How can we improve the atmosphere at St Mary's?

I f'kin give up. I've actually just read that people thought the game against the skates was too hostile. Jesus wept, it wasn't nearly hostile enough.

At least Sotonjoe is still a moron so that's ok.

One thing they really need to do is bin the insanely loud music before KO that drowns out any effort at building an atmosphere.

SMS has become so sterile that my nipper doesn't want to bother with home games anymore and only really wants to do away days where there is some sort of atmosphere with the away fans. It's also cheaper!

I f'kin give up. I've actually just read that people thought the game against the skates was too hostile. Jesus wept, it wasn't nearly hostile enough.

 

At least Sotonjoe is still a moron so that's ok.

 

One thing they really need to do is bin the insanely loud music before KO that drowns out any effort at building an atmosphere.

 

SMS has become so sterile that my nipper doesn't want to bother with home games anymore and only really wants to do away days where there is some sort of atmosphere with the away fans. It's also cheaper!

Disagree the only people singing before kick off are the away fans. Most of the saints fans that make noise don't even bother taking their seats until 30 seconds before kick off.

Have more than one song to sing!!

Start playing some sparkling football and you might find folks wake up rather than watching from behind the sofa, with West Ham style fumbles and Watford capitulations: the cheers that went up when half the stadium had gone home and Cedric had our first shot on target in the NINETY SECOND MINUTE!!! pretty much back this up.

Did someone say they thought the Pompey games were too hostile?! That league cup game the year they were promoted to Prem the atmosphere was bloody fantastic, they hate us, we hate them, the perfect ingredient. We were sat in the Junior Saints corner which was peppered with Northam cup evictees, the noise before kick off was immense. My kids the eldest being nine at the time had a new song to sing with Nawty words, both of them girls came out of the ground at full time buzzing, saying they couldn't wait for the next game.

I f'kin give up. I've actually just read that people thought the game against the skates was too hostile. Jesus wept, it wasn't nearly hostile enough.

 

At least Sotonjoe is still a moron so that's ok.

 

One thing they really need to do is bin the insanely loud music before KO that drowns out any effort at building an atmosphere.

 

SMS has become so sterile that my nipper doesn't want to bother with home games anymore and only really wants to do away days where there is some sort of atmosphere with the away fans. It's also cheaper!

How’s the atmosphere meant to get better if people who would otherwise add to the atmosphere are throwing in the towel and only doing away games?

How’s the atmosphere meant to get better if people who would otherwise add to the atmosphere are throwing in the towel and only doing away games?

Stop clapping and trying to sing every chant as fast as we can would help!

High explosives might do the trick.

Like a lot of us fans in the Autumn of our years who crave a return to a 70s-type atmosphere inside our stadiums (to the do-gooders on here...I'm not talking about the threat of violence, just full-blooded vocal support), it aint gonna happen. Clubs are now more than happy to just sit back and take money off harmless customers willing to pay top prices to keep the overpaid prima donnas on the pitch happy (for a while). Who cares if the stadiums are sterile places, just give 'em some clackers.

Look at the Echo last week...we hardly score at home, we get a rare late winner against West Ham, a bit of passion gets the better of 3 Saints fans who run onto the edge of the pitch (to the do-gooders, we all know it's against the rules, but...) and for that they were all given 3 year bans by SFC on top of big fines and if they were season ticket holders, it probably cost them each around a grand in total. A one year ban would have been more than enough to make a point, another 3 fans probably lost forever. That just highlights the type of customer they want/don't want inside St Mary's and it's not a recipe for a good ol' football atmosphere.

Like a lot of us fans in the Autumn of our years who crave a return to a 70s-type atmosphere inside our stadiums (to the do-gooders on here...I'm not talking about the threat of violence, just full-blooded vocal support), it aint gonna happen. Clubs are now more than happy to just sit back and take money off harmless customers willing to pay top prices to keep the overpaid prima donnas on the pitch happy (for a while). Who cares if the stadiums are sterile places, just give 'em some clackers.

