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Sadly not every club can boast an increase and it is very disappointing that our own attendances at Turf Moor have actually fallen from last season. Yes, last season was after a promotion but having finished the 2000/01 season in 7th place an increase could have been expected.
The season ticket sales were down slightly and a sign of things to come was evident right from the first home game of the season against Wimbledon. An attendance of 14,473 was 651 less than the same fixture the previous season, also the first home game of the season.
In 2000/01 season we only fell below the 14,000 figure twice for the visits of Crewe and Tranmere but in the season just ended we dropped below that figure on four occasions against Crewe, Watford, Sheffield United and Birmingham. The Watford and Sheffield United attendances were lower than anything the previous season with Watford at 13,162 the lowest.
By the end of the season the average attendance was only 285 less than the previous season but what a boost it got in the last five games. With some of those attendances quite clearly boosted by the false dawn of Gazza mania it gave the average a timely boost. Before the Preston game the average was a disappointing 15,118 a staggering 1,114 less than last season's final average.
Questions need to be asked why our attendances are so disappointing. There seems no logical reason for them being so low. Even chairman Barry Kilby expressed that disappointment during the season. Until the last five games the only attendance that wasn't lower than expected was the big £5 crowd for the Grimsby game. Even the 19,602 for Manchester City was a disappointment with some 3,000 home seats empty.
The prices had gone up again, for some games the increase was £2 and that was without doubt the major factor. Next season sees some games go up a further £1 whilst those that had been given the Category A billing this season will remain at the same price.
It is difficult to see any other reason, we were top of the league for long spells and still pulling in less than in the previous season. Alarm bells should have been ringing and hopefully were.
Sadly Burnley Football Club now has a reputation amongst fans as being a club that is only interested in what it can get out of you financially. They sometimes push it too far and the obscene decision to put leaflets on the seats at the Coventry game was probably as bad as it has ever got. Still they made good paper planes.
Burnley Football Club needs to attract more people to Turf Moor but just as important is the need to keep those already there and this sort of campaign can only have a negative effect. By the way I didn't wait until half time to open my envelope, in fact it was left unopened as were many more.
I think we all accept the club's need to raise money and I don't think anyone has any argument with that but more than anything else we need to be looking at getting more people inside the Turf next season. In mid March we looked to be heading for the play offs with a seven percent drop in attendances.
Away from home we have played in front of more this season. Last season's away average was 14,820 and this season it is 15,906. It was boosted by the attendances at Manchester City, Forest and Wolves with the lowest the 5,611 at Walsall.