Today's 'atmosphere'

[angelman]

Rip out the seats and bring back standing.

[Window Cleaner]

Rip out the seats and bring back standing.

 

 

Now you're talking. I was always a terrace fan, even when my ordinary lifestyle would have put me into the West Stand regular bracket. I loved Saturdays in the Milton and similar spots in other grounds,, a place to swap your suit,tie and Gucci brogues for a few hours of fun every week. Kids were elsewhere in the choccy boxes, women..well unless they were like the isolated blonde nutter that was always there and who actually seem to enjoy getting groped by 2000 or so blokes every time the Saints came over the half-way line,..then you didn't see any, Tyrell and Greens was their Saturday spot. Real football, a game for men, played by men for the tittilation of other men.

[The9]

FWIW I put down the rubbish atmosphere on Saturday to a comnbination of the cold meaning people were wearing lots of layers (gloves are not good for clapping and that's a lot of the noise during songs), people being sedate due to the anthem thing and all that cobblers, that it's not much fun to watch a game when you're thinking some semtexed-up loon might put in an appearance, the team being flat, the opposition being Stoke, and the lack of creativity and general things of interest on show. But mostly the cold muffling everything.

 

It was like a night match in daytime, without the darkness to make it seem atmospheric.

[adrian lord]

the loss of terrace standing caused:

 

1) difficulty for groups of like-minded, passionate fans to clump and coalesce into a singing bank of fans

2) relentless price inflation pricing out many thousands of lads in their teens and early 20s who made the most noise, and nothing short of social cleansing of football

3) reduced density of fans per square metre of terrace, diluting atmosphere

4) the seated position is inherently less conducive to singing and developing excited responses

 

We have got to the point where in some sections of some grounds making a noise and so forth is almost frowned upon.

 

I also find the contrived atmospheres that some clubs and fans here in the UK and on the continent try to generate almost embarrassing and cringeworthy.

 

What a mess.

 

I don't get to many games these days due to geography but the last game that I went to that had a decent atmosphere and noise was that home loss to Pompey in the cup.

Edited 25 November, 2015 by adrian lord

[100%Red&White]

The demographic of an English football crowd has certainly changed from the 'good old days'. Very much a family day out now. I remember watching with a touch of envy, a match on TV at St Etienne a couple of years back. They had one end behind a goal, similar in size to the Northam, which was full of 18-30 year olds, 95% male, all bouncing around and making a racket. Then it went up the other end and it was exactly the same! There were no more than 50-odd away fans poked up in one corner, just ignored while both ends battled out the chanting at each other. Can't ever see (half) the Northam having such an exchange with the Chapel Enderzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

[The9]

Rip out the seats and bring back standing.

 

All that'll do is make a lot of people complain there aren't seats any more.

 

There are a load of things about this:

 

1) I stand all match anyway in the Northam, so the atmosphere thing is actually about getting people of a like-mindset together for chanting, which can be done in seats with a bit of planning. Standing itself isn't particularly relevant.

2) Prices will almost certainly not go down anyway, in fact knowing how football has grown as a business, standing will probably become priced as a "luxury item" and end up costing more due to a safe standing area being in limited supply

3) The people who want to sing and are prepared to sing are diminishing everywhere, not just St Mary's.

4) Replacing my seat with a standing area will probably just cause me to move somewhere else in the ground, I'm about 20 years past standing for the sake of it, and though I sing a fair bit at the moment, I can guarantee I wouldn't be joining in from the noise wasteland that is Itchen Centre, Kingsland or god forbid, Chapel.

5) The average age of football fans is going up and up, the appeal is more global than ever and none of those people known songs or can get into the sections where they're being sung, so it's only going to get worse.

