How do you measure the size of a Football Club? Are City a "big club"

[Dubai Mark]

Without really wanting to go down the path of whether City are a bigger club than that massive club in Suffolk, its always been something that comes up regularly amongst many rival clubs, that is size and we are bigger than you. So, what should be the measure of the size of a football club? Sure, there are a few clearly "big clubs" in the Premier League, the likes of Citeh, Manure, Liverpool and the North London rivals, but are Newcastle also a "big club"?........and what about Leicester City currently clearly struggling but the Champions only two seasons ago. Do we draw a line and say that any club in the Premier League and The Championship are "big clubs", meaning that both Norwich City and that massive club down the road are "big clubs"?....and if we do does that make Burton a big club and Blackburn Rovers a "small club"?  Is it history? Is it recent history? Is it current status? is it average attendance? Do we give a xxxx?

 

[Canaryboy]

Its a difficult question but I think that total shirt sales would be a good benchmark. If all clubs released their shirt sales numbers each season then that would give a good indication of the 'size' of a club in a global context. 

I'm pretty sure that metric would see us come out as a much larger club than Ipswich, I'm sure I remember McNally coming out and saying we'd sold 40,000 shirts in our League One season! 

Whereas Leeds would probably come out as significantly larger than us, despite the similar size gates in recent history. I can't think of a better metric than that, because no exiled fan is excluded from buying themselves or their kids a shirt.

 

[Canaryboy]

And if you look at the top 10 for shirt sales last season, my method seems quite representative:

1) Man Utd

2) Real Madrid

3) Barcelona

4) Chelsea

5) Bayern Munich

6) Arsenal

7) Juventus

8) Liverpool

9) PSG

10) AC Milan

No real surprises there. 

 

[morty]

I just find it hilarious that the East Anglican daily times wheeled some fella out who is in his eighties, to proclaim them the bigger club. It literally proves how much they live in the past ?

 

[OldRobert]

I just find it hilarious that the East Anglican daily times wheeled some fella out who is in his eighties, to proclaim them the bigger club. It literally proves how much they live in the past ?

Posted by someone 'elsewhere' which is interesting: That said for such an Ipswich legend, Crawford lives just outside of Portsmouth and considers them "his" club. Always has. I know this because I've met and interviewed him. He chuckled when I told him I was a Norwich fan but conceded that, "...you've been doing a lot better than Ipswich for a long time now". He didn't say 'us'. He reserves that for Portsmouth. Nice chap who most football fans remember and talk to about his goals for Colchester against Leeds in 1971. 

Underlines what you posted Morty.