Match Atmosphere

[Wallsendmag]

3 hours ago, Danh1 said:

Don’t suppose you were in the block right next to the away end)?

 

There was me, my mate and some lad with his son next to us having a go at getting an armosphere going whilst the picnic and blanket brigade sat there filming the match in complete silence. 

 

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.

[madras]

10 minutes ago, TheGuv said:

My mate doesn’t have kids or owt. He’s just been in the family enclosure for years. No idea how’s it been allowed to happen 

Yeah there was always little pockets there. A couple of rows in fron of us were a group of 4 lads, proabably late 20s, when the family bit opened 

[Wallsendmag]

1 hour ago, OCOCOL said:

20 mins - you were lucky. I gave a mate my ST in the gallowgate and went in L7 with my son and step son - we queued for 40 mins to get in and missed kick off. I don’t know what the answer is but there were loads who’s queued longer than us. Stewarding was a shambles they should  have opened the gates - tempers we’re getting frayed and it will end in trouble one match I reckon 

 

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.

[bobbydazzla]

2 minutes ago, madras said:

Is it an NFC or bar code thing ? I have to turn off the NFC on my phone and use the bar code thing.

Dunno, both of them were using their own ST‘s and had never had a no entry before 

 

I presume the 3rd lad who’d got a ticket from a tout had just been ripped off with a ticket link sent multiple times and it wasn’t a tech issue 

[Wallsendmag]

20 minutes ago, Danh1 said:

I don’t get how the queues are so bad though. If you have your phone ready and press it against the correct part of the terminal thing then it’s a swift process.

I’ve made a conscious effort to get in early so never had to stand in one, thankfully. I know not everyone has that luxury of being to get in early mind.

 

 

 

 

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.

[SteV]

2 minutes ago, Wallsendmag said:

 

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.

You can take the horse to water…

 

Having said that, with the ballot system, you probably are going to get people who are going for the first time using digital tickets, so a little bit understandable.

 

Still mind, if it was my first time using it, I’d probably get there early.

[madras]

I've mentioned before, we can go in through either of 4 turnstiles. There's always huge queues at 3 and about a dozen people at the other. It's not always the same turnstile but the 3 and 1 thing still works, no idea why as everyone using those turnstiles can use any of the 4 

[bobbydazzla]

Unrelated to St James Park but at Wembley the queues at our end were huge, but there were a few turnstiles with no queue, so I used one and was in within a minute

 

Crowd behaviour is a strange thing 

 

 

Edited November 26, 2023 by bobbydazzla

[huss9]

11 minutes ago, madras said:

I've mentioned before, we can go in through either of 4 turnstiles. There's always huge queues at 3 and about a dozen people at the other. It's not always the same turnstile but the 3 and 1 thing still works, no idea why as everyone using those turnstiles can use any of the 4 

shush man. its our little secret.

[Optimistic Nut]

4 hours ago, Pata said:

Two thirds of the stadium is season tickets, feels a bit weird that the dialogue around atmosphere always only concentrates on the ballot tickets.

 

 

 

 

Spot on. Individual tickets should be adding to it rather than being responsible for it. 

[Greg]

11 hours ago, NUFC91 said:

Well hopefully they'll do something about it. Stadium relocations and more standing is a must.

 

@Greg good timing for trust to raise points of further standing with club surely following comments from the owner?

Agreed. Survey out to members today, goes wider in 48 hours. Then to club. 

[bealios]

Isn't it just because we're successful and we're expected to win all of our home games now, no matter the opposition? I haven't been to the Etihad, but I have been to a fair few games at Chelsea during peak-Abramhovic era, and the atmosphere was shite. Same at Arsenal. Wasn't impressed at Old Trafford either. 

We just have less games now where the expected result is anything other than win. Not a massive coincidence that the best atmospheres in last year and a half have been Arsenal, PSG, Man Utd etc.? All with supporting reasons - PSG, champions league, Man Utd - revenge, Arsenal - final game of season after staying up/they were a bunch of twats this year. I haven't done as many home games as I would like this year, but not sure what other games have had great atmospheres and which have been particularly bad? I do admit thought that watching the game yesterday on the TV/stream - it sounded pretty quiet. 

I would say that from a personal point of view, having been going to 35 years or so, I have had more games stick in the mind for atmosphere since takeover than any others. But that might be recency bias, it might just be relief. PSG was the best atmosphere I have experienced, Arsenal on the last day of season was great. Man Utd at home after the Cup Final. Spurs the week after the take-over (for the first 20 mins or so). The other Spurs game obviously. Brighton at home last year. But I thought Leicester on the last day was dreadful given the circumstances (but probably because of the circumstances).