6) I'm not even that bothered about it any more. :/

[The9]

The demographic of an English football crowd has certainly changed from the 'good old days'. Very much a family day out now. I remember watching with a touch of envy, a match on TV at St Etienne a couple of years back. They had one end behind a goal, similar in size to the Northam, which was full of 18-30 year olds, 95% male, all bouncing around and making a racket. Then it went up the other end and it was exactly the same! There were no more than 50-odd away fans poked up in one corner, just ignored while both ends battled out the chanting at each other. Can't ever see (half) the Northam having such an exchange with the Chapel Enderzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

 

I've been to a couple of games in the Geoffroy-Guichard, it was as dull a ground as you could wish for, basically the Britannia with high roofs and fences, so it's definitely not the stadium config which affects the atmosphere. They have filled the corners in since I was there though which would help with the noise.

 

It isn't it the pricing either - http://www.sportsevents365.com/dock/team/as-saint-etienne-asse shows it's from £29 for a ticket, that's not going to get you many more in the way of working class shouters than Saints' £35ish on a regular basis...

Edited 25 November, 2015 by The9

[100%Red&White]

I've been to a couple of games in the Geoffroy-Guichard, it was as dull a ground as you could wish for...

 

Fook knows what game I was watching then, certainly no local derby as the paltry away attendance? The place was shaking. Recall United's 'Red Army' having a big barney other there in the 70s in Europe.

[Saint Charlie]

FWIW I put down the rubbish atmosphere on Saturday to a comnbination of the cold meaning people were wearing lots of layers (gloves are not good for clapping and that's a lot of the noise during songs), people being sedate due to the anthem thing and all that cobblers, that it's not much fun to watch a game when you're thinking some semtexed-up loon might put in an appearance, the team being flat, the opposition being Stoke, and the lack of creativity and general things of interest on show. But mostly the cold muffling everything.

 

It was like a night match in daytime, without the darkness to make it seem atmospheric.

I didnt see many wearing layers that muffled their voice. If anything the cold would encourage people to be more active.

[Window Cleaner]

Fook knows what game I was watching then, certainly no local derby as the paltry away attendance? The place was shaking. Recall United's 'Red Army' having a big barney other there in the 70s in Europe.

 

Away fans are often banned in Ligue 1 stadiums nowadays. StE still get good crowds though and the Cauldron hasn't changed much. Still a good place. Economics are of course biting in to French football everywhere and teams are become less and less inspirational.

[Saint IQ]

Well if the ticket prices stay as they are it will just get worse and worse, a lot of the vocals are from the working class and in todays climate they won't be going to many games. So games v teams like Stoke will have a drab atmosphere compared to other games. That's my theory anyway.

[Saint IQ]

the loss of terrace standing caused:

 

1) difficulty for groups of like-minded, passionate fans to clump and coalesce into a singing bank of fans

2) relentless price inflation pricing out many thousands of lads in their teens and early 20s who made the most noise, and nothing short of social cleansing of football

3) reduced density of fans per square metre of terrace, diluting atmosphere

4) the seated position is inherently less conducive to singing and developing excited responses

 

We have got to the point where in some sections of some grounds making a noise and so forth is almost frowned upon.

 

I also find the contrived atmospheres that some clubs and fans here in the UK and on the continent try to generate almost embarrassing and cringeworthy.

 

What a mess.

 

I don't get to many games these days due to geography but the last game that I went to that had a decent atmosphere and noise was that home loss to Pompey in the cup.

 

Totally agree.

[Sour Mash]

Totally agree.

Cost is a factor and definitely doesn't help, but often even cheap tickets don't sell quickly.

 

I think its more to do with many years of over officious stewarding and policing, slowly but surely making it less of a laugh and a good day out for a lot of lads. Look at that letter that was sent to the Itchen North, a good example of football club's attitudes to livelier elements of support.

[alehouseboys]

I've been to a couple of games in the Geoffroy-Guichard, it was as dull a ground as you could wish for, basically the Britannia with high roofs and fences, so it's definitely not the stadium config which affects the atmosphere. They have filled the corners in since I was there though which would help with the noise.

 

It isn't it the pricing either - http://www.sportsevents365.com/dock/team/as-saint-etienne-asse shows it's from £29 for a ticket, that's not going to get you many more in the way of working class shouters than Saints' £35ish on a regular basis...

