What was our away support in the prem like?

Folev the red

I only started doing away games once we we're in the football league so was curious as to what it was like away from home in the prem.

Was is predominantly standing and singing? (Did it depend on the opposition?)
What were we like numbers wise on the longer journeys?
For games closer the home (eg west ham) would we sell a couple thousand?
favourite away day?

oohaahmortimer

lol

ISawLeaburnScore

Good in the early years... like supporting a different club now!

Chirpy Red

I went to a few away games in the Prem. Not many, about 15 to be honest, but I never saw us win away.

EGAddick

Maybe it's the rose tinted specs but I agree it really was better in the early years.  By the end of our term it was starting to become very stale, put it this way, we took 250 to Everton in 2007 when we were absolutely fighting for our lives and 2 weeks later we took 5,500 to Blackburn when the club put on the freebie coaches.

RodneyCharltonTrotta

It was like this every week from what I remember.

Here's a clip of us away at Wolves one year...got a bit lairy at 2 mins

 

 

 

Friend Or Defoe

Pretty much as it is now, frustrating!

falconwood_1

Big cup games good, the rest pretty awful.

cafcdan18

Some good, some bad. Probably like a few of the Prem clubs now- Fulham/Bolton/Blackburn/Birmingham for example. I was reading on a Fulham board and they admit their away numbers are not always great and I imagine are similar to ours in the Prem, sometimes they fail to sell out London games, sometimes they may take a good number to a North West club. Probably as said above frustrating and hard to pinpoint exactly why.

Bournemouth Addick

Oh no.

golfaddick

I went to quite a few away games in the Prem and would say, like now, there were always the same hard core fans, but whereas now they number around 300 then it was probably double that......and then a bit more (depending on geography) 

Obviously any London game attracted in excess of 2k and depending on the ticket allocation we could take more like 3k - but then away to the likes of Wigan we would take less than 500 !!

SheffieldRed

The Everton game was strange if that was the away attendance. There didn't seem that many of us there at the time despite playing for survival, yet a few weeks later ~3000 go to the other side of Stanley Park despite being already relegated, away end sold out, & you could only purchase a ticket if you had a season  ticket.

PalaceHater

Unsure why this Is being discussed again?!
Some people have short memories, I'm afraid taking 2k to away games in London only happened for the first couple of seasons. Remember us taking about 900 to spurs one year and not much over 1k another. Also scum away 04 only took 1.4 or so, although saying that was probably the best away 1.4 we could have mustered.

Sheff Red that is a game I always bring up as an example of just how bad/inconsistent it was at times. Coaches for Everton were a tenner that day and we took 300/350 tops. Was a good performance as well, ZZ had the chance to kill the game to make it 2-1. Scuffed the shot, none of our players tracked back and we all know what happened next!

Dave2l

What about Middlesborough away when Les Reed was incharge rumoured to have took only 75 there.

Have been to away games in the prem when our away support has been very good and others where it was very bad. Think it mostly depended on the hype of the game and the occasion.

paulsturgess

Yeh but that anfield was potentially our last opportunity to go to anfield and just last game in the prem say goodbye to some stalwart players etc etc

On the whole support was poor, even for lots of London games once we'd been up a couple of years getting tickets was easy wouldnt always sell out etc etc. I boycotted Chelsea once they started charging 48quid, which was a fucking fortune when I was a student. Last year up i went in a box at villa away early in the season, my mate was a villa fan and his parents got him a box for his 21st, when we happened to be playing up there. About 10 of my best mates altogether and we had about 400 sitting down making absolutely no noise in a couple of lonely blokes on the side of the pitch despite it being early season nice sunny day and only 1hr 30 train to birmingham from london.

In excess of 3k away fans is a real rareity for us. Times off the top of my head in the last 10-15 years are restrcited to first seasons up in the prem, when the club have done free travel e.g. port vale, forest, boro, blackburn etc, cant remember the allocations but potentially ipswich play off and brum away, coventry and bolton away in the cup in the title season, Arsenal, that Liverpool game, Millwall last year... don't remember us even ever taking over 3k to palace, although we took about 8k to wimbledon on boxing day that year.

