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Opinion

Sunderland fans classic excuses after not selling out and Charlton having more supporters

5 years ago
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Sunderland fans are heading to Wembley this weekend, well at least some of them are.

Their biggest game of the season but thousands of tickets left unsold.

Even Charlton have sold more than the Mackems, over three thousand more.

Maybe no surprise though when the Stadium of Light was only half full for the semi against Portsmouth.

Some classic excuses back then as Sunderland fans blamed the embarrassing attendance on it clashing with wrestling and rugby events in Newcastle, the fact people usually went to the pub on a Saturday night as well as 7.30pm being too late for kids, some Mackems claiming the game should have been free to get in, saving up for Wembley…and best of all, that the game clashed with the ‘wedding season’ having started.

This time, reasons given for failing to sell thousands of tickets and having less support than Charlton…already been to Wembley this season, fans of other clubs are buying loads of the Charlton tickets, Sunderland would have more support if the game was played at Whitley Bay instead, Aston Villa fans, Kevin Keegan, whilst even Newcastle United and their supporters are blamed…

Sunderland fans comment via their Ready To Go (In smaller numbers than Charlton to Wembley) message board:

‘Charlton are going to have more fans than us.

38k plus compared to our 35k plus.

Think it’s first time in my 6 visits to Wembley we have taken less than the opposition

Understand the reason, watering the garden, shopping, x 2 trips to Wembley in the space of 3 months…..

But we can still do this.’

‘It’s really twice in eight weeks though isn’t it.. twice in three months makes it sound a lot longer.’

‘I would be worried if it was a competition where the winners would be the ones with most fans attending.

However,the winners will be determined by who scores the most goals. Haway the lads and lasses, wherever you are watching the game, raise the roof.’

‘Finally the limits of our away support realised- god forbid we become successful like man city and struggle to sell semi finals – oh wait.’

‘The fascination with attendances these days is bordering insanity. It was never like this when I was a kid.’

‘Villa invented it by counting our empty seats m’lord.’

‘Imagine if the game was staged in the north east?’

‘Too fu..ing right.’

‘For the majority of the Charlton fans at the match, it’ll be their first game this season. Not so for us. We will be drunker and louder than them, so I’m not worried about this at all.’

‘Louder, I hope so, against Pompey we were still hungover and quiet.’

‘Most have paid £100+ for travel

Average ticket is around £50

Spends for a long day weekend £100+ easy

Hotels probably around minimum £100 too

Charlton coat average ticket £50 maximum £12 on tube leave house at 1pm be back by 6 at a push.

So 35,000 is amazing ! More than our average crowd similar to our fan base so it’s great.’

‘it’s fu..ing bizarre. Sick of hearing from fu..ing attendance no..es.’

‘I think it’s partly down to the people who come on here and wax lyrical about ‘the greatest fans in the land’ and other similar nonsense.’

‘We average like 7,000 for the check a trade & suddenly in the final everyone wanted a ticket and cared about supporting the team?

If you could make the previous rounds & didn’t go because it was £3 a game, went to Wembley and now can’t make this because you spent too much on the last trip then it’s embarrassing. More bothered about going to TF to upload photos onto social media imo.

The club has the core support that will always go & then behind that has very little.’

‘I spent close to £500 for the CaT final. There’ll be divorce proceedings if I cancel our arrangements for this weekend and head to London again.’

‘At the last Play off final against Charlton, nearly every Charlton supporter that I spoke to actually supported a different club, they were just there having a day out and offering another smaller London club support.’

‘Those who making the point Charlton are taking more… If the game was around 20 miles away from us, for example imagine the national stadium in somewhere like Whitley Bay. How easy, cheap and convenient would it be for us?

Out of all those Charlton fans tomorrow, how many would be up for/able to make the trip up north. We’ll never know but I reckon Charlton would take at least 10k less and we would be capable of selling over 50k if the availability was there. Geography makes a massive difference.

I’m proud of our following tomorrow.’

‘Sub conscious mate from them up the road, 52,000 mentioned in every media reference….it doesn’t happen with any other club in football and attendance is used as another parameter from them to try and put us down.

They don’t like to hear about the pre-Keegan attendances though, or even their Checkatrade attendances this season at SJP.’

‘It’s seemingly all us and the mags have to sing about.

I’m 26 and don’t get it. Shame we haven’t sold out but doesn’t matter. I’m not a ST holder anymore but the 26,000 for Pompey at home was louder than most of our time in the premier League. That’s what I’d prefer every game.’

‘It all stems from those up the road, they’re obsessed with them and it’s filtered to us as the only bragging rights the two clubs have…not trophies, but how many we each get through the doors or take on away days. North East football is embarrassing in that respect.’

‘I just didn’t have any money left after Wembley and a few other things this month and there will be plenty of others in the same boat, we don’t have millions of plastics willing to take our seats like Man United do, we are proper football fans in a working class city which is one of the furthest distances from Wembley.’

‘I’ve got no beef with Charlton or their attendances at home or at Wembley. They are a club of a certain size in a crowded market.

It’s just stupid to read anything into their seemingly superior attendance to the final. There is nothing to interpret.

We are a far bigger club. It is what it is.’

‘Let’s all move on from the crowd issue now, it is what it is. 35000 is still a good effort, bit disappointed there will be some empty seats but not the end of the world.’

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