Lowest attendances at the Turf post war?
Posted: Sun Jan 19, 2025 4:20 pm
Seen a few low attendances in my time but what is the lowest post war?
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Leaving aside the obvious 'nil' attendances during the Covid restrictions I think it may be 16904 against West Brom in the 2014/15 season.Rosehill Claret wrote: ↑Sun Jan 19, 2025 5:19 pmWhat is the lowest attendance at Turf Moor for a Premier League game?
By the end of the game it was
1,961.
I deliberately stayed until the final whistle for this one....I think it's the most masochistic, wierdly amusing, thing I've ever done.
I always thought that the match against Colchester on 04/11/96 had the lowest gate of 1,696.
There were at least 50.000 on that game ... every time someone goes on about how **** we are playing now 50,000 uber fans tell us how they were at that game when we were really ****.
Was that not a midweek game against Torquay? More police in the away end than fans and I am sure one was from London, one possibly from the wrong side of Acrcrington and the third one was Gary Heaton from Nelson who was a year or two above me at Walton High. There were no fans that had travelled from Torquay.Dressinggown wrote: ↑Sun Jan 19, 2025 10:52 pmI could be wrong but I can recall during that nightmare season was a home match which we played against York, the smallest away support ever recorded.
All 3 of them were interviewed by the Burnley Express and the Lancashire Evening Telegraph. It transpired that 2 of them lived in Colne and the other bloke was on some sort of prisoner release program.
I remember it well unfortunately. Lost 1-3 in front of 1717 which is the 2nd lowest post war home attendance for a League game, just 21 more than the Colchester match.Petersa wrote: ↑Mon Jan 20, 2025 4:17 pmA week before Christmas 1996 vs Cardiff . I was back from working overseas a Joe Neenan howler condemned Burnley to a home defeat. A man stood next to me who I recognized from being in my usual spot on the old Longside was genuinely in tears it was so bad. I dont think there was 2000 on.........it was truly awful.....anyone else remember it.......there cant be many!
Must be 1986.Petersa wrote: ↑Mon Jan 20, 2025 4:17 pmA week before Christmas 1996 vs Cardiff . I was back from working overseas a Joe Neenan howler condemned Burnley to a home defeat. A man stood next to me who I recognized from being in my usual spot on the old Longside was genuinely in tears it was so bad. I dont think there was 2000 on.........it was truly awful.....anyone else remember it.......there cant be many!
Yes 1986. Interestingly the official attendance was originally given as 1702 but later 'upgraded' to 1717...
Spot on lad, the game was definitely against Torquay.Herts Clarets wrote: ↑Mon Jan 20, 2025 8:29 amWas that not a midweek game against Torquay? More police in the away end than fans and I am sure one was from London, one possibly from the wrong side of Acrcrington and the third one was Gary Heaton from Nelson who was a year or two above me at Walton High. There were no fans that had travelled from Torquay.
My first Burnley game, fact fans.Petersa wrote: ↑Mon Jan 20, 2025 4:17 pmA week before Christmas 1996 vs Cardiff . I was back from working overseas a Joe Neenan howler condemned Burnley to a home defeat. A man stood next to me who I recognized from being in my usual spot on the old Longside was genuinely in tears it was so bad. I dont think there was 2000 on.........it was truly awful.....anyone else remember it.......there cant be many!
1,696 actual attendance, but if you gathered all the people who claim they were there onto today's Turf it'd probably be our highest gate of this season...ClaretTony wrote: ↑Mon Jan 20, 2025 4:42 pmFor a league game it is 1,696 v Colchester
https://www.uptheclarets.com/fixtures-r ... 87-results
One of the sponsors that night still goes to the games
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I stand corrected., it was against Torquay. Attendance was 2,718 and James netted from a penalty to equalise.late on.Dressinggown wrote: ↑Sun Jan 19, 2025 10:52 pmI could be wrong but I can recall during that nightmare season was a home match which we played against York, the smallest away support ever recorded.
All 3 of them were interviewed by the Burnley Express and the Lancashire Evening Telegraph. It transpired that 2 of them lived in Colne and the other bloke was on some sort of prisoner release program.
I was one of the 1,696. If memory serves me it was bonfire night, or at least the night the big bonfire was on at Fulledge. I’ve got the programme still.ClaretTony wrote: ↑Mon Jan 20, 2025 4:42 pmFor a league game it is 1,696 v Colchester
https://www.uptheclarets.com/fixtures-r ... 87-results
One of the sponsors that night still goes to the games
![]()
The genuine Torquay fan from nearby was Gary Heaton. Was it not the season before, a 3-0 win for Burnley in our first season in Div 4? I am fairly sure that for the game with 3 fans I was on the Longside, the game where Taffy scored a last minute penalty I was definitely in the Cricket Field with my Dad......Dressinggown wrote: ↑Tue Jan 21, 2025 12:31 amI stand corrected., it was against Torquay. Attendance was 2,718 and James netted from a penalty to equalise.late on.
