How Peter Swales became City chairman

[berryblue]

Big Mal betrayed Sir Joe too, when he sided with Swales.

Correct, he wanted Joe's job.

 

[Bluesince1979]

I've always questioned the notion of under recorded attendances though many seemed much lower than they appeared.
Each turnstile was fitted with a non-resettable counter geared to increment each quarter turn and while the police couldn't care less about the reported attendances they would know financial offences were being committed if the cash received was higher than was being declared. - This assumes City had standard counters on the turnstiles.
I note you stated years 1983 to late 1980s, is this because you believe the police were likely to be more interested from a safety point of view following Hillsborough?

Didnt swales and halford have their own turnstyle ?

Sickened me when i saw halford lift the FA cup. He was part of the problem

 

[East Level 2]

Didnt swales and halford have their own turnstyle ?

Sickened me when i saw halford lift the FA cup. He was part of the problem

The phrase "chairman's turnstile" has been used about many clubs but never proven at the professional level AFAIK.
As for Bernard; yes, he was part of the problem, particularly the way the ticket office was run while he was club secretary.
I know a lady who had to give up her season ticket for one season due to working on a Saturday. When she became a season ticket holder again she went from a regular (5 years plus) to new rather than losing just one year. When she questioned this she was told it was as instructed by Bernard Halford.

 

[Blueboy73]

The phrase "chairman's turnstile" has been used about many clubs but never proven at the professional level AFAIK.
As for Bernard; yes, he was part of the problem, particularly the way the ticket office was run while he was club secretary.
I know a lady who had to give up her season ticket for one season due to working on a Saturday. When she became a season ticket holder again she went from a regular (5 years plus) to new rather than losing just one year. When she questioned this she was told it was as instructed by Bernard Halford.

It's probably been covered on here already as I haven't read every post but I know for a fact that the Rags who "obtained" tickets in the North Stand for Maine Road Derbies got these via Halford.
I worked with a guy who knew family members of Halford, he had a couple of Rag mates who got tickets in the North stand this way and said they weren't the only ones.

 

[BillCarlisle]

I was baffled by the timing of the Flitcroft sale at the time but was told recently that we could have gone under without the money we got from Blackburn for his transfer.

That would appear to be correct. The book Caught Beneath The Landslide covers it in some detail. It seems there was no "could " about it either.

 

[Scaring Europe to Death]

I've always questioned the notion of under recorded attendances though many seemed much lower than they appeared.
Each turnstile was fitted with a non-resettable counter geared to increment each quarter turn and while the police couldn't care less about the reported attendances they would know financial offences were being committed if the cash received was higher than was being declared. - This assumes City had standard counters on the turnstiles.
I note you stated years 1983 to late 1980s, is this because you believe the police were likely to be more interested from a safety point of view following Hillsborough?

One attendance that always puzzled me was the 21,713 v Chelsea on a Friday night towards the end of 83-84, when by common consent, the visitors brought circa 8,000
Strange when compared to 20,787 for the visit of Cambridge the following week, especially as City had nothing to play for.

Also, some of the home cup attendances in 87-88. I could normally guess to within 250 of the official figure, but when Watford and Huddersfield visited I was thousands out.

 

[kippaxbooboy]

One attendance that always puzzled me was the 21,713 v Chelsea on a Friday night towards the end of 83-84, when by common consent, the visitors brought circa 8,000
Strange when compared to 20,787 for the visit of Cambridge the following week, especially as City had nothing to play for.

Also, some of the home cup attendances in 87-88. I could normally guess to within 250 of the official figure, but when Watford and Huddersfield visited I was thousands out.

West brom at home 1989 promotion season was just corrupt, main stand full, north stand full, kippax full, platt lane half full of baggies. Attendance 25,000, capacity 52,000?

 

[Mad Eyed Screamer]

West brom at home 1989 promotion season was just corrupt, main stand full, north stand full, kippax full, platt lane half full of baggies. Attendance 25,000, capacity 52,000?

Bournemouth the 3-3 final home game same season.
Capacity 48,000
Ground packed on 3 sides with 200 - 300 Bournemouth in Platt Lane. Which held 7 or 8,000
So take off 8 from 48 and you have a crowd of 40,000.
Attendance given was 30,564

FA Youth Cup final v the rags 1986 attendance given as 18,000. At the players reunion in 2013, Halford admitted there was 28,000 there.

 

[kippaxbooboy]

Bournemouth the 3-3 final home game same season.
Capacity 48,000
Ground packed on 3 sides with 200 - 300 Bournemouth in Platt Lane. Which held 7 or 8,000
So take off 8 from 48 and you have a crowd of 40,000.
Attendance given was 30,564

FA Youth Cup final v the rags 1986 attendance given as 18,000. At the players reunion in 2013, Halford admitted there was 28,000 there.

Just been watching the Bournemouth goals on YouTube some great scenes on the kippax, turned off at 3-0!

 

[Andrew Keenan]

I note you stated years 1983 to late 1980s, is this because you believe the police were likely to be more interested from a safety point of view following Hillsborough?

1983 was the year that gate-sharing ended in the Football League. Prior to the 1983-84 season clubs had to pay 20% of their gate money to the away team, while a further 4% was distributed equally among all Football League clubs. Fiddling the attendances just wouldn't have been tolerated by the other clubs when the gate money was being shared.

I'm not sure why the underrecording ended in the late 1980s. Hillsborough may well have played a role, though the influx of TV money during this period did change the financial incentives for some club owners.