 

You must have been very unlucky the 2 times you went...

 

 

They look like they're enjoying themselves?

 

And the only reason the Itchen North got those letters and not the Northam 'erberts is the club are more concerned with upsetting the corporates. Even if they are a bunch of lairy aways.

[Supersubpuckett]

Totally agree.

 

The same lads in their teen and 20s who own iphones.....

 

Lots of generalisations going on here but i think the atmosphere is usually ok, however lets face it the game was dreadful and saints played the worst I have seen in ages. You can't blame the fans for saints performance - bit like claiming a comedian wasn't funny because the audience didn't laugh at his sh1t jokes.

[The9]

I didnt see many wearing layers that muffled their voice. If anything the cold would encourage people to be more active.

 

You can't clap much with gloves on.

[The9]

You must have been very unlucky the 2 times you went...

 

 

They look like they're enjoying themselves?

 

And the only reason the Itchen North got those letters and not the Northam 'erberts is the club are more concerned with upsetting the corporates. Even if they are a bunch of lairy aways.

 

Weren't any St Etienne fans there when I went... which sort of proves it's the fans and not the ground, anyway.

[adrian lord]

Must be why the Geordies make a point of wearing not even a shirt in bitter cold

[Wurzel]

Must be why the Geordies make a point of wearing not even a shirt in bitter cold

 

Remember the 79 League Cup Final? Left the sunny south coast in the morning wearing just a t-shirt only to arrive at Wembley whilst they were still shoveling snow from the approaches to the turnstiles. Cold? No, well maybe it was, but you just had an extra whisky with your beer and got on with creating an atmosphere. #GoodOldDays

[Saint Charlie]

You can't clap much with gloves on.

But you can sing, shout and make some sort of noise.

 

I would say clapping is below chanting in terms of generating atmopshere.

 

Some of the best atmospheres have been in the cold.

[The9]

But you can sing, shout and make some sort of noise.

 

I would say clapping is below chanting in terms of generating atmopshere.

 

Some of the best atmospheres have been in the cold.

 

I'm not getting into a discussion about how songs are perpetuated, but a lot of people who don't sing don't mind clapping and that helps with the overall noise for those who are singing, often encouraging others.

 

Hm, it appears I am getting into that discussion... Personally I was bloody freezing, you couldn't hear me clapping with gloves on so I didn't bother, and was generally a lot quieter than usual. I'm mostly putting it down to the game being the turgid mess I was expecting and Saints conceding relatively early. And the cold.

[angelman]

All that'll do is make a lot of people complain there aren't seats any more.

 

There are a load of things about this:

 

1) I stand all match anyway in the Northam, so the atmosphere thing is actually about getting people of a like-mindset together for chanting, which can be done in seats with a bit of planning. Standing itself isn't particularly relevant.

2) Prices will almost certainly not go down anyway, in fact knowing how football has grown as a business, standing will probably become priced as a "luxury item" and end up costing more due to a safe standing area being in limited supply

3) The people who want to sing and are prepared to sing are diminishing everywhere, not just St Mary's.

4) Replacing my seat with a standing area will probably just cause me to move somewhere else in the ground, I'm about 20 years past standing for the sake of it, and though I sing a fair bit at the moment, I can guarantee I wouldn't be joining in from the noise wasteland that is Itchen Centre, Kingsland or god forbid, Chapel.

5) The average age of football fans is going up and up, the appeal is more global than ever and none of those people known songs or can get into the sections where they're being sung, so it's only going to get worse.

6) I'm not even that bothered about it any more. :/

 

Not suggesting that half the stadium be put over to standing.

 

1) I can't stand and when I do some orange clad young lady tells me to sit (and there is no one behind me). I have given up asking why she doesn't get the whole away end to sit.

2) Maybe, maybe not. I presume it is a numbers thing, and with "safe standing" how many more can you actually fit in before H&S clobber you?

3) I'll take your word on that. Is it the same in L2 and L1?

