by Yorkieandy » 03 Feb 2018, 11:27
Around me within a 30 mile radius i have Chesterfield (really small town) who get around 5,000 fans generally, Rotherham, Sheff U, Sheff Weds, Derby, Forest, Notts County, Mansfield, Doncaster, Lincoln and Barnsley. Also a healthy smattering of non league sides which get ok crowds like Matlock, Buxton etc.
It's not an exact science the 'catchment area' argument as i've mentioned above, Chesterfield is a smaller town than Torquay and has huge clubs all around it yet they have been struggling for the past few seasons but still getting between 4 and 5,000 fans at the Prolapse. York have always hovered around the 3,000 mark regardless and the catchment area around them between the likes of Leeds, Middlesbrough and Hull is huge. Especially if you also account for the fact that Scarborough went bust over 10 years ago.
I wouldn't be sure but i think that Torquay's crowds when they had that brief sojourn into league 1 under Leroy weren't that much up on what they nornally were so although the catchment area is big, most people still wouldn't be interested in attending from the local area.
Burton are an interesting example too. Yes they do have stacks of big clubs around them which has an impact on fan numbers, but they still have plenty of empty spaces on the terraces at games even now when they are a Championship club playing the likes of Villa and Derby. Bearing in mind that they came from non league when Torquay were last in it and getting to the Championship you would have thought that locals would be falling over themselves to get in on the action, it just shows how the fanbase there hasn't really been able to grow as much as it would like and that is despite having huge Championship clubs coming to town every other week.
There is no easy answer and even if Torquay were to miraculously get into the Championship
then i don't see attendances skyrocketing even then because locals by and large don't seem to be interested. This is why i think a club like Torquay should work on the premise that it will always have a set number of regular fans and run themselves accordingly. Clubs like Accrington have proved this is the only way of having a sustainable football club and they have been astute enough to have been able to hold their own for years in a league where many clubs overstretch and fall by the wayside.
Around me within a 30 mile radius i have Chesterfield (really small town) who get around 5,000 fans generally, Rotherham, Sheff U, Sheff Weds, Derby, Forest, Notts County, Mansfield, Doncaster, Lincoln and Barnsley. Also a healthy smattering of non league sides which get ok crowds like Matlock, Buxton etc.
It's not an exact science the 'catchment area' argument as i've mentioned above, Chesterfield is a smaller town than Torquay and has huge clubs all around it yet they have been struggling for the past few seasons but still getting between 4 and 5,000 fans at the Prolapse. York have always hovered around the 3,000 mark regardless and the catchment area around them between the likes of Leeds, Middlesbrough and Hull is huge. Especially if you also account for the fact that Scarborough went bust over 10 years ago.
I wouldn't be sure but i think that Torquay's crowds when they had that brief sojourn into league 1 under Leroy weren't that much up on what they nornally were so although the catchment area is big, most people still wouldn't be interested in attending from the local area.
Burton are an interesting example too. Yes they do have stacks of big clubs around them which has an impact on fan numbers, but they still have plenty of empty spaces on the terraces at games even now when they are a Championship club playing the likes of Villa and Derby. Bearing in mind that they came from non league when Torquay were last in it and getting to the Championship you would have thought that locals would be falling over themselves to get in on the action, it just shows how the fanbase there hasn't really been able to grow as much as it would like and that is despite having huge Championship clubs coming to town every other week.
There is no easy answer and even if Torquay were to miraculously get into the Championship :rofl: then i don't see attendances skyrocketing even then because locals by and large don't seem to be interested. This is why i think a club like Torquay should work on the premise that it will always have a set number of regular fans and run themselves accordingly. Clubs like Accrington have proved this is the only way of having a sustainable football club and they have been astute enough to have been able to hold their own for years in a league where many clubs overstretch and fall by the wayside.
