Old Trafford is devoid of any character and is dying.

Utd heap

Inspired by my experiences at the Leeds game.

It's hardly been a secret for a while now.

We were playing a hated rival on Sunday, it may aswell of been any no mark League 1 side for the noise/tension inside.

Everything in and around the ground is now geared towards money, and to attract a new breed of 'fan', not supporter.

No longer do you see groups of kids, or even any large groups of mates, bar tour parties coming from all over the globe to enjoy the 'matchday experience'.

It sounds like i'm some old nonce barking on about how great it used to be.
That's how quickly things have changed. When i was going 5 or 6 years ago with my old man, it was a completely different place.

One where my week was all leading to Saturday when i'd stand and watch my team with a group of people i'd always known and be able to express my emotions.
Not anymore.

I'd get told to sit down, or get chucked out for swearing.

My dad, along with all the other people we used to go with, can't afford it/feel they have nothing in common with the majority of OT anymore.

I still do alot of away games, but even there, you don't see the same old faces you'd see every week.

The community feel of being part of United has left.

It's not just OT either, football in England is fucked.

What can we do about it?

Alot of you on here wont see the problem.

gambit28

God it just gets cheerier and cheerier.

HsJ

Well I don't think you're wrong to be honest.

I think it started to die when the bandwagoners outnumbered the real supporters and the stewards began to tell everyone to sit down

Might be before that...but its rare I come out of OT and think...'that was a great atmosphere'

If only there was a way of grouping all the singing bunch together, sort of like an away game crowd...that would be great.

Red_Jamie

Sweet fuck all is the answer to that..

You're completely right. It's shit. The place has got about as much soul as a twig these days..

Count Duckula

It started when they banned standing.

I went to a university rugby match no one really cared about, and they opened the sitting stand. It was shit. The next year I went again, but they'd opened the standing section instead. The match was just as poor, but the atmosphere was cracking.

Red_Jamie

Liar. That's impossible.

Count Duckula

Haha, I got punched in the face! It was brilliant, I tell you.

phelans shorts

sums it up IMO

Jiggs'Hamstring

Bollocks, I've been to countless rugby games with an incredible atmosphere

surf

The Old Trafford 'fans' lost their credibility a long time ago, when they booed Giggs.

HsJ

It's a right bastard of a feeling when you're the only one singing in a stand...and some twat tells you to sit down and be quiet...

Sometimes its the old codger behind you, or just a steward...how can you expect to raise the atmosphere when nobody can be bothered to do anything about it.

Any sort of rocking/jumping motion is percieved as being gay - and we neither have the loyal match going reds in the same area or the organisation to begin something like this...

makes me think that we need some knob'ed with a megaphone to sort it all out.

rednev

But the food is better than ever before.

Red_Jamie

It's just that Old Trafford is leading the way in this new-fan experience. The rest will soon follow because more clubs will need to bend over to those with the cash in order to stay afloat. And with these new owners will come the death of the clubs..

There's a similarly shite atmosphere in the Emirates (well it's even worse there) and we're 2 clubs that are a taste of things to come for English football in the future.

The only thing that can improve atmospheres are price reductions and safe standing areas. They've proven in Germany that this is the best way to have a safe yet passionate and loud atmosphere in the modern game.

Rugby's shite. I'd rather play rounders. Literally.

Red_Jamie

And the women. And the toilets.

Utd heap

I agree.

There's no quick fix.
Only a collapse of the current structure would result in the game comnig back to grass roots level, and grovelling for the support it has now lost to get it back on its feet.

Take Rugby out of this.
It's wank, and for tossers.

Bread

I cant stand up even briefly because evern though our entire row tried teh stand and sing the bloody old woman tells me to sit down, she clearly isnt a fan, you can just tell.

TheReligion

Why ask then

Bread

Rugby in terms of the sport is exactly how football should be TBH my mate is a sale sharks season ticket holder (bear in mind thats a top team, in europe with a squad of internationals) and his season ticket costs him about 140 quid, this is less than buying all the matches indiviudally which would be 25 quid, my season ticket isnt even a pound cheaper than if i bought every match seperatly. they do offers where if he brings a mate they will sit you together and both your tickets are half price, matches are never moved so they can be on tele and even though there is nowhere near the passion we get in football there is still cracking banter between the fans.

rugby's massive downside are how smug the pissing fans are about how 'upstanding' thier sport is, because dont boo players, chant, mock other teams, have rivalries bar whos the teams around them. they also go on about footballers diving never happens in rugby, well thats because it would gain you no advantage whatsoever, but they still cheat! when ig o to rugby i enjoy seeing the sport close up but i can safely say there is zero passion in there, no songs, cheers last seconds.