 

Look at the Echo last week...we hardly score at home, we get a rare late winner against West Ham, a bit of passion gets the better of 3 Saints fans who run onto the edge of the pitch (to the do-gooders, we all know it's against the rules, but...) and for that they were all given 3 year bans by SFC on top of big fines and if they were season ticket holders, it probably cost them each around a grand in total. A one year ban would have been more than enough to make a point, another 3 fans probably lost forever. That just highlights the type of customer they want/don't want inside St Mary's and it's not a recipe for a good ol' football atmosphere.

It is possible. United will have a proper 'kop' of 3,000+ singing full blast in the Northam, which is, after all, the away end; we won't as we don't have a home 'kop' in the Chapel (the home end), just the 2 groups tucked away in the corners of the away end, where the acoustics are worst and where they'll hardly get noticed. If only they could see sense and join together in one large group like they have to at away games, ouur hme atmosphere would be so much better, and that was what Steven Davis was alluding to.

Perfectly possible to be passionate and vocal without being a nobhead and going on the pitch, big ole logical fallacy at play here.

Perfectly possible to be passionate and vocal without being a nobhead and going on the pitch, big ole logical fallacy at play here.

Nobody's suggesting they aint "nobheads" for going on the pitch, they probably feel that themselves now, but considering the circumstances the club didn't need to hand out such heavy bans for a few seconds of "nobheadery" which, imo, just reveals the club's stance on the more boisterous type of fan that helps produce the kind of atmosphere that (many agree) we would like but doesn't exist inside St Mary's these days.

But fair play to you for never running on the pitch, I trust you also don't break stadium rules and stand in seated areas during a match?

I f'kin give up. I've actually just read that people thought the game against the skates was too hostile. Jesus wept, it wasn't nearly hostile enough.

 

 

SMS has become so sterile that my nipper doesn't want to bother with home games anymore and only really wants to do away days where there is some sort of atmosphere with the away fans. It's also cheaper!

Absolutely, it's no wonder SMS is so tame and lifeless if we have fans with this mentality.

I have had a ST in the Kingsland North since we left The Dell but am seriously considering not bothering after this season. Nothing to do with the crap football being served up, but because I'm fed up of the dull, flat and soulless matchday experience. A few years ago our section was full of mostly younger lads who would stand and sing for most of the game, now I'm surrounded by tourists and silent middle class types who are more interested in their smartphones than the match or trying to create any noise.

I used to be proud of our atmosphere but it is appalling now and sadly leaves me wondering why I bother spending £600 on something that is increasingly a chore rather than something I spend the week looking forward to. Would love it to change but I can't see it happening.

I see a lot of what I'm assuming to be the "silent middle class types" getting on the train at Winchester on match day, and there are a lot of them about. Brand new shiny scarf and hat in tow. Not the sort I can ever imagine making any sort of noise other than clapping. I don't know these people so admittedly it is just an assumption.

I agree with many of the points raised in this thread, however I don't have a problem with anyone attending a match turning up at SMS and supporting the team in the way they see fit and are comfortable with.

However, the difference in atmosphere from our first season back in the prem to now is startling. So many factors as people have already pointed out, from the dross football the last 14 months to the tremendous churn in players to the change in demographic of our base (which I actually think is being overstated by people on here in all honesty, the crowd in block 39 where I sit is broadly the same as 5 years ago, its just impossible to get yourself up for it when the display is almost always utterly boring).

Absolutely, it's no wonder SMS is so tame and lifeless if we have fans with this mentality.

 

I have had a ST in the Kingsland North since we left The Dell but am seriously considering not bothering after this season. Nothing to do with the crap football being served up, but because I'm fed up of the dull, flat and soulless matchday experience. A few years ago our section was full of mostly younger lads who would stand and sing for most of the game, now I'm surrounded by tourists and silent middle class types who are more interested in their smartphones than the match or trying to create any noise.

I used to be proud of our atmosphere but it is appalling now and sadly leaves me wondering why I bother spending £600 on something that is increasingly a chore rather than something I spend the week looking forward to. Would love it to change but I can't see it happening.

Is it not a problem regardless of your class though? Working class people have phones as well, and I'm not sure why they're any less likely to be addicted to checking them throughout the game. A kid, probably mid-teens, was sat in front of me at Wembley, wouldn't describe him as middle class. He started shouting/singing as soon as he arrived at his seat, fair enough, good on him. Then spent the entire game with his phone out live streaming the game to a mate on skype.

