I’ve read plenty of articles over the last couple of weeks citing the lack of noise at the Emirates as being a problem.
One article blamed our slump in form on the fans (Really?), another said the need for beer at half time is ruining the atmosphere and countless others have commented on the crappy noise levels.
I never really noticed the lack of singing before, mainly because I sit quite close to the red section… and quite close to Geoff who simply doesn’t shut up the whole game!
I’m not one for slagging the fans but I have a confession to make… I noticed the crap atmosphere when I watched the Boro’ game on T.V the other day. It was very quiet and if you want your players to up it to the next level… a bit of encouragement doesn’t do them any damage does it (Look at Pompey!)?
Now, I am not going to sit here and tell you its the corporates fault… or the club levellers… or people taking pictures of the ground the whole game. Why? Because none of those reasons rub with me.
What I have noticed at the Emirates is that a bit of ‘West Stand decorum’ has crept in around the stadium. It could be stewards conditioning us not to tolerate noise, a different type of fan attending or football tourists on the rise… it doesn’t matter.
The fact is, if you stand up and sing, you are often frowned upon. Its what used to happen in the old West stand (How long will it take for Weststander31 to post, ‘I used to sit in the west stand and the atmosphere was ripping… you know nothing Pedro.’).
I think we should take a business like approach to this problem.
In business if you have a problem you don’t look to blame… its not constructive. What you look to do is find a viable solution. So there will be no shit slinging from me today.
What to do then?
Start a campaign from the comfort of my office chair! That’s bloody what to do!
…and what to name this campaign?
Bring Back The NOISE!
Ok, marketings not my thing… Geoff can take care of that but you get the jist of where I am heading!
Here are the solutions… they could all be shite… if you think they are shite… suggest something better! But whatever idea gets the backing of the people, I will put it in a letter to Arsenal or try and implement the idea using other methods!
Solution 1
Fans who used to make the noise no longer sit with each other, everyone is alien to one another. So if you used to sing, you will generally find yourself feeling a bit of a plonker when you stand up, belt out a bit of,
‘Arsssssenal, Arrrseeeenal F.C, We’re by far the…’
Only to look down and see that no one else is sharing that moment with you.
So my suggestion is this.
Orange shirts!
People who like to sing and lead by example will wear orange shirts, then they are easily identifiable to other fellow singers!
Flipping genius!
Hey, you might even make friends with some like minded gooners! If there are ten of you sitting in close proximity – you can all identify each other and easily coordinate a song… it could encourage those around you to join in (and maybe encourage RvP to score a goal!)!
Solution 2
This one is a little more complicated and would require the assistance of Arsenal F.C!
Would I get that assistance…?
Well, they were quite charitable when Diarra asked for something he didn’t deserve… so why the hell not?
Steven Hawkins… piss off… I am about to show you how real mathematicians roll…
There are 56,000 season ticket holders (roughly).
Modest estimates would suggest that 10% of that amount enjoy a sing song.
5,600 singers divided by 32 inner rows in the stadium… that’s 175 singers per block and 1400 singers per quadrant.
All the singers would be sat together in a singing section for a block (like a choir). They would all be aware they were with other like minded singers and hopefully they could help bring back the atmosphere!
Would that not raise the freaking roof chaps?
Yes sir it would.
So how about I raise an online petition for season ticket singers? Everyone who likes to sing, signs up.
If you have one of those chums who thinks a blog is the time of the month where his missus wont put out… sign him up too… you can all sit together!
We then present the list of fans (Accompanied with season ticket numbers) to the Arsenal ticket office and then the onus is on Arsenal to prove they want a great atmosphere.
Would Wenger dig this idea? Hell yes, he told me so on facebook.
Solution 3
I could post up a song sheet, with a bit of encouraging text. The sheet would then be available for you guys to print and hand out in the thousands at the game.
Cost? Don’t worry about it… most peoples work places actively promote this sort of paper wastage… less paper… means less pollution.
‘Good old Arsenal, we’re proud to sing that name…’
So what do you think? Do I have a campaign? Will you join? Can we make the Emirates a noise fortress!
I believe we can!
I mean what do we have that our south coast chums don’t? Except a wife that can’t be classed as a blood relative!
My gosh, I am on fire today!
Anyway, let me know what you think!
Have a good day Grovers!
