Etihad Atmosphere - 2022/23

[blue b4 the moon]

Watch it live in level 1 and record the game if you want to see the movement etc ?

I watch most games back during the week, you're not going to see the same movement from a side TV camera...it's a bit like Gaz Baz, if you know you know :)

 

[Manchester33]

The fans I sit near..the view..the atmosphere..

I meant more about the atmosphere specifically.

I'd have thought it's not as consistent up there as it is in SSL1. Yes, it does get going every now and then but do you think the atmosphere is better up there, or does it just suit you more, etc?

(Sorry if it seems a bit weird, I'm genuinely curious).

 

[Didsbury Dave]

Yep. We'll keep trying. We did get one or two Anthems going, which is better than nothing. The more we try it, the more they'll spread. We just have to be consistent.

It's really weird how you can have a few hundred (maybe a few thousand) fans singing, yet because of the stadium layout, you don't hear it. United got pelters for it, but they employed a firm to work on acoustics at Old Trafford which (I think) has helped with the same issue there.

I've suggested before that there might be some sort of acoustic solution, maybe even an electronic one. Wembley has exactly the same issue. I wonder if it's that lip over the bottom tier acting as a barrier to sound or even a sort of sponge, both ways

I swear there were a number of times that you lot were singing your Follow follow and Chelsea were singing "Is this a Library" at exactly the same time and I suspect neither of you could hear the other but the volume was equal from the other side of the stadium.

What was happening is that for the first time having City fans in the away end bottom tier made for much better sound travel across that tier.

My 14 year old lads went in the South Stand last night for the first time and absolutely loved it so thanks for that, too.

 

[Manchester33]

Can I answer that as well?

Plus:
Good bunch of guys around me
Watching the movement of the players
Decent chance to sing
Can manage to stand for big games
Cheap, middle of SS3 £22 (the reason I left 117)

Cons:
Players can't hear individual shouts
Sometimes seems a long way to the action
Takes forever to get out of the stand as I stay to the end
Bar service is slow
Not enough toilets

I'm still paying less now that I was in 117 when SS3 opened is the overriding factor.

Can't really argue with that!

When they expand level two of the North Stand and turn it into a singing section, that will be great. Fans who want to get closer can do that, but you'll still get a great view.

We have a lad in 115 who could still heckle players from level 3. Loudest person on the planet lol.

 

[Prophet of Doom]

So how come United and their fans have managed to do it? Why can they do it and we can’t?

There won’t be any organic development unless there are changes to the Etihad and the club intervenes to improve the atmosphere. Adding 8000 extra seats to the NS and filling them with additional fans isn’t going to improve the atmosphere bar increasing the Etihad capacity, increasing revenue, etc. One of many reasons why the the NS is being expanded is to improve the atmosphere with a new and proper dedicated singing section. No it isn’t on top of the list, but it’s on the list.

I thought the South Stand organised a move of ‘singers’ when the extra seats were added. Made absolutely no difference to atmosphere whatsoever as most supporters that relocated don’t sing.

You can’t compare to other clubs as the situation is different. Somebody summed it up perfectly the other day when they said we have a large percentage of older supporters that really aren’t arsed anymore. It’s why 3 sides of the stadium sit in silence for the whole game and why half the stadium get ready to get off home at 80 mins.

Putting a couple of hundred singers in a new stand amongst tourists and day trippers won’t make any difference whatsoever. I’m not even convinced many would be interested in relocating.

I admire your optimism but it’s pointless.

 

[blue by birth]

I meant more about the atmosphere specifically.

I'd have thought it's not as consistent up there as it is in SSL1. Yes, it does get going every now and then but do you think the atmosphere is better up there, or does it just suit you more, etc?

(Sorry if it seems a bit weird, I'm genuinely curious).

It suits me more to be honest..I'm an old fucker 65 now.
But the atmosphere can be really good moreso for the bigger games.
I give plenty of vocal encouragement and still like to join in the songs..mind you being a bit deaf in one ear takes me a while to catch onto new songs..
Don't get me wrong I thought SS1 was ok though

 

[jrb]

My left knee is fucked, so I watched the match on the TV last night. I did have a ticket via the cup scheme.

Honest opinion. Coming through on the TV.

Overall I thought our support was decent at times, especially in the 2nd half, patchy and very quiet at other times, especially in the 1st half.

Most of the time you could hear singing from SSL1 but it didn’t come across overly loud or clear on the TV. Follow, follow(constantly), tearing Cockneys apart again, the Ortega chant, plus a few other chants were audible. The only time you could hear all the stadium was stand up for the champions, come on City, the best team in the land.

