| Our crowds these days compared to years gone by.... 10:48 - Jan 24 with 5673 views | thehat |
Just watched Clive's pick from the Sheff Wed game back in 1988 - I was one of the hardy souls in a crowd of just over 8K - I also remember days in the early Premier League when we still struggled to get over 13k.
Isn't it great despite our recent troubles on the pitch to see Loftus Road packed to the rafters and a whole new generation of fans coming through the ranks.
Our fanbase certainly seems to have grown in recent seasons and it looks like giving the lower school end to home fans with cheaper tickets will help this trend continue.
The future is bright........ |  | | |  |
| Our crowds these days compared to years gone by.... on 11:03 - Jan 24 with 3080 views | daveB |
I think crowds everywhere have gone up, Chelsea used to get quite low crowds, very few grounds were ever sold out |  | | |
| Our crowds these days compared to years gone by.... on 11:20 - Jan 24 with 2967 views | loftboy |
Our away following has definitely gone up, barely missed a away game through the late 80’s and we’d barely have a couple of hundred at some games, the lowest being under 80 at Anfield a few days after the milk cup semi final. |  |
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| Our crowds these days compared to years gone by.... on 11:34 - Jan 24 with 2877 views | GaryBannister86 |
| Our crowds these days compared to years gone by.... on 11:03 - Jan 24 by daveB |
I think crowds everywhere have gone up, Chelsea used to get quite low crowds, very few grounds were ever sold out |
Yes - exactly. You just can't compare. I've been to home games in the PL watching Les, Ray, Wegs and barely 10,000 there. Or away ends at Chelsea that weren't sold out.
If I remember right, Loftus Road wasn't even anywhere near sold out for our SF against Liverpool in 86. Imagine that now, you would need evidence of a QPR tattoo on your genitalia to even be allowed to apply for tickets. |  | | |
| Our crowds these days compared to years gone by.... on 11:45 - Jan 24 with 2797 views | Wilkinswatercarrier |
I think alot has to do with what was going on in and outside the grounds during the 1980s. I am amazed my Dad took me back then considering the problems associated with football at the time.
And I've just checked, and yes I was there, Upper Loft (Dad refused to go in the Lower Loft, to many ruffians) | | | |
| Our crowds these days compared to years gone by.... on 11:47 - Jan 24 with 2782 views | BrianMcCarthy |
| Our crowds these days compared to years gone by.... on 11:20 - Jan 24 by loftboy |
Our away following has definitely gone up, barely missed a away game through the late 80’s and we’d barely have a couple of hundred at some games, the lowest being under 80 at Anfield a few days after the milk cup semi final. |
As a teenager in the 80's the big chat about upcoming away games was whether we'd bring enough to be safe if we got attacked. |  |
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| Our crowds these days compared to years gone by.... on 11:48 - Jan 24 with 2764 views | stowmarketrange |
Home games against Man Utd sometimes had only 10k there,and we regularly had 5 figures crowds.
I went on Daphne’s special train to Villa in May 1977 and I doubt that there were more than 50 away fans there that night. |  | | |
| Our crowds these days compared to years gone by.... on 11:57 - Jan 24 with 2721 views | thehat |
| Our crowds these days compared to years gone by.... on 11:03 - Jan 24 by daveB |
I think crowds everywhere have gone up, Chelsea used to get quite low crowds, very few grounds were ever sold out |
What I like Dave is the profile of our fans - Whilst Chelsea is rammed with corporate and tourists when I look around Loftus Road whilst there are still plenty like me 55+ there is also a great young section (18 -25 year olds) coming through - I think the safe standing has also helped here.
Clive mentioned in one of his articles about the increase of Mums & Dads with Sons and Daughters which also seems to be on the rise.
