I was at the Manchester City v Newcastle match earlier this season, shaking my head at the Newcastle fans’ ridiculous chants of “where were you when you were s**t?”, whilst crowing about empty seats – all this from a club that used to pull in 15,000 crowds and had 10,000 empty seats just the previous week. Isn’t it ironic – don’t you think?

But then the thought occurred to me. Why the obsession with full houses and attendances anyway?

There are huge swathes of fans who wear their club’s attendances as a badge of honour, or report with glee when rivals’ attendances dip a couple of thousand. Manchester City fans will point out the attendances when we were in the third tier of English football, Manchester United fans will point out they had the highest attendances in the old days too, those dedicated Newcastle fans pack out St James Park every week, and so on.

Of course loyalty is an individual trait, and fullness of ground depends also on capacity and catchment areas and pricing structures and the traditional wealth of the fans that would attend, the opponents and so on….and global recessions of course.

You could argue that the more home fans there, the more support for the team, which aids results (though anomalies historically have shown the odd team to suffer badly under the pressure of playing in front of their own). For the owners of a club, every seat brings extra revenue, but for a premiership team, the odd thousand here and there makes up a very small percentage of total revenue.

Attendances in the old days used to vary wildly, week by week. Most games didn’t sell out. A team would get 15,000 one week, then 50,000 the next. On September 8th 1948, Manchester City v Birmingham City drew a crowd of 26,841. Three days later, 64,502 watched the Manchester derby. A dip into the archives reveals some startling attendances, and results. And games on Christmas day too (up to 1976 in Scotland, though weather prevented that last set of fixtures. It was 1959 in England, with just two games played).

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Martin Samuel wrote a couple of months ago about how “Chelsea should have exploded in Abramovich’s time, making a move to bigger premises essential”.

Samuel continued: “He (Abramovich) has done everything right. He has invested substantially in players of good quality, who have in turn delivered success. He has encouraged entertaining football, and 44 goals in 11 games this season suggest an ambition fulfilled there, too.

He even froze ticket prices for four years prior to this season, equating to a net deduction of 15 per cent, with inflation considered. So what is Chelsea’s problem? Strangely, there isn’t one. They are simply proof of how incredibly hard it is to grow a club organically beyond its traditional size.

Arsenal moved from Highbury, where the capacity at closure was 38,419, to a new stadium at Ashburton Grove holding 60,355, and filled it instantly. Yet Arsenal have long been established as the biggest club in London and at the time of leaving Highbury had a 20,000-strong waiting list for season tickets, closed for some time. This, in part, prompted their move. The board knew that, in essence, Arsenal were a club with a following of 60,000; it was just that 22,000 of them couldn’t fit inside the stadium.

Chelsea continue to look at plans to expand, but without the enthusiasm that exists elsewhere. Their big leap came between 1989 and 2003 when the average gate rose from 15,957 to 39,770. They hit the 41,000-mark the following year and have remained there since. “

Continue to PAGE TWO…

So, success brings crowds, which is logical, but there’s only so far it can help the figures. Cost is hugely important to restricting growth in attendances in recent years – just look at the Bundesliga attendances to see what can be achieved with a sensible pricing policy.

But success of course makes the casual supporter more likely to attend, and the inevitable glory hunter contingent to emerge from the woodwork. Arsenal had an average of 24,403 fans in 1992-93, but the average had risen to 38,053 by the 1997-8 season. Manchester United had an average at the end of the 1980s of 36,474, which had risen to 55,168 just 8-9 years later. From 1992-98 Everton found 15,000 new fans on average, Wimbledon doubled their attendances, as did Chelsea.

This does not tell the whole story – the 1990’s of course followed the 1980’s, and the 1980’s was a low-point in match day attendances. Poor facilities, hooliganism, and tragedy went hand in hand to put people off in their droves. The ugly spectre of Thatcher and ID cards are the abiding images for many of that period. The only way was up once Sky got involved, and football was polished, preened and placed on a pedestal.

