Large away LEAGUE followings.

Saturday will be up there for large away LEAGUE followings (not including Wembley), but what's the highest we have ever taken away in the league. 4000 odd at Donny a couple of seasons back must be the most in recent years and the 2500 at Alfreton probably the highest in our non-league years.

Scunny and Lincoln have never given us enough tickets to make a massive following. I can remember going to Barnsley on the final day of the 78/79 season and we had loads there that day but don't really know exactly how many.

So what other big away league followings have we had that you can remember?

Coventry 1973 estimates 12000 but I could be wrong. I think the crowd that day was 40000

https://www.ccfpa.co.uk/?p=28530

10000 this article says

Quoted from carrot top

Coventry 1973 estimates 12000 but I could be wrong. I think the crowd that day was 40000

That was cup not league.

How many went to that infamous Stoke game in '91?  I didn't go, but there must have been plenty there.  I think there were supposed to be loads at that Chesterfield end of season game early-90's too......

A big one I went to was that awful day at Tranmere (2004?).  Lots there that day, but maybe no more than 3,000?

I've certainly never seen league away following like we've had in the cup though, particularly Leeds ('98?), Liverpool ('97 and '01?), and Arsenal (presumably '01 again), as well as Palace and Chelsea recently.

Didn't go to Doncaster, but that must have been some sight.

Fair play to Scunny though, they've given us over 2,000, including part of some side stand.  Shame though, as we could sell double that if given the chance, but we only dish out 1800 tickets ourselves, let's not forget.

Quoted from carrot top

Coventry 1973 estimates 12000 but I could be wrong. I think the crowd that day was 40000

That was an FA Cup game, I'm on about league games.

I did put league in capital letters so that it was understood, but obviously not.  

Liverpool 1980 18 - 20,000 estimate.
Was the cup though and lost 5-0.
My mate got his jacket stanley knifed and his trainers nicked. Lovely fans salt of the earth

Kidderminster 15/16 was decent. 1700 IIRC?

How many were at Macc to see us drop out the automatic promotion spots in 2006?

Quoted from londonmariner2

Liverpool 1980 18 - 20,000 estimate.
Was the cup though and lost 5-0.
My mate got his jacket stanley knifed and his trainers nicked. Lovely fans salt of the earth

I know all about the big cup followings but I'm thinking of normal league games.

Quoted from Abdul19

Kidderminster 15/16 was decent. 1700 IIRC?

How many were at Macc to see us drop out the automatic promotion spots in 2006?

That was a cracking day out that day at Kidderminster, our fans were brilliant that day, nightmare to get to that ground but a great day it was 👍

notts county at easter when henderson and conlon kept us up was big

short memory here but how many did we take to Chelski earlier this season and Palace last? They were large followings given the distance on a school night for Chelsea and the difficulty of getting to Selhurst Park after Xmas

Quoted from Les Brechin

I know all about the big cup followings but I'm thinking of normal league games.

Hard work innit Les 😅😅😅😅

Quoted from Les Brechin

That was an FA Cup game, I'm on about league games.

I did put league in capital letters so that it was understood, but obviously not.  

yes, just seen it now, It was a big following anyway!

Quoted from barralad

Hard work innit Les 😅😅😅😅

I might have missed Les' post  

Donny 1972 Div 4 Champs season when we lost 2-1 I think

That Donny game was extraordinary. In my long years of watching Town I cannot remember a bigger turnout for a league game. Mansfield and Chesterfield away in the great 79/80 season were big but in those days very little seating so hard to guage

Quoted from carrot top

Donny 1972 Div 4 Champs season when we lost 2-1 I think

Good call...

Quoted from gtfckyle

short memory here but how many did we take to Chelski earlier this season and Palace last? They were large followings given the distance on a school night for Chelsea and the difficulty of getting to Selhurst Park after Xmas

I think Palace was 5,500, and Chelsea 5,000.

Quoted from forza ivano

notts county at easter when henderson and conlon kept us up was big

Good shout. Don't think there were enough seats!

Quoted from barralad

That Donny game was extraordinary. In my long years of watching Town I cannot remember a bigger turnout for a league game. Mansfield and Chesterfield away in the great 79/80 season were big but in those days very little seating so hard to guage

Remember being pelted with bricks inside the ground, good job we didn’t win!!!!

Think if we had of won we would have been champions that night rather than after Exeter game but could be remembering things wrong given the timeframe 😄

Been a few Notts County games with big followings.

2009 is the one Forza mentions i think, when Rob Atkinson and Boshell scored in a 2-0 win.

and 2017 under Hurst when we'd just got back into the FL and squandered a 2-0 lead to draw 2-2 was a big following too.

I remember going to Barnsley with over 5,000 mariners with a gate of 21,000 I think,

Can not remember what year might have been under Laurie Mac  71/72 plus we took over 5,000 to other games as well that season,

Don't ask me who or when as I think  I  am going senile.  

How many did we take to Rochdale the season we went down to the Conference when the club laid on free coaches? Won't be one of the highest but I remember it being the only time I've been in that side stand and it was anywhere near full.

