Arsenal - worst fans in football?

[Legod Third Coming]

Couldn't help thinking this on Saturday. Same tonight. Turn up, make little effort, watch the game through their iPads, go home on 80 minutes.

 

Passionless and the worst type of football fans.

 

Or is it me?

[Appy]

Sums up much of the away end at the Emirates on Saturday.

[Legod Third Coming]

Sums up much of the away end at the Emirates on Saturday.

 

Pah. Maybe it's catching...

 

Seriously though. Who watches a ferking penalty through their phone/iPad? Answer, every Arsenal fan in front of or around us.

[Appy]

Pah. Maybe it's catching...

 

Seriously though. Who watches a ferking penalty through their phone/iPad? Answer, every Arsenal fan in front of or around us.

 

Hate filming penalties.

 

At West Brom when we scored, in the away end you could see people with their phones, they should be going ****ing mental.

[ericb]

Couldn't help thinking this on Saturday. Same tonight. Turn up, make little effort, watch the game through their iPads, go home on 80 minutes.

 

Passionless and the worst type of football fans.

 

Or is it me?

 

I work in london and live close to the emirates and the truth is those that go are a fu.cking embarrassment. BUT those that go are more often that not, not from london.

 

I've noticed they're the chosen team for a lot of the posh student types that move to london and feel like they should "support" a football team, the amount of plastic Arsenal fans i talk to day to day who use words like "entertainment" and don't care if people slag off their atmosphere because they have a better class of fan (they think) is unbelievable.

 

In fact i actually hate Arsenal far more than spurs these days because of their sh.it, plastic, posh support in London (from people outside of London in the main).

 

On the flip side though go to the pubs that show streams around Finsbury Park, Highbury, parts of Islington and the Cally road and you'll still see Arsenal's proper support. The noisy lot that went in the 80s (and who to be fair could be a bit of a fu.cking nightmare at times).

 

And they hate Arsenal's new support far more than the majority of other fans as they've taken over the club, ripped out it's soul and priced them out

[Saint Garrett]

Yeah, they are woeful!!

[shurlock]

I work in london and live close to the emirates and the truth is those that go are a fu.cking embarrassment. BUT those that go are more often that not, not from london.

 

I've noticed they're the chosen team for a lot of the posh student types that move to london and feel like they should "support" a football team, the amount of plastic Arsenal fans i talk to day to day who use words like "entertainment" and don't care if people slag off their atmosphere because they have a better class of fan (they think) is unbelievable.

 

In fact i actually hate Arsenal far more than spurs these days because of their sh.it, plastic, posh support in London (from people outside of London in the main).

 

On the flip side though go to the pubs that show streams around Finsbury Park, Highbury, parts of Islington and the Cally road and you'll still see Arsenal's proper support. The noisy lot that went in the 80s (and who to be fair could be a bit of a fu.cking nightmare at times).

 

And they hate Arsenal's new support far more than the majority of other fans as they've taken over the club, ripped out it's soul and priced them out

 

I live bang in the middle of Arsenal country and cant stand their support but it's all from London - it just reflects the fact that North London is probably more diverse than any other part of London, made up of poncey parts inhabited by the chattering classes.

[Bratwurst]

We have an big ARSEnal supporters club in Germany....absolutly joke...ask me why I support the Saints ( they play a lot of time in lower divisions ...play not good football...bla bla bla ) but if you ask them for Arsenal results in the seventies or eighties they cant tell you cause they support the team only for a few years ...gloryhunters...no passion

[Sour Mash]

I live bang in the middle of Arsenal country and cant stand their support but it's all from London - it just reflects the fact that North London is probably more diverse than any other part of London, made up of poncey parts inhabited by the chattering classes.

Think he means that a lot might live in London, but aren't exactly born and bred Londoners from Arsenal supporting families for example.

[shurlock]

Think he means that a lot might live in London, but aren't exactly born and bred Londoners from Arsenal supporting families for example.

 

Would say its truer of the jcls that have jumped on the Chelsea bandwagon - Arsenal catchment covers some pretty gentrified parts -Islington, Regents Park, Highgate, Muswell Hill, Finchley, Totteridge etc. These arent students but people who were born and raised in north London and, if anything, left London when they went to university and then returned when they started working.

