Honest discussion about the atmosphere

[Sean Thornton]

the best atmospheres at the lane over the last few years have always been through adversity either through being underdogs or a fiery game on the pitch but as an oldie never been the same since seats went on the kop in 92 60s to the end of the 80s the shoreham end was far more noisier most of the time

Didn’t they go in in 1991? The season after Bassets great escape and 9th place finish. The atmosphere and noise didn’t just drop off. Which is what l said in answer to comments that suggested it was never the same.

 

[Sean Thornton]

Totally agree, but when I said this earlier on this thread, I was accused of pedalling a fallacy.
So that’s two of us with delusional memories.

Mardy arse. The atmosphere hadn’t just dropped off when seats were installed. Think about that first season for starters.

There had been many poor atmosphere games prior to that, but seemingly that doesn’t count.

 

[ZLB]

Or wander off after 35 mins for that oh so important

smart phones are to blame in part as everyone is watching scores in other games and even checking how they are reporting on our game on live text

no one took a phone to a game and saw woodward and currie etc for 90 minutes with just 2 or 3 with radios supplying scores
its like we miss half a game now surfing sites


just watch the match and engage with and enhance the atmosphere,

Or wander off aimlessly after 35 mins for that oh so important £5 pie or hot dog. Then return on 52 mins.

 

[loveWalrusDaveTheBlade]

Or wander off after 35 mins for that oh so important

Or wander off aimlessly after 35 mins for that oh so important £5 pie or hot dog. Then return on 52 mins.

Before leaving on 85.....

 

[themaninblack]

Just for comparison, I went to a couple of games while briefly back in Belgium/the Netherlands the weekend before last, and here's a taste of the atmosphere at a dire 1-1 mid-table draw between Standard Liège and OH Leuven in a howling December gale, even with just 12,000 people or so in a 30,000-capacity stadium:

View attachment 199565

This sort of thing went on for a full 94 minutes, and it was all down to a few relatively small groups sitting together -- it's only a couple of blocks at opposite ends of the second tier making all that noise, with the rest of the crowd simply groaning South Stand-style at every heavy touch and misplaced pass. Not saying we need to go full 'ultra' at Bramall Lane, but it goes to show it only takes a fraction of the ground to get themselves organised to completely change the vibe...

I went to the USG v Roma game at Heysel; 12 000 fans in a soulless 40k+ concrete bowl. Both sets of supporters were brilliant, the USG guys never stopped singing throughout a dour game. I’m convinced that this was precisely because they are organised, with all the drums, klaxons and what have you. When I was younger I thought all this was a bit pathetic, too contrived, but now I have changed my mind. It was a life-affirming experience and some way from the atmosphere at BDTBL.

I have a confession to make; I’ve had an ST on the kop for years, row XX. There’s a bunch of lads there that insist on standing throughout the game, which has really been getting on my tits. In reality, trying to look at it objectively, it’s these young lads that generate the atmosphere we love, not old buggers like me. I think the club should be engaging with supporters, and the ground security bods (forgotten the acronym) so that these young lads can have seats together; if that means the less vocal of us have to move seats then I’d say that’s a price worth paying. It certainly wouldn’t stop me renewing my ST.

When it’s rocking BDTBL is an inspiring place to be. Anything we can do to encourage that is a positive in my opinion. Bring on the Shoreham Drummers!

 

[jono_t2000]

The atmosphere is because as a club fanbase we don't really know what we want.

Have a strong season, get promoted and get thrashed every week is meh.

Have a mediocre season and finish midtable is also meh.

Only way I can see the atmosphere getting electric again is by somehow managing a surprising run in the prem... or failing that getting relegated spending a few seasons in league 1 before getting promoted.

Long story short there needs to be a point of difference to create a genuine new buzz around the ground.

 

[NotFallowfieldBlade]

As usual you’re spouting bollocks. My issue was that l thought it should be instinctive and evolve naturally and not be organised like Palace. Since then is been about the number of people who were all over it, but after Ricky’s hard work, were as apathetic as any prawn sandwich brigade.

How an utter clown like you can try to play the bigger blade card is laughable. Stick to your weird self promotion and numerous accounts to attempt it.

Not sure how im playing the bigger blade card , though i am the biggest blade going

Bollocks ? How exactly .....

 

[Sean Thornton]

The claim you made.

 

[Fjortoft's Aeroplane]

The only thing I will say in our fans defence this season is that nine consecutive clean sheets means we've not really had to overcome any adversity. Maybe if we can go 1 down and win 3-1 it would create more of a buzz.

But like I said before, top of the table and 3 points clear, we should be celebrating this so much more than we did v Plymouth.

There's a lot of talk about more and more older heads on the kop, do we have an issue with fewer 18-30 age group attending?

