Fenerium
New Member
- Joined
- Aug 1, 2014
- Messages
- 3
- Reaction score
- 13
Hi all,
To explain about me, I'm English, a Norwich fan, that lived in Turkey for a bit and supported Fenerbahce ever since as a second team (I properly support from a distance though, watch all the games etc - I don't just say it and check the results).
Last night was my first Fener game and it was a mixed bag really. Missed the first 15/20mins (and subsequently the goal
) due to traffic chaos. Why Kick off wasn't delayed by 15mins is a bit of a mystery to me considering the queues at the ticket office even when I arrived.
Upon arriving at the ground, I told the woman in the ticket office that my tickets hadn't been posted to me and showed her the email confirmation of purchase, to which I was greeted with a very rude "Oh, and you didn't think to bother telling us?" and a look suggesting I was an idiot. Well yes, actually I did, but after sitting on the phone for 30 minutes on hold in the morning and moving 4 places up the queue to number 12, I decided it was cheaper to buy new tickets if there was a problem, than sit on hold for four hours to an 0871 number. She then noticed my Fenerbahce shirt and noticed my tickets were in the wrong end. The reason being that when I bought them on July 15th, only two stands were available for purchase and there was no mention of any designated away seating and made a big deal about changing my tickets to the away end. She had to re-print them anyway so I doubt changing them was more than 20 extra seconds hassle. Anyway, to summarise, the ticketing seemed to be utterly shambolic. Never had a problem before when watching Norwich at Bramall Lane so I'm not quite sure what went wrong to be honest but it was a joke.
I was a few rows behind the flares and I genuinely don't think the knob that threw them was aiming for the ball boy, but I can understand why some of you are fuming about it. Oppo fans threw a flare that nearly hit Volkan Demirel (our Keeper) a few months back and we were similarly outraged, and he is a full grown man. For what it's worth, the Fener fans (and players) were rightly p**sed off about it, and that guy had such a hard time from those around him that he moved seats quite a distance away shortly afterwards. Im sure you could see the players weren't happy with it, but all our fans seemed to have been tarrred with the same brush because of that one idiot, when in reality, we were booing just as loudly as you were when the flare got lobbed. He was arrested in the concourse at full time by the way, so I presume justice will take it's course one way or another but I hope that clears some of the confusion surrounding whether he got away with it or not.
Aside from the throwing of them, the flares were brilliant and really kicked the atmosphere up a notch. Fener fans were magnificent and there were quite a few who had flown in from Turkey for it. Majority were genuine Turks, and only a few Wednesdayites infiltrated (at least around me, that was the demographic). Was very disappointed with your fans. I know it's only pre-season, but when the away fans were putting so much into it, I would have expected a bit more of a response from the home crowd who seemed to be sat in absolute silence for the majority of the game. Outside the ground, nothing but good things to say about your fans, all friendly, all up for the banter without it ever having any kind of nonsense involved - top lads.
Another side note is credit to your stewards and the police. They got it just right and stopped it getting out of hand, but let the Fener fans have a good time, and they responded quickly and efficiently when the seat set on fire (which by the way was 100% accident).
The game was pretty so-so, Fener dominated first half and always looked like they could step it up a gear if they wanted to, but I thought United defended really well and you won't face quality like Fener have again this season, so I think there's lots to be optimistic about on that front. Second half was more of a contest and as Fener's first team got subbed it evened out a little bit. Thought the defending was shocking for both your goals, but the balls in were decent and they were well finished. Was never bothered about the result to be fair, but I did think it was a little bit amusing to watch the entire ground suddenly go mental like you'd won the world cup after being sat in silence for 89 minutes! Look like you have some decent players in your youth ranks, I was aware of Diego De Whateverhisblooodynameis as he's mates with an ex-colleagues son so I followed his progress a little bit for last year or so. I was specifically watching him when he came on and thought he looks like he could be a hell of a player. Not surprised that he was linked with United etc before his injury.
Think that covers all bases except one thing I was confused about, what the hell is the point of your big screen TV? It doesn't even show the score or time 85% of the time. I honestly didn't know what the score was until about 10mins before half time as my phone battery was dead and all that bloody thing does is show adverts!
Anyway, best of luck for the season, hopefully I won't be visiting Bramall Lane next year when (I hope) you come up, as Norwich will be back in the Prem, but if I do, then I'll look forward to it.