Edited 26 November, 2013 by shurlock

[VectisSaint]

We have an big ARSEnal supporters club in Germany....absolutly joke...ask me why I support the Saints ( they play a lot of time in lower divisions ...play not good football...bla bla bla ) but if you ask them for Arsenal results in the seventies or eighties they cant tell you cause they support the team only for a few years ...gloryhunters...no passion

Arsenal results in the 70s and 80s are easy, 1-0, covers just about every match.

[adrian lord]

The whole iPad/iphone filming stuff phenomenon is a major factor killing live entertainment atmospheres, not just football.

 

Go to a gig and all the lemmings there are watching it gormlessly through their screens, jaws slackly agape, tongue lolling half out, shoulders hunched over slightly in a bent posture, as they record it all - but for what? They aren't really there and not immersed in the live entertainment, and are detracting from the very experience they have come to apparently be part of and ****ing film. It is purely vicarious attendance and the sole point seems to be the ability to bore to death your work/class mates and extended family on Monday morning by making them view your pathetic little video.

[Barry Sanchez]

The modern football fan, **** e.

[Sour Mash]

Would say its truer of the jcls that have jumped on the Chelsea bandwagon - Arsenal catchment covers some pretty gentrified parts -Islington, Regents Park, Highgate, Muswell Hill, Finchley, Totteridge etc. These arent students but people who were born and raised in north London and, if anything, left London when they went to university and then returned when they started working.

I think when he says 'posh student types' he doesn't mean actual university attending students. Regardless, it's fair to say that a very high proportion of Arsenal fans weren't going to watch their team 10/15/20 years ago.

[Sour Mash]

The whole iPad/iphone filming stuff phenomenon is a major factor killing live entertainment atmospheres, not just football.

 

Go to a gig and all the lemmings there are watching it gormlessly through their screens, jaws slackly agape, tongue lolling half out, shoulders hunched over slightly in a bent posture, as they record it all - but for what? They aren't really there and not immersed in the live entertainment, and are detracting from the very experience they have come to apparently be part of and ****ing film. It is purely vicarious attendance and the sole point seems to be the ability to bore to death your work/class mates and extended family on Monday morning by making them view your pathetic little video.

True and the strangest/most ironic thing is I doubt those videos are ever watched again half the time.

[Hopkins]

So what makes the best fan and why is that the correct way to behave at a football match?

 

Am I the only one who couldn't care less about the atmosphere, the passion, the noise, the songs the crowd sing when I go to a match? I'm there for the football.

 

I find it pretty laughable that some of you can't get your head around the idea that other people have other reasons for going to the game than you and therefore are able to enjoy themselves differently to you. You might like jumping up and down, singing songs and making as much noise as possible, some others might not, either way it doesn't matter.

 

Get over it.

[ericofarabia]

The whole iPad/iphone filming stuff phenomenon is a major factor killing live entertainment atmospheres, not just football.

 

Go to a gig and all the lemmings there are watching it gormlessly through their screens, jaws slackly agape, tongue lolling half out, shoulders hunched over slightly in a bent posture, as they record it all - but for what? They aren't really there and not immersed in the live entertainment, and are detracting from the very experience they have come to apparently be part of and ****ing film. It is purely vicarious attendance and the sole point seems to be the ability to bore to death your work/class mates and extended family on Monday morning by making them view your pathetic little video.

 

This !!

 

Being a vertically challenged stud muffin (TM Ohio), the last thing I need is a hbunch of arms aloft whankers holding ipads, iphones and cameras resembling a flock of flamingos, blocking my view. Grrrrr.

 

I can understand people wanting to capture the atmosphere for posperity, fine, that can be done with occassional 30 second snapshots. No need to record whole fricking songs.

They might as well not bother going to the live gig, just watch it later when some other like minded pr!ck has posted it on You Tube.

[Ivan Katalinic's 'tache]

So the Emirates is just a bigger version of the Highbury library then?

[Fan The Flames]

There is something going on at Arsenal, it was always quiet but you had noise in the North Bank and Clock End, did these areas not coalesce properly when the new ground was opened or are they just lost in its vastness, and there are no old style roofs that used to hold the noise. When at Highbury my mate was 30000 on the season ticket waiting list, after a couple of years at TE he was offered a ST, now 30000 people before him surely didnt take up a ST. Some would have and some it would no longer be what they want and some, like my mate, couldn't afford one. But the ground still sells out (or very near to it), the club has to pull them in from some where and the crowd probably do reflect the gentrified areas of North London.

