Etihad Atmosphere - 2022/23

[Didsbury Dave]

- trying to use songs with a beat that we can keep going for longer (I know it gets pelted on here, but the Edin Dzeko song actually does this quite well).
- bunching 10/15 lads at the back of SSL1 to start off songs (this is similar to a capo, but a different way of doing it).
- we've trialed an installation of metal sheeting on some rows in SSL1 that supporters can stamp on to make a bang. With a few tweaks, this will improve and turn into our equivalent of a drum and help us keep chants on the beat and spread around the ground (without having a person stand at the front whacking a drum).

Ultimately though, the reason these discussions always come up (and that we have this thread) is that the vast, vast majority of fans that go to the Etihad contribute absolutely nothing to the atmosphere. I've sat in CBL3 a couple of times this season and you can clearly hear the South Stand, but no-one joins in (other than me, singing like a goon on my own).

Your "beat" songs like Edin Ezeko (and Empty Seats, Bernado and Singing the Blues) get the south stand singing but will never get the rest of the ground singing. The only ones that do that are classic anthems and they are mostly started in the top tier of the south stand.

Not knocking what you do, I support you in every way, but an atmosphere is not 400 people clapping along to the Zabaleta song for 5 minutes, it is the whole ground singing, and they only do it at certain moments and for certain songs: Blue Moon, Come On City, Hark Now Hear, Hey Jude, The Best Team in the Land, We are not Really Here are the ones that spring to mind for me.

 

[blue b4 the moon]

Would stop going if some knob on a tannoy was screaming all game telling me when and what to sing

And the circle is complete (not a dig at you).

We'll never get any sort of major improvement as there's so many differing opinions just on here.

• Too many songs not liked by fans who don't sing them (Dzeko....similar to You thought you'd won the league from a couple of years earlier). Both these songs relate to our modern history and should be embraced.
• Too many words in songs....too hard to learn!!!!
• Fans in areas where even if they wanted to make some noise it'd be too difficult on there own and would be drowned out by tutting and won't or can't move.
• Get some flags/put those flags down.
• I can sit/stand where I want so even in a singing area I'll do what I want.

We've all seen at times the ground can rock but, ultimately 80% of the ground generally are happy to sit and watch like a cinema. That's not going to change and likely get worse as 'real/passionate' fans get priced out, pissed off with transport . matchday experience etc.
I could go on but there's not much point really, I'm in 315 halfway up and do my bit. I'd like to think even if inside the ground and a bit pissed/loud/sweary at times that I annoy nobody.

 

[Manchester33]

Your "beat" songs like Edin Ezeko (and Empty Seats, Bernado and Singing the Blues) get the south stand singing but will never get the rest of the ground singing. The only ones that do that are classic anthems and they are mostly started in the top tier of the south stand.

Not knocking what you do, I support you in every way, but an atmosphere is not 400 people clapping along to the Zabaleta song for 5 minutes, it is the whole ground singing, and they only do it at certain moments and for certain songs: Blue Moon, Come On City, Hark Now Hear, Hey Jude, The Best Team in the Land, We are not Really Here are the ones that spring to mind for me.

Agreed.

We do try to start off those songs and get the whole ground going too. I think the challenge in our mind is if we can turn the 400 singers in SSL1 into 2,500 singers in SSL1, those longer chants will have more of an effect on the overall atmosphere. They'll also spread around the stadium. Turning 2k occasional singers into frequent singers is a much more attainable goal than turning 35k fans who never sing into occasional singers.

To be honest, I think our atmosphere is generally good (especially for the big games). I've been to most premier league grounds and we're far from the worst. I don't think we're so desperate we need to use a drum to improve things. Ultimately we just need more fans to step up and make a noise, it's that simple.

 

[shemnel]

Agreed.

We do try to start off those songs and get the whole ground going too. I think the challenge in our mind is if we can turn the 400 singers in SSL1 into 2,500 singers in SSL1, those longer chants will have more of an effect on the overall atmosphere. They'll also spread around the stadium. Turning 2k occasional singers into frequent singers is a much more attainable goal than turning 35k fans who never sing into occasional singers.

To be honest, I think our atmosphere is generally good (especially for the big games). I've been to most premier league grounds and we're far from the worst. I don't think we're so desperate we need to use a drum to improve things. Ultimately we just need more fans to step up and make a noise, it's that simple.

I think it really is.

 

[train man]

Groups of people getting songs going like the 1984 bloke suggested is miles ahead of that performative shite.

Beware the thought police..!!

