It's dreadful marketing. Pay an inflated price to watch crap football in a total lack of comfort and then be badgered into shouting positive things. I think I'll give the flexi Ticket a miss.
Ready lads? ok here we go, nice and loud. "We want our rangers back, we want our rangers back, we want our rangers back" That may induce a more conciliatory tone from the fools up top.
Do we have a great squad on paper? We have an OK squad 2 strikers short from what I can tell. The Sun can fook off frankly. I think this is a bit cackhanded by the club but I don't think it's anything sinister like blaming fans for the poor atmosphere. Hey if it gets a few more people shouting then where is the harm.
It is a bit chicken and egg with regards to crowd noise. Yes you can say give us something to cheer about but on the occasions I get down to LOftus rd its very quiet from the very beginning. I was at the last game of the season against Bristol city and it was embarrassing we barely sang a song. So whilst I dont like how this has gone public I cannot disagree with the sentiment
Five things that might improve the atmosphere at QPR By David McIntyre 12/10/2016 Embed from Getty Images QPR have launched a Make Some Noise campaign in an attempt to improve the atmosphere at Loftus Road. The campaign will involve flyers on every turnstile as supporters enter the stadium for Saturday’s match against Reading. It’s fair to say the idea has not gone down well with supporters, with many on social media making their disgust clear. What’s causing the poor atmosphere and what could change it? Here are five things that might make a positive difference. 1: Restore the Loft QPR say the Make Some Noise campaign is a response to feedback given to chief executive Lee Hoos. But Hoos has flatly refused to give in to pleas to move the family stand from the lower Loft – traditionally a part of the ground populated by hardcore supporters from which much of the atmosphere was generated. Moving families from this area would be problematic for a number of reasons. Where would they go? And which season ticket holders would potentially have to make way for them? Hoos is also a numbers man, and the numbers tell him the family stand is in the right place. But where there’s a will there’s a way, and there ought to be a will to reverse what was a stupid decision that has inevitably affected the atmosphere and will continue to do so. please log in to view this image Hoos has dismissed calls to move the family stand QPR have been prepared to put noses out of joint in the past, not least when regulars were unceremoniously turfed out of the South Africa Road stand to make room for a larger directors’ and VIP area, where there are often plenty of empty seats. Admittedly that happened during the Flavio Briatore era, but more recently fans in the Ellerslie Road stand were affected by extra media facilities QPR had to add. Disabled fans have also had a raw deal at Rangers and improving their experience has required change. Rangers, like all clubs, are prepared to make tough decisions when it suits them. You can be certain that if the proposed relocation to Old Oak happens, or, even more so, if it doesn’t and alternative options are then mooted, some fans will be deeply unhappy with the vision set out by QPR’s owners, who will be more than prepared to make their case for what they’ll argue is the greater good. Compared to that, moving the family stand is nothing. The aim of any club should be to attract and retain young fans. For decades, prior to the lower Loft being turned into a half-empty family area, the club attracted and retained solid support largely because of the Loftus Road experience. That experience is now relatively poor, so preserving the current set-up based on numbers is short-sighted and irresponsible. Less important than where young fans sit at Loftus Road is what kind of Loftus Road they come to know. The Loft is QPR tradition. A more worthwhile campaign would be to restore it and fill it. 2: Play with two up front Many Rangers fans argue that the reason for the poor atmosphere is very simple: the football’s rubbish. Allied to this is the strong belief that Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink isn’t adventurous enough and ought to adopt a more attacking approach – namely with two up front. From a tactical perspective, this theory has more holes than a piece of Swiss cheese in a colander. There are good reasons why successive QPR managers before Hasselbaink, and managers in general, haven’t played with two out and out strikers either. please log in to view this image Maybe Polter would also like a strike partner? Tjaronn Chery, arguably Rangers’ best and most influential player, plays in the number 10 role, and the idea that Rangers could play with a 4-4-2 (in which many apparently would select the permanently unfit and uncommitted Sandro in central midfield) and be better for it just doesn’t stack up. It’s not 1985. The days of wingers running down the wing and slinging crosses towards a couple of strikers are generally gone – because it’s easy to defend against. Playing that way would arguably get Rangers nowhere in the long run. But what it might do, initially at least, is get the crowd going, create a bit of a spark around the place from which the players might feed off. And after that, who knows? 