Well the 21/22 season has seen fans return to Non-League football and today we are going to be looking at the National League average attendances so far the season.
23) Dover Athletic - 922
Is this really a suprise? Dover Athletic sit bottom of the National League table on -5 points. When they were hit with the 12 point deduction Dover looked dead and buried before the season even started. A shockingly poor season leaves Dover still in negative figures in February. They have averaged 922 in to the Crabble Stadium so far this season so it can't be a massive shock.
22) Boreham Wood - 928
Now I see this one as a bigger shock because Boreham Wood look well on course for a title charge so this one suprises me more. Meadow Park is one of the smaller grounds in the division yet still they sit very low in the rankings. They have proved they can fill the ground with their home FA Cup ties against St Albans City and AFC Wimbledon in which they both surpassed the 3.5k mark. This proves to me that most people living in Boreham Wood would rather go watch Arsenal or Tottenham then watch the Wood - which is understandable. Respect to the Boreham Wood fans who watch week in week out.
21) Weymouth - 1,150
Weymouth are 21st in this list and the same in the League table. Home form hasn't been great for Weymouth but these are decent numbers. We are over the 1k mark now and Weymouth must be fairly happy with these numbers. A poor season though so far, only 3/15 home wins this season for the Terras.
20) King's Lynn Town - 1,162
King's Lynn have also not been having a great season looking destined for relegation. The Linnets could be be doing slightly better considering the ground capacity which can fit more. King's Lynn have been very much relying on home form this season so they have seen some great wins but also some big losses like a 2-6 loss to Wrexham. Overall not too bad.
19) Maidenhead United - 1,289
Maidenhead United have produced some great wins at York Road so far this season. Interestingly 6/7 of their wins this season have been at home. They have impressed the home fans but regularly let down the away supporters. Some of these home wins consist on 3-2 wins over Woking, Wrexham and Notts County but have only let down on a few occasions these include 1-4 loss to Dagenham & Redbridge. and a 0-4 loss to Solihull Moors.
18) Wealdstone - 1,461
Wealdstone on average fill 40% of their ground this season. These are quite strong numbers. Wealdstone currently sit 16th in the league and haven't lost at home in 2022. They have won home games against teams such as Yeovil Town and Dover Athletic lately. Wealdstone have been quite impressive this season and reasonably well at home.
17) Barnet - 1,540
The Hive Stadium is a standard football league stadium. It can fit about 6000 and most are seated. On paper 1.5k in out of a possible 6k isn't great but that's understandable with the location and the home form. Barnet have only won 4/13 home games and with big Premier League teams nearby. A very similar situation to Boreham Wood just the football is different at the moment.
16) Solihull Moors - 1,660
Solihull Moors fill most of their ground. Solihull Moors have had fantastic home form this season ranking 5th in home form. Their last 2 home games have been 5-0 wins over Altrincham and Dover Athletic. Again, I respect the fans who turn up week in week out with Birmingham, Coventry and Aston Villa just up the road that is impressive. The Moors highest home attendance this season is the 1-2 loss against Wigan Athletic where they got 3.7k in.
15) Dagenham & Redbridge - 1,766
The Daggers have been solid this season and have won half of their home games. Very similar to Barnet and a standard, strong League Two capacity of 6k. Sitting 10th of the league some results have been great some have been bad. The home performances are good and the Ground is nice. They get under just under 2k in out of a possible 6k which is filling just about 30%.
14) Aldershot Town - 1,922
The Recreation Ground can fit 7k in and Aldershot Town have the 3rd worst home form in the league. They have been let down by home performance but should get more in every week. I think 2k is good for Aldershot but I think they can get more. Their highest attendance this season is when they got 3,699 in for the derby against Woking which they drew 1-1.
13) Bromley - 2,056
Bromley have been having a great season as they sit 5th. They have the 3rd best home form in the league this season having only lost to Boreham Wood, Yeovil Town and Stockport County. Their highest home attendance this season was on Boxing Day against Southend United where they got 3,759 in Hayes Lane.
12) FC Halifax Town - 2,174
Halifax Town have been having a remarkable season and hosted some classics at The Shay this season including a 7-4 win over Maidenhead United in the FA Cup. Interestingly, they have only filled 15% of the Shay this season but considering the capacity of 14k. The highest home attendance so far this season was against Wrexham where they got 3,344 to watch Halifax lose a lead late on suffering a 1-2 defeat.
