Our General Support In London league Table?

[Stanley]

To be honest I would rather have 10-15k " proper" QPR than 25k people who just want to see premiership football look at Fulhams support 12k proper fans and the rest made up of tourists

Nice thought but in the real world you simply cant turn your nose up at that extra 10-15k of 'jonny-come-lately' support, when its paying for wages, transfers, ground improvements, etc, etc...

[Rangersw12]

Nice thought but in the real world you simply cant turn your nose up at that extra 10-15k of 'jonny-come-lately' support, when its paying for wages, transfers, ground improvements, etc, etc...

And thats why modern football is rubbish

[Kit]

This is quite a typical comment and one I don't buy into. Yeah Chelsea's crowds may fall to around 35000 buts that about it, just because they hit a trough in the 80s doesn't mean its going to happen again same with Newcastle. We hit a peak in the 70s of 25000 - that was nearly 2 generations ago watching the greatest QPR team there will ever be.

We are a small London club that is the truth but we are a proper football team where 10-15% of our support follow our team away.

And Fulham were bringing crowds of over 20,000 were they 8 years ago, don't think so. No reason at all why, if we were successful we could get crowds of 25-30,000 in 5 to 10 years time. Granted if we don't get success we won't get the crowds and will remain a small/medium team but if we were top half of prem we could pull in 20k plus almost straight away, remembering people wouldn't just go to watch us they would go to see Arsenal, Liverpool, Man Utd etc etc
I am certainly not claiming we are a BIG club but of course we could be if we started winning things, it is all based on success ! Just ask any Liverpool or Man Utd fan who is from London or Southern Counties and supports a northern team !

[stanistheman]

This is quite a typical comment and one I don't buy into. Yeah Chelsea's crowds may fall to around 35000 buts that about it, just because they hit a trough in the 80s doesn't mean its going to happen again same with Newcastle. We hit a peak in the 70s of 25000 - that was nearly 2 generations ago watching the greatest QPR team there will ever be.

We are a small London club that is the truth but we are a proper football team where 10-15% of our support follow our team away.

Yes, that was the average crowd at QPR in that season, but don't forget that in the mid-70s football hooliganism was at its peak and many clubs struggled to get big crowds.

Football crowds have risen dramatically since the 70s. I seem to recall reading somewhere that attendances were at their peak during the late 40s & 50s.

They went into decline during the 60s,70s &,80s, largely due to hooliganism and the poor facilities. They started to rise again in the mid-90s and unfortunatlely, QPR then went into decline and have missed out on the bigger crowds.

Prem League attendances have since started to decline for many clubs, due to the high cost for tickets.

I agree with New Cross R that a new stadium or at least a bigger and more comfortable LR with better views would be likely to see QPR attract bigger gates, especially if they make it to the Prem League.

There is a very big catchment area in West & North West London and a successful QPR team, in a better stadium, has a good chance of attracting many of the football fans living in the area.

[stanistheman]

And Fulham were bringing crowds of over 20,000 were they 8 years ago, don't think so. No reason at all why, if we were successful we could get crowds of 25-30,000 in 5 to 10 years time. Granted if we don't get success we won't get the crowds and will remain a small/medium team but if we were top half of prem we could pull in 20k plus almost straight away, remembering people wouldn't just go to watch us they would go to see Arsenal, Liverpool, Man Utd etc etc
I am certainly not claiming we are a BIG club but of course we could be if we started winning things, it is all based on success ! Just ask any Liverpool or Man Utd fan who is from London or Southern Counties and supports a northern team !

I agree.

It is about winning trophies. And if QPR had a reasonable team competing against the likes of Man U, Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool, then I feel confident that in a decent stadium, QPR would sell out many home games.

There are a number of clubs with decent travelling support. Apart from the four above, there are Tottenham, West Ham, Fulham, Portsmouth, Everton, Villa, Sunderland, Man City and all would bring 3-000-7,000 (depending on league positions).

I would say that QPR could easily attract a 25,000 crowd for nearly every home game and against some clubs, even get 30,000. That's how many crammed into LR in April 1976 to see QPR play Leeds. And this during the era where large hooligan elements put many fans off from watching football.

[Stanley]

There is a very big catchment area in West & North West London

About 3.5 million to be more precise.

Given the right marketing and coninued growth over the next few years, I'd say attracting another 10-15k would be a conservative estimate.

[Nodge70]

About 3.5 million to be more precise.

Given the right marketing and coninued growth over the next few years, I'd say attracting another 10-15k would be a conservative estimate.

If only it was that easy!

Transport links in North and West London are excellent so many of those floating 3.5m will find it just as easy to get to Arsenal, Chelsea or Spurs (even Watford, Reading, Wycombe or Milton Keynes!).

Lot of hard work to be done.

Fulham aimed their community and marketing strategies firmly across the river, cashing in on Wimbledon's demise (remember, they were averaging over 20,000 in their Premier League days at Selhurst with huge numbers of floaters and away fans) and cutting into Crystal Palace's usual territory. We'd be competing directly with all those clubs I've previously mentioned. Palace and to a lesser extent Charlton, massively underperform in this respect.

[RamseyR]

, why wouldn't or couldn't we return to those mid 70's crowds.

In the 70s we didn't have to compete with the big four on TV every week, and the celebrity culture of footballers. Most local kids in Wembley grew up supporting the R's, although most of the young asian kids that affiliated themselves with a club for the first time chose Liverpool as they were the dominant force at the time. Now it would be Man U, Arsenal, Liverpool, Chelsea.

Why would they choose anyone else when force fed a diet of them four on TV week in, week out.

Perhaps I was a glory hunter in the early 70s when I started supporting the Rs, but i was just lucky they were my local team.

[stainrod10]

How far could we move up the table in years to come?

With some serious investment in the team/winning more matches/climbing the table/promotion etc. etc.

[themodfather]

what about affordable?
THEN WE MIGHT FILL EMPTY SEATS!!!

£20-25 is about right for loftus rd and many clubs in our lge are about that price too...

its always a results business and we just win that many...sadly.
we attract our die hard support of 12000 and struggle to build on it...
pricing out the families and thereby the next generation is business suicide....
SABOTAGE!
if they start watching prem games on tv, they will forget qpr and follow the big 4...does that help the long term plans at qpr, no!

[LOOPYHOOP]

I work with 6 QPR fans in basingstoke and 5 of those don't go,I'd say we're easily above Charlton and fulham,we would sell out easily in the prem in the current climate and would need a new ground.

[Rich]

Seeing as the original statement doesn't include actual numbers of fans at the games the answer becomes very straightforward for me.

1) QPR
2) Everybody else
3) Fulham