It’s not the 1980s anymore (20/7)

[GoonerBen]

yes cus geezer, good to hear you fight the good fight.
Im a post 90s joe but thats cause i was born in 1986 so its not like i had a choice in the matter. I would give a hell of a lot to have STOOD on the north bank but it was still great when I SAT there. the problem with the drab atmosphere i think is due to a few things

1 none of us are totally used to Ashburton Grove yet sure weve got our new pre/post match rituals almost down pat now after a season but it still feels a bit odd - to me at least, this is organic and will change with time and more memories

2 the south side of the ground (the sides need bloody names not colours for fucks sake!) doesnt seem (to me watching from the blue quadrant) to have many season ticket holders resulting in few chants or organised noisy atomsphere coming from there or being given back in a clockend - northbank style

3 with the stadium being so big and holding noise so well when its made (when its loud it is fucking loud - unfortunately only for a few of the big games last season) without more than one token singing section (no disrespect, RedAction et al do a better job than the rest of the place) the noise dies out because no1 is organised enuf or bothered to keep it going

4 early leavers - this has been discussed loads, but whether you genuinely need to catch your train back to wales/wherever and need to beat the crowd or if ur just a dickhead plastic fan who wants to be entertained and not participate (u dont have to shout if you dont want to, just wait until the game ends - whatever the reasons it does unarguably MASSIVELY affect the atmosphere at the very point where the 12th man can be utterly crucial

5 and as mentioned by cus geezer and the others, the fact that shit has simply changed and its normal for big teams that dominate to have rich quiet fans that take things for granted - it sucks but sems to be the way of the world - away fans are more l;ikely to give more of a shit about the side so theyll 'support' more, unfortunately not all of us can afford to do that AND have a season ticket

LETS MAKE NEXT SEASON LOUD!!

[Cus Geezer]

yes cus geezer, good to hear you fight the good fight.
Im a post 90s joe but thats cause i was born in 1986 so its not like i had a choice in the matter. I would give a hell of a lot to have STOOD on the north bank but it was still great when I SAT there. the problem with the drab atmosphere i think is due to a few things

It's actually Joe post-90, an alteration to the name of a kids TV character long before your time, he was like Thunderbirds puppet, but of course probably had more life in him than bookanengineer does on matchdays. But anyway I won't spilt hairs.

Of course it goes without saying that those born after such era are exempt from the Joe post-90 derision, Ben.

And if I could fill you in on the history, my North Bank days are from 1985 to 1992 and basically I would have today's team over that period, but the matchday experience of then over today without question. You certainly were not any safer on the seated North Bank, I myself were 13 when it was pulled down and never felt scared at all by hooligans, or for that matter crushing as it had no fence.

And its a shame that YouTube have taken down the footage of John Helm's commentary over the Bradford fire disaster as this is a clear example that having to climb over seats aided the death of 50 fans that day. Had that stand been a terrace the death toll would have been nowhere near it. Had the Hillsborough semi final of '89 been at a stadium like Highbury no-one would have died there either.

I can say quite conclusive that the baby has been thrown out with the bathwater regarding the matchday experience of today. Concerns about 'inclusiveness' and 'fans safety' are totally disingenuous and mask the real motive of gentrification and profit making.

[Cus Geezer]

And hasn't bookanengineer gone quiet?

Is this his Sonny Liston at the start of Round seven moment?

[Ben-gooner14]

gooner ed is the true gooner quiz going to be a regular thing or is a one off trial thing. I scored 6 last time.

[Eboue Can't Defend]

Given everything you have written on this and other threads about how supporters are treated, I wouldn't read Keith Edelman's views on stewarding if I were you Cus!!