First up today's game - bit dull, no real threat from either team, to be expected from two relegation threatened sides. Right, moving on.......
I have been a ST holder in both WSU and WSL since the opening of The Amex, this season I did not renew as I did not feel it was necessary and I wanted to avoid being guilt tripped into crap Tuesday night games which held no real interest apart from getting my monies worth. It also would be a bonus not to have to leave work early, and then to get home approaching midnight for A N Other crap northern team having spent good money on average quality food and drink (stop kidding yourselves that the pies are worth £4.10).
I never was a ST holder prior to The Amex, never needed to be. Goldstone was rarely sold out, only failed to get entry when Pompey were weirdly given a good chunk of the North Stand. Unlike many 'uber' fans I did not go to Gillingham every week, I went rarely under duress. The Withdean years? I absolutely hated them, I even left at half time on more than one occasion to go back to the pub!
This season I decided to move around, SW corner, WSU, ESU, NW corner and today the North Stand. The SW corner was OK a few weeks back, family types trying to get a bit of flag action going but ultimately it needs a good away following on a big game to really get the atmosphere going. West Stand upper and lower were as to be expected.
On two games I have been in the NW corner under the Police control box. It has been noisy, boisterous, with non stop singing but to be honest it can be a little cringeworthy at times. So when I was offered a pair of tickets for the centre of the North Stand, three rows down from the back, right behind the goal I was chuffed to bits. What a let down today........
Wall of noise? Wall of fxxkin silence more like! Whilst all of the back 4 rows want to stand to watch the game, along with 50% of the next 4 rows, very few of these people actually want to sing. This is supposed to be THE home end, trust me, we do not have a home end, we have a home corner. At the start of the game a few songs were sung, some a little half heartedly, others with a little more verve. At 10 mins we began the 'Tony Bloom's blue and white army', and onwards for 15 mins or so I thought. In reality it was a mix of the above and a *******ised version of something like 'Sussex boys, blue and white army' lasting only 3 or 4 minutes. A few of us tried to keep it going, but were interrupted by the modern phenomenon of JCL's over analysing the game as if they were on MOTD. We were unable to hear the efforts of the guys in NW corner in any detail but knew they were at least giving it some. There were a fair few late middle age faces like mine but they seemed to have been dragged down by the dullards that purport to be our 'edgy' fans.
Anyway, at half time me and my partner in crime relocated to the area under that Police box. We sang, and sang, and sang throughout the second half, some of the songs were overly repetitive, but at least we kept going.
Any criticism of the fans under the Police box is utter boxxocks, they keep singing whatever, they laugh, they cajole, they even do a light hearted pxxs take of our own fans for leaving early! The Amex North Stand is just a parody of the Goldstone, North Stand, it is half full of non singing happy, but not very clappy, modern football fans. And those from the main body of the North who criticise the NW corner crowd should take a long hard look at themselves, the home end, really?
I have been a ST holder in both WSU and WSL since the opening of The Amex, this season I did not renew as I did not feel it was necessary and I wanted to avoid being guilt tripped into crap Tuesday night games which held no real interest apart from getting my monies worth. It also would be a bonus not to have to leave work early, and then to get home approaching midnight for A N Other crap northern team having spent good money on average quality food and drink (stop kidding yourselves that the pies are worth £4.10).
I never was a ST holder prior to The Amex, never needed to be. Goldstone was rarely sold out, only failed to get entry when Pompey were weirdly given a good chunk of the North Stand. Unlike many 'uber' fans I did not go to Gillingham every week, I went rarely under duress. The Withdean years? I absolutely hated them, I even left at half time on more than one occasion to go back to the pub!
This season I decided to move around, SW corner, WSU, ESU, NW corner and today the North Stand. The SW corner was OK a few weeks back, family types trying to get a bit of flag action going but ultimately it needs a good away following on a big game to really get the atmosphere going. West Stand upper and lower were as to be expected.
On two games I have been in the NW corner under the Police control box. It has been noisy, boisterous, with non stop singing but to be honest it can be a little cringeworthy at times. So when I was offered a pair of tickets for the centre of the North Stand, three rows down from the back, right behind the goal I was chuffed to bits. What a let down today........
Wall of noise? Wall of fxxkin silence more like! Whilst all of the back 4 rows want to stand to watch the game, along with 50% of the next 4 rows, very few of these people actually want to sing. This is supposed to be THE home end, trust me, we do not have a home end, we have a home corner. At the start of the game a few songs were sung, some a little half heartedly, others with a little more verve. At 10 mins we began the 'Tony Bloom's blue and white army', and onwards for 15 mins or so I thought. In reality it was a mix of the above and a *******ised version of something like 'Sussex boys, blue and white army' lasting only 3 or 4 minutes. A few of us tried to keep it going, but were interrupted by the modern phenomenon of JCL's over analysing the game as if they were on MOTD. We were unable to hear the efforts of the guys in NW corner in any detail but knew they were at least giving it some. There were a fair few late middle age faces like mine but they seemed to have been dragged down by the dullards that purport to be our 'edgy' fans.
Anyway, at half time me and my partner in crime relocated to the area under that Police box. We sang, and sang, and sang throughout the second half, some of the songs were overly repetitive, but at least we kept going.
Any criticism of the fans under the Police box is utter boxxocks, they keep singing whatever, they laugh, they cajole, they even do a light hearted pxxs take of our own fans for leaving early! The Amex North Stand is just a parody of the Goldstone, North Stand, it is half full of non singing happy, but not very clappy, modern football fans. And those from the main body of the North who criticise the NW corner crowd should take a long hard look at themselves, the home end, really?