alehouseboys Posted 5 January, 2015 Share Posted 5 January, 2015 The debate about how to create a ‘home fans Kop’ appears to have become a bit of a hot topic amongst many fans right now but there’s no easy solution. You can’t move the aways, the club and Police have ruled it out, it’s already ideally suited for their coaches. You can’t shift them round the corner into the Itchen due to the executive boxes and you can’t have visiting fans using turnstiles either side of the ticket office for obvious reasons. The only possibility is to re-invent the Chapel End. Now you have a problem of moving the type of fan that likes sitting there and encouraging our ‘singers’ to move to the other end of the stadium. I don’t know how it could be done but assuming some of the current ‘Chapel-Enders’ are happy to relocate, how to then entice the Northam lot? There’s been a few suggestions before like making it clear that this stand is the ‘singing end’ and likely to be more ‘animated’ (or words to that effect), put in additional bar areas and maybe even have a smoking area outside for half time. I’d start by renaming the stand, it needs an image over-haul. As Chapel was originally the area of the old docks and home to many dockers families, I’d call it simply ‘Dockers’. I’d even sacrifice the front row of seats and put a bar all the way across the front for fans to hang banners to give it a bit of colour and identity. I’d bring a bit of the old Dell to St Mary’s and rename the Itchen/Chapel corner ‘Dockers Corner’ and make that the first banner… Others could be fans groups from different parts of the city, if they couldn’t be left in place hopefully the club could store them in the stand to be put out on matchdays? I realise this is very unlikely to happen but the atmosphere has certainly gone downhill since we returned to the Premier League and needs something radical. Of course, safe-standing would help! I know there's a thread about the atmosphere but this is more about suggestions for finding a solution Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sour Mash Posted 5 January, 2015 Share Posted 5 January, 2015 (edited) Fair play for coming up with some suggestions, but you're never going to have a transfer of long standing season ticket holders over the course of a summer, just won't happen. Our atmosphere could do with improving, but it's not as bad as many places and doesn't need anything too drastic. At the end of the day, the club are pretty good for helping things, they pretty much turn a blind eye to standing in "standing areas", a lot of clubs don't. Ultimately, what would help the atmosphere more is if more people got involved and gave vocal support to the team, that's what would really make a difference. Edited 5 January, 2015 by Sour Mash Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saint_clark Posted 5 January, 2015 Share Posted 5 January, 2015 If safe standing is introduced you'd hope the club will do it in the Chapel end to make it easy. Might be worth getting in touch with the club, if there's a big movement towards the summer to move the home end down to the chapel then more people will go for it. Of course you have the problem of the family stand which is currently in the chapel i believe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nta786 Posted 5 January, 2015 Share Posted 5 January, 2015 I wouldn't want this, but the way Liverpool have the song 'you'll never walk alone', or west ham with their 'bullsh*t bubbles', we could have an 'oh when the saints go marching in', to get all the fans all excited etc etc? I find it slightly tacky, but just a suggestion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Golden Balls Posted 5 January, 2015 Share Posted 5 January, 2015 Too much work to get people behind it. I like the idea though. That said, I like being near the away fans for a bit of banter and also it's easier to drown them out. If they're next to the family section like at so many ground the away fans find it easier to continue chanting. I think the only realistic way this would happen (and it's not that realistic yet) is to expand the stadium and stick the away fans in a upper tier like Newcastle do then have the Northam as the 'kop' Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Golden Balls Posted 5 January, 2015 Share Posted 5 January, 2015 I wouldn't want this, but the way Liverpool have the song 'you'll never walk alone', or west ham with their 'bullsh*t bubbles', we could have an 'oh when the saints go marching in', to get all the fans all excited etc etc? I find it slightly tacky, but just a suggestion. Woolston Ferry. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doddisalegend Posted 5 January, 2015 Share Posted 5 January, 2015 Just a thought but I always assumed our noisy/singing fans liked being next to the away fans for the banter? moving them to the opposite end of the ground would leave all the older/quieter fans taking the brunt of the away fans banter with no reply while our singers would have nothing to feed off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lifeintheslowlane Posted 5 January, 2015 Share Posted 5 January, 2015 As a "Chapel-ender" (by virtue that we were "Milton-roaders" at the Dell) I'd welcome the Northams at our end. I sit in a block of about 30 season ticket holders who when relocating to St. Mary's kept our block together in the same equivalent location. We've been here (as a group) come hell or high water for more than 20 years so for us, giving up our seats isn't an option. Having said that our central location in The Chapel isn't all season tickets so infilling wouldn't be a problem. It would be interesting to see just how big a percentage of The Chapel is taken by season ticket holders and how much of an operation relocating Northam season ticket holders would be. