How did Stoke City’s attendance v Blackpool compare to the rest of the Championship? | OneFootball

Stoke City got their 2022/23 Championship campaign up and running with a 2-0 win over Blackpool on Saturday.

The Potters put in a concerning display as they were beaten by Millwall, to the same scoreline, on the opening weekend, but goals from Harry Clarke and Jacob Brown secured the three points at the bet365 Stadium.

It was an important result for the club, with a significant portion of the supporter base feeling quite pessimistic about this season, with manager Michael O’Neill into the final year of his contract in the dugout.

Given their disappointing second half to last season, after beginning it in very promising fashion, the Potters are going to have to get the supporters back onside this term, and they went the right way about it by picking up three points in their opening home game.

Here, we have taken a look at how Stoke’s attendance against the Tangerines compared to the rest of the Championship…

Sheffield United had the largest attendance of the weekend, such that will be a common occurrence this season when Sunderland are playing away, with 27,738 in their 2-0 victory over Millwall.

Out of the ten home games of the gameweek, with Coventry City v Rotherham United postponed, the Potters had the fourth-highest, with Norwich City and Bristol City both welcoming more supporters in.

There was probably a greater sense of optimism from the Bristol City supporter base heading into the weekend, with the Robins’ pre-season expectations in recent campaigns not being as high as those of the Potters.

23,612 for Stoke is a very respectable start considering the poor performance and result in their first outing, and it gives them a platform to build on if they can carry on in a positive vein in the coming weeks.

Quiz: Can you name which club Stoke City signed these 25 English players from?

1 of 25

Ben Wilmot

Luton Town Stevenage Boreham Wood Watford

The Tangerines are also one of the smaller clubs in the Championship, which tends to lead to slightly less people coming through the door.

It will be interesting to see where Stoke rank when they look to make it two from two on their home patch when Chris Wilder’s Middlesbrough arrive at the bet365 Stadium on August 17th.