11) Altrincham - 2,246
Altrincham currently sit in 18th placed having lost half of their home games this season. The J Davidson Stadium can only fit 6k in and they average just under half there. The highest home attendance was against Stockport County where they got 3.9k in to watch a 1-4 loss. Altrincham have terrible form as of late and all four of their home wins came in the first five games of the season, with the last home win coming in early October 2021.
10) Yeovil Town - 2,298
Yeovil Town haven't won many at Huish Park and only average filling 25% of the ground so far this season. Huish Park has a capacity just shy of 10k. Yeovil haven't won a home league game since December 2021 when they beat Barnet 1-0. Their highest home attendance this season was against Bournemouth in the FA Cup where they lost 1-3 in front of 7,818 people. The highest league attendance was against Weymouth where 3,936 to watch their 1-1 draw,
9) Eastleigh - 2,352
Eastleigh have been on form at home this season for the majority of the season. They on average have the highest percentage of their ground filled each week averaging 80% of Silverlake Stadium full each week. The ground only has a capacity of 3k. Their highest home attendance was against Chesterfield in late January 2022 where they got 3,076 to watch the 0-1 loss.
8) Torquay United - 2,576
Torquay United have pulled off some great home results this season with notable wins against Wrexham and Stockport County. Torquay overall have been bang average this season but fill 40% of Plainmoor each week. Torquay's highest home attendance this season was against Yeovil Town. They won 3-0 in front of 3,830.
7) Woking - 2,792
Woking average filling 45% of Kingfield Stadium each week and sit 15th at the moment. The best home win this season was against Chesterfield which they won 3-1 thanks to 2 late goals. Their highest home attendance was against Aldershot Town and they lost 2-3. There were 5,171 in attendance.
6) Southend United - 5,459
Quite a significant difference between 6th and 7th but I have nothing but respect for Southend United fans. There were 2 relegations on the bounce and a average first season back so far. Roots Hall can fit 12k in and it's a classic ground. The highest home attendance so far is 8,070 against Bromley which they won 2-0.
5) Grimsby Town - 5,648
Yet again a fanbase I somewhat respect. Blundell Park is just shy of a 10k capacity but on average fill 59% of the ground. Grimsby are 8th at the moment with the best home form in the league, only losing 3 out of 15. The highest home attendance was against Notts County where 7,213 people were watching. Notts County scored a late winner to grab 3 points.
4) Chesterfield - 5,739
Chesterfield have been having a great season and are unbeaten at home. They have 5 games coming up in the next months. The Technique Stadium can fit 10k in and opened in 2010. The highest home attendance this season had been was against Hakifax Town where they got 8,106 to watch the Halifax game. The drew 1-1 thanks to a late equaliser.
3) Stockport County - 6,283
Edgeley Park is in my opinion one of the best Non-League ground out there with the atmosphere being amazing and a lot of passionate Stockport fans. They haven' had amazing home form but great away form, in fact the best in the league. They fill 58% on average. They highest attendance this season at Edgeley Park was against Bolton Wanderers in the FA Cup in which the won 5-3 and filled the ground up to 10,084. The highest home league attendance was against Chesterfield where they drew 2-2 with 10,236 people watching.
2) Notts County - 6,936
The oldest football club in the world has fallen into Non-League and now only fills 32% of it's 21k capacity. The fans that still go must be gutted to still be in the National League especially in 9th place. They have the 4th best home form in the league and let down by away form. Their highest home attendance has been against Solihull Moors where 12,843 people oversaw County win 2-0 also smashing the Non-League record for most people at a game!
1) Wrexham - 8,202
It's ridiculous to think that Wrexham are producing such large numbers still despite all these years in Non-League. And Wrexham have on average the highest average attendance this season throughout all of Non-League. This shows how devoted some of these fans are especially fans of clubs here with long history in the football league. They on average fill 53% of the 15.5k capacity of the Racecourse Ground. Their highest attendance of the season was against Torquay United where they squeezed 9,813 people to watch their 1-1 draw.
On a final note I have massive respect for all of the people who watch these games and in particular congratulations to Notts County for breaking the record, it is truly ubelievable.
Photo courtesy of Wrexham AFC twitter
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