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ericb Posted 5 January, 2015 Share Posted 5 January, 2015 As long as we don't ever go down the route of "ultras" (the most mickey mouse modern football thing around) i'm happy to try most things. Personally i think the Northam/Kingsland is actually as good as most i've heard in the premier league. I'm not claiming that's good by the way, more that it's a wider problem in the league. The thing with the old Dell that made it better (in my opinion) is that we had little vocal pockets split up around the ground, in the days of the terraces you had a good home "end" in the Milton, though songs split between left and right, the east stand lot that liked something a bit more "in your face" with the away fans and then the Archers lot that was more of a mixture. Obviously when the main home end moved to bikeshed we were helped by the low stand and roof, but there was a good enough pocket left in the Milton to get things going there and the east stand lot kept doing their thing whatever. For me the problem we have at St Mary's is that we have our Archers with the Northam/Kingsland, our East Stand lot with the Itchen but we've never had those pockets of singers that didn't move like we did in the Milton so the Chapel has never really caught on. I personally doubt it'd take massive amounts to get the Chapel going, maybe 50 people at the back who wanted to make some noise would inspire everyone else. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saint_clark Posted 5 January, 2015 Share Posted 5 January, 2015 No reason why we could use half of the Kingsland in all honesty. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alehouseboys Posted 5 January, 2015 Author Share Posted 5 January, 2015 Fair play for coming up with some suggestions, but you're never going to have a transfer of long standing season ticket holders over the course of a summer, just won't happen. Our atmosphere could do with improving, but it's not as bad as many places and doesn't need anything too drastic. At the end of the day, the club are pretty good for helping things, they pretty much turn a blind eye to standing in "standing areas", a lot of clubs don't. Ultimately, what would help the atmosphere more is if more people got involved and gave vocal support to the team, that's what would really make a difference. I agree with what you say and there's other grounds far worse than St Mary's in the Premier League, and I did say I thought it unlikely, but as it stands not enough get involved to regularly make a difference Just a thought but I always assumed our noisy/singing fans liked being next to the away fans for the banter? moving them to the opposite end of the ground would leave all the older/quieter fans taking the brunt of the away fans banter with no reply while our singers would have nothing to feed off. But this is the bit I can't really understand. The Northam is split in two and either side can't hear or see the other, the banter is mostly between the away fans and the Itchen North. You'd be better off facing each other from either end. Other than "who are ya, who are ya?" blindly aimed at the oppo after we score there's little 'banter' between the 2 sets of fans in the Northam. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sour Mash Posted 5 January, 2015 Share Posted 5 January, 2015 But this is the bit I can't really understand. The Northam is split in two and either side can't hear or see the other, the banter is mostly between the away fans and the Itchen North. You'd be better off facing each other from either end. Other than "who are ya, who are ya?" blindly aimed at the oppo after we score there's little 'banter' between the 2 sets of fans in the Northam. Yeah, the away fans just look/focus on the Itchen north, there is no "banter" between Saints in the Northam and the away fans. In block 41 and 40 they can barely see the away fans full stop. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Golden Balls Posted 5 January, 2015 Share Posted 5 January, 2015 But this is the bit I can't really understand. The Northam is split in two and either side can't hear or see the other, the banter is mostly between the away fans and the Itchen North. You'd be better off facing each other from either end. Other than "who are ya, who are ya?" blindly aimed at the oppo after we score there's little 'banter' between the 2 sets of fans in the Northam. Very true. But with the Northam and Itchen north either side it kind of drowns them out. Would a full lop end in the Chapel do the same? Probably. Just the organisation required is difficult. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sour Mash Posted 5 January, 2015 Share Posted 5 January, 2015 Very true. But with the Northam and Itchen north either side it kind of drowns them out. Would a full lop end in the Chapel do the same? Probably. Just the organisation required is difficult. It doesn't drown them out though, most of the away support doesn't even realise "the Northam" are there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Huffton Posted 5 January, 2015 Share Posted 5 January, 2015 When we do Oh when the saints at a decent pace the whole ground joins in, then for some reason the board bangers speed it up to 100mph and guess what? It all goes to rat****. I agree with someones earlier post about the liverpool/whu bit. If we could get the club to play a decent version of OWTS loud over the PA it would work well, scarves held aloft, banners the whole works. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Huffton Posted 5 January, 2015 Share Posted 5 January, 2015 The other thing is the Chapel tends to be a bit older than the Northam (family bit excepted), ex milton roaders etc, so maybe we don't feel the need to sing about kicking a skates head in every five minutes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sour Mash Posted 5 January, 2015 Share Posted 5 January, 2015 When we do Oh when the saints at a decent pace the whole ground joins in, then for some reason the board bangers speed it up to 100mph and guess what? It all goes to rat****. . Does the whole ground join into OWTS? The only song that seems to go round the ground properly and does sound class, is "Come on You Reds". And the slower version of OWTS is sang all the time these days anyway. The other thing is the Chapel tends to be a bit older than the Northam (family bit excepted), ex milton roaders etc, so maybe we don't feel the need to sing about kicking a skates head in every five minutes. How many times does "Pompey Fan on a String" get sung by any bit of the ground, any game? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
newyork Posted 5 January, 2015 Share Posted 5 January, 2015 we need to adopt 'we are Sailing' by rod Stewart. It is the anthem every club needs to make a wall of sound. it fits the club it fits the city. Everyone knows the words even Ronald as it was a big hit in holland. Add this to more than one verse of oh when the saints and we are soorted Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Huffton Posted 5 January, 2015 Share Posted 5 January, 2015 Does the whole ground join into OWTS? . Yes, every game, until the speed goes throug the roof. How many times does "Pompey Fan on a String" get sung by any bit of the ground, any game? You know exactly what I mean. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
supersonic Posted 5 January, 2015 Share Posted 5 January, 2015 I like this idea, and I believe the club tried to do something like this a few seasons ago? There have been several people moaning on twitter since yesterday's game that they had to move seats because of the Ipswich fans, something which has happened ever since SMS opened. I've also suggested this to several people, the team seem to mainly shoot towards the Chapel in the second half (this could be because the away team choose to shoot towards their fans in the second half) but I appreciate it will be difficult to "swap" 2 whole stands of people. I'm sure the club could help with this (maybe offering discounts on ST for those displaced?). I do also appreciate that many people sit in blocks 41/42 because of the "banter" with the away fans, something which I can maybe understand in the PL as there are big followings, but in League 1 when there used to be 200 Oldham fans there it was a bit pointless. Also, I'd question, are you going to football to have "banter" with the away fans, or support Saints? It should be the latter, in which case it moving to the Chapel would be a great idea. I've been to Liverpool and Sheff Utd away this season, both have "kop" stands which are where the "hardcore" fans go to support and the team know this. Both are at the other end of the ground to away fans and it works. Anyway, best suggestion I've heard for a while, make it happen, would make SMS a better atmosphere IMO. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ericb Posted 5 January, 2015 Share Posted 5 January, 2015 I like this idea, and I believe the club tried to do something like this a few seasons ago? There have been several people moaning on twitter since yesterday's game that they had to move seats because of the Ipswich fans, something which has happened ever since SMS opened. I've also suggested this to several people, the team seem to mainly shoot towards the Chapel in the second half (this could be because the away team choose to shoot towards their fans in the second half) but I appreciate it will be difficult to "swap" 2 whole stands of people. I'm sure the club could help with this (maybe offering discounts on ST for those displaced?). I do also appreciate that many people sit in blocks 41/42 because of the "banter" with the away fans, something which I can maybe understand in the PL as there are big followings, but in League 1 when there used to be 200 Oldham fans there it was a bit pointless. Also, I'd question, are you going to football to have "banter" with the away fans, or support Saints? It should be the latter, in which case it moving to the Chapel would be a great idea. I've been to Liverpool and Sheff Utd away this season, both have "kop" stands which are where the "hardcore" fans go to support and the team know this. Both are at the other end of the ground to away fans and it works. Anyway, best suggestion I've heard for a while, make it happen, would make SMS a better atmosphere IMO. I wouldn't hold up a field as an example of a good atmosphere. It's one of the worst I've been too with the exception of the karaoke version of ynwa at the beginning and end of each game. Absolutely shocking place for noise and even makes old Trafford look decent Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simo Posted 5 January, 2015 Share Posted 5 January, 2015 If I remember rightly the northam is the only place the away fans can be segregated and held properly without renovation and infrastructure changes ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
