Jump to content

Smallest Support In SPFL


Recommended Posts

The amount of fans who go to a game is largely decided by how well the team is performing at the time. But imagine your team had finished 6th in league 2 for the last 5 seasons in a row (AKA doing an Elgin). What would the support be like then?

Stolen from the QP-Clyde thread, this link shows home supports this season:

https://www.footballwebpages.co.uk/scottish-league-two/attendances

Albion Rovers are bottom but I still think their core home support is bigger than a few other clubs. In short, they’re only bottom because the product is very poor this season.

So, all things being equal, who has the smallest fanbase in Scotland? My guesses for the top 7 (where #1 is least fans)

1. Edinburgh City

2. Cowdenbeath (though a remarkable percentage also go to away games)

3. Montrose

4. Stenhousemuir

5. Brechin City

6. Stranraer

7. Alloa (which makes their current achievements seem all the better)

 

This list is not a criticism of anyone. Respect to all fans of small clubs everywhere of course, it’s not an easy gig at times. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Replies 82
  • Created
  • Last Reply

I don't think Edinburgh City will remain bottom of that list for long, if they're even still there in the first place! The club's been excellent in outreach and engaging with fans, but admittedly suffers from having had to depart Meadowbank for Spartans' ground. Decent list otherwise, although Annan might be in with a shout there.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Would be interesting to know what kind of attendances Celtic and Rangers would be pulling in after five years of finishing 6th in League Two, with no hope of anything other than wet weekends in Cumbernauld and Fife in sight.

Better or worse than former giants of the game, such as Clyde?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, DutchBorderer said:

I don't think Edinburgh City will remain bottom of that list for long, if they're even still there in the first place! The club's been excellent in outreach and engaging with fans, but admittedly suffers from having had to depart Meadowbank for Spartans' ground. Decent list otherwise, although Annan might be in with a shout there.

Annan don’t have much of an away support considering how well they are now playing. Only saw a handful at CP on Saturday.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Just now, Glenconner said:

Or does it say the product in SPL2 is completely overpriced?

I don't think it is. You could lower the prices to junior levels (as some clubs do for Irn Bru Cup games), or do what Albion Rovers did and ask fans to pay what they feel is right, and still see no/very little improvement in attendances.  If you raised the juniors prices to senior prices, how many of that 296 still show up at St Rochs?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, Glenconner said:

Or does it say the product in SPL2 is completely overpriced?

To their credit St Roch's seem a real community club doing a lot of things in their area (a working class version of Spartans) and good luck to them with that. My mate who is a bit of a groundhopper (he'll hate me calling him that:lol:) has been there a few times and sings their praises. 

That has bound to have a lot to do  with a decent number turning out. Its a bit of a miss match comparing the juniors with L2 completely different thing in level of price etc I would imagine Saints charge half of what an L2 side charge.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, Aberdeen Cowden said:

Annan don’t have much of an away support considering how well they are now playing. Only saw a handful at CP on Saturday.

9 on Saturday there are the lowest away crowd every season can't blame folk mind you expensive travelling all over Scotland every fortnight. Annan have just been in the league for 11 years so perhaps there was never a culture of fans going to away games when they were non league.

Elgin, Peterhead and Stranraer always bring not too bad a number although I think they have a few fans in the central belt.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

5 hours ago, DutchBorderer said:

I don't think Edinburgh City will remain bottom of that list for long, if they're even still there in the first place! The club's been excellent in outreach and engaging with fans, but admittedly suffers from having had to depart Meadowbank for Spartans' ground. Decent list otherwise, although Annan might be in with a shout there.

If City went up their crowds would of course go up with more away fans. You can look it 2 ways with City in the EOSL and LL days getting a crowd of 100 at Meadowbank would have been a good day. now they get over 300 odds not great with them being top of the league but still a leap since they joined the SPFL 3 years ago.

On the other flip of the coin the 3rd Edinburgh side has always been poorly supported for all they done in the short time getting to national semi finals, runner up in tier 2 etc Meadowbank Thistle crowds were never great.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Or does it say the product in SPL2 is completely overpriced?
It might be overpriced but comparing one well-supported Junior side with the poorest-supported SPFL side doesn't prove that. I've been to Junior matches where the fans have been outnumbered by the squads of the two teams. That doesn't say that the Juniors are overpriced.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

10 hours ago, BinoBalls said:

But imagine your team had finished 6th in league 2 for the last 5 seasons in a row (AKA doing an Elgin). What would the support be like then?

Not strictly accurate but I get the sentiment. However, we're surely not the best example as we consistantly have one of the highest average attendances in the league!!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

18 minutes ago, Hampden Diehard said:
8 hours ago, Glenconner said:
Or does it say the product in SPL2 is completely overpriced?

It might be overpriced but comparing one well-supported Junior side with the poorest-supported SPFL side doesn't prove that. I've been to Junior matches where the fans have been outnumbered by the squads of the two teams. That doesn't say that the Juniors are overpriced.

Where exactly did the Queens Park support go? When did it start to drift away?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...