Match Atmosphere

[Sir Joel Inton]

I assumed 72 was the average age of the East stand rather than the ticket price.

[Scoreboard82]

Not sure this is in the right thread but watching last night's MOTD no-one appeared to be sitting down at the Leeds v  Man Utd game. Unless it was my ageing eyesight.

 

 

Edited January 5 by Scoreboard82

[Whitley mag]

22 minutes ago, Scoreboard82 said:

Not sure this is in the right thread but watching last night's MOTD no-one appeared to be sitting down at the Leeds v  Man Utd game. Unless it was my ageing eyesight.

 

 

 

They were standing behind both goals no idea how their older fans manage it. Definitely must be something in the water on Tyneside which renders folk unable to stand, even standing for a penalty is to much for some.

[Jonas]

dot coms assessment of the atmosphere against Crystal Palace on this day in 2002. Just to emphasise the point that this is an ancient topic and not something that's sprang up recently.

 

"Occasional attempts from small pockets of singing to get the atmosphere going - they failed for all but a few seconds after half time."

[Hovagod]

15 minutes ago, Jonas said:

dot coms assessment of the atmosphere against Crystal Palace on this day in 2002. Just to emphasise the point that this is an ancient topic and not something that's sprang up recently.

 

"Occasional attempts from small pockets of singing to get the atmosphere going - they failed for all but a few seconds after half time."

I remember complaints in the Mag about the awful atmosphere during some games in the 95/96 season. 

[Wallsendmag]

22 minutes ago, Hovagod said:

I remember complaints in the Mag about the awful atmosphere during some games in the 95/96 season. 

 

It's all relative as expectations change as the atmosphere deteriorates season on season. A poor atmosphere back then would be seen as decent now. It's a vastly different crowd these days than it was in 95/96 there's no denying that. A lot more "touristy" type people, a lot more people who probably aren't all that arsed if truth be told, a lot more women (in 95/96 there were signs on the womens bog doors telling the men not to use them to beat the queues or they'd lose their season tickets. Now the queue for the womens is longer than the mens!).

 

It's not just about the chanting. The crowd don't urge the team on like they used to. That roar that used to build as we went onto the attack doesn't happen anymore. It's far more passive these days. Goals aren't celebrated with the same enthusiasm either. 

 

My first season watching NUFC was 84/85. I still remember the noise. That was a noisy year. That what stands our more than anything. Yes we'd just been promoted to Division One and the crowd would have been up for it but that's what got me hooked. A young bairn going and sitting up in L7 for the first time these days isn't getting blown away by the atmosphere like I was back then.

 

What I will say is that the atmosphere does peak and trough. 84/85 was excellent but it did quieten off season on season up until 90/91 which was awful (we only averaged 16k mind) then it really picked up back end of 91/92 when Keegan arrived. 92/93 was the best in the 41 years I've been going. Hard to believe but you had large sections of the East Stand that would sing, in both wings, then over in the Milburn Stand (Leazes Wing) that was very, very noisy. Now you don't get a peep out of either.

 

I will say I thought it was excellent after the takeover in 21/22, and the season after when we finished 4th was better than it was when we were finishing 4th, 3rd, 5th under SBR in the early 00s.

 

I'll say it till I'm blue in the face but the ballot has killed it. Any random can apply if they're happy to pay the membership. The obscene ticket prices this season has just compounded it. Yes there's exceptions to the rule but generally those people happy to pay £58-£97 a ticket won't be the type who'll want to stand up and sing.

[bigfella]

2 minutes ago, Wallsendmag said:

 

It's all relative as expectations change as the atmosphere deteriorates season on season. A poor atmosphere back then would be seen as decent now. It's a vastly different crowd these days than it was in 95/96 there's no denying that. A lot more "touristy" type people, a lot more people who probably aren't all that arsed if truth be told, a lot more women (in 95/96 there were signs on the womens bog doors telling the men not to use them to beat the queues or they'd lose their season tickets. Now the queue for the womens is longer than the mens!).

 

It's not just about the chanting. The crowd don't urge the team on like they used to. That roar that used to build as we went onto the attack doesn't happen anymore. It's far more passive these days. Goals aren't celebrated with the same enthusiasm either. 

 

My first season watching NUFC was 84/85. I still remember the noise. That was a noisy year. That what stands our more than anything. Yes we'd just been promoted to Division One and the crowd would have been up for it but that's what got me hooked. A young bairn going and sitting up in L7 for the first time these days isn't getting blown away by the atmosphere like I was back then.

 

What I will say is that the atmosphere does peak and trough. 84/85 was excellent but it did quieten off season on season up until 90/91 which was awful (we only averaged 16k mind) then it really picked up back end of 91/92 when Keegan arrived. 92/93 was the best in the 41 years I've been going. Hard to believe but you had large sections of the East Stand that would sing, in both wings, then over in the Milburn Stand (Leazes Wing) that was very, very noisy. Now you don't get a peep out of either.

