Northam End to be home fans only + safe standing (new updates)

[Chez]

6 minutes ago, Morse said:

We have a home end, it's called the Chapel.

All our more vocal support choose, with free will, to stand next to the away supporters. 

Once the away support is moved I would imagine those who choose to stand near the away supporters and ignore the 'home end' will continue to do so. And conversely those who enjoy the quite life in the Chapel and who don't want the potential hassle of being near the away support will probably move with their flasks to the Northam. 

Can someone explain to me why this arrangement might change? 

The safe standing is irrelevant as most people stand in the Northam now anyway. 

NB: From the mid seventies onwards our 'vocal support' was not found at the home end at the Dell, but under the West Stand and in the Archers Road end. 

to be fair, part of the reason the vocal support chose the Northam was because it was seen as the `standing' area. Is safe standing becomes the only section where you can get away with standing, that might impact things.

[The Cat]

The increase in capacity will happen with Block 1 being open again rather than anything to do with safe standing creating more room. Lots of us have been to away games with safe standing and there's no difference to the amount of room either side of you.

Having this in the Northam will likely mean that remains the main home end as most people who will want to be in that area to stand up are the ones who sing.

It may be that at the same time this is introduced the stewards become stricter with people standing in seated areas.

Some fans will move next to the away fans which is fine as it will create 2 louder areas.

[ImproveOurAtmosphere]

Chelsea have 29% safe standing in their ground so I'm not sure why it looks like Saints are going to do just the back half of the Northam (2.5-3k). Should do the entire stand in my opinion. Atmosphere won't improve with the current proposition. Will just go from having half the stand horizontally to half the stand vertically but with singers more spread out (like wolves away end)

[JRM]

5 hours ago, The Kraken said:

Couple it with a football shirt worn over a hoodie and you're all the way there.

Anyone know if we'll be allowed to vlog from safe standing area? 

[Chez]

9 minutes ago, ImproveOurAtmosphere said:

Chelsea have 29% safe standing in their ground so I'm not sure why it looks like Saints are going to do just the back half of the Northam (2.5-3k). Should do the entire stand in my opinion. Atmosphere won't improve with the current proposition. Will just go from having half the stand horizontally to half the stand vertically but with singers more spread out (like wolves away end)

Yep, Weird. Maybe they don't think there will be a big take up?

[Morse]

I can see the rationale for putting away support into a corner but why not just shift them a couple of blocks clockwise into the Northam/ Itchen corner? Less disruption all around. 

[ImproveOurAtmosphere]

6 minutes ago, Chez said:

Yep, Weird. Maybe they don't think there will be a big take up?

I think 4,000 would be a suitable number. The 3k in the Northam and Kingsland North, half of the Itchen North (5,00) and then allows 500 newbies to trial out standing culture. If they enforce sitting in the lower half, there will be complications. Derby have recently just done the back half of their home end, but those in the front seated section still stand, so hopefully they'll let people continue to do so at Saints. I will continue speaking to the club and push forward this narrative that it needs to be slightly more.

Edited January 18 by ImproveOurAtmosphere

[ImproveOurAtmosphere]

Every solution is a logistical nightmare in one way or another. 

[Whitey Grandad]

12 minutes ago, JRM said:

Anyone know if we'll be allowed to vlog from safe standing area? 

No, but I do know that you’re allowed to watch the match.

[Whitey Grandad]

4 minutes ago, Morse said:

I can see the rationale for putting away support into a corner but why not just shift them a couple of blocks clockwise into the Northam/ Itchen corner? Less disruption all around. 

That would spread over two concourses and for some reason they seem to think that would be difficult.

[TheAlehouseBrawlers]

22 minutes ago, ImproveOurAtmosphere said:

Chelsea have 29% safe standing in their ground so I'm not sure why it looks like Saints are going to do just the back half of the Northam (2.5-3k). Should do the entire stand in my opinion. Atmosphere won't improve with the current proposition. Will just go from having half the stand horizontally to half the stand vertically but with singers more spread out (like wolves away end)

The Mail has Chelsea at 30%, 12,000 of a capacity of 40,000. Liverpool will have 13,300 in their expanded capacity of 61,000.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-12416803/Safe-standing-return-Premier-League-flights-opening-weekend-not-keen-new-stadium-changes.html

Wolves have over 8,000 in a capacity about the same as St Mary's so maybe it's just the cost restricting Saints from installing more. If the entire Northam was made standing then it would have to stretch to going slightly round the corners so not to hinder sight-lines for those seated next to it, so I guess that would be getting on for around 6,000. A percentage also has to made available to visiting supporters.

