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 1898-99 when Manchester City was a Second Division club – but look where they are in the attendance table! 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.
1897-9 Average Attendances
| Average | Team |
| 20675 | Aston Villa |
| 18150 | Newcastle |
| 14525 | Everton |
| 13975 | Liverpool |
| 12300 | Sunderland |
| 10675 | Notts County |
| 10000 | Manchester City (2) |
| 9850 | Sheff Utd |
| 9400 | Blackburn Rovers |
| 8875 | Sheff Wed |
| 8850 | Nottm Forest |
| 8025 | Stoke |
| 7775 | Newton Heath (2) |
| 7550 | Wolves |
| 7450 | Leicester Fosse (2) |
| 7325 | Bolton |
| 7225 | Derby |
| 6125 | Burnley |
| 6025 | Preston |
| 5775 | Small Heath (2) |
| 5200 | WBA |
| 4600 | Burslem Port Vale (2) |
| 4525 | Bury |
| 4475 | Woolwich Arsenal (2) |
| 3350 | New Brighton Tower (2) |
| 3325 | Grimsby (2) |
| 3000 | Lincoln (2) |
| 2875 | Walsall (2) |
| 2775 | Luton (2) |
| 2750 | Glossop (2) |
| 2400 | Barnsley (2) |
| 2375 | Burton Swifts (2) |
| 2275 | Gainsborough Trinity (2) |
| 1900 | Loughborough (2) |
| 1500 | Blackpool (2) |
| 900 | Darwen (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 1898-99 season:
Here’s an 1800 article below on Manchester City in the final months of 1899:
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