Can somebody explain to me why most people seem to believe the crowds we are currently getting are awful? Plenty of leagues around the world average below 5k. The fact we average close to 10k is a miracle given the standard of football/sporting landscape in this country.

So you're saying our shit crowds are good because the standard is shit, and despite what we have gotten in the past they are OK because other leagues get lower

Are you going for the CEO position?

Well this is the reason. We have 11 teams, pretty much every other country has a lot more teams to support in multiple divisions. The average attendance might be lower but cumulatively it doesn't compare.

Our crowds ain't shit, they are great, could/should be more but what is wrong with current figures?

On one level you are right, plenty of leagues around the world getting similar crowds, good leagues too.
I guess in our case,  you have to consider:
1.  in our 3rd season we averaged over 14k attendances, so there was the hope at that point that we were on the verge of something even bigger
2.  many believe that we should be able to match a suburban league like the AFL, a game only played in four states, afterall, our game is the most popular game on earth

That may not be possible, but can we catch the NRL?  Yes, I believe we can.

If we had as much $$$$$ pumped in the Aleague as the NRL and AFL have, no doubt our crowds would increase significantly. Virtually zero advertising and zero mainstream media coverage and we still get decent crowds. 

If a tree falls in the woods is the salary cap responsible? 

This !

So even with the melbourne derby and wanderers first competitive game at the new stadium, total attendance was significantly less than round 1 last season.

Lucky the new regime is here to "save" the league...

What about the earlier seasons when the crowds were better with less money in the game

It's not great, but I don't think it's a complete disaster either.
The early rounds generally set the scene for the rest of the season.
It's looking like if we can get somewhere near last years average, we would have done very well

Wanderers' first game at Bankwest was a great improvement on last season.  A total of 15k in 2 home games against Mariners last season was surpassed with 17k attending.

Each one of us can help by bringing a friend, relative or whoever along to a game. We can all play our part in promoting football.

Wanderers played their first game at Bankwest last season too?

My round 2 predictions

Melbourne Victory v Western Sydney = 22,000

Western United v Perth Glory = 4,000

Central Coast v Newcastle = 9,500

Melbourne City v Adelaide = 8,000

Sydney FC v Wellington = 10,000

Libels round 2 expectations 

Melbourne Victory v Western Sydney = 50,000

Western United v Perth = 36,000

Central Coast v Newcastle = 20,000

Melbourne City v Adelaide = 29,000

Sydney FC v Wellington = 19,000

I’m going to say the following:

MV vs WSW - 22k sounds about right
WU vs PG - 8k (a bit more optimistic than some , especially for the novelty factor of their first home game)
CC vs NJ - 9.5k sounds about right 
MC vs AU - 9k (seems to be a bit more confidence about the club this year, which may well translate to a lift in attendance)
SFC vs WP 10k sounds about right 

The fact that the attendance was the highest ever for a Wanderers non derby home game speaks for itself.

Yeah, it says it was their first competitive game at a shiny new stadium in the first round of the season. 

To not even crack 20k in the circumstances, was very poor.

Considering Western United got 4,000-5,000 to a friendly two weeks ago in Geelong v WSW, I’d like to think they’ll get more than 4,000 in a proper A-League match this Saturday, especially after beating Wellington. 

For some reason I thought they got 1.5k for that game. If they did get 4k then I'm confident they'll get closer to 8k then the 4k I predicted. 

1/ Last season the MV game managed to get 40k (20% higher) which is why Foxsports announced it with a tone of disappointment
2/ This season the A League was rigged to maximise metrics. Every round 1 game was hand picked for attendances and ratings yet was lower than the opening round for last season

Aside from the occasional derby or blockbuster the A League is down to a gradually dwindling base of core support. Resolving this first means confronting a few hard truths. If the current crowd figures are great then no action is required

So what do you suggest mate?

He has suggested what many on this forum have suggested:  a move to P&R will increase interest in the comp.

That’s a few years away so are we pretty much screwed then?

But that was free entry.

If they keep winning more people will come. Sydney is Sydney. 

Still think they need to replace Majewski with a high calibre creative mid to bring the crowds in, their brand of football still isn't great.

Not really. We just need a plan to establish a viable, competitive football league. Everything wont be available from day 1 but we'll get there eventually

Like Japan and Korea did

The sooner we start, the sooner we get there. There is enough money and investment in the league so it wont die in the next few years

Round 1 was always going to be less than last year, almost zero marketing and that was reflected in all the attendances. 

Had there been sufficient marketing, 40k would have been achieved without doubt. 

Almost zero mainstream media and we STILL get respectable crowds.

You crack me up.  Attendance was up by 125% on their average for non derby games last season and you are dissatisfied.  I guess you don't understand the market you are commenting about.