Paul Scholes has nice things to say about City and...

[Didsbury Dave]

The Champions League atmosphere will improve.

Every single "big" game we have had, which has had the potential to have a big atmosphere, we have lost and it's been nervy. That hasn't helped. We also haven't yet had the big two legged knockout games

But the biggest single thing is still in City's hands, especially if this new 1894 Group go along with it., If they make the effort to turn the new South STand into a new Kippax then they will give the ground one voice, especially if it comes from under the roof in the new top tier.. Yet again against Liverpool in the early part of the game we had two songs going at once a lot of the time.

City are fools if they don't take this chance. They should also be cladding the new roof to help.

I've said it many times, true match atmosphere is when the majority of the crowd sing. The floating/occasional singers around the ground will join in if those around them do. That's human nature. If the ground has one voice, and songs that spread both ways around the ground, the atmosphere will be miles better for most games.

 

[Dave Ewing's Back 'eader]

Well... yeah. Might not be popular but he makes some cogent points whether I or anyone else necessarily agrees or not.

I think he might be right about the CL and the fans. We had a great night v Hamburg a few seasons back but on the night we battered them and got nowt. I remember watching the Dortmund and Bayern matches where my jaw was level with my ankles and we didn't have much to shout about. But that should always be the case - shout when yer have nowt to shout about as much as you shout and cheer when we have!! Look at the fans who come to the Etihad on CL nights - they have a full ninety minute vocal input! We should be able to drown the away fans in a wall of sound. Me, Trevor and John are doin' our bit in CBL3. What about the rest o' you fuckers? Get yer vocal chords exercised! Curse the ref! Denounce the away manager! Vilify their bench! Let's be heard on Cheetham Hill!

 

[oakiecokie]

The Champions League atmosphere will improve.

Every single "big" game we have had, which has had the potential to have a big atmosphere, we have lost and it's been nervy. That hasn't helped. We also haven't yet had the big two legged knockout games

But the biggest single thing is still in City's hands, especially if this new 1894 Group go along with it., If they make the effort to turn the new South STand into a new Kippax then they will give the ground one voice, especially if it comes from under the roof in the new top tier.. Yet again against Liverpool in the early part of the game we had two songs going at once a lot of the time.

City are fools if they don't take this chance. They should also be cladding the new roof to help.

I've said it many times, true match atmosphere is when the majority of the crowd sing. The floating/occasional singers around the ground will join in if those around them do. That's human nature. If the ground has one voice, and songs that spread both ways around the ground, the atmosphere will be miles better for most games.

I honestly thought that the atmosphere was great on Monday,even when Liverpool had the edge,but it always helps when the opposition bring a near full sell out of their fans,which helps with banter.
Must admit though,that apart from a few minutes,the Scousers were relatively quiet,so maybe the atmosphere was generated from other quarters.Was surprised at the chanting and singing way up in CBL3,where I sit and I`ve not heard it that good for fuck knows when.
Have to agree with,that once the South Stand has been completed that should bring the 1894 Group together.They should start saving up for a fucking big drum. ;)

 

[gocity]

The Champions League atmosphere will improve.

Every single "big" game we have had, which has had the potential to have a big atmosphere, we have lost and it's been nervy. That hasn't helped. We also haven't yet had the big two legged knockout games

But the biggest single thing is still in City's hands, especially if this new 1894 Group go along with it., If they make the effort to turn the new South STand into a new Kippax then they will give the ground one voice, especially if it comes from under the roof in the new top tier.. Yet again against Liverpool in the early part of the game we had two songs going at once a lot of the time.

City are fools if they don't take this chance. They should also be cladding the new roof to help.

I've said it many times, true match atmosphere is when the majority of the crowd sing. The floating/occasional singers around the ground will join in if those around them do. That's human nature. If the ground has one voice, and songs that spread both ways around the ground, the atmosphere will be miles better for most games.

I honestly thought that the atmosphere was great on Monday,even when Liverpool had the edge,but it always helps when the opposition bring a near full sell out of their fans,which helps with banter.
Must admit though,that apart from a few minutes,the Scousers were relatively quiet,so maybe the atmosphere was generated from other quarters.Was surprised at the chanting and singing way up in CBL3,where I sit and I`ve not heard it that good for fuck knows when.
Have to agree with,that once the South Stand has been completed that should bring the 1894 Group together.They should start saving up for a fucking big drum. ;)

NOOO Thanks

 

[Neville Kneville]

Scholes is spot on with those observations imo & ok, we could say it's 'having a dig' but he has played in derbys & will know what an atmosphere at City can be like. He doesn't see even half the same atmosphere when we play Bayern Munich or Real Madrid.

It's probably true enough to say that rags & scouse fans will be as much 'up' for such games as they would for a game v us, but we aren't really that enthusiastic. I think for some of us it's partly to do with watching all this on tv for years, then realising when we finally do get there, that the whole shebang is both blatantly corrupt & 'not all that'. Apart from one or two top games per season, it's mostly a bit of a scam.

Doubt I'll be bothering much with european games this season. It's expensive & even Barca bored the living shit out of me last season & I thought we were scared of them as well, rather than just battering their shitty defence to pieces as we could have done. Very disappointing.

 

[ColinBellsjockstrap]

To be fair to Scholes, he has given the rags plenty of stick the last few months, including laying into his former team mate Rooney. Apparently they "never swapped phone numbers" at the club.......

 

[deafmanstevo]

It's strange how champions league atmospheres are not as good as they could be, cos European fans or ultras or whatever you want to call them generally make more noise than premier league fans, I would have thought the noise they would have made would have fired up the city fans to make noise to but for some reason we seem to go in our shells for champions league games.

One exception was that hamburg game , prob the best atmosphere so far at the etihad , fair play to the hamburg fans too they played there part.