Guys I am a steward and I agree that we have to behave like coppers but instead of blaming us look at the rule makers. I and most of the stewards love Arsenal as much as any of you guys. I used to attend matches in the bad old dark old days of the 70s and 80s when I could afford to go. My old man used to take 5 of us to the Grand old Arsenal every week. The atmosphere was fantastic but look at the difference between then and now.
THE GOOD
1. By sitting down you don\t miss anything (unlike the poxy cheating refs we have had lately)
2. Its safer now. No mindless thugs with his gang of pals wanting to fight .
3. No standing in the pouring rain getting soaked (clock end) with no where else to move to.
4. No getting crushed whenever anything happened ie the odd goal here or there and even a corner in those days
5. Being able to afford to go to the match usually with your brothers/sons etc.
6, Less money for greedy touts.
THE BAD
1. Lack of atmosphere.
2. Cant sit with your buddies.
3. Not being able to afford to attend.
4. Not being able to get tickets even when a club member.
5. Being told not to smoke (and i dont even smoke),stand,drink alcohol in view of the pitch,swear,fight,use flags,talk,breath ect ect (especially by those scummy stewards who couldn’t possibly support the Arsenal).
6. Watch shitty inferior Teams bore the shit out of us by wasting time from the start and not attempting to try playing us at football.
7. Greedy touts nicking our hard earned meaning we can’t attend because there are no tickets left for us the normal fans.
8. Seeing newbies by the 1000s come to the stadium for the matchday experience as the sales people put it.
9. Seeing people arrive 30 mins late or more and after feeding there faces with the overpriced crap they sell usually while the game is being played, having a piss during the match and then fucking off way before the end so they don’t get crushed on the way home.
The answer is to bring back a standing area or get all the hardcore support to sit together and let them get on with creating an atmosphere.
I have never been to the Arse with my boys and I have had to do a job i dont enjoy for 14 years to be able to watch us play.
If a steward is being an ass try talking to them and dont blame them for all thats bad.
Hey Mr Steward,
I am very tempted to post that tomorrow.
Great post.
Spuds and Chel$ki share the points. As I previously posted, there’s a massive chance of upsets as the pressure-o-meter gets cranked up to the max in these final games of the season.
This puts huge pressure on us too. If Spuds can hold em, we can’t lose against em. Even if we share the points, we’re still in the race but a length behind Man United.
I hope we win against Chelsea.
It’s harder to support a team where you expect sheer class and perfection, but thats why I became a gunner.
I’m looking forward to Euro 2008 where I’ll be supporting my other team Poland. I hope Fabianski plays in goal but he probably won’t.
An interesting titbit, for those who don’t know much about the Poland setup, Leo Beenhakker, the dude who got Trindad and Tobago into the world cup is now the coach of Poland. We beat Portugal and won our group. He’s made a massive impact and he reminds me a little of Wenger. Most of his players play in the Polish Ekstraklasa and he’s picked really good teams with limited resources since Poland don’t have any major international superstars (Nope Boruc or Kuszczak are not superstars, but I hope Fabianski will be one day) and he has to have a good eye for the up and coming in the Polish League.
Poland’s star player is Ebi Smolarek who plays for Racing Satander, his form for Poland has been phenomenal scoring crucial goals winning us many games. There’s a Wenger type player, fights to the death, is very skillful, would make a great Carling Cup player for Arsena and I think would be good enough to prove his worht and get in the first team.l, much better than Denilson Diaby or Song, he’s versatile, can play as a striker, winger and attacking Midfielder, with our current injury crisis, and I expect there will be more in the future, he would be the perfect type of backup player.
But at 27 I guess he would be too old for Wenger. Supporting Poland as underdogs is much easier, but still devastating when they lose, but you don’t expect them to win, you just hope and cheer if they do.
Here’s Ebi Smolarek’s wiki page, a very interesting player.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Euzebiusz_Smolarek
The shirt idea is inovative but Im not sure it would work.
I have also thought in the past it would be good to put a guy with a megaphone at the front of the Redaction section and a guy with a drum at the back. It would also be good to create another 2 redaction sections in the remaining lower tier corners.
The idea of splitting up ‘singers’ into blocks wouldnt work. Firstly there are only 42,000 season ticket holders, not 56,000. Even if there were 10 singers per block, its not going to make the other x number of people in the block sing. From experience, it is always easier to start a chant from the middle of a group than from the back or front (without a megaphone). However, isolating groups of loud people inside large groups of quiet people is not going to make them sing.
