Where have all the Wolves, West Brom and Aston Villa fans gone?

Wolves' average home gate of 20,157 was their worst for 15 years.

At The Hawthorns, numbers were lower than they've ever been in the Premier League.

And, unsurprisingly, attendances also dropped at relegated Villa – to their lowest since the 2000/01 season.

The figures make for grim reading after a poor season of West Midlands football where Wolves have been frustrating, Albion uninspiring, and Villa completely disastrous.

Wolves

Wolves' average figure was the second lowest since Molineux was rebuilt in 1993.

In total, the gate dropped 2,262 from 2014/15, with only a bumper final-day crowd against Sheffield Wednesday nudging the average over 20,000. Even in their League One season Wolves still sold more tickets, recording an average of 20,879.

The drop in Wolves' attendances should set alarm bells ringing among the Molineux hierarchy.

Apathy has been rife this season and the figures reflect as such.

The football served up at Molineux has been at best sub-standard, at worst tedious. And entertainment? Forget it. Seven nil-nils set an unwanted record.

Wolves scored 26 goals in their 23 home games and only two sides (relegated Bolton and Charlton) won fewer games than their seven.

Jez Moxey was bullishly blasé about an early decrease in home gates last September, telling the Express & Star he wasn't concerned and adding: "They will come back."

By February this tack has changed to 'we are concerned' and by last week the chief executive went as far as conceding 'hopelessness' was an emotion being experienced by the Molineux faithful.

While the frequent changing kick-off times for the convenience of Sky Sports is a big factor, it is unwise to assume fans will return in their droves even if every match were to start at 3pm on a Saturday. Perhaps the bleakest number of those published above is the drop in away attendances.

Wolves' core, dyed-in-the-wool, fanbase that travel up and down the country through good times and bad dropped by 500, to levels last seen when the team was being regularly turned over on their way to League One in 2012/13.

Away followings are also down, with Wolves taking 1,439 on average to away games this season – 496 fewer than last year.

With 'early bird' season ticket renewal numbers dropping 1,661 to 10,121 in March, there is a possibility gates will be even lower in 2016/17.

A mitigating factor was the number of matches selected for live television coverage by Sky Sports – 14 in total – with three more games having to have their dates switched as a result.

That had an impact on away followings. Just 291 and 365 travelled to Friday night games at Middlesbrough and Hull respectively.

But seven 0-0 home draws and a disappointing season where Wolves finished 14th were undoubtedly the main reasons behind the fall.

Chief executive Jez Moxey admitted in February that attendances were a concern, saying: "Fans want us to be challenging for automatic promotion, and we're not.

"So that, among disruption of matches, general discontent, boycotts at Liverpool, walkouts... it's a concern of ours."

Albion

The Baggies recorded their lowest ever average attendance at The Hawthorns in the Premier League with 24,631, down from last season's average of 25,064.

Only Newcastle, Villa, and Liverpool lost more fans over the course of the season, but the reduction at Anfield was enforced by the redevelopment of the main stand.

Although home attendances have been slowly dropping by around 130 for the previous two seasons, that rate has accelerated this campaign.

The gate of 22,062 for February's 1-1 draw with Swansea was the lowest the club had ever recorded in the Premier League.

Undoubtedly there are some supporters staying away from The Hawthorns because of Tony Pulis's unadventurous style of football, and even more are warning on social media that they won't be renewing their season tickets for the upcoming campaign.

Yes, it has been a long slog of a season, and the often-repeated damning statistics surrounding chances created and shots on target would attest to that.

However, it would be naive to suggest that 'Pulisball' is the only factor at play.

Attendances have been slowly falling for the past few years.

In fact, the club lost 900 season ticket holders in the summer of 2014 when Alan Irvine replaced Pepe Mel as head coach after the Spaniard guided the club to a nervy 17th-place finish.

Although Albion have some of the most affordable ticket prices in the Premier League, it's still unreasonably expensive to take your family to a match, especially considering how static wages have been since the 2008 credit crunch.

What was once a weekly pilgrimage is now a luxury item.

On top of that, 10 of Albion's league games were featured on live TV this season, but all of them could quite easily have been illegally streamed online.

Unaffordable ticket prices and ease of access mean many are retreating to their armchairs.

Finally, Albion may be a victim of their own success.

The club has just completed their sixth season in the top tier, but attendances have never been as high as that first campaign in the promised land back in 2002/03.

Some fans are staying away because of head coach Tony Pulis's style of football, and people behind the scenes at the club are expecting season ticket renewals to take a hit ahead of next season.

The accelerated decline is down to the poor fare on offer but there are other factors to consider. Ten of Albion's league games were on live TV and the thrill of top flight football has now worn off as the club enter their seventh successive season in the Premier League.

When Albion first reached the bright lights of the Premier League in 2002, the average gate at The Hawthorns of that first campaign was 26,731, more than 2,000 higher than this season.

To try to combat this, the Baggies have frozen their season ticket prices for the 2016/17 campaign – although many fans hoped they might reduce them with the bumper new TV deal coming into play at the end of next season.

The club have also attempted to expand into Birmingham with a marketing campaign that saw the new shirt revealed in Grand Central; a reminder to rivals of their top-flight status.

Villa

The average gate at Villa Park was 33,690 this season, down from 34,133. That's the lowest since the 1999/2000 (31,697) and 2000/01 (31,597) seasons when the stadium's capacity was reduced owing to the Trinity Road stand being rebuilt. At a fully-open Villa Park, it's the lowest since 1996 when the average was 32,614.

Season ticket prices have been slightly reduced next season in a bid to lure back fans to the club.

Prices are down between £10 and £20, and those who buy before the end of this month will have the price fixed on their seat for the following 2017/18 season. However, the top tier of the Trinity Road will be closed next season amid cutbacks to staffing costs.

Walsall

Unsurprisingly, the promotion-chasing Saddlers buck the trend in the West Midlands.

Gates are up 990 at the Banks's Stadium, from 4,392 last season to 5,382 in 2015/16.

That's the highest average at the Banks's since 2008, and the fans have been rewarded with plenty of goals, and plenty of victories.