We got smashed but we shut them up with about 20 minutes of constant "40 years is all it took" in response to them singing "we are going up". Probably the best bit of that entire season actually.

Quoted from Lincoln Mariner 56

Remember being pelted with bricks inside the ground, good job we didn’t win!!!!

Think if we had of won we would have been champions that night rather than after Exeter game but could be remembering things wrong given the timeframe 😄

My recollection was all the Town Bootboys there in white butcher coats and silk Town scarves

Quoted from Son of Cod

How many did we take to Rochdale the season we went down to the Conference when the club laid on free coaches? Won't be one of the highest but I remember it being the only time I've been in that side stand and it was anywhere near full.

We got smashed but we shut them up with about 20 minutes of constant "40 years is all it took" in response to them singing "we are going up". Probably the best bit of that entire season actually.

1990 as well at Rochdale was a large following. Gilbert got the winner and Keith Alexander (sub) was subbed by AB

Mansfield 1980 must have been big - we had 3 sides of the ground.

Quoted from PrestwichMariner

Mansfield 1980 must have been big - we had 3 sides of the ground.

Ah yes. I'd forgotten about that one. The game when we clinched promotion before beating Sheff Utd the following Saturday to clinch the title. Not sure what the attendance was but we must have had about three quarters of the gate.

Was there a large away following at Rotherham around 1979-1981?  About 5,000? (A league game).

Just a very distant recollection.  

Testing the old grey matter, but seem to remember being in large league followings to these clubs over the years. Pushing 2k or over..

Some as a kid in the 70s and a few sponsored by Persil in the 80s..

Chesterfield (90ish)
Hull (midweek, league, late 70s early 80s?)
Halifax ((90ish)
Man City (league and cup, early 80s?)
Cambridge (two stands,late 70s early 80s)
Lincoln (several occasions)
Scunny (several occasions)
Wendies (league and cup)
Blackpool (90s)
Barnsley (a few times)
Derby (80ish)
Leicester (80s or early 90s)
Stoke (90s)
Leeds (80s and 90s)
Donny (a few times)
Huddersfield (xmas in the 90s)
Sheff Utd (a couple of times)
Notts County (a few times)
Bradford (90s)
York (a few times)
Forest (90s?)
Scarborough (80s?)
Stockport (late 80s early 90s?)
Rochdale (80s)
Bury (80s)
Brentford (70s)
Preston (90)
Bournemouth (00s)
Rotherham (a couple of times)
Peterborough late 70s?)
Burton (ugh)
Tranmere (ugh)
Bolton (late 70s early 80s)
Mansfield (a couple of times)

Quoted from carrot top

1990 as well at Rochdale was a large following. Gilbert got the winner and Keith Alexander (sub) was subbed by AB

Yeah not often you see the sub being subbed but to be fair he had come on fairly early to replace an injured tillson (I think) and had missed an absolute sitter. Was a good following that day.

Quoted from Abdul19

Kidderminster 15/16 was decent. 1700 IIRC?

How many were at Macc to see us drop out the automatic promotion spots in 2006?

Didn't kiddie give us half the ground that day? I also seem to remember our away following outnumbered the away support for all the other 11 away teams put together that opening day which is pretty incredible!

Seem to remember Halifax in 89/90 moving their supporters to the away section to accommodate the big town following, at least in one stand, is that right? I think we ended our 7 game winning streak that day with a 2-2 draw.

Quoted from Heisenberg

How many went to that infamous Stoke game in '91?  I didn't go, but there must have been plenty there.  I think there were supposed to be loads at that Chesterfield end of season game early-90's too......

I went to both. For some reason I've got 3500 in my head for each game.

Halifax away in 1990 , I remember us being given the home end as we took so many there, dont know the numbers but guessing at about 2500, think we had won our 8  previous league games

Something else that would be interesting is to date how many fans have we taken to how many opposition have come to BP for LEAGUE games this season. I would suspect that our away numbers are probably double those coming here.

Quoted from penrith mariner

Halifax away in 1990 , I remember us being given the home end as we took so many there, dont know the numbers but guessing at about 2500, think we had won our 8  previous league games

The day of The Grand National, the police horse in the pub and the burger van getting trashed!

Forest away early 90's when we lost 5-3

Yes Doncaster Rovers1972 Division 4 Championship season when we lost 2-1, over 12,000 there and estimated 8,000 from Grimsby, no way of telling though in them days..

The 4 that are most vivid in my mind have been mentioned. Stoke (90/91), Huddersfield Boxing Day (blatant lester penalty),  forest (93) and Halifax with the burger van and the Tony Rees overhead

Another game that springs to mind is Rotherham (midweek I think). Seemed a lot there.

Big away followings in non league were the kiddy game and alfreton a couple of times

It’s funny isn’t it, as well a few big away followings at Notts County for instance, I also remember some relatively small followings there too.

The numbers at Donnie were impressive but as an away game it was a compete damp squib in my view. Awful game, awful performance and just seemed to be a bit meh.

We’ve had some 2000+ attendances at a fair few places...although the smaller followings tend to stick my head...Exeter last year, Plymouth (Bignots finest moment) for instance.

