IN the last days of "Wimbledon" FC, before their move to Milton Keynes, an ancient joke was dusted down – one about the PA announcer reading out the names of the fans to the players, instead of the other way round.

It had been used before and it’ll be used again but perhaps never with the accuracy of April 2005, when a grand total of 22 paying customers watched Thamesmead Town play Sporting Bengal in the Kent League.

Taking into account substitutes and management, these hardy souls were indeed outnumbered by the playing staff.

The fact that several other games were played to audiences of 30 or 40 illustrates why non-league clubs are struggling to compete with their professional counterparts.

Despite some success stories, the overall picture is gloomy, with the Kent League particularly badly hit.

The county’s senior competition attracts an average of just 106 spectators to its matches according to official figures.

The real picture may be even worse. The attendance given for Beckenham Town v Thamesmead was 101 but a cynic would suggest that this figure is more accurate in binary.

Champions Ramsgate averaged just 154 spectators per game, with runners-up Herne Bay managing just 12 more.

There are honourable exceptions: Maidstone United remain the league’s best supported side, despite playing their games at Sittingbourne.

Their figure of 263 is down just two from 2003/2004 and the Bourne Park tenants still manage to attract over 60 more fans to their games than their landlords, even though Sittingbourne play in the division above.

Nor has groundsharing hurt Dartford as much as it might have. Their average of 260 makes them the seventh-best supported side in the county if Gillingham are included in the equation.

A lack of success on the field may partially explain the relatively poor figures – no senior side outside the Kent League managed a promotion challenge this year.

Three of the top five faced relegation battles. Dover’s unsuccesful bid to avoid dropping out of the Ryman Premier League saw them comfortably top their division’s chart with over 700 fans per game.

Tonbridge retained a loyal hard-core of around 400 fans, despite suffering an identical fate.

Yet the overriding reason for the low figures is still Kent’s proximity to London.

Over 1,200 fans use the Valley Express to travel to Charlton Athletic’s home games from Kent.

Put all of these into one venue – and this figure ignores those who travel to the Valley and other London clubs by train or car – and you would have a bigger crowd than at everywhere but Gravesend - the county’s leading non-league club.

Imminent new grounds at Maidstone and Dartford may help to reverse the trend. But until our sides manage to make themselves a more attractive option than the London clubs, the biggest football crowds in Kent are likely to be in the new generation of sports bars.

Average gates

Gravesend: 1321
Dover: 713
Folkestone: 452
Tonbridge: 407
Maidstone: 263
Dartford: 260
Margate: 208
Sittingbourne: 198
Whitstable: 196
Chatham Town: 181
* League games only

With one game to play, Charlton are averaging over 24,000 fans per Premiership game.
Gillingham’s average gate of 8,528 was the fourth lowest in the Championship.