I would agree that portsmoutn fans are possibly the best in england. I agree some what with flares but if there was certain areas in the ground which monitored the use surely there would be no danger.
Ajax fans regularly use flares and I like them. It's pretty cool to see the stadium lit up in various places and to see and hear the fans' reactions to them. I don't think it's the flares that are so much the problem as it is the idiot fans who go with them. As long as fans are respectful and cautious - two things that seem to escape some of these people - they're fine. But it's not fair to pick out the worst examples and use that as a model for all.
how do you set off a flare in a packed stadium? what does the mum+3 kids do who are sitting next to you when you set one off? Since the act itself is totally irresponsible, how can one be respectful and cautious? heres a loaded gun. dont shoot nobody in the crowd now ok.. shesh
There aren't too many moms + 3 kids at Ajax games. At least, not in my experience. Second, the flares are usually only set off in the hard-core sections of supporters. For Ajax, that means F-Side and Vak-410. Those sections are ONLY adults and security is much, much tighter there than in other sections where perhaps there is the odd family or two. I don't see flares as being a loaded gun. It's part of the culture here in Amsterdam and people in those sections know what they're getting into before they even buy their tickets, if they can even get tickets in those sections. That being said, I don't think all fans are responsible enough to handle it and therefore, it's probably not a good idea that they be allowed in stadiums. Just because I've seen it work, and happen to enjoy it, doesn't mean it's the best thing - particularly for a bunch of drunk Englishmen.
banners, flags, and flares look alright, but they don't produce any "atmosphere", also in foreign games you also get supporters producing artificial noise which drowns out the atmosphere. shoutiing, singing, clapping, getting behind the team for a whole 90 minutes. That's "ATMOSPHERE", and England has got the best in Europe. Flags, banners, flares, fkuc that. England hasn't got the best of that, but no one in England wants them. I don't want to be at a stadium were my visions impaired by a flag being waved by some tw@t, also it's harder to clap. waving flags is bollox, lighting fires is bollox. throwing bog roll on the pitch is bollox.
Because, Unlike every other team/country in Europe, England would be banned by UEFA for bad behavior. Everyone else gets ignored or a slap on the wrist.
Exactly. I was watching a Mexican League game the other night, and the noise was ridiculous. It sounded like there was a ship docked just outside the stadium and that the horn was broken. Just a constant drone. That's not atmosphere. The stands were so empty, I thought I was watching an MLS match for a moment, so it seemed even more ridiculous. Every so often they'd show the "Ultras" and there was a bunch of jumping up and down, but no one seemed to be paying attention. It's much more entertaining, for me at least, to watch an English match and listen to the crowd's reaction. I guess in our "extreme...I'm a bigger fan than you" world we live in, paying attention and being entirely engrossed in the action means you are "sitting on your hands".
have you considered the possibility that continental supporters sing for the whole 90 minutes in addition to the flash and display?
but a bunch of Ajax fans (Who are renowned for their friendly nature) fresh out of a brothel and stoned out of their heads are ok with them are they if someone lit a flare next to me in a football ground, I'd stick it up their arse
I hate that stereotype. For the record, there's plenty of violence in Dutch football. Two seasons ago, a train carrying Ajax supporters to Rotterdam was stopped on the tracks and jumped by a bunch of Feyenoord fans. The train was destroyed and Ajax fans were not permitted into the game. Last season, Den Haag supporters burned down the Ajax Supporters Club - twice. Ajax fans retaliated with a bunch of vandalism on the Den Haag Supporters Home. It happens, but not at the games themselves and usually only with a few select, hard-