I know; it's bizarre. I often think back to that time and wonder how it happened. Those were the start of the feelgood years, but it's almost like the novelty has worn off. Personally, I don't think those days are the best measure of potential; something unusual was happening, and it feels an unreliable way to assess our potential now, somehow.
I know we'll never know but, if you think that, I'll have a glass of what you're having PLT ......... we'd get 30k, or close to, for the likes of L'pool, Chelsea, Man Utd etc, but for Stoke, WB, Palace etc ............ don't see it mate.
It seems quite clear that the momentum created by the opening of the stadium and the climb up the divisions (along with Pearson knowing his Commercial( ie us the fans) stuff has now been totally reversed by lunatic owners and high pricing. Hence falling attendances which will be around 12k next year or approx 20 if we shock the football world in a bigger way than Leicester and win the playoffs. How did it all get so bad.
Oh, how I miss those days, with Elliott scoring for fun and an atmosphere that felt good... In a way, playing in the Prem ruined us. It did something to the fanbase (not everyone, just a general feeling), though what exactly I am not quite sure. Having ****s in charge never helps too obviously.
I wish we could have won the league and not get promoted. Bruce lost interest ages ago, as did a few of the players. I'm dreading us going up and looking at the fixture list thinking we'll get tonked week in week out. I'm also dreading us slowly sliding down the leagues. We as fans deserve better.
Beating Walsall and Gillingham was certainly much more enjoyable than losing to them, as we had been doing for a few years. But we should never have been playing as low in the pyramid as that, so those feelgood wins were deceptive. Being in the PL was all about fulfilling our potential as a club, not being able to see Steve G. Some people - too many- merely saw the latter. Ever since the days of Duffen, the club has prostituted itself to attract these shallow and transient fans....at the expense of long established ones. To that extent, the club reaps what its sows.
Why be ashamed , you are like many loyal City fans who love the club but hate what has been happening regarding our lovely owners .
Attendances since we moved to the KC. Don't think we ever got 24,000 in League 2. Could have done once against Swansea but the segregation problems caused by the poor design of the KC and the intransigence of the plod prevented that. League Attendance 2014–15 Premier League 23,557[26] 2013–14 Premier League 24,116[27] 2012–13 Championship 17,368[28] 2011–12 Championship 18,790[29] 2010–11 Championship 21,168[30] 2009–10 Premier League 24,390[31] 2008–09 Premier League 24,816[31] 2007–08 Championship 18,024[32] 2006–07 Championship 18,583[33] 2005–06 Championship 19,841[34] 2004–05 League One 18,027[35] 2003–04 Third Division 16,846[36]
I watched the Bolton game in pub and bumped into a couple of old timers who sat on the row behind us in north stand last season. We never renewed but they did. But neither of them are joining the membership scheme and said they would rather us go into admin and drop down the leagues than go back up into premier league with Allams still in charge. How has it come to this?
I'm trying to look at it in a different way, CC. I'm not convinced that a large, largely rural, catchment area necessarily equates to massive potential support. I think people like yourself, travelling in from places like Brid, will always be quite few and far between, and that the more immediate urban population is the main factor in the size of a football club's support. FWIW, these are the clubs who have larger immediate, urban catchment areas than us. Arsenal Chelsea Spurs West Ham Palace Villa Birmingham City WBA possibly Wolves? Man U Man C Liverpool Everton Newcastle Leeds Sheff Weds Sheff United Nottingham Forest (Notts Couty?!) Bradford City Bristol City (Bristol Rovers?!) Leicester City Portsmouth Middlesbrough Coventry City Cardiff City Stoke City Hull City Then there are clubs with smaller, or similar-sized, immediate catchment areas but who have better support than us right now: Brighton Southampton Derby Sunderland
I don't care how much he defends his chairman; if Bruce 'lost interest', it was down to having to put up with that ****, rather than for footballing reasons.
If we got only a few thousand less for Swansea in Division 3, there's absolutely no reason we shouldn't get 30,000 for the PL whoever the opponent is. We're not some little backwater we're a major City with a much bigger population than some teams which get excellent crowds. Sunderland used to get 15,000 at one point. They turned that round and Hull is a bigger City. Brighton is a relatively small place with a large proportion of non-local residents yet they get incredible crowds because they look after their fans and make them welcome. That's after having no ground for about 10 years only a few years ago.