 

The point to my ramble is economics suggests there was latent demand from non traditional fans, Arsenal now provide the supply but at a cost that prohibits traditional fans. But the have got to the last stages of the CL for 14 years in a row. What do we want football fans.

 

By the way aren't we worst fans, highest cost of a team assembled ever, best position for 30 years, best football played for a generation in a nice stadium and we don't fill it.

[Saint Garrett]

So what makes the best fan and why is that the correct way to behave at a football match?

 

Am I the only one who couldn't care less about the atmosphere, the passion, the noise, the songs the crowd sing when I go to a match? I'm there for the football.

 

I find it pretty laughable that some of you can't get your head around the idea that other people have other reasons for going to the game than you and therefore are able to enjoy themselves differently to you. You might like jumping up and down, singing songs and making as much noise as possible, some others might not, either way it doesn't matter.

 

Get over it.

 

Football to me is all about the day. Not just the game, hell sometimes even a whole weekend!

 

Seeing mates, going for a few beers, atmosphere, singing your heart out, are all equally as important to me. Which Is why I can never understand why anyone would get on the bingo buses as you only get a small amount of the fun!

[adrian lord]

There is an architectural problem with Emirates that also kills atmosphere:

 

The corporate boxes form a ring around the entire stadium at mid-terrace level, forming a very effective fire-break that prevents large scale, en-masse singing spreading across large banks of fans. The top tier is totally cut off from the lower half. Apparently Arsenal realise this but are stumped as to what to do about it. They can't redesign the incredibly expensive stadium. Might be looking at 'safe' standing areas.

 

This, combined with an ABC fan base, and tourists with iPads makes for a theatre matinee atmosphere.

[Turkish]

There is something going on at Arsenal, it was always quiet but you had noise in the North Bank and Clock End, did these areas not coalesce properly when the new ground was opened or are they just lost in its vastness, and there are no old style roofs that used to hold the noise. When at Highbury my mate was 30000 on the season ticket waiting list, after a couple of years at TE he was offered a ST, now 30000 people before him surely didnt take up a ST. Some would have and some it would no longer be what they want and some, like my mate, couldn't afford one. But the ground still sells out (or very near to it), the club has to pull them in from some where and the crowd probably do reflect the gentrified areas of North London.

 

The point to my ramble is economics suggests there was latent demand from non traditional fans, Arsenal now provide the supply but at a cost that prohibits traditional fans. But the have got to the last stages of the CL for 14 years in a row. What do we want football fans.

 

By the way aren't we worst fans, highest cost of a team assembled ever, best position for 30 years, best football played for a generation in a nice stadium and we don't fill it.

 

Good point. In the championship we were assured that we needed a bigger stadium that we'd sell out week in week out as soon as the games went on sale. That our catchment area was massive and there were coachloads of neutrals in every town and village from Dartford to Truro all chomping at the bit to come to St Marys to see Premier league football. That we definitely would need a bigger stadium because we sold out against Bolton in 2004 when we were rubbish and had no investment in the side. That Chelsea only got 14k in 1984. That Reading were expanding their stadium so we definitely needed too. That we have more match going fans than Everton. Despite all this and us being 5th in the table and having spent over £70m on players the expected surge in demand that was going to massively outstrip the limiting capacity that SMS had is yet to materialise.

[Barry Sanchez]

So what makes the best fan and why is that the correct way to behave at a football match?

 

Am I the only one who couldn't care less about the atmosphere, the passion, the noise, the songs the crowd sing when I go to a match? I'm there for the football.

 

I find it pretty laughable that some of you can't get your head around the idea that other people have other reasons for going to the game than you and therefore are able to enjoy themselves differently to you. You might like jumping up and down, singing songs and making as much noise as possible, some others might not, either way it doesn't matter.

 

Get over it.

 

You miss the point, you are the new generation, football now is too clean, sterile and pure.

In short crap.

[Barry Sanchez]

Arsenal have never had a good atmosphere compared to other clubs of their size nowhere near it, awful atmospheres everywhere really nowadays but years gone by the best teams in London for atmosphere were Spurs, Chelsea, West Ham and Millwall, the biggest reason for this is then they had large working class fanbases, changed now much to the detriment of the game.

