This season's SJP atmosphere

[Wullie]

Now I've never been one for "blaming the fans" or any of that shite and yes, it is give and take between the players and the supporters but in my opinion we must do more from the stands to try and get out of this rut at home.

 

The two games this season where the atmosphere has been electric, we have gone on and battered our opponents. We made it absolutely clear we wanted blood and wanted revenge against Villa and the mackems and we certainly got it, but then, particularly on Wednesday against Blackburn, the atmosphere was as flat as a pancake and we had not even had proper possession of the ball before Blackburn scored after two and a half minutes. I recognize the argument that the players have to get the team going but what more could they have done in the two games before Blackburn? Not much.

 

St James' Park can be a incredibly intimidating place to play when the crowd are up for it - sunderland mentally crumbled in the derby, you could see their young players panic in the face of the hostility when they got the ball and we need to do more of this for me. When we went to Stoke in the relegation season, the crowd was very hostile towards us when we had the ball and it was making our players panic in the same way, it makes it very difficult to settle in possession. Stoke's good home form isn't all about long throws, the crowd there are tremendous.

 

We still expect the team to turn up and roll teams like Blackburn, Fulham, Stoke over and it's not really on. We all know we have to get behind the lads when we play the big guns and sunderland but I think there's a sense of "they should be able to do it without our help" against the bottom half sides. We've been spoiled during our time in the Premier League but a newly promoted side, sitting in 5th at the time, getting a draw at home against a decent outfit like Fulham being booed off is out of order, so is getting on Shola's back when he miscontrolled one of his first touches on Wednesday night. It wouldn't happen on derby day.

 

I'm not naive enough to think the crowd are responsible for how the team does on the field, Man Utd don't win something every year because their support is better than anyone else's... but we can do more. We must shake off this mentality at home that we EXPECT to beat anybody. Hope yes, expect, we're not good enough for that and the team need all the help they can get.

[TheGuv]

  Well said.

 

For me, it annoys me when everybody's up for singning and chanting when we play Sunderland or when we're winning comfotably, but if its any other day you mihgt get 2 or 3 chants at most from the Gallowgate and the LC does the rest. Ashley's now made the LC worse this season which obviously worsens at the atmosphere. IMO, the LC needs to be moved down a Level to underneath where it is now, in the North West Corner. Those seats are always pretty much empty and the noise that bit closer to the pitch would be of great help.

[Cajun]

Well said, I realise I am an armchair fan btw.

[Amir_9]

No such thing as an atmosphere in the Milburn stand, to be fair the majority of the atmosphere comes from the lower Gallowgate and the singing area.

[Guest neesy111]

NUFC have lost too many of the old supporters in recent times (a few within my family) with i would say being replaced by some armchair fans for games like Fulham who expect a 5-0 performance after the sunderland and arsenal games.

 

When I went to the Villa home game, some people were even looking/staring at me when i was trying to get some songs going ffs.

[Guest neesy111]

No such thing as an atmosphere in the Milburn stand, to be fair the majority of the atmosphere comes from the lower Gallowgate and the singing area.

 

Don't even start me on those idiots in the East Stand.

[Guest Heneage]

It's a hangover from last season.

 

The fans weren't that fantastic last year in terms of atmosphere to be honest. They rarely got going until the team did which was normally quite inevitable considering most opposition were a little over-awed by the place. I haven't been to as many games as last year, but there's a notable drop in atmosphere which is really sad. It's such a cliché but the fans really do hold a power to push the team on, we have looked unplayable at times and that normally coincides with the fans whipping up an atmosphere instead of putting on pressure with sigh's and complaints. The indifferent atmosphere at home is one of the reasons I believe we perform so much better away from home.

 

As fans we have to accept that sometimes the team are going to start slow and players may misplace the odd pass, a huge groan and stick will do nothing but dent the players confidence. I'm not issuing some Henry V esq battle-cry, just a suggestion that we only benefit the away team by getting on the players backs, making the place less intimidating to visiting sides.

 

I do however think we'll see another big game atmosphere at the next home game.

[Pav]

It will be a very long time until we see the atmosphere at SJP as good as it was against Sunderland. Until the FA pulls its finger out and gives the fans what they want (safe standing areas) the atmosphere will continue to be boring and shite. Doesn't help when almost nobody can sell out their away allocation either.