I’ve heard it said many a time that teams like Wigan don’t deserve to be in the Premiership, as the people of the town can’t be bothered going to watch them anyway – this to me is drivel – you don’t earn premiership survival by the size of your crowd. Wigan deserve to be there as they got fairly promoted, and pick up enough points each season to stay there – end of. They have fans that attend matches regularly like any other club, just less than many of their rivals. They might not add as much as others to Sky Sports’ super-duper best league in the world viewpoint of the Premier League, but that doesn’t relinquish their right to be there.

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The question is, what will happen now to crowds? There is some evidence that gaps are beginning to appear in the premiership more and more – but the brand is strong, and even though many clubs continue to raise prices above the rate of inflation, the crowds will continue to come, in the lower leagues too.

A report a year ago of English football crowds suggested they were on course for a 50-year high if ticket sales in that season were maintained across the nation’s four professional divisions. An initial forecast by sportingintelligence was that total gates in 09/10 would be in the region of 30.4m people. That would be higher than at any time since the 1959-60 season, when 32,538,611 fans streamed through the turnstiles. Burnley won the top division that year (then the First Division), while the runners-up, Wolverhampton Wanderers, lifted the FA Cup. Aston Villa won the Second Division (now the Championship), while Southampton won the Third Division (now League One, where the Saints again reside). Walsall won the Fourth Division.

Between then and the 09/10 campaign, only one season in English football has seen total crowds go above 30 million, and that was in 1967-68, when 30,107,298 people paid to see Football League matches. Other reports had suggested this rise would not happen, as fans were increasingly being put off by increasing costs on match-day – ticket prices, refreshments and all the other costs that attending a match entails. Many interviewed even suggested watching lower league football instead as a cheaper alternative.

Attendance figures continue to suggest that these fears are unfounded however. Many a time over the last 15 years I have considered not renewing my season ticket and picking my games, but I never do (and probably never will). And as if to prove that fans continue to attend in droves, last year’s attendance figures for the three football leagues did indeed hit a new 50 year high. To put the growth of the Football League in context: total crowds in those three divisions alone last season were higher than all four divisions in England combined at the game’s low point in 1985-86, when just 16.49m people came through the turnstiles. For now, the future is still bright.

Howard Hockin

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Australia recorded a historic victory with a clinical 6-0 drubbing of Uzbekistan that sent them into the final of the Asian Cup on Tuesday.

Playing in just their second edition of the continent’s showpiece soccer event since making the move from Oceania to the Asian Football Confederation, the Socceroos enter the final for the first time where they will face Japan, who defeated South Korea on penalties in Tuesday’s earlier semi-final.

As he had done throughout the tournament, Uzbekistan manager Vadim Abramov sprung selection surprises, making four changes from the side that defeated Jordan in the quarter-finals.

Socceroos boss Holger Osieck meanwhile opted to stick with the same starting line-up that overcame Iraq on Saturday, with Brett Emerton restricted to a place on the bench despite making his return from suspension.

And the decision to stick with Matt McKay, who was favoured to make way for Emerton, paid dividends for Osieck in the just the fifth minute when the Brisbane Roar captain combined with Harry Kewell for the opening goal.

After receiving the ball from Kewell in Uzbekistan’s defensive third, McKay produced a deft turn before threading a pass back to the Socceroos striker, whose intuitive run saw him edge behind the defence and power the ball beyond the outstretched arm of Timur Juraev.

Uzbekistan responded strongly to the early setback, sticking to the possession-based game that has seen them play some of the most eye-catching football of the tournament, but could not find a way through a resolute Australian defence.

Making his record-equalling 87th appearance for his country, Socceroos goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer was called into action in the 21st minute when he comfortably saved Server Djeparov’s deflected long-range effort.

Unable to claim a decent share of possession, Australia opted to suffocate their opponents’ attacks before responding through quick bursts on the counter.

It was a tactic evidenced by David Carney’s galloping 31st minute run that saw him swerve past a couple of challenges before producing a clever chip that was palmed away by Juraev.

Just four minutes later, a looping free kick into the penalty area led to Sasa Ognenovski extending Australia’s advantage, the centre-back capitalising on some threadbare defending before sending a sharp left-footed volley into goal.