[Barry Sanchez]

Good point. In the championship we were assured that we needed a bigger stadium that we'd sell out week in week out as soon as the games went on sale. That our catchment area was massive and there were coachloads of neutrals in every town and village from Dartford to Truro all chomping at the bit to come to St Marys to see Premier league football. That we definitely would need a bigger stadium because we sold out against Bolton in 2004 when we were rubbish and had no investment in the side. That Chelsea only got 14k in 1984. That Reading were expanding their stadium so we definitely needed too. That we have more match going fans than Everton. Despite all this and us being 5th in the table and having spent over £70m on players the expected surge in demand that was going to massively outstrip the limiting capacity that SMS had is yet to materialise.

 

Chelsea got that for two seasons, Chelsea have always been very well supported.

[Charlie Wayman]

Couldn't help thinking this on Saturday. Same tonight. Turn up, make little effort, watch the game through their iPads, go home on 80 minutes.

 

Passionless and the worst type of football fans.

 

Or is it me?

 

If you had ever tried to get home after a match at Highbury or The Emirates you'd have a little more understanding and sympathy for your North London brethren. It's not like a provincial city where you can just jump into your car and drive away.

[ashleyb5443]

I love how bitter everyone is after our first defeat in a while. Arsenal have always had crap support. Just look at all the plastic fans we have living around Southampton who supper them. It's always the same excuse....oh I can never get tickets.

[JRM]

Good point. In the championship we were assured that we needed a bigger stadium that we'd sell out week in week out as soon as the games went on sale. That our catchment area was massive and there were coachloads of neutrals in every town and village from Dartford to Truro all chomping at the bit to come to St Marys to see Premier league football. That we definitely would need a bigger stadium because we sold out against Bolton in 2004 when we were rubbish and had no investment in the side. That Chelsea only got 14k in 1984. That Reading were expanding their stadium so we definitely needed too. That we have more match going fans than Everton. Despite all this and us being 5th in the table and having spent over £70m on players the expected surge in demand that was going to massively outstrip the limiting capacity that SMS had is yet to materialise.

 

we still haven't sold out a home game have we?

 

Aston Villa and Man City have been on sale for 10 days and neither game has sold out yet. Certainly no rush to buy and anyone who wants a ticket can get one.

 

Probably a good thing as it is well over priced for the average man on the street to afford on a regular basis.

[shurlock]

If you had ever tried to get home after a match at Highbury or The Emirates you'd have a little more understanding and sympathy for your North London brethren. It's not like a provincial city where you can just jump into your car and drive away.

 

[shurlock]

Chelsea got that for two seasons, Chelsea have always been very well supported.

 

For such a class warrior on the changing demographics of football, your dewy-eyed reverence for Chelsea is baffling.

[Turkish]

For such a class warrior on the changing demographics of football, your dewy-eyed reverence for Chelsea is baffling.

 

why? He's right. It was more than 2 seasons though. Their attendances dipped in the 80s as a lot of clubs did in that time, Chelseas were very low for many reasons, their hooliganism problems, electric fences, Ken Bates, being crap. Before that and from the mid nineties their support was good and had decent sized crowds.

[Golden Balls]

Good point. In the championship we were assured that we needed a bigger stadium that we'd sell out week in week out as soon as the games went on sale. That our catchment area was massive and there were coachloads of neutrals in every town and village from Dartford to Truro all chomping at the bit to come to St Marys to see Premier league football. That we definitely would need a bigger stadium because we sold out against Bolton in 2004 when we were rubbish and had no investment in the side. That Chelsea only got 14k in 1984. That Reading were expanding their stadium so we definitely needed too. That we have more match going fans than Everton. Despite all this and us being 5th in the table and having spent over £70m on players the expected surge in demand that was going to massively outstrip the limiting capacity that SMS had is yet to materialise.

 

Do you have this stored somewhere just to copy and paste it? Do you then use the search function to search "sell out" every hour or so?

[Turkish]

Do you have this stored somewhere just to copy and paste it? Do you then use the search function to search "sell out" every hour or so?

 

Stored in my memory banks Pal. Just remember how wrong i was told i was when i said that SMS was adequate for us now and that we should see how crowds are in the premier league before we consider expanding. This was wrong, we were MASSIVE and attendances would go through the roof once we were promoted, we needed to expand NOW NOW NOW for all the reasons i listed. The call for immediate expansion and easy jet pricing models seems to have died down in the last year or so hasn't it.

[Bearsy]

we still haven't sold out a home game have we?

 

Aston Villa and Man City have been on sale for 10 days and neither game has sold out yet. Certainly no rush to buy and anyone who wants a ticket can get one.

