Gary James has been writing about the Blues for over 25 years - here is the seventh in his series of blogs...
There’s one football chant that irritates more than most at the moment.
It’s the one that questions the loyalty of City fans by asking, “Where were you etc….” You all know the one I mean. It has been heard at most domestic games this season and for the past few seasons. So for today’s blog I’ve decided to take a look at City’s support.
Let’s start off with our current attendances. Some have pointed out that these are lower than last year, but there’s a simple explanation – our capacity has been reduced by about 2,000 due to the much-needed stadium expansion.
Once the new tier opens our average attendances will rise to 50,000-plus, and for those who say ‘you won’t fill it’, take a look at Newcastle. Their average in 1991 was only 16,834 and look at their crowds in recent years.
It’s also worth remembering that research published in December last year by Barclays identified that 55% of City fans had attended games for over 25 years. This was the highest number in the Barclays Premier League and was described by them as “impressive levels of loyalty.”
I’m sure some would question the specifics of the research but as an indicator of supporter loyalty, the general findings are significant.
From a historical perspective, City have a proud record for support, topping the attendance charts for the entire League on four occasions but, more significantly, the Blues have been one of the most consistent sides for attendances throughout history.
In fact, of last season’s six best-supported sides (United, Arsenal, Newcastle, City, Liverpool and Chelsea) only City, Chelsea and Newcastle have consistently received good support in every era of football’s existence.
There have been occasional dips of course for City but, unlike United, Arsenal and Chelsea, the Blues have never attracted the lowest crowd in their division, nor have they attracted the division’s lowest average crowd – a fate that United have endured.
Pre-war City had the most consistent attendances of today’s six best supported sides with the Blues being one of the six best supported clubs on 30 occasions, followed by Newcastle and Chelsea managing 28 top six appearances. Liverpool had 22, Arsenal 17, and United had 10 top six attendance appearances during 43 seasons.
As early as 1895-96 the Blues were the third best-supported side, behind Everton and Aston Villa. From 1898 to World War 2 City were always one of the eight best-supported clubs. As a comparison United were outside the top eight on 20 occasions during the same period, with their lowest position being 34th (1931). That same season United’s lowest home crowd (3,679) was the lowest in the top flight.
Okay, all of this is irrelevant you could say, but what it shows is that City have always had one of the most loyal fan bases in football when compared to the other leading Premier League teams.
In general many people believe success increases support, and while that is true to some extent, for City it is often periods of adversity that prove the loyalty of the Club’s fans. It is highly significant, for example, that the first time City were the best-supported side in the entire League (1910-11) Manchester United (sixth best-supported side) won the League title for the second time in three seasons.
Similarly, in 1925-26 when City were the best supported side in Division One and had established a new record average, the Blues were actually relegated. This, coupled with significant poverty and hardship in Manchester at the time, should have reduced support but loyalty increased!
In my book “Manchester A Football History” I explore the relationship between attendances and Manchester’s major sides and it is fair to say that City fans can feel immensely proud of their loyalty throughout the history of the game - something that cannot be said by all of the League’s biggest names.
In fact, it is worth highlighting that City have never been the worst supported side in their division but Arsenal (1912-13 – average = 9,100) and Manchester United (1930-31 – average = 11,685) have.
The Blues’ worst average of the 20th Century came in the desperate 1964-65 season and was 14,753 (a third of City’s 1957-8 average). However it is significant that for every League season the Club’s average has always been above the divisional average (including 1964-65) and, apart from 17 seasons, has always been in the top 11 nationally.
Again, few of today’s giants can say that – as a comparison United’s 20th Century low stands at 4,650 and Chelsea averaged 15,731 as recently as 1988-89.
I could go on, but the general point of this is to say that City have been one of the most consistent sides in terms of pulling power throughout history. But critics will say, ‘ah, but what about your support in the 1990s onwards?’ Okay then, let’s look at that.
Between 1992 and 2003 Maine Road’s capacity limited support with the stadium’s capacity being less than 20,000 at one point in the mid-1990s. There were many reasons for this but the simple fact is that the club’s management took steps to fill almost every spare space with temporary seating by the end of the decade as demand easily outstripped supply.
Average attendances of around 30,000 may look small compared to today but these were at capacity, give or take a few hundred away fans. This was part of the reason the club was so willing to sacrifice its home of 80 years for the current stadium – a move that has been very popular although at the time some fans said a 48,000 capacity stadium would be too small. They were right!
Like all – and I do mean all – English clubs there have been some average attendance lows over the years, but when the entire history of our club is reviewed and our average figures are compared with the national average it is clear that the Blues have consistently been one of football’s most attractive draws. Take a look at the following:
Since the beginning of the Football League in 1888 only nine sides have topped the table for average attendances. In chronological order of their first appearance at the top of the average table they are: Everton (1888-9), Villa (1898-99), Newcastle (1904-05), Chelsea (1907-08), Tottenham (1909-10), City (1910-11), Liverpool (1922-23), Arsenal (1929-30), and Manchester United (1956-57)
As early as 1895-96 City were the third best supported side in the entire League despite being a Second Division side. Only First Division sides Everton and Aston Villa could better the Blues. Modern-day giants Arsenal were 10th; Liverpool were 19th; United were 21st and Chelsea had yet to exist.
The 1910-11 season saw us top the attendance charts for the first time. Our average was 26,000 and was the Football League’s eighth highest average of all time at that point.
Regularly amongst the best supported sides throughout the inter war period, our average exceeded 37,000 for the first time in 1927-28 when we established a record average crowd for the Second Division. This was also the entire League’s highest.
So next time someone asks where you were when City were not quite so successful as today, smile and be confident in the knowledge that City fans have been amongst the most loyal throughout football’s competitive history.
Gary is a member of the Sports & Leisure History Group at MMU. He is a ‘must-follow’ for City fans: Twitter: @garyjameswriter and facebook.com/garyjames4 His recent paper on the establishment of Manchester’s football identity can be downloaded here: http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1 ... 014.961378
*The views expressed are those of Gary James and not necessarily those of Manchester City FC.
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