That would be fine then. Not been near the away end in a while so I didn’t realise they weren’t still segregated outside
I mean the corner where the noisy Itchen Saints are, so not in front of Hospitality. Tom’s reply probably answers my point anyway
Isn't that being redeveloped? I think a developer already owns the lands and there was an application to put up a big tower block there but not sure what the end result was with that.
There's still corporate boxes there isn't there? I thought they stretched across the entire stand? Plus for cup games they would end up nearer the dugouts/posh seats which wouldn't be ideal.
It definitely is on topic. We are talking about the connection between the Moon and the Northam, with both areas having no atmosphere.
Interesting that the manager and some players are aware of this during games. Clearly something should be done. Parsons also said that they've had acoustic experts in that confirm more noise is generated from the ends. So I think it is likely the away fans will be moved into a corner or side.
If people really believe that this will fix the atmosphere on its own they're in for a huge shock imo. Frankly the supporters need to stop blaming things outside their control (team being rubbish, away fans being where they are) and take some responsibility. There are three main reasons why our atmospheres aren't great: - Not enough songs in the songbook. This means we end up with **** loads of Pompey songs or repeated OWTS and people understandably get bored. - An inability of most fans to maintain a rhythm while clapping. This means any songs get sped up like everyone's on meth and end up peetering out before they can really get going. - We don't have a large amount of fans who want to sing regularly. Went over this in detail the other day but the other two reasons also contribute to this. Until those 3 things are addressed then we won't see St Marys turned into a cauldron of noise. Regardless of where the away fans are. And to further this point let's look at the Blackburn game in December. A game where we won 4-0, Blackburn only brought around 1300 or so, the away fans barely made a peep, and we had more fans in the Northam. And yet the atmosphere was still poor. Why is that?
I don't think St Marys will suddenly get an amazing atmosphere because of this change, but I reckon it will improve it, even if only a little. The fact that the players and manager have raised it as an issue suggests they think away fans seem to be louder at St Marys than other grounds, so maybe there is something in it. As for the other points - I find it hard to believe Saints' fans inability to clap is related to the atmosphere. Why would people from Southampton not have the same ability to clap as anyone else in the country We also have no idea how many fans want to get involved, but don't because others in their area don't. I guess that will only become clear when this plan is in place.
Tbf, the clapping is an issue. Morons at the back of the Northam smash the back boards as fast as they can and the clapping gets quicker and quicker. Sometimes you actually get out of breath trying to keep up with the beat But I definitely agree that away fans needs to be moved and the atmosphere will improve because of this. Maybe not massively, but even if it's just slightly it's worth doing.
The clapping thing is 100% an issue and why certain songs never get past a couple of verses. People seem to steadily increase the pace of the clapping until they're unable to any further and then the song peters out as it's completely out of sync with the beat. I'm honestly shocked anyone would dispute this as it's been a problem for a decade at least. Russell Martin's red army is a good example of this, listen out for it at the Huddersfield match. On the last point about people not having singers in the area, if they wanted to sing that much then surely they'd move? I find it hard to believe that someone has sat in a seat for years thinking "oh I wish there were more singers here" and not once decided to move. And even if there are people like that, they're still not gonna have singers in their area after this are they so will still need to move to be around more singers? Don't see the difference here tbh. Is the suggestion that they don't want to move to the Northam now but will suddenly want to post the change? Seems a tad farfetched to me. Again I ask why was the Blackburn atmosphere so poor?
Yep getting out of breath is another reason why the songs stop as it's physically impossible to maintain the beat set by the morons who cannot help themselves but increase the speed. I think it'll have a small lift originally but will soon deteriorate to where we are now unless the 3 points I mentioned are addressed. The away fans aren't going to suddenly stop singing if moved to a corner either.
I don't think it is that people are sat desperately wanting to sing, but don't want to be the only one. Rather, I think that people will be more likely to join if they happen to be sat in a stand where everyone else is signing and they won't stand out. Which would happen if the home capacity of the Northam was doubled. Fair enough on the clapping thing. It isn't something I've noticed but that's not to say it doesn't happen. As for Blackburn, a few extra fans for one game is a bit different from an entire stand and safe standing. I don't think that's a fair comparison. The fan base is pretty split over this which surprises me, I suppose only time will tell! Parsons has said it will be from next season so won't be for a while anyway.
This is just my opinion, but the change from standing on terraces to having seats has meant that people are happy to turn up, sit down, and watch a match, as opposed to being rather more invested in the game. I'm not suggesting that a wholesale return to standing, with all its inherent dangers, is at all sensible, in case you were wondering. As an example, rugby internationals used to be at stadia with a large amount of terracing, and in order to get a good view of the game, spectators needed to arrive at least 30 mins, sometimes an hour, before kick off. Certainly in Cardiff Arms Park, and to a lesser extent in other grounds like Twickenham and Murrayfield, this resulted in a lot of singing, more to pass the time than anything else. If you start off singing at a match, you are more likely to carry on singing, and standing next to someone who is singing is more likely to involve you in what they are doing, as opposed to sitting next to someone. Add to this the difference between singing when you are sitting down or standing up (almost all choirs sing standing up), and you have a perfect storm of people who are happy to arrive just before kick off, sit down and be entertained, but are not too bothered about arriving early, standing up and singing/chanting/making lots of noise. It is very noticeable that away fans (ours, and everyone else's) are far more committed to the atmosphere, and will always sing. The only exception to this is when we have played at Wembley, where we get a large allocation, and a lot of fans don't want to/can't stand, so their willingness to be involved, and to sing, is rather diminished
I'm surprised at opposition to this given the amount of complaints about the current arrangements. A complete end of fans has to improve the atmosphere. Where the visitors go and how it's done is up for discussion between all interested parties. What we can be sure of is not being able to please everyone and vociferous complaints will be heard.
So the suggestion is that people who upto now haven't bothered to move to the Northam to be near singers suddenly will do so now? There will undoubtedly be a few but I suspect it'll be in the tens rather than the hundreds. I just don't forsee a mass migration of people to a stand they've had the option to move to for years. The standing will only be the back half so there won't be many more people stood in the Northam than there is now. Extra 1000 absolute tops, probably less. Re Blackburn isn't the argument that large and noisy away fans dominate the stand and make it harder for us to create an atmosphere? That Blackburn away following wasn't large and was also incredibly quiet and the Northam was still ****e so I think it's a perfectly valid comparison. Yeah it was always going to be from next season. You can't kick people out of seats they've paid for mid season let alone the changes required to the stadium. For clarity I'm not against the change and think it's definitely worth trying. I just feel there's a lot of misguided assumptions going on and a lack of responsibility on the fans part and am trying to add a dose of reality to the discussions. The fact remains that fans are responsible for the atmosphere in the ground and if we allow excuses to be made and not address the core issues then things will never get to a level people want. I also think we need to make sure we aren't dismissing people who are against these changes (not suggesting you are). There are people who will have sat in the same seats since the ground opened who will be forced to move due to this. As a fanbase we should ensure the club are held to account in helping those people and putting them at the top of the list in terms of choosing new seats.
