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Why are our home fans so bad?

MaestroCesc

Well-Known Member
I wanted to make a topic on our home fans and how poor they are for a while now. Nobody sings, everyone sits down and goes on their phones and if you do stand up and sing you get shouted at to sit down.

Today was a pefect example, at 1-0 to Schalke half the stadium left even though there was a bit to go, yes we were awful but you payed for the ticket and we might have turned it round, why not stay for a bit longer? Most of them are glory hunters and only care if we win, yes thats a big part of supporting your club but its not everything.

Finally, the awful support of players. The moaning at Ramsey last season, the infamous horrific booing of Eboue and today the jeers for Gervinho coming off, frankly parts of the support are a disgrace.

Our away fans are much much better, although im am not happy with their RVP rape song.

It isnt as if all the true fans are being priced out, as there are 60,000 in the stadium. So not all of them will be the ones sitting on their Blackberry's all game, so why is it so quiet compared to other stadiums?
 

jones

Captain Serious
Trusted ⭐
MaestroCesc said:
Finally, the awful support of players. The moaning at Ramsey last season, the infamous horrific booing of Eboue and today the jeers for Gervinho coming off, frankly parts of the support are a disgrace.

Yeah, even the commentators remarked to that.

I was as frustrated because of Gervinho's performance as anyone (my hands are still hurting from punching my wardrobe), but seriously, jeering at your own players? What the **** is wrong with these people, confirms my suspicion that most people in the stadium on match days aren't actual Arsenal fans but tourists, posh families going out to watch some footie with the lower class common folk and other people with no real interest in the club.

I was still furious at Gervinho when he was substituted, but even then I thought that it was disgraceful from the crowd. Similar to Schalke fans who booed their own team when they were leading Montpellier 2-1, they got punished for it in the end too.
 

jerome2158

Established Member
I was there tonight (first match in 2 years! figures we lost.) and while it was, on the whole quiet, it did get loud in sections for a bit.

I still maintain that the biggest problem with the Emirates is how open it is. Sound simple escapes, and you can't even hear the people 2 sections away clapping despite clearly seeing them doing so.

And tonight there just wasn't much to cheer about. Yes, the team needs the support, but this team tonight was almost just too **** to even watch. And that's coming from someone who waited 2 years to go, woke up at 4am to buy tickets, and traveled 4000 miles to see them play.
 

RandomHero84

Established Member
Trusted ⭐

Country: England

Player:Saka
I got back about half hour ago. I only heard one chant.....and it was the "by far the greatest team".

Honestly everyone i could hear for some distance around me was dejected, and frustrated, a lot of disillusion, and i would say it was unusually so.

By comparison, Schalke fans were incredible...their chants were so sharp, if their home fans are like that it must be intimidating.
 

evoh_1

Established Member
1) Stewards tell you to sit down, part of the rules for 905 of the stadia.

2) Too expensive so people with passion and not much money can't go and end up in the pubs.

Rest of that I don't know generally I don't think arsenal fans with season tickets generally care that much about that side of support.

The RVP rape song is sound, f#ck him he's a **** and deserves it.
 

RandomHero84

Established Member
Trusted ⭐

Country: England

Player:Saka
I hate the rape song personally....not because its about him, but i always feel like its embarrassing, especially as we havent played united. They couldnt give a **** about us, and it comes off as small time.

Lets focus on our own players, or the opposition on the day.
 

Invincible

Established Member
RandomHero84 said:
I hate the rape song personally....not because its about him, but i always feel like its embarrassing, especially as we havent played united. They couldnt give a **** about us, and it comes off as small time.

Lets focus on our own players, or the opposition on the day.
It will just come back to bite them in the arse when our generous defence lets him have his hat trick at Old Toilet.
 

Anzac

Established Member
Another point re German support is that they are allowed limited standing areas in the Bundesliga = fosters a very vocal & visual display which they can replicate Away.

By contrast we market ourselves as an 'entertainment' business moreso than strictly as a football club.
 

jones

Captain Serious
Trusted ⭐
German stadiums as has been pointed out have standing areas, and in general are packed due to very low prices. Generally, German teams have far better (as in more vocal) support than English clubs, but the Emirates has "even" for an English stadium very quiet support, don't think that it's just the form of the stadium.
I think the high prices are killing the support, which in the end might come back to bite the club with its finances-first thinking in the arse, lots of footballers take great courage and motivation from their fans cheering them on. The stadium being filled with tourists who "want to see that soccer thingy" and other disinterested spastics surely doesn't help the team's morale and performance, and that again doesn't help the balance sheet.

Ah **** all of this.
 

VAVAVOOM 14

Active Member
Arsenal have always been marked for their quiet, sullen fans. Ever heard of the Highbury library?

As soon as things aren't going our way, we turn into church mice. It's embarrassing.
 

Anzac

Established Member
Yup - I'd like to see a relaxation of the 'all seating' policy as an outcome of the new reports post Hillsborough. Not only would the atmosphere improve but also finances with improved Home gate (we lost 20k at Highbury with all seating).
The current rules for clubs in the Championship to have all seating within 3 seasons (regardless of maintaining Championship status) are a bloody mill-stone.

I blame ELvis & 'The Wonder Of You' for setting the wrong tone.

Give me 'London's Calling' / 'Who Are You' / something with a bit of grit but still popular enough for the masses.
 