 

[Didsbury Dave]

The Champions League atmosphere will improve.

Every single "big" game we have had, which has had the potential to have a big atmosphere, we have lost and it's been nervy. That hasn't helped. We also haven't yet had the big two legged knockout games

But the biggest single thing is still in City's hands, especially if this new 1894 Group go along with it., If they make the effort to turn the new South STand into a new Kippax then they will give the ground one voice, especially if it comes from under the roof in the new top tier.. Yet again against Liverpool in the early part of the game we had two songs going at once a lot of the time.

City are fools if they don't take this chance. They should also be cladding the new roof to help.

I've said it many times, true match atmosphere is when the majority of the crowd sing. The floating/occasional singers around the ground will join in if those around them do. That's human nature. If the ground has one voice, and songs that spread both ways around the ground, the atmosphere will be miles better for most games.

I honestly thought that the atmosphere was great on Monday,even when Liverpool had the edge,but it always helps when the opposition bring a near full sell out of their fans,which helps with banter.
Must admit though,that apart from a few minutes,the Scousers were relatively quiet,so maybe the atmosphere was generated from other quarters.Was surprised at the chanting and singing way up in CBL3,where I sit and I`ve not heard it that good for fuck knows when.
Have to agree with,that once the South Stand has been completed that should bring the 1894 Group together.They should start saving up for a fucking big drum. ;)

the problem with the 1984 Group is they seem to have tied themselves to the bottom tier of the South Stand.

That area now is a red herring, a waste of 2000 voices, because the songs don't spread left (because it's the old man's area) or right (because it's the away fans).

If those couple of thousand moved over to the other side of the south stand, or even better under a roof, the atmosphere would improve dramatically. You're still not going to get a cauldren of hate for Stoke or Sheffield Wednesday at home. But for bigger games it would be noticeably better.

I reckon this new top tier is the key to the Etihad atmosphere for generations to come.

 

[taconinja]

Well... yeah. Might not be popular but he makes some cogent points whether I or anyone else necessarily agrees or not.

I think he might be right about the CL and the fans. We had a great night v Hamburg a few seasons back but on the night we battered them and got nowt. I remember watching the Dortmund and Bayern matches where my jaw was level with my ankles and we didn't have much to shout about. But that should always be the case - shout when yer have nowt to shout about as much as you shout and cheer when we have!! Look at the fans who come to the Etihad on CL nights - they have a full ninety minute vocal input! We should be able to drown the away fans in a wall of sound. Me, Trevor and John are doin' our bit in CBL3. What about the rest o' you fuckers? Get yer vocal chords exercised! Curse the ref! Denounce the away manager! Vilify their bench! Let's be heard on Cheetham Hill!

I agree. Mostly I don't feel I have a right to criticize or make much in the way of suggestions since I'm an ocean away from the stadium unfortunately.

 

[cibaman]

There are four things I don't like about our club. The over-sanitised/children aimed feel to "the matchday experience", our badge, the over-use and obsession with Blue Moon, and our atmosphere and seemingly different crowd on Champions League nights.

I think over the season our big atmospheres in the Prem take care of themselves. It's never going to be noisy 19 times but usually in the big games, we're alright (but by no means anything special).

But so far we've had ten home Champions League games and ZERO good atmospheres. That's not good enough!

I thought, when we first entered this competition, that the CL was going to bring some special nights to the Etihad. Some might say "it will when we get to the semi finals", but even in our very first against Napoli there was absolutely no feel of anything being special. It was flat before and during the game. It felt nothing more than a Europa League group game but with a larger crowd. It was the same with the Barça game too. Our first knock-out Champions League game since Fenerbahçe in 1968 and we had a better atmosphere in an early round FL Cup game at home to Scnuthorpe* about five years ago.

Take a look at the 360° camera shot from the Barcelona game. There's one person who isn't just sat or stood there with glum looks on their faces. That's a lad from Wythenshawe who I know who's in South Stand Level 1; he's seemingly clapping and singing. There are loads of other people who look like they'd rather be elsewhere.

What the fuck's that all about?!

Don't get me started on the fanboys of players of other clubs falling over seats as they rush over to get pictures of these players as they come out to warm up. This is in the East Stand, our home section, not the away section. And the large amount of people in the home end who are clearly excited when the visiting team has chances and on two occasions (Plzen and Dortmund) we had fans of the opposition actually up cheering, one Dortmund fan was goading the home fans around him.

Home Champions League games have been the least enjoyable games out of all competitions we've been in, in recent years. I've not enjoyed a single one.

I'm hoping there's going to be a change in this. It might also go some way to improving our average win rate too: played 10, won just 4.

Something that hasn't helped has been the lack of exciting games too. We've played within ourselves in all of the games where the opposition wasn't pretty shit or the group wasn't dead. We didn't make a good show of ourselvelves against Napoli Dortmund Madrid München (the one that meant something) or Barça. So the crowd didn't have anything to cheer about in regards to the performances.

But we still need to make more of these nights anyway, regardless of the performance.


*i spelt Scnuthorpe like that because when you spell it properly it comes out as c**t - bizarre!

totally agree with you (bar the badge and the bluemoon comments)

I think some fans have to realise this is the pinnacle of club football. I love watching us against the best teams in Europe and I think both the team and the fans have to give it 100% this year.

I think they do, I think the atmosphere is quiet because the fans are nervous, not indifferent.

So far we've had 4 victories out of 10. Villareal when we were trailing after 3 mins. Bayern reserves when we were likely to go out even if we won, CSKA and Plzen when we were through. And neither CSKA or Plzen could be classed as one of the best teams in Europe.

We need to top the group, comfortably win our R16 tie and then draw 1-1 away in the first leg at Real Madrid, If that doesn't kick start a massive change in atmosphere nothing will.