Atmosphere Thread | 2025/26

[EastMidlandsBlue]

I’m worried about what happens when Pep eventually leaves. The atmosphere will only get worse. Half the tourists are only there for Haaland or Pep. Take them out of the equation and we’d struggle to fill the South Stand.

Part of me worries that things need to get a lot worse before they can get better.

I do wonder if we had a few years out of the CL could be what galvanises the local support, with potential cheap pricing. Similar to what Bradford have done, with their £5 ticket initiative

 

[.db.]

I honestly don’t know how City fix the atmosphere at the Etihad anymore. On Tuesday, when Blue Moon came up on the screen, hardly anyone sang nothing. It had to be pumped through the speakers instead.

City have priced out so many fans. It’s £35 just for membership, and even then, unless you’ve already built up purchase history, you’ve got no chance of getting a ticket. Otherwise, you’re left with Champions League or cup games, which are basically tourist central nowadays.

I’ve been to a few away matches and the difference is unbelievable. The atmosphere is incredible everyone’s welcoming, you can chat with fellow Blues, and it actually feels like a proper matchday. At home, though, it’s like a funeral. Nobody talks, and you only hear any singing if the South Stand manages to get something going.

I’m worried about what happens when Pep eventually leaves. The atmosphere will only get worse. Half the tourists are only there for Haaland or Pep. Take them out of the equation and we’d struggle to fill the South Stand.

Like @give it to gordon often says, it’s hard to get tickets in groups or even in twos next to each other these days. You could go as a group of eight, and six would be sat on their own randomly dotted around the stadium and maybe two would be sat next to each other if they’re lucky.

Here’s what’s left for West Ham on the official City ticket site, one solitary seat in the entire stadium:




Yet you can book between 1 and ‘more than 10 people’ in the third tiers and lower tiers with P1 Travel (one of City’s official ticket tout partners):

Manchester City vs West Ham United

Buy your Manchester City vs West Ham United Tickets & Hospitality at P1 Travel. ✓ Official Tickets. ✓ Travel Packages. ✓ Easy & Safe booking.

www.p1travel.com

For €139 each for the third tiers or €149 each for the lower tiers (whatever that is in £).

And Viagogo has 33 lots of ‘2’s together (so 66 seats) that say they’re hospitality but are in the normal third tiers but with a meal offsite somewhere:

Manchester City Tickets

Manchester City tickets - Buy and sell Manchester City tickets at viagogo

www.viagogo.co.uk

Again, no checks on whether these buyers would be City fans or not.

Yet only 1 seat available to City fans on the official club site.

And we wonder why we don’t have a good atmosphere. We’re surrounded by nobodies.

 

[mcfcstu]

Absolute shitshow.

 

[give it to gordon]

Like @give it to gordon often says, it’s hard to get tickets in groups or even in twos next to each other these days. You could go as a group of eight, and six would be sat on their own randomly dotted around the stadium and maybe two would be sat next to each other if they’re lucky.

Here’s what’s left for West Ham on the official City ticket site, one solitary seat in the entire stadium:

View attachment 176322


Yet you can book between 1 and ‘more than 10 people’ in the third tiers and lower tiers with P1 Travel (one of City’s official ticket tout partners):

View attachment 176323

Manchester City vs West Ham United

Buy your Manchester City vs West Ham United Tickets & Hospitality at P1 Travel. ✓ Official Tickets. ✓ Travel Packages. ✓ Easy & Safe booking.

www.p1travel.com

For €139 each for the third tiers or €149 each for the lower tiers (whatever that is in £).

And Viagogo has 33 lots of ‘2’s together (so 66 seats) that say they’re hospitality but are in the normal third tiers but with a meal offsite somewhere:

Manchester City Tickets

Manchester City tickets - Buy and sell Manchester City tickets at viagogo

www.viagogo.co.uk

Again, no checks on whether these buyers would be City fans or not.

Yet only 1 seat available to City fans on the official club site.

And we wonder why we don’t have a good atmosphere. We’re surrounded by nobodies.