 

[train man]

I respect the bouncing around of ideas to raise the atmosphere but those who have mentioned that there are simply too few singers these days have already nailed the crux the problem. Why, then, would a different construction of the North Stand, a capo or drum-style initiative etc, make enough difference to those folk who are already indifferent?
It is a bloody shame, and more so for those who enjoy singing to be trapped in non-singing areas of the ground, and it could be so good with a little effort from many more - Hey Jude before the Villa game was just superb, and I was in the middle of the North Stand(!), the initiative aided that day, I suppose, by the pre-match tannoy.
But, especially with regard to stadium lay-out, if away fans from prem teams and euro teams (with or without drum) can make a lot of noise with a 3000, or less, allocation, then we should be able to do something pretty good with the 50-odd thou, which we occasionally do quite spectacularly.

 

[citymad]

At this rate we'll never get the atmosphere going the team deserves.I cant help think as a fanbase we'll look back with some regret or maybe we won't. This could be our best ever team and players like Haaland and KDB only comes round once in a lifetime. Let’s leave the early leaving nonsense and quiet games to when we're mid table/looking for the 40 point mark again.

 

[Dodgy Gangster]

Can anyone who was there hazard a guess at the average age of City fans last night ? I attend the occasional home CL game and the away fans look to be mostly young men in their 20s whereas our away support in CL games looks to be a much older group.

When I was in my 20s I couldn’t have afforded Euro awaydays, do European clubs massively subsidise travel for their fans ?

 

[LEXSTARproject]

What you have JRB that not enough fans have is the willingness to change, you analyse the atmosphere and think "if the changes we have to make work then its better than stood there hands in pockets".

Fact is majority of the fans who criticize a drum or capo or a song that doesnt relate to the game dont sing or stand in the popular singing areas. So ok this is their opinion, but it isnt helping the situation at all.

We need to try to be in touch with like minded fans that want to sing, but BM isnt particularly high volume people that are singers, it is fans that suggest.

When we played Copenhagen at home, three fans behind me started from the first minute shouting "can u not sing without a drum" or "this repeated singing is giving me headache". But they didnt sing once ! And this was 115 / 116 areas.

Far to often we criticise the European away fans for how they generate atmosphere and drown our support out, about time we took a different approach.

Well said, Trevor Riley,

"What you have JRB that not enough fans have is the willingness to change, you analyse the atmosphere and think "if the changes we have to make work then it's better than standing their hands in their pockets".

The fact is the majority of the fans who criticize a drum or capo or a song that doesn't relate to the game don't sing or stand in the popular singing areas. So ok this is their opinion, but it isn't helping the situation at all.

We need to try to be in touch with like-minded fans that want to sing, but BM isn't particularly high-volume people that are singers, it is fans that suggest."

The easiest solution to this is to set up a supporter's organisation that works with the club and you need to join this supporter's organisation to get into the new north stand, this keeps all the people who want to sing and make noise in the one section, it happens with Celtic with Green Brigade. As a fan of city, I never saw so much hostility about trying to improve the atmosphere in the ground, even our chairman has come out and said that he wants a blue wall at the end of the ground. I could post as many youtube videos showing how a yellow wall at one end of the ground improves the atmosphere only to be shouted down just have a look at small clubs in other nations and how they have copied ultra sections with Yellow Wall sections to see how it benefits the atmosphere.

 

[mancityvstoke]

Lower the prices....expand the stadium.....have a huge single standing area....

Job done

 

[Brightwell Bros.]

I respect the bouncing around of ideas to raise the atmosphere but those who have mentioned that there are simply too few singers these days have already nailed the crux the problem. Why, then, would a different construction of the North Stand, a capo or drum-style initiative etc, make enough difference to those folk who are already indifferent?
It is a bloody shame, and more so for those who enjoy singing to be trapped in non-singing areas of the ground, and it could be so good with a little effort from many more - Hey Jude before the Villa game was just superb, and I was in the middle of the North Stand(!), the initiative aided that day, I suppose, by the pre-match tannoy.
But, especially with regard to stadium lay-out, if away fans from prem teams and euro teams (with or without drum) can make a lot of noise with a 3000, or less, allocation, then we should be able to do something pretty good with the 50-odd thou, which we occasionally do quite spectacularly.

Lol right. All the feedback is basically "I would simply build a new stand, and simply fill it with 10k singers, problem solved".

 

[mancityvstoke]

Once terracing went things changed forever in this country...until that comes back it will stay the same. Standing terraces are never coming back.

Pricing out most potential singers has also had an effect. Loads have stopped going due to costs and we need them replaced with young lads/lasses who want to sing and shout etc. Those new younger lot need cheap standing areas, preferably where they can group together with their mates not be spread around.

It's so difficult to sort out as it is now. Impossible probably under current legislation and attitudes.

109 to 112 is very good I think as is SSL1 but its inconsistent and split......great for abuse to away fans but not good as they are not together in unison.

 

[trevorriley]

Well said, Trevor Riley,

"What you have JRB that not enough fans have is the willingness to change, you analyse the atmosphere and think "if the changes we have to make work then it's better than standing their hands in their pockets".