I'd be interested to know why, if it's true, so called middle class people are less inclined to sing and get involved with creating an atmosphere at games? I get a reluctance in some respects - I was at Selhurst Park a couple of seasons ago when loads of Saints fans started chucking bins around at half time in the bar area. I didn't get involved in that, because quite frankly I thought it was pathetic, and I was ashamed to be associated with the same club as those imbeciles. But when it came to supporting the team, I was prepared to be as vocal as anyone else.

Disagree the only people singing before kick off are the away fans. Most of the saints fans that make noise don't even bother taking their seats until 30 seconds before kick off.

This is the crux of the matter. The Northam is almost empty a few minutes before kick off. Can't see it changing but needs to be packed 20-30 minutes before kick off and making a lot of noise and the stadium music switched off. There's no incentive to be in your place well ahead of time, used to be you had to get in early to ensure you got in and could get a decent view.

But it's not just Southampton, is it? Old Trafford under van Gaal was like the proverbial library most of the time. Teams need to serve up a spectacle, first and foremost, worthy of a passionate crowd. Sex(y football) sells, it excites, it instils passion.

Clackers and loud music are certainly not the answer.

Changing demographics mean football fandom too has changed - and it ain't changing back.

Is it not a problem regardless of your class though? Working class people have phones as well, and I'm not sure why they're any less likely to be addicted to checking them throughout the game. A kid, probably mid-teens, was sat in front of me at Wembley, wouldn't describe him as middle class. He started shouting/singing as soon as he arrived at his seat, fair enough, good on him. Then spent the entire game with his phone out live streaming the game to a mate on skype.

 

I'd be interested to know why, if it's true, so called middle class people are less inclined to sing and get involved with creating an atmosphere at games? I get a reluctance in some respects - I was at Selhurst Park a couple of seasons ago when loads of Saints fans started chucking bins around at half time in the bar area. I didn't get involved in that, because quite frankly I thought it was pathetic, and I was ashamed to be associated with the same club as those imbeciles. But when it came to supporting the team, I was prepared to be as vocal as anyone else.

:lol:

Get a grip ffs you melt.

I was also at that game, and whilst I didn't participate it was evidently a bit of fun from a few youngsters. No harm done.

Childish, yes, but to be ashamed to be associated with the same club....

Unfortunately, fans like you are having a detrimental impact on the hostility (as called for by Davis) of the atmosphere. You, and many others as i'm sure you weren't alone in your disgust, demonstrate why as a club / fan base we are way to friendly.

Absolutely, it's no wonder SMS is so tame and lifeless if we have fans with this mentality.

 

I have had a ST in the Kingsland North since we left The Dell but am seriously considering not bothering after this season. Nothing to do with the crap football being served up, but because I'm fed up of the dull, flat and soulless matchday experience. A few years ago our section was full of mostly younger lads who would stand and sing for most of the game, now I'm surrounded by tourists and silent middle class types who are more interested in their smartphones than the match or trying to create any noise.

I used to be proud of our atmosphere but it is appalling now and sadly leaves me wondering why I bother spending £600 on something that is increasingly a chore rather than something I spend the week looking forward to. Would love it to change but I can't see it happening.

Let's hope our new chinese overlords become so unpopular that we can start the lynching songs again.

:lol:

 

Get a grip ffs you melt.

 

I was also at that game, and whilst I didn't participate it was evidently a bit of fun from a few youngsters. No harm done.

 

Childish, yes, but to be ashamed to be associated with the same club....

 

Unfortunately, fans like you are having a detrimental impact on the hostility (as called for by Davis) of the atmosphere. You, and many others as i'm sure you weren't alone in your disgust, demonstrate why as a club / fan base we are way to friendly.

Cool, so what we need is more people acting childish and being antisocial and then we can return to our amazing standards of yesteryear where the banter was off the chain and people all over the stadium were getting really "hostile" and swearing a lot at the opposition fans. Wey hey. Banter. Lads lads lads lads lads lads lads lads.

Seems like a lot of sad old bastard, football factory types on here, wanting a bygone era when there was a risk of getting your head kicked in. Oh well, each to their own.

:lol:

 

Get a grip ffs you melt.

 

I was also at that game, and whilst I didn't participate it was evidently a bit of fun from a few youngsters. No harm done.