 

Probably a good thing as it is well over priced for the average man on the street to afford on a regular basis.

 

Average attendance is down 1500 on last season. We've not played any of the big draws yet tho to be fair.

[Turkish]

Average attendance is down 1500 on last season. We've not played any of the big draws yet tho to be fair.

 

We are the big draw FFS.

[shurlock]

why? He's right. It was more than 2 seasons though. Their attendances dipped in the 80s as a lot of clubs did in that time, Chelseas were very low for many reasons, their hooliganism problems, electric fences, Ken Bates, being crap. Before that and from the mid nineties their support was good and had decent sized crowds.

 

A lot were quick to jump ship when they dropped to the second division; but more than that numbers didn't exceed 30,000 till the late 1990s -by which time, hooliganism had been on the wane for almost a decade and it was fashionable to like football -Damon Albarn or not.

 

Chelsea reached the FA cup final in 1994 which hardly registered a dent on attendances -not what you would expect from a supposedly well-supported team; it was only after they won the FA cup that their attendances started to climb beyond 30,000, aided and abetted by a European run. And they only hit 40,000 after they won the league. Go to Stamford Bridge nowadays and you'll see those numbers are made up of jcls and the flood of skilled foreigners who've camped to west London and want to relieve their boredom on a Saturday afternoon.

[Bucks Saint]

Go to Stamford Bridge nowadays and you'll see those numbers are made up of jcls and the flood of skilled foreigners who've camped to west London and want to relieve their boredom on a Saturday afternoon.

 

Can anyone say that we dont get jcls, or floods of skilled foreigners who have settled in the beautiful south, packing out St Marys?

[Turkish]

A lot were quick to jump ship when they dropped to the second division; but more than that numbers didn't exceed 30,000 till the late 1990s -by which time, hooliganism had been on the wane for almost a decade and it was fashionable to like football -Damon Albarn or not.

 

Chelsea reached the FA cup final in 1994 which hardly registered a dent on attendances -not what you would expect from a supposedly well-supported team; it was only after they won the FA cup that their attendances started to climb beyond 30,000, aided and abetted by a European run. And they only hit 40,000 after they won the league. Go to Stamford Bridge nowadays and you'll numbers are made up of jcls and the flood of skilled foreigners who've camped to west London and want to relieve their boredom on a Saturday afternoon.

 

Load of crap, you dont know your history pal. For most of their history they've averaged well over 30,000 and in some cases well over 40,000, a few dips here and there notably the 80's as has been mentioned but they've always been a well supported club. They used to get high 30's to low 40's crowds in the 60's and early 70's. The biggest crowd ever for a Chelsea game is over 80k. They dropped off in the late 70s when they got relegated to the old second division but then whose crowds dont, ours went down by 10,00o when we got relegated. They had a period of very low crowds in the 80s but then they started to pick up in the 90's. Stamford Bridge was redeveloped in the 90's, it went from having a running track round the pitch with cars parked behind the goals and a big open terrace miles away from the goal line to the stadium it is now which meant for some seasons in the 90's they'd have had a restricted capacity in that time, which from memory was around 92-95.

Edited 27 November, 2013 by Turkish

[shurlock]

Can anyone say that we dont get jcls, or floods of skilled foreigners who have settled in the beautiful south, packing out St Marys?

 

If you want to compare Westquay with Knightsbridge and the Kings Road, go ahead...

[Bucks Saint]

If you want to compare Westquay with Knightsbridge and the Kings Road, go ahead...

 

Is that a yes or a no? PS I think that there may just be more to a quality of life measure than shopping. Not that its relevant to attendances IMHO

Edited 27 November, 2013 by Bucks Saint

[Graffito]

Where I've lived for 20 years it's 50/50 Arsenal/Tottenham. It's very difficult to generalise but Arsenal's demographic does seem to be younger where I live. Other than that, Arsenal are Tottenham without the passion...and the moaning.

 

I used to live in SW London and there are great swathes of the area that were disenfranchised Chelsea fans who couldn't afford to go.

[shurlock]

Load of crap, you dont know your history pal. For most of their history they've averaged well over 30,000 and in some cases well over 40,000, a few dips here and there notably the 80's as has been mentioned but they've always been a well supported club. They used to get high 30's to low 40's crowds in the 60's and early 70's. The biggest crowd ever for a Chelsea game is over 80k. They dropped off in the late 70s when they got relegated to the old second division but then whose crowds dont, ours went down by 10,00o when we got relegated. They had a period of very low crowds in the 80s but then they started to pick up in the 90's. Stamford Bridge was redeveloped in the 90's, it went from having a running track round the pitch with cars parked behind the goals and a big open terrace miles away from the goal line to the stadium it is now which meant for some seasons in the 90's they'd have had a restricted capacity in that time, which from memory was around 92-95.

