alehouseboys

http://www.holmesdale.net/page.php?id=106&tid=150554&page=5 Someone there saying it's SFC's decision to only give them 3k (as posted here apparently)...they're entitled to 15% for the cup so within their rights to demand 4,500, if they took the smaller allocation it can only be down to their club. Can understand their frustration all the same.

I quite liked his "gaptoothiest" too. Add it to the list.

All the new adidas gear is arriving around March, maybe stock is just being run down and the new stuff put on sale early. Being 'own label' I guess they're not committed to selling it until end of season.

I really can't believe they've settled for just 3,100. A short drive down the motorway with those prices, surely they'd easily shift the full allowance? They're entitled to around 4,200 for the cup and even if they wanted to wait and see if the initial allocation sold easily before taking the lot then they wouldn't have to make that decision on the first day of sales. You would think they could sell 4k+ (noisiest away support down here last sason - could be a good thing they won't bring many)I hope the club haven't fooked up and sold seats to home fans they may have to claw back.

In time, great pace and volume and they keep it going...it'll never catch on.

I'm intrigued, why is it a "LOL" if it "diverts from the OP"? "LOL" how old are you? I started the thread as a constructive alternative to the the 'Pathetic Support' one, something that might just have inspired a few suggestions on how to create a (as some were calling it a 'Kop' - a generic term for a traditional behind-the-goal bank of terracing (seats these days) for the club's more vocal fans) part of the stadium to maximise support. So as a last attempt to drag it back on topic I'll bump the OP (I know it's not really the done thing to bump your own thread) as it might get it back on track...and miff SarniaSaint in the process

...AG-AGR-AGRO-AGRO! Spelling wasn't great back in the day. Maybe we should rename the Chapel 'The Toomer'...that would go down well with the old gits amongst us.

I agree with what you say and there's other grounds far worse than St Mary's in the Premier League, and I did say I thought it unlikely, but as it stands not enough get involved to regularly make a difference But this is the bit I can't really understand. The Northam is split in two and either side can't hear or see the other, the banter is mostly between the away fans and the Itchen North. You'd be better off facing each other from either end. Other than "who are ya, who are ya?" blindly aimed at the oppo after we score there's little 'banter' between the 2 sets of fans in the Northam.

The debate about how to create a ‘home fans Kop’ appears to have become a bit of a hot topic amongst many fans right now but there’s no easy solution. You can’t move the aways, the club and Police have ruled it out, it’s already ideally suited for their coaches. You can’t shift them round the corner into the Itchen due to the executive boxes and you can’t have visiting fans using turnstiles either side of the ticket office for obvious reasons. The only possibility is to re-invent the Chapel End. Now you have a problem of moving the type of fan that likes sitting there and encouraging our ‘singers’ to move to the other end of the stadium. I don’t know how it could be done but assuming some of the current ‘Chapel-Enders’ are happy to relocate, how to then entice the Northam lot? There’s been a few suggestions before like making it clear that this stand is the ‘singing end’ and likely to be more ‘animated’ (or words to that effect), put in additional bar areas and maybe even have a smoking area outside for half time. I’d start by renaming the stand, it needs an image over-haul. As Chapel was originally the area of the old docks and home to many dockers families, I’d call it simply ‘Dockers’. I’d even sacrifice the front row of seats and put a bar all the way across the front for fans to hang banners to give it a bit of colour and identity. I’d bring a bit of the old Dell to St Mary’s and rename the Itchen/Chapel corner ‘Dockers Corner’ and make that the first banner… Others could be fans groups from different parts of the city, if they couldn’t be left in place hopefully the club could store them in the stand to be put out on matchdays? I realise this is very unlikely to happen but the atmosphere has certainly gone downhill since we returned to the Premier League and needs something radical. Of course, safe-standing would help! I know there's a thread about the atmosphere but this is more about suggestions for finding a solution

No one can really have a pop if we now a stick few kids in for the replay coming between Man U and Newcastle away. What a week of travelling!

Hopefully they charge same prices and offer a decent allocation.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/30672766 http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/30672767

"decent little club"...I feel like I've just had my hair ruffled by a 12 year old. I guess 'Tractor Saint' who posts on here will have split loyalties, I believe Ipswich is his first love?

It's already been touched upon, but part of the reason is the lack of songs since we've got back up. The songs we had chasing promotion were good for volume, we're now mostly restricted to the sluggish OWTS rendition (OK occasionally and sounds good when all stands join in) and a few skate ones (which ain't for me). But my gripe ain't really about singing so much as just lack of any noise, I find it amazing that some can manage to just sit on their hands and never raise their voices, there's nothing like a blood-curdling roar to get everyone going. I'd love SMS to be a gnarly ol' bearpit but that ain't never gonna happen

Unfortunately we never have or ever will get anywhere near support like the South Americans or Turks/Eastern Europeans but England is now so far behind even the rest of Europe. This is a small Dutch club from a town the size of Eastleigh and regularly play in front of less the 10k. Apparently they get this level of support from both ends of the ground. To think English support used to be admired.

It was sh*t tho, really...other than the last 10 mins when the place suddenly woke up. Very quiet at times.

Applies to the home support too tbf. Again. Cracking backs to the wall display. Well deserved point.

Looking forward to the game but not as optimistic as some. I hope we've learned lessons from the city match here a few weeks back because we will again find ourselves under severe pressure when we have the ball, we'll need to buzz it around well, hope we're bang up for it. Fans too.

Gunshot wound. Saaf Landaaaan in it. Hope he pulls through. #prayfornath

There was only around 1,500 in the upper tier who were mostly unaware of the 3,000 in the lower so you can hardly blame that for a reason for a poor atmosphere up there. Only once or twice were both tiers singing the same song (you know the one) at the same time. There was a semi-final at stake, if some of our fans can't get up for that then they never will. No excuses, it was poor.

Some of fans are right f'king lightweights. Asking for refunds, ffs.

This. They were a bit subdued early on and prompted a few of ours to pipe up with "is this a library?" but once they got going it was very good and p*ssed all over and the feeble attempts made at our end. They even showed us how to do our (only) song better with "Oh, When the Blades". At times it was rattling around that ground with all sides making a racket. That bunch to our right was their 'Itchen North' just ten times louder and their Kop was excellent at times. If anyone thinks our lot got anywhere close to their support then they're deluded.

Let's hope the fans are a bit more up for it tomorrow, the vocal support this season has been mostly crap. Seeing these old pics from the 70s stirs a bit of nostalgia for the old days of the scarves Everyone used to swing them above their heads to "Que, sera, sera" back then, Leeds at the Dell in the 79 semis stands out. Expecting a good old fashion raucous noise tomorrow night...they'll be at it early on at least.

They'll also be aware Big Vic is walking a tightrope, one more booking and suspension.