Leeds And Portsmouth Lead The Way

Hope and optimism abounds at the start of the football season but two attendance figures stand out from the weekend games and both show the benefits of clubs being engaged with their supporters, listening to and learning from things that are wrong.

At Elland Road, where the 2012/13 average gate was 21,572, Leeds United drew 33,432 to their game against Brighton & Hove Albion and they weren’t all there to celebrate the fact that Ken Bates was no longer connected with the club!

Sensibly priced tickets (£11 less than the corresponding fixture last season) were what encouraged the Leeds faithful to come out in force with the club’s new(ish) owners having made a positive push for a big attendance on the opening day.

It will be interesting to see how Leeds look to keep boosting attendances over the season.

Portsmouth, meanwhile, were celebrating a more entrenched form of supporter engagement as they are now the largest community-owned club in the UK.

18,181 packed out Fratton Park and, although their team suffered a heavy defeat, the majority did so because they felt a genuine part of their club and community.

Good luck to Pompey for the rest of the season

This Saturday is Sir Bobby Robson National Football Day with well over 100 events all over the country, plenty of which involve good value senior football matches to watch combined with plenty of activities to keep the kids happy.

http://nationalfootballday.thefa.com/