After a subdued start to the second half, Carney gave Uzbekistan an insurmountable mountain to climb when he made it 3-0 after being played through onto goal by McKay in the 65th minute.

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Uzbekistan responded as Odil Akhmedov struck the ball powerfully at goal only to be denied by an instinctive save from Schwarzer.

But any chance of a late rearguard evaporated amid a spate of defensive blunders that will ultimately leave a blemish on an otherwise memorable tournament for the Central Asian nation.

Australian substitutes Robbie Kruse and Brett Emerton combined to make it 4-0 in the 74th minute, as Kruse darted beyond a static backline before setting Emerton up to fire into an empty net.

McKay capped a superb display with his third assist, this time setting up Carl Valeri for the fifth goal, before Kruse, who injected notable spark after coming on for Kewell, netted his first international goal, albeit following some dreadful goalkeeping from Juraev.

Stoke boss Tony Pulis sang the praises of goalkeeper Thomas Sorensen on Sunday after his late penalty save helped them to a 1-0 win over Wolves.

Sorensen’s save from Nenad Milijas’ 90th-minute penalty helped Stoke through to the FA Cup round of 16 and Pulis hopes to reward the 34-year-old Dane with a new deal at Britannia Stadium, despite him playing second fiddle to first-choice ‘keeper Asmir Begovic.

The win, courtesy of a Robert Huth header from a Matthew Etherington free-kick, secured Stoke a fifth-round tie at home to Brighton.

“Thomas has been brilliant. We are hoping to sit down and do a deal with Thomas to keep him at the football club,” Pulis said.

“Begovic has been outstanding for us. As a young keeper, he has been outstanding.”

“Thomas has been waiting patiently. He has been terrific today. That is what you want, good competition.”

Pulis hit out at the FA for scheduling the fourth round in a week where there was a full set of midweek Premier League fixtures, claiming such a move disadvantages clubs with smaller squads.

“I’m a bit disappointed at the FA Cup and its placing in the calendar with the smaller clubs not having squads as strong as the top sides,” he said.

“We have got the short straw because we go to Anfield on Wednesday night and then Sunderland on Saturday morning.”

Wolves boss Mick McCarthy rued giving away what he described as a needless free-kick which resulted in Huth’s goal, but praised Stoke’s ability from set-pieces.

“Ultimately we gave away a free-kick, a needless one, and we got punished by Stoke who do it better than anyone with corners, throw ins, free-kicks and we stood up to it most the time but we didn’t on that occasion,” McCarthy said.

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“A missed penalty, it doesn’t make me unhappy with the performance.”

“I think the missed penalty is indicative or our performance because it’s a missed opportunity.”

“When we had the chance to break on Stoke it became wide open, end to end, but we didn’t really punish them and get a chance from it where we lost it.”

A potential relegation dog fight is in the offing at Bloomfield Road tonight as both teams will be desperate to get points on the board and move up the table. Ian Holloway’s Blackpool find themselves near the bottom of the form table with one win and five losses in their last six league games. Whilst the Hammers boss, Avram Grant has mentioned how important this game is for his side if they’re going to stay out of trouble come the end of the season.

The Seasiders have no fresh injury worries and could give debuts to new deadline day signings, Andy Reid and James Beattie who will provide essential Premier League experience to their make shift squad. Also, managing to keep hold of talisman, Charlie Adam, could prove vital.

The Hammers also could give debuts to their deadline day additions with Robbie Keane signing on loan with a view to a permanent move, if they stay in the top flight. Demba Ba who signed from Hoffenheim could also start but with an array of strikers it’s hard to see which pairing Avram Grant will select. Both teams have poor defensive records which could see goals although the reverse fixture earlier in the season finished 0-0.

Prediction: 2-2

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Prodigious 17 year-old Ipswich striker Connor Wickham looks to be attracting interest from some of the Premier League’s biggest clubs this season and a summer move looks to be on the cards, but at which club would Wickham shine brightest?