SheffieldRed

PH - It makes the attendance seem even worse if the coach was £10. Remember parking near Anfield & walking through Stanley Park in Sunshine, feeling positive and thinking we'll stay up.

After we scored, I knew the footballing Gods were with us.

When they scored, I felt drained and waiting for relegation. Amazing how quickly things can change. 

golfaddick

I believe the Everton match was on a Sunday. Not televised but moved because of the Grand National (?) 

PalaceHater

Correct. However, those last 10 games were all or nothing. Coaches for a tenner from numerous destinations in South London/Kent there was no excuse for not being at least 1k there.

Nicholas

I think Palace charging £35 for a televised game on a Sunday put a lot of people off also.

paulsturgess

Yeh that did put people of Nicholas, I remember whining about it, I think there were some who said they were actively "boycotting it" for that reason, but although it was obscene (this was 7 years ago now as well) when it comes to it that wouldn't stop West Ham or Chelsea or Spurs or even Milwall selling out and it didn't stop me going cos the fact is I would probably pay a fair bit more (sadly) to avoid the possibility of missing the almost unmatchable pleasure of winning at Palace (or Millwall if it ever happens again). But unfortunately we seem to have a lower proportion of fans of that dedication / stupidity level and more who are happy enough watching the game in the sofa etc etc.

Off_it

I had an away season ticket the first year back up.

Don't really care who else went. I did.

Dazzler21

PH - It makes the attendance seem even worse if the coach was £10. Remember parking near Anfield & walking through Stanley Park in Sunshine, feeling positive and thinking we'll stay up.

After we scored, I knew the footballing Gods were with us.

When they scored, I felt drained and waiting for relegation. Amazing how quickly things can change. 

we were already relegated after spurs at home?

Friend Or Defoe

I can't quote, but they're talking about Everton Dazzler. We also have taken more than 3k to palace.

oohaahmortimer

we brought naff all to liverpool that last game of the season as well

one things for sure our away followings are always grossly exaggerated

Goonerhater

No one thing is for sure you dont ever stop slagging it off !

Southendaddick

Yes that Liverpool game was nowhere near sold out, probably 1200 out of our 2000 allocation.

I had an away season ticket for two years and we had some good support even at places like Sheff Wed that werent glamour games.  Sold out all the usual places even 2500 at Old Trafford midweek but one the glamour wore off it was back to the norm.

Worst I remember was Bolton away in Curbs last year when we got stuffed 4-1 and there was probably 150.

Although I miss those days I dont miss shelling out £100+ in away tickets a month.

Nicholas

I used to go to over half the away games each season in the prem, and yes our crowds were pretty rubbish but to their defence it did get tiresome and predictable knowing that whenever we went to places like Liverpool, Arsenal, Man Utd etc we would go up their lose 2 or 3 nil not really putting up a fight, it was more exciting in the first season of going up through the playoffs as whoever we played even if we lost we gave it a go a bit like Blackpool this season.

ThreadKiller

even though we did the double over liverpool in 2003-04

PalaceHater

I personally think our best away supports have been where we've taken a decent amount but not sold out. When we do fill allocations it tends to lead to the away end being full of mongs and an obligatory display of in fighting that takes place as a resut.
Couple of times at Fulham for example, allows people that wish to stand and get behind the team to congregate and those that don't to sit at the front. With a decent amount of spare seats it allows common sense to prevail.

Uboat

Just to introduce an element of positivity, I always laugh about that Boxing Day game at Wimbledon.  Yeah, we lost, but there must have been at least 11,000 of us there.

JiMMy 85

I only went to a handful of away games, but I remember, particularly in the early years, being proud of how often our fans could be heard out-singing home support. Especially at the likes of White Hart Lane. The games I went to, Leeds, Liverpool, a few others, were dour affairs which didn't help. I remember losing to Wimbledon in '99 and being a little underwhelmed by our support. 

Best away crowd ever is the 7 people who went to St Andrews for the Div 1 play-off replay against Leeds. I'm happy to buy you guys a drink for life.