Match Atmosphere

[Groundhog63]

10 minutes ago, Wallsendmag said:

 

Gallowgate needs to be safe standing. The whole lot of it. All 12,000 spaces. Then you'll see a big difference. 1,800 spaces in the SE Corner in a 52k stadium is a drop in the ocean. A token gesture at best.

That would be class, have to say. 

[ryanegg]

18 minutes ago, Bellis80 said:

I’m amazed at the amount of people that would rather not go than just take any seat offered like.

If someone offered me a ticket in the Leazes, I’d probably pass on it if I had to pay. I pay good, hard earned money for atmosphere, not for some sausage to tell me to sit/quieten down. 

[bobbydazzla]

1 hour ago, Bellis80 said:

The flags have been magnificent, think it’s brought a bit of a togetherness again between the players and fans, but the atmosphere is good if it’s a massive game, we score early and get on a roll or most have been out all day. PSG had all three of those, Dortmund lacked two of them. The atmosphere is always dependent on the the game rather than the flags or the standing area.

 

The standing area is noisy with support and songs every game, the chants rarely stop during the 90 mins. The sound doesn't carry round the whole ground, but if you're in that part of the stadium it's impressive.

 

So more standing should equate to more noise, in theory. As long as we have enough people who want to stand and get behind the team if we add more standing sections.

 

The flags are an amazing visual spectacle and the amount of effort that goes into creating the displays is mind-blowing. But I don't think a great display at kick off then translates to 90 mins of sustained vocal support.

 

 

[Chicken Dancer]

I've said on here before, but the singing section from 08-11 right next to the away fans meant that there was a few thousand of us essentially generating an 'away-day' atmosphere every week. Standing, loads of different songs and essentially a party most weeks. We were pretty shite for the most part too, and it rarely had a detrimental effect on the atmosphere up there. Maybe time has clouded my memory of it, but for the most part it seemed good-to-brilliant most weeks. Even against the likes of Doncaster at home - whereas now it seems St James' needs it to be a 'big game' for there to be consistent noise. No idea why it wasn't like that on Wednesday - maybe folk expected a cake walk after PSG? It definitely had a different feel from the minute I entered the turnstile.

 

In my opinion, the only way that the atmosphere can be rectified is to have a singing/standing section next to the away fans to couple with the Strawberry Corner. That way you can let the atmosphere bounce round a bit.

 

The new ballot system hasn't helped - as @TheGuv has said before, he and a few others were getting tickets in the Leazes East corner last season which started to generate a bit of noise from there. Now those applying in the ballot (if successful....) are just stuck anywhere. So some of my mates were dotted about Level 7 on Wed. The type of lads who are willing to stand and make noise but stuck up there. It's all well and good saying try get it going - you know yourself that when it's you and a couple of others in an area where nobody is arsed is pretty difficult and can be awkward too.

 

The struggle for consistent atmosphere isn't just a St James' thing mind, but that's not to say we shouldn't actively look to improve it. The Trust won't give a fuck as long as they're in the ground, so maybe our best hope is the Supporters Club.

 

The club (NUFC) need to be very careful moving forwards. I completely get the idea of making it 'fair' and giving as many people as possible from the UK and beyond a fair crack at the whip for tickets (especially bairns) but it cannot become like Anfield/Old Trafford. I hope this is taken into consideration if/when an extension is announced - they should be making 75% + of any new seats that become available due to expansion available to those who wish to purchase a Season Ticket.

[Wallsendmag]

27 minutes ago, ryanegg said:

If someone offered me a ticket in the Leazes, I’d probably pass on it if I had to pay. I pay good, hard earned money for atmosphere, not for some sausage to tell me to sit/quieten down. 

 

Same. There's parts of the ground I'd prefer to watch on TV than sit in, and the Leazes End is one. Factoring in the ticket prices now and it wouldn't be a hard decision either.

 

It's the main reason I've just sacked off the ballots altogether now and have become an armchair fan. Fuck paying best part of 70 quid for me and the bairn to end up in an area I don't want to he in.

