Swansea have come a long way since the days of the Vetch Field…
If you measured success merely by how many trophies were won, the answer to the question will always be Manchester United, Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool. But of the current 20 Premier League teams, which one has truly been the most remarkable over the past 20-odd years. The answer could well be Swansea City, who between 1992 and 2014, climbed 53 places in English football. Not only that, Swansea’s average gate increased from 3,367 in 1992 to 20,407 in the 2013-14 season. That’s a rise of 606%. Not even Manchester United could match that!
Armed with the latest edition of the Sky Sports Football Yearbook and glancing at www.fchd.info will tell you that Swansea City have had an amazing journey.
The attendances figures, generally, illustrate the rise of English football. Chelsea’s climb from also-rans to Premier titans is there for all to see- in 1992, there was no shortage of seats at Stamford Bridge as the average crowd was under 19,000. Compare their gates to the other London crowds and even West Ham were pulling more people in for their home games.
But Chelsea’s managerial merry-go-round is also a symptom of the shift in the club’s status – 15 changes since 1992. Compare that to United and Arsenal – just three.
The most “unsuccessful” team of the current Premier over the last 22 years? There have been seven ever-presents: Arsenal, Aston Villa, Chelsea, Everton, Liverpool, Manchester United and Tottenham. Of those, Villa, Everton and Tottenham have won precious little in that time, but they have, at least, lasted the distance.
Notes
Cups = trophies and promotions
League positions are according to placing in the 92 i.e. top of the Championship starts at 21 and so on.
| Av. gates | Status | Stability | ||||||
| 1992 | 2014 | 1992 | 2014 | +/- | Mgr | Cups | Prem | |
| Swansea | 3367 | 20407 | 65 | 12 | 53 | 16 | 5 | 3 |
| Hull City | 4115 | 24117 | 60 | 16 | 44 | 13 | 4 | 3 |
| Newcastle | 21148 | 50395 | 42 | 10 | 32 | 12 | 2 | 20 |
| Sunderland | 18390 | 41090 | 40 | 14 | 26 | 13 | 5 | 13 |
| Chelsea | 18686 | 41482 | 14 | 3 | 11 | 15 | 15 | 22 |
| Southampton | 14070 | 30212 | 16 | 8 | 8 | 19 | 2 | 15 |
| Stoke City | 13007 | 26137 | 50 | 9 | 41 | 13 | 3 | 6 |
| West Brom | 12711 | 25194 | 53 | 17 | 36 | 14 | 5 | 8 |
| Arsenal | 31905 | 60013 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 10 | 22 |
| Man.City | 27690 | 47075 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 12 | 7 | 17 |
| Man.United | 44984 | 75207 | 2 | 7 | -5 | 3 | 22 | 22 |
| Leicester | 15202 | 24990 | 26 | 21 | 5 | 15 | 7 | 8 |
| Everton | 23148 | 37732 | 12 | 5 | 7 | 7 | 1 | 22 |
| West Ham | 21342 | 34197 | 22 | 13 | 9 | 8 | 3 | 18 |
| Aston Villa | 24818 | 36081 | 7 | 15 | -8 | 9 | 2 | 22 |
| Crystal P | 17618 | 24375 | 10 | 11 | -1 | 20 | 4 | 5 |
| Burnley | 10519 | 13719 | 71 | 22 | 49 | 9 | 4 | 1 |
| Tottenham | 27761 | 35808 | 15 | 6 | 9 | 14 | 1 | 22 |
| Liverpool | 34799 | 44671 | 6 | 2 | 4 | 7 | 8 | 22 |
| QPR | 13592 | 16656 | 11 | 24 | -13 | 16 | 3 | 6 |
Tagged: English Premier, Swansea City