I've narrowed the field of away supporters to the following:
One was a genuine Torquay fan from nearby.
The second bloke continues to follow the Clarets and might have been 'scouting' at the time.
The 3rd had been released on licence that day and was supposed to be going back to his home town, Barnsley
Yes the game with the 3 Torquay fans was 85/6 when we won 3-0. The return game that season at Plainmoor was played on a Tuesday night and we lost 0-2. The attendance of 1335 was the lowest league gate Burnley have played in front of (home or away) since proper records began. I was there that night and also on the Colchester game the following season.Herts Clarets wrote: ↑Tue Jan 21, 2025 8:21 amThe genuine Torquay fan from nearby was Gary Heaton. Was it not the season before, a 3-0 win for Burnley in our first season in Div 4? I am fairly sure that for the game with 3 fans I was on the Longside, the game where Taffy scored a last minute penalty I was definitely in the Cricket Field with my Dad......
That trip to Torquay in 1985/86 was the night I completed the 92 grounds (91 of them for Burnley games). That's all I remember about it other than it being a crap game on a bitterly cold night.sjb wrote: ↑Tue Jan 21, 2025 10:40 amYes the game with the 3 Torquay fans was 85/6 when we won 3-0. The return game that season at Plainmoor was played on a Tuesday night and we lost 0-2. The attendance of 1335 was the lowest league gate Burnley have played in front of (home or away) since proper records began. I was there that night and also on the Colchester game the following season.
The Orient programme crops up fairly regularly on eBay. Burnley did a reprint in the weeks after the game.NottsClaret wrote: ↑Tue Jan 21, 2025 10:54 amI know it's a bit of a cliche, saying you were on those games. I started in 86/87 and from the Peterbrough game - 0-0 - in early November I've nearly all the programmes (apart from Orient, sold out).
As dire as it must have been for older fans, at 9 or 10 years old I loved it, you don't know any different.
Which ground had you done that wasn't for a Burnley game?ClaretTony wrote: ↑Tue Jan 21, 2025 10:45 amThat trip to Torquay in 1985/86 was the night I completed the 92 grounds (91 of them for Burnley games). That's all I remember about it other than it being a crap game on a bitterly cold night.
The Orient programme didn’t come close to selling out but the Southend programme from a week earlier did.NottsClaret wrote: ↑Tue Jan 21, 2025 10:54 amI know it's a bit of a cliche, saying you were on those games. I started in 86/87 and from the Peterbrough game - 0-0 - in early November I've nearly all the programmes (apart from Orient, sold out).
As dire as it must have been for older fans, at 9 or 10 years old I loved it, you don't know any different.
Colchester as shown above is the lowest.expatclar3t wrote: ↑Tue Jan 21, 2025 1:05 pmBurnley 0 Hereford 6 … att 1995. Surely there’s nothing lower !!!
The Match Ball Sponsor can confirmelwaclaret wrote: ↑Tue Jan 21, 2025 3:00 pmI was in the Bob Lord with my dad for that Colchester game. I have a pretty solid witness too… I was still playing centre half in the team managed by one of the programme sponsors at the time.
Bitterly cold and foggy too. Terrible game and we were lucky to get nilClaretTony wrote: ↑Tue Jan 21, 2025 10:45 amThat trip to Torquay in 1985/86 was the night I completed the 92 grounds (91 of them for Burnley games). That's all I remember about it other than it being a crap game on a bitterly cold night.
Either 84/5 - a 2-0 win in front of 4768 , or 85/6 - a 1-1 draw watched by just 3835.houseboy wrote: ↑Tue Jan 21, 2025 3:26 pmSpeaking of low attendances I went on the Turf in the eighties for a game v Preston. I took a Scottish friend of mine who had never been on the Turf. It was mid eighties. We stood in my usual spot in the Longside and I remember him saying ‘I bet there’s a great atmosphere under here when it’s full’. Unfortunately that day, despite it being a derby, you needed to book a flight to speak to the next person standing to you. 4k ish comes to mind but I could be completely wrong. Either way it was a poor attendance for a derby. If anyone remembers let me know.
Two of us completed the 92 that night although the other Claret passed away back in 2000. I don't know who on earth chose the clothes back then or where the hair came from.Culmclaret wrote: ↑Tue Jan 21, 2025 4:07 pmBitterly cold and foggy too. Terrible game and we were lucky to get nil