Forgive us older fans for thinking we actually a big club.

[El Wednesday]

7 minutes ago, Mcguigan said:

Our problem has always been consistency of crowd numbers over the season, hence why we've not averaged over 30k for well over 50 years.

 

Sure we can pull in good home fan numbers once or twice a season but so can most clubs that have ample capacity to do so.

 

Look at our high numbers in the Championship, they're usually inflated because of 4-5-6k attending away fans. We took 40k to Wembley but so did Bradford City and countless others.

 

Our away support numbers are up their with the "big clubs" but not much else these days I'm afraid.

17k v Leicester when we were top of the Premier League, early into the 96/97 season.

[FreshOwl]

Having big gates 30 years ago doesn’t compare to today’s world of football. It has moved on drastically. It doesn’t stand still in time, like some on here would believe.

 

 

[Nero]

4 minutes ago, Mcguigan said:

Our problem has always been consistency of crowd numbers over the season, hence why we've not averaged over 30k for well over 50 years.

 

Sure we can pull in good home fan numbers once or twice a season but so can most clubs that have ample capacity to do so.

 

Look at our high numbers in the Championship, they're usually inflated because of 4-5-6k attending away fans. We took 40k to Wembley but so did Bradford City and countless others.

 

Our away support numbers are up their with the "big clubs" but not much else these days I'm afraid.

Not disagreeing with that but it wasn't really about comparing to today. Everything is so different and we aren't part of the elite any more and even if we do eventually get back to the Premier league we wont have a bigger fanbase than Chelsea or even Leicester or Southampton.

 

The sentiment was really  pointing out a time in the early nineties in comparison to other clubs who were getting 15 and 20 thousand in the first division. 

 

We weren't even top of Div 2 - we hadn't won the Rumbelow's yet. Its quite nice to remember sometimes that we actually did have extraordinary support.

[Geedee]

The frustration for any Wednesdayite of my generation or older is having endured the heartache of relegation in 1970 and 1975. We did the difficult job and got back from having sub 10,000 crowds in the third division to being an established club in the top tier.

 

We were back! We were a big club!

 

All that hard work has been wasted.

 

To be back down there again for the 4th time is beyond belief and those who have been responsible for this club's failures over the last 20 years should hang their heads in shame.

[TheGaffer]

Big clubs don't yo yo from championship to league 1 over the course of twenty years. We're of a similar stature to the likes of Barnsley and Peterborough and Rotherham in that regard. It's pathetic for a club with our potential but that's all we offer, potential. 

[El Wednesday]

Although we've got a much richer heritage than them, in the 'modern' era (and we're talking the last 50 years) I'd say we're more akin to Coventry City. Both spent long spells in the top flight, won a single trophy in that time, can take 40k to Wembley now and then. Sadly, we're about to experience the recent lows that Cov are just emerging from. 

[Gob_Bluth]

1 hour ago, TheGaffer said:

Big clubs don't yo yo from championship to league 1 over the course of twenty years. We're of a similar stature to the likes of Barnsley and Peterborough and Rotherham in that regard. It's pathetic for a club with our potential but that's all we offer, potential. 

 

Nailed it, they don't spend over 20 years out of the top flight either

[Buckwheat]

18 hours ago, shandypants said:

If my memory serves me correctly, we were 4th highest average attendance in the top two divisions that season and the season after (and possibly the season before) with only Man Utd, Liverpool and Arsenal attracting larger crowds.  In that period, when we weren't in the top 4 average attendances we were regularly in the top 6.  In fact, I can remember the likes of  the late great Brian Moore and great Des Lynham constantly referring to us as "top 6".  

Nope, we were 7th averaging 26605 . 4th next season finishing 3rd in the league, which was our highest attendance position since 1895.  In fact we haven't made the top 5 in the last 70 seasons. Think we should forget the past and concentrate on now.

[PaoloDiCanio12]

4 hours ago, Mcguigan said:

Our problem has always been consistency of crowd numbers over the season, hence why we've not averaged over 30k for well over 50 years.

 

Sure we can pull in good home fan numbers once or twice a season but so can most clubs that have ample capacity to do so.

 

Look at our high numbers in the Championship, they're usually inflated because of 4-5-6k attending away fans. We took 40k to Wembley but so did Bradford City and countless others.

 

Our away support numbers are up their with the "big clubs" but not much else these days I'm afraid.

The 30k stat is futile mate, completely different time in our glory days, if you want to me to show what our attendance is worth now I will: The top attendance we got in our last glory days were the 4th best supported in the top league of English football, the 4th best is now 60k(I’m not saying we would get this in today’s times,) our usual attendance in the 90s was the 8th best, the 8th best attendance is now 40k, so how can the 30k average be significant? 
 