To be totally honest after following the club for over 60's years I'm losing abit of interest.
Cant get tickets so dont feel part if the City family as much.
My last great season was the Villa 3-2. Went to around d 15 matches home and away always sat with my lad. Since then its been a nightmare.
City have slowly pushed us out. A couple of seasons back we didnt qualify for the RM game because we hadn't attended enough matches lol we couldnt get bloody tickets to qualify !!.
So now I seat at home watching games as my mates and me text each other as the game is on. We just watch as loads of half n half and people filming with their phones have got tickets.

 

[doobyedoobye]

It’s likely that financial metrics will dominate board-level discussions, leaving the more subjective elements of match-day atmosphere to be considered only anecdotally.

 

[Ryan Kinlon]

To be totally honest after following the club for over 60's years I'm losing abit of interest.
Cant get tickets so dont feel part if the City family as much.
My last great season was the Villa 3-2. Went to around d 15 matches home and away always sat with my lad. Since then its been a nightmare.
City have slowly pushed us out. A couple of seasons back we didnt qualify for the RM game because we hadn't attended enough matches lol we couldnt get bloody tickets to qualify !!.
So now I seat at home watching games as my mates and me text each other as the game is on. We just watch as loads of half n half and people filming with their phones have got tickets.

Don’t forget the Coldplay-style light show in East Stand Level 3. It’s embarrassing how far things have slipped.

Honestly, part of me feels that if the 115 charges ended up dropping us all the way to League Two, it might actually reset the club. A full rebuild could bring back the buzz and the fans who’ve drifted away because of the changes in ticketing and the atmosphere. I’ve seen us win everything now I just want my club to feel like itself again.

 

[NJMCFC184]

Don’t forget the Coldplay-style light show in East Stand Level 3. It’s embarrassing how far things have slipped.

Honestly, part of me feels that if the 115 charges ended up dropping us all the way to League Two, it might actually reset the club. A full rebuild could bring back the buzz and the fans who’ve drifted away because of the changes in ticketing and the atmosphere. I’ve seen us win everything now I just want my club to feel like itself again.

Get that, some of best aways recent times were Swindon, Peterborough, Orient, Huddersfield

 

[.db.]

Don’t forget the Coldplay-style light show in East Stand Level 3. It’s embarrassing how far things have slipped.

Honestly, part of me feels that if the 115 charges ended up dropping us all the way to League Two, it might actually reset the club. A full rebuild could bring back the buzz and the fans who’ve drifted away because of the changes in ticketing and the atmosphere. I’ve seen us win everything now I just want my club to feel like itself again.

I’ve got mates who don’t go anymore who said they’d get STs again if we got relegated with the 115 case.

 

[The Light Was Yellow Sir]

All football clubs are now reaping what they’ve sown, unfortunately. If you treat fans like customers, sooner or later, they’ll behave like customers. They’ll demand a decent ‘product’ they’ll not get involved unless the team gives them a reason to and they’ll start booing their own players whilst the game is ongoing.

 

[Scaring Europe to Death]

I was 34 when we lost at York and was definitely part of that fierce fanatical hardcore who kept the club relevant

However let's not get too revisionary and rose tinted

I miss those days, but that was because I was still relatively young and full of energy and purpose.
In contrast, the football was mainly shite and every young kid in the country seemed to be wearing a United shirt.

This idea that City losing the 115 Charges would improve the atmosphere is utter bollocks, as that 90s hardcore are mainly now in their 50s and 60s or sadly no longer with us.

It would also mean that Khaldoon had lied to us

 

[give it to gordon]

I was 34 when we lost at York and was definitely part of that fierce fanatical hardcore who kept the club relevant

However let's not get too revisionary and rose tinted

I miss those days, but that was because I was still relatively young and full of energy and purpose.
In contrast, the football was mainly shite and every young kid in the country seemed to be wearing a United shirt.

This idea that City losing the 115 Charges would improve the atmosphere is utter bollocks, as that 90s hardcore are mainly now in their 50s and 60s or sadly no longer with us.

It would also mean that Khaldoon had lied to us

Agree with most apart from your last sentence.