 

I really think we're being a bit harsh on the atmosphere thing - are we any worse than Arsenal, Man U, City, Chelsea, Spurs, Liverpool etc.? And I don't mean comparing it against when they play Newcastle (where it seems recently the crowd would be fired up because nobody likes us now). Is the Etihad a cauldron when they play Burnley at home?

 

I just think so many things contribute to it - a lot of it comes from perceived injustice - and being an underdog. I randomly remember a game during the Keegan years when we drew with Millwall 1 - 1, losing for most of the game, it was either near Christmas or New Year, and we equalised reasonably late on after having a bad run from the ref. - still remember it now, but probably because of what mood I was in that day, how much I had had to drink and what was going on in life at the time!

  

 

 

[OCOCOL]

2 hours ago, bealios said:

Isn't it just because we're successful and we're expected to win all of our home games now, no matter the opposition? I haven't been to the Etihad, but I have been to a fair few games at Chelsea during peak-Abramhovic era, and the atmosphere was shite. Same at Arsenal. Wasn't impressed at Old Trafford either. 

We just have less games now where the expected result is anything other than win. Not a massive coincidence that the best atmospheres in last year and a half have been Arsenal, PSG, Man Utd etc.? All with supporting reasons - PSG, champions league, Man Utd - revenge, Arsenal - final game of season after staying up/they were a bunch of twats this year. I haven't done as many home games as I would like this year, but not sure what other games have had great atmospheres and which have been particularly bad? I do admit thought that watching the game yesterday on the TV/stream - it sounded pretty quiet. 

I would say that from a personal point of view, having been going to 35 years or so, I have had more games stick in the mind for atmosphere since takeover than any others. But that might be recency bias, it might just be relief. PSG was the best atmosphere I have experienced, Arsenal on the last day of season was great. Man Utd at home after the Cup Final. Spurs the week after the take-over (for the first 20 mins or so). The other Spurs game obviously. Brighton at home last year. But I thought Leicester on the last day was dreadful given the circumstances (but probably because of the circumstances).

 

I really think we're being a bit harsh on the atmosphere thing - are we any worse than Arsenal, Man U, City, Chelsea, Spurs, Liverpool etc.? And I don't mean comparing it against when they play Newcastle (where it seems recently the crowd would be fired up because nobody likes us now). Is the Etihad a cauldron when they play Burnley at home?

 

I just think so many things contribute to it - a lot of it comes from perceived injustice - and being an underdog. I randomly remember a game during the Keegan years when we drew with Millwall 1 - 1, losing for most of the game, it was either near Christmas or New Year, and we equalised reasonably late on after having a bad run from the ref. - still remember it now, but probably because of what mood I was in that day, how much I had had to drink and what was going on in life at the time!

  

 

 

Agree with all this - there’s a lot of revisionism in football but imho PSG was as good as the Barca / Tino game.

 

Other notable games for me were David Kelly v Pompey (most vital result in our recent history) and I think the “Rafa love in” v Tottenham - last home gone as we were relegated that season. 

[Hovagod]

4 hours ago, AyeDubbleYoo said:

It’s worth remembering that (I think) your ticket opens any turnstile and you can freely walk around the whole ground once you’re in.

Tried that yesterday. It doesn’t. 

[mighty__mag]

It's a bit pathetic to blame day trippers or fans from far and wide, there's 31k in ST holders, them alone can make enough noise, they obviously choose not to bother.

It could possibly be the cost of living for some, perhaps they're not as merry before kick off due to the ridiculous prices in alcohol and food these days, we're not all students spunking money away with no bills or mortgages, slipping our parent/s 25 quid a week.

 

It's a daft argument, nobody can really dictate how people need to represent themselves while watching the game. Understandable they've got to cater for all, elderly, young, families, standing singing sections, and somewhere in between.

 

I do however agree, for those that want to locate themselves where they're more comfortable or happy, be it shouting and swearing, or just calm and relaxed enjoying watching how they wish to, then the choice of picking your seat with the previous ticketing system was far superior.

 

 

Also, do we not need to blame NUST for the bullshit ballot thing? Wasn't it them who suggested it because fans were kicking off about not being able to log-on to the box office at 10am because they weren't allowed to use phones during work or some utterly shite reason.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited November 27, 2023 by mighty__mag

[Optimistic Nut]

Last paragraph isn't an utterly shite reason.

[mighty__mag]

3 minutes ago, Optimistic Nut said:

Last paragraph isn't an utterly shite reason.

 

What are you getting at?

[Hovagod]

10 minutes ago, mighty__mag said:

 

What are you getting at?

I imagine he’s pointing out that some people are unable to get online at that time, and it’s not an ’utterly shite’ reason to change it.

[Conjo]

1 hour ago, mighty__mag said:

It's a bit pathetic to blame day trippers or fans from far and wide, there's 31k in ST holders, them alone can make enough noise, they obviously choose not to bother.

