Newham Council said that West Ham drew an average of 12,530 fans fewer than it announced.GETTY IMAGES
Last season, Arsenal was "under scrutiny as supporters appeared to stay away from Emirates Stadium" during then-Manager Arsène Wenger's final season, according to Alistair Magowan of the BBC. Even pundits "joked about the club's official near-capacity attendance compared with the gaps clearly visible in the stadium." But Arsenal is not the only Premier League club whose "official attendances appeared inaccurate." BBC Sport sent Freedom of Information requests to the relevant police forces and local councils for all 20 Premier League teams, "asking whether they had figures for the actual number of people in the stadium for each game last season." Most said that they "did not hold that information," directing the BBC to figures published by the clubs. Eight responses, relating to seven clubs, were received. At six of those clubs, "police and/or council figures differed from the official published attendances." Although the figures "only covered games which the authorities attended, some of the results were revealing:"
- West Ham: Newham Council said that the average attendance at West Ham was 42,779 based on the 12 games it attended -- which is 12,530 fans fewer than the club's season average figure of 55,309.
- Man City: Greater Manchester Police's average figures "were 7,482 lower than club figures, again based on 12 games."
- Southampton: Hampshire Police figures were an average of 4,246 fans lower than figures issued by the club.
- Tottenham: Brent Council said that crowds at Wembley Stadium "were on average 3,740 less than the club's stated numbers."
- Chelsea: Hammersmith & Fulham Council said that its average was 3,505 fans lower than club numbers, based on six games.
- Watford: Hertfordshire Police said that its average "was 2,602 fans fewer than club figures, based on four games."
- ManU: Trafford Council and Greater Manchester Police both said that ManU's published attendance figures "matched its own, based on 12 games."
Most teams in the Premier League choose to publicize "the number of tickets sold for a game rather than the number of people actually in the stadium." That means they include season ticket holders who do not attend and complimentary tickets that are not used (BBC, 9/12).