To explain about me, I'm English, a Norwich fan, that lived in Turkey for a bit and supported Fenerbahce ever since as a second team (I properly support from a distance though, watch all the games etc - I don't just say it and check the results).
Last night was my first Fener game and it was a mixed bag really. Missed the first 15/20mins (and subsequently the goal
) due to traffic chaos. Why Kick off wasn't delayed by 15mins is a bit of a mystery to me considering the queues at the ticket office even when I arrived.Upon arriving at the ground, I told the woman in the ticket office that my tickets hadn't been posted to me and showed her the email confirmation of purchase, to which I was greeted with a very rude "Oh, and you didn't think to bother telling us?" and a look suggesting I was an idiot. Well yes, actually I did, but after sitting on the phone for 30 minutes on hold in the morning and moving 4 places up the queue to number 12, I decided it was cheaper to buy new tickets if there was a problem, than sit on hold for four hours to an 0871 number. She then noticed my Fenerbahce shirt and noticed my tickets were in the wrong end. The reason being that when I bought them on July 15th, only two stands were available for purchase and there was no mention of any designated away seating and made a big deal about changing my tickets to the away end. She had to re-print them anyway so I doubt changing them was more than 20 extra seconds hassle. Anyway, to summarise, the ticketing seemed to be utterly shambolic. Never had a problem before when watching Norwich at Bramall Lane so I'm not quite sure what went wrong to be honest but it was a joke.
I was a few rows behind the flares and I genuinely don't think the knob that threw them was aiming for the ball boy, but I can understand why some of you are fuming about it. Oppo fans threw a flare that nearly hit Volkan Demirel (our Keeper) a few months back and we were similarly outraged, and he is a full grown man. For what it's worth, the Fener fans (and players) were rightly p**sed off about it, and that guy had such a hard time from those around him that he moved seats quite a distance away shortly afterwards. Im sure you could see the players weren't happy with it, but all our fans seemed to have been tarrred with the same brush because of that one idiot, when in reality, we were booing just as loudly as you were when the flare got lobbed. He was arrested in the concourse at full time by the way, so I presume justice will take it's course one way or another but I hope that clears some of the confusion surrounding whether he got away with it or not.
Aside from the throwing of them, the flares were brilliant and really kicked the atmosphere up a notch. Fener fans were magnificent and there were quite a few who had flown in from Turkey for it. Majority were genuine Turks, and only a few Wednesdayites infiltrated (at least around me, that was the demographic). Was very disappointed with your fans. I know it's only pre-season, but when the away fans were putting so much into it, I would have expected a bit more of a response from the home crowd who seemed to be sat in absolute silence for the majority of the game. Outside the ground, nothing but good things to say about your fans, all friendly, all up for the banter without it ever having any kind of nonsense involved - top lads.
Another side note is credit to your stewards and the police. They got it just right and stopped it getting out of hand, but let the Fener fans have a good time, and they responded quickly and efficiently when the seat set on fire (which by the way was 100% accident).
The game was pretty so-so, Fener dominated first half and always looked like they could step it up a gear if they wanted to, but I thought United defended really well and you won't face quality like Fener have again this season, so I think there's lots to be optimistic about on that front. Second half was more of a contest and as Fener's first team got subbed it evened out a little bit. Thought the defending was shocking for both your goals, but the balls in were decent and they were well finished. Was never bothered about the result to be fair, but I did think it was a little bit amusing to watch the entire ground suddenly go mental like you'd won the world cup after being sat in silence for 89 minutes! Look like you have some decent players in your youth ranks, I was aware of Diego De Whateverhisblooodynameis as he's mates with an ex-colleagues son so I followed his progress a little bit for last year or so. I was specifically watching him when he came on and thought he looks like he could be a hell of a player. Not surprised that he was linked with United etc before his injury.
Think that covers all bases except one thing I was confused about, what the hell is the point of your big screen TV? It doesn't even show the score or time 85% of the time. I honestly didn't know what the score was until about 10mins before half time as my phone battery was dead and all that bloody thing does is show adverts!
Anyway, best of luck for the season, hopefully I won't be visiting Bramall Lane next year when (I hope) you come up, as Norwich will be back in the Prem, but if I do, then I'll look forward to it.