[Nordic Saint]

6 hours ago, EssEffCee said:

Leeds have some of the best away support in the country, do we really think they wouldn't have sang as much or our support wouldn't have been as nervous if they were somewhere else in the ground?

Sounds a bit dubious to me.

Funny you should mention Leeds as they have already done what we are planning to do and moved the away fans at their ground from behind the goal to a corner in order to reduce their influence on the game. If Leeds felt the need to do it, then we certainly should.

[Saint_clark]

10 hours ago, Morse said:

I can see the rationale for putting away support into a corner but why not just shift them a couple of blocks clockwise into the Northam/ Itchen corner? Less disruption all around. 

I was thinking this would be more disruption as it would require knocking through the wall between the Northam and Itchen concourse, but actually why does it mean we have to do that? If they have two separate concourses it might actually help dampen the away atmosphere.

[Appy]

10 hours ago, Morse said:

I can see the rationale for putting away support into a corner but why not just shift them a couple of blocks clockwise into the Northam/ Itchen corner? Less disruption all around. 

I expect the hospitality in the Itchen puts an end to that. 

[Ken Tone]

13 hours ago, Morse said:

I can see the rationale for putting away support into a corner but why not just shift them a couple of blocks clockwise into the Northam/ Itchen corner? Less disruption all around. 

Quite. Keeps away fans access to/from the ground as now, and right by police surveillance.  Also allows those fans who enjoy shouting abuse at away fans to stand next to them at that side of the Northam,  with others directly behind the goal or towards the Kingsland. 

Would disrupt fewer ST holders than moving the family stand and presumably then having to introduce empty segregation areas in the Kingsland and Chapel End.

Yes some hospitality boxes would be affected, but not that many -- and some of those are used by away fans at some games anyway.

[ecuk268]

My normal route to the ground is via Melbourne St along with a good few thousand others.

I would guess that the away coaches would park in the bit of Melbourne St that leads out onto Marine Parade where they could then turn left and go up past the Stadium to Northam Road.

Melbourne St gets quite congested after the match so maybe they will close it to home fans until after the coaches have gone as they sometimes do with the North car park.

The other problem could be with away fans who come by train. Their most direct route back to the station is Northam Road. I can't see them being sent up Melbourne St to Chapel Road and up past St Mary's Church and then to find their way across the parks to the station. The only other way is along behind the Kingsland to to footbridge.

[Saint86]

In short, its just a badly thought out idea which is hampered by the stadium as it is. Only sensible place for the away fans really is where they are right now, or to try and shift them right into the Itchen corner proper, which causes issues with the boxes. A wider change to the stadium should be looked at... which won't be cheap.

If the club simply wanted a "home end" with safe standing, the simplest way to achieve it would just be to keep everything as it is and used the chapel. As it is i think the club are mixing two different changes together here. I.e. they could just put safe standing seats in the back rows of chapel - and voila, home end created. Then, if our more vocal fans actually move there (away from the current away supporters), look at moving the away fans properly to somewhere else in the ground and making wider changes to the stadium. But, and as has been said to death - our vocal fans chose to be next to the away fans and not in chapel, which is consequently fairly quiet. So moving the away fans to chapel will in all liklihood result in a net movement of the current northam fans, and northam becoming quiet in a few seasons and chapel / kingsland noisy, and all the club will have achieved is pissing off a load of impacted season ticket holders, the entire family section, and giving more of the shitty glare seats in itchen / northam corner to the home fans rather than the away fans 😂

Edited January 19 by Saint86

[Ted Bates Statue]

51 minutes ago, Saint86 said:

In short, its just a badly thought out idea which is hampered by the stadium as it is. Only sensible place for the away fans really is where they are right now, or to try and shift them right into the Itchen corner proper, which causes issues with the boxes. A wider change to the stadium should be looked at... which won't be cheap.

I think you're being overly harsh on this issue. There may well be some evolution of the make-up of different types of support around the ground. People will have to weigh up whether they want to sit near to their buddies in the away section, against the opportunity for safe standing. I'm sure some will move by the away support but our vocal support isn't just made up of one type of fan and I think most will gravitate to the back of the Northam. Maybe Itchen North will keep its current atmosphere, but possibly exert a greater influence over at least some of the Northam, with the away fans out of the picture.