Therefore, strategic placing of ‘Redaction blocks’ rather than individuals is the way forward!
My idea is simple, get more people drinking outside the ground before kickoff and a free song sheet with each pint. All the noobs would soon grasp the songs. I don’t mean just in pubs, I’m talking more about having huge tents outside the ground, that would be fantastic, just like they had outside the ground in Paris at champs league final.
Any thoughts?
I think that a lot of this is down to the newness of the Grove and enlarged crowd. Some of these new attendees (as noted above) have a tendency to get on players backs at the slightest mishap. Also, many of them fail to know the words to our key songs. I think two things could help if Arsenal FC decided to support them.
Firstly, Arsene and the club need to make a clear point about the negative impact of a-holes moaning at players during matches and fans need to ensure that they respond to twats that they see/hear doing so.
Secondly, pamphlets or online sites should provide complete lyrics to the most popular songs.
This might not cure some problems that are to be expected when 60,000 strangers come together and are at the start of creating a unique culture. However, it would be a start to ensure that the ultimate culture at the Grove is closer to that of Highbury than its present one.
THE ATMOSPHERE IS A JOKE AT TIMES, AWAY FROM HOME WE ARE QUALITY (PROPER GOONERS) AT HOME TO MANY PEOPLE ARE THERE BECAUSE ITS A FASHIONABLE THING, GET UP AND SING ALL OF YOU, IT MAKES A MASSIVE DIFFERENCE, LETS FACE IT WEVE ALL BEEN SPOILED, WATCHING THE LIKES OF BERGKAMP, VIEIRA, PIRES AND KING HENRY, ITS ABOUT TIME WE SHOWED THE REST OF THE LEAGUE THAT WE CAN CREATE AN AMAZING ATMOSPHERE AT HOME, AFTER ALL IF ITS GOING TO BE LIKE THIS DURING A SEASON WHERE WE ARE CHALLENGING ON THE 2 BIGGEST COMPETITIONS THEN I DREAD TO THINK WHAT IT WILL BE LIKE WHEN WE AINT, THE SOLUTION REALLY IS SIMPLE GET A PETITION GOING FOR THE RED ACTION TO BE EXPANDED AND I MEAN PROPERLY EXPANED TO AT LEAST 10 THOUSAND, THAT WILL SOLVE ALL THE PROBLEMS AND IT CAN BE DONE IF THE FANS WHO ARE SITTING NEAR THE RED ACTION WOULD BE WILLING TO MOVE FOR THE SAKE OF THE TEAM, AND IN PLACE, SOME VOCAL FANS WHO ACTUALLY HAVE SOME PASSION, PLEASE SOMEONE ON THIS SITE START A PETITION, IT WILL WORK AND THE CREATOR WILL BE A LEGEND
THE ATMOSPHERE IS A JOKE AT TIMES, AWAY FROM HOME WE ARE QUALITY (PROPER GOONERS) AT HOME TO MANY PEOPLE ARE THERE BECAUSE ITS A FASHIONABLE THING, GET UP AND SING ALL OF YOU, IT MAKES A MASSIVE DIFFERENCE, LETS FACE IT WEVE ALL BEEN SPOILED, WATCHING THE LIKES OF BERGKAMP, VIEIRA, PIRES AND KING HENRY, ITS ABOUT TIME WE SHOWED THE REST OF THE LEAGUE THAT WE CAN CREATE AN AMAZING ATMOSPHERE AT HOME, AFTER ALL IF ITS GOING TO BE LIKE THIS DURING A SEASON WHERE WE ARE CHALLENGING ON THE 2 BIGGEST COMPETITIONS THEN I DREAD TO THINK WHAT IT WILL BE LIKE WHEN WE AINT, THE SOLUTION REALLY IS SIMPLE GET A PETITION GOING FOR THE RED ACTION TO BE EXPANDED AND I MEAN PROPERLY EXPANED TO AT LEAST 10 THOUSAND, THAT WILL SOLVE ALL THE PROBLEMS AND IT CAN BE DONE IF THE FANS WHO ARE SITTING NEAR THE RED ACTION WOULD BE WILLING TO MOVE FOR THE SAKE OF THE TEAM, AND IN PLACE, SOME VOCAL FANS WHO ACTUALLY HAVE SOME PASSION, PLEASE SOMEONE ON THIS SITE START A PETITION, IT WILL WORK
we need a petition seriously lets do it
This is a GREAT blog. I really like the idea. At last something constructive bcoz i’m really sick and fed of everything arond arsenal these days. Don’t get me wrong i’m behind the team and Arsene 100% just the plastic fans.
