The club gave over Block 115 for a new singing section. My memory is a bit vague on how it all unfolded though. Trev will know. Fans were asked to move in there, but the response wasn’t great from what I remember. Those fans that did move into 115 were a mixture of people who wanted to sing as much as they could, sometimes, or not at all.(why move into 115 then?) We’ve ended up with a singing section that isn’t a really singing section.
There are a few issues.
1. We have an ageing fan base.
2. We have a fan base that doesn’t really want or like change regardless of the positives.
3. We have a growing younger fan base, late teens, twenties, early thirties, who prefer drinking on the concourse, having a laugh, staying with their mates, and doing some recreational activities. ;-) (party time)
I’ve always thought the club could have done much more to create a better and proper singing section.(club officials reading this sigh) Yes, the club gave over block 115, and pushed the singing section to an extent, but I don’t think at the time they were really committed about it about one way or another. They probably had bigger issues at the time. That’s not to say the club in conjunction with 1894 and the OSC branches didn’t try to fill 115. Whatever happened, it clearly didn’t work for some reason. Maybe it needs to be revisited again in the near future?
To this day we’re still left with scattered singers in 116, 115, 114, 111, 110, 109. Unfortunately those singers are mixed in with people who only sing after a goal, or don’t want to sing at all.(not having a pop at them) Until all those singers in those blocks are brought together, and
they make the effort to come together in 1 block, nothing will change at the Etihad.
United.
United have worked much more closely with their various fan groups over a long length of time to create a proper singing section, which is located in the top corner,
under the roof, between the main stand and the Stretford End. United encouraged fans through various channels to apply to go into the singing section.
It was over subscribed. United also encouraged fans who didn’t want to sing and didn’t want to remain in the new and proposed singing section to relocate to another part of the stadium. United also have a much younger fan base with many in their late teens, twenties, and early thirties. The different United fan groups are more structured, work more closely together, and work with the club more.
United's new singing section holds 2000 fans. As you can see from the pictures the vast majority of United fans in the singing section are male, young and vocal. The type of fan you you’d associate with a proper singing section. TBH I don’t like giving United fans any credit, but the United fans that have moved into and filled their singing section have improved the atmosphere at Old Trafford.
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