Middlesbrough over 30,000

tartanseasider

tartanseasider

Well-known member
I was gobsmacked how they can attract a crowd of over 30,000 the population of Middlesbrough is about same as Blackpool 140,000. It was a Monday nite & live on sky. Also had a terrible start 2 season. We struggle to get 10,000 home fans in same situation v Blackburn a week ago. Discuss🤔🤔
 
Yep, Middlesbrough Metro area 391,000.

Middlesbrough, UK Metro Area Population 1950-2023

Chart and table of population level and growth rate for the Middlesbrough, UK metro area from 1950 to 2023. United Nations population projections are also included through the year 2035.
www.macrotrends.net www.macrotrends.net

Also Blackpool population includes many from elsewhere (rehomed etc), as has been covered on AVFTT previously.
 
Trammo said:
According to Wiki pop of Stockton is 84,000?🤔
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Borough of Stockton includes: Billingham; Thornaby; Yarm; Norton; Egglescliffe and a fair few villages. Hence the difference. Middlesbrough have particular strong support from the Redcar area. A lot of Sunderland fans live in Billingham area, including a few who made some donations to NAPM a few years back at the SAFC game at Blackpool.
 
People always misunderstand the boro catchment area. It's big and most will be from there I'd imagine, unlike ours.
 
As others have said larger catchment area and people more likely to stay in the town from birth and identify with the town/club.

But Blackpool/Fylde is a decent catchment area also, don't think it explains the massive difference (10k / 30k) for that you probably would factor in the massive disparity in investment/success over the last 30 years for both clubs.
 
Dave62 said:
Yep, Middlesbrough Metro area 391,000.

Middlesbrough, UK Metro Area Population 1950-2023

Chart and table of population level and growth rate for the Middlesbrough, UK metro area from 1950 to 2023. United Nations population projections are also included through the year 2035.
www.macrotrends.net www.macrotrends.net

Also Blackpool population includes many from elsewhere (rehomed etc), as has been covered on AVFTT previously.
Click to expand...
What is the population of the Fylde coast?
 
With that sort of crowd, they’ll be pulling in approximately £15m more revenue than us without a cup run.

That certainly helps in player recruitment and wages.
 
They also have support from into North Yorkshire as far south as Northallerton, when York, Harrogate and Leeds start pulling them in their direction.
 
Trammo said:
According to Wiki pop of Stockton is 84,000?🤔
Click to expand...
A quick Google search brought up the census 2021 figure .
The population of the Fylde Coast is around 325,000 ( just a quick search ) but we have 2 Football league Clubs and another club with Football League aspiraitions.
How many Premier league Clubs and other Football leage clubs do we have in say a 50 mile radius from Blackpool ?
 
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Micky Walsh said:
What is the population of the Fylde coast?
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I googled Fylde Coast population, and the figure was 352,000.
The area included Fleetwood, Thornton (some will be fans of Fleetwood FC?) Poulton, LSA, Garstang, Kirkham, Wesham and surrounding villages (mostly Preston)

Indeed much of the area east of Lytham is likely to be split between us and PNE.
I lived in Lytham for a few years until 2016,and there were more Nobbers than Pool

As well as our transient population, we've lost fans due to poor owners.
So as I say, it's not really comparing like with like.
 
You rarely get any plastics up in the North East, the fans tend to support one of the three sides up there, none of this Man U, Liverpool and City nonsense, plus as mentioned a lot of our population are not from here originally so less loyalty to the Seasiders than you get in the North East.

Throw in the fact we're a seasonal town with a lot of poverty and little industry and it's no surprise Boro have a bigger fan base.
 
Blackpool 141,100 - 2021
Wyre district 111,223 - 2018
Borough of Fylde 79,770 - 2018

Total 332,093

Not sure whether there’s an overlap, but it’s clear that we should be able to attract bigger crowds. We did when I was young, so what happened and where did they go, did the next generations give up football?
 
Matesrates said:
Blackpool 141,100 - 2021
Wyre district 111,223 - 2018
Borough of Fylde 79,770 - 2018

Total 332,093

Not sure whether there’s an overlap, but it’s clear that we should be able to attract bigger crowds. We did when I was young, so what happened and where did they go, did the next generations give up football?
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They all watch teams in the prem
 
Matesrates said:
Blackpool 141,100 - 2021
Wyre district 111,223 - 2018
Borough of Fylde 79,770 - 2018

Total 332,093

Not sure whether there’s an overlap, but it’s clear that we should be able to attract bigger crowds. We did when I was young, so what happened and where did they go, did the next generations give up football?
Click to expand...

We've got the biggest crowds since I started going 40 years ago. It's a different world now. TV, travel, internet, population migration, immigration.
 
wages .I know the industry has shrunk up there but there is a lot more than the pleasure beach and hotel work as we have here ,so i think we do well
 
Tangerine Tractor said:
We've got the biggest crowds since I started going 40 years ago. It's a different world now. TV, travel, internet, population migration, immigration.
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I'm the same 40+ served and apart from PL and the bounce the few years after, our gates have never been bigger.