 

[Charlieblade]

Demographics, technology and lifestyle changes, and progress! Everything has changed and moved on from my personal experiences in the 1960s to date.
Some will no doubt share similar memories, others will just be starting that journey. The only certainty in life, is that things and people will change!

 

[YES Blade]

You can create singing sections, safe standing etc. to improve the atmosphere for the biggest factor in determining how good or bad will always be what happens on the pitch.

If we have another season like last season, I don’t care what you’ve got in place, the atmosphere is going to be terrible.

 

[west_yorks_blade]

The only thing I will say in our fans defence this season is that nine consecutive clean sheets means we've not really had to overcome any adversity. Maybe if we can go 1 down and win 3-1 it would create more of a buzz.

But like I said before, top of the table and 3 points clear, we should be celebrating this so much more than we did v Plymouth.

There's a lot of talk about more and more older heads on the kop, do we have an issue with fewer 18-30 age group attending?

This is a good point re lack of younger blood coming through on the kop.

Apart from aging supporters being understandably reluctant to move away from long held seats in what have been traditionally vocal areas, pay per game prices are eye watering nowadays and a lot of youngsters can’t afford season tickets either.

 

[CarlMcBlade]

A full capacity safe standing Kop would solve all of the atmosphere issues.

But doesn’t the back half of the kop stand up already…They weren’t very lively on Saturday.
But I do agreed with safe standing in principle.

 

[Cappy]

I haven’t watched it, so can’t offer any preview

“What’s wrong with the Bramall lane Atmosphere?”

 

[ancientblade]

Totally agree, but when I said this earlier on this thread, I was accused of pedalling a fallacy.
So that’s two of us with delusional memories.

no its not but bramall lane at one time was amongst the top 6 most intimidating grounds in the country last few years gone down to nothing

 

[blade too long]

no its not but bramall lane at one time was amongst the top 6 most intimidating grounds in the country last few years gone down to nothing

not really nothing just a bit eratic , must be a bit intimidating as we havent conceded a goal since august

we can make a noise but some cant be arsed

 

[Fjortoft's Aeroplane]

I haven’t watched it, so can’t offer any preview

“What’s wrong with the Bramall lane Atmosphere?”

Some awful options from "fans" there about all they care about is us winning and they dont give a damn shout the atmosphere. I'd ban them from ever attending again if I could.

 

[BelgianBlade]

I went to the USG v Roma game at Heysel; 12 000 fans in a soulless 40k+ concrete bowl. Both sets of supporters were brilliant, the USG guys never stopped singing throughout a dour game. I’m convinced that this was precisely because they are organised, with all the drums, klaxons and what have you. When I was younger I thought all this was a bit pathetic, too contrived, but now I have changed my mind. It was a life-affirming experience and some way from the atmosphere at BDTBL.

I have a confession to make; I’ve had an ST on the kop for years, row XX. There’s a bunch of lads there that insist on standing throughout the game, which has really been getting on my tits. In reality, trying to look at it objectively, it’s these young lads that generate the atmosphere we love, not old buggers like me. I think the club should be engaging with supporters, and the ground security bods (forgotten the acronym) so that these young lads can have seats together; if that means the less vocal of us have to move seats then I’d say that’s a price worth paying. It certainly wouldn’t stop me renewing my ST.

When it’s rocking BDTBL is an inspiring place to be. Anything we can do to encourage that is a positive in my opinion. Bring on the Shoreham Drummers!

Funny you should mention USG — and apologies to anyone wanting to discuss the atmosphere at actual Bramall Lane — but this merits a quick tangent.

Here's why: to me at least, they're a really interesting case when it comes the debate about what's 'manufactured' or 'authentic'. You have to be at least in your mid-60s to remember the last stint they had in the Belgian top flight, and there can only be a handful of people alive who remember them winning anything. In the time in between, they sank so far down the leagues and out of the public consciousness that someone like me — born in the 1980s, raised in Belgium, who knows a fair bit about football history — had barely ever heard of them until they made their way back up to the top flight in the 2010s.

My point being: I believe that even as recently as a decade ago, there cannot have been more than a few hundred people who gave half a toss about USG, but all of a sudden, they have 10,000 turning up to every home game.

I notice you live in Brussels, so maybe you've got a better idea of where all these people have come from all of a sudden? Am I getting this wrong, and was there genuinely some kind of sleeping fanbase just waiting for the right moment?

 

[Cappy]

Some awful options from "fans" there about all they care about is us winning and they dont give a damn shout the atmosphere. I'd ban them from ever attending again if I could.

I don't like that channel to be honest. The host seems to have just found random fans from each club and started a channel for literally each club. I've not found the representatives of our club to be all that great on his channel, so stopped watching after the first few.

 

[themaninblack]

Funny you should mention USG — and apologies to anyone wanting to discuss the atmosphere at actual Bramall Lane — but this merits a quick tangent.