Powerfully built, with a decent touch and pace to burn, it’s of no surprise that Wickham is being courted by many of English football’s top tier after some scintillating displays in the Championship this season. The club to have shown the strongest and most lasting interest in the player are Spurs.

Spurs have a great tradition of signing young English players and blooding them into the first-team. The likes of Aaron Lennon, Michael Dawson and Tom Huddlestone have all benefited from such an approach in the past.

However, it could be argued that these players were allowed the necessary time to settle in the first-team and develop their natural game without any undue pressure placed upon them, with the club little more than an inconsistent top half side at the time. Whereas now, Spurs are seen by many as a club on the cusp of great things and with Redknapp looking set to lead Spurs to a sustainable title challenge over the coming seasons, there will be little time for young talent to be nurtured and broken in.

Should Redknapp sign an established striker in the summer as well as Wickham, then a move to White Hart Lane would make at least a degree of sense for both club and player. The gap in class between the top half of the Premier League and the Championship is huge at the moment though and there is a worry that too much may be expected of Wickham too soon should he move to Spurs.

It’s also worth noting that recent young players signed by Spurs have struggled to make their mark on the first-team and the likes of Danny Rose and in particular John Bostock may have come to regret moving to White Hart Lane. The club’s propensity to sign players on the cuff at the behest of manager Harry ‘triffic player, triffic’ Redknapp and a defined long-term vision could also hinder the collective wisdom of any potential deal.

There have also been rumours that Liverpool have stepped up their pursuit of Wickham. The youngster is known to be a boyhood Liverpool fan and this may count in the Merseyside club’s favour.

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The fact that Liverpool have spent so much on the likes of Andy Carroll and Luis Suarez though could mean that Wickham faces a potential long-term roadblock to his route to the starting eleven. One positive of any deal though would undoubtedly be that Liverpool would offer him the platform to perform from a  reduced role initially whereas in contrast Spurs require a striker capable of delivering the goods right now.

There is thought to be a talented crop of youngsters filtering through into the first-team squad at the moment at Liverpool, with the likes of Raheem Sterling grabbing the headlines last week. With Kenny Daglish and Damien Comolli’s shift in emphasis towards youth team development, the club are looking to offer more first-team opportunities to their youth team players and it could be a good time to join Liverpool, a club that are undoubtedly in transition.

Arsenal and Man Utd are thought to be monitoring his progress too. Arsenal would be the best place for Wickham in my opinion. Any move that Wickham may make in the summer, is likely to hinder on an agreed immediate return on loan to current club Ipswich for next season – a smart move on the youngster’s part it has to be said.

Wenger’s Arsenal has a fantastic reputation for nurturing and developing young talent; granting them the necessary first-team opportunities while at the same time educating them in the basic principles of the pass and move philosophy that has since become synonymous with the club. Arsenal already have considerable options up top to lessen the immediate burden on Wickham too with the likes of Van Persie, Chamakh and Bendtner to contend with.

The example of Theo Walcott is a decent barometer when talking about such moves. Walcott is a player that’s been widely derided in the past for the perceived lack of intelligence that he‘s displayed at times. However, he has come on in leaps and bounds this year under the astute tutelage of Arsene Wenger and he looks a much more rounded player as a result.

Man Utd are thought to be interested in Wickham too but there has been little evidence of anything concrete as yet. The expected departure of Michael Owen in the summer does open up a potential slot in the Old Trafford forward line, but the three players currently ahead of him in any proposed pecking order – Rooney, Berbatov and Hernandez – look impenetrable at the moment to say the least and they look certain to be around for some time to come.

Ferguson does have previous with concerns to splashing the cash on relatively unproven young talent – with the likes of Chris Smalling, Bebe and Obertan springing to mind – but the Scot will have more pressing matters to contend with in the summer, with other parts of the squad in serious need of an overhaul instead of the attack, which at the moment, is perfectly serviceable.

