"Smaller" clubs now bigger than Coventry City. (1 Viewer)

[Alan Dugdales Moustache]

I suppose there are now absolutely loads - anyone who owns their own stadium for a start, and many others who don't. But given our poultry though understandable level of support, there are clubs around that I always concluded to be of a fair size support -wise but which still were not quite on a par with city.
Now I'm not so sure .

Norwich City - never quite as big a club as us but bear this in mind - when they were relegated to league 3 not so long ago prior to making an instant rise back to the premier league they had orders for 17,000 season tickets just BEFORE they were relegated when they still had a chance of survival in the championship. Would we EVER sell that many ?

Portsmouth - 10,000 season tickets sold this season and they are in a league below us. Enough said.

Leicester City - they have overtaken us since both clubs built new stadiums. (..forgot, we haven't got one !)

Perhaps we are an example of what happens when all genuine hope for the future drains away. Perhaps those teams' supporters always have genuine hope and we don't . The alternative is that we are a badly supported club .

 

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[Kingokings204]

Rochdale, fleetwood, chesterfield to name a few. Don't know their exact situations but they are bigger clubs than Coventry city these days and certainly better run.

 

[davebart]

Portsmouth are fan owned but none of these clubs are owned by SISU.

 

[Silence_Is_The_Enemy]

when we moved to the ricoh id have never guessed Bournemouth and Brighton would shoot massively ahead of us within 10 years

 

[stupot07]

I suppose there are now absolutely loads - anyone who owns their own stadium for a start, and many others who don't. But given our poultry though understandable level of support, there are clubs around that I always concluded to be of a fair size support -wise but which still were not quite on a par with city.
Now I'm not so sure .

Norwich City - never quite as big a club as us but bear this in mind - when they were relegated to league 3 not so long ago prior to making an instant rise back to the premier league they had orders for 17,000 season tickets just BEFORE they were relegated when they still had a chance of survival in the championship. Would we EVER sell that many ?

Portsmouth - 10,000 season tickets sold this season and they are in a league below us. Enough said.

Leicester City - they have overtaken us since both clubs built new stadiums. (..forgot, we haven't got one !)

Perhaps we are an example of what happens when all genuine hope for the future drains away. Perhaps those teams' supporters always have genuine hope and we don't . The alternative is that we are a badly supported club .

Sorry Alan but i'm not sure what you're basing your 'we're bigger clubs than them' on?

 

[Alan Dugdales Moustache]

.....fan base.

 

[stupot07]

.....fan base.

are we basing this purely on the 54k that turned up to the wolves match in the 60's?

 

[malkitccfc]

Started a new job today. Blimmin horrible the morning after being embarrassed live on Sky. Got asked by a colleague what it feels like being a smaller club than Fleetwood. Prick.

 

[Alan Dugdales Moustache]

No. I am basing it on my perhaps misguided notion for many many years that Coventry City could attract more supporters to an average league game than clubs like Norwich, Portsmouth and even Leicester- clubs of a similar size and reputation that were very often in the same division as us.
What I have seen in recent years is that despite the ups and downs of all of these clubs their support has, if anything, increased. When I look at the number of season tickets a somewhat unfashionable club like Norwich can sell I am , quite frankly, staggered, and it leads me to question whether I had a complete misconception about them. We would never sell that many season tickets even if we were in the Premier league, let alone league 3.

 

[SkyBlue_Bear83]

We don't own our own stadium and get less than 10k attendances, sounds like an average L1 club to me. If we were a 'big' club we'd be getting 15k+ attendances like Sheffield Wednesday, Sheffield Utd, Leicester, Norwich, Southampton, Leeds, Charlton, Nottingham Forest did in this league. We're not a big club even for this league, everything about us is an average L1 club.

 

[chiefdave]

I've always thought of us as a similar club to Norwich and Southampton, no idea where I first got that from to be honest.

The depressing thing now is seeing teams like Crawly and Fleetwood in the same division. I'm under no illusion that we're a big club or anything but it's just miserable to be looking at the fixture list and seeing who we're playing.

I rarely know a single player the opposition have unless they've played a few years at a higher level or played for us.

It's a sorry state of affairs, could never have imagined ending up like this when I first went up to HR.

 

[skybluebeduff]

Have any of the said clubs been owned by a hedge fund? Has any team in the Football League been owned by a hedge fund?
We are the unluckiest supporters in the FL.

 

[Alan Dugdales Moustache]

We don't own our own stadium and get less than 10k attendances, sounds like an average L1 club to me. If we were a 'big' club we'd be getting 15k+ attendances like Sheffield Wednesday, Sheffield Utd, Leicester, Norwich, Southampton, Leeds, Charlton, Nottingham Forest did in this league. We're not a big club even for this league, everything about us is an average L1 club.

