Football club attendances: Are fans getting the full picture?

killerandflash

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/45158878?isBumped=0&postFreq=0&isEmpty=0&isProfane=0&tooLong=0&charCount=0&isAwaitingProcessPreMod=0&isSubmitted=1&filter=none&initial_page_size=10&postId=131731505#comment_131731505

Interesting BBC article on the discrepancy between the declared attendance figures at games and the actual numbers there (something we of course do as well). To pick 2 of the largest differences

West Ham's biggest difference in figures was 17,523 fans for the home game against West Brom on Tuesday, 2 January 2018. The official attendance was 56,888 but the council said it was 39,365.

Manchester City's largest discrepancy was 15,277 for the visit of Southampton on Wednesday, 29 November 2017 (53,407 compared with 38,130).

Viewfinder

Good point made by killerandflash, no. 32 in the comments section.

shirty5

Of course not. When you see an official attendance for a Charlton home game always minus it by 3 thousand to get a true reflection of the actual numbers inside the ground

Off_it

The article only mentions Premier League clubs, so I wonder if this goes on elsewhere?

killerandflash

Viewfinder said:

Good point made by killerandflash, no. 32 in the comments section.

I've always thought it ludicrous that non attending comps get included in the attendances, seeing that they neither pay or a ticket or attend.

Airman Brown

killerandflash said:

Viewfinder said:

Good point made by killerandflash, no. 32 in the comments section.

I've always thought it ludicrous that non attending comps get included in the attendances, seeing that they neither pay or a ticket or attend.

It is now that the club knows whether they attend and can easily discount them. Prior to the automated system it was impractical to exclude them from the number of tickets issued.

killerandflash

Airman Brown said:

killerandflash said:

Viewfinder said:

Good point made by killerandflash, no. 32 in the comments section.

I've always thought it ludicrous that non attending comps get included in the attendances, seeing that they neither pay or a ticket or attend.

It is now that the club knows whether they attend and can easily discount them. Prior to the automated system it was impractical to exclude them from the number of tickets issued.

There's no incentive for clubs to do so though

By having an average of say 10000 rather then 8500, it looks (misleadingly) better for sponsors, and indeed for player recruitment etc as it makes the club look "bigger"

MrLargo

Bit of statistical porn on home gates in comparison to population: https://www.plymouthherald.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/league-one-attendances-sunderland-portsmouth-2295902

We'd be right down near the bottom at the moment if they based it on actual bodies through the turnstiles, rather than including thousands of unused complimentary tickets.

Airman Brown

MrLargo said:

Bit of statistical porn on home gates in comparison to population: https://www.plymouthherald.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/league-one-attendances-sunderland-portsmouth-2295902

We'd be right down near the bottom at the moment if they based it on actual bodies through the turnstiles, rather than including thousands of unused complimentary tickets.

Their average attendance figure used for Charlton is well off anyway, even based on official numbers (it should be about 10,350), but basing the percentage on the population of Greenwich is meaningless.

The club isn’t issuing “thousands” of comps at present. Much of the (circa 2,000) shortfall is season-ticket holders not attending regularly, driven by concessions and the cheap price point behind the north goal.

redman

These sort of % are totally misleading anyway. Why is Wimbledon judged as %of Wimbledon whereas Charlton is for London Borough of Greenwich. Should be either Merton and Greenwich or Wimbledon and Charlton.
What % of Charlton supporters live in Greenwich let alone Charlton.
Totally misleading.