Championship: fourth best-supported league in Europe

[JTG]

Out of curiosity, if the Gas were to end up in a similar place to City, would you want them to win the play-offs, or lose....... honest question, honest !!

In the unlikely event that we got ourselves a sane and competent board of directors and ended up where you are then I'd want us to win of course.

This doesn't really change my assessment of the Prem as being a predictable uncompetitive pile of shit though.

 

[Jografer]

.... I'd want us to win of course.

This doesn't really change my assessment of the Prem as being a predictable uncompetitive pile of shit though.

..... snap, then....

 

[editor]

Out of curiosity, if the Gas were to end up in a similar place to City, would you want them to win the play-offs, or lose....... honest question, honest !!

I'm glad Cardiff didn't get promoted, to be honest. But an FA Cup win would do nicely!

 

[Jografer]

I'm glad Cardiff didn't get promoted, to be honest. But an FA Cup win would do nicely!

& it would have been the first championship/cup double for over 20 years as well....

 

[aylee]

The point is, you could have predicted all of this last August. I mean, Manchester United and Chelsea emerging from the pack to contend for the title? Well I never! It's just unprecedented excitement!

But you're falling into the same trap as the media, and focusing purely on the title race. I have found this one of the most exciting seasons in recent years .... and that's not just because my team have done relatively well.

 

[upsidedownwalrus]

Personally I have to admit I would hate for west ham to be perpetually stuck in the championship. Being a yoyo team is the way to go. We've come down to the end of the season with something to play for in all but this season over the last 5 or so

2003 - had to win to have any chance of staying up
2004 - sneaked into play off final - lost.
2005 - sneaked into play off final - won
2006 - got to FA cup final - lost very unluckily to the european champions
2007 - stayed up controversially on the last day

 

[Jografer]

I have found this one of the most exciting seasons in recent years ....

I'm glad that you have.....

..... but baffled how you have...

 

[upsidedownwalrus]

It's the thrilling spectacle of huge clubs like Villa and Everton duking it out for the glory of... fifth place

 

[JTG]

But you're falling into the same trap as the media, and focusing purely on the title race. I have found this one of the most exciting seasons in recent years .... and that's not just because my team have done relatively well.

so as long as we accept that the title is out of reach for all but three clubs and that all everyone else has to play for is safety or a UEFA spot then it's exciting?

great.

 

[spacemonkey]

Mainly this is to do with the unusually even spread of resources. There are big fish in the Championship, but none is really that big. The TV money gets dished out fairly. It's like a model of a wonderfully egalitarian society, where almost everyone - there is still a genuine gulf between Colchester at the bottom and Sheffield United near the top - gets an almost-fair go.

That gulf might seem big now, but they only finished 11 places apart last season.

 

[Maltin]

I think the claim is misleading. I believe that it is using total attendance to come up with this claim. It compares the Championship to Italy, which when one considers that there are nearly half as many games again in the Championship compared to Serie A, it is unsurprising that the total attendances are higher

I found some averages on ESPNsoccernet, but for some of the divisions outside England and Scotland, they only seem to be using 8 games as a basis, so the averages are not accurate but the rankings are probably close to actual:

Germany 43,148
Premier League 36,150
Spain 28,756
Italy 24,651
France 23,169
Dutch 18,765
Championship 17,037
MLS 15,724
Scottish Premier League 15,549
Russia 14,060
Portugal 11,233


League One 7,993
League Two 4,349
Scottish Division One 2,435
Conference 1,833
Scottish Division Two 963
Scottish Division Three 476

http://soccernet.espn.go.com/stats/attendance?league=eng.1&year=2007&cc=5739

http://soccernet.espn.go.com/stats/attendance?league=ger.1&cc=5739

http://soccernet.espn.go.com/stats/attendance?league=usa.1&year=2008&cc=5739

I think the German figures are wrong. Stuttgart's average is double their capacity!

On the DFB website, they don't show current averages, but the average for last year was 37,644.

For the second division it was over 15,000.

http://www.bundesliga.de/en/statistik/saison/index.php

 

[Maltin]

I can't express how much more enjoyable it is watching your team on proper terracing, where you can walk about, talk to old friends and move around as you fancy.

It's not like that for most fans of Championship teams.

Apparently, these are the only (English) League clubs currently with some terracing left:

Accrington Stanley
Barnet
Brentford
Bristol Rovers
Cardiff City
Carlisle United
Cheltenham Town
Chester City
Chesterfield
Colchester United
Dagenham & Redbridge
Hartlepool United
Hereford United
Macclesfield Town
Morecambe
Peterborough United
Rochdale
Scunthorpe United
Wrexham
Wycombe Wanderers
Yeovil

Of which only Cardiff and Colchester were in the Championship and both of whom are due to move to all-seater stadia next season.

Carlisle are the only team on the list who could move up to the Championship next season. As far as I can tell, they do not have any plans to make their stadium all-seater just yet.

 

[Maltin]

top flights of Spain, England & Wales and Germany.

Lo siento, I think you will find that it is the top flight of England. Wales have their own league, which isn't very well supported.

 

[The Black Hand]

I am not sure whether this is doing football anygood though. I saw Sheff Wed V Plymouth and Sheff Wed were the victims of a very physical Plymouth approach. When Sheff Wed played the ball on the ground Plymouth had nothing, yet they are higher up the league.

 

[Harold Hill]

Before anyone gets too carried away with the Championship, even if you don't support one of the few teams with little to play for there this season, for appox £25 the football is nearly always terrible.

A bigger collection of poor teams this season I can't recall in this division for a while.

Although the Bundesliga is top and Bayern aside, even the games with Bremen and Schalke (the 2 most likely after Bayern) on Setanta are dull as ditchwater.