Wallsendmag

As I say in my experience I've never stood anywhere near my allocated seat for a European away game and I'd be amazed if anyone did during the 90s/00s as it never happened. Find an empty spot and stand in it was what happened. We are very sanitised over here compared to on the Continent and if you are in the ground early when we play Milan for example you'll notice the away fans who get in first will congregate in the centre nearer the front and the ones arriving later will end up at the sides and the back. Fans of teams in places like Italy, Germany, Holland, France etc would laugh at the idea of scratching around looking for your exact seat at an away game but they do have a different terrace culture to us.

Reckon I've fine around 170 away games over the years, domestically and in Europe. I reckon domestically I've probably been in my own seat 95% of the time but never for a European away. Thing is we've been out of Europe for best part of a decade so there'll have been plenty of people this season tasting European aways for the first time so probably aren't aware of the stand where you want policy of the 90s/00s. For the last away game of last season v Chelsea we got in 5 mins late as we'd been over to Wembley first to watch Carlisle play and we had people in our spaces. As there was nowhere else to stand we just told them to bunch up a bit and they were sound. The family that @Shadow Puppets talks about seem like right wankers tbf going on about loyalty point etc

It was always the unwritten rule for European away days in the past. Get into the ground, which sometimes wasn't always easy in itself, and then find an empty space and stand in it. I've even got old away tickets from European matches and they don't even have seat or row numbers on them! More often than not in stadiums on the Continent the seat numbers weren't always on the seats anyway, or the allocation was always lower than the amount of seats in the section, or we didn't fill the allocation, so there was never a problem. Then you had places like Marseille away which was just complete chaos where there was clearly far more supporters in than the section could hold and it was a case of just cramming in anywhere you could. Would have been literally 0% chance of finding your allocated seat that night! I was at Arsenal v PSV back in September, in the PSV end, and it was the same for them even at an English ground. Just find a random space and stand in it and there wasn't a single argument over it.

As I say this must be a new phenomenon with our supporters as, not once has this happened at any of the 15 or so Euro aways I went to in the 00s. People just got in and stood where they liked. I mean half the places the seats weren't even numbered anyway!

Domestic away games we would generally head to our allocated seat. No problem if there was someone there theyd justbhace to bunch up a bit, but not once have I ever even took notice of my seat number on my ticket for a Euro away!

In response the @Shadow Puppetsstory there I've got to say I went to probably 15 or so away European games in the 00s and the rule then was just stand where you want when you get in the ground. Never been to any of the 3 this season but back then nobody even looked for their allocated seat so that rule must have changed.

They have nigh on 10,000 people (almost 1/3rd or their season ticket holders) who have paid £60 (SIXTY) for a season ticket. Most of them were bought as "extras" so for games at convenient times, ie weekends they can be easily passed on. For midweek when nobody is interested the seats lie empty but the person is counted. Probably 24/25k there tonight looking at the pictures.

Not sure why they can't just be transparent about it. We bought tickets to watch Borussia Monchengladbach the other week and I got an email off them on Monday saying they had 98,486 members and did I want to sign up and get them closer to 100,000. All German clubs reveal their exact membership numbers.

A few of my mates who went over all prefer to stand but chose to go in the seated section. Two reasons for this; firstly they knew they'd be stood for the entire match anyway, and secondly they were saying the standing area at Dortmund was absolute chaos with people who had seated tickets being allowed to sneak into there which made it uncomfortably full and didn't fancy that happening again.

Exactly what I put!

Agree. If the owners think the atmosphere can be improved that's got to be good news for us who are wanting them to create bigger standing/singing areas.

I'd say it's the opposite problem. Too many old, miserable bastards there these days. Back in the 80s the average age of your supporter in the Gallowgate or Leazes End would have been 20s. Probably nearer 50 now. Back in the day once you got to a certain age you migrated to the West or East Stands or the West Stand Paddocks if you didn't fancy sitting but now everyone has to stay put.

Think 2 is maybe too young but it depends on the kid as they are all different. My lad was 3 when I took him to his first game and he was completely engrossed in it from start to finish and has been like that ever since, but you see bairns there of 6 and 7 and don't have the attention span to sit through it.

Just had a text off a mate. Reckons it's all kicked off in the bar they were in. Got a very bad feeling about this one.

Tbf 2 of the owners have mentioned it so they've clearly noticed a downturn in the atmosphere this season as the rest of us have which is why this thread was created. Considering the performance/result/opposition I thought it was dire on Saturday.

The random ballot is a massive problem regarding the atmosphere though. It's meant that "singers" are being put in quieter areas so they can't be as vocal as they'd like because nobody will join in with them and they just get funny looks off people with no interest in generating an atmosphere, and to compound that you get the quieter fans being randomly shoved into the noisier sections which dilutes them right down. The best example I can give is the NE Corner. It's been excellent for the past 2 seasons and is now flat as a fart because a lot of members who were "singers" used to head for there and now they can't. The ballot, along with unlimited memberships are the 2 main reasons why the atmosphere has suffered so much this season. Speaking personally, not once have i managed to get in what I'd class as my first, or even second choice area, and there'll be 1000s just like me.

Too many people just can't grasp the technology. Woman in front of me was holding the email ticket confirmation on her phone up against the scanner and wondering why nothing was happening.

My brother queued for 45 mins to get into the Leazes End, and ended up sacking the 1st half off and went to the Strawberry instead. Had a pint then went back at half time and got in.

We were in that corner but not the block nearest the away end. We were Block LWC L7A. It was dire. We're up there for Milan and I'm not looking forward to it at all.

I was up in Level 7 and it was absolutely dreadful. Even more baffling considering the result and the performance and that it was against one of the so called "big 6". Clearly a smattering of away fans up there and people in front of us videoing Chelseas free kicks (the one they scored from and also the one right at the start of the 2nd half). The random ballot has totally fucked what atmosphere we had. You've got frustrated people who want to sing being put in quiet sections surrounded by mutes and the opposite is also the case where quieter fans are being put in noisier areas so those sections are becoming diluted (Gallowgate, Leazes East corner prime examples). A 4-1 win against Chelsea should never be played in an atmosphere like that was yesterday.

Played for the school team, played a couple of times for the County and Sunday League as well. I was ok. Nothing more than that. My brother was better than me. Got player of the year for Percy Main in the Alliance League and also played Northern League but he didn't enjoy that because he said it was too serious.

Good. I prefer it that way. Clubs that are liked by rival fans tend to be because they are an insignificance and seen as no threat.

Can't stand them. I just want to see them suffer and suffer badly. Tbf if the shoe was on the other foot their feelings would be exactly the same towards us.

Aye that'll be right. Imagine come April and they're on the cusp of a Play Off place they'll all start cheering for the opposition to stop the unthinkable happening I think then I'd be asking myself what the point is if I'd rather be watching my club fester in the lower leagues and hemorrhaging money week after week.

That poor mackem has made such a tit of himself he's ended up locking his account