Quote Originally Posted by magpie2k4 View Post
Here are two controversial opinions for debate:

1) We are a bigger club now ‘pound for pound’ then we have been in the last 50 years. If you consider the attendances we used to get in the first and second tier and compare them to the attendances we have had over the last five years. The playoff season in league 2 had attendances comparable to the last time we were in the top flight.

2) We are a bigger club because of Alan Hardy and his marketing. The attendances over the last five years can all be linked to his promotion of the club. The fact we get such big crowds now is due to him bringing in new fans and the offer on Saturday was likely linked to the success of previous recent offers. No chairman has ever consistently put on the offers / promotion that Hardy did.

P.s. I am not Alan Hardy haha.. I’ve been using this board since 2004.
Not controversial at all as I see it. I think you're spot on. Hardy didn't ultimately get a lot right in the final analysis, despite huge 'spending', but he was most certainly top-notch at getting bums on seats.