How do you respond to this?

[sixlashes]

ask him why he did,nt put the figures before the war?

 

[bluemoonmcfc]

I'm impressed.

 

[cityman14364]

im suprised he remembers at all i thought official records didnt begin till after 1993.. red tramp

 

[Gary James]

What some Utd fan wrote on another website.

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Just some interesting information for you.

Most blues like to say that the reason we have a larger fan base is because of munich. In the years between 1946-1957 we averaged a gate of 42,362 whereas our friendly bitter neighbours averaged 35, 913.

Even more interestingly, between 1946 and 1949 when united played at maine rd whilst reconstruction work was being done to OT after the bombings during the war, in the 1st season city won the league, but united had an average attendance of 4,662 more than city at thier own stadium. In the second season, United had an average attendance of more than 12,165 more than city at thier own stadium. In the third season, United had an average attendance of 10,109 more than city at thier own ground.

United have a higher average attendance than city for every decade since the 1940's. Between 1947 and the year before munich, there was an average of almost 7,000 more united fans attending games than city.

City were a more successful club during the 70's, yet there was a difference of over 13,000 in our average attendances, with united being the best supported club of the decade.

Manchester is blue?? give me a fucking break.

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A few facts....

Firstly he's wrong that City won the League in the 40s. We were Div 2 Champions but obviously being a division lower than utd could affect attendances. Nevertheless, City's average in 1946-47 was 39,283 while utd's was 43,945. Considering the difference in divisions I think that was more than acceptable.

Also, utd's 43,945 was at that time their highest ever average (their previous highest were 35,020 in 1920-21 and 32,332 in 1936-37). In 1910-11, their first full season at 70,000 capacity ot they attracted 19,950 (City had 26,000 in a Hyde Rd ground that was about half the capacity) - this is significant as utd also won the league that year, yet more Mancunians watched City finish 17th! Utd's crowds had increased from 16,950 in 1909-10.

The stuff about the 40s and 50s has to be seen in context. I've written a lot about this in "Manchester A Football History" and it has to be stressed that utd's crowds at Maine Rd were good for a few reasons - 1. they did have a much more successful side than City at that point. Some would say it was utd's first great side since 1911 (they won their first major trophy for 37 years while at Maine Rd). 2. City fans did go and watch utd one week and city the next, partly because of ex-Blue Busby, partly because they just wanted to see football (our reserves played at ot as part of the deal and their crowds dropped as a result).

Worth noting though that when utd moved back to old trafford their crowds dropped. In 1948-49 they attracted 48,808 at Maine rd and the following year 43,282 at old Trafford. That dropped again in 1950-51 to 39,008 (they finished 2nd in the league). City had an average of 35,016 that season and were in Div 2. For each of the seasons that followed City and utd's attendances fluctuated depending on success.

City's highest in the 50s was 38,302 in 1951-52; utd's best in the 50s prior to Munich was 45,481 (League champs in 1956-57). The average for 1957-58 was about 500 higher but this included those significant attendances post Munich.

In 1958-59 the first full season after the disaster utd's average reached 53,258 - their highest since 1947-48 at Maine rd. By the early 60s though utd's crowds had dropped to 33,358 in 1961-62 (City had 25,711 that season).
It wasn't until utd won the league in 1966-67 that their crowds reached 50,000 again. The season they won the European Cup for the first time was the one which saw utd reach 57,552 - that remained their highest until 2000-01.

So what does any of this prove? We can use stats in any way we choose to spell out a particular argument. I went to a very detailed level of analysis in "Manchester A Football History" and there are plenty of points in there that will amaze fans of all the region's clubs.

In terms of support no one can really argue against the fact that utd have had better average attendances than City since WW2 but pre WW2 the situation was reversed.

Utd's all time average attendance up to the end of 2006-07 stood at 36,438; City's was 28,624. Both figures are now increasing at a decent rate (utd's current support dwarfs their pre 1940 support so it's increasing at a very fast rate).

As far as who comes from Manchester - I wrote a chapter on this and it can easily be spun many different ways. The original sample of data provided by each club to the Manchester Met research was small in comparison with actual season ticket holders; plus it was done at a time when City had a waiting list that was higher than utd's - but no allowance was made for 'potential' attendees at either club. Plus, of course, the clubs themselves provided the data and chose not to send all their season ticket holder locations for some reason.

 

[OJ Blue]

What some Utd fan wrote on another website.

***************************
Just some interesting information for you.

Most blues like to say that the reason we have a larger fan base is because of munich. In the years between 1946-1957 we averaged a gate of 42,362 whereas our friendly bitter neighbours averaged 35, 913.

Even more interestingly, between 1946 and 1949 when united played at maine rd whilst reconstruction work was being done to OT after the bombings during the war, in the 1st season city won the league, but united had an average attendance of 4,662 more than city at thier own stadium. In the second season, United had an average attendance of more than 12,165 more than city at thier own stadium. In the third season, United had an average attendance of 10,109 more than city at thier own ground.

United have a higher average attendance than city for every decade since the 1940's. Between 1947 and the year before munich, there was an average of almost 7,000 more united fans attending games than city.

City were a more successful club during the 70's, yet there was a difference of over 13,000 in our average attendances, with united being the best supported club of the decade.

Manchester is blue?? give me a fucking break.

****************************************************

Maybe he wants to show us whether United were the best supported club in the country before Munich? Tell him not to bother, they weren't, for the record they were 5th.

Read into that stats what you will.