4) Me too. I think that I first went to a Saints match 39 or 40 years ago, and other whipper snappers can be boisterous. I'm happy enough in the Kingsland Premium, although it would be nice to have a padded seat. Must remember to take a blanket next game that is cold !! (joke btw)

5) Yes it is a bit strange how we now have a generation mad keen on football but who are now all TV supporters. Fortunately with the 2 STs I have, I alternate between my old man and my nipper, although it is sad that the nipper will never have experienced the terraces.

6) If truth be told, nor am I. I have also come to the realisation this season, that there is far too much football on TV (mostly Liverpool/ManU, clubs that I have absolutely no interest in at all). Sat lunch and evening. Sun lunch, afternoon, evening. Mon evening. CL Tue/Wed evening. EL Thurs eve. And they want Friday evening PL games as well. Sat 3pm and Wed 7.45pm are all that are needed and **** the rest.

[SaintEllz]

When the match finished me and my friend where the only ones applauding the players as they clapped near where I was sat. Fine, the performance wasn't that good but we have been far worse.

[The9]

Not suggesting that half the stadium be put over to standing.

 

1) I can't stand and when I do some orange clad young lady tells me to sit (and there is no one behind me). I have given up asking why she doesn't get the whole away end to sit.

2) Maybe, maybe not. I presume it is a numbers thing, and with "safe standing" how many more can you actually fit in before H&S clobber you?

3) I'll take your word on that. Is it the same in L2 and L1?

4) Me too. I think that I first went to a Saints match 39 or 40 years ago, and other whipper snappers can be boisterous. I'm happy enough in the Kingsland Premium, although it would be nice to have a padded seat. Must remember to take a blanket next game that is cold !! (joke btw)

5) Yes it is a bit strange how we now have a generation mad keen on football but who are now all TV supporters. Fortunately with the 2 STs I have, I alternate between my old man and my nipper, although it is sad that the nipper will never have experienced the terraces.

6) If truth be told, nor am I. I have also come to the realisation this season, that there is far too much football on TV (mostly Liverpool/ManU, clubs that I have absolutely no interest in at all). Sat lunch and evening. Sun lunch, afternoon, evening. Mon evening. CL Tue/Wed evening. EL Thurs eve. And they want Friday evening PL games as well. Sat 3pm and Wed 7.45pm are all that are needed and **** the rest.

 

1) The whole away end and the whole of the Northam with the possible exception of the part-timers in Block 43.

2) I'm fairly sure the Prem teams will maximise their income somehow, more people able to get in but same demand suggests lower prices, but if the standing is limited and sold as a premium product to the gullible it'll end up costing more - will also be a way for clubs to recoup higher police costs as CCTV in terraces is nothing like as effective as with fixed seat positions no matter how much they claim safe standing is 1.5 people per current seat and there's a lot of space. H&S won't be the issue, it'll be the safety certificate BEFORE the season starts which will determine how many can use the standing area - and unlike the old days they'll all be ticketed and there will be (at least at first) ample room to move around.

3) I'm basing it on overall ageing of football fans correlating to the yoof-types usually being the boisterous ones. Mind you I'm a 42 y/o singer...

5) Kids watch football and play small-sided games until they're 12, and they tend to fall out of football as teenagers, so there are only a couple of years to hook them in to be adults who actually go to games. The family link is still the key.

6) I only watch football on tv nowadays if I'm not doing something else, and on match days. I never, EVER watch Europa League or Champions League games on tv before the knockout stages, and only rarely even then, and the only live football I actually do watch is Saturday/Sunday live games in the pub when I'm going to a match, or if I don't have other plans on the Sunday. I never watch Bundesliga or La Liga on tv, don't watch El Classico, don't watch the Dutch or French or Italian leagues. I'm glad it's there if I want it, but mostly I don't want to watch it. I record MotD and only watch the matches not the yakking, and I watch the Football League Tonight thing for the 60 seconds it usually takes to show Newport and the Skates' games.

Edited 26 November, 2015 by The9