supersonic Posted 5 January, 2015 Share Posted 5 January, 2015 If I remember rightly the northam is the only place the away fans can be segregated and held properly without renovation and infrastructure changes ? Correct. Placed their as per recommendation from the Police as best place to get away fans in/out Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CB Fry Posted 5 January, 2015 Share Posted 5 January, 2015 On the topic of theme songd I have to say I do like the Sheffield United Annie's Song anthem, although more than a little annoying last time I heard it. And Derby have a good one too. And Palace. Hull seemed to be trying to get Caravan of Love to be their song but didn't seem that effective (but have only been to the KC once, this season). Woolston Ferry is never going to catch on, we'd need a brand new local anthem. Walking Away by Craig David is my suggestion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VectisSaint Posted 5 January, 2015 Share Posted 5 January, 2015 we need to adopt 'we are Sailing' by rod Stewart. It is the anthem every club needs to make a wall of sound. it fits the club it fits the city. Everyone knows the words even Ronald as it was a big hit in holland. Add this to more than one verse of oh when the saints and we are soorted Can't we adopt the Sutherland Brothers original version instead? (Why does everyone think this was a Rod Stewart song?) Anyway, terrible choice because Stewart's version was the theme tune to Sailor, series about the Ark Royal and all its associations with Skatesville. It would be more appropriate to adopt My Heart Will Go On, though not sure we want to sing about a maritime disaster. To be honest OWTSGMI is good enough already. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trousers Posted 5 January, 2015 Share Posted 5 January, 2015 (edited) Simple 'solution' if people are broadly in favour of creating a 'kop end' in the Chapel stand: the club could stop selling season tickets (for one season only) in the Northam end and redirect renewals to the Chapel. Would probably p1ss a few people off initially but its a means to an end that would soon be forgotten. Just a thought. Edited 5 January, 2015 by trousers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Turkish Posted 5 January, 2015 Share Posted 5 January, 2015 For our anthem at kick off Something we all know, would be catchy and is sung very fast so the Northam would love it is supercalfrajalisticexpealidcious, we could even get a few anti pompey lines in too... Um diddle um diddle Um diddle ay (clap clap clap) Um diddle um diddle Um diddle ay (clap clap clap) super saints are fantastic, Pompey are atrocious Think they're the bestest in the world they all sound precocious We're the best because they are atrocious Super saints are fantastic Pompey are atrocious Um diddle diddle um diddle ay (clap clap clap) Um diddle diddle um diddle ay (clap clap clap) Clap clap clap clap clap clap clap clap clap Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Manuel Posted 5 January, 2015 Share Posted 5 January, 2015 When we do Oh when the saints at a decent pace the whole ground joins in, then for some reason the board bangers speed it up to 100mph and guess what? It all goes to rat****. I agree with someones earlier post about the liverpool/whu bit. If we could get the club to play a decent version of OWTS loud over the PA it would work well, scarves held aloft, banners the whole works. There was some ridiculous board banging on Sunday, completely out of time, more of a distraction than anything. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djharvey Posted 5 January, 2015 Share Posted 5 January, 2015 Expand the Northam by a few thousand, it's the only way to get more saints into the area and keep away fans in the same area. Stick another 20 rows of seats at the back of the stand (or another tier) this would give around 8k+ in the northam and would mean we always outnumber away fans for league games and still a fair presence for cup games. It would also give an opportunity to improve acoustics with a new roof at this end. Obviously a fair initial outlay (10+million) but I think there are some great positives/wins. Just a thought , I am not ITK. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jasonb Posted 5 January, 2015 Share Posted 5 January, 2015 For our anthem at kick off Something we all know, would be catchy and is sung very fast so the Northam would love it is supercalfrajalisticexpealidcious, we could even get a few anti pompey lines in too... Um diddle um diddle Um diddle ay (clap clap clap) Um diddle um diddle Um diddle ay (clap clap clap) super saints are fantastic, Pompey are atrocious Think they're the bestest in the world they all sound precocious We're the best because they are atrocious Super saints are fantastic Pompey are atrocious Um diddle diddle um diddle ay (clap clap clap) Um diddle diddle um diddle ay (clap clap clap) Clap clap clap clap clap clap clap clap clap I say stick with the Skid's. In fact we should hire the Skid's for every home game and let them play live in the centre circle. If that doesn't get the old gits po-going in the stands nothing will. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Golden Balls Posted 5 January, 2015 Share Posted 5 January, 2015 No point playing a song over our PA system. Nobody will hear it unless they're in the toilets. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Golden Balls Posted 6 January, 2015 Share Posted 6 January, 2015 Can't we adopt the Sutherland Brothers original version instead? (Why does everyone think this was a Rod Stewart song?) Anyway, terrible choice because Stewart's version was the theme tune to Sailor, series about the Ark Royal and all its associations with Skatesville. It would be more appropriate to adopt My Heart Will Go On, though not sure we want to sing about a maritime disaster. To be honest OWTSGMI is good enough already. Actually a decent suggestion imo. Who cares if it was once the theme of a series no one knows about a ship that has links to them. Tedious link. If it got going the right way it would be impressive. Although all I can see is this... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldNick Posted 6 January, 2015 Share Posted 6 January, 2015 I was under the impression that the club have to offer a percentage of the tickets to the away club. Of course this must be wrong as Man U etc only give a small allocation of tickets to the away team. Should our club reduce the away section and increase the Northam to home fans. it surely could be done quite easily. The 'Kop' end should have been arranged when we first went to SMS. Sadly there seems to be a madness that we need to be next to the away section, it nullifies the home support IMO. It will never happen of course but the Chapel should have been where all the more vocal fans sat/stood to create more intimidating atmosphere Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daft Kerplunk Posted 6 January, 2015 Share Posted 6 January, 2015 Definitely think there is a need to move the noise to the chapel end. Sitting in the chapel vs Ipswich made you realise that one whole end can be a wall of sound whereas its disjointed at the moment and when the away fans sing, the northam end is not that audible. Sorry but it's true. Some people could and would still stay in the northam and itchen and as someone else suggests from the Dell, that would be helpful in generating more atmosphere. But sadly it has all gone a bit flat. There are loads of reasons but a bigger noisy end, and then some organisation of singing (sounds corny but it works very well for Man Utd who have loads of songs ...which we copy), banners, flags etc. and everyone could get wrapped up in it. Football is entertainment and part of that is a noisy passionate crowd, or at least it should be. It's our community, our chance to come together to do our city proud. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevegrant Posted 6 January, 2015 Share Posted 6 January, 2015 I was under the impression that the club have to offer a percentage of the tickets to the away club. Of course this must be wrong as Man U etc only give a small allocation of tickets to the away team. The rule is the home team has to offer 10% of the saleable capacity or 3,000 tickets, whichever is the lower. Hence, at grounds with capacities larger than 30,000, we get a maximum of 3,000 tickets, give or take a few hundred either way for segregation and ease of access. We give up to 3,150 for away teams in the league, which is technically more than we need to (3,000, obviously), especially considering the club is allowed to reduce the away allocation for any segregation that needs to be put in place - in practice, this means that we could offer a maximum league allocation of around 2,600, with around 400 seats blocked off for segregation from the actual allocation of 3,000. The problem with doing this is logistics and safety legislation. The reason we give slightly more than we need to is that, with the current full away allocation, the segregation netting is placed pretty much right down the middle of block 43 - safety legislation dictates that no seat should be further than [X] seats from an aisle to enable a quick evacuation if necessary. I don't know what the [X] is, but basically if the netting was to be placed at the far side of block 43, reducing the away allocation to 2600, the club would still only be able to sell around half of the block to home fans, not the three-quarters that would in theory be available. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sour Mash Posted 6 January, 2015 Share Posted 6 January, 2015 I was under the impression that the club have to offer a percentage of the tickets to the away club. Of course this must be wrong as Man U etc only give a small allocation of tickets to the away team. Should our club reduce the away section and increase the Northam to home fans. it surely could be done quite easily. The 'Kop' end should have been arranged when we first went to SMS. Sadly there seems to be a madness that we need to be next to the away section, it nullifies the home support IMO. It will never happen of course but the Chapel should have been where all the more vocal fans sat/stood to create more intimidating atmosphere No, they have to give a percentage or an X amount (depending on if it is a league or cup game), we can't drop the amount of tickets we give to away fans. And it wasn't really "a madness" to be next to the away fans, it was a follow on from the Archers/Lower East at the Dell which worked so well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saint_clark Posted 6 January, 2015 Share Posted 6 January, 2015 Can't we adopt the Sutherland Brothers original version instead? (Why does everyone think this was a Rod Stewart song?) Anyway, terrible choice because Stewart's version was the theme tune to Sailor, series about the Ark Royal and all its associations with Skatesville. It would be more appropriate to adopt My Heart Will Go On, though not sure we want to sing about a maritime disaster. To be honest OWTSGMI is good enough already. I can't think of anything more ridiculous than the entirety of St Marys singing my heart will go on. We'd be a laughing stock. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sour Mash Posted 6 January, 2015 Share Posted 6 January, 2015 I can't think of anything more ridiculous than the entirety of St Marys singing my heart will go on. We'd be a laughing stock. I'm just picturing it now :lol: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saint_clark Posted 6 January, 2015 Share Posted 6 January, 2015 I'm just picturing it now :lol: Maybe we should sing 'Your Song' to the players. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andoru Posted 6 January, 2015 Share Posted 6 January, 2015 I can't think of anything more ridiculous than the entirety of St Marys singing my heart will go on. We'd be a laughing stock. I can't think of anything more ridiculous than the entirety of St Marys singing my heart will go on. We'd be a laughing stock. It is completely ridiculous, until you remember that YNWA is a song from a Rodgers and Hammerstein musical about a fairground ride. Imagine someone suggesting it as their anthem today! We* could do 'My Heart Will Go On' ironically, just to take the **** out of the Liverpool fans who take their silly song too seriously. Could also do a sea shanty to show we are still in touch with our nautical heritage, or if someone can lead it, get the four sides of the ground doing 'Sloop John B' in a round. Alternatively, there's Craig David's excellent canon of work to dip into. *By 'we', I mean those of you who go to matches. I'm on the other side of the world, but I can join in in spirit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CB Fry Posted 6 January, 2015 Share Posted 6 January, 2015 I can't think of anything more ridiculous than the entirety of St Marys singing my heart will go on. We'd be a laughing stock. If we all did it arms outstretched Kate and Leo style I think it could be quite iconic. Take that, Galatasary. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bearsy Posted 6 January, 2015 Share Posted 6 January, 2015 pls pls pls heart will go on! And after we can drown #goodlucktim in the itchen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SaintSparky Posted 6 January, 2015 Share Posted 6 January, 2015 The rule is the home team has to offer 10% of the saleable capacity or 3,000 tickets, whichever is the lower. Hence, at grounds with capacities larger than 30,000, we get a maximum of 3,000 tickets, give or take a few hundred either way for segregation and ease of access. We give up to 3,150 for away teams in the league, which is technically more than we need to (3,000, obviously), especially considering the club is allowed to reduce the away allocation for any segregation that needs to be put in place - in practice, this means that we could offer a maximum league allocation of around 2,600, with around 400 seats blocked off for segregation from the actual allocation of 3,000. The problem with doing this is logistics and safety legislation. The reason we give slightly more than we need to is that, with the current full away allocation, the segregation netting is placed pretty much right down the middle of block 43 - safety legislation dictates that no seat should be further than [X] seats from an aisle to enable a quick evacuation if necessary. I don't know what the [X] is, but basically if the netting was to be placed at the far side of block 43, reducing the away allocation to 2600, the club would still only be able to sell around half of the block to home fans, not the three-quarters that would in theory be available. The rule for the FA Cup is slightly different, being "up to 15% of all accommodation"; which depending on the exact definition of "all accommodation" (probably similar to what Steve has outlined above) will be a figure north of 4500 at St Mary's like the Ipswich game (This seasons FA Cup competition rules are available via http://www.thefa.com/thefacup/more/rules (section 21 'Distribution of Tickets' being they key section). Have not looked to see what the Europa League and Champions League rules are; but if we were looking at changing the status quo to create a fixed home 'kop' then it would make sense to take these rules into account when picking a location in the stadium for both the home 'kop' and a variable sized away section. