Premier League attendances down on previous seasons

  

After an underwhelming opening day showing in the stands, stadium attendances across the Premier League remain a step behind the levels recorded at the same stage last season after three match days.

Despite some standout fixtures, the overall average has been slow to spark into life, with no obvious explanation for the dip.

We are only three matches into the campaign so there’s no need to panic yet, but recent seasons have shown that the opening matchdays are usually the strongest, which may be a cause for concern amongst England’s elite.

Matchweek 2 set the tone with an average stadium fill of 97.7%. The headline numbers came from two of the division’s capacity heavyweights: Newcastle’s home clash with Liverpool drew near-capacity, with just 28 empty seats scattered across St James’ Park. West Ham matched that enthusiasm, registering a near-perfect 99.94% for the visit of Chelsea which ultimately ended in a 1-5 headache for West Ham’s Graham Potter.

Arsenal made up the three clubs in the increasingly-elusive 99% club, their dominant 5-0 win over Leeds helping add excitement to an encouraging start to the season for the Gunners, now armed with a plethora of new faces from the transfer market.

The picture was less impressive elsewhere. Manchester City tallied a 96.9% attendance at the Etihad for a game that ultimately ended in defeat to Spurs. The support, which is the lowest recorded by a ‘big six’ club this season, matched the underwhelming display on the pitch – which instantly punctured the optimism generated by City’s bright start against Wolves a week prior.

Fulham fared worse still, posting the lowest attendance figure of the season to date at just 92.98%.

If there were hopes of a quick rebound, Matchweek 3 offered little encouragement. The average capacity slipped fractionally to 97.4%, dragging the overall trend further away from last season’s benchmark of 98%. While the margins are narrow, the numbers remain stubbornly short of expectations for a league that prides itself on full houses and vibrant atmospheres.

Nottingham Forest and Manchester United were the only sides to top 99%, though the four different teams scoring 96% or lower killed the overall average.

With the season still in its infancy, club boards will be hoping these early figures prove to be an anomaly rather than the beginning of a wider trend. For now, the data only shows one thing: the Premier League’s attendances are limping rather than soaring.