Whilst Newcastle are experiencing a dramatic slump in attendances the Premier League insist overall the situation is stable. Stadiums are still 92 per cent full this season, the same as the last campaign, but some clubs are suffering while others are enjoying bigger crowds.

Sunderland are also down - from 43,344 to 41,186 - as are Blackburn's crowds.

However Bolton, Manchester City and Middlesbrough have all enjoyed a boom in attendances compared to last season.

Promoted clubs Stoke, Hull and West Brom have all been operating close to capacity however, boosting occupancy levels to the same as last season.

Premier League spokesman Dan Johnson said: "Some figures are up and some are down. If you factor in the Manchester United v Fulham match which was postponed we will find we are roughly where we were last season.

"Our figures suggest we are still at 92% occupancy in our stadia, better than anywhere else in Europe and last season we had the highest attendances for over 50 years."