The alarming stats that show Cardiff City play in front of

The alarming stats that show Cardiff City play in front of the biggest number of empty seats in whole of Championship


BY PAUL ABBANDONATO
Media Wales


Bluebirds fans continue to vote with their feet as Cardiff City Stadium is only 43 per cent full for League games - the worst figure in the division

The average attendance is the key and Cardiff’s figure of 14,472 is still nearer the bottom than the top.

Real Madrid versus Sevilla, Wales against Belgium. Two magnificent football showpieces which have shown just what a superb sporting amphitheatre a capacity Cardiff City Stadium can be.

The Spanish fans and the Welsh neutrals marvelled at Cristiano Ronaldo’s two-goal salvo in the Welsh capital in front of almost 35,000 fans, the new upper Ninian stand in use for the first time and giving the already iconic home of Cardiff City a whole new dimension.

We watched in awe and wonder again as Gareth Bale led Wales to their historic 1-0 Euro 2016 qualifying triumph over Belgium 10 months on, the ground rocking like never before for an international match.

Sadly for Vincent Tan and Cardiff City , the ground’s owners, such occasions have not been transferred over for Russell Slade’s Bluebirds.


A stark situation the Bluebirds hierarchy

The opposite, in fact, for a study of league attendances on websites specialising in football statistics shows Slade’s side are playing in front of the most number of empty seats in the whole of the Championship thus far in 2015-16.

It is a stark situation the Bluebirds hierarchy will be hoping changes pretty sharpish, starting with Saturday’s clash with high-flying Burnley.

A table compiled of total Championship crowds this season shows Cardiff placed down in 20th position, with only Blackburn, Huddersfield, Brentford and Rotherham below them.

It should be pointed out that the Bluebirds’ aggregate home gate of 115,779 is made up from eight matches in the Welsh capital, whereas some of their rivals have the advantage of having had nine.

But the average attendance is the key and Cardiff’s figure of 14,472 is still nearer the bottom than the top.

Given they have such a swanky stadium, with an increased capacity to over 33,000 as a result of Tan’s Premier League ambitions, it means Slade’s Bluebirds top an unwanted Championship table.


Cardiff City Stadium is only 43.5 per cent full for league games... meaning more empty seats than at any other ground in the Championship.

Next worst are MK Dons, whose average gate of 13,362 means their 30,000-seater ground is only 43.8 per cent full.

Struggling Blackburn are the only other side who are playing in front of a more than half empty stadium. Their average gate of 14,096 means Ewood Park is just 44.9 per cent full.

At the other end of the scale, Paul Clement’s Derby, who beat Cardiff 2-0 at the weekend, lead the way when it comes to filling a stadium. Their average gate of 29,206 means 87 per cent of the seats at Pride Park are being taken up.

Queens Park Rangers also feature highly on 82 per cent, although the Loftus Road capacity is much smaller than Cardiff City Stadium, Pride Park, Ewood Park or Stadium MK.

Other sides regularly filling seats this season include Brighton and Reading.

Rotherham are actually bottom of the pile when it comes to attendances, with an average gate of under 10,000, but their smaller New York Stadium is almost 80 per cent full for games.

Building that unwanted and unneeded extension was another cock up by Tan and just added more debt to the pile.

and TAN OUT.

Building that unwanted and unneeded extension was another cock up by Tan and just added more debt to the pile.

and TAN OUT.

100% agree. Lunatics running the asylum thinking its a good idea to expand before establishing the club a a premiership force.

I think the club genuinely thought they had a squad good enough to survive after the money they spent and I think (being honest) most of us thought that too!

The problem arose once the Malky situation occurred and I honestly believe the whole squad initially gave all for their under fire manager before allowing the situation to affect them once he had gone. As someone once said, "Footballers don't need much of an excuse to underperform" and we saw several (Medel IMHO being one) have a big drop in performance!

Was it right to build the stand?

Well, from a club perspective possibly not at that time!

