As part of a series of articles looking at the relationship between fans and their supporters here is a look at how the Championship table would have finished if it was based on average attendance rather than the number of points accumulated. 

Link to series homepage

Figures from www.soccernet.com 

Pos Club Avg
1 Leeds United 27,299
2 Derby County 26,022
3 Norwich City 25,386
4 Leicester City 23,666
5 Nottingham Forest 23,466
6 Cardiff City 23,230
7 Hull City 21,168
8 Sheffield United 20,632
9 Ipswich Town 19,614
10 Reading 17,840
11 Middlesbrough 16,312
12 Coventry City 16,309
13 Portsmouth 15,707
14 Swansea City 15,687
15 Queens Park Rangers 15,635
16 Crystal Palace 15,351
17 Burnley 14,930
18 Bristol City 14,604
19 Watford 13,151
20 Millwall 12,438
21 Barnsley 11,855
22 Preston North End 11,767
23 Doncaster Rovers 10,258
24 Scunthorpe United 5,547

Top Three 

Pos Average Attendance Table Position Actual League Position
1 Leeds United QPR(15)
2 Derby County Norwich (3)
3 Norwich City Swansea (14)

 

Bottom Three 

Pos Average Attendance Table Position Actual League Position (avg attendance position)
22 Preston North End Preston
23 Doncaster Rovers Sheffield United
24 Scunthorpe United Scunthorpe

 

At the top of the table there is little comparison between the actual table and the attendance table with Leeds United and Derby boasting the highest attendances but finishing outside of the promotion/play-off shake up. 

The bottom of the tables do bare resemblance to each other with relegated sides Scunthorpe and Preston finishing in the same place in each table. 

The anomaly at the bottom is Sheffield United who were relegated with the eighth highest average attendance, underlining that great support cannot prevent disaster on the pitch, a hard truth that has hurt both Sheffield sides. 

We can conclude from these tables that whilst fans can impact the morale/performance of a club, a large attendance is not necessarily going to guarantee success. 

Obvious I know but the anomalies should give fans of smaller sides hope that they can overachieve and do a ‘Blackpool’

If you have a view or would like to contribute to this series contact Kristian_uk@hotmail.co.uk or add me on TWITTER