Anzac

Established Member
VAVAVOOM 14 said:
Arsenal have always been marked for their quiet, sullen fans. Ever heard of the Highbury library?

As soon as things aren't going our way, we turn into church mice. It's embarrassing.

And yet I've also heard from plenty of ex-pats & locals out here who are NOT Gooners & have been to games at BOTH Highbury & The Emirates & not only rate the latter as amongst the best viewing grounds,
but also that the atmosphere can be magic.
Some of these are long term supporters of other clubs who regularly fly back on hols to see family, but also take in games in other countries across Europe & the UK whilst on those hols.

IIRC the common theme in the reports seems to be a before & after Hillsborough & the all seating requirements.
 

VAVAVOOM 14

Active Member
Highbury could indeed be marvelously boisterous at times but as far as I'm concerned the average Emirates game has about as much energy and noise as a morgue.

Only the die hards turn up in voice. But due to the capacity of the stadium, these elite few are outnumbered by the mostly silent crowd. There aren't enough vocal fans to counteract the mutes. Thus, we end up with insipid match days.
 

Mr Wolf

Well-Known Member
VAVAVOOM 14 said:
Arsenal have always been marked for their quiet, sullen fans. Ever heard of the Highbury library?

And still Highbury was much more louder than the Emirates.
 

Glovegun

Established Member
If you think it's bad in the lower tier it's even worse in the upper. Going to Arsenal now feels like a day out for tourists. You go along, you buy some merchandise, you take a few pictures to show your mates on facebook and that's it. Although seeing a big bunch of incredibly fit blonde American girls coming out of the game brightened my day up a bit.

It's a vacuous, soulless experience and I hate it, to be honest.
 

progman07

Established Member
It is useless to blame the fans, when it is the club who enforces this business-minded 'entertainment centre' feeling - though I'm not sure who is entertained by the dross they see on the pitch.


The 'we are a financially prudent club whose biggest achievement is earning a CL position so the cash flow is guaranteed' mindset of the board is traced on the support. **** happens.


Also, have you been to other big teams' stadiums? I have, and it can also be silent at the Nou Camp when the game is boring (and their chants consist of the player's name only), and the Allianz Arena only has a core section of fans who create the atmosphere (which is admittedly pretty impressive), behind the goal, other than that it is only clapping.


It's a bit boasting to blame other fans of not creating an atmosphere anyways. They buy the expensive tickets in today's economic situation, and you want to tell them how to enjoy themselves? That's more annoying than someone not singing Gervinho's name from the start.
 

Kroket

Trusty and Sensible
I'd say high ticket prices are the main culprit. Not only does it pretty much exclude the common man or poor student from visiting games, other than perhaps early cup ties, it also means those who can actually afford to go will inevitably get frustrated if the quality and effort on the pitch doesn't even come close to what you'd expect to see when paying the highest ticket price in the world.

And then you have of course the corporate types who can easily afford good tickets but couldn't care less about the football itself.
 

progman07

Established Member
jones said:
MaestroCesc said:
Finally, the awful support of players. The moaning at Ramsey last season, the infamous horrific booing of Eboue and today the jeers for Gervinho coming off, frankly parts of the support are a disgrace.

Yeah, even the commentators remarked to that.

I was as frustrated because of Gervinho's performance as anyone (my hands are still hurting from punching my wardrobe), but seriously, jeering at your own players? What the **** is wrong with these people, confirms my suspicion that most people in the stadium on match days aren't actual Arsenal fans but tourists, posh families going out to watch some footie with the lower class common folk and other people with no real interest in the club.

Because there are 60,000 millionaires sitting on the stands every game just to boo Gervinho. They don't have anything better to do on a Wednesday evening so they go out and bore themselves to death.
 

dpt49

Established Member
Mr Wolf said:
VAVAVOOM 14 said:
Arsenal have always been marked for their quiet, sullen fans. Ever heard of the Highbury library?

And still Highbury was much more louder than the Emirates.
Highbury changed when the prices went up in the 90's.

In the 80's and early 90's when there was no seating in the North Bank or the Clock End the atmosphere, at Highbury, was as good as most other clubs in the league.

With the influx of T.V. money and ticket prices out of the range of a lot of people, a lot of clubs have lost the sort of supporters they used to have, only to be replaced by the "prawn sandwich brigade" and the corporate guests, as well as the fair weather supporters.

Also more families go and there are more children at games which I don't remember so much at Highbury.

Unfortunately all these things have happened because football is big business, rather than a social event for Saturday afternoons and the odd mid week game.

We are not the only club to be accused of lacking vocal support, Man u has the same problem.

I have actually watched us play in a better and louder atmosphere in the local pub than at the Emirates.
If the board only pander to the well off supporter and we have a major shareholder who is only interested in making a profit out of that supporter then it will remain the same.
 

rich 1990

Not A Big Believer In Diversity
RandomHero84 said:
I hate the rape song personally....not because its about him, but i always feel like its embarrassing, especially as we havent played united. They couldnt give a **** about us, and it comes off as small time.

Lets focus on our own players, or the opposition on the day.

It's more the hypocrisy i don't like about it. We defended him from the allegations when he was at Arsenal and criticised United fans for singing that song or calling him a rapist on their forums. Now he's gone, suddenly WE think he's a rapist. I mean, come on.
 

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