Yesterday driving about not a single pool shirt on show around local area's loads of Man Utd we both won the town has never changed.I can remember High School in the 80's over 1000 kids and 3 of us supported the Pool those kids have now children themselves and yep they'll be the ones yesterday walking about with their United shirt.
 
I am always amazed at the gates of Sunderland and Middlesbrough. Must just be the thing to do in the North East rather an option like it seems for most folk in Blackpool. Wish we could get a few thousand more home fans. The human race is expanding so might end up with 30,000 a game ourselves in another 100 years time.
 
Raging_Bull said:
You rarely get any plastics up in the North East, the fans tend to support one of the three sides up there, none of this Man U, Liverpool and City nonsense, plus as mentioned a lot of our population are not from here originally so less loyalty to the Seasiders than you get in the North East.

Throw in the fact we're a seasonal town with a lot of poverty and little industry and it's no surprise Boro have a bigger fan base.
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Good point about the lack of plastics up there.
 
Wizaard said:
Although I'd hazard a guess we've spent more years in the top flight than them.

I've always seen them as a big Tier Two side.
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Doubt it, they were top flight for almost all of the 30s to 50s, then a good chunk of the 70s and had about 15 years in the PL from 93.
 
My first time was the 3-0 midweeker: GTF 2, Charlie 1. It was a great night. I parked briefly in the train station carpark so I could find out the best place to park, saw the tariff and it was great value, so that's where I stayed.

I found a pub over the road and a young bloke was coming out. I asked him if it was a real ale pub and he looked at me quizzically and said, "real what? It's all real innit?" I didn't go in but a passer-by directed me to the Spoons, round the corner. Fortunately there were a fair few Pool in there.

Now I didn't have a ticket, meaning to get to the ground early to buy one. I said hello to a fan I recognised. I told him the ticket story before going to sit down with my pint. Next thing the chap comes back and tells me his mate has a spare ticket available for a tenner. Talk about a lucky night! Easy walk to the ground, following the throng. Three good goals and an important win. I just wish they were all like that.
 
Nothing represents the problem with our hometown fanbase than my family:

PATERNAL:
Grandad - born in Scotland
Gran - born in Ireland
Dad - born in Blackpool, Blackpool fan

MATERNAL:
Grandad/Nana/Mother - all born in Bolton.

ME:
Moved and living in Manchester

Only 1 person out of my parents and grandparents was born in Blackpool. We are a transition town that frequently has people moving to and moving away from it, a lot of places that have similar populations size-wise but get better gates have a more stagnant population which most likely increases the chance that those people will support their hometown club. Blackpool won't be the hometown club of a lot of people living in Blackpool (or at least not of their families).

Other factors hinder our fanbase as well, like our lack of a catchment area and the club being ran like a sideshow by the Oyston's for 3 decades. There is certainly room to grow but we're probably doing well to have recaptured as many as we have so quickly.

Side note to all that, I sincerely worry sometimes about raising future children of mine to be Blackpool fans when they'll have a legitimate claim to support United or City. Keeps me up at night the thought of raising a United fan!
 
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TangerinePeel said:
Nothing represents the problem with our hometown fanbase than my family:

PATERNAL:
Grandad - born in Scotland
Gran - born in Ireland
Dad - born in Blackpool, Blackpool fan

MATERNAL:
Grandad/Nana/Mother - all born in Bolton.

ME:
Moved and living in Manchester

Only 1 person out of my parents and grandparents was born in Blackpool. We are a transition town that frequently has people moving to and moving away from it, a lot of places that have similar populations size-wise but get better gates have a more stagnant population which most likely increases the chance that those people will support their hometown club. Blackpool won't be the hometown club of a lot of people living in Blackpool (or at least not of their families).

Other factors hinder our fanbase as well, like our lack of a catchment area and the club being ran like a sideshow by the Oyston's for 3 decades. There is certainly room to grow but we're probably doing well to have recaptured as many as we have so quickly.

Side note to all that, I sincerely worry sometimes about raising future children of mine to be Blackpool fans when they'll have a legitimate claim to support United or City. Keeps me up at night the thought of raising a United fan!
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Good post TP. It's also a generational thing. My dad's a Scot and a Hearts fan as a youth and young man. When he did national service he was mainly based in York and Carlisle. He used to come to Blackpool with his mates at weekend - where he met my mum. Now, in those days it was easy to POTG to see Matthews et al. Also to go to Preston to see Finney. And that's what men did. There wasn't the degree of tribalism there us now. So, August and September matches at Bloomfield would see men from the mill towns, Scotland and all over coming on holiday and attending a match.
 
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