I do expect the Northam will have gaps to start with, but in the long-term, it will end up as safe standing in its entirety (if i'm wrong, feel free to file this comment under other St Marys gems such as expansion plans and catchment area bollocks).

Edited January 19 by Ted Bates Statue

[Turkish]

On 18/01/2024 at 18:40, CB Fry said:

Beat me to it, I looked before and it was way more than half of clubs in Championship put their away fans behind the goal - I've done Stoke, Coventry and Wednesday this season and behind the goal all three times. 

Not sure why people are desperate to pretend it is some unique thing to Southampton.

i like the way people try to make out its a contributing factor behind our crap form. Yet fans were behind the goal when we got back to back promotions, finished 6th, 7th and 8th, beat Liverpool in the league cup semi final first leg, went a year unbeaten at home. Im all for a home end, it could be brilliant but im pretty sure loads wont move, loads will follow the away fans and it'll be where near as good as it should be.

[SotonianWill]

1 hour ago, Saint86 said:

In short, its just a badly thought out idea which is hampered by the stadium as it is. Only sensible place for the away fans really is where they are right now, or to try and shift them right into the Itchen corner proper, which causes issues with the boxes. A wider change to the stadium should be looked at... which won't be cheap.

If the club simply wanted a "home end" with safe standing, the simplest way to achieve it would just be to keep everything as it is and used the chapel. As it is i think the club are mixing two different changes together here. I.e. they could just put safe standing seats in the back rows of chapel - and voila, home end created. Then, if our more vocal fans actually move there (away from the current away supporters), look at moving the away fans properly to somewhere else in the ground and making wider changes to the stadium. But, and as has been said to death - our vocal fans chose to be next to the away fans and not in chapel, which is consequently fairly quiet. So moving the away fans to chapel will in all liklihood result in a net movement of the current northam fans, and northam becoming quiet in a few seasons and chapel / kingsland noisy, and all the club will have achieved is pissing off a load of impacted season ticket holders, the entire family section, and giving more of the shitty glare seats in itchen / northam corner to the home fans rather than the away fans 😂

Northam and Chapel should been given safe standing. Our problem with atmosphere is its inability to spread around the ground. It’s decent in the Northam half of the ground, terrible from the opposing side. By setting up Chapel safe standing for a small section with cheaper tickets it could really create a good atmosphere for the whole stadium. I wholly believe the idea people go to “where the atmosphere is” can easily, in some cases be translated to “people go to where you can stand”. Just give them the tools.  

If given cheaper tickets to stand people will, and with the added bonus of being away from the away fans. This is perfect for those of us who find away fan “banter” unoriginal and boring. Additionally, on the acoustics side this would be best placed to combat the away fans from the other side. What better way for Mr Parsons (sitting in a half way line seat) to depict who wins his special singing competition. 

 

Additionally, I don’t want St Marys to be in a situation where we have a Watford / Tottenham / Villa scenario whereby our fans next to the away end sit down. Watching people get the piss taken out of them whilst they sit down trying to watch the game minding their own business is embarassing and i’d hate for it to happen to families at Saints. Don’t know if anyone feels the same. 

[The Kraken]

3 hours ago, Turkish said:

i like the way people try to make out its a contributing factor behind our crap form. Yet fans were behind the goal when we got back to back promotions, finished 6th, 7th and 8th, beat Liverpool in the league cup semi final first leg, went a year unbeaten at home. Im all for a home end, it could be brilliant but im pretty sure loads wont move, loads will follow the away fans and it'll be where near as good as it should be.

Dirk and grumpy will get their life’s work though. So small wins 👍 like you say, I personally don’t think it’ll make too much difference but if it gets through then it’s a massive win for them so we can get beyond that at least.

[SaintsLoyal]

The original plan i could except but this is just bonkers.

Imagine doing a sound test in an empty stadium, comical.

Thousands of fans being forecd out of there seats...  

 

Is all this down to the 'Saints Voice ?  the last i heard theyre responsible for the goal music and the funeral march. 😷 

 

Edited January 19 by SaintsLoyal

[The Kraken]

In English?