But from a wider perspective (and this is what I think may have influenced Tan's thinking) the club have benefitted from other events, such as the UEFA Super Cup Final (which I attended and thought was fantastic), the return of Wales football internationals (there would have been 5000 less happy 'glory hunters' at the last couple of qualifying games ) and the possibility of many other sell-out money-making events in the future, such as the Rod Stewart gig next year!

So overall, not quite the White Elephant some (many of whom 'knock' everything the club does) would have us believe and at least it is there should the football side of the club itself rather than the commercial ever need it again!

Building that unwanted and unneeded extension was another cock up by Tan and just added more debt to the pile.

and TAN OUT.

100% agree. Lunatics running the asylum thinking its a good idea to expand before establishing the club a a premiership force.

What abut sell out Wales games, super cup, rod Stewart ect ect its about looking to future not past!

Building that unwanted and unneeded extension was another cock up by Tan and just added more debt to the pile.

and TAN OUT.

100% agree. Lunatics running the asylum thinking its a good idea to expand before establishing the club a a premiership force.

What abut sell out Wales games, super cup, rod Stewart ect ect its about looking to future not past!

Nevermind the future, what about the present Allan, we have one of the emptiest stadiums in the league, that's entertainment for you, fills you with pride?

I think the club genuinely thought they had a squad good enough to survive after the money they spent and I think (being honest) most of us thought that too!

The problem arose once the Malky situation occurred and I honestly believe the whole squad initially gave all for their under fire manager before allowing the situation to affect them once he had gone. As someone once said, "Footballers don't need much of an excuse to underperform" and we saw several (Medel IMHO being one) have a big drop in performance!

Was it right to build the stand?

Well, from a club perspective possibly not at that time!

But from a wider perspective (and this is what I think may have influenced Tan's thinking) the club have benefitted from other events, such as the UEFA Super Cup Final (which I attended and thought was fantastic), the return of Wales football internationals (there would have been 5000 less happy 'glory hunters' at the last couple of qualifying games ) and the possibility of many other sell-out money-making events in the future, such as the Rod Stewart gig next year!

So overall, not quite the White Elephant some (many of whom 'knock' everything the club does) would have us believe and at least it is there should the football side of the club itself rather than the commercial ever need it again!

this club never had any money throughout its history! I don't know why so many fans are so bothered if Cardiff City investors will get big payout dividends each year because UEFA & Rod Stewart fill the coffers! Tan has no interest in investing in the team out of ambition to win things, like Mike Ashley, all Tan wanted was a middle of the road PL to syphon off the TV money. Possibly sell shares in the Singapore Stock Exchange.

I want the old skint club back, the one that produced homegrown players and had some of the most passionate fans in the country, all this talk about money just sucks out all the passion in football for me

Building that unwanted and unneeded extension was another cock up by Tan and just added more debt to the pile.

and TAN OUT.

100% agree. Lunatics running the asylum thinking its a good idea to expand before establishing the club a a premiership force.

What abut sell out Wales games, super cup, rod Stewart ect ect its about looking to future not past!

Nevermind the future, what about the present Allan, we have one of the emptiest stadiums in the league, that's entertainment for you, fills you with pride?

Super Cup was a one off, Wales games were great but that was due to the success on the pitch, concerts are one or two a year, certainly not enough to justify heaping another £12m (or whatever the extension cost) on to the debt pile.
As Thomas pointed out, any club who gets promoted into the Prem needs to get established over a few years before investing in anything like stadium extensions.
Most pro Tans say he's a very good businessman, but this was a very poor decision made by a clueless owner.

I think the club genuinely thought they had a squad good enough to survive after the money they spent and I think (being honest) most of us thought that too!

The problem arose once the Malky situation occurred and I honestly believe the whole squad initially gave all for their under fire manager before allowing the situation to affect them once he had gone. As someone once said, "Footballers don't need much of an excuse to underperform" and we saw several (Medel IMHO being one) have a big drop in performance!

