how big do you think cardiff really are

Good topic this, When I started following cardiff my old man used to take me to the games in 86-87 at the time. I was still really young but there where players there such as George Wood, Phil Bater, Nicky Platneur, Nigel Stevenson, Terry Boyle, Alan Curtis, Paul Wimbledon, Kevin Bartlett, Jimmy Gilligan, Mike Ford, Steve Mardenbora etc and we where in either the 3rd or 4th division, i can remember looking around the stadium and the canton end was just wooden seating with no one in the grangend being empty the grandstand was open and the family seating that was eventually built was just terracing empty. I may be mixing up yrs correct me if im wrong and lets be honest Cardiff have come a very long way now to be where they are. Ive seen some great players over the years and i have many memorys as a cardiff fan especially winning the 3rd divison during the carl dale phil stant yrs, now correct me if im wrong during that period the gate on average was 6 to 8 thousand per gate and during that time it went up and up now i thought that was a big crowd back then, never in my wildest dreams did i ever think that Cardiff would get to where we are now as in contenders for the Championship with alot bigger gates etc ive seen the gates grow and grow over the years never did i think we would have got to the fa cup final in 2008 u just wouldnt expect that but id say cardiff are definately sleeping giants as a few other clubs are. The magic of Cardiff has improved over the years and lets be honest it would be a god send if we got to the premiership but never the less the Championship is still a good competitve league and i dont know how true it is but a source told me its more watched than serie a in Italy. SO no complaints here ive seen alot of improvement over the years so be happy we are where we are for those who get what i mean tidy for those who dont many appologies english literature was never my subject at school lol

Interesting stuff. While we're probably the size of a Leicester or Southampton at the moment, we have the potential to grow but I don't think those clubs could. They are clubs that just represent their towns and, with Leicester for example, they're always sharing the limelight with Forest, who have been more successful, and Derby, who have bigger support. When I travel to places like Leicester, I always think it's amazing that somewhere so relatively small has enjoyed such success.

I know Cardiff is not a huge city but the Bluebirds don't just represent a small city, they represent a whole region including Cardiff, Pontypridd, Merthyr, Aberdare, Rhondda etc etc. The fact there's no rivals very close and Cardiff is a capital city means the media coverage is huge and every little thing is magnified and gets big exposure.

Bolton, for example, have to battle with Man United, Liverpool, Everton, Man City, Wigan etc for coverage on North West Tonight news programme, while Manchester Evening News has only eyes for United and City. Yes, rugby is an issue here but, let's face it, club rugby in Wales is small and it's only the national team that most people really care about and that's only five games a year plus a few autumn internationals.

So, although we're the size of Leicester at the moment, I think we have the potential to be as big as Leeds or Everton - but not as big as Man City or Arsenal because we just don't have the population size. Ultimately, it's down to having big populations and providing success - provide success and there's a big club on your hands here.

I honestly think if we get to the Premiership and we don't price fans out wes will sell 25,000 Season tickets there will be a huge demand to watch Premiership football. If we then extend the Stadium to a capicity of 35K we will be full for the big games against Man Ure, Chelski and Arsenal etc.

However with clever marketing such as a 3 match ticket deal so if you wanted to see the Man Ure game you have to buy a ticket for say Wigan and Fulham we could easily get a 30K average. The key then would be to stay up stengthen and become a Bolton but with a much larger fan base.

The potential is huge but we need backing and if the Malaysians see that potential i am sure they will oblige we could then over time become a Top Ten Premiership side and we should all be happy with that

However a word of caution there is a long long way to go the Season is a marathon not a sprint and as City Supporters we should know that better than anyone let's have this debate in May

Excellent Debate, Cheers Tony Bolton Wanderers

Going Back well before most of you were born Cardiff City would get 40,00 fans to a game even back in the 60s with Tosh and clark Cardiff Got really big crowds. If Cardiff City were to go up to the prem and consolidate there selfs there, All these Cardiff kids that go around in ManUtd and Liverpool and Gunners shirts would slowly come over to city, and you would get one hell of a following from all over the Welsh Valleys, There are people who were so fed up with the way Cardiff was run down over the years that they are still there just waiting in the wings. Cardiff City in the prem! I think you would be talking about 40,000 + again.

spot on welshcitydragon

we have 3/4 million people to tap into within south wales .what other club has that kind of potential within a 40 mile radius ?

Going Back well before most of you were born Cardiff City would get 40,00 fans to a game even back in the 60s with Tosh and clark Cardiff Got really big crowds. If Cardiff City were to go up to the prem and consolidate there selfs there, All these Cardiff kids that go around in ManUtd and Liverpool and Gunners shirts would slowly come over to city, and you would get one hell of a following from all over the Welsh Valleys, There are people who were so fed up with the way Cardiff was run down over the years that they are still there just waiting in the wings. Cardiff City in the prem! I think you would be talking about 40,000 + again.