Just another reason to look forward to it!

Who is the better supporter? The Few thousand who turn up to the match but then leave early when they get beat, or the thousands who don't bother turning up at all, other than at the Grand Finals & Wembley (claiming they have been ever present all along)?


Less than Ten Thousand averages when Stains were winning the double, yet Wigan achieved 15-16k near the bottom of the league in 2006. Even with a football team within it's town recently promoted to the biggest league in the world.

It never ceases to amaze me how fans with smaller stadium capacities than our aveage crowds can feel the need to have a pop at our support..

ANCIENT & LOYAL.

Can't have a mass exodus when the mass isn't there to start with.

touche!!!

Its only this last couple of years that their crrowds have reduced to less than 15k. They had 2-3 seasons with 20-22k averages. Bit more than 'never gain too much support'.

Where is there such a distraction in Warrington & St Helens? (And dont say Liverpool/Everton or United), we have just as many of those in our town as well.

That distraction has definitely weaned off to a hardcore support of 9-10k plus a few thousand freebies! But it was still there these last few years which were definitely a threat to the future of our club!

Wigan, Wire & Saints are all similar sized towns. Wigan is the only 2 team town. There is very little cross over because of 20 odd years of open hostility. Dismiss Latics as you may but fact is that they draw support from the town. Neither Saints or Wire have that competition. As Matty says, don't use the LFC, MUFC, Everton excuse as Wigan is full of such supporters. In fact, supporters of these teams aren't a threat to Wigan RL as you get a lot of MUFC/EFC/LFC/MCFC Wigan RL fans.

Put all that together and compare Wigan's success with that of Saints over the past decade (Saints golden age) and it's clear that Wigan's support leaves them in the shade. I know it puts everyone else in the shade in fact I'd be interested to hear your views that there are better supporters. I respect Hull FC's support during the same period. I have little respect for Leeds as they crawled out of the woodwork ala Bradford Bulls. No one else comes close

In our previous golden era of the 1950s and 60s, we averaged 14,000. During our Superleague golden era we have averaged between 9,000 and 11,000 (up and down). However, in 1936 our crowds fell to 2000 when a decade before they had been regularly at 20,000 and a decade after were a similar number.

However, Wigan have [ialways[/i had a higher number of supporters than have Saints. Wigan has [ialways[/i been a bigger town than St Helens, much bigger at one point. Wigan is a much older town than St Helens. St Helens has hardly been in existence, not even 200 years old. St Helens has always been a poorer town than Wigan. These things are historical and cultural and will probably never change.

It makes no difference whether Saints are successful or not, the crowds will never be as big as Wigan's. Wigan people just seem to enjoy watching their sport live more than St Helens people do. And now that we've been overrun by scousers, who brought their soccer with them, we have no hope!

The reason you had no support in your early years was that you were the "second" team in town. It took a Wigan legend to turn you into a shadow of Wigan, a shadow you have never got out of.

The first team in town went bust well before our crowds dropped to 2000. Saints became the first team in town before the crowds dropped to 2000. And your former coach came to Saints well after our crowds dropped to 2000. They had recovered again by the time he came. What he did was take us to our first Challenge Cup win, I believe. Plus numerous other trophies.

But no, we have never sunk to buying our success. We have earned it the tough way: by performing on a level playing field. Consequently, we never had to sell our stadium to pay off the debts that buying success created. We left that to the mighty Wigoon! We are selling our stadium for a better stadium.

We have the best club, you see.

"Ancient and Loyal" Rogues was one of those 20 million Wigan fans who never missed a match in the second division.

I missed about four or five that year due to work commitments, it was difficult to get a plane back from Mexico or Nigeria and be back in work the next morning.

Obviously never saw the pictures from Knowsley Road at H/T (Was it 97) When they did the Saints Stampede!
I'm guessing a Wolf Bandwagoner?