Not wishing to p*ss people off as this was on TV, but being brutally honest the 1st half was (very) quiet with sporadic bursts of City chanting. The 2nd half was (much) better especially towards the end of the match after the 2 goals.

Considering there were 6000 Chelsea fans or whatever they brought to be given the 3rd tier, they sounded louder, but their chants were sporadic. Champions of Europe, you’ll never be that or see that was loud, plus a few other Chelsea chants. Overall Chelsea did come across louder on the TV, so there is some truth that having a large group of singers in SSL3 works.(on the TV)

What I did notice was the lack of banter with the away fans.(obviously) If Chelsea had sung the Champions of Europe you’ll never see that, 2-0 and you still don’t sing, etc, in the SL1 away end, there would have been an instant reaction by 111, 110 and SSL1 to that. There didn’t seem to be any reaction to Chelsea singing those piss taking chants coming across on the TV last night.

I did notice City fans sat down in the SSL1 away end last night. I said that would happen. That’s not a criticism. City have to sell those tickets, so families, new city fans, etc will buy them. They aren’t the type of fans who are going to stand up for 90 minutes, link 110, 111 and SSL1 and join in with the chanting. Saying that they may have joined in with the chanting last night?

Overall I thought the atmosphere was OK-ish. Probably what you’d expect for a midweek Carabao cup match.

 

[pirate]

I thought the South Stand organised a move of ‘singers’ when the extra seats were added. Made absolutely no difference to atmosphere whatsoever as most supporters that relocated don’t sing.

You can’t compare to other clubs as the situation is different. Somebody summed it up perfectly the other day when they said we have a large percentage of older supporters that really aren’t arsed anymore. It’s why 3 sides of the stadium sit in silence for the whole game and why half the stadium get ready to get off home at 80 mins.

Putting a couple of hundred singers in a new stand amongst tourists and day trippers won’t make any difference whatsoever. I’m not even convinced many would be interested in relocating.

I admire your optimism but it’s pointless.

Oh you are talking out of your arse.
I have been going nearly 50 years as have the majority of my mates and we really give a shit and we make noise.
If you have any more baseless sweeping statements come and say them to our faces. We are in the Townley, sat by the side windows before most home games
We will probably be a bit pissed but still able to give you a bit of slap you gobby little ****

 

[jrb]

I thought the South Stand organised a move of ‘singers’ when the extra seats were added. Made absolutely no difference to atmosphere whatsoever as most supporters that relocated don’t sing.

You can’t compare to other clubs as the situation is different. Somebody summed it up perfectly the other day when they said we have a large percentage of older supporters that really aren’t arsed anymore. It’s why 3 sides of the stadium sit in silence for the whole game and why half the stadium get ready to get off home at 80 mins.

Putting a couple of hundred singers in a new stand amongst tourists and day trippers won’t make any difference whatsoever. I’m not even convinced many would be interested in relocating.

I admire your optimism but it’s pointless.

Trev has explained previously about the move and why it hasn’t worked.

We can’t get a large group of singers together in 115 because seats are already taken by season ticket holders. It’s the same in other blocks. That’s one of the reasons our singers are spread out over numerous blocks.

United have 2000 dedicated singers in the corner block/s between the main stand and the Stretford End, thats why their singing section works and is successful.

We can’t even get a large group of fans together for CL matches, even if there was interest in that. The best we could get previously was a couple of rows at the front of 115 for CL games. And as you know CL crowds are not the same as PL crowds at the Etihad.

We’ve got plenty of young fans in their teens and 20’s. You need to come down to SSL1. The concourses and blocks near the away end are full of young fans. So is the new bar area. There is this myth that our support is only made up of FOCs, this isn’t true. We’ve got a new group of young lads coming through now. Similar to what United had when United were winning everything and sucking up the local support. We’re doing it now and have done it for the last decade.

We know that. Everybody knows that. That’s why we need at least 1 block, hopefully 2 blocks full of proper singers in the new NS. We won’t know if it works or not until we try it. Only then, if it doesn’t work, can you say it was a ‘pointless exercise’ and not before. At least give the idea a chance before condemning it!

 

[Tim of the Oak]

FWIW, I thought our singing spread pretty well across the South Stand including the blocks normally taken by away fans. The atmosphere isn’t going to change overnight. I thought it was decent last night but obviously loads of room for improvement.