Poor Crowds in the old Division One

[They Call It Madness!!!]

Reading the thread about why are we so well supported got me thinking about why were we not so well supported in the mid 1990s?

Roots Hall had become an all seater, due to the Taylor report but we were playing in what is now the Championship.

We played big teams week in, week out yet got crowds of 4000-5000. That was a normal gate back then.

What I remember is kids for a quid much more often, Frankie Banks and the Football in the Community handing out hundreds of tickets every game and also the South Lower was cheaper to sit anywhere in the stadium.

What I don't get is why were our crowds so low? We always had 7000 plus for the bigger games/bank holiday games but not week in week out.

There's no comparison to now, in actual fact since the Tilly and Brush era, crowds have been much higher for a number of years and long may it continue.

Was it fans refusing to attend because of Vic?

Was it the start of the Sky TV boom which kept the 50/50s away?

Why were we so poorly supported? We had some bloody great teams in the 1990s (although let's not visit 1996/97 onwards •shudders at the thought •)

 

[Yorkshire Blue]

The big crowds for big games back then was in large part due to big away followings. Teams like Ipswich, Portsmouth and Charlton would bring 1500+. A 6000 crowd would therefore often be fewer than 4500 home fans, whereas we had over 6500 home fans on a Tuesday night for Aldershot.

Crowds in football were generally down through the 80s because of hooliganism and that continued into the 90s. Many in the area seemed to be first or second generation Southend who moved down from East London without maybe the attachment to the area and it’s team. They instead all supported Premier League teams like Spurs or Arsenal or Championship teams like W*** H**.

Maybe that started to change under Tilly when maybe second generation immigrants (ie born in Southend to parents born in London) took along their third generation also Southend born children and caught the Shrimpers bug?

 

[Ailsa Road Shrimper]

In the 90’s there were practically no family friendly initiatives to get young people attending games, from memory for the first few years in the second tier you could only get a discounted junior/senior ticket if you sat in the west stand, in all other parts of the ground you would have to pay the full price. Even to get the discount in the west stand you had to be a member or a season ticket holder. No casual fan is going to bother with that. Some of that may be a legacy of the hooliganism era.

There was no engagement with local schools, in my school year at STM there were probably around 120 boys in my year group (roughly half would’ve been interested in football) yet I can only remember two or three others who had any interest in SUFC and would go to games.

Amazing that 30 years the on field fortunes and stadium facilities have deteriorated significantly yet the fan base has probably increased around 50%. The Tilly era probably helped get the numbers up and they haven’t dropped off much since.

 

[Fairport]

In those days most members of the public felt that it was not safe to attend a football match. Although this was quite a bit OTT media propaganda made sure it was in the minds of fans. The Taylor Report helped and although I am not a fan of the Premier Leagues stance on a range of issues it's inception coupled with safer all seat stadiums meant fans gradually returned across all levels of football.

 

[Somerset Ex-TTB]

The ordinary fan wasn’t priced out of seeing top level football then. So we lost out on a lot of local Arsenal, Weat Ham, Spurs fans etc that now are SUFC fans, and also their next generation would also be Southend fans as well.

The success we had in the 2000’s also helped to grow the fan base.

Oh and that custard splat kit

 

[leeblue]

Reading the thread about why are we so well supported got me thinking about why were we not so well supported in the mid 1990s?

Roots Hall had become an all seater, due to the Taylor report but we were playing in what is now the Championship.

We played big teams week in, week out yet got crowds of 4000-5000. That was a normal gate back then.

What I remember is kids for a quid much more often, Frankie Banks and the Football in the Community handing out hundreds of tickets every game and also the South Lower was cheaper to sit anywhere in the stadium.

What I don't get is why were our crowds so low? We always had 7000 plus for the bigger games/bank holiday games but not week in week out.

There's no comparison to now, in actual fact since the Tilly and Brush era, crowds have been much higher for a number of years and long may it continue.

Was it fans refusing to attend because of Vic?

Was it the start of the Sky TV boom which kept the 50/50s away?

Why were we so poorly supported? We had some bloody great teams in the 1990s (although let's not visit 1996/97 onwards •shudders at the thought •)

I always look back at those times and can't figure out why crowds were so low.
Crowds didn't really increase regularly until the tilly/Eastwood era.
I think there was a general decline in English football during the 80s, run down stadiums, hooliganism mainly the causes for this. It took a long time for people not to associate going to a football match with an all round aggro experience, if there wasn't a big punch up then you had the joys of horrific facilities. Got to say I loved those days

 

[Strykr]

Its an interesting question. I was a lot younger at the time, but i do remember vic ****ed off a lot of people who took a similar stance to ron, ie they wont attend with him in charge.

I also remember even way back then a lot of people thought roots hall was such a ****hole they didnt want to come.

Perhaps our general increased attendance now is due to the youngsters who got the chance to fall in love with the blues during the tilly years...

Or perhaps its just demographics, in 1990 the population of southend was 267'000 whereas in 2024 it was 321'000, im sure surrounding areas would have increased in numbers as well.