Was it right to build the stand?

Well, from a club perspective possibly not at that time!

But from a wider perspective (and this is what I think may have influenced Tan's thinking) the club have benefitted from other events, such as the UEFA Super Cup Final (which I attended and thought was fantastic), the return of Wales football internationals (there would have been 5000 less happy 'glory hunters' at the last couple of qualifying games ) and the possibility of many other sell-out money-making events in the future, such as the Rod Stewart gig next year!

So overall, not quite the White Elephant some (many of whom 'knock' everything the club does) would have us believe and at least it is there should the football side of the club itself rather than the commercial ever need it again!

We would have survived if they had left MM in place until the summer!

Could have built on it in the right way but egos got in the way as usual.

Here we are uninspiring manager playing stay away football in an empty stadium

Building that unwanted and unneeded extension was another cock up by Tan and just added more debt to the pile.

and TAN OUT.

100% agree. Lunatics running the asylum thinking its a good idea to expand before establishing the club a a premiership force.

What abut sell out Wales games, super cup, rod Stewart ect ect its about looking to future not past!

Nevermind the future, what about the present Allan, we have one of the emptiest stadiums in the league, that's entertainment for you, fills you with pride?

Super Cup was a one off, Wales games were great but that was due to the success on the pitch, concerts are one or two a year, certainly not enough to justify heaping another £12m (or whatever the extension cost) on to the debt pile.
As Thomas pointed out, any club who gets promoted into the Prem needs to get established over a few years before investing in anything like stadium extensions.
Most pro Tans say he's a very good businessman, but this was a very poor decision made by a clueless owner.

ffs its here now, ask swansea if they would like a stadium that can be extended like ours for 11m> jenkins spoke of 50m, may be poor decision in some fans eyes but at end day 11m is good price for what we had done regardless of empty or not! the football league is full of white elephants but thats football.
as for the stastistic why not see at end season what it is 10 games or so is no a fair reflection of things!

Building that unwanted and unneeded extension was another cock up by Tan and just added more debt to the pile.

and TAN OUT.

100% agree. Lunatics running the asylum thinking its a good idea to expand before establishing the club a a premiership force.

What abut sell out Wales games, super cup, rod Stewart ect ect its about looking to future not past!

Nevermind the future, what about the present Allan, we have one of the emptiest stadiums in the league, that's entertainment for you, fills you with pride?

Super Cup was a one off, Wales games were great but that was due to the success on the pitch, concerts are one or two a year, certainly not enough to justify heaping another £12m (or whatever the extension cost) on to the debt pile.
As Thomas pointed out, any club who gets promoted into the Prem needs to get established over a few years before investing in anything like stadium extensions.
Most pro Tans say he's a very good businessman, but this was a very poor decision made by a clueless owner.

yes established like fulham how long is established?? fulhanm relegated after more than 5yrs at top, guess wait 20yrs then say established? should be certain then oops lots clubs get relegated from premier after 10 or more years there! so when is a good time???

Building that unwanted and unneeded extension was another cock up by Tan and just added more debt to the pile.

and TAN OUT.

100% agree. Lunatics running the asylum thinking its a good idea to expand before establishing the club a a premiership force.

What abut sell out Wales games, super cup, rod Stewart ect ect its about looking to future not past!

Nevermind the future, what about the present Allan, we have one of the emptiest stadiums in the league, that's entertainment for you, fills you with pride?

Super Cup was a one off, Wales games were great but that was due to the success on the pitch, concerts are one or two a year, certainly not enough to justify heaping another £12m (or whatever the extension cost) on to the debt pile.
As Thomas pointed out, any club who gets promoted into the Prem needs to get established over a few years before investing in anything like stadium extensions.
Most pro Tans say he's a very good businessman, but this was a very poor decision made by a clueless owner.

yes established like fulham how long is established?? fulhanm relegated after more than 5yrs at top, guess wait 20yrs then say established? should be certain then oops lots clubs get relegated from premier after 10 or more years there! so when is a good time???