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mowgli Posted 6 January, 2015 Share Posted 6 January, 2015 When the stadium was built it was stated (I believe following some consultation with fans) that the Northam would be reserved for away fans which is why you have the control room there. The Chapel was defined as our singing end. We bought season tickets there on that basis but by the time the first game kicked off most of the kop choir had relocated to the Northam to wind up the away fans. As Harvey says, the only solution really us to expand the Northam. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
newyork Posted 6 January, 2015 Share Posted 6 January, 2015 Southampton is a port city. Newcastle sunderland liverpool are the only other premiership cities that come to mind as major ports. We are associated with the docks. We are associated with the sea. Our badge recognises this. OUtside Southampton this is what people know of us. We need another song that reflects that. We are Sailing is the only song that does this. it hits all the right factors in terms of words and most importantly acoustics. My job as a sound engineer gives me an insight into the sound /noise that needs to be created in a stadium to create that hair on the back of the neck feeling. The tune and harmony from We are Sailing would take the roof off - trust me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gr00031 Posted 6 January, 2015 Share Posted 6 January, 2015 It'd be an interesting idea. But I don't think there is too much wrong with the current situation! When I sit in the Northern, or even the Kingsland it's pretty loud... Maybe it's me getting on a bit... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevegrant Posted 6 January, 2015 Share Posted 6 January, 2015 When the stadium was built it was stated (I believe following some consultation with fans) that the Northam would be reserved for away fans which is why you have the control room there. The Chapel was defined as our singing end. We bought season tickets there on that basis but by the time the first game kicked off most of the kop choir had relocated to the Northam to wind up the away fans. As Harvey says, the only solution really us to expand the Northam. There wasn't really a consultation as such, fans were simply told that the police had said the Northam/Itchen corner was most convenient for away access, so the away section would be in blocks 43-48. Everyone basically went where they thought it would be best, but even in the relatively short time we've been at St Mary's, the demographic in different parts of the ground has changed so much, people move around quite a lot. I've been back and forth between the Northam and Itchen corner loads of times. That freedom of movement, for want of a better phrase, means that if there was a concerted effort to organise something and have a whole stand that stood and sung all game in the Chapel, it would be pretty easy to achieve, I reckon. It just requires the will of the people, which is probably where it'll come unstuck as most people just can't be arsed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
newyork Posted 6 January, 2015 Share Posted 6 January, 2015 When we get into Europe (i hope/pray) an international song like We are Sailing will be played in every country. Along with Oh when the saints we will have two perfect recognisable songs to our name. that is if we can manage another few verses of oh when the saints. It really wound me up when Ipswich were singing - you've only got one song. it wound me up because its true. I don't count players songs (they come and go) and i don't count pompy songs (they have gone!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sour Mash Posted 6 January, 2015 Share Posted 6 January, 2015 Southampton is a port city. Newcastle sunderland liverpool are the only other premiership cities that come to mind as major ports. We are associated with the docks. We are associated with the sea. Our badge recognises this. OUtside Southampton this is what people know of us. We need another song that reflects that. We are Sailing is the only song that does this. it hits all the right factors in terms of words and most importantly acoustics. My job as a sound engineer gives me an insight into the sound /noise that needs to be created in a stadium to create that hair on the back of the neck feeling. The tune and harmony from We are Sailing would take the roof off - trust me. Good stuff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dubai_phil Posted 6 January, 2015 Share Posted 6 January, 2015 pls pls pls heart will go on! And after we can drown #goodlucktim in the itchen To keep it football & Saints related we would have to keep the tune but change the words to include #We March On. Must be a lyricist around on here - this is a job for Turks. If it takes off it could be the whole spur to expanding the stadium as we are joined by true singing fans from all across the world. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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