 

[Shrimp and two veg]

Football had a depressing scene about it back then, or hoofball as it had become. Fans were regarded as 2nd class, especially away fans. Big fences everywhere, awful facilities, you name it.

But nightclubs and raves were a lot more fun and i'm proud to say i didnt miss out

 

[Gt Yarmouth Shrimper]

I feel that it was as a result of the disgraceful scenes from the mid '70's onwards culmination in Hillsborough, which lead fans to give up the game in horror. I certainly did!

 

[Tommy2holes]

Top flight football being so expensive, the change in attitude towards lower league football and population increase.

Also, the 90s were poorer crowds across the board.

I remember being at a Tuesday night game against PNE and it was very sparse, maybe only 2200!!

 

[Maldon Blues]

The ordinary fan wasn’t priced out of seeing top level football then. So we lost out on a lot of local Arsenal, Weat Ham, Spurs fans etc that now are SUFC fans, and also their next generation would also be Southend fans as well.

The success we had in the 2000’s also helped to grow the fan base.

Oh and that custard splat kit

Although top flight games didn't sell out either! I recall deciding on the day in the mid-90s to go to games at Spurs, QPR, on a good few occasions Ipswich to see a Premier League game and just turning up and buying ticket at the ground.

 

[Rattus Norvegicus]

Although top flight games didn't sell out either! I recall deciding on the day in the mid-90s to go to games at Spurs, QPR, on a good few occasions Ipswich to see a Premier League game and just turning up and buying ticket at the ground.

I have only ever done that for away games & ground hopping - turn up on the day & buy. [Shoulder shrug] That's how you do it, isn't it?

 

[Rattus Norvegicus]

Oh and that custard splat kit

Oh yes.

 

[Hooly]

My memory is not so good these days but I wonder if there have been a lot more women attending in recent times for some of the reasons mentioned above like less hooliganism, onions on the burgers (oh hold it), better toilet facilities etc.

That would probably then lead to more family engagement going forward resulting in better attendances.

 

[Westcliff Shrimper]

The big crowds for big games back then was in large part due to big away followings. Teams like Ipswich, Portsmouth and Charlton would bring 1500+. A 6000 crowd would therefore often be fewer than 4500 home fans, whereas we had over 6500 home fans on a Tuesday night for Aldershot.

Crowds in football were generally down through the 80s because of hooliganism and that continued into the 90s. Many in the area seemed to be first or second generation Southend who moved down from East London without maybe the attachment to the area and it’s team. They instead all supported Premier League teams like Spurs or Arsenal or Championship teams like W*** H**.

Maybe that started to change under Tilly when maybe second generation immigrants (ie born in Southend to parents born in London) took along their third generation also Southend born children and caught the Shrimpers bug?

Very good point here. My parents (like so many others) moved out of East London in 1971 and my brother and I were both born here in the area (Rochford for me, like most born in the 70s!). I got the bug for the Thames Estuary Galacticos and have passed it onto my son - hence 2nd and 3rd generation theory above.

Also, those who still support a London Premier League club have to pay an extortionate amount to watch live, hence if you want your live football fix, you need to go to Roots Hall or one of the large number of lower league sides who are also seeing decent gates.

 

[Westcliff Shrimper]

In those days most members of the public felt that it was not safe to attend a football match. Although this was quite a bit OTT media propaganda made sure it was in the minds of fans. The Taylor Report helped and although I am not a fan of the Premier Leagues stance on a range of issues it's inception coupled with safer all seat stadiums meant fans gradually returned across all levels of football.

This is spot on for me - my parents didn't want me going to a game due to problems between opposition fans but Italia 90 forced the issue; and the rest is history, as they say.

 

[Spaceman Spiff]

The big crowds for big games back then was in large part due to big away followings. Teams like Ipswich, Portsmouth and Charlton would bring 1500+. A 6000 crowd would therefore often be fewer than 4500 home fans, whereas we had over 6500 home fans on a Tuesday night for Aldershot.

Crowds in football were generally down through the 80s because of hooliganism and that continued into the 90s. Many in the area seemed to be first or second generation Southend who moved down from East London without maybe the attachment to the area and it’s team. They instead all supported Premier League teams like Spurs or Arsenal or Championship teams like W*** H**.

Maybe that started to change under Tilly when maybe second generation immigrants (ie born in Southend to parents born in London) took along their third generation also Southend born children and caught the Shrimpers bug?

I don’t know the factual truth of the reasons behind our attendance figures since the ‘80s, and there are probably a smorgasbord of reasons behind the ebbs and flows.

However, this post pretty much sums up my assessment of the major factors. With COSU in charge now, and significant facilities improvement firmly on the agenda (hopefully this time by leadership with a snowballs chance in hell of actually delivering something) the future for attendances is looking bright.

 

[Robert Baldwin]

As you probably know, gates were much higher in the 50’s, but often under reported. One would estimate a 14k gate only see it reported as mere 8k in the the papers the next morning. I wonder why they did that???

 

[Stubb]

As you probably know, gates were much higher in the 50’s, but often under reported. One would estimate a 14k gate only see it reported as mere 8k in the the papers the next morning. I wonder why they did that???

My grandad used to say to me "One for the club and one for me!"