Fulham were in the prem for over 10 years and that is established, but they didn't extend Craven Cottage even though they discussed plans to do so. This is because they are aware of their fan base and the crowds they can attract.
Agreed, lots of clubs get relegated after a number of years in the prem and a lot go back up again and can become a yoyo club like West Brom but these clubs know the crowds they can attract in the prem and in the championship and therefore their stadiums cater for this decrease and increase in attendances. We are not one of these clubs and can't hope to be for a long long time yet.

Building that unwanted and unneeded extension was another cock up by Tan and just added more debt to the pile.

and TAN OUT.

100% agree. Lunatics running the asylum thinking its a good idea to expand before establishing the club a a premiership force.

What abut sell out Wales games, super cup, rod Stewart ect ect its about looking to future not past!

Nevermind the future, what about the present Allan, we have one of the emptiest stadiums in the league, that's entertainment for you, fills you with pride?

Super Cup was a one off, Wales games were great but that was due to the success on the pitch, concerts are one or two a year, certainly not enough to justify heaping another £12m (or whatever the extension cost) on to the debt pile.
As Thomas pointed out, any club who gets promoted into the Prem needs to get established over a few years before investing in anything like stadium extensions.
Most pro Tans say he's a very good businessman, but this was a very poor decision made by a clueless owner.

yes established like fulham how long is established?? fulhanm relegated after more than 5yrs at top, guess wait 20yrs then say established? should be certain then oops lots clubs get relegated from premier after 10 or more years there! so when is a good time???

Fulham were in the prem for over 10 years and that is established, but they didn't extend Craven Cottage even though they discussed plans to do so. This is because they are aware of their fan base and the crowds they can attract.
Agreed, lots of clubs get relegated after a number of years in the prem and a lot go back up again and can become a yoyo club like West Brom but these clubs know the crowds they can attract in the prem and in the championship and therefore their stadiums cater for this decrease and increase in attendances. We are not one of these clubs and can't hope to be for a long long time yet.

QUESTION was how long is established?? like said can wait 10yrs and get relegated following year!! we have potential for 35k crowds so why not aim for that even if it is not for years to come? by your rational we shouldnt bother and except we can only attract 20k fans (previous limit) even in premier because thats what you are saying!

A winning side fixes everything it always has and always will.

A winning side fixes everything it always has and always will.

funny had gripe at low crowds we were not lowest!! now empty seats % wise we are!!!! whats next? sales of beer or tea even??

The treachery here is from the Cardiff City fans, who love the club so much they stay away because we are not in the premier league, sorry, no its because of the stewards, or is it the manager is not the guy who would only do it if we paid enough and were in the premier league, or not next to the away fans , or was it wrong shade blue and not white shorts, pies are cold or the beer too expensive, the pitch is shit and there's not enough local lads or Welsh in the team.

No just not in the premier league.....That is Tans fault because he bank rolled us into it and then fcuked it up, but life goes on and we have to keep looking forward, thats what we always did.

The treachery here is from the Cardiff City fans, who love the club so much they stay away because we are not in the premier league, sorry, no its because of the stewards, or is it the manager is not the guy who would only do it if we paid enough and were in the premier league, or not next to the away fans , or was it wrong shade blue and not white shorts, pies are cold or the beer too expensive, the pitch is shit and there's not enough local lads or Welsh in the team.

No just not in the premier league.....That is Tans fault because he bank rolled us into it and then fcuked it up, but life goes on and we have to keep looking forward, thats what we always did.

100% agree! but seems fans can no longer look forward prefer to look backwards strange really.

A winning side fixes everything it always has and always will.

funny had gripe at low crowds we were not lowest!! now empty seats % wise we are!!!! whats next? sales of beer or tea even??

Or that the pies are not cooked thoroughly.