[Cajun]

We need the local media stirring up some shit before the games, get a bit of passion drilled in.

[Guest BlacknWhiteArmy]

Bar a few games, the atmosphere has been gash at SJP this season. I agree with the OP.

[Ashley17]

Wednesday night before Blackburn was the strangest it's ever been pre-game. Absolutely flat as a fart...I know it's a midweek game but we'd just turned over Arsenal. Even local hero seemed quieter Just set the tone for the whole night really, the crowd was pretty good once it got going admittedly.

[Benwell Lad]

Now I've never been one for "blaming the fans" or any of that s**** and yes, it is give and take between the players and the supporters but in my opinion we must do more from the stands to try and get out of this rut at home.

 

The two games this season where the atmosphere has been electric, we have gone on and battered our opponents. We made it absolutely clear we wanted blood and wanted revenge against Villa and the mackems and we certainly got it, but then, particularly on Wednesday against Blackburn, the atmosphere was as flat as a pancake and we had not even had proper possession of the ball before Blackburn scored after two and a half minutes. I recognize the argument that the players have to get the team going but what more could they have done in the two games before Blackburn? Not much.

 

St James' Park can be a incredibly intimidating place to play when the crowd are up for it - sunderland mentally crumbled in the derby, you could see their young players panic in the face of the hostility when they got the ball and we need to do more of this for me. When we went to Stoke in the relegation season, the crowd was very hostile towards us when we had the ball and it was making our players panic in the same way, it makes it very difficult to settle in possession. Stoke's good home form isn't all about long throws, the crowd there are tremendous.

 

We still expect the team to turn up and roll teams like Blackburn, Fulham, Stoke over and it's not really on. We all know we have to get behind the lads when we play the big guns and sunderland but I think there's a sense of "they should be able to do it without our help" against the bottom half sides. We've been spoiled during our time in the Premier League but a newly promoted side, sitting in 5th at the time, getting a draw at home against a decent outfit like Fulham being booed off is out of order, so is getting on Shola's back when he miscontrolled one of his first touches on Wednesday night. It wouldn't happen on derby day.

 

I'm not naive enough to think the crowd are responsible for how the team does on the field, Man Utd don't win something every year because their support is better than anyone else's... but we can do more. We must shake off this mentality at home that we EXPECT to beat anybody. Hope yes, expect, we're not good enough for that and the team need all the help they can get.

 

Well said.

I had been thinking about penning a similar post after the "library" atmosphere at the last two games and think you've raised some very valid points.

I didn't really think they were booing the team yesterday at the end, it looked like it was directed at the referee as he left the field and justifiably so - he looked about Northern League standard.

For a while I have thought that the "great Geordie fans" thing is a bit of a myth - we don't have particularly great supporters we just have a lot of them That said when it does get going, as you said, SJP can be an intimidating arena, it just doesn't happen enough and we could do a lot more to help a very decent bunch of players through difficult games.

[geordiemonster]

Wednesday night before Blackburn was the strangest it's ever been pre-game. Absolutely flat as a fart...I know it's a midweek game but we'd just turned over Arsenal. Even local hero seemed quieter Just set the tone for the whole night really, the crowd was pretty good once it got going admittedly.

 

I thought the atmosphere was gash all night on wed to be honest.  Didn't help that they messed up the pre-match songs with no Blaydon Races (that I heard) and the teams just trotting out for a few seconds before Local Hero came on.

[eddco]

It could be who we have played...You can't blame not having an atmosphere against teams like Wigan, Stoke, Blackburn, Fulham etc...

 

they destroy any prospect of a football match by their brand of "anti-football". Blatant cheating by feigning injury/time wasting is a good tactic for certain teams as it can kill any atmosphere purely by stopping the game dead as soon as momentum/atmosphere builds toward the home side. These stoppages often last for a few minutes and possession is usually surrendered.

 

when these stoppages happen time and time again when NUFC attack/has too much possession - it creates frustration and knocks the stuffing out of the game and resulting atmosphere. Blackburn started time wasting in the 4th minute of the game!!!

 

Villa, Sunderland and to a lesser extent Blackpool didn't play this way (they made a game of it) and the atmospheres where better on those occasions.

 

 

However saying that...there is still no excuse for the East Stand to remain seated during a rendition on "Stand up if you love the toon" no matter what the circumstances.