[Osvaldorama]

3 hours ago, Turkish said:

i like the way people try to make out its a contributing factor behind our crap form. Yet fans were behind the goal when we got back to back promotions, finished 6th, 7th and 8th, beat Liverpool in the league cup semi final first leg, went a year unbeaten at home. Im all for a home end, it could be brilliant but im pretty sure loads wont move, loads will follow the away fans and it'll be where near as good as it should be.

Sure - it may not work, but if you don’t try, you won’t know.  
 

Is the answer to just accept a crap atmosphere where the oppo gets an advantage? While we are winning consistently is the time to try something new. 

Going away to spurs and seeing their home end made me jealous. Ours obviously won’t be as big but if we could recreate something remotely similar it would be great fun. 
Our away support is always loud and proud. There has to be a way to bring that atmosphere back to st Mary’s 

Edited January 19 by Osvaldorama

[Tommy]

Awful idea for us. We rather like our position in the chapel don't fancy having it disrupted at all.

In particular it's a really dumb idea to move your season ticket holders to seats that face into the sun 

Edited January 19 by Tommy

[Saint Fan CaM]

I’ve not read all posts here, but it seems one of the most important points about the current Northam arrangement is being missed. When away fans get a larger share of the Northam, the most vocal part of SMS is disrupted and yes, the atmosphere is detrimentally affected. This was particularly evident in the Prem when away support was typically bigger. I applaud the club for attempting to fix the issue once and for all.

[Saint86]

43 minutes ago, Saint Fan CaM said:

I’ve not read all posts here, but it seems one of the most important points about the current Northam arrangement is being missed. When away fans get a larger share of the Northam, the most vocal part of SMS is disrupted and yes, the atmosphere is detrimentally affected. This was particularly evident in the Prem when away support was typically bigger. I applaud the club for attempting to fix the issue once and for all.

I think that is broadly acknowledged, but its an issue with the ground and an inability / lack of willing to change things and use more of the itchen stand. Creating a home end could easily be achieved by putting the safe standing in chapel and ensuring saints always have a vocal end. Or as others have said, concentrated pockets spread around the ground. Moving the away fans significantly out of that corner is not a good solution and is will upset a lot of the fans.

 

5 hours ago, SotonianWill said:

If given cheaper tickets to stand people will, and with the added bonus of being away from the away fans. This is perfect for those of us who find away fan “banter” unoriginal and boring. Additionally, on the acoustics side this would be best placed to combat the away fans from the other side. What better way for Mr Parsons (sitting in a half way line seat) to depict who wins his special singing competition. 

 

Additionally, I don’t want St Marys to be in a situation where we have a Watford / Tottenham / Villa scenario whereby our fans next to the away end sit down. Watching people get the piss taken out of them whilst they sit down trying to watch the game minding their own business is embarrassing and i’d hate for it to happen to families at Saints. Don’t know if anyone feels the same. 

I've not seen anything that says standing tickets will be cheaper? My understanding was they're putting in safe standing on a 1:1 basis in place of standard seats - primarily to allow standing without the safety concerns. Its still going to be rail seats with the same number of seats? So, given that, i can't see why the club would charge less? I imagine it will continue with the current status quo, or they'll increase prices to cover the cost of installation / charge for the novelty.

As to your second point - if the club move the away fans to chapel - either the vocal fans move to chapel or this will quieten the atmosphere. Over a couple of seasons (max imo) we'll end up with the chapel / Kingsland / family etc. fans moving away from the area (because, as you say, they want to sit quietly and watch the game largely minding their own business) - which will result in either a diminished atmosphere full stop, or our more vocal fans taking their place and the quieter fans moving to the other end of the ground.

So once again, safe standing - cool sure, sounds good. But moving the away fans to the other end of the stadium - bad decision by the club.

Edited January 20 by Saint86

[Pamplemousse]

16 hours ago, ecuk268 said:

My normal route to the ground is via Melbourne St along with a good few thousand others.

I would guess that the away coaches would park in the bit of Melbourne St that leads out onto Marine Parade where they could then turn left and go up past the Stadium to Northam Road.

Melbourne St gets quite congested after the match so maybe they will close it to home fans until after the coaches have gone as they sometimes do with the North car park.

The other problem could be with away fans who come by train. Their most direct route back to the station is Northam Road. I can't see them being sent up Melbourne St to Chapel Road and up past St Mary's Church and then to find their way across the parks to the station. The only other way is along behind the Kingsland to to footbridge.