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Sunderland have had a £5m offer turned down for the player in question in the past and with Steve Bruce openly stating that he’ll be looking to strengthen his strikeforce in the summer, the Wearsiders could come into contention. Granted, it looks unlikely and Wickham’s current reputation is likely to help sceure a switch to a bigegr club, yet a move to a club like Sunderland could be ideal. Regular football, a lessening of expectations, all while garnering some top flight sexperience to boot – all in all, exactly what Wickham needs right now, but do they have between £10-12m to spend on a relatively unproven 17 year-old? It would represent a massive gamble on Sunderland’s part, more so than any of the other club’s mentioned previously and as such it looks unlikely.

Wickham is being touted around for between £10-12m, a startling price considering his relative lack of first-team experience. The premium that you pay for English talent has well and truly struck again and the potential cost may put several suitors off. But Wickham does look the real deal from what I’ve seen of him and given a bit of time and patience, he could be a real force in the top flight in the future.

Spurs look the favourites and their persistence in chasing Wickham’s signature will most probably pay off, however, I still don’t see them as being the best fit for Wickham right now. It’s a case of right club wrong time, and either the rebuilding project at Kenny Dalglish’s Liverpool or the long-term route of developing his game at Arsenal are to my mind, the best options available to the youngster.

Melbourne Victory’s 2011 AFC Champions League campaign got off to the worst possible start as they slumped to a 5-1 loss at Gamba Osaka.The Victory found themselves a goal down after just four minutes on Tuesday in Osaka when a corner from Japanese international Yasuhito Endo broke for Takuya Takei, who lashed home a fantastic shot from outside the box.It was 2-0 three minutes later when Brazilian striker Adriano coolly slotted home a penalty after Kevin Muscat brought down Lee Keun-Ho, and after 11 minutes the Japanese side had all but killed off the contest when Lee poked the ball past Victory goalkeeper Michael Petkovic to make it 3-0.Veteran Muscat pulled a goal back from the penalty spot to breathe some life into the Group E clash, but second-half goals from Takahiro Futagawa and substitute Kim Seung-yong completed the rout.In Group E’s other match, Chinese Super League runners-up Tianjin Teda had a goal from Yu Dabao 10 minutes after half-time to thank for their 1-0 win over K-League runners-up Jeju United.In Group F, Chinese outfit Hangzhou Lucheng pulled off a surprise with a 2-0 win over J-League champions Nagoya Grampus.A goal from Argentinean striker Luis Ramirez on the hour mark and another from Bali Maimaitiyili just before full-time were enough to secure all three points for the Chinese side.Draws were the order of the day in Group B, with Uzbekistan’s Pakhtakor being held to a 2-2 draw at home by Saudi Arabians Al Nasr.Sherzod Karimov opened the scoring just before half-time at the Paxtakor Markaziy Stadion with a left-foot chip from outside the area, but Bader Al Mutwa levelled proceedings five minutes after the break. Karimov scored his second to restore the Uzbek’s advantage, but Saad Al Harthi bobbed up in the 89th minute to snatch a late equaliser for the visitors.Group B’s other match saw Iranians Esteghlal play out a 1-1 draw with Qatar Al Saad, after Brazilian striker Leandro scored an 87th-minute goal to cancel out Farhad Majidi’s opener.In Group A, the United Arab Emirates’ Al Jazira played out a goalless draw with Qatar champions Al Gharafa.

We all know that the best part of the week is when Saturday comes and we get that football feeling. What’s even better than that is actually going to a game. You get that buzz inside you, putting on your colours and eating the statutory pie and chips covered in either gravy or curry sauce, depending on which half of the country you’re from.

Other than watching your side, the best part about being at a game though is cheering your team on and laughing at some of the funny chants echoing around every ground in the country. I’m starting to think that football fans don’t get enough credit for our level of intelligence, because every season the new songs seem to get more ridiculous than the last. The top teams get a lot of stick for their home support resembling a library, but away from home even they know how to have a good time. Arsenal fans have been known to ‘go mental’ at half time at various stadiums and Manchester United make one hell of a racket on the road.

But with fans coming up with new chants about their favourite players and rival clubs, I started to wonder what were the funniest ones? For the sake of publication, I had to straight away discount any which used some choice language, and opted for 10 of the more cleaner songs. So here are my top 10 funny Premier League songs at the moment. The list doesn’t include many old songs or chants about former players (unless they really deserve it) as I’ve concentrated on the more modern of times. Feel free to add to the list at the bottom with some funny, but clean, songs from your club.