We’re well positioned in the 2 most important competitions yet people are whinging like bitches.
Let’s raise the roof. Come on arsenal
Young Guns will join your campaign mate.
http://youngguns.wordpress.com
Hello all
I feel like I’m in a time warp here and had to check the dates of these posts t omake sure they were from 2008
2 things:
1. We already have a singing area – it’s called the red section and it was set up to do exactly what is suggested by solution 2
2. We have tried the song-sheet before – doesn’t anyone remember the Red Action inspired song-sheet from 2 years ago that was hi-jacked by the club and included some lame-ass new songs including one to the tune of Jerusalem. Common consent was it didn’t work and made us look a bit pathetic
The atmosphere at the Grove is better most of the time than the last years of Highbury. But for many games against the so-called lesser teams we can’t be arsed to sing up not unless some big clogger of a dirty midfielder hacks one of our players and adds a bit of needle to the proceedings.
Against the bigger clubs and some European nights it has actually been quite loud – honest!
this looks like a great idea.
i like the hand out idea as this would give people an idea of what tehy will be singing.
there is one problem with that though.
how would you put swear words in??
write f*** surely they wnt allow this, but good post and good idea.
sounds good, we need more atmosphere, as i am indeed a season ticket holder myself, but dont get the chance to sing as i feel stupid when noone else sings.
Orange shirt good idea.
Orange armband more practical.
Maybe one day they’ll work it into the kit
http://www.standupsitdown.co.uk
Why ‘Orange’ (unless the person is Dutch or showing their appreciation for RVP), why not ‘Red & White’?
I like the idea of being able to spot another likeminded singers, but how feasible will it be for me to go and sit next/near them? “Excuse me mate, do you mind swapping seats as i want to sing?”
With each game that Ive attended this season, I have seen the Red Action Section grow and grow, and Im sure that this will continue. Maybe for next season there could be another corner off the ground allocated to people who just want to have a good old sing song. This would then encourage banter between the sections, they in turn can banter with the away fans from different angles, and the atmosphere will have a surround effect which would encourage people to join in.
“In the Clock End, in the Clock End, in the Clock End over here”
“In the East Stand, in the East Stand, in the East Stand over here”
Ok we don’t have these recognisable ends anymore, but maybe Arsenal FC could change the names of the quadrants so that they are more in touch with Arsenal FC
Because everyone wears red and white already. Its not a case of moving about… but if there were 10 orange shirts in your section, you’d know if you started a song you’d have at least 10 singers prepared to join you!
Orange because of Bergkamp day.
Redsection won’t ever grow large enough to raise the roof… you need more than one small section singing to get the atmosphere going.
What’s wrong with “We’re the D-Quadrant, We’re the D-Quadrant, We’re the D-Quadrant of the Emirates!” I think it’s quite catchy.
Not bad Shiney, we can then get all gangerster rap on the away fans and chant –
“yo my b!tches, yo my b!tches, yo my b!tches over there”
Nice to see my photograph being used on your site. However, should I be aloud to sing in the Emirates stadium, it will be in praise of your opponents that day … Chelsea!
I reckon the third idea.
But i have a question,are u all gonna try and make this happen or are we gonna just sit here?
sorry i meant to say the 2nd idea
and by the way there are around 38,000 season ticket holders not 56,000
Why cannot we take a drum to the emirates and drum it?
In europe fans are always drumming away, even in the championship. Can someone contact Arsenal FC and ask wether we can bring a bass drum, i would be happy to purchase one and take it with me to matches, also they should let all the singing fans sit in the same quadrant or something so we can all have a good sing song.
They want us to make noise and yet they do not want to support us at all, how hypocriticial. The stewards do not help by giving you dirty looks and most fans just look at you thinking why the fuck are you singing.
I do not go to many matches as much as i would like to because i do not find it as entertaining as it used to be at Highbury.