumpy]

I`m currently having a debate with a Charlton fan on another message board about Fulhams plans to increase capacity, he said we haven`t got the fanbase for it.
Now someone posted a league table for average attendances since the war on one of our boards  a while back. I`m absolutely sure it put Fulham in about 31st? place a few hundred over Charlton on around 15000 odd, he has now posted something lifted off google which shows them above us which is irritating. Anyone know where to find the definitive table because I cant find it anywhere,  cheers

The website that Burt has kindly mentioned had average attendances for every year since 1922, but it does not go beyond 2007 for CAFC. We have averaged just over 24k since 2007, and I am guessing that CAFC have been quite a bit less than this. However, even if we ignore the figures since 2007, then our average attendance is 15988, while theirs is 15938. So almost exactly the same, but if it helps you win the argument, then we have edged them out by having, on average, exactly 50 more fans than them at every match in our history!  098.gif

[Burt]

Some more average attendance data is in the link below.

As are some interesting stats e.g. largest crowd was 75,031 for a match v. Villa, and the Valley also hosted the loudest ever concert (the Who).


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Valley_(London)


Right...that's enough about that bunch.

Who wants to talk about Fulham?

[Burt]

I found this all-time average attendance league table, which has us in 32nd place, behind Charlton (31st) and Palace (30th).

http://forums.electronicarts.co.uk/real-football/373861-all-time-english-league-attendance-records.html

I think its a couple of years out of date.