Ipswich Town's average home attendances this season are the highest for almost 20 years - and put the Blues firmly among the best-supported clubs in all of European football.
With Kieran McKenna's men flying high in League One, and CEO Mark Ashton overseeing a range of improvements and updates to Portman Road, there is a real feelgood factor around Town.
And that's been reflected in bumper crowds both home and away this term, with a high of 28,434 watching their Suffolk clash with promotion rivals Portsmouth earlier this month, and every single road game seeing at least 1,000 fans packing the away end.
Town's average home attendance so far this season is 25,298, second only to Derby County's 27,376 in League One and ahead of Sheffield Wednesday's 24,326.
If they can maintain that all season - and all signs suggest that they they will - it would be the club's highest average since the 2004/05 campaign, when they finished third in the Championship and lost to West Ham in the play-off semi-finals.
That year saw an average of 25,651 fans attend Portman Road, a number that slowly dipped to a low of 16,272 in the 2017/18 season, Mick McCarthy's last as boss, when they finished 12th in the second tier.
Indeed, Town's average home crowd this season is better than all but three sides in the Championship, with just Sunderland (38,238), Sheffield United (28,026) and old rivals Norwich City (25,902) edging them out.
And it's even superior to four Premier League teams - the Blues are better backed than Bournemouth (10,187), Brentford (17,075), Fulham (22,286) and Crystal Palace (24,346).
In fact, if you compare that stat to all of Europe's top leagues, the Blues fare well. It's better than:
- 14 sides in the Eredivisie (Holland)
- 13 sides in Serie A (Italy)
- 13 sides in Ligue 1 (France)
- 12 sides in La Liga (Spain)
- Two sides in the Bundesliga (Germany)
The Blues are better supported than world-famous European clubs including Sampdoria (Italy, 20,967), Espanyol (Spain, 20,438) and Villareal (Spain, 16,104).
Both McKenna and his players have spoken often this season about the support, what it means to them - and how it can help them win games.
"The game isn’t all going to go our way and there will be periods in there for both teams, so we’re going to need the crowd in all the big moments," McKenna said, before the 3-2 Pompey win.
“The extra push when things are going our way and we have got momentum is going to be a boost for us and can be difficult for the opposition.
"But also, in the times when things don’t go our way then that’s maybe especially when the players can get a boost from the home crowd pushing them on.
“It’s about everyone working together in unison, really. It’s about us who are responsible for putting the team out on the pitch putting things in the performance that fans can get behind and it’s also about a crowd getting behind a group of players who are giving their absolute all.
“If we work together we can make it a difficult place for opponents to play and an enjoyable place for us.”
Marcus Harness, the club's joint-leading scorer, is among many players who have lauded the support at Portman Road.
He said: "It's amazing. The support's been amazing every game - there's a really good feeling around the club at the minute and we just want to give the fans more of that good energy to keep that going and hopefully have a good season."
Best average home attendances in English football 2022/23
- Manchester United: 73,711
- West Ham United: 62,449
- Tottenham Hotspur: 61,530
- Arsenal 60,122
- Manchester City: 53,335
- Liverpool: 53,205
- Newcastle United: 52,134
- Aston Villa: 41,567
- Chelsea: 39,941
- Everton: 39,264
- Sunderland: 38,238
- Leeds United: 36,410
- Leicester City 31,768
- Brighton & Hove Albion: 31,297
- Wolves: 31,153
- Southampton: 30,840
- Nottingham Forest: 29,032
- Sheffield United: 28,026
- Derby County: 27,376
- Norwich City: 25,921
- Ipswich Town: 25,298
- Middlesbrough: 24,878
- Crystal Palace: 24,346
- Sheffield Wednesday: 24,326
- Fulham: 22,286
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