I'm not having anyone say we're never as big a Birmingham City.....please.

 

[SkyBlue_Bear83]

I'm not having anyone say we're never as big a Birmingham City.....please.

I didn't mention Birmingham but in my lifetime we're not

 

[Gazolba]

No. I am basing it on my perhaps misguided notion for many many years that Coventry City could attract more supporters to an average league game than clubs like Norwich, Portsmouth and even Leicester- clubs of a similar size and reputation that were very often in the same division as us.
What I have seen in recent years is that despite the ups and downs of all of these clubs their support has, if anything, increased....

Weren't all those clubs in the Premier League more recently than Coventry? That tends to boost interest for a considerable time but fails off after a number of years absence.

 

[Gazolba]

The depressing thing now is seeing teams like Crawly and Fleetwood in the same division.

Yes, teams that were non-league when we were in the top flight. You have to wonder at the level of mismanagement that can result in such a catastrophic fall from grace. It's certainly a lot easier to fall down than it is to climb back up again. And it is much easier to avoid relegation than it is to get promoted again.

 

[bigfatronssba]

I didn't mention Birmingham but in my lifetime we're not

As recently as 15 years ago we were a much bigger club than Brum.

 

[sly_old_fox]

No. I am basing it on my perhaps misguided notion for many many years that Coventry City could attract more supporters to an average league game than clubs like Norwich, Portsmouth and even Leicester- clubs of a similar size and reputation that were very often in the same division as us.
What I have seen in recent years is that despite the ups and downs of all of these clubs their support has, if anything, increased. When I look at the number of season tickets a somewhat unfashionable club like Norwich can sell I am , quite frankly, staggered, and it leads me to question whether I had a complete misconception about them. We would never sell that many season tickets even if we were in the Premier league, let alone league 3.

Alan, please inform me in which of the past 50 years CCFC had a higher average league attendance than LCFC? irrespective of which division each club was in?

 

[bigfatronssba]

Alan, please inform me in which of the past 50 years CCFC had a higher average league attendance than LCFC? irrespective of which division each club was in?

CCFC LCFC

2001 20.582 2001 20.452
2000 20.809 2000 19.827
1999 20.773 1999 20.469
1996 18.507 1996 16.530
1991 13.794 1991 11.546
1990 14.312 1990 11.716
1989 16.040 1989 10.694
1988 17.509 1988 10.157
1987 16.120 1987 11.697
1980 19.315 1980 18.636
1979 22.638 1979 14.187
1978 23.353 1978 17.768
1977 21.242 1977 18.807
1973 24.623 1973 22.706
1971 26.039 1971 25.996
1970 32.043 1970 25.104
1969 33.223 1969 28.446
1968 34.705 1968 24.528
1967 28.269 1967 24.463
1966 25.370 1966 22.325
1965 26.621 1965 19.963
1964 26.017 1964 24.142

In just under half of seasons between 1964 - 2014 we had the bigger crowd.

 

[sly_old_fox]

CCFC LCFC

2001 20.582 2001 20.452
2000 20.809 2000 19.827
1999 20.773 1999 20.469
1996 18.507 1996 16.530
1991 13.794 1991 11.546
1990 14.312 1990 11.716
1989 16.040 1989 10.694
1988 17.509 1988 10.157
1987 16.120 1987 11.697
1980 19.315 1980 18.636
1979 22.638 1979 14.187
1978 23.353 1978 17.768
1977 21.242 1977 18.807
1973 24.623 1973 22.706
1971 26.039 1971 25.996
1970 32.043 1970 25.104
1969 33.223 1969 28.446
1968 34.705 1968 24.528
1967 28.269 1967 24.463
1966 25.370 1966 22.325
1965 26.621 1965 19.963
1964 26.017 1964 24.142

In just under half of seasons between 1964 - 2014 we had the bigger crowd.

Actually impressive research! not sure where you got that from, so in just over half the seasons from the last 50 years LCFC had a higher average attendance than CCFC. I was just enquiring why the OP would consider CCFC to be a better supported club than LCFC

 

[Seaside-Skyblue]

I think for the size of the city and population we are a terribly supported club. The potential is always there and probably why a few deem ourselves similiar to Southampton etc. Its just a shame the club hasn't been able to reign those people in for a long time.

 

[M&B Stand]

I think for the size of the city and population we are a terribly supported club. The potential is always there and probably why a few deem ourselves similiar to Southampton etc. Its just a shame the club hasn't been able to reign those people in for a long time.

There are loads of factors you can take into account when calculating the size of clubs. People will cherry pick those factors to back up their own viewpoint.
Considering the garbage we are served up with year after year it's amazing we still have such a loyal fan base.

 

[LB87ccfc]

Rochdale, fleetwood, chesterfield to name a few. Don't know their exact situations but they are bigger clubs than Coventry city these days and certainly better run.