A winning side fixes everything it always has and always will.

funny had gripe at low crowds we were not lowest!! now empty seats % wise we are!!!! whats next? sales of beer or tea even??

Or that the pies are not cooked thoroughly.

or we keep getting wet in ninian stand!!

A winning side fixes everything it always has and always will.

funny had gripe at low crowds we were not lowest!! now empty seats % wise we are!!!! whats next? sales of beer or tea even??

Or that the pies are not cooked thoroughly.

or we keep getting wet in ninian stand!!

Or that the tannoy guy is rubbish.

Building that unwanted and unneeded extension was another cock up by Tan and just added more debt to the pile.

and TAN OUT.

100% agree. Lunatics running the asylum thinking its a good idea to expand before establishing the club a a premiership force.

What abut sell out Wales games, super cup, rod Stewart ect ect its about looking to future not past!

Nevermind the future, what about the present Allan, we have one of the emptiest stadiums in the league, that's entertainment for you, fills you with pride?

Super Cup was a one off, Wales games were great but that was due to the success on the pitch, concerts are one or two a year, certainly not enough to justify heaping another £12m (or whatever the extension cost) on to the debt pile.
As Thomas pointed out, any club who gets promoted into the Prem needs to get established over a few years before investing in anything like stadium extensions.
Most pro Tans say he's a very good businessman, but this was a very poor decision made by a clueless owner.

yes established like fulham how long is established?? fulhanm relegated after more than 5yrs at top, guess wait 20yrs then say established? should be certain then oops lots clubs get relegated from premier after 10 or more years there! so when is a good time???

Fulham were in the prem for over 10 years and that is established, but they didn't extend Craven Cottage even though they discussed plans to do so. This is because they are aware of their fan base and the crowds they can attract.
Agreed, lots of clubs get relegated after a number of years in the prem and a lot go back up again and can become a yoyo club like West Brom but these clubs know the crowds they can attract in the prem and in the championship and therefore their stadiums cater for this decrease and increase in attendances. We are not one of these clubs and can't hope to be for a long long time yet.

QUESTION was how long is established?? like said can wait 10yrs and get relegated following year!! we have potential for 35k crowds so why not aim for that even if it is not for years to come? by your rational we shouldnt bother and except we can only attract 20k fans (previous limit) even in premier because thats what you are saying!

ANSWER was 10 years.
You're not getting my point. We are not at a stage where we can play in a 34k capacity stadium and hope to fill it. We couldn't sell out the old capacity when we were in the prem.
So what you are saying is every football club should build an extension and put themselves more in debt, just in case they get promoted and hopefully get a bigger crowd.
Why don't we just build the extension all the way around and throw another £40m on the pile?

I think the club genuinely thought they had a squad good enough to survive after the money they spent and I think (being honest) most of us thought that too!

The problem arose once the Malky situation occurred and I honestly believe the whole squad initially gave all for their under fire manager before allowing the situation to affect them once he had gone. As someone once said, "Footballers don't need much of an excuse to underperform" and we saw several (Medel IMHO being one) have a big drop in performance!

Was it right to build the stand?

Well, from a club perspective possibly not at that time!

But from a wider perspective (and this is what I think may have influenced Tan's thinking) the club have benefitted from other events, such as the UEFA Super Cup Final (which I attended and thought was fantastic), the return of Wales football internationals (there would have been 5000 less happy 'glory hunters' at the last couple of qualifying games ) and the possibility of many other sell-out money-making events in the future, such as the Rod Stewart gig next year!

So overall, not quite the White Elephant some (many of whom 'knock' everything the club does) would have us believe and at least it is there should the football side of the club itself rather than the commercial ever need it again!

We would have survived if they had left MM in place until the summer!

Could have built on it in the right way but egos got in the way as usual.

Here we are uninspiring manager playing stay away football in an empty stadium

Agree about Malky keeping us up, but he mucked it up for himself and for us with his actions off the field and we all paid a heavy price!

