Atmosphere 2024/25

[East Level 2]

Worst atmosphere ive ever seen at a football game

Bollocks!! How many games have you been to?

 

[Millwallawayveteran1988]

I found last night that you definitely get a different perspective sitting in a unknown area.
I was with my Canadian granddaughter (yes one of your dreaded 'tourists' but she has been a City supporter and had a fan number from 6 months old, as has her older sister). There were a lot of different fans and the yellow coated lady steward mentioned in a post above was definitely on a mission to root them out.

The thing I did notice though which obviously when I sit in my own seat on the front row, I don’t notice as much, was how many of the City fans left early most of them that left early wouldn’t have realised that we lost that much because they left before the final goal was scored.

My granddaughter couldn’t believe that they were leaving so early. I know people have said it before, but it’s amazing what a nuisance is when you’ve got rows of people leaving when you’re trying to watch the end of the match.
I don’t think any of them were tourists though. I think there’s a bit of an irony there.

One other thing I noticed was the abuse our players were getting from some of our ‘fans’. Maybe it’s because I’m getting old, but there was no need for some of that.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. The players don’t go out on that pitch to play badly and to be quite honest I don’t think they do play that badly last night. They completely held Real Madrid. It was just bad luck just one of those things.
But I’ll be glad to get back to my own seat. I couldn’t use it last night because I had to swap it so that I could sit near my granddaughter.

There was one guy abusing the Real Madrid fans who were being escorted out. They were going very quietly no hassle from them at all and his language was wow. The guy sitting next to me had to tell him to calm down at one stage.

Oh well, as my old Gran used to say we may be poor, but we do see life and I sure saw some last night.

I enjoyed the match really enjoyed the match.
:-) :-)

The early leavers in CL games generally only leave in added time though, unlike prem games where it can be 15 mins before the end.

I thought it was ok generally last night. SS3 wasn’t really noisy in terms of songs as it was 80% non regulars so I guess most of the singers who are usually there either chose different seats or didn’t go.

 

[BlueSkyBlue]

My honest opinion is football is right in the middle of its transition to be an entertainment event in the UK, not a fanatical sport.

Kids play FIFA/FC and expect to win. They have favourite players, not clubs they are 'fanatical' about. They have PSG tops on, when Hyde or Maine Road is their local team.

But, they also can't become fanatical because working Mum n Dad can't afford to take them to one off games to build that 'chase the dragon' type experience. The families who can afford it, are often more gentile shall we say, and will guffaw or even repulse at singing chanting and swearing.

Just my miserable opinion lol

 

[Cheadle_hulmeBlue]

But how long will fans priced out of the PL and CL games continue to pick up the slack for domestic cup games? Perhaps new fans of any age will settle for it, but former regulars who want to see more than half a dozen games all of which are dependent on the draw might not be happy with so few chances to see their team.
I know a rag who goes to some domestic cup and Thursday League games and he's happy with that. But he's never been a regular at the swamp.

I’m not sure for how long, but for lots of people the cup games are the only affordable way to attend games, whether that’s with family or friends.

You could see it at the Salford match, barely any tourists, lots of youngs lads, Manchester accents and I bumped into former season ticket holders. These are the fans that should be going to the champions league games, but for a number of reasons they aren’t.

Games like Madrid or similar should be bouncing with excitement, but a lot of city fans I think are completely fed up with it

 

[Eccles Blue]

The early leavers in CL games generally only leave in added time though, unlike prem games where it can be 15 mins before the end.

I thought it was ok generally last night. SS3 wasn’t really noisy in terms of songs as it was 80% non regulars so I guess most of the singers who are usually there either chose different seats or didn’t go.

I think 80 to 85 minutes is definitely not added time. And they went in droves. It was the weirdest thing.
I guess sitting on the front row of CBL1 you don’t notice people leaving behind you but boy I had my eyes opened for me last night.

 

[Didsbury Dave]

Worst atmosphere ive ever seen at a football game

Fuck off with your bullshit

 

[Marvin.]

Why the fuck would you bring an Indian flag? I wouldn’t dream of taking an English flag draped around me to a game in Europe. Not only would i look like an absolute tosser, but i’d also be showing a level of disrespect.

There is a big difference between the nationalism of a people like India, Pakistan etc and English nationalism which is overtly anti-foreign.

I think it's big plus for MCFC that we are the first major football club outside of London that can host a football match where there is a huge number of asian football fans. In London you see clubs like Arsenal attracting a number of black fans to their games. At City last night we had huge numbers of Asian fans. I don't think you can argue that they were there to support Real Madrid because this tendency has been there for a while and it's growing.

It's not entirely positive because it's associated with a decline in City's hard-core support which is bad for the atmosphere. But it would be even worse if the ground was empty.

 

[eyalluvitt]

Totally agree.
Genuine fans missing out.
I described it like going to famous tourist attraction.
Honestly don't think I heard a Manc accent coming out at the end.

We'll see if these 'tourists' are here when it aint the dippers or an attractive club.

Dare I say it if we miss out on top 4 lets see who rocks up for Viktoria Plzeň?????

TBF even the last time Plzen were at the Etihad I seemed to be the only person on my row with any semblance of being an English speaker

 

[Greenandblue]

The idea that proper local fans could not get a ticket last night is a myth. The criteria went down to anyone who attended a single champions League game since the start of last season, and there were 2,500 seats left at that criteria. The cost was fair, I paid £65 for an adult and 2 U18s.
Some tourist behaviour is incredibly annoying, but they are filling the seats the locals don't want.
I have been highly critical in the past of ticketing and pricing, but it wasn't the issue last night.
Maybe past club policies have put off the locals.
There was almost zero supporter noise in the family stand last night. But the south stand sounded good.