Great to see and long may it continue.... | | | |
| Our crowds these days compared to years gone by.... on 12:00 - Jan 24 with 2696 views | joe90 |
| Our crowds these days compared to years gone by.... on 11:47 - Jan 24 by BrianMcCarthy |
As a teenager in the 80's the big chat about upcoming away games was whether we'd bring enough to be safe if we got attacked. |
Was it really that bad?! |  | | |
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| Our crowds these days compared to years gone by.... on 12:22 - Jan 24 with 2594 views | BrianMcCarthy |
| Our crowds these days compared to years gone by.... on 12:00 - Jan 24 by joe90 |
Was it really that bad?! |
To be honest, I was in Ireland from 1975 to 1985 and I think I missed the worst of it.
I had a wise and calm bunch of friends and we nearly always managed to avoid violence. But, ya, some away days were grim. And some days we parked the car and got on the LSA bus for safety in numbers. | |
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| Our crowds these days compared to years gone by.... on 12:31 - Jan 24 with 2543 views | Paddyhoops |
I remember been at home game against Sunderland game back in 89 . Saturday game but barely 9,000 at it .
On a non home game Saturday. I would go to Highbury with my Arsenal mate. They rarely went above 20,000 apart from London derbies and Liverpool and Man Utd.
In fairness they weren’t the saftest of places back in the day but that was half the thrill for me. | | | |
| Our crowds these days compared to years gone by.... on 12:41 - Jan 24 with 2493 views | daveB |
| Our crowds these days compared to years gone by.... on 11:57 - Jan 24 by thehat |
What I like Dave is the profile of our fans - Whilst Chelsea is rammed with corporate and tourists when I look around Loftus Road whilst there are still plenty like me 55+ there is also a great young section (18 -25 year olds) coming through - I think the safe standing has also helped here.
Clive mentioned in one of his articles about the increase of Mums & Dads with Sons and Daughters which also seems to be on the rise.
Great to see and long may it continue.... |
yeah a lot of the kids who used to sit near us are now teenage and have moved to the safe standing bit, my son is chomping at the bit to get in there. The number of younger fans you see especially away is a real plus and something Lee hoos was keen to achieve when he came in. | | | |
| Our crowds these days compared to years gone by.... on 12:48 - Jan 24 with 2453 views | superstan |
I was at the game against Leeds around 1974, from memory last game of the season and we had our highest ever crowd that day around 35k, but Leeds had all the School End. | | | |
| Our crowds these days compared to years gone by.... on 12:52 - Jan 24 with 2428 views | stowmarketrange |
| Our crowds these days compared to years gone by.... on 12:00 - Jan 24 by joe90 |
Was it really that bad?! |
Yes it was.At the Villa game I mentioned above my mate and me were the only idiots who bought tickets in the stand ,and we almost got jumped at the final whistle.
We both went to the Birmingham away game a few months later and as we walked out of the station a crowd of brummies wanted to fight the two of us.There were no police escorts in those days,so we managed to outrun them and made the ground ok.
We decided to go on the terrace this time after our experience at Villa,and I think the rest of our fans were in the stands instead.
We spent the first 80 minutes moving around the vast terrace trying to avoid this gang that were looking for us.We left the game early and ran back to the station.
Another highlight of that season was Bristol City away in March 1978.We were on the same terrace as the brizzle fans,but separated by a fence.You couldn’t watch the game as you had to watch for things being thrown by the wurzels,which included pool balls,coins and stones.
We lost 1-0 and Stan broke his leg and I think it rained most of the afternoon.
I’m sure others will have worse stories than mine,but it certainly wasn’t a pleasant experience going to some away games back then. | | | |
| Our crowds these days compared to years gone by.... on 13:02 - Jan 24 with 2370 views | Nov77 |
When Trevor Francis scored that hat trick away to Villa in 1989, the attendance was 14,170.
Everyone had lower crowds back then. |  |
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| Our crowds these days compared to years gone by.... on 13:09 - Jan 24 with 2323 views | CroydonCaptJack |
| Our crowds these days compared to years gone by.... on 11:57 - Jan 24 by thehat |
What I like Dave is the profile of our fans - Whilst Chelsea is rammed with corporate and tourists when I look around Loftus Road whilst there are still plenty like me 55+ there is also a great young section (18 -25 year olds) coming through - I think the safe standing has also helped here.