 

Childish, yes, but to be ashamed to be associated with the same club....

 

Unfortunately, fans like you are having a detrimental impact on the hostility (as called for by Davis) of the atmosphere. You, and many others as i'm sure you weren't alone in your disgust, demonstrate why as a club / fan base we are way to friendly.

Perhaps I was overzealous with my 'ashamed of my club' comment, as every club has their fair share of cvnts.

I'm sure Steven Davis would be delighted if he heard all the Saints fans were chucking bottles around inside the concourse before quietly taking their seats for the second half. I'm all for an increased sense of 'hostility' during the game, but it's utterly pointless being like that inside your own little area where the only people you're p1ssing off are fellow Saints fans and the stewards, only to then return to your seat and shut up for the rest of the game. You should be intimidating the opposition players and their fans, and that wasn't doing anything of the sort.

"Fans like me" - when I go to the games I always join in with the singing, sometimes it feels like I'm one of the few people bothering!

the changing face of southampton Football fans

 

Old school

 

 

Lower leagues

 

 

present day

 

I think this pretty much sums up the change / problem.

Top photo - All youngish men. Probably a bit boisterous and been on the beer all day.

The other two - Women, young kids, tourists and face paint.

:lol:

 

Get a grip ffs you melt.

 

I was also at that game, and whilst I didn't participate it was evidently a bit of fun from a few youngsters. No harm done.

 

Childish, yes, but to be ashamed to be associated with the same club....

 

Unfortunately, fans like you are having a detrimental impact on the hostility (as called for by Davis) of the atmosphere. You, and many others as i'm sure you weren't alone in your disgust, demonstrate why as a club / fan base we are way to friendly.

I've been young. What is a laugh about throwing a bin around? Might as well put a mars bar on your head

I think this pretty much sums up the change / problem.

 

Top photo - All youngish men. Probably a bit boisterous and been on the beer all day.

 

The other two - Women, young kids, tourists and face paint.

Pretty sneaky using a photo from the Women's World Cup though...

It used to cost five shillings, 25p to watch a game on the Milton. Using a multiplyer of 40 (based on a pint was 10p and is now 350p) this is only a tenner.

Anybody could afford to go, and the young used to sing themselves horse. We are now boring old farts and not going to shout all the way through a match. Who has replaced us-certainly not like for like. The stands used to bang their feet on the highly inflammable wooden floors, and if you were foolish enough to look up your eyes were filled with dust. It made a lot of noise and under the stands was very hostile to away players and match officials. I remember that we really intimidated one particularly inept linesman.

I don't know the answer, but the Northam could and should be improved.

As a student I remember it being so crowded at a non-ticket Man U v Liverpool game they let adults in through the boys gates for half a crown-25p

Unimaginable now!

I can only get to occasional away games now and the away supporters are pretty vocal, but the Pompey gun song is sung far too often, and we don't and never have had many original songs.

Embarrassing as it may seem when I first went, I had a rattle and a bike horn, and we still sang 2468 who do we appreciate.

Can someone tell me what time I have to be at the ground tomorrow, what to wear, what to sing, how to support my club because after 50+ years I have forgotten.

God bless this forum.

Is it not a problem regardless of your class though? Working class people have phones as well, and I'm not sure why they're any less likely to be addicted to checking them throughout the game. A kid, probably mid-teens, was sat in front of me at Wembley, wouldn't describe him as middle class. He started shouting/singing as soon as he arrived at his seat, fair enough, good on him. Then spent the entire game with his phone out live streaming the game to a mate on skype.

 

I'd be interested to know why, if it's true, so called middle class people are less inclined to sing and get involved with creating an atmosphere at games? I get a reluctance in some respects - I was at Selhurst Park a couple of seasons ago when loads of Saints fans started chucking bins around at half time in the bar area. I didn't get involved in that, because quite frankly I thought it was pathetic, and I was ashamed to be associated with the same club as those imbeciles. But when it came to supporting the team, I was prepared to be as vocal as anyone else.

I saw some of our fans taking a dump at the back of the stands at Selhurst Park last season. Perhaps it was a wry commentary on our performance and Forster’s keeping that day; though I suspect it was just a few bumpkins who were finding the trip to the capital a bit too big for them.