I've been to many away games where the away fans are led on a merry march around the houses. I suspect they'll block off access to go north up the Kingsland and hope that by the time the away fans heading to the station want to use the footbridge and have had to walk around the stadium to get there, most home fans will already have crossed it

[OldNick]

5 hours ago, Pamplemousse said:

I've been to many away games where the away fans are led on a merry march around the houses. I suspect they'll block off access to go north up the Kingsland and hope that by the time the away fans heading to the station want to use the footbridge and have had to walk around the stadium to get there, most home fans will already have crossed it

Only have to hold the away fans in for 15 mins or so and by then most home fans will have dispersed 

[david in sweden]

As someone who spent the first of my seven decades as a fan attending games at The Dell,  I can recall that all parts of the old ground were always

quick to break into  " When the Saints ..." at relevant moments.  Often the sounds of  " the Dell Choir " would drift across surrounding districts of the city

at a time when the majority of the fans had standing places.  We sang loud .. to the accompaniment of several thousand fans in the stands above stamping

their feet on the wooden floors.  The sound brought fear to many visiting fans, and even seasoned internationals players have said they loathed visits to 

Southampton because the atmosphere surrounding games at The Dell was so provocative.    

 

IF ....a suitable plan can be agreed, the very prospect of  " a wall of Saints fans in The Northam End "  might become our sort of " Kop",  and as was always 

quoted ..." like a 12th man on the pitch ".  Those who long for an opportunity to stand in the "new Northam " should begin by practicing their singing voices. 

[SaintsLoyal]

Rumour around St Marys is that the club will NOT be moving away fans now this summer due to significant negative feedback and will now consult season ticket holders before any move is made. 

[Saint_clark]

On 20/01/2024 at 04:48, Pamplemousse said:

I've been to many away games where the away fans are led on a merry march around the houses. I suspect they'll block off access to go north up the Kingsland and hope that by the time the away fans heading to the station want to use the footbridge and have had to walk around the stadium to get there, most home fans will already have crossed it

No chance they send the away fans all the way around the stadium to push through all the fans coming out of the chapel, Itchen and northam.

[EssEffCee]

17 minutes ago, Saint_clark said:

No chance they send the away fans all the way around the stadium to push through all the fans coming out of the chapel, Itchen and northam.

Could see them keeping fans in and doing that for some high risk games. Surely better than trying to escort them through Chapel etc 

[Kenilworthy]

5 minutes ago, EssEffCee said:

Could see them keeping fans in and doing that for some high risk games. Surely better than trying to escort them through Chapel etc 

We absolutely must not allow keeping away fans in after the game to be seen as a norm again. It was a blight on away travel in the 1980s. It was so annoying being kept back in Goodison Park that didn't start emptying at all until the Liverpool score was announced.

[EssEffCee]

17 minutes ago, Kenilworthy said:

We absolutely must not allow keeping away fans in after the game to be seen as a norm again. It was a blight on away travel in the 1980s. It was so annoying being kept back in Goodison Park that didn't start emptying at all until the Liverpool score was announced.

Well I didn't say the norm I said high risk games which are very rare for us outside of the skates (who have been kept in almost every time at SMS haven't they?)

[ImproveOurAtmosphere]

2 hours ago, SaintsLoyal said:

Rumour around St Marys is that the club will NOT be moving away fans now this summer due to significant negative feedback and will now consult season ticket holders before any move is made. 

Hope that’s true. Get safe standing in IN, Northam, KN and a few rows in the Chapel. Atmosphere’s been alright this season. If we want a ‘wall’ why haven’t people used the one that’s existed for the last 23 years. All seems a bit pointless moving the away fans 

[Lymington Saint]

Had the feeling that the club were just testing the water.  Can't see any way that Hampshire police would countenance putting the away fans in the Kingsland/Chapel corner.  Can you imagine what would happen next time the blue lot down the road come to SMS.  Would be a nightmare to police.  Think that we are stuck with the current arrangement.

If the club/fans want an 'end', then putting safe standing at the back of the Chapel is about the only way that I can see of doing it.

[The Kraken]

Poor old Dirk is going to have a fit when he sees this news, bless him.