Here's why: to me at least, they're a really interesting case when it comes the debate about what's 'manufactured' or 'authentic'. You have to be at least in your mid-60s to remember the last stint they had in the Belgian top flight, and there can only be a handful of people alive who remember them winning anything. In the time in between, they sank so far down the leagues and out of the public consciousness that someone like me — born in the 1980s, raised in Belgium, who knows a fair bit about football history — had barely ever heard of them until they made their way back up to the top flight in the 2010s.

My point being: I believe that even as recently as a decade ago, there cannot have been more than a few hundred people who gave half a toss about USG, but all of a sudden, they have 10,000 turning up to every home game.

I notice you live in Brussels, so maybe you've got a better idea of where all these people have come from all of a sudden? Am I getting this wrong, and was there genuinely some kind of sleeping fanbase just waiting for the right moment?

The rise of USG is a fascinating story; I started going occasionally for a beer and some footy about 15 years ago, there were a lot of expats in the crowd and it was a very welcoming environment, but only a couple of thousand were there at most. I’ve lived in Brussels since the 90’s and it’s at a stage now where all the people I know that go to football go to USG; most of them have season tickets. At the Roma game we were surrounded by people talking English, though not necessarily as a first language, all singing along to Vamos a la Playa and all the other club songs. My impression is that the club has been adopted by us foreigners (well over 30% of the Brussels population now) and it is seen as a hip club to support, a Belgian St Pauli. I went to a few RSCA games back in the day but never felt the same degree of connection, never felt welcome.

There must be a lot of Belgians that have taken to the club as well but I think a lot of it has come from the international community. I now know more USG fans than Blades; I’m even thinking of getting a season ticket myself. I don’t get the sense that they are plastic supporters either, they know all the players and can talk about the club’s history. They are genuine fans.

My youngest has been with me a few times and he loves the atmosphere. As I said before I always found the ‘cheerleader’ concept a bit fake…but is it any different to us singing GCB? It wouldn’t take much for us to generate a similarly raucous atmosphere at the Lane.

It would be rude of me not to ask; how come you ended up supporting Dem Blades?

 

[JJBlade]

Many of the reasons for a poor atmosphere at almost all stadiums is people themselves are changing, Much of the atmosphere was fuelled by a dislike or even hatred of other fans, this has pretty much gone now and the hooligans that created that atmosphere which spread to the rest of the stadium have also gone.

But a couple of things would improve the atmosphere a bit
Get rid of the loyalty points at home games, we don't need them......Not yet.
Loyalty points are something that is required when 40,000 people want to get into a 30,000 stadium, not when 28,000 people are in a 32,000 stadium.

Sell season tickets on the South Stand, two sections of the Bramall Lane Upper leaving the third section for general sale, John Street and two thirds of the kop, leaving the other third of the kop for general sale. This accounts for practically all of our season tickets anyway, and it means that the pay on the dayers can pick seats together instead of looking at the ticket availability and seeing single seats scattered all over the place which never get sold.

 

[BelgianBlade]

The rise of USG is a fascinating story; I started going occasionally for a beer and some footy about 15 years ago, there were a lot of expats in the crowd and it was a very welcoming environment, but only a couple of thousand were there at most. I’ve lived in Brussels since the 90’s and it’s at a stage now where all the people I know that go to football go to USG; most of them have season tickets. At the Roma game we were surrounded by people talking English, though not necessarily as a first language, all singing along to Vamos a la Playa and all the other club songs. My impression is that the club has been adopted by us foreigners (well over 30% of the Brussels population now) and it is seen as a hip club to support, a Belgian St Pauli. I went to a few RSCA games back in the day but never felt the same degree of connection, never felt welcome.

There must be a lot of Belgians that have taken to the club as well but I think a lot of it has come from the international community. I now know more USG fans than Blades; I’m even thinking of getting a season ticket myself. I don’t get the sense that they are plastic supporters either, they know all the players and can talk about the club’s history. They are genuine fans.

My youngest has been with me a few times and he loves the atmosphere. As I said before I always found the ‘cheerleader’ concept a bit fake…but is it any different to us singing GCB? It wouldn’t take much for us to generate a similarly raucous atmosphere at the Lane.

It would be rude of me not to ask; how come you ended up supporting Dem Blades?

It was a genuine question, by the way, and not any kind of dig at 'plastic' supporters: I quite like what USG are about! I had read about the expat element before, but it's good to hear from someone on the ground. Sounds like most people who go watch USG are local to Brussels at least, expat or not: I guess there was a bit of a gap in the market with snooty Anderlecht drawing support nationwide, and RWDM being much less easy on the eye to watch.