Still not quite on a par with the time I saw a fan, smashed, face down in an inch deep pool of urine at Meadow Lane. Lad needed a snorkel, assuming he was still breathing.

Can’t beat tradition.

Cool, so what we need is more people acting childish and being antisocial and then we can return to our amazing standards of yesteryear where the banter was off the chain and people all over the stadium were getting really "hostile" and swearing a lot at the opposition fans. Wey hey. Banter. Lads lads lads lads lads lads lads lads.

I think this kind of highlights our problem. Personally the people throwing beer around at half time annoy the **** out of me because i don't want to be stinking of cheap lager, so i just move somewhere else out the way.

I also don't see the point of being condescending to people, generally young people, who are having a laugh. Who cares if they're not being polite or acting like nobs? It doesn't actually affect you so just let them get on with it.

I'm sure Steven Davis would be delighted if he heard all the Saints fans were chucking bottles around inside the concourse before quietly taking their seats for the second half. I'm all for an increased sense of 'hostility' during the game, but it's utterly pointless being like that inside your own little area where the only people you're p1ssing off are fellow Saints fans and the stewards, only to then return to your seat and shut up for the rest of the game. You should be intimidating the opposition players and their fans, and that wasn't doing anything of the sort.

And that's the kicker, it's like the tw*t in the hat that goes to away games (and i assume st mary's too). He's the loudest man in the room in the Wetherspoons before hand but completely f*cking silent inside the ground.

Can someone tell me what time I have to be at the ground tomorrow, what to wear, what to sing, how to support my club because after 50+ years I have forgotten.

God bless this forum.

Altzhemerd

Would be good to have a couple of original songs about the club and the city the crowd can sing instead of the generic player songs which get repeated round all the grounds. At least then the crowd won't need to learn new songs everytime a player leaves or arrives. OWTS can sound pretty good when the whole ground sing it, pity it's the only one we have about the club

I saw some of our fans taking a dump at the back of the stands at Selhurst Park last season. Perhaps it was a wry commentary on our performance and Forster’s keeping that day; though I suspect it was just a few bumpkins who were finding the trip to the capital a bit too big for them.

 

Still not quite on a par with the time I saw a fan, smashed, face down in an inch deep pool of urine at Meadow Lane. Lad needed a snorkel, assuming he was still breathing.

 

Can’t beat tradition.

Chucking bins about....what would this lot have done at Bristol Rovers away in 78/9 put up a tweet about it I suppose.

Altzhemerd

No as an ex Roxy fan I need to be with the In crowd.

What's this 'modern world' you talk of?

To say there is nowhere else for them to go is bonkers.

The modern world where the club can't ignore police advice. Imagine they move the away fans and it all kicks off, god forbid a nipper is crushed or seriously injured and during the enquiry the police explain that they'd highlighted the potential for this to happen, and the club ignored it because you and others wanted a better atmosphere. That modern world.

According to the police, they're in the safest part of the ground. To move them would put up the chances of aggro and probably mean more policing & stewarding costs. And all because nobody creates an atmosphere any more

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How’s the atmosphere meant to get better if people who would otherwise add to the atmosphere are throwing in the towel and only doing away games?

It's a fair point and one I have no answer to.

All I do know is that he would rather do away games because everyone stands and, usually, gets behind the team.

For me, personally, it works out a damn sight cheaper than trips south and I have to agree with him, it is an all round better day out away from home.

Start scoring goals and we'll make plenty of noise!

Start making noise and we'll score plenty of goals.

What's that? Oh, indeed - by-and-large they're independent clauses.

You don't need a great atmosphere for goals, but if it makes 1% of difference to the team then to my mind it's crazy not to create one. Equally goals help generate an atmosphere, but we shouldn't need the team to be playing perfectly in order to support them.

The modern world where the club can't ignore police advice. Imagine they move the away fans and it all kicks off, god forbid a nipper is crushed or seriously injured and during the enquiry the police explain that they'd highlighted the potential for this to happen, and the club ignored it because you and others wanted a better atmosphere. That modern world.

 

According to the police, they're in the safest part of the ground. To move them would put up the chances of aggro and probably mean more policing & stewarding costs. And all because nobody creates an atmosphere any more

 

 

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This. Well said sir!