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Wigan welcome Birmingham to the DW Stadium on Saturday with the battle for English Premier League survival on in earnest.Roberto Martinez’s Wigan side have won just one of their past 11 league games to sit bottom of the table on 27 points.Birmingham’s record is not much better, and although Alex McLeish’s side won the season’s first piece of silverware with a 2-1 win over Arsenal in last month’s Carling Cup final, some dire league form sees them fourth from the bottom with 31 points.Since wins against West Ham and Stoke in February, McLeish’s men have lost back-to-back home games against Newcastle and West Ham before their 1-1 draw at Everton on March 9, leaving only goal difference keeping them clear of the drop zone.In their most recent outing they suffered a heartbreaking 3-2 FA Cup quarter-final loss to Bolton at St Andrew’s on Saturday.In fairness to McLeish, Birmingham’s recent poor form is in direct correlation with the length of the club’s injury list.The Scot was without captain Stephen Carr, Lee Bowyer, winger David Bentley, midfielder Keith Fahey, defender Liam Ridgewell and strikers Craig Gardner and Nikola Zigic for the Bolton match.Midfielder Barry Ferguson and defender Martin Jiranek were forced off with injuries during the game, but with treatment both men will press their cases for selection on Saturday, while Zigic is also expected to be fit.Martinez, by contrast, has almost a full squad to choose from for the crunch game, with only defender Emmerson Boyce under a fitness cloud with a hamstring injury.

Schalke defender Joel Matip wants to repeat their first-leg effort against Inter Milan in the UEFA Champions League quarter-final.The Bundesliga side produced a dominant second half to beat the reigning European champions 5-2 at the San Siro last week.

But 19-year-old defender Matip wants his side to turn on a similarly good display in the second leg in Gelsenkirchen.

“We have a nice advantage, but given the quality of the opposition we have to be prepared for everything,” Matip said.

“We do not want to hide. The starting position is different than before the first match, but we want to treat this one with the same determination and desire as we did in Milan, and with everyone helping their team-mates.”

Matip praised both current coach Ralf Rangnick and former manager Felix Magath in aiding his development as a player.

The Cameroon defender said he was also comfortable playing as a holding midfielder and was looking forward to matching it with countryman Samuel Eto’o.

“Eto’o has helped me a lot in the national team. We have a special relationship,” Matip said.

“He is a great guy as well. I have to thank him for a lot. But if I start tomorrow, he will be just another opponent. I would fight him the same as I would every other Inter player.”

Rangnick, who has been in charge of the club for just over one month, praised the young defender for his work and focus.

Fellow defender Hans Sarpei echoed the thoughts of Matip, but said Schalke would need to be aggressive during the encounter.

“We have a comfortable lead. But this is a new game that lasts 90 minutes and we will start the match in a way that nothing can go wrong,” Sarpei said.

“We will attack as if we need to score a goal. We will not wait to see what Inter does. We will play our own game.”

Mirror Football is reporting that Manchester United have won the race to sign the Lens defender Raphael Varane. The 18 year old starlet had also being targeted by Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger. According to the report Manchester United will pay a fee in the region of £3m for 6ft3in Varane.

Raphael Varane has won caps for the French U18 and U21 sides and also broken into the Lens first- team. He has now played 17 games for Lens and has the versatility of being able to play either as a centre back or as central defensive midfield player. Lens’ youth coach Eric Assadourian has described Varane as a “truly first class player” who is “comfortable on both the tactical and technical level.”

Varane has been earmarked for a place in Manchester United’s first-team squad next season and will put pressure on fringe defenders Jonny Evans and Wes Brown.

Arsenal manger Arsene Wenger is usually king of the transfer market in his homeland – but Ferguson seems to have slipped under the radar for Varane and is expected to have the transfer confirmed soon. In a curious development the player only recently signed a new two year contract extension on 3rd February this year.

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