How Portsmouth’s average attendance this season compares to recent seasons Copy

Portsmouth have not lived up to the standards they set in previous seasons this term and will miss out on the play-offs in League One.

Pompey have been very good in patches in Danny Cowley’s first full season at the helm, but are most likely going to end the campaign in ninth place.

The club enter what could be a very tricky summer transfer window with a number of key players approaching the end of their current deals and set to receive interest from other clubs.

It is easy to forget that this is just their fifth season in the third tier, since promotion from League Two, however the aim is always going to be promotion at this level for a club the size of Pompey.

Here, we have taken a look at how Pompey’s average attendance this season compares to recent seasons…

Pompey have averaged 14,313 in league games at Fratton Park this season which is the lowest since they were promoted to the third tier, obviously excluding the 2020/21 campaign.

The supporters were frustrated with the style of play under Kenny Jackett for many years, but actually had larger attendances, maybe due to where they were competing in the table, during his tenure than Cowley’s so far.

The club lost out in the play-off semi finals in 2019/20 and 2018/19, and had an average attendance of 17,804 and 18,223 respectively, well over 3,000 more than this season.

Also in 2017/18, their first season after winning the League Two title under Paul Cook, they averaged 17,917.

With the return of supporters to stadiums this season it is a surprise to see a drop-off in attendances, although in turn the re-opening of football grounds to full capacities could have caused some hesitance due to the stark difference from the 2020/21 campaign.

After some positive and