Clive mentioned in one of his articles about the increase of Mums & Dads with Sons and Daughters which also seems to be on the rise.
Great to see and long may it continue.... |
I agree but I think a lot of us Dads can take a bit of credit as well.
In our group there is a lot of our lads that come, and they have all become mates with each other as well. There is also a few 'mates of mates' who love the day out even though their first teams might not be QPR. |  | | |
| Our crowds these days compared to years gone by.... on 13:19 - Jan 24 with 2268 views | thehat |
| Our crowds these days compared to years gone by.... on 13:09 - Jan 24 by CroydonCaptJack |
I agree but I think a lot of us Dads can take a bit of credit as well.
In our group there is a lot of our lads that come, and they have all become mates with each other as well. There is also a few 'mates of mates' who love the day out even though their first teams might not be QPR. |
Yeah in our group we all bring the kids and when we have any spare tickets there is always friends of the kids that want to come.
They all love the day - tube, food, pub and football and if you get a last minute Jimmy Dunne winner their friends are hooked for life......... | | | |
| Our crowds these days compared to years gone by.... on 13:21 - Jan 24 with 2254 views | Paddyhoops |
In safe standing. There are lots of sons and dad combinations.
Even Toby Young(No politics please) and his kids have appeared behind us a few times.
By the way they are constantly taking the piss out of him. 😀
His kids, that is. | | | |
| Our crowds these days compared to years gone by.... on 13:28 - Jan 24 with 2219 views | PlanetHonneywood |
| Our crowds these days compared to years gone by.... on 13:02 - Jan 24 by Nov77 |
When Trevor Francis scored that hat trick away to Villa in 1989, the attendance was 14,170.
Everyone had lower crowds back then. |
...and you could pay on the door! |  |
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| Our crowds these days compared to years gone by.... on 13:41 - Jan 24 with 2143 views | Boston |
It was the hooliganism fall out. | |
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| Our crowds these days compared to years gone by.... on 14:09 - Jan 24 with 2037 views | DavieQPR |
The crowds when we played at White City takes some beating. The game against Watford we had a crowd of just over 5,000 in a stadium that held 93,000. Plenty of legroom then. |  | | |
| Our crowds these days compared to years gone by.... on 14:32 - Jan 24 with 1939 views | stainrods_elbow |
| Our crowds these days compared to years gone by.... on 13:41 - Jan 24 by Boston |
It was the hooliganism fall out. |
https://www.european-football-statistics.co.uk/attn/nav/attnengleague.htm
This site gives an excellent overview down the years. Extrapolating, it seems that the-1950s period was the boon time for the game as far as attendances went, when, I guess, it was relatively cheap, working-class, post-war fare, grounds were spacious, and violence wasn't really a thing. The 1980s was indeed the nadir, for whatever reason or combination of reasons - hooliganism probably being the main factor. The current highs in the Prem are basically back to the 1950s in terms of crowd numbers.
Although I think many of us might agree the on-field product has, in some ways at least, considerably improved, it's also a hell of a lot more expensive and separated from the fan (and, connectedly, fun), so one would have to argue that fans/consumers have basically internalised their own economic oppression by the modern game (to get a bit Marxo-Lacanian about it). The days of polite announcements about fans getting off the pitch and three row-deep kids sitting behind the goals, as (I think) our game at Newcastle in 1973/74 depicts feel like another dimension now. Now we have 'safe standing', designated 'singing areas', and verboten/amusing songs about Arsene Wenger (not) being a paedophile have fallen foul of social engineering! It's hardly a surpise that maverick players just don't exist anymore.
Jumpers for goalposts, Tony Gubba, mum making the tea, ah . . . [Post edited 24 Jan 14:33]
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| Our crowds these days compared to years gone by.... on 14:40 - Jan 24 with 1889 views | KensalT |
| Our crowds these days compared to years gone by.... on 12:48 - Jan 24 by superstan |
I was at the game against Leeds around 1974, from memory last game of the season and we had our highest ever crowd that day around 35k, but Leeds had all the School End. |
Our record attendance at LR is an easy number to remember - 35,353 | | | |
| Our crowds these days compared to years gone by.... on 14:43 - Jan 24 with 1866 views | KensalT |
| Our crowds these days compared to years gone by.... on 13:21 - Jan 24 by Paddyhoops |
In safe standing. There are lots of sons and dad combinations.
