The missing thousands at Walsall
Blink and you'll miss them but it's not a magic trick – Walsall's disappearing thousands are real.
Blink and you'll miss them but it's not a magic trick – Walsall's disappearing thousands are real.
Since their final season in the Championship in 2003-04 the Saddlers' gates have plunged by almost 4,000.
The question of the declining numbers refuses to go away and despite their highest league finish in six years – since those heady Championship days – it is unlikely attendances will spike next season.
How can Walsall respond to the downturn which is holding them back?
The season finished on Saturday with the Saddlers 10th in League One but second bottom of the attendance table, with only Hartlepool propping them up.
The average gate was 4,028 – 3,824 down on their last season in the second tier.
The final day attendance of 4,772 against MK Dons was the highest since champions Norwich played at the Banks's in mid-January but the visit of Yeovil in February welcomed just 2,929 – the lowest league attendance for over a decade.
Supporters have their reasons – and fewer away travellers also play a part – but the Saddlers will never progress with their current, however loyal, fanbase.
The sit-in protest after Saturday's final game of the season, a 2-1 win over Milton Keynes Dons, and the demonstrations which preceded it brought a disappointed response from boss Chris Hutchings this week.
He said: "If they don't enjoy that match there is something wrong with them.
"The only disappointment is that we are second from bottom of the attendance league in this division."
The manager hit the nail squarely on the head as, while attendances remain so low, his hands are tied financially.
Fans have become increasingly angry with chairman Jeff Bonser and the issue they have with the club's freehold – they are protesting by staying away.
Having to pay rent on a stadium the fans feel should belong to the club is a long-standing bone of contention, which is now threatening to rip the club apart.
In the last two years they have lost 1,663 fans, but it's all too easy to jump on the disaffected bandwagon and rally against a tired regime.
The recent uprising has good intentions and, if the ultimate goal of change comes, it would herald a new era but there are other reasons for the dwindling numbers. There are tough times ahead where the club and its supporters will need each other more than ever.
They will find it increasingly difficult next season, with the West Midlands' big four sunning themselves in the Premier League.
They haven't just been left behind, they've been dumped and hung out to dry as the region moves on. They are in danger of becoming the forgotten club as fans pass them by in favour of more fashionable teams.
Given the choice would a 10-year-old football fan choose the Saddlers over Villa? Or even Birmingham, Wolves and Albion?
It's a sad sign of the times but the Saddlers are struggling to hold on to not only the fan of the present, but those of the future – 543 have deserted them in the last year alone.
The recession naturally is a big hitter, people cannot afford the luxury of football, but the onus lies with the club to entice their missing thousands back.
There needs to be a degree of transparency. The fans want to belong to the club, they want to feel loved and that's where Walsall can flourish.
They are a small club and should be in touch with Joe Public – unlikely the global businesses who occupy Premier League.
How they do that is up to them and there are those at the club who work tirelessly to build relationships within the community to capture younger fans.
But the inescapable fact is for six out of the last seven years attendances have dropped. Though the Saddlers aren't the only club suffering.
Only seven League One clubs saw their average attendance rise last season. Norwich, Millwall, Swindon and Colchester saw an upturn while Brighton, Leyton Orient and Yeovil were the surprise inclusions.
The rest lost fans and it is unfair to brand Walsall as the exception to the rule.
As boss Hutchings has explained, they are where they are and have to make do. It's a constant battle.
They can't live the dream others have. They simply don't have the resources. It's a Catch 22 situation, no fans equals no revenue – an ever decreasing circle.
But the Saddlers will undoubtedly be the envy of their League One peers, after straining everything out of a restricted budget to finish in the top half.
Relegated Stockport represent the best comparison. A similar sized club with footballing giants on their doorstep yet the Hatters teeter on the edge of financial oblivion and will be in League Two next season.
What they wouldn't give to be in Walsall's position having suffered – up until this season – similar fates to the Saddlers.
Walsall work well with the restrictions imposed – just imagine if they find a solution to the problem, that really would be magic.
By Nick Mashiter