 

[Manchester_lalala]

So it's now racist to want supporters that live near(ish)to the ground, that don't wear other teams tops, don't take selfies for 90 mins, don't go crazy at halfway line throw-ins, that do know the area and identity of the club.
Racist? Really.
Wondered how long it would take for the Bluemoon chattering class to conflate the two.

Unbelievable take, racist for not wanting tourists!

 

[Didsbury Dave]

Wrong - Soriano’s ticketing policies have lead us down this path. He is to blame.

Regular fans are being priced out. Many seasoncard holders can’t justify £50+ on top of what they are paying.

The end result is more tickets for tourists.

Unfortunately City's pricing is in line with the rest of the premier league, which makes it a football problem, not a Soriano problem. Whilst I symathise with anyone who can't afford football, this is a direct result of player's wages, not club policies.

I'd love the club to cut prices and buck the trend but I can't see it happenning.

 

[uwerosler28]

There is a big difference between the nationalism of a people like India, Pakistan etc and English nationalism which is overtly anti-foreign.

I think it's big plus for MCFC that we are the first major football club outside of London that can host a football match where there is a huge number of asian football fans. In London you see clubs like Arsenal attracting a number of black fans to their games. At City last night we had huge numbers of Asian fans. I don't think you can argue that they were there to support Real Madrid because this tendency has been there for a while and it's growing.

It's not entirely positive because it's associated with a decline in City's hard-core support which is bad for the atmosphere. But it would be even worse if the ground was empty.

That's some bullshit statement with zero evidence " first major football club outside London to attract a large number of Asian fans" please share your statistics that backs this up.

 

[uwerosler28]

Unbelievable take, racist for not wanting tourists!

As a racist myself I don't beleive the views here are being Racist at all, it's the away fans behaviour in the home end that people are annoyed about, not their race.

 

[Marvin.]

That's some bullshit statement with zero evidence " first major football club outside London to attract a large number of Asian fans" please share your statistics that backs this up.

You know I can't provide you with a breakdown of the ethnic background of City's attendance but I can report what I saw. To my Left, right, front, back I was surrounded by Asian fans. Easily the majority demographic.

 

[M18CTID]

Bollocks!! How many games have you been to?

Just the 1 last night probably!

 

[Marvin.]

As a racist myself I don't beleive the views here are being Racist at all, it's the away fans behaviour in the home end that people are annoyed about, not their race.

A lot of City fans have been talking about tourists for years. For some that might mean corporates who somehow manage to get seats for away games when they cannot possibly have accrued the loyalty points, for others it means fans who show up for home games with half and half scarves and are largely foreign.

There are different issues going on. Including away fans in the home end.

But one thing is for certain, there is a massive influx of Asian support into the Etihad on a CL night. You can say that as a racist, or as an anti-racist. I say it as an anti-racist but it is an objective fact. The only way to prove it would be with video but I it's too late now.

 

[uwerosler28]

You know I can't provide you with a breakdown of the ethnic background of City's attendance but I can report what I saw. To my Left, right, front, back I was surrounded by Asian fans. Easily the majority demographic.

And you have been to every other major football ground to make an appropriate comparison?

 

[Marvin.]

Unfortunately City's pricing is in line with the rest of the premier league, which makes it a football problem, not a Soriano problem. Whilst I symathise with anyone who can't afford football, this is a direct result of player's wages, not club policies.

I'd love the club to cut prices and buck the trend but I can't see it happenning.

Outside of London, I would think City's match-day pricing is towards the highest. Utd recently raised prices to £66 to general outrage. My seat on a match-day is around that.

The economies of football are completely crazy (transfers, wages, ticket prices).

 

[Didsbury Dave]

Outside of London, I would think City's match-day pricing is towards the highest. Utd recently raised prices to £66 to general outrage. My seat on a match-day is around that.

The economies of football are completely crazy (transfers, wages, ticket prices).

I'm not convinced it is. Last night was from £37.50 for adults and £12.50 for kids.

Now I'd love City to buck the trend and think there's an argument that they could slash the prices in the new stand, make it an atmosphere end and sell season tickets ona loyalty point basis originally, then maybe sell a number to local/lapsed/legacy fans somehow. I think there's a coherent argument that you wil sell more corporate tickets and more general/tourist/one-off seats in the rest of the stadium if you have a better atmosphere. And the only way to acheive that is to get the vocal fans together under a roof.

 

[Didsbury Dave]

A lot of City fans have been talking about tourists for years. For some that might mean corporates who somehow manage to get seats for away games when they cannot possibly have accrued the loyalty points, for others it means fans who show up for home games with half and half scarves and are largely foreign.

There are different issues going on. Including away fans in the home end.

But one thing is for certain, there is a massive influx of Asian support into the Etihad on a CL night. You can say that as a racist, or as an anti-racist. I say it as an anti-racist but it is an objective fact. The only way to prove it would be with video but I it's too late now.

There are ton of people who look Asian at champins league games, and a fair few at League games. This is non-scientific but they don't look or sound like British Asians to me. I don't know if they are wealthy students or what and I've always wondered a bit where they came from.