The fact is the majority of the fans who criticize a drum or capo or a song that doesn't relate to the game don't sing or stand in the popular singing areas. So ok this is their opinion, but it isn't helping the situation at all.

We need to try to be in touch with like-minded fans that want to sing, but BM isn't particularly high-volume people that are singers, it is fans that suggest."

The easiest solution to this is to set up a supporter's organisation that works with the club and you need to join this supporter's organisation to get into the new north stand, this keeps all the people who want to sing and make noise in the one section, it happens with Celtic with Green Brigade. As a fan of city, I never saw so much hostility about trying to improve the atmosphere in the ground, even our chairman has come out and said that he wants a blue wall at the end of the ground. I could post as many youtube videos showing how a yellow wall at one end of the ground improves the atmosphere only to be shouted down just have a look at small clubs in other nations and how they have copied ultra sections with Yellow Wall sections to see how it benefits the atmosphere.

thanks for that, you have a good idea as to what works. Like you say we can watch as many yellow wall videos and so on, but get shouted down or the wall criticized or the fact our base wont change.

During the season myself and other guys speak to the club once every week, often more if there are two games in one week. We have meetings every 3 months ( got fooked up over covid ), we are in regular contact over email. The club knows exactly what we want should the north stand expansion go ahead. Between us we also come up with ideas for fans to join that end ( north stand ) when it does. Rest is fan participation, as much as we presume singers will jump at the chance and we have a waiting list, a huge amount of fans hold back and wont move over. Therefore tickets end up sold to non singers / match day passes. You would think 4,000 singers in the new north stand shouldnt be a problem, lets see. Keep fingers crossed haha.

 

[trevorriley]

And the circle is complete (not a dig at you).

We'll never get any sort of major improvement as there's so many differing opinions just on here.

• Too many songs not liked by fans who don't sing them (Dzeko....similar to You thought you'd won the league from a couple of years earlier). Both these songs relate to our modern history and should be embraced.
• Too many words in songs....too hard to learn!!!!
• Fans in areas where even if they wanted to make some noise it'd be too difficult on there own and would be drowned out by tutting and won't or can't move.
• Get some flags/put those flags down.
• I can sit/stand where I want so even in a singing area I'll do what I want.

We've all seen at times the ground can rock but, ultimately 80% of the ground generally are happy to sit and watch like a cinema. That's not going to change and likely get worse as 'real/passionate' fans get priced out, pissed off with transport . matchday experience etc.
I could go on but there's not much point really, I'm in 315 halfway up and do my bit. I'd like to think even if inside the ground and a bit pissed/loud/sweary at times that I annoy nobody.

please change seat to 115, you sound like you want to belt songs out haha

 

[mancityvstoke]

please change seat to 115, you sound like you want to belt songs out haha

if only changing seats was that easy

 

[citymad]

Lower the prices....expand the stadium.....have a huge single standing area....

Job done

Not sure lower prices will make people stay to the end and expanding the stadium now will look even worse than it does now at full time. Agree about standing area though, that would help a lot but thanks to the dippers that’s never going to happen.

 

[asahartford1]

It seems everyone can agree the atmosphere could be better.

But we don't want anything introduced that might improve it.

Because we are too cool.

 

[mancityvstoke]

Not sure lower prices will make people stay to the end and expanding the stadium now will look even worse than it does now at full time. Agree about standing area though, that would help a lot but thanks to the dippers that’s never going to happen.

You can't have everything you want mate.....some things will simply never ever change especially with the road closures etc after the game. Maine Road was quite easy to get away from but people left there early too to avoid car park jams etc..

 

[mancityvstoke]

It seems everyone can agree the atmosphere could be better.

But we don't want anything introduced that might improve it.

Because we are too cool.

Have you asked everyone?

Not all older fans want what younger fans want. A lot do though. I'm old now but can still balloon about and shout.

You need to get a wall of younger fans like in the 70's when the Kippax was rammed with young blues all standing where they wanted and with their own mobs.

No drums, no loud hailers ,etc back then...just foghorns/airhorns and mad young fuckers.

The old ones stayed in the Main Stand and those who didnt want to get involved as much in the old platt lane or north stand. (1970's)

 

[asahartford1]

Have you asked everyone?

Not all older fans want what younger fans want. A lot do though. I'm old now but can still balloon about and shout.

You need to get a wall of younger fans like in the 70's when the Kippax was rammed with young blues all standing where they wanted and with their own mobs.

No drums, no loud hailers ,etc back then...just foghorns and mad young fuckers.

The old ones stayed in the Main Stand and those who didnt want to get involved as much in the old platt lane or north stand. (1970's)

It would be tough to ask everyone -;)

I am going on the concensus on here, people do not want radical change, some are posting they would rather give up their ticket if certain things happened.
I still come home hoarse in my sixties.