The series of features on the 1890s continues today with a simple look at the average attendances of league clubs. I’m publishing the statistics here for season 1896-97 when Manchester City was a Second Division club. These figures are estimated based on newspaper reports of the period but are widely accepted as a good indication of support enjoyed at each club.
In the following table every team is in Division One unless (2) appears after their name. This indicates they were a Second Division club that season. Where two teams have the same average then these have been listed in alphabetic order.
1896-97 Average Attendances
| Average | Team |
| 15525 | Everton |
| 12925 | Aston Villa |
| 11675 | Liverpool |
| 8575 | Bolton |
| 8300 | Derby |
| 8200 | Sheff Utd |
| 8075 | Newcastle (2) |
| 8000 | Manchester City (2) |
| 7300 | Sheff Wed |
| 6775 | Blackburn |
| 6725 | Preston |
| 6425 | Wolves |
| 6275 | Woolwich Arsenal (2) |
| 6200 | Newton Heath (2) |
| 6150 | Bury |
| 6000 | Leicester Fosse (2) |
| 5825 | Small Heath |
| 5550 | WBA |
| 5525 | Sunderland |
| 5425 | Stoke |
| 5300 | Leicester Fosse (2) |
| 5175 | Burnley |
| 5125 | Nottm Forest |
| 4850 | Notts County (2) |
| 4800 | Grimsby (2) |
| 4500 | Small Heath (2) |
| 3325 | Gainsborough Trinity (2) |
| 2950 | Blackpool (2) |
| 2875 | Walsall (2) |
| 2650 | Burton Wanderers (2) |
| 1500 | Darwen (2) |
| 2325 | Burton Swifts (2) |
| 2075 | Loughborough (2) |
| 1675 | Lincoln (2) |
This series of features covers the final years of Ardwick, the birth of Manchester City and the Club’s first national success. Why not subscribe and read every feature? Here’s a link to the story of the 1896-97 season:
Here’s an 1800 article below on Manchester City in the final months of 1899:
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Gary James' Football Archive 