Quoted from pontoon442

Yes Doncaster Rovers1972 Division 4 Championship season when we lost 2-1, over 12,000 there and estimated 8,000 from Grimsby, no way of telling though in them days..

Thinking of that era the first game of the following season saw a massive turn out on a boiling hot day in York. Went on a full bus from Market Rasen and whole bus was taken into custody after one of our lads thought it a good idea to throw a bottle through the bus skylight which ended up smashing a car windscreen so two hours spent with the York Constabulary and JRDent travel refused to take us again so we had PC Coaches from Lincoln a year later for cup game at Coventry.

When the 4000 of us attended Doncaster we’d just lost Bogle if I remember rightly and put a dampener on the whole occasion.

He was injured that day (he left the next month) but yeah it was completely flat. We had Jackson and Vernon up front, Donny scored a free kick after about 7 seconds and I don't think we had a shot.

Quoted from Abdul19

He was injured that day (he left the next month) but yeah it was completely flat. We had Jackson and Vernon up front, Donny scored a free kick after about 7 seconds and I don't think we had a shot.

I mean it wasn’t as bad as the home game to them that season but all the excitement and interest with shifting 4000 tickets and then it just turned in to a really excrement day haha.

I always remember that first game at Alfreton with folk climbing on the roof, people just opening the gates, Hearn destroying them...good times

Quoted from coddy60

Forest away early 90's when we lost 5-3

Remembered for Crichton's air shot which led to an own goal (by Futch, perhaps?).

Quoted from pontoon442

Yes Doncaster Rovers1972 Division 4 Championship season when we lost 2-1, over 12,000 there and estimated 8,000 from Grimsby, no way of telling though in them days..

The largest away League following since 1970 will be either this game or Hull City on a Tuesday night in 1980. Crowd at Boothferry was circa 15k. They were getting about 4k/5k at home and near the bottom of the table. Town will have had at least 7k there. The other really big ones in that season  - 3rd div Champship winning - were Chesterfield, Rotherham, Barnsley and Mansfield; based upon what the home team were typically getting, plus a thousand or two more because they were playing the league leaders, I'd estimate circa 4-6k

We had alot at Blackpool in Bignuts last game, the Town looked wall to wall B&W

Quoted from WOZOFGRIMSBY

The 4 that are most vivid in my mind have been mentioned. Stoke (90/91), Huddersfield Boxing Day (blatant lester penalty),  forest (93) and Halifax with the burger van and the Tony Rees overhead

[/b]Another game that springs to mind is Rotherham (midweek I think)[b]. Seemed a lot there.

Big away followings in non league were the kiddy game and alfreton a couple of times

Had to try and watch the match through a air brick, got there late and old bill shoved us into the home end, kick-off in their stand, was marched around the pitch by old bill, then detained in the back of the away end.  After the game let out, only to be attaked down the alley.

Anyone know what the biggest away attendance is for L2 this season ?

Quoted from louth_in_the_south

Anyone know what the biggest away attendance is for L2 this season ?

Whatever tomorrow’s attendance is.

Quoted from louth_in_the_south

Anyone know what the biggest away attendance is for L2 this season ?

I believe it's Plymouth with 2417...

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=496MrlepxDI

We had a fair few at Bradford in the promotion year. Very noisy we were too

Quoted from Poojah

Whatever tomorrow’s attendance is.

No doubt, Bradfud fans would claim that's only because they don't get enough tickets for their away games...

I wonder what all their season ticket holders do every other Saturday...go watch Leeds?

Wow! Thanks for sharing that, our fans are just the best! 👌

Huddersfield on Boxing Day 99 I think , we took 4000

The official amount of Town at Burton was around 3k but it was way higher than that and hundreds outside in the pubs . I reckon 3-4k at Stoke ,Chesterfield,Barnsley,Hudds,Forest but easily the biggest following for a League game from 80-81 onwards was Hull in the 80s for a Boxing Day game .Town were everywhere in the ground including a good few hundred in the seats behind the goal in the massive home end and another pocket in the side stand I think the gate was around 15k and we had at least half the chants of Mariners boomed out from all 4 stands at one point .They never brought half that here...……...

Reckon Bradford could easily fill the osmond twice over if they were doing well. The fact there are so many small grounds like ours can make the stats misleading.

Didn’t Orient say that we took the most fans to them this season apart from Swindon. They brought a few thousand.

dont know if anyone has said but
the day we were spoiled at halifax

Quoted from Lincoln Mariner 56

Thinking of that era the first game of the following season saw a massive turn out on a boiling hot day in York. Went on a full bus from Market Rasen and whole bus was taken into custody after one of our lads thought it a good idea to throw a bottle through the bus skylight which ended up smashing a car windscreen so two hours spent with the York Constabulary and JRDent travel refused to take us again so we had PC Coaches from Lincoln a year later for cup game at Coventry.

Experienced teachers have a saying: "There's always one..."  

Quoted from Richard

dont know if anyone has said but
the day we were spoiled at halifax

That was above 2000 if I remember correctly.

Spoiled alright.