Fans, flags and support

By David B30/8/2016 14:23Tue Aug 30 14:23:06 2016In response to Re: Dulwich Hamlet

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Interesting point about the Ultras. Clapton and Dulwich have seen enormous spikes in their attendances, the former even more than Hamlet. Five years ago, Clapton's average attendance was around 25 per game, now it is 350+.

Unfortunately, their political alignment, especially Clapton's, is some way further to the left than Jeremy Corbyn, and I say "unfortunately" not because of my political stance but because football clubs should not be vehicles for extreme ideologies (1980s Steaua Bucharest anyone). I don't like any banners making political statements at football grounds, but then again, I also hate seeing the Union flag or English flag defaced with a sports team's name.

The opposite argument is whether you would prefer to see 1,200–1,500 fans attending Hendon home games or 250. The singing and support of Clapton fans is almost invariably good natured, and their false hatred for tenants London Bari and other East London clubs (at least I think it’s false, given Bari consider a good attendance to be one in the mid-20s) is, therefore, amusing rather than threatening.

How much easier Hendon's lives would be - financially at least - if the crowds were around 1,000 every game.