I actually lived through a similar phenomenon in my teenage years, which you'll probably remember if you've been in Belgium that long: I grew up in Limburg, just as shiny new KRC Genk emerged out of the ashes of various defunct clubs and won the cup and league for the first time. Suddenly, all the cool kids at school who never bothered with Belgian football and watched English and Italian clubs instead were claiming they had always bled blue and white...

Bringing it all back to the point, whether its USG going from near-oblivion to hipster club in the space of a decade, or KRC Genk growing to become one of the biggest clubs in the country despite not having existed much longer than MK Dons, I guess the thing is: football is changing all the time, and we better get with it. If that means a signing section somewhere, so be it!

(On your final question: I moved to Sheffield around 2005-6 because my partner at the time came to university here, and ended up sticking around ever since. I went to a couple of United games early on, which elicited two different responses from either side of the divide: 'Why would you go and watch them?' from the Owls I was working with, and 'Why would you go and watch us?' from the Blades. That latter attitude always appealed to me more in a football club, and here we are today )

 

[Jon Bon II]

When we score and the players celebrate in front of the kop, if you look at the fans in the background, you'll see most are just applauding politely, like they're at the theatre, a few are cheering wildly but, and this is what really boils my piss, there's always one or two just stood looking at their phones, typing, either updating mates or updating their blogs or social media streams or something. No cheering, clapping or watching the celebrations unfolding in front of them. All they seem bothered about is their fucking phones. I've updated mates when we've scored - but about two minutes later, after I'd finished celebrating the goal and the game had kicked off again.

 

[west_yorks_blade]

When we score and the players celebrate in front of the kop, if you look at the fans in the background, you'll see most are just applauding politely, like they're at the theatre, a few are cheering wildly but, and this is what really boils my piss, there's always one or two just stood looking at their phones, typing, either updating mates or updating their blogs or social media streams or something. No cheering, clapping or watching the celebrations unfolding in front of them. All they seem bothered about is their fucking phones. I've updated mates when we've scored - but about two minutes later, after I'd finished celebrating the goal and the game had kicked off again.

Sorry Jon
That lost all credibility in the last sentence when you claimed you have mates.

 

[Jon Bon II]

Sorry Jon
That lost all credibility in the last sentence when you claimed you have mates.

Well, I say 'mates'. Bailiffs, magistrates and probation officers but they're mates to me.

 

[ancientblade]

When we score and the players celebrate in front of the kop, if you look at the fans in the background, you'll see most are just applauding politely, like they're at the theatre, a few are cheering wildly but, and this is what really boils my piss, there's always one or two just stood looking at their phones, typing, either updating mates or updating their blogs or social media streams or something. No cheering, clapping or watching the celebrations unfolding in front of them. All they seem bothered about is their fucking phones. I've updated mates when we've scored - but about two minutes later, after I'd finished celebrating the goal and the game had kicked off again.

have to agree with you there we must be one of the most sedate crowds in the country thesedays when a goal goes in and even during games most of our fans are silent not a patch on years gone by

 

[Sean Thornton]

have to agree with you there we must be one of the most sedate crowds in the country thesedays when a goal goes in and even during games most of our fans are silent not a patch on years gone by

“ when a goal goes in and even during games most of our fans are silent”



Ffs get a grip. You didn’t even know when Kop seats were installed so forgive me for thinking your claims are bs.

Where do these silent fans sit, on the cricket pavilion?

 

[N20 Blade]

I think there's a slight risk of looking at the past through rose-tinted glasses. All seating in the ground hasn't helped, but even when I stood on the Kop in the 80s and John Street West up until 1994, there were lots of games where the atmosphere was bang average.

What surprised me when I was on the West terrace was how little noise the Kop generated, even though I thought it did, when I stood there. There were obviously some great times too, but that's still the case today. Some games, for various reasons, the atmosphere lifts - Watford, Sunderland, spring to mind.

What strikes me with United is that it often takes a relatively innocuous incident to fire us all up. The reaction to Lampard Boxing Day, a prime example.

 

[BladeByChoice]

..... What surprised me when I was on the West terrace was how little noise the Kop generated, even though I thought it did, when I stood there. .....

That’s an excellent point, I’m a ST holder on the kop but stood in SS G block for the Spurs cup game a couple of years ago, when Spurs had upper and lower, they were loud as fuck for nearly all the game and some great banter, the kop was quiet.

On the kop the next home game many were complaining about how shit the Spurs fans were and how good the kop was for a cup game.

I love BDTBL and wouldn't swap it for anywhere, but with old school grounds comes old school acoustics.

 

[N20 Blade]

Before leaving on 85.....

Saturday was embarrassing, fans started leaving at 75 mins, the ground seemed half empty by the time we scored the 2nd. I get it's Christmas and it was a poor game, but it was 1-0, we're top of the league, etc. I mean seriously.