As we're unlikely to see terraces again at football, this is the virtual equivalent where you can chat to your hearts content about all football matters and, obviously, Arsenal in particular. This forum encourages all Gooners to visit and contribute so please keep it respectful, clean and topical.
GoonerBen wrote:to be fair, its very hard to say that X isnt a 'true' fan if they dont sing, the 3 guys who sit behind me havent missed a home game for upwards of 30 years, they are ARSENAL through and through and know their football inside out but ive never heard them sing or chant because its obviously just not in their nature, good people, real fans but just dont want to sing, fair enuf IMHO I sing, enjoy singing and will always sing but thats up to me not anyone else who thinks i should or shouldent
Early leavers - i find it disgusting but there is absolutely nothing that the club can realistically do about it. Unforunately my family and my uncle's family share 2 season tickets so its a cycle as to who gets to go to games - i called my dad up on the final whistle of the villa game (he was there, i wasnt) and started to moan about the result only to hear that him and my uncle were already on the bloody bus because 'it just wasnt good enough wenger should be sacked' - all this from a man who hero-worshipped Jack Kelsey as a kid and has been going ever since!!!
anyway my very long winded point is that when the club do so little to allow a great atmosphere and when their interaction with supporters is minimal at best, it is perhaps not the best idea to lump all non-singers and early leavers as johnny-come-latelys and plastic fans
thats the easy target though, blame the club
since when have they prevented you from breathing?
Im not hating on redaction or anything. At least some guys are trying something. But in the grand scheme of things the haven't made too much of a difference.
If I was in regular contact with the club about atmosphere , I would try:
- Bring back the Clock end and North Bank, get rid of these quadrants.
- Make both areas behind the goal, upper and lower tier , designated singimg areas. If you don't want to sing, don't go behind the goal.
- Close all exits until full time..
- Close entry to seats 5 minutes after half time. If your not back, tough luck.
- Making the designated singing area tickets cheaper .
These may be radical changes but they would all be for the better.
tinpot lane wrote:
thats the easy target though, blame the club
since when have they prevented you from breathing?
never prevented me from breathing - but heavy handed stewards with the whole 'no standing' issue (when the away fans get to stand unmolested all game), no flags, to my memory no initiatives to boost the atmosphere apart from frankly turgid stuff like 'legends day' - even the AST and Redaction have to fight hard to get initiatives like the DB10 t-shirts to work. Wenger said he wanted more vocal support, what about a singing section next to the away fans - logistically difficult sure but the club could do it if they really wanted....?
Irish Gooner wrote:Im not hating on redaction or anything. At least some guys are trying something. But in the grand scheme of things the haven't made too much of a difference.
If I was in regular contact with the club about atmosphere , I would try:
- Bring back the Clock end and North Bank, get rid of these quadrants.
- Make both areas behind the goal, upper and lower tier , designated singimg areas. If you don't want to sing, don't go behind the goal. - Close all exits until full time..
- Close entry to seats 5 minutes after half time. If your not back, tough luck.
- Making the designated singing area tickets cheaper .
These may be radical changes but they would all be for the better.
The problem with those two is that exits should always remain open at all times, in an emergency someone might have to be somewhere halfway through the first half or something, imagine your wife having a baby. I certainly wouldn't miss it for the world.
Then if you were late because of some reason that wasn't your fault, then the seast should still be available IMO.
EC3 wrote:No offence, but if some idiot moaned at me for not singing or if i leaved early i would tell them to fuck right off.
I don't need to justify myself to some fella who thinks he is Mr Arsenal, get a grip.
its people with a mentality like you thats exactly whats wrong with the club. dont need to justify yourself? well you're adding to the fucking problem by not singing. just cos people want to encourage others to create some sort of atmosphere doesnt make us think we're 'Mr Arsenal'....
Give your head a shake. Personally i don't won't some clown right next to me jumping up and down every five minutes singing stand up if you hate tottenham, and has probably never set foot in White Hart Lane.
BUT if someone wants to sing fine, they can it's their choice.