On crowds we can’t not be a big club, we are the 11th best supported club in the country on all time total attendance and still get very loyal crowds for how poor we have been and how expensive the tickets, when tickets have been reduced we have got 30k+ crowds on many occasions despite being in the 2nd division (arsenal, cardiff, derby, villa.)

 

How can we benefit from a 6k away end when the highest we can hold is 4500 and we only give leeds Sheff Utd etc that amount, the regular allocation is 3700 which little to no clubs sell out, if every club sold 3700 we would’ve averaged 28k this season and the season we finished 4th, 31k would’ve been there, 

 

So that clearly proves that our crowds certainly warrant big club status and that’s not mentioning the honours we have won (top 15 in English football) but if you ask me now if we are a big club, I would say overall, certainly, current infrastructure, no. 

[Pughies Jockstrap]

Im an older fan(sorry customer) and I dont think were a big club. That was then this is now. For Gods sake accept us for what we are now.

[Pughies Jockstrap]

5 hours ago, Supervisor2 said:

Just deleted my first reply as it was nearly word for word the same as Sheff74

The words ‘big club’ is now an off the cuff comment. We were a big cub in the fifties and sixties, then rode on the wave of the 66 world cup and semi final ground......not the (football) teams. We had some good seasons in the 90’s and the play off seasons that rekindled the interest outside the club but we are now just that team with a unique name to a lot of people

Hopefully the whole set up can ‘reset’ this season and can become that ‘big club’ people will watch out for for footballing reasons when the fixtures and cup draws are made and a club to be proud to follow for generations to come

WAWAW
 

Im not sure thats strictly true mate I grew up in 50s and early 60s and in those days Wednesday were known as The YoYo Club  because they went into Div1 then back down toDiv 2

on a pretty regular basis I think. I will concede tho that the crowds were pretty decent.

[PaoloDiCanio12]

It is all down to opinions if I’m honest, overall in our 150+ year history I would consider us a big-very big club, right now though we are being mismanaged and heading down to the 3rd tier, nowt big about that, the only thing which is big about us right now is the crowds but if you look at the full 150+ years of Sheffield Wednesday, we are certainly a big club.
 

 

[TheSlicer]

How long are we going to have potential with out actually doing anything with it? 
 

I love Sheffield Wednesday, but for me we are not a big club. 
 

I’d say everything about us other than our ground and maybe our fans are not of a big club stature. Even our ground has got smaller when everybody else’s has got bigger. 
 

saddens me to say it but it’s the truth in reality when you take your blue and white specs off 

[Nero]

I don't understand why this has to become yet another pointless we are / are not a big club thread.

 

 

 

[PaoloDiCanio12]

9 minutes ago, TheSlicer said:

How long are we going to have potential with out actually doing anything with it? 
 

I love Sheffield Wednesday, but for me we are not a big club. 
 

I’d say everything about us other than our ground and maybe our fans are not of a big club stature. Even our ground has got smaller when everybody else’s has got bigger. 
 

saddens me to say it but it’s the truth in reality when you take your blue and white specs off 

It depends where you want to start the comparison, here are the facts if we are unbiased, Sheffield Wednesday football club are the 13th most successful club in English football, that equates to a big club, Sheffield Wednesday football club are the 11th best supported club in this country, that equates to big club status, Sheffield Wednesday football club have spent the 14th most seasons in the top flight (which will be overtaken by wolves next year and will probably be 15th) that still equates to being a big club and 14th for all time points in top flight, that equates to being a big club too, if just depends how you value it, there’s no right answer, overall in my eyes we are certainly a big club, current infrastructure no.

[TheSlicer]

6 minutes ago, PaoloDiCanio12 said:

It depends where you want to start the comparison, here are the facts if we are unbiased, Sheffield Wednesday football club are the 13th most successful club in English football, that equates to a big club, Sheffield Wednesday football club are the 11th best supported club in this country, that equates to big club status, Sheffield Wednesday football club have spent the 14th most seasons in the top flight (which will be overtaken by wolves next year and will probably be 15th) that still equates to being a big club and 14th for all time points in top flight, that equates to being a big club too, if just depends how you value it, there’s no right answer, overall in my eyes we are certainly a big club, current infrastructure no.

The three clubs that were relegated in 2000 from the premier league were us, Watford and Wimbledon. 
 

of the three relegated only Watford have returned, several times. Wimbledon have folded, started again, and are now climbing the pyramid. (Not even sure if they may be in the same league as us next year)
 

Those stats you have posted cannot be argued with. But it’s living in the past. We have not been in the top flight in 22 years. In those 22 years how many clubs have been back in the top flight? Some for the very first time in their history! And are still there. Realistically when do you see Wednesday returning? I can’t see it in the next ten years. 