Utd heap

It was more rhetorical than an actual question.

I like raisisng discussion topics. It's a forum afterall.

Red_Jamie

Because some will?

Why quote the OP just to be pedantic? Just move on to another thread..

Moultz

Support Stoke City?

Domzi

Move to Tier 2 SE. HTH

phelans shorts

Our steward joined in trying to get people up on Sunday, seriously that's bad when it's at that stage

Bread

Football is never gonna be what it was again sadly, even lower leagues are bloody expensive and the atmosphere is often shit.

Red_Jamie

I wouldn't say 'never' but it looks bleak.

I suppose it's a bit like football's got cancer. It's obviously really shit but it has it's occasional moments of joy and with it comes hope. You find yourself thinking of old times and wishing you'd appreciated them more.

Slowly but surely the cancer is winning and finding a cure seems hopeless. But if we can find one it'll obviously be fucking brilliant and we'll be back to our old selves again. If we don't. we're fucked.

Ivor Ballokov

I hate this attitude of "I was told to sit down by some prick" which seems common these days. Some people are incapable of standing up for 90 minutes or continuously jumping up and down but they still want to watch the game and they have a right to be allowed to do that. It is the system that puts people who want to stand with people who want to sit together that is to blame and the sooner sections of standing are introduced the better for everyone.

Utd heap

Correct.

Also - standing isn't the sole solution.

I remember being sat at various away games pre-2002. Yet the atmosphere was ace, and the people there were United through and through.

Bread

It's not that that annoys me, its when i mean litterally for brief milleseconds when we are stood up after a near miss or something she immediatly tells me to sit down!

Bread

i cant ever see how it can be affordable but still feature world class talent ever again, if you think how 60's and 70's at united you paid fuck all and saw law, charlton and best. if you were are ever paying the equivilent prices again it wont be to see players like that, the rooneys of this world wont be staying in england if they can triple or quadruple thier wage overseas.

The Flying Potato

Maybe its more to do with the old fans who dont go to games anymore.

Dr. Dwayne

Come to Toronto. Sure FC and the MLS are cack but the stadium rocks on matchdays. We stand, we sing, we drink our faces off.

HsJ

Yeah, maybe.

My uncle was a match going red, used to go most weekends. But hasn't been to a single game since the Glazers took over (apart from the Munich memorial)

Ivor Ballokov

Next time you go to the cinema invite me along and I'll put my hand over your eyes during all the best bits. I'd imagine you'd give me a slap pretty quickly.

HsJ

Hardly the same thing are they

Don't see much hooliganism in the history of cinema do we...?

Moultz

The real way to solve this problem is a bit of a financial ask but would improve the atmosphere at OT

Step 1: Move the family stand completely to the East stand.

Step 2: Insert fans who wish they were in the Stretford End (upper tier) who arnt already there into the lower tier of the West stand. Thus creating a united Stretford End. (make it season ticket holders only)

Step 3: (If architecturally possible and financially) Create the stand into one tier. In the style of the KOP and many other european grounds. (2 tiers seem to be a problem as you get songs on top and then on bottom. Experienced this at some away games) This however i feel would be almost impossible and would definately hinder the capacity of the stand.

The first 2 steps are definitely plausible and should happen! Would be quality and the noise level would grow at OT to have a full stand (not just half) put the United faithful in full voice

Bread

i wish drinking in the stands was allowed, could work in principle if you could only buy one each and were only allowed to buy before and at half time.

busbysaces

I get the feeling summat is going to give in english football, the same is happening to clubs that happened in our economy and the debts that are rife will take over, clubs will go bust, fans will stop going and prices will drop, and it will become good again.

I'm probably wrong, but I got a feelin (that tonights gonnna be a good good night.)







'kin hate that song

R_Nick

A few times on Sunday songs would start to get around the ground and then stop. Where you hear it at away's where the song is repeated a good few times it would get one sounding and then stop, which was frustrating. Also when I tried to join in with the songs the people sat around me looked at me like I had two heads.

Bread

if in the cinema it was common place to stand up during exciting moments i wouldnt winge at you for still being stood 10 seconds after they had happened

Bread

would be quality if all STs were in the stret!