[Rafalove]

31 minutes ago, ryanegg said:

If someone offered me a ticket in the Leazes, I’d probably pass on it if I had to pay. I pay good, hard earned money for atmosphere, not for some sausage to tell me to sit/quieten down. 

 

 

This is it really. I mean surely the atmosphere is the reason you go instead of watching on the television to begin with. If you stay at home you can go for snacks, drink as you like, do something else during half time and be privy to replay of anything interesting.

[Whitley mag]

Hopefully the board see the yellow wall when we go over there and think we fancy a bit of that in the Gallowgate.

 

On Wor Flags I think there in an excellent position to push for changes to improve atmosphere, it’s become a major media attraction the club wouldn’t want to lose.

 

The club needs to realise us legacy fans are fucking pissed off with the current match day experience.

[bobbydazzla]

3 minutes ago, Whitley mag said:

Hopefully the board see the yellow wall when we go over there and think we fancy a bit of that in the Gallowgate.

 

On Wor Flags I think there in an excellent position to push for changes to improve atmosphere, it’s become a major media attraction the club wouldn’t want to lose.

 

The club needs to realise us legacy fans are fucking pissed off with the current match day experience.

 

This is a really important point and it's why I got in touch with the Head of Supporter Services directly

 

Complaining about it on here or Twatter etc is a way to compare frustrations and vent, but it's not going to change anything

 

A consistent flow of polite complaints going directly to the club via Supporter Services will mean they can't ignore the fact that there's a lot of pissed off match going fans. Doesn't mean they'll address any issues, but at least we can try

 

There's also the option to go through NUST and the likes but I've yet to see what traction the supporter groups actually have. But maybe that's because I'm not on Twatter which seems to be the way their actions are publicised

 

 

 

[timnufc22]

1 minute ago, Whitley mag said:

Hopefully the board see the yellow wall when we go over there and think we fancy a bit of that in the Gallowgate.

 

On Wor Flags I think there in an excellent position to push for changes to improve atmosphere, it’s become a major media attraction the club wouldn’t want to lose.

 

The club needs to realise us legacy fans are fucking pissed off with the current match day experience.

I agree that the reputation we have for great support / atmosphere - something that the club plays on - is a commercial asset too. It’s part of our positive identity. Therefore it needs to be preserved or bumped up to match said reputation.
 

We also want it to be an attraction for players - granted there’s many other things higher in the list decision wise, but even if it’s that extra 1% advantage to sway a player.
 

We can’t be pumping out official videos all the time and likely asking players to do promo vids saying how amazing the atmosphere is, while at the same time refusing to listen to fans who are incredibly frustrated at not being able to generate one and even getting letters sent asking them to sit down.

 

The point I’m trying to make is that in amongst the ever increasing soulless aspects of football, it’s more important than ever to protect unique, personal aspects of the club. 
 

I also agree that we can’t have rose tinted specs on and pretend every single game at SJP used to be amazing atmosphere and there’s always going to be a levelling off between big games and low key games. What I would say is, at least put seating/standing plans in place to find out what our levelling off baseline is. It may improve things a lot, it may not. But let’s find out. 

[NUFC91]

5 hours ago, Wandy said:

 

If anything, they need to get even more involved in song/chant orchestration. Also, they need to make the club aware about how cheesed off people are with the match-going experience. Wor Flags are perfectly positioned to do this as they clearly have the ear of the powers that be.

 

Exactly this, between WF,and the 2 trusts they should push the club for the fans who want to stand amd sit together. Between them 3, and regular away fans there should be enough to get the clubs attention. I'd even be happy with 1800 in oppisite corner and another 1800 in level 7 for now.

[NUFC91]

3 hours ago, Vedder said:

I would add to any arguments put forward to improve the atmosphere that it's in the club's commercial interest to find solutions to this problem. Our fanbase and atmosphere, for all its problems, are still major assets in attracting new fans. 

So give us a massive standing/signing section and let ST holders move/members choose their own seats. Fans are happier, atmosphere is better, more new fans attracted...everyone wins! Only downside is if we have enough fans to fill up these new sections. I was surprised to hear only 5k wanted to move to the Strawberry corner at the start of this season. 