Building that unwanted and unneeded extension was another cock up by Tan and just added more debt to the pile.

and TAN OUT.

100% agree. Lunatics running the asylum thinking its a good idea to expand before establishing the club a a premiership force.

What abut sell out Wales games, super cup, rod Stewart ect ect its about looking to future not past!

Nevermind the future, what about the present Allan, we have one of the emptiest stadiums in the league, that's entertainment for you, fills you with pride?

Super Cup was a one off, Wales games were great but that was due to the success on the pitch, concerts are one or two a year, certainly not enough to justify heaping another £12m (or whatever the extension cost) on to the debt pile.
As Thomas pointed out, any club who gets promoted into the Prem needs to get established over a few years before investing in anything like stadium extensions.
Most pro Tans say he's a very good businessman, but this was a very poor decision made by a clueless owner.

yes established like fulham how long is established?? fulhanm relegated after more than 5yrs at top, guess wait 20yrs then say established? should be certain then oops lots clubs get relegated from premier after 10 or more years there! so when is a good time???

Fulham were in the prem for over 10 years and that is established, but they didn't extend Craven Cottage even though they discussed plans to do so. This is because they are aware of their fan base and the crowds they can attract.
Agreed, lots of clubs get relegated after a number of years in the prem and a lot go back up again and can become a yoyo club like West Brom but these clubs know the crowds they can attract in the prem and in the championship and therefore their stadiums cater for this decrease and increase in attendances. We are not one of these clubs and can't hope to be for a long long time yet.

QUESTION was how long is established?? like said can wait 10yrs and get relegated following year!! we have potential for 35k crowds so why not aim for that even if it is not for years to come? by your rational we shouldnt bother and except we can only attract 20k fans (previous limit) even in premier because thats what you are saying!

ANSWER was 10 years.
You're not getting my point. We are not at a stage where we can play in a 34k capacity stadium and hope to fill it. We couldn't sell out the old capacity when we were in the prem.
So what you are saying is every football club should build an extension and put themselves more in debt, just in case they get promoted and hopefully get a bigger crowd.
Why don't we just build the extension all the way around and throw another £40m on the pile?

when will we be at that stage? in your view never i suppose? so dont expand is the answer!! but on off chance we get back into premier lets wait 11years then expand and hopefully wont be relegated following year!:thumbup:

Building that unwanted and unneeded extension was another cock up by Tan and just added more debt to the pile.

and TAN OUT.

100% agree. Lunatics running the asylum thinking its a good idea to expand before establishing the club a a premiership force.

What abut sell out Wales games, super cup, rod Stewart ect ect its about looking to future not past!

Nevermind the future, what about the present Allan, we have one of the emptiest stadiums in the league, that's entertainment for you, fills you with pride?

Super Cup was a one off, Wales games were great but that was due to the success on the pitch, concerts are one or two a year, certainly not enough to justify heaping another £12m (or whatever the extension cost) on to the debt pile.
As Thomas pointed out, any club who gets promoted into the Prem needs to get established over a few years before investing in anything like stadium extensions.
Most pro Tans say he's a very good businessman, but this was a very poor decision made by a clueless owner.

yes established like fulham how long is established?? fulhanm relegated after more than 5yrs at top, guess wait 20yrs then say established? should be certain then oops lots clubs get relegated from premier after 10 or more years there! so when is a good time???

Fulham were in the prem for over 10 years and that is established, but they didn't extend Craven Cottage even though they discussed plans to do so. This is because they are aware of their fan base and the crowds they can attract.
Agreed, lots of clubs get relegated after a number of years in the prem and a lot go back up again and can become a yoyo club like West Brom but these clubs know the crowds they can attract in the prem and in the championship and therefore their stadiums cater for this decrease and increase in attendances. We are not one of these clubs and can't hope to be for a long long time yet.

