Regardless of the exorbitant match day ticket prices (thankfully I pay FOC SC rate) a game like today's was never going to be a cauldron of noise. The early Saturday KO is traditionally a graveyard and the fact that it was extremely dull overall meant that the away support would always dominate.
I'm in SS3 & it is pretty much self-contained in there as we can't see or hear anything from lower levels but I'd ask the question if the extended rail seating has made any difference overall? From my perspective I'd say not one iota of difference.
Where the rail seats are, the atmosphere was slightly better with more people singing in that area than before for the first few games of the season. It’s now gone back to how it was before rail seats with hardly anyone singing even in what is supposed to be the singing section.
Also, the rail seats have certainly not made any difference whatsoever to the atmosphere around the rest of the ground. The fans who do sing in the area where the rail seats are sing songs the rest of the ground never join in with (to the point of obsession!).
The rest of the ground never join in with:
Edin Džeko
Empty Seats At Home (they never have and never will join in with this)
And they might join in the first time with:
We Never Win At Home (but not the fourth or fifth time in a game)
And they pretty much never sing most of the songs the rest of the ground do/might join in with.
But that’s not exactly their fault. Okay they sing some songs far too often (sometimes Edin Džeko is sung about half a dozen times a game… why?). But on the whole, it’s the apathetic fuckers we have around the rest of the ground that are the main problem.
The East Stand these days is more boring, lifeless and quiet than the Main Stand at Maine Road. What the fuck has happened to the East Stand? We used to be The Kippax, for fuck’s sake! Even when the rail seat areas sing a song the rest of the ground used to sing along to, eg, We Love You City; even the East Stand only has the odd lads dotted about here and there who join in while 95% of the stand sit there is total silence for 95% of the game (I don’t include the Kippax Corner in this, although yesterday even they were deathly quiet)
I’m starting to think other fans are right about our support.