QPR

[SP]

I can't be bothered to check the stats but the attendance on Friday must surely threaten to be near the lowest ever for this fixture?  QPR averaging around 12K at home this season & around 2K Fulham? Live SKY coverage is a factor & Friday nights aren't ideal for some but 15K!

[mrmicawbers]

See we have had 20,000 plus at all of our home games and they struggle to get 14,000.So much for a club that make out they're so much bigger. The Ha Has is a good name for them.

[Andy S]

Its quite sad really that a club in west London should be so poorly supported. In fairness it is about the cost as much as anything as well and watching it on Sky (Down the pub). I certainly won't be going and I don't have Sky so hopefully I can find a pub somewhere with it on. But a Friday night will mean crowds of people out and about so I may well just listen to Gentleman Jim

[HillingdonFFC]

Its quite sad really that a club in west London should be so poorly supported. In fairness it is about the cost as much as anything as well and watching it on Sky (Down the pub). I certainly won't be going and I don't have Sky so hopefully I can find a pub somewhere with it on. But a Friday night will mean crowds of people out and about so I may well just listen to Gentleman Jim

Why is it sad?,  nowhere else in Britain are four clubs so near to each other, one of which happens to be one of the most successful in the country.
QPR have had a dig at our away numbers in the past but even some of their deluded ones have come to realise we're two similar sized clubs. Was speaking to a couple of Rangers mates this weekend & they said they've been surprised how well Fulhams crowds have held up since leaving the prem.
They're a club thats meandering at the moment but whilst traditionally not being massively well supported their gates have always been consistent. Look at some our attendances in the early & late 80s through to the early 90s. Yes thete were mitigating circumstances, club at an all time low etc, but some of our crowds were pitiful

[Fulham76]

We had a long stay in the premier league & would have picked up a lot of floating fans compared to the likes of rangers & Brentford as a result.

Apart from a couple of years in the premier league, rangers have been a pretty average championship/league 1 club, so unless you're a club like Man City, Wolves etc fan base is going to take a hit. And with the way they've been run in recent years, not surprised fans are staying away. One of the reasons I won't moan about Khan too much as we could end up with the clowns they have.

That said, every time you speak with a ha ha fan or read their forums they make out they're fans are superb & loads of times seen them knocking ours. But the facts speak for themselves.

[toshes mate]

Brentford and QPR have both spent longer terms outside the top tiers than have Fulham. Craven Cottage has always been the larger ground of the three.  Andy S makes a good point about cost of tickets given that football started life as a working class sport. Parts of Hammersmith and Fulham in my youth were no go areas if you didn't know what was good for you, football supporter or not. The Borough has changed, so have the people attending games and so has the cost of attendance, and I am still not sure it was all for the better.  It's going to take something very unusual to dent the inequality in sport just as it will do in challenging society to be more equal.  Football now eclipses cinema costs as an entertainment and you have to ask yourself how can that be.

 

[Mince n Tatties]

Are our attendances down this season? all around 20,000,but Norwich,Wednesday and Cardiff brought big supports.

[Fulham 442]

I don't think a lot of our floating fans would have hung around once we got relegated.  We clearly had a lot of "tourist" STH when we were in the Prem as our tickets were reasonably priced.  Similarly we amassed a strong US following with all the players we had from there at one time but they, together with our other overseas fans, rarely attend games.  Apart from that bloke that comes over from Italy for every home match bless him!!  Taking all these things into consideration I think our attendances in the Championship have been really good, and consistently so.  Rangers, for whatever reason, are just not so well supported as us.  Something they seem unwilling to accept or get over, whichever way you want to look at it!!  It does make me laugh though when they sing about Craven Cottage being a sh*thole given they play at Loftus Road - enough said but no one can claim it is picturesque!!

[_Putney_]

qpr small team, poor fans

[Carborundum]

QPRs ground is cramped.  Sitting in one of their seats the prospect of scratching my ears with my kneecaps seemed a possibility.  The club has a dilemma over whether to move and isn't necessarily getting the pricing / matchday experience / crowd atmosphere balance right in their current location.. 

I know several QPR fans - each love their football and their club.  Shoot me down, but I respect that.  The cost of going to the games for them and their families is an issue.  Their club could pack the place every week and choose not to. We could too if we wanted to - and to turn things on their head, Craven Cottage has more empty seats on matchday than Loftus Road.

Why does it matter?  Well I think kids get some odd ideas about football if they only consume it through TV, YouTube and video games.  Going to live games can stir passion and respect that lasts a lifetime.  Oh, and from a selfish point of view packed stadiums are more fun to be in.

The question about football eclipsing cinema cost and how can that be?  Very good one and prices should come down.

[SP]

Had a quick look at their board & it seems their pricing structure is ridiculous with £38 mentioned for buying on the door against Burton last Saturday.

As my son has gone travelling this will be the first match there I've missed in years & I've kidded myself watching it on TV & saving money is sensible.  However, come kick-off I know I'll regret it.  Television just can't capture the bitterness & anger of their fans.  Watching a middle aged man being calmed down by his wife is priceless.

[Ged]

See we have had 20,000 plus at all of our home games and they struggle to get 14,000.So much for a club that make out they're so much bigger. The Ha Has is a good name for them.

we only had 15790 for our home game against hull

[BlackShorts]

See we have had 20,000 plus at all of our home games and they struggle to get 14,000.So much for a club that make out they're so much bigger. The Ha Has is a good name for them.

we only had 15790 for our home game against hull

only a 300 hundred Hull though...

[Fulham 442]

And Hull was a Wednesday night - not everyone can make mid week games due to work commitments.

[Neil D]

Are our attendances down this season? all around 20,000,but Norwich,Wednesday and Cardiff brought big supports.

Indeed and so did Middlesbrough.  The latter helps to conceal the fact that a good number of our fans stayed away because of the price hike.

[SP]

Twitter claiming we've sold 2600+ which is excellent if correct.

[Andy S]

I have to say what worries me when I look around the cottage is the number of Middle aged and old supporters we have. (and I am one of them). Clearly we need to attract a good amount of new supporters every season, which we can only do in the prem. I guess that is the same for all clubs. People demand excitement at the right end of the league in the championship. In the premier league they want to see the big teams visiting every other week

[Keynsham]

Either that or what we are seeing is the beginning of young people being priced out of supporting a football club.

[ron]

Either that or what we are seeing is the beginning of young people being priced out of supporting a football club.

I think that's spot on. Groups of youngsters going when I was young was common. Pocket money prices for accessible standing places made that possible. Nowadays attending involves checking the family budget.

[mrmicawbers]

My mate, has bought his son a season ticket this year.Prior to that his son supported Chelsea his wife also supports them.Happy to say he now supports Fulham. The club have got the season ticket prices for the young fans spot on in my opinion.Another friend has bought his son and his sons friend a season ticket,so I am fairly optimistic with regard to new fans getting on board.