Bigger clubs, don't talk out your arse!

 

[Evo1883]

Bigger clubs ...leicester and norwich have overtaken city in recent years .
but come on , coventry are stuck in a spiral of no hope , no ambition , we have awful owners , the stadium has been overtaken by an outside rugga team , we have had 2 administrations in recent seasons , we never buy , we are shit and dont look like improving , lets switch the tables with these clubs .....how many would they be getting , no success of any kind for 28 years , no top 6 since the dinosaurs roamed ....be realistic.

leicester , norwich , pompey all had far more success in recent years than coventry city. Far more

 

[LB87ccfc]

Bigger clubs ...leiceste andnorwich have overtaken city in recent years .
but come on , coventry are stuck in a spiral of no hope , no ambition , we have awful owners , the stadium has been overtaken by an outside rugga team , we have had 2 administrations in recent seasons , we never buy , we are shit and sont look like improving , lets switch the tables with these clubs .....how many would they be getting , no success of any kind for 28 years , no top 6 since the dinosaurs roamed ....be realistic

Not to mention Norwich and Leicester have had success in the past 10 years

 

[Evo1883]

All time attendances suggest that coventry have the 24 th biggest home support averaged out through history , for starters we never made the top flight till 67 , and have won naff all for 28 , thats better than most clubs of our state would do of similar size

 

[Evo1883]

I looked at swindon the other night , and imagined how many coventry would take to swindon if it was to go top , playing good football with decent owners , even on sky , we would have took around 2k no worries , and we would be getting 15-20k at home

 

[Evo1883]

Take a look at the attendance drop since sisu took charge , now imagine what it might have been if they were competent owners and did it right
http://www.european-football-statistics.co.uk/attnclub/covc.htm

 

[bigfatronssba]

Size of city doesn't always correlate. Leeds only get a bit more than what we were getting a few years ago, and the Leeds area has over twice the amount of people living in it compared to Coventry.

 

[Godiva]

Sorry Alan but i'm not sure what you're basing your 'we're bigger clubs than them' on?

.....fan base.

Well, you can base it on fan base - or assets - or league position - or seats in the stadium - or spots in the car park ...

I base it mostly on history. 34 years in succession in Premier league, 1 FA cup (same year we also won the FA youth cup - a double that only 5 clubs have managed) ... that's history that you can't erase.
Oh and we were the first in England to have an all-seater stadium. That was the vision of Jimmy Hill who also came up with the 3 points/win idea.

So you see we have something to be proud of. Now go compare with Fleetwood, Crawley, Rochdale etc.

 

[bigfatronssba]

Actually impressive research! not sure where you got that from, so in just over half the seasons from the last 50 years LCFC had a higher average attendance than CCFC. I was just enquiring why the OP would consider CCFC to be a better supported club than LCFC

From this website, its pretty good:

http://www.european-football-statistics.co.uk/englandcontent.htm

 

[jimmyhillsfanclub]

I'd say that historically, we are a slightly smaller club than those teams we are often compared to.....

Norwich, Southampton, Leicester, Pompey etc. all have a slightly better success level than us & similar crowds.....

CCFC are a bit weird in as much as we were always one of the minows in the top flight, but have never really become the big fish in a small pond that we should be now....

I've been a CCFC fan since the late 1970's & its seems to me that, with a few obvious exceptions, regardless of which level we play at, we are never far away from 16th, 17th , 18th position.....bizarre.

 

[stupot07]

I'd say that historically, we are a slightly smaller club than those teams we are often compared to.....

Norwich, Southampton, Leicester, Pompey etc. all have a slightly better success level than us & similar crowds.....

CCFC are a bit weird in as much as we were always one of the minows in the top flight, but have never really become the big fish in a small pond that we should be now....

I've been a CCFC fan since the late 1970's & its seems to me that, with a few obvious exceptions, regardless of which level we play at, we are never far away from 16th, 17th , 18th position.....bizarre.

This is how I view us tbh.

You have a look at the honours list for those 4 clubs they have all won more and played in more cup finals than us, but a historically similar size fan base.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk - so please excuse any spelling or grammar errors

 

[SkyBlue_Bear83]

Take a look at the attendance drop since sisu took charge , now imagine what it might have been if they were competent owners and did it right
http://www.european-football-statistics.co.uk/attnclub/covc.htm

We're not the only club in the history of football to be run badly, from all the clubs I mentioned in this division almost all of them were in this league because of bad management yet their fans didn't desert them. No excuse for our poor attendances

 

[bigfatronssba]

We're not the only club in the history of football to be run badly, from all the clubs I mentioned in this division almost all of them were in this league because of bad management yet their fans didn't desert them. No excuse for our poor attendances

Yep, all those clubs were in the exact same position as us.