QUESTION was how long is established?? like said can wait 10yrs and get relegated following year!! we have potential for 35k crowds so why not aim for that even if it is not for years to come? by your rational we shouldnt bother and except we can only attract 20k fans (previous limit) even in premier because thats what you are saying!

ANSWER was 10 years.
You're not getting my point. We are not at a stage where we can play in a 34k capacity stadium and hope to fill it. We couldn't sell out the old capacity when we were in the prem.
So what you are saying is every football club should build an extension and put themselves more in debt, just in case they get promoted and hopefully get a bigger crowd.
Why don't we just build the extension all the way around and throw another £40m on the pile?

when will we be at that stage? in your view never i suppose? so dont expand is the answer!! but on off chance we get back into premier lets wait 11years then expand and hopefully wont be relegated following year!:thumbup:

question for you peny? if get poromoted to premier and we stayed for 15yrs then built extenson! but go relegated following year is that a waste of money?? because by your criteria it is!

Building that unwanted and unneeded extension was another cock up by Tan and just added more debt to the pile.

and TAN OUT.

100% agree. Lunatics running the asylum thinking its a good idea to expand before establishing the club a a premiership force.

What abut sell out Wales games, super cup, rod Stewart ect ect its about looking to future not past!

Nevermind the future, what about the present Allan, we have one of the emptiest stadiums in the league, that's entertainment for you, fills you with pride?

Super Cup was a one off, Wales games were great but that was due to the success on the pitch, concerts are one or two a year, certainly not enough to justify heaping another £12m (or whatever the extension cost) on to the debt pile.
As Thomas pointed out, any club who gets promoted into the Prem needs to get established over a few years before investing in anything like stadium extensions.
Most pro Tans say he's a very good businessman, but this was a very poor decision made by a clueless owner.

yes established like fulham how long is established?? fulhanm relegated after more than 5yrs at top, guess wait 20yrs then say established? should be certain then oops lots clubs get relegated from premier after 10 or more years there! so when is a good time???

Fulham were in the prem for over 10 years and that is established, but they didn't extend Craven Cottage even though they discussed plans to do so. This is because they are aware of their fan base and the crowds they can attract.
Agreed, lots of clubs get relegated after a number of years in the prem and a lot go back up again and can become a yoyo club like West Brom but these clubs know the crowds they can attract in the prem and in the championship and therefore their stadiums cater for this decrease and increase in attendances. We are not one of these clubs and can't hope to be for a long long time yet.

QUESTION was how long is established?? like said can wait 10yrs and get relegated following year!! we have potential for 35k crowds so why not aim for that even if it is not for years to come? by your rational we shouldnt bother and except we can only attract 20k fans (previous limit) even in premier because thats what you are saying!

ANSWER was 10 years.
You're not getting my point. We are not at a stage where we can play in a 34k capacity stadium and hope to fill it. We couldn't sell out the old capacity when we were in the prem.
So what you are saying is every football club should build an extension and put themselves more in debt, just in case they get promoted and hopefully get a bigger crowd.
Why don't we just build the extension all the way around and throw another £40m on the pile?

when will we be at that stage? in your view never i suppose?

A club needs to now its full fan base potential before investing in an extension, whether they're playing in League 2 with ambitions on the championship or already in the championship hoping to get to the promised land of the prem. And the only way to do that is get there and live it for 5 or 6 years, even if you get relegated and promoted a couple of times. Then a club will know if they need an extension. And that is the same whether the club is Accrington Stanley or Cardiff City.

I seem to remember that Chelsea FC built a new stand (South East) in the mid 70s, that almost bankrupt their club. That's history,,,,,,,,!

Trouble is the news is never that great surrounding City, nothing really positive and we cant go "ah well at least we are playing great football" because we are not, seen glimpses of it, but only in 2 games and for only 20 minutes each. (Lost one and drew the other)

again another stat that is distorted by fact that other clubs have larger away fans due to proximity to one another, same as lowest crowds thread couple weeks ago!