3: Show some personality Much has been made of QPR’s frequent manager changes. But there has been continuity in the sense that for around half of the last 25 years the manager has been Gerry Francis, Ian Holloway or Neil Warnock. This has been hugely significant in terms of shaping attitudes. All three managers were major personalities, excellent with the media, and most importantly they knew exactly what buttons to push when it came to getting the fans on side. This helped them create a sense of pride and togetherness in which fans were engaged and rallied behind a cause. This was reflected in their teams, which contained characters who remain fondly remembered by supporters. That has made it very difficult for more considered, introverted managers to be accepted. They’re perceived as dull and uninspiring. And when that perception kicks in, a malaise hangs over the place. Embed from Getty Images Holloway helped generate a superb atmosphere at Loftus Road QPR’s history over the last few decades does not bode well for a lower-key personality like Hasselbaink. Managers in his mould have generally been unable to galvanise the club. With the possible exception of Sebastian Polter, his team also lacks players with the personality to do it for him. It’s all very stale at the moment. Forget tactics. Hasselbaink’s best bet this week would be to have a dig at Reading about shamelessly copying QPR’s kit, and on Saturday pick a fight with a linesman – anything to lift that malaise and get the place going. 4: Reduce ticket prices Obviously. 5: Give it time After the foolhardy spending, Rangers are in transition and this was always going to be a difficult couple of years as the club is reshaped. The average age of their recent signings, plus a desire to bring through youngsters, means it will take time for characters to develop and for the team to find some momentum, and in turn excite the fans and generate an atmosphere. It might just be a case of waiting. ‘Make some noise’ isn’t the best slogan ever and has opened Rangers up to some deserved ridicule. ‘Welcome to Loftus Road. We’re trying to build for the future but the next couple of years are likely to be like pulling teeth at times’ wouldn’t fit the bill – or the flyer. But it would probably be the most honest portrayal of where Rangers are right now.
The best thing that could be done without reducing prices is finding a way of moving those who want to make noise directly behind the goal. Noise from the corner gets lost far more easily. There was a nothing League Cup game a few years ago where the whole crowd would only have been about 8000, with Ellerslie and Q block closed but there was great noise from behind the Loft because it carried so much better. Don't put a bloody creche behind the goal either.
I'm actually not buying this... I think we've been quite loud lately and our support at home has been great, even with games that are far from sold out.
I agree, especially against Newcastle. The stadium was buzzing but the players performance on the pitch soon put paid to that.
I used to go in the R or S block and would come home with no voice left. There was a time when we kept "Holloway's Blue and White army" going for pretty much the entire game. Not sure what has happened but it has gone very quiet. I'm sure it's nothing a well-produced leaflet won't be able to sort out.
I remember. I used to sit right in the corner of P and Q and would kick the metal sheet BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM HOLLOWAY'S BLUE AND WHITE ARMY, until it was deemed unacceptable. You've got to have a manager everyone loves for that song, and one with a 3 syllable name.
Last game for me was Blackburn and it was dead. I honesty think the whole experience gives poor returns, all of which is forgiven when players show that they are giving everything but like the guy next to me said nobody's putting themselves about or putting a boot in, in other words nothing to get excited about. The game came to life for the 3 mins or so until Blackburn equalised and then normal service was resumed. Half time a guy walks past with a hot dog and someone shouts "you're not going to eat that are you?" Learning from our mistakes says Tony, Simple Food, Sensible Ticket prices & policies, would be a good start. Maybe delete that twitter account too. I do think the stewarding has improved vastly, I'll give them that. Trouble is they can't really improve a crap experience (lets be honest the view from some sections is abysmal) with helpfulness and manners. Everything else still feels like windows dressing to me. The trouble Tony has now is a section of the base that will be watching Colin and remarking on our progress for the remainder "if" he does well. I think things going to get worse before they get better. Again, sadly.