I would say Wednesday have an illustrious history but a scary future. I don not class is as a big club (currently). People say we have potential. But we have had it for 22 years and so many clubs have overtaken us and got to the premier league even if only for a brief spell. 
 

I genuinely hope that changes. As I can’t fully remember is in the premiership. 

[PaoloDiCanio12]

11 minutes ago, TheSlicer said:

The three clubs that were relegated in 2000 from the premier league were us, Watford and Wimbledon. 
 

of the three relegated only Watford have returned, several times. Wimbledon have folded, started again, and are now climbing the pyramid. (Not even sure if they may be in the same league as us next year)
 

Those stats you have posted cannot be argued with. But it’s living in the past. We have not been in the top flight in 22 years. In those 22 years how many clubs have been back in the top flight? Some for the very first time in their history! And are still there. Realistically when do you see Wednesday returning? I can’t see it in the next ten years. 

I would say Wednesday have an illustrious history but a scary future. I don not class is as a big club (currently). People say we have potential. But we have had it for 22 years and so many clubs have overtaken us and got to the premier league even if only for a brief spell. 
 

I genuinely hope that changes. As I can’t fully remember is in the premiership. 

Probably agree with that, it can be debated if we are a big club nowadays but overall it’s not up for debate, we are certainly a big club.

[Guest Mcguigan]

56 minutes ago, PaoloDiCanio12 said:

The 30k stat is futile mate, completely different time in our glory days, if you want to me to show what our attendance is worth now I will: The top attendance we got in our last glory days were the 4th best supported in the top league of English football, the 4th best is now 60k(I’m not saying we would get this in today’s times,) our usual attendance in the 90s was the 8th best, the 8th best attendance is now 40k, so how can the 30k average be significant? 
 

On crowds we can’t not be a big club, we are the 11th best supported club in the country on all time total attendance and still get very loyal crowds for how poor we have been and how expensive the tickets, when tickets have been reduced we have got 30k+ crowds on many occasions despite being in the 2nd division (arsenal, cardiff, derby, villa.)

 

How can we benefit from a 6k away end when the highest we can hold is 4500 and we only give leeds Sheff Utd etc that amount, the regular allocation is 3700 which little to no clubs sell out, if every club sold 3700 we would’ve averaged 28k this season and the season we finished 4th, 31k would’ve been there, 

 

So that clearly proves that our crowds certainly warrant big club status and that’s not mentioning the honours we have won (top 15 in English football) but if you ask me now if we are a big club, I would say overall, certainly, current infrastructure, no. 

How can it be futile when it’s a clear fact. Your posting guesswork.

 

Through the nineties, especially the mid to late nineties, loads of clubs in the Premier League were averaging 30k+. 
 

There was also plenty of clubs who’s grounds couldn’t hold 30k that would have done it as well like West Ham, Leicester, Southampton, Forest etc.

 

We had plenty of capacity to do it also but never did. The season we were relegated from the PL, we didn’t even get to 25k, how’s that a big club?
 

[PaoloDiCanio12]

13 minutes ago, Mcguigan said:

How can it be futile when it’s a clear fact. Your posting guesswork.

 

Through the nineties, especially the mid to late nineties, loads of clubs in the Premier League were averaging 30k+. 
 

There was also plenty of clubs who’s grounds couldn’t hold 30k that would have done it as well like West Ham, Leicester, Southampton, Forest etc.

 

We had plenty of capacity to do it also but never did. The season we were relegated from the PL, we didn’t even get to 25k, how’s that a big club?
 

It is not guesswork, what I said was clear fact too, I’m just saying it’s incomparable as crowds were completely different in our glory days.

 

Late  90s were when we were on the downfall, getting lower half table finishes, we never dropped into bottom 3 of attendances in this time period, in our glory days (early 90s) only Man U, arsenal and Liverpool averaged more than 30k  in this time period, how do you expect us to average more than them, we still got more than the title winners at the time and the 4th highest attendance, how’s that not a big club? 
 

Leicester and Southampton etc get 30k+ now but every season when we were last in top flight they were getting smaller crowds than us? Our attendance was usually the 8th best in the top flight, you can look that up if you wish, the 8th best is now 40k, so the pl has changed beyond comprehension, based on that how is the 30k average significant? 

I agree to disagree though but those are the facts.

Edited May 17, 2021 by PaoloDiCanio12

[Nut]

We are a big club, just not a very succesful one for the last 20 years.