 

I will say I thought it was excellent after the takeover in 21/22, and the season after when we finished 4th was better than it was when we were finishing 4th, 3rd, 5th under SBR in the early 00s.

 

I'll say it till I'm blue in the face but the ballot has killed it. Any random can apply if they're happy to pay the membership. The obscene ticket prices this season has just compounded it. Yes there's exceptions to the rule but generally those people happy to pay £58-£97 a ticket won't be the type who'll want to stand up and sing.

 

It's years since I've been to a match (first match '74, missed very few from 82-08), but that's the thing I notice on the TV - that "G'WAAANN!!" as we burst over the halfway line etc, I haven't heard that in years. Used to get you out of your seat.

 

 

[Wallsendmag]

3 minutes ago, bigfella said:

 

It's years since I've been to a match (first match '74, missed very few from 82-08), but that's the thing I notice on the TV - that "G'WAAANN!!" as we burst over the halfway line etc, I haven't heard that in years. Used to get you out of your seat.

 

 

 

It's all but died out this season. Think it's the clearest evidence in the shift of your crowd mentality. Back then the crowd felt they had a job to do. You were there to encourage your team on, especially when they were on the attack.

 

Seems to be more of the attitude of people sitting back and wanting to be entertained now. Then again when they're asking you to part with 60 quid for a ticket you could argue that's fair enough.

[bigfella]

1 minute ago, Wallsendmag said:

 

It's all but died out this season. Think it's the clearest evidence in the shift of your crowd mentality. Back then the crowd felt they had a job to do. You were there to encourage your team on, especially when they were on the attack.

 

Seems to be more of the attitude of people sitting back and wanting to be entertained now. Then again when they're asking you to part with 60 quid for a ticket you could argue that's fair enough.

 

I know it's no use, but I still do my old shouts/chants/sayings sitting in my front room watching the match - "howay Howay HOWAY!!!" - when we're struggling in a game - "HOWAY NEWCASTLE, HOWAY THE LADS , COMMMME ONNN!!"  - when the game's in the balance and "Howay Newcastle, Keep these bastards out" - when we're defending a corner etc.

I work with a lad whose fifteen years younger than me, when he started at our place he recognised me as the bloke who " taught him loads of swear words when he sat a row in front of him and his dad at the match when he was a kid" 

[Jonas]

2 hours ago, Hovagod said:

I remember complaints in the Mag about the awful atmosphere during some games in the 95/96 season. 

I think that's my recollection, 94-96 being distinctly down on 92-94 (though very good when you watch games back from a modern perspective). 96/97 onwards its probably been good 20% of the time if that.

Though it was no better than now before Keegan for all the cheap tickets and no prawn sandwiches, old school fans and stuff.  Probably had one league game (the first) in 90/91 were the atmosphere wasn't dead. I'm talking reserve games atmospheres.

Not to say its hasn't often been better than anywhere else because everywhere has been mostly bad in the same time period.

 

 

Edited January 5 by Jonas

[Wallsendmag]

10 hours ago, Jonas said:

I think that's my recollection, 94-96 being distinctly down on 92-94 (though very good when you watch games back from a modern perspective). 96/97 onwards its probably been good 20% of the time if that.

Though it was no better than now before Keegan for all the cheap tickets and no prawn sandwiches, old school fans and stuff.  Probably had one league game (the first) in 90/91 were the atmosphere wasn't dead. I'm talking reserve games atmospheres.

Not to say its hasn't often been better than anywhere else because everywhere has been mostly bad in the same time period.

 

 

 

 

The Hull game that 90/91 season was good culminating in the pitch invasion at the end  Sheff Wed just after Ossie arrived was good as well. FA Cup v Derby was canny and Forest in the same competition was excellent. 30,000 sell out under the lights guaranteed a brilliant atmosphere back then which was the case v Forest. Not so much the way now.

 

Agree that season was generally poor for atmosphere but even then we had groups all around the ground that would be singing. The Corner, the Scoreboard, Milburn Stand Leazes wing, Leazes G (centre) section a group used to always gather next to the away fans and be singing. Obviously when there's only 12,000 there as there was for many games they shouldn’t be able to make as much noise as 52,000.

 

94-96 was nowhere near as good as 92-94 but some obvious reasons for that as fans had to get used to having to sit down at matches which resulted in Keegans Val Doonican comments. It also coincided with a sharp increase in ticket prices. I know so many lads of my age at the time (teenagers) who'd been at pretty much every home game under Jim Smith, Ossie and the early Keegan years who drifted away from 94 onwards due to either not wanting to sit down at the match or just no longer being able to afford to go.

[bobbydazzla]

18 hours ago, Jonas said:

dot coms assessment of the atmosphere against Crystal Palace on this day in 2002. Just to emphasise the point that this is an ancient topic and not something that's sprang up recently.