Even Toby Young(No politics please) and his kids have appeared behind us a few times.
By the way they are constantly taking the piss out of him. 😀
His kids, that is. |
Toby Young is a strong believer in free speech.
He (deserves) can take it! | | | |
| Our crowds these days compared to years gone by.... on 14:44 - Jan 24 with 1861 views | ShotKneesHoop |
| Our crowds these days compared to years gone by.... on 14:09 - Jan 24 by DavieQPR |
The crowds when we played at White City takes some beating. The game against Watford we had a crowd of just over 5,000 in a stadium that held 93,000. Plenty of legroom then. |
In the good old days, it was always cash only entry through a turnstile. Who knows haw many were really watching?
In 1963/4 I went to the White City for most of the home games - travelling there on the 105 bus that often failed to run. The White City was a ground totally lacking in atmosphere, you could have a dozen rows of terraces to yourself because most attendances were around the 6,000 mark.
The teams used to appear out of a tunnel in the ground to the tune of "The Entry Of The Gladiators" that you could barely hear. Separated by the running track and the greyhound track and no one went behind the goals because, with the track and greyhound curve, one end was in Shepherds Bush Market and the other end was in Ladbroke Grove. Atmosphere was worse than Sunday School.
We lost to Millwall and even they couldn't be arsed to make any trouble.
In 1964/65, The R's moved back to Loftus Road. In the first home game in September, there were supposedly 10,000 in the ground to see the R's beat Peterborough 3-0 and the noise was fantastic because the pitch was so close.
However, results didn't improve on the pitch. I was there in 1965 when there were only 3,250 present (which I believe is a record for the lowest attendance ever at a QPR game) to see Brian Bedford score a hat trick to beat Oldham 3-2.
I've never ever heard a crowd make so much noise as when the R's beat Leicester 4-2 in the League Cup Quarter Final in 1967. The papers said 15,000 were there but I'm sure loads more got in over the fences.
Attendances in the 60''s 70's and 80's were even more unreliable than the weather forecasts were, because it was cash only entry on the day. Once you sell tickets, the attendance figure is more accountable.
It was so much fun in those days. "In those days", means mid sixties to mid seventies. After mid seventies, I moved away, and I could only go a few times a year and that time seems to be when crowds got really nasty.
This is the first time in 50 years that's it's starting to feel like the good old days again, because it's a proper team- playing as a team - and no-one watching game after game, can believe what they see is happening on the pitch.
[Post edited 24 Jan 15:23]
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| Our crowds these days compared to years gone by.... on 14:49 - Jan 24 with 1819 views | Juzzie |
| Our crowds these days compared to years gone by.... on 12:00 - Jan 24 by joe90 |
Was it really that bad?! |
Yeah. Hooliganism was still bad though me and my brother by and large managed to keep away from it. We never went to pubs which was a gathering/target point so the riskiest place for us was the train stations.
Was at Birmingham New Steet changing to get to West Brom (we won 1-0 with Michaeal Robinson scoring in the 1st minute, 1985 and 9k crowd for what was the equivalent of a PL fixture) and a couple of brummies asked us if we were here 'for the game' (didn't say which game) clearly wanting us to speak to find out our accent. Luckily to have the presence of mind to say "nah, my gran lives in Albrighton so we're going to visit her, not interested in football, more into F1". All true apart from we weren't going to see her that day (and we did, of course, prefer football to F1). Sometimes quick thinking was better than quick fists.
Football was also still very much frowned upon. If you said you were a football fan people would look at you as though you just murdered the Queen Mother.
Add to that the crap grounds and people just didn't want to go.
[Post edited 24 Jan 17:22]
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