 

[Axel Freed]

I was 34 when we lost at York and was definitely part of that fierce fanatical hardcore who kept the club relevant

However let's not get too revisionary and rose tinted

I miss those days, but that was because I was still relatively young and full of energy and purpose.
In contrast, the football was mainly shite and every young kid in the country seemed to be wearing a United shirt.

This idea that City losing the 115 Charges would improve the atmosphere is utter bollocks, as that 90s hardcore are mainly now in their 50s and 60s or sadly no longer with us.

It would also mean that Khaldoon had lied to us

Spot on.

Football’s changed, society’s changed. You can’t just flick an imaginary switch and turn everything at the match back to how it was. Those days are gone forever and no amount of fan initiatives or new stand configurations will bring them back.

 

[franksinatra]

I was 34 when we lost at York and was definitely part of that fierce fanatical hardcore who kept the club relevant

However let's not get too revisionary and rose tinted

I miss those days, but that was because I was still relatively young and full of energy and purpose.
In contrast, the football was mainly shite and every young kid in the country seemed to be wearing a United shirt.

This idea that City losing the 115 Charges would improve the atmosphere is utter bollocks, as that 90s hardcore are mainly now in their 50s and 60s or sadly no longer with us.

It would also mean that Khaldoon had lied to us

It’s a fair point. However I do think easier access to tickets, the ability for groups of mates to buy together, areas of the stadium be emptied enabling singing ends to be created and lowering of ticket prices would change the crowd demographic.

I was 22 at York away and the age profile of our crowd back then was predominantly 20/30s, we have grown older but after the last 10 years of success the next generation of young blues should be there to fill the gap.

I think they are but not if they have to sit on their own, unable to shift tickets on to other mates and cannot sit near like minded persons.

 

[Banano]

Like @give it to gordon often says, it’s hard to get tickets in groups or even in twos next to each other these days. You could go as a group of eight, and six would be sat on their own randomly dotted around the stadium and maybe two would be sat next to each other if they’re lucky.

Here’s what’s left for West Ham on the official City ticket site, one solitary seat in the entire stadium:

View attachment 176322


Yet you can book between 1 and ‘more than 10 people’ in the third tiers and lower tiers with P1 Travel (one of City’s official ticket tout partners):

View attachment 176323

Manchester City vs West Ham United

Buy your Manchester City vs West Ham United Tickets & Hospitality at P1 Travel. ✓ Official Tickets. ✓ Travel Packages. ✓ Easy & Safe booking.

www.p1travel.com

For €139 each for the third tiers or €149 each for the lower tiers (whatever that is in £).

And Viagogo has 33 lots of ‘2’s together (so 66 seats) that say they’re hospitality but are in the normal third tiers but with a meal offsite somewhere:

Manchester City Tickets

Manchester City tickets - Buy and sell Manchester City tickets at viagogo

www.viagogo.co.uk

Again, no checks on whether these buyers would be City fans or not.

Yet only 1 seat available to City fans on the official club site.

And we wonder why we don’t have a good atmosphere. We’re surrounded by nobodies.

Think the remaining West Ham tickets go on sale at 2pm today

 

[pride in battle]

I’m posting this at the risk of getting hammered, as people don’t like to hear it, but nevertheless it’s true. Some of our own fans are a joke, and I mean regular fans, season ticket holders, “proper” Blues of all ages. I look around at fans not joining in with other songs and wonder, “What is wrong with you?”

Yesterday was pitiful, letting Leeds take the piss out of us, almost confirming some of the things that are said about us a fanbase. I accept some have always been like this and always will be, but it’s 95% of the ground on days like yesterday. There’s no-one else to blame. It’s not 1894’s fault, it’s not down to tourists, it’s not the fault of acoustics or any other such nonsense. There’s just far too many lazy fans who can’t be arsed trying to make an atmosphere. If there’s ever to be a good atmosphere on a regular basis, regular fans need to open their mouths and make some noise themselves instead of looking at others to do it for them.

100 % mate

 

[Didsbury Dave]

It’s a fair point. However I do think easier access to tickets, the ability for groups of mates to buy together, areas of the stadium be emptied enabling singing ends to be created and lowering of ticket prices would change the crowd demographic.

