I think it's time to fully admit our home support is actually quite poor. The northam wall, while a good idea in principle doesn't work. Our list of songs is limited. I honestly think the SR era is also to blame in some way. Our fans seem quite defeated and a bit beaten up by a complete lack of excitement on the pitch. The football has been really poor for years, we're trying to play in a "modern" way which is, let's be honest, really ****ing boring. We don't have any exciting players. Slow build up and/or hoofing the ball long doesn't lend itself to the ebb and flow of a match like it used to. I get that argument is all a bit circular but going to St Mary’s has been a chore for a while now.
This is exactly it, the fans feed off the team and if they are giving us very little to cheer about it is little wonder it goes a bit flat. The team should've come out of the blocks all guns blazing yesterday but they didn't and they let the Skates dominate possession and chances. We need a few exiting matches with some home goals scored to get us fired up and maybe go on a 25 match unbeaten run again?, that would be good.
Chapel. I’ve ranted about the atmosphere for the last year and every time I get a response similar to yours. So I think I just have to accept that it’s better than can be heard from where I am. Just frustrating having a very vocal away section every game with no audible response from our lot. Because if I can’t hear Northam, then neither can the away fans. Anyway I was drunk and a bit angry yesterday. Soon as we start winning atmosphere will come back. Our fans are better than our reputation suggests imo.
The wall of noise is mostly drowned out by the songs that are still being played at that point. Also, just because we cheered when the players came out, doesn’t mean the atmosphere was amazing for the rest of the game.
The style of play currently is pretty uninspiring, it's too slow, predictable and not inventive enough. There needs to be more urgency and movement than we are seeing. Maybe it will come but i'm not convinced it will with Downes and Charles in the middle together. We need to get the feel good factor back and only the team can make that happen.
Isn't that what derby day is for? and yeah, not sure you can complain too much about atmosphere if you are in the chapel as it's been dead in there for years!
The initial post mentioned other fans not joining in with chants - but that is a given for the chapel. It is basically the stand to sit in if you don't want to chant. Perhaps it is changing slightly now the away fans are down there though.
I agree- remember going to a game EXPECTING LeTiss/Lambert/Pelle to produce a bit of magic and generally having that expectation fulfilled. Haven’t had that in donkeys years.
Didn't post yesterday as it looked rather depressing on here. One thing that is still bugging me about yesterday and majorly pissed me off was Archer just stood watching their keeper **** around with the ball at his feet every single time. Not once did he make an effort of any kind to put him under pressure. For a derby game that is shocking!
Forgot to mention yesterday that Westwood really is a complete ****ing idiot of the highest order. All of his spiel during the week of "I'm just a 62 year old man who wants to enjoy the game and not invite trouble" to then act like he did yesterday. Absolute embarrassment. (I know this isn't exactly news btw but still needed to be said)
Just his general behaviour, mimicking punching people in the head etc. That ****'s tragic at the best of times but from a man in his 60s...
The fact he got mugged by some kids in Romsey will live in the memory a lot longer than the game yesterday.
Haven’t seen anything about him from yesterday but doesn’t surprise me. He played the victim card in the build up, but we all know what he is. On another note, whether you’re into the pre-match build up or not, it was amateur hour. Multiple of the pyro boxes malfunctioning, and having to be distinguished, the band starting too fast and then cutting out on the speakers immediately and Mark Dennis taking over the singing. The writing was on the wall before a ball was kicked.
I noticed that they put Aribo up on the big screens for one of the subs too. Club has been amateur hour in all aspects for a long time now.
I was in the chapel with the kids last year and you're 100% right. Those who sit in the Northam curve need to realise that it's not a criticism, you genuinely can't be heard by the home fans in the Chapel or the away fans. However now I'm sat in block 36 there is singing and pre-game and for the first 10 minutes it was pretty loud. Obviously then we had to sit through that absolute turd which Still is trying to pass off as football and the atmosphere naturally suffered
