The Norwegian football magazine listed the best ten stadiums in the world for atmosphere. I felt a surge of pride as I read the results: Number 1: Manchester United, Old Trafford, England.
I was 17 and travelling around Scandinavia watching United pre-season in 1991 when I browsed the mag, but even then it was a lie.
Perhaps Old Trafford could have laid claim to being the best in the 70s when scientists measured the noise in the Stretford End to be louder than a 747 at take off, but not by 1990.
Some fans were calling the Stretford End ‘the library’ by then because it was so quiet, though the famous old terrace would still have its moments before it was demolished in 1992.
These days? Britain’s biggest club stadium doesn’t even come close for having the best atmosphere and neither does City. Both are fantastic venues, but if you want a proper rocking atmosphere then you won’t get it in Manchester.
If there’s one thing fans of both Manchester clubs have learned in Europe in recent years, then it’s how much better the atmosphere is at the majority of foreign stadia.
United have been to Marseille, Schalke 04 and will go Basel next week, where the noise level will exceed anything heard in M16 this season. And since when were the Swiss noted for being raucous?
City have journeyed to Salonika, Hamburg, Naples and Munich. Blues have come back more than impressed with the atmosphere, while Poznan made such an impression last season that Blues have been turning their backs to the pitch ever since. Even this Red concedes that it looks impressive.
More than ever before, the eyes of the world look at Manchester as being a leading football light. More people watch Manchester’s big two each week than in any other city in the world. United average 75,000, City 46,000. That’s 121,000 - more than watch the leading clubs in Milan, Madrid, Munich or Barcelona.
Great support numerically, but don’t expect great noise or colour.
Prices
There are many reasons for the decline in atmosphere. All seater stadia and increased admission prices have seen a change in the type of fans who watch football over the last 20 years. Many working class fans have been priced out of watching matches live.
The disasters at Bradford and Hillsborough have also meant that Health and Safety is king. It’s great that stadiums are now safe places to go and nobody wants to see a return to hooligan-plagued days of yore, but the Premier League has become too sanitised.
TV footage will show flares being let off in foreign grounds to denote passionate fans, but if you let a flare off in Manchester you’ll be ejected and charged.
I’ve been fortunate to travel the world watching matches at all levels in the name of work, but should I really be experiencing a better atmosphere from a crowd of 7,000 at Malmo, Sweden than 75,000 at Old Trafford?
At Malmo, the fans organise themselves and have leaders stood at the front orchestrating the songs in a manner which would make Sir Charles Halle proud. They don’t even watch the game – their commitment is to the atmosphere and the spectacle.
I saw the same at Fenerbahce and SV Hamburg last season and the results were equally impressive, with fans holding different responsibility, from flag waving to displays of banners. It’s not for everyone but it doesn’t need to be – a hardcore of 500 can make a vast difference and act as the catalyst for the rest of the stadium.
There have long been efforts to improve the situation here in England. At Old Trafford, there are flags pitchside and in the stands. Impressive collages too, but it’s not enough.
Some games don’t need a lift. OT was bouncing for Barcelona in 2008, while City fans made a right racket at home to SV Hamburg. But most games do and there is a will among fans to up the ante.
The clubs have tried to improve the situation, but more needs to be done. City have talked with fans’ groups and for the Villarreal game moved the away fans (all three of them) up to tier three so the ‘Kippax’ and the South Stand could merge.
Across the city, the most vocal United fans are high on the second tier of the Stretford End. It’s not close enough to the pitch, nor the away fans who traditionally spark the atmosphere. The vocal fans need to be side by side.
The clubs don’t want the fans to have the influence like they have in Italy, where the ‘Ultras’ culture is malign, aggressive and corrosive. It’s worse in Argentina where the fans run the clubs through bullying – loose Mafiosi style collectives who control the terraces.
That’s too high a price to pay for a good atmosphere, instead English clubs should look to Germany for a lead.
We may not have the safe standing areas prevalent in German grounds, but German fans aren’t allowed to stand for European games and they still make a racket as they are far better organised than we are.
It’s the same all over Europe, from Holland to France where similarly organised fan groups are the norm. Witness the scenes at any big game in Milan’s San Siro. It’s awe inspiring stuff, pure theatre in a great footballing citadel. It’s the same in Rome, Belgrade or Berlin – and yet these fans actually look up to English football and the established fan culture.
Manchester shouldn’t be known only for being the home of the best two teams in England. United and City should be renowned for having atmospheres to match the status of their teams. The wit and spontaneity is still there with the chants, the away followings are still loud and proud, but at home the atmosphere is a letdown.
Andy Mitten: Why it’s Europe’s fans who lead the way in the atmosphere stakes
December 02, 2011
Comments
Login or Register to comment
The all seater stadia has had a bearing on atmospheres in the last 20 years.
Its the away fans who normally shout loudest and its no coincidence that they are
the ones still standing !!
At Bayern the home fans were brilliant, but all behind each goal were standing.
Thats the reality !!!
Teenagers and fans in their 20's make the most noise as a collective but where are they going to get regular £20's from and whose to say that a bunch of them will get seats anywhere near each other ?
1970's example - pocket money £2 entrance to Stretford Paddock 40p = 20%
2011 - Stretford End junior £20 = equivalent pocket money of £100 I don't think so.
Still even up to 2005 the atmosphere on a big game night (or day) at OT was fantastic on most nights K Stand out sang the away fans but the club , police and stewards have done their best to dilute the gang culture that creates the atmosphere and what we are left is is a mass of 40 something strangers who can't wait for 10 minutes to go so they can 'get off early'.
Solution = make K stand ticket only on application (no tickets sold on match day) maximum 6 per post code.
Great article Andy, you are beccoming more balanced by the week, get a grip! Seriously though, why not have safe standing areas? I know the disasters of yesteryear are a stark reminder of how not to do it but technology, crowd control and safety measures have evloved and are far removed from those responsible frm them dark disastrous epsiodes of not so long ago.
do you mean to tell me that the amosphere at the madrid barca derby is just the same, when barca playthe bottom teams in the league,i watch spanish football,and there is,nt to much noise or excitement ,when the bottom teams play.seening city play in europer league last season,was like sitting in a cemetary, for crowd noise. the same at o.t.you need the right team and game to get the crowd going.and sitting down as nothing to do with it ,when keane said that about the prawn buttys,it was,nt just about the corporate fans ,i sit in k stand. and that nite. we played kiev in european cup. and you could have heard a pin drop and we we,re standing,like we do for the big games
Good piece Andy. My seat at OT was originally next to the away end in the paddock. The atmosphere there was generally good mainly due to the banter with the travelling support.
Turning K stand into a singing section could work, and as the main area wouldnt be stuck up into the gods (as per Stretford end T2), the noise level would be higher that would help get other areas going.
Aside from that, I personally hate the idea of any organised singing etc. Already too much sanitisation of grounds and supporters these days as it is.
I stood on the Stretford End in the 70's and, as a 14yr old, I was probably about the average age. If I got a seat there now, I would probably still be about the average age. The clubs need to have a re-think and soon, if they want to maintain any level of attendance in the future.