I was 22 at York away and the age profile of our crowd back then was predominantly 20/30s, we have grown older but after the last 10 years of success the next generation of young blues should be there to fill the gap.

I think they are but not if they have to sit on their own, unable to shift tickets on to other mates and cannot sit near like minded persons.

The answer is staring us in the face. We have one shot at this.

 

[East Level 2]

The answer is staring us in the face. We have one shot at this.

Correct, but there are a few groups who want to take the shot and they are facing different directions.

 

[Scaring Europe to Death]

It’s a fair point. However I do think easier access to tickets, the ability for groups of mates to buy together, areas of the stadium be emptied enabling singing ends to be created and lowering of ticket prices would change the crowd demographic.

I was 22 at York away and the age profile of our crowd back then was predominantly 20/30s, we have grown older but after the last 10 years of success the next generation of young blues should be there to fill the gap.

I think they are but not if they have to sit on their own, unable to shift tickets on to other mates and cannot sit near like minded persons.

Oh yeah I agree with all that, and I'm all for anything that makes the ticket buying process easier, whilst allowing the next generation to sit or stand with their mates.

I just feel that we've been a top team for so long now that some folk are cherry picking the best moments from the bad old days, and reminiscing over a rose tinted utopia that never quite existed the way they remember

In reality our average attendance has almost doubled over 25 years and the hardcore feel threatened by the new wave, who quite understandably, now arrive at games expecting to win, whereas some of us remember Liverpool winning at Maine Road 4-1, 4-0, 3-0, 5-0 and 4-0 in consecutive league matches (and that's why I still cherish the memory of the Clive Wilson winner)

However it's not just happening at City.

Look at Coventry and how their fans have finally taken to Lampard and the new stadium

Look at the positivity surrounding Birmingham and the sense that after years of mismanagement they finally seem to be heading in the right direction

They're still years behind City and essentially due to FFP they'll be confronted with far more difficult hurdles to overcome

However there's no going back and once they reach the Premier League they'll be just like some of our fanbase, all yearning for those rare moments of Highfield Road bliss, or wallowing in self pity as the rapidly expanding number of new supporters dilute their relevance.

 

[Didsbury Dave]

Correct, but there are a few groups who want to take the shot and they are facing different directions.

The club should be taking the lead here.

Call it "The New Kippax". Get a big marketing/social media campaign going. Whip up interest. "Coming Soon" and all that.
Allow banners, flags, safe standing etc.
Allocate 1894 group first refusal on season tickets at the middle/back of the stand (or wherver they want).
Allow existing season ticket holders in the current safe standing areas the option to relocate anywhere in the new top tier for £300 and guarantee that prices won't rise above anywhere else in the stadium.
Open up sales for that before any other sales on a loyalty point basis.
Allow groups to relocate during this time.
Then open up sales to the rest of the upper tier to anyone on a proper season ticket basis for £300 and £100 for under 18s.
That should fill the entire upper tier behind the new GA area.
All the vacant seats around the stadium which have been created can then be flogged at inflated prices to tourists etc.

 

[bobbyowenquiff]

I was 34 when we lost at York and was definitely part of that fierce fanatical hardcore who kept the club relevant

However let's not get too revisionary and rose tinted

I miss those days, but that was because I was still relatively young and full of energy and purpose.
In contrast, the football was mainly shite and every young kid in the country seemed to be wearing a United shirt.

This idea that City losing the 115 Charges would improve the atmosphere is utter bollocks, as that 90s hardcore are mainly now in their 50s and 60s or sadly no longer with us.

It would also mean that Khaldoon had lied to us

Spot-on. We averaged 29,000 in a 34,000 stadium that York season. Great crowds for the third tier but we would not have filled a 52,000 stadium. We averaged 38,000 in a 63,000 stadium in 1968 when we won the league. There were plenty of empty seats near me in those days in the Platt Lane. The atmosphere has been up and down our whole history...just like most other clubs. What really helps is cheap tickets and a sense of siege mentality. That's why, for a period, our crowds went up as we were relegated. Our away support has always been superb and up there with the best. And it still is. Most rival fans i meet are always full of praise for our our away following. We were fantastic in defeat at the last Newcastle match for starters.