Attendances On The Up

Swans Exceed Nationwide Crowd Increase

Whilst the third division is largely responsible for the increase in the league with a 26% increase in the attendance across the division, there is no doubt that the Swansea board will be ecstatic with their increase this season which equates to around £25,000-£30,000 extra income per match compared to the same stage last season.

Last season, the league recorded their highest attendances for 38 years and chairman Brian Mawhinney said “This further rise in attendances is evidence that clubs throughout The League are marketing themselves very successfully and are nurturing the next generation of football supporters.

“Our clubs have made significant efforts to ensure that Football is a safe, affordable and enjoyable environment for families to spend time together and their reward has been ever greater numbers coming through the turnstiles.”

Total attendance in the third division for the month was 320.459 compared to 306.141 at the same stage last season (Swansea’s figure was 24,858 against 15,238 last season) The first division saw an increase of 5.8% to 907,680 whilst the second division was up 3.5% to 426,877.

The attendance figures are bad news for Mansfield manager Keith Curle who will now no longer be able to see his side win matches as ‘crowds bring hostile atmospheres’ Moaning yesterday on their official web-site Curle cried "Swansea are guilty of creating an intimidating atmosphere by this match form the outset. They deliberately cut our ticket allocation down to 280 which is in breach of the 10% rule set out by the FA. This left a big void behind the goal which could have been occupied by our supporters, this coupled with some of the decisions made by the officials and the Swansea fans and players created a hostile situation which culminated in the brawl on the pitch where it was only Mansfield players who got penalised despite Swansea players been involved as well"

Whether Curle would have had the same comments about tickets and the like had his side won, or even had the decency not to kick our players while they were lying on the floor will never be known but somehow I don’t think so. These people are professional footballers and did you hear the managers of Boston or Bury complaining about the same? No. The simple fact is Mansfield would not have brought more than 280 fans to the Vetch last Saturday and this would have been a fact that was known by both football clubs.

The last thing on this basis that Curle will want to hear is that attendances in the league are on the up and he will now have to warn his players that they may become upset by fans at away grounds who want their side to win the game. They should be able to manage this without the need to resort to biting or kicking players on the floor. How does that song go again? "What’s it like to see a crowd?"

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