 

"Occasional attempts from small pockets of singing to get the atmosphere going - they failed for all but a few seconds after half time."

 

But these days we can have safe standing and if you get like minded noisy people together, standing up without a doubt improves the atmosphere massively.

 

In the last 20 years NUFC have done 2 x things to encourage an atmosphere and there’s absolutely no doubt both actions worked:

 

1 – introduced L7 singing section, which was also unofficial standing

2 – introduced safe standing in the Strawberry Corner

 

So these days we could introduce loads of safe standing and also designate standing areas to be noisy areas. Then let ST's who want to sing or be vocal move there and people who want to sing or be vocal will know to buy match by match tickets there.

 

And it would have the double whammy of forcing the silent or the miserable to move away from areas where people want to stand and be vocal. So no more of the "sidown, shuddup" attitude from the curmudgeons. 

 

 

 

Edited January 6 by bobbydazzla

[bobbydazzla]

16 hours ago, bigfella said:

 

It's years since I've been to a match (first match '74, missed very few from 82-08), but that's the thing I notice on the TV - that "G'WAAANN!!" as we burst over the halfway line etc, I haven't heard that in years. Used to get you out of your seat.

 

 

 

On Sunday we were on a rapid counter attack with the ball just about to go into Palace box and the blokes next to me just continued to yap on about their ski holidays. They didn't even break stride in their conversation.

 

[SteV]

1 minute ago, bobbydazzla said:

 

On Sunday we were on a rapid counter attack with the ball just about to go into Palace box and the blokes next to me just continued to yap on about their ski holidays. They didn't even break stride in their conversation.

 

Whereabouts they off?

[bobbydazzla]

Just now, SteV said:

Whereabouts they off?

Somewhere round Tignes. Can ski Italy in the morning and France in the afternoon, apparently.

 

 

[Nucasol]

1 hour ago, bobbydazzla said:

 

On Sunday we were on a rapid counter attack with the ball just about to go into Palace box and the blokes next to me just continued to yap on about their ski holidays. They didn't even break stride in their conversation.

 

Porsches and ski holidays? One step away from bootcut jeans. Eliminate the cunts.

[NUFC91]

Seen Everton fans saying their is thousands of resale tickets for their game v Sunderland on Saturday and a lot for their game v Wolves tonight, you can also get 4 tickets per purchase for the next few spurs home games, maybe we are starting to see the ticket prices of modern football finally catch up on fans which obviously is a huge factor and impact on the atmosphere as we know.

[Sima]

I think its more to do with the perfect storm of volume of games, weather and every cunt being skint post Christmas.

[BrickTop]

On 05/01/2026 at 21:38, bigfella said:

 

It's years since I've been to a match (first match '74, missed very few from 82-08), but that's the thing I notice on the TV - that "G'WAAANN!!" as we burst over the halfway line etc, I haven't heard that in years. Used to get you out of your seat.

 

 

Really miss this. I remember HBA mentioning it specifically when asked what it is like to play at SJP and how it encouraged him when attacking. 

 

Last time I remember it happening like it used to was probably the PSG game two years ago.

 

 

Edited January 7 by BrickTop

[Lush Vlad]

2 minutes ago, BrickTop said:

Really miss this. I remember HBA mentioning it specifically when asked what it is like to play at SJP and how it encouraged him when attacking. 

 

Last time I remember it happening like it used to was probably the PSG game two years ago.

 

 

 

 

The most notable one in fairly recent times is Bruno's winner against Leicester.  The whole crowd giving it the G'WAAAAN as Willock skins Tielemans.  Always seems to be a slight hush before with the collective intake of breath.  It's glorious and we need more of it. 

[bobbydazzla]

Metro Radio need to do announcements all afternoon that there's over 300 tickets available for tonight.

 

See if we can get them 300 resale seats filled.

[TheEntertainer]

I think it depends where you sit, I've been to 2 games this season and both of those games were in the Leazes East Corner and there was loads of singing there, I always feel a bit silly if it's complete silence around me, but love to get involved if anyone else is, so have come away from both of those games having lost my voice. Lot's of urging of the team forwards as well.

[Smal]

nearly went arse over tit half a dozen times just stepping out the front door this morning so don't blame people for not making the trip tonight. But yeah, been watching most of the day and more and more tickets are becoming available. 

 

looking at my December credit card statement and pretty much starting to think sod it, what's an extra £55 on top of that  

 

 

Edited January 7 by Smal

[Groundhog63]

22 hours ago, bobbydazzla said:

Somewhere round Tignes. Can ski Italy in the morning and France in the afternoon, apparently.

 

 

Been to Tignes 3 times. Champagne socialist. 

[Groundhog63]

Bagged invites to a box.

 

Lovely jubbly