[Cajun]

Cheating etc.. should spur people on imo.

[ElDiablo]

Well said, I realise I am an armchair fan btw.

 

This, with regards to home games.

[Wullie]

It could be who we have played...You can't blame not having an atmosphere against teams like Wigan, Stoke, Blackburn, Fulham etc...

 

they destroy any prospect of a football match by their brand of "anti-football". Blatant cheating by feigning injury/time wasting is a good tactic for certain teams as it can kill any atmosphere purely by stopping the game dead as soon as momentum/atmosphere builds toward the home side. These stoppages often last for a few minutes and possession is usually surrendered.

 

when these stoppages happen time and time again when NUFC attack/has too much possession - it creates frustration and knocks the stuffing out of the game and resulting atmosphere. Blackburn started time wasting in the 4th minute of the game!!!

 

Villa, Sunderland and to a lesser extent Blackpool didn't play this way (they made a game of it) and the atmospheres where better on those occasions.

 

 

However saying that...there is still no excuse for the East Stand to remain seated during a rendition on "Stand up if you love the toon" no matter what the circumstances.

 

You're right when you say that those teams work on killing the atmosphere but the tragedy is that they haven't even needed to. There's no atmosphere to kill.

[Heron]

After hearing some of the newer songs being sung in the Gallowgate, it has became even more evident that this myth of old, that the Leazes Corner was quiet, seems just like people trying to blame someone else because they don't sing themselves.

 

The Leazes Corner and opposite corner sometimes do very well to generate an atmosphere from nothing. It happened on Saturday when frustration began setting in after about 60minutes. As a result of not scoring in that 10minutes slowly the ground became quiet once again.

 

I hate the fact that some (not all) people still see the Leazes Corner as full of charvers and knackers, when really it's just a different type of fan who are passionate about singing for their team. There's some real creativity and comedy in Leazes Level 7 and it's what the rest of the ground is missing, I personally feel.

 

Someone fainted or something on the stairs the other day and everyone was genuinely concerned and looking out for the bloke. I like the comraderie (sp?) in Level 7 and to be honest, it's the main reason I continue to purchase my season ticket there.

[JH]

NUFC have lost too many of the old supporters in recent times (a few within my family) with i would say being replaced by some armchair fans for games like Fulham who expect a 5-0 performance after the sunderland and arsenal games.

 

When I went to the Villa home game, some people were even looking/staring at me when i was trying to get some songs going ffs.

 

Just when I was about to agree with you...

[Ketsbaia]

I admit I should go to far more games. But nowadays, the atmosphere can be pretty embarassing as it feels like a library at times. There'll be days like Sunderland where the atmosphere is electric, but they're too few and far between. I'd enjoy games a lot more if there was more noise and hence would go back more often. Paying £25 to sit amongst people that enjoy misery so much, they're actively waiting for a mistake doesn't appeal to me.

[JH]

That's a perfect comparison that, it really is like a library

 

The second you try to sing, people look at you like a "HOW VERY DARE YOU!"

[geordiemonster]

That's a perfect comparison that, it really is like a library

 

The second you try to sing, people look at you like a "HOW VERY DARE YOU!"

 

The people round me do sing when others start, but not otherwise.  I count myself in that obviously cos' I just don't have the guts to break into a song at the risk of looking like a twat

[eddco]

If Mike Ashley ever closed L7 'singing section' I would probably not renew my ST.

 

Although the banter up there can be very repetitive/tedious - it still pisses over every other area in the stadium (atmosphere/noise wise). If I couldn't be up there I would just watch it on the telly tbh.

[Yorkie]

Is it not simply due to the fact that there's not as many there nowadays? Aye, i know 43,000 is more than most clubs but with the stadium being so open with so many pockets of empty seats - it's a natural atmosphere killer. As Nixon said, the atmosphere reached electric on very few occassions last year, too.

[AyeDubbleYoo]

Even the singing section has its disadvantages TBH, when I'm there I'm a bit embarrassed by how quickly they turn on the team when they're not playing well.

 

I think it's just what football grounds are like now though... I've been to a lot of away games in the last couple of seasons and I've never really come across a home support that is consistently noisy and supportive, I don't think it exists.

 

Fans go to see something to excite them, if it happens they'll cheer and if not they won't.