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[Football] Old Trafford compared to the Taxpayers' Stadium & Emirates



Buzzer

Languidly Clinical
Oct 1, 2006
26,121
My first time today at Old Trafford since it was all-seating and I was surprised how compact it felt compared especially with The Emirates. It also felt smaller inside than West Ham's new gaff which is a lovely stadium, just not really one suitable for football. As with Anfield, Old Trafford looks a bit of a dog's dinner from the outside with stands that don't compliment each other at all but inside it had a nice feel to it. Anfield on the other hand looks disjointed inside and out. I'm not a big fan of bowl stadia - Leicester, Southampton, Reading all leave me cold but this one was pretty good as it goes. My favourite big away ground is still Villa though. Bloody love the stands there.

Also impressed with the trams and how thousands of fans can get back into the city centre fairly speedily. Even more impressive given that you have to buy a ticket rather than just opening the gates.

Anyone agree/disagree?
 




Buzzer

Languidly Clinical
Oct 1, 2006
26,121
Was very quiet

That too. Not Arsenal quiet but even so it was well into the first half before we heard even a hint of a chant. You would have thought the Stretford End would have the old school fans but clearly the tourists sit in every corner of the home end.
 


Beach Hut

Brighton Bhuna Boy
Jul 5, 2003
71,906
Living In a Box
Concourse was ridiculously small, searched coming of the station then searched going in the ground but not a bad ground.

Shame Mini forgot to set his alarm clock and didn't arrive till 13:00
 


Buzzer

Languidly Clinical
Oct 1, 2006
26,121
Concourse was ridiculously small, searched coming of the station then searched going in the ground but not a bad ground.

Shame Mini forgot to set his alarm clock and didn't arrive till 13:00

The technical areas too were comically small. I'd never noticed that before. Compare and contrast with West Ham.

Untitled.jpg
 




Bozza

You can change this
Helpful Moderator
Jul 4, 2003
55,575
Back in Sussex
I've not been to Old Trafford for a while - I was last there about 10 years ago to see United v Newcastle with some freebie tickets as we were just in the area.

I agree it feels smaller than c75,000 and is less impressive than both The London Stadium and The Emirates, but unlike those stadia it has history and soul.

As commented above, the concourse was horribly cramped - just no space at all. I saw a few people with young kids and I did feel for them a bit.

The seats themselves were tiny - fortunately the only time we used them were at half-time. Everyone sitting would have been a squeeze.

On the subject of standing, I think that's the most standing I've seen in a ground. The United fans in the lower tier to our right were all standing as were those in the lower tier of the Stretford End AND plenty of them in the upper tier too.

Finally, for what I expected to be the very height of modern corporate football had plenty of touches of old football outside, the numerous tat sellers all around the ground (presumably they are allowed to be there) and lots of independent burger vans and the like. It felt how approaching a stadium on matchday should be, and I miss that we don't have that at the Amex.
 


Buzzer

Languidly Clinical
Oct 1, 2006
26,121
As commented above, the concourse was horribly cramped - just no space at all. I saw a few people with young kids and I did feel for them a bit..

It's not uncommon though. I think we're a little spoiled at the Amex. Off the top of my head Watford, QPR, Villa are all extremely narrow and I'm sure there's a fair few more I've forgotten.
 






W.C.

New member
Oct 31, 2011
4,927
The technical areas too were comically small. I'd never noticed that before. Compare and contrast with West Ham.

Untitled.jpg

That is of course the pessimist’s view. I’m more of a ‘the technical areas are comically big’ kind of guy.
 


clapham_gull

Legacy Fan
Aug 20, 2003
25,179
Quite unimpressed to be honest having visited before the re-build.

Quite a soulless atmosphere. Not as bad as Highbury but not dissimilar.
 






BN41Albion

Well-known member
Oct 1, 2017
6,356
Impressive stadium, very disappointing atmosphere. Albion fans were superb, I was under cover in the home end and the noise was non stop throughout.

It's such a shame that so many grounds seem completely soulless nowadays. Even when the Amex is a bit quieter (like it was on Monday v Stoke) it's still so much better than a lot of grounds.

Come to think of it, which fans haven't been crap so far in the Prem?! I thought Stoke fans were going to be loud on Monday but they went very quiet very quickly too after a few chants
 


Blatter

Active member
Feb 27, 2012
238
Haven't been to Arsenal or West Ham but my thoughts from yesterday that for a 75,000 seater stadium it was compact but their fans were very quiet until they scored.
I think that if there was a local derby on then the atmosphere at Old Trafford would be pretty good.
Was unimpressed with the away concourse, but was mightily impressed with the Man United Pie. Real meat and fresh chillies! Lovely. And cheaper than Piglets Pies.
 




The Optimist

Well-known member
NSC Patreon
Apr 6, 2008
2,581
Lewisham
West Ham superb.

Were you in the upper or lower tier at West Ham? I was in the lower tier and didn’t like it. The Brighton fans in the upper tier felt so far away that they may as well have been on the other side of the ground. Also how far back the stands are from the sides of the pitch is wrong for a fortball ground.
 




drew

Drew
Oct 3, 2006
23,008
Burgess Hill
Atmosphere - Arsenal non-existent, West Ham poor, United quiet initially and then very good in the second half.

Stadium - Arsenal boring and cheap, West Ham superb, United impressive, I can see why it doesn’t look beautiful but the history and tradition is there.

Overall Old Trafford offers by far the best experience. It’s a fantastic old stadium with huge stands and packed with history in a good location and very easy to get in and out of despite the huge crowd. Just seeing the Albion competing on that stage was great. West Ham was a magnificent stadium but perhaps not quite right for generating atmosphere. Arsenal was a total dog’s dinner all round. A soulless, plastic, tired bowl with no redeeming features.

I really can't see how you you can say the atmosphere, from the united fans, in the second half was very good!

Also, why no big screens. Just a small electronic scoreboard which they've probably had since the 80s!
 
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Hotchilidog

Well-known member
Jan 24, 2009
8,645
Concourse a joke as was the legroom. Of the three stadiums mentioned in this thread it is by far the best football ground though. Just a shame the home fans didn’t make an atmosphere. The view was excellent and from our perspective felt very compact although the upper tier seats looked very remote.

Agree re the trams. Superb. Queue management and ticket buying was excellent, no bother getting out at all.
 




Me and my Monkey

Well-known member
Nov 3, 2015
3,325
I really can't see how you you can say the atmosphere, from the united fans, in the second half was very good!

They put up a large cheer when the ball went in the back of the net. And the sound of nailbiting was also quite deafening at times.
 


Thunder Bolt

Ordinary Supporter
That too. Not Arsenal quiet but even so it was well into the first half before we heard even a hint of a chant. You would have thought the Stretford End would have the old school fans but clearly the tourists sit in every corner of the home end.

Quite unimpressed to be honest having visited before the re-build.

Quite a soulless atmosphere. Not as bad as Highbury but not dissimilar.

It must be the acoustics. We had freebie tickets in the top NE corner, who joined in chants occasionally but the tier below us were chanting constantly.
The Brighton fans sounded great.
 



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