Originally Posted by
SBRed48
I thought it was a widely used term.
1. Catchment area = the geographical area surrounding a ground containing the population the club is likely to draw it's support from.
2. The larger the population, the larger the crowd that is likely to be generated.
3. The larger the crowd, the more income that can be generated.
4. The more income, the better the player that can be brought in.
5. The better the player, the more the likelihood of success.
There are anomalies such as Sheffield and Newcastle where heavily populated catchment areas haven't brought success despite the large attendances but generally the above has held true since the Football League was formed.