SteveO 35 wrote:Everyone who wanted the 60,000 Soul-less Bowl has got their just desserts.
How else did we expect to fund the massive debt that it has thrown the club into....with kids for a quid ??
We have got what we asked for - an expensive stadium and the only way to pay for it is through 'supporters' with deep pockets. The Diamond Club boys are hardly the type to start singing and standing up halfway through the match are they ? Start charging people upwards of £60 for a decent seat at a grade A game and the atmosphere will drain away.....
I use to love going to Old Trafford and singing "60,000 muppets" at the 'tourists' who populated the Theatre of Shite. Now in our attempt to keep up with the Joneses, we are in exactly the same boat.
Yip sadly thats the bottom line
its hard for some fans to stand up and sing (ie myself on Saturday) when you have people around you who dont have clue. I was sat behind a family of 5 who were obvioulsy on holday from either germany or spain, they spent more time chatting and taking pics and eating their hugely overpriced food, I imagine like most of us I was raging when villa scored those 2 goals, it totally spoild my weekend but this family didnt even care, that's what we are up against, I think i am just gonna start going to away games!!
Unfortunately gents we sold our soul by moving to Ashburton. Nice comfy seats, tickets that are minimum £35, plenty of chances for corporate entertainment. We all hoped it would lead to us becoming a dominant force in Europe, instead it is just lining the pockets of the board.
Also, it really got to me when Wenger came out earlier in the season & complained about the atmosphere. You have people who spend £1,000+ just to get in every season, not to mention the travel, food/drink plus all the shirts/scarves etc. You have flushed out the "working class" fan & replaced them with suits. I barely hear a London voice these days mingling outside so how can you expect the minority of "fans" to bring a 60,000 stadium to life?
Henry & the likes loved Highbury because the die hards were allowed to express their passion amongst similarly minded people. If I stand up & sing at The Grove, I get a steward telling me to calm down or looks of disgust from people for disrupting their conversations.
Theres a phrase regarding cake & eating it with this stadium.
Nice_Guy wrote:Unfortunately gents we sold our soul by moving to Ashburton. Nice comfy seats, tickets that are minimum £35, plenty of chances for corporate entertainment. We all hoped it would lead to us becoming a dominant force in Europe, instead it is just lining the pockets of the board.
How so?
They draw salaries not dividends.
Only if you believe as Rebel does that the board are trying to push the share price up for a potential sale over the next few seasons could you say the new stadium is lining their pockets.
Nice_Guy wrote:Unfortunately gents we sold our soul by moving to Ashburton. Nice comfy seats, tickets that are minimum £35, plenty of chances for corporate entertainment. We all hoped it would lead to us becoming a dominant force in Europe, instead it is just lining the pockets of the board.
How so?
They draw salaries not dividends.
Only if you believe as Rebel does that the board are trying to push the share price up for a potential sale over the next few seasons could you say the new stadium is lining their pockets.
Hold on quartz, rebel is far from alone in having that line of thought and I for one agree with him. This board want minimum expenditure while continuing to make the champs league which of course keeps the cash rolling in and the club profile high when it comes to selling day
Irish Gooner wrote:I dont want to make a dick out of myself here, but we are a family club.
These days its frightening how much so.
Too many families going for a day out. THATS WHAT THE FAMILY ENCLOSURE WAS MADE FOR.
Too many women,kids and glory hunters.
Worst thing is, it will never change.
await the wrath of basil,pixie and ds....
Sorry but I have to comment if only because on Saturday, on an exchange ticket, i was stuck between two male fans who were nattering away about their degree courses all game and on the other side of me, a man on his blackberry who left early.
I admit as a girl who often attends by myself, I feel a bit more self conscious starting songs because my girly voice doesnt carry as far or if it does, I get 'fish wife' looks. But as soon as a song starts, or if i'm with others, I will. And I can't help but swear and shout at whats going on in the game.
So blame it on the ticket prices, or the fact that many Islington residents who arent arsenal fans go, or on newbie fans not knowing the songs and not being prepared to sit through losses, and on the over-zealous stewarding but dont blame it on women.