Of course you cannot ignore Police advice.

I don't know why the club and fans representatives cant sit down with the Police and work out a safe way to move the away fans.

There's,in my opinion, just as likely to be trouble where away fans are now.

Its not like the 70s/80s anymore, its generally more controlled.

The whole Northam End full of Saints fans would be sight to behold ,I cant see fans moving to the other end.

Chucking bins about....what would this lot have done at Bristol Rovers away in 78/9 put up a tweet about it I suppose.

Challenged by a dozen bearded blokes in parkas they'd have run away just like they did in 78/9.

The gentrification of football is just a reflection on the era we live in . It's not just football , there aren't many dives around to get lashed up in, festivals are now cooperate events put on for the middle class. More like last night at the proms than Woodstock. You can't put the genie back in the bottle, it's gone.

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Palace fans generally create a decent atmosphere but they look such a sad bunch of thick fckers. No doubt they enjoy their day out but are there for the flag waving and tv close ups more than being hardcore palace fans. Have t been in Northern for years but similar sorts used to be there.

The gentrification of football is just a reflection on the era we live in . It's not just football , there aren't many dives around to get lashed up in, festivals are now cooperate events put on for the middle class. More like last night at the proms than Woodstock. You can't put the genie back in the bottle, it's gone.

 

 

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You're certainly correct to an extent, but other clubs such as Palace, Stoke, Huddersfield, Leicester, to name a few manage to create an intimidating atmosphere so it can be done.

I was at Leicester the season before they won the league and the place was literally bouncing for the full 90 minutes, Saints fans couldn't even hear ourselves sing and were completely drowned out.

It just needs a bit of will and a coordinated effort but I think our fanbase is either too nice, or just prefer to whinge about everything rather than make an effort to support the team.

How about some fans get together and start something? It's what fans in other countries and even ours do, today's visitors have fans who organise stuff. The club can't do it as it would be fake so that leaves the fans to do something about it. The club may be currently owned by Chinese business people and run by corporate drones but they don't own the fans, the city or the spirit of the club. That's ours and therefore we have to reignite it.

You're certainly correct to an extent, but other clubs such as Palace, Stoke, Huddersfield, Leicester, to name a few manage to create an intimidating atmosphere so it can be done.

I was at Leicester the season before they won the league and the place was literally bouncing for the full 90 minutes, Saints fans couldn't even hear ourselves sing and were completely drowned out.

 

It just needs a bit of will and a coordinated effort but I think our fanbase is either too nice, or just prefer to whinge about everything rather than make an effort to support the team.

Palace. A few black clad Ultras does not an intimidating atmosphere make.

Stoke. For the big games yes, as for the rest, no.

Huddersfield. 1st few games in the top flight and gazillions of clackers. What did you expect. Loud it was. Intimidating? Not even close.

Leicester when they won the league. What did you expect? Any ground in the world in that situation would have been bouncing. Been many a time when it's been the same as any other ground.

I've been to 100s of away games over the years and today the vast majority are sterile and the reasons why have been fully laid out by other posters.

I'm hoping today will be decent as it often is against the big boys, just like Stoke are. It's the run of the mill games when it's really poor.

A good start would be to sort out the away fans taking over the Northam. There are solutions...just takes a bit of brave effort by the club. Once the vocal minority are assembled they need to lead the rest of the stadium by example. Having a bunch of players who look like they give a toss helps a lot too.

I've got news for everyone. The atmosphere is sterile...and every home game so far has pretty much sold out. This is what the club want. Non intimidating atmosphere for day trippers.

Palace. A few black clad Ultras does not an intimidating atmosphere make.

 

Stoke. For the big games yes, as for the rest, no.

 

Huddersfield. 1st few games in the top flight and gazillions of clackers. What did you expect. Loud it was. Intimidating? Not even close.

 

Leicester when they won the league. What did you expect? Any ground in the world in that situation would have been bouncing. Been many a time when it's been the same as any other ground.

 

I've been to 100s of away games over the years and today the vast majority are sterile and the reasons why have been fully laid out by other posters.

 

I'm hoping today will be decent as it often is against the big boys, just like Stoke are. It's the run of the mill games when it's really poor.

And Leicester got theirs going every game with clackers and we wouldn't want that.