It could possibly be the cost of living for some, perhaps they're not as merry before kick off due to the ridiculous prices in alcohol and food these days, we're not all students spunking money away with no bills or mortgages, slipping our parent/s 25 quid a week.

 

It's a daft argument, nobody can really dictate how people need to represent themselves while watching the game. Understandable they've got to cater for all, elderly, young, families, standing singing sections, and somewhere in between.

 

I do however agree, for those that want to locate themselves where they're more comfortable or happy, be it shouting and swearing, or just calm and relaxed enjoying watching how they wish to, then the choice of picking your seat with the previous ticketing system was far superior.

 

 

Also, do we not need to blame NUST for the bullshit ballot thing? Wasn't it them who suggested it because fans were kicking off about not being able to log-on to the box office at 10am because they weren't allowed to use phones during work or some utterly shite reason.

 

Ah yes, the famously care free, frivolous spending, rich demographic of students. Fucking hate those privileged cock suckers.

[Stifler]

I agree you can’t blame tourists our day trippers when you have an estimated 35k season ticket holders who are telling us they are forever loyal, and dedicated to supporting the team.

 

It’s idiotic to blame the ballot though. As I say, it was shit having a ballot at 10am on weekdays when the only people who could access it were people who either work from home, or work at a computer.

It needed changing, that’s all NUST fed back, and rightly so.

 

In terms of tickets, we are never going to have a situation that suits everyone until SJP has been expanded. It’s that simple.

 

We also need to get off the gate from certain season ticket holders vs non-season ticket holders. We all love our club, we have all supported our club, and in the Ashley years both sides made difficult decisions to continue or not, no one should be chastised for the decision they made.

 

 

Edited November 27, 2023 by Stifler

[SteV]

6 hours ago, mighty__mag said:

 

 

Also, do we not need to blame NUST for the bullshit ballot thing? Wasn't it them who suggested it because fans were kicking off about not being able to log-on to the box office at 10am because they weren't allowed to use phones during work or some utterly shite reason.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

No, but they get blamed for everything anyway, so probably just add it to the list.

[Groundhog63]

The atmosphere, or lack of, has little to do with "tourists" or "jonney-come-lateley" bunch. This is just thrown around by the people disenfranchised from their old route of getting ticket with an axe to grind about that circumstance.

Was fine getting tickets from Simon or Keith, back in the day, when it suited etc etc but the club's taking more responsibility for away attendees, it seems.

 

What people need to accept, because it's true, is that we're no big shakes in the volume/support stakes. We are when it's going great and definitely better than most grounds but I sat in there for years and, for the most part, it was a fucking morgue. Last two years, not so much. Go figure.

Since the ballot system, not without it's many issues, there's been some terrific atmospheres. Zero credit given to any newbies but when it's quieter it's all on them. Funny how that grafts.

[mighty__mag]

1 hour ago, Stifler said:

 

It’s idiotic to blame the ballot though. As I say, it was shit having a ballot at 10am on weekdays when the only people who could access it were people who either work from home, or work at a computer.

It needed changing, that’s all NUST fed back, and rightly so.

 

In terms of tickets, we are never going to have a situation that suits everyone until SJP has been expanded. It’s that simple.

 

 

It wasn't a ballot weekdays, A first come first serve, why do you think its only people who work at a computer or work at home that could  access it?

 

I didn't work at a desk, or from home, I had a phone like literally everyone and left the browser open waiting for the time to access the seating, it really wasn't that tough, and once through took less than 5 minutes.

 

But like you say in the latter bit, it's not easy to please all, I personally liked the older process.

 

 

 

 

Edited November 27, 2023 by mighty__mag

[TheGuv]

5 minutes ago, mighty__mag said:

 

It wasn't a ballot weekdays, A first come first serve, why do you think its only people who work at a computer or work at home that could  access it?

 

I didn't work at a desk, or from home, I had a phone like literally everyone and left the browser open waiting for the time to access the seating, it really wasn't that tough, and once through took less than 5 minutes.

 

But like you say in the latter bit, it's not easy to please all, I personally liked the older process.

 

 

 

 

 

There was 4 of us as linked members. One of the lads works as a manager on a building site. Very rarely able to use his phone - but would every week at 10am. He’d rarely be first in the queue out of the four of us, but we did it together as a team 👍🏻

[AyeDubbleYoo]

13 hours ago, Bellis80 said:

What time are you getting there? We walk up by the East stand and the Gallowgate corner and all of the East Stand and Leazes corner are massive queues.

 

East Stand always used to have a bit of a queue but never used to be a queue Leazes corner. Is now though and it’s getting worse every week rather than better.

 

Usually get there about 30 minutes before KO, haven't really had any problems.