 

Tbf it waa shower of shit as they sent email out on Friday and set cut off for monday...all in peak holiday season.

 

If they asked question ahead of next year be big difference. 

 

@Heron whens next wor flags meeting with club? Think alot of fans will get behind you lot and get on tp club. And @Greg can trust push for this early ahead of next year. Let the club know there is a lot pf appetite for like minded fans together

[TheBrownBottle]

There isn’t an initiative that could be offered which would bring an atmosphere like those of old.  They relied on big groups of pissed-up mates standing together in a packed stand, particularly if a game had an edge or a bit of needle to it.

 

 The average match goer is no longer a pissed-up young man with his group of pals - it’s a middle-aged man who has been sat In the same seat for twenty-odd years and sees the match as a bit of time away from the stresses of work and family.  Add to that the ‘embarrassment’ factor so many have of joining / starting chants on their Todd (see lack of groups and being pissed-up).

 

Football collectively decided many years ago that it was willing to sacrifice atmosphere for more money (young men don’t tend to be flush) and safety (pissed up young men with a group of mates tend to find bother more easily).  The game has been sanitised and gentrified.  Those days are not coming back.

 

For what it’s worth, the atmosphere doesn’t sound any worse than it has for a long time - in fact, it sounds better than the Ashley era, and the efforts of wor flags means that it is the best it has ever been as a spectacle.

 

I also don’t think atmosphere matters one jot one it comes to results.  It’s a little white lie that football supporters tell themselves, and the clubs like to go along with.  How loud and how often a crowd sings has no impact on winning matches - if it did, Arsenal wouldn’t have been in the top division since 1919 …

[500bhp]

4 hours ago, ryanegg said:

If someone offered me a ticket in the Leazes, I’d probably pass on it if I had to pay. I pay good, hard earned money for atmosphere, not for some sausage to tell me to sit/quieten down. 

Apologies, I'm not trying to be an arse here, but given the choice between attending the match live and not going at all, you'd happily pick the latter as you cant sit where you want.

 

I sit in the stand with probably the worst atmosphere but it's still 1000 times better than watching it at home or in the pub. Some of the experiences inside the stadium over the last 2 years have been fantastic. Even when sitting in the boring stand with the OAPs ?

[Wallsendmag]

46 minutes ago, 500bhp said:

Apologies, I'm not trying to be an arse here, but given the choice between attending the match live and not going at all, you'd happily pick the latter as you cant sit where you want.

 

I sit in the stand with probably the worst atmosphere but it's still 1000 times better than watching it at home or in the pub. Some of the experiences inside the stadium over the last 2 years have been fantastic. Even when sitting in the boring stand with the OAPs ?

 

Sitting surrounded by loads of greeting, miserable old arseholes can be draining after a while and tbh I'd rather watch in a pub or in the house than surrounded by that, which was the case last time I was unlucky to end up in the Leazes End. To add insult to injury the only positive support you hear from in there comes from.the away fans directly above you.

 

Paying £41 for that "experience" just isn't my idea of money well spent, nor is it particularly enjoyable but each to their own I guess.

 

Regarding approaching the club over this. Clearly it's a topic that has gained a lot of traction on here which is good as I'd assume this is the busiest fans forum, but I'd be looking at the Supporters Club and to also take advantage of Wor Flags good relationship with the club to approach the relevant people at NUFC. I wouldn't bother NUST with this one as I don't think it's something they'd be interested in or push for the supporters.

[The Prophet]

I don't know if it's lockdown or I've just become grumpy with age, but folk are very irritable at live events whether it's sport, comedy or music. Constantly getting up during the event, waving phones about, no general interest in said event other than to show social media they've been there, etc.

[500bhp]

26 minutes ago, Wallsendmag said:

 

Sitting surrounded by loads of greeting, miserable old arseholes can be draining after a while and tbh I'd rather watch in a pub or in the house than surrounded by that, which was the case last time I was unlucky to end up in the Leazes End. To add insult to injury the only positive support you hear from in there comes from.the away fans directly above you.

 

Paying £41 for that "experience" just isn't my idea of money well spent, nor is it particularly enjoyable but each to their own I guess.

 

Regarding approaching the club over this. Clearly it's a topic that has gained a lot of traction on here which is good as I'd assume this is the busiest fans forum, but I'd be looking at the Supporters Club and to also take advantage of Wor Flags good relationship with the club to approach the relevant people at NUFC. I wouldn't bother NUST with this one as I don't think it's something they'd be interested in or push for the supporters.

Fair enough, you are correct. Each to their own. My way of supporting the team is by being there in person.

 

Cant see the club being that bothered or having any incentive to change things in the short term. It's a sellout each week, 37k members all wanting a ticket and a very captive audience. They may make the odd token change but nothing significant. 

 

I'd love the stadium to be like it was early 90s but football is no longer like that and it never will be again in my view unfortunately. We have to accept that the PSG game and Arsenal May 2022 are as good as it gets for these days. And its definitely not just a SJP thing, it's the same all across the PL.

 

[Pata]

7 hours ago, TheBrownBottle said:

I also don’t think atmosphere matters one jot one it comes to results.  It’s a little white lie that football supporters tell themselves, and the clubs like to go along with.  How loud and how often a crowd sings has no impact on winning matches

 

Covid offered a great opportunity to gather data about this and home teams did significantly worse with empty stadiums compared to the norm.

 

https://www.leeds.ac.uk/news-coronavirus/news/article/4894/how-empty-stadiums-affected-football-during-pandemic

[TheBrownBottle]

3 hours ago, Pata said:

 

Covid offered a great opportunity to gather data about this and home teams did significantly worse with empty stadiums compared to the norm.

 

https://www.leeds.ac.uk/news-coronavirus/news/article/4894/how-empty-stadiums-affected-football-during-pandemic

That doesn’t prove that it makes a difference vs other clubs - which also have crowds. 

 

And if it does breed success, we must have the worst atmosphere and crowds in the country, given that half of the football league has won a trophy since we last did.

 

edit: there are plenty of other academic studies that conclude the opposite of the study you’ve cited.  Here’s two of them:

 

https://www.newswise.com/pdf_docs/166932427047777_Home advantage study.pdf
 

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8670806/

 

 

Edited October 28, 2023 by TheBrownBottle

[bobbydazzla]

9 hours ago, 500bhp said:

Fair enough, you are correct. Each to their own. My way of supporting the team is by being there in person.

 

Cant see the club being that bothered or having any incentive to change things in the short term. It's a sellout each week, 37k members all wanting a ticket and a very captive audience. They may make the odd token change but nothing significant. 

 

I'd love the stadium to be like it was early 90s but football is no longer like that and it never will be again in my view unfortunately. We have to accept that the PSG game and Arsenal May 2022 are as good as it gets for these days. And its definitely not just a SJP thing, it's the same all across the PL.

 

 

Going to the match has clearly changed since the 90’s, I don’t think the type of experiences I had on terraces can ever come back 

 

But safe standing means certain clubs are catering for fans who want to stand and be vocal

 

Chelsea have 12,000 rail seats, Liverpool will have 13,000 for example. And lots of top flight clubs are happy for thousands of fans to stand in seating areas  

 

Our rail seats feel like a token gesture and half are in the away end. I hope there’s plans to increase rail seats, that would be a big step forward

 

NUFC also seem to have a draconian attitude toward threatening bans for standing in seating areas. And loads of our fans are obsessed with telling others to sit down  

  

 

 

Edited October 28, 2023 by bobbydazzla

[NE27]

Echo the sentiments of there being willing people in the stands, but can sometimes feel daunting getting chants up on your own, myself included.

 

If I'm in the company of people who are happy to sing and chant I'm just naturally more vocal, but I definitely don't stand up in the barracks leading the choir like unfortunately 

 

More rail seating you would hope would mean more interaction for surrounding fans and the feeling of belonging to something more. I never thought WF would take off because a lot of fans whinge about people standing or blocking their views, but once it's persisted with and you're part of the whole and see the effect and sometimes even plaudits from neutrals, you embrace it.

 

I think another group/collective along the lines of toon ultras (I think that was their name?) Could be a good jumping off point to give people a focal point.

 

 

Edited October 28, 2023 by NE27

[Whitley mag]

12 hours ago, 500bhp said:

Fair enough, you are correct. Each to their own. My way of supporting the team is by being there in person.

 

Cant see the club being that bothered or having any incentive to change things in the short term. It's a sellout each week, 37k members all wanting a ticket and a very captive audience. They may make the odd token change but nothing significant. 

 

I'd love the stadium to be like it was early 90s but football is no longer like that and it never will be again in my view unfortunately. We have to accept that the PSG game and Arsenal May 2022 are as good as it gets for these days. And its definitely not just a SJP thing, it's the same all across the PL.

 

Not so sure the club won’t be bothered if Wor Flags decided to wrap it in, they use images of this supposed great support to promote the club.

 

Lots of regulars are currently pissed off with the whole experience from not being able to choose a seat, zero atmosphere in parts of the ground, ID checks, corporate ripping away tickets off and a generally shit match day experience.

 

From allowing away fans to bring drums in, more rail seating in the away end than home, look after your own supporters first you cunts.

 

 

[Superior Acuña]

3 hours ago, bobbydazzla said:

 

Going to the match has clearly changed since the 90’s, I don’t think the type of experiences I had on terraces can ever come back 

 

But safe standing means certain clubs are catering for fans who want to stand and be vocal

 

Chelsea have 12,000 rail seats, Liverpool will have 13,000 for example. And lots of top flight clubs are happy for thousands of fans to stand in seating areas  

 

Our rail seats feel like a token gesture and half are in the away end. I hope there’s plans to increase rail seats, that would be a big step forward

 

NUFC also seem to have a draconian attitude toward threatening bans for standing in seating areas. And loads of our fans are obsessed with telling others to sit down  

  

 

 

 

 

It's weird cos we've always been one of the best/worst for standing away. Everyone stands away without fail, that hasn't been the case for all clubs. We were getting punishments like ticket reductions and no alcohol because of it 15 or so years ago.

[pubteam]

The club have no issue moving fans to create corporate bar areas, I don't see why they cant just create a large standing area and relocate those who don't want to stand. Surely they have to realise how much a loud energetic crowd lifts the team.

[Sima]

1 hour ago, pubteam said:

The club have no issue moving fans to create corporate bar areas, I don't see why they cant just create a large standing area and relocate those who don't want to stand. Surely they have to realise how much a loud energetic crowd lifts the team.

They would if fans paid £2K a season for a rail seat.

We’ll see where their priorities lie with next seasons ST prices if we finish in the top 6 again.

 

[Wandy]

19 hours ago, TheBrownBottle said:

I also don’t think atmosphere matters one jot one it comes to results.  It’s a little white lie that football supporters tell themselves, and the clubs like to go along with.  How loud and how often a crowd sings has no impact on winning matches - if it did, Arsenal wouldn’t have been in the top division since 1919 …

 

Nah, I don't buy that, no matter what any bunch of stats say. It probably applies to the best teams as they have the pure talent to overcome the adversity of a home crowd. But atmospheres do spur on average teams to play above themselves, or at their very maximum level. You only have to see how we survived 18 months ago to see that.

 

I'm also one of those who would rather watch on TV instead of sitting in a stand full of mutes within the stadium. I do wonder if it's mainly us who were brought up on the terrace culture of the 70s & 80s who feel this way. For me, going to the match in the 80s was always about the match experience rather than the football, because let's face it there wasn't much to be happy about on the pitch back then. It's always been about the culture for me, rather than the football itself. To this day I still consider myself solely a NUFC fan rather than a football fan. I rarely watch games involving other teams, and when I do it's usually to see how the result will affect NUFC's position in the league/cup.

 

 

Edited October 28, 2023 by Wandy