💔

[Dman]

1 hour ago, ImproveOurAtmosphere said:

Hope that’s true. Get safe standing in IN, Northam, KN and a few rows in the Chapel. Atmosphere’s been alright this season. If we want a ‘wall’ why haven’t people used the one that’s existed for the last 23 years. All seems a bit pointless moving the away fans 

You do realise your crusade to bring people to the chapel, because they’re the cheap seats, will mean they’re no longer the cheap seats if your crusade is successful. 

The fact a season ticket is about £20 cheaper seems to be your only selling point. 
 

the introduction of safe standing in the northam would encourage people to sit there. 

[Dman]

3 hours ago, SaintsLoyal said:

Rumour around St Marys is that the club will NOT be moving away fans now this summer due to significant negative feedback and will now consult season ticket holders before any move is made. 

The club should listen to the players / manager. Not a few dinlos who would be upset they have to move from the chapel or itchen north because they like to throw a few wanker signs at the away end. 
 

if the playing squad think the away side have an advantage due to location etc. that’s more important than a handful of kids. 

[EssEffCee]

3 minutes ago, Dman said:

The club should listen to the players / manager. Not a few dinlos who would be upset they have to move from the chapel or itchen north because they like to throw a few wanker signs at the away end. 
 

if the playing squad think the away side have an advantage due to location etc. that’s more important than a handful of kids. 

I don't think a manager should ever have a big say on big changes such as this considering their temporary involvement with a club.

Honestly think it's mental to think they should have more sway than the supporters it effects.

Reckon this rumour is bollocks though personally.

Edited January 22 by EssEffCee

[Dman]

4 minutes ago, EssEffCee said:

I don't think a manager should ever have a big say on big changes such as this considering their temporary involvement with a club.

Honestly think it's mental to think they should have more sway than the supporters it effects.

Reckon this rumour is bollocks though personally.

If the playing squad say the positioning of the away fans gives them a slight advantage / we’d rather they were tucked away, I’d argue that should take precedence over someone who doesn’t want the sun in their eyes. 

[CB Fry]

47 minutes ago, Dman said:

if the playing squad think the away side have an advantage due to location etc. that’s more important than a handful of kids. 

The playing squad don't pay to get in the ground.

[ImproveOurAtmosphere]

3 hours ago, Dman said:

You do realise your crusade to bring people to the chapel, because they’re the cheap seats, will mean they’re no longer the cheap seats if your crusade is successful. 

The fact a season ticket is about £20 cheaper seems to be your only selling point. 
 

the introduction of safe standing in the northam would encourage people to sit there. 

it’s about £120 cheaper not £20. That’s the whole reason behind it. We have the same view as those in blocks 38-40 and Itchen North. Why should fans have to pay more for an atmosphere? 
 

another reason was to be far away from people giving it large to the away end all game but that’s beside the point. 

 

[JRM]

 

[JRM]

9 hours ago, ImproveOurAtmosphere said:

Hope that’s true. Get safe standing in IN, Northam, KN and a few rows in the Chapel. Atmosphere’s been alright this season. If we want a ‘wall’ why haven’t people used the one that’s existed for the last 23 years. All seems a bit pointless moving the away fans 

To understand why St Mary's is the way it is you need to go back to 2001 at The Dell. 

The Archers Road end had become the focal point for atmosphere to the right of the away fans, they pretty much all moved to the Northam. Continued standing. 

Lower East at the Dell also next to away fans, several of those I knew moved to Itchen North when we moved grounds. 

Milton Road was fairly flat for last few years at The Dell. All sat, distance from away fans, those moved to the Chapel. 

So it's not so much a St Mary's thing, it's a direct continuation from our Dell days, the difference being at The Dell away fans were stuck in the side split over two tiers so struggled to make much noise. 

[EssEffCee]

1 hour ago, JRM said:

 

Uh oh. Sounds like it might be the start of some ultra shite

[franniesTache]

2 hours ago, JRM said:

 

I cannot think of a better argument for keeping the away fans where they are than this shite, the last thing we need is tinpot fancy dress ultras, and if they have to happen then keep them the f*ck away from us in their own little bit in the Northam

[Breeny]

For the older fans among us . All clubs have had a traditional vocal ‘ end ‘ 

Pompey have the Fratton as an example.

A decent home Northam end will / should definitely improve the atmosphere and can only be positive . Giving away fans 60% if the Northam has only helped our opponents! 

[sfc4prem]

I like the idea of a Chapel Kop. Very romantic. Perhaps unrealistic, though, given our fanbase.