 

You telling me that the numbers who came back in the late 1990s were the same as those who attended in the early 1950s and 1970s?

 

Chelsea changed dramatically in the 1980s and the fanbase and identity that emerged is totally different from generations lost in the mists of history. And that's all that matters.

[Turkish]

You telling me that the numbers who came back in the late 1990s were the same as those who attended in the early 1950s and 1970s?

 

Chelsea changed dramatically in the 1980s and the fanbase and identity that emerged is totally different from generations lost in the mists of history. And that's all that matters.

 

What part of "they have always been a well supported club" are you struggling with pal? No one said it is the same people, it's you claiming they never got crowds over 30k until recently. Unless of course you're also claiming that the ones that jumped shipped in the 70s when they got relegated and nearly went bust are the same ones that are making up their 40,000 crowds now of course.

[The9]

Good point. In the championship we were assured that we needed a bigger stadium that we'd sell out week in week out as soon as the games went on sale. That our catchment area was massive and there were coachloads of neutrals in every town and village from Dartford to Truro all chomping at the bit to come to St Marys to see Premier league football. That we definitely would need a bigger stadium because we sold out against Bolton in 2004 when we were rubbish and had no investment in the side. That Chelsea only got 14k in 1984. That Reading were expanding their stadium so we definitely needed too. That we have more match going fans than Everton. Despite all this and us being 5th in the table and having spent over £70m on players the expected surge in demand that was going to massively outstrip the limiting capacity that SMS had is yet to materialise.

 

It's because they're all in the pubs watching it for free instead.

[The9]

You telling me that the numbers who came back in the late 1990s were the same as those who attended in the early 1950s and 1970s?

 

Chelsea changed dramatically in the 1980s and the fanbase and identity that emerged is totally different from generations lost in the mists of history. And that's all that matters.

 

They stopped being a regular second division team for a start.

[shurlock]

What part of "they have always been a well supported club" are you struggling with pal? No one said it is the same people, it's you claiming they never got crowds over 30k until recently. Unless of course you're also claiming that the ones that jumped shipped in the 70s when they got relegated and nearly went bust are the same ones that are making up their 40,000 crowds now of course.

 

Spazza's suggestion that they are a working class club and are consequently very different from Arsenal, the subject of this thread.

[Griffo]

Couldn't help thinking this on Saturday. Same tonight. Turn up, make little effort, watch the game through their iPads, go home on 80 minutes.

 

Passionless and the worst type of football fans.

 

Or is it me?

 

Would be careful making comments like this when our away support has been nothing short of awful at games this season.

[Turkish]

Spazza's suggestion that they are a working class club and are consequently very different from Arsenal, the subject of this thread.

 

So we now agree that they did get crowds over 30k before the late 90s and they've always been a well supported club?

[shurlock]

So we now agree that they did get crowds over 30k before the late 90s and they've always been a well supported club?

 

Never said anything different - said many jumped ship in the late 1970s, implying they were well-supported till then. What would be interesting to know is what would happen if they went through another slump - their new, jcl fanbase which replaced the traditional one is arguably far more fickle.

[Turkish]

Never said anything different - said many jumped ship in the late 1970s, implying they were well-supported till then. What would be interesting to know is what would happen if they went through another slump - their new, jcl fanbase which replaced the traditional one is arguably far more fickle.

 

Yes you did pal.

 

A lot were quick to jump ship when they dropped to the second division; but more than that numbers didn't exceed 30,000 till the late 1990s -by which time, hooliganism had been on the wane for almost a decade and it was fashionable to like football -Damon Albarn or not.

 

Chelsea reached the FA cup final in 1994 which hardly registered a dent on attendances -not what you would expect from a supposedly well-supported team; it was only after they won the FA cup that their attendances started to climb beyond 30,000, aided and abetted by a European run. And they only hit 40,000 after they won the league. Go to Stamford Bridge nowadays and you'll see those numbers are made up of jcls and the flood of skilled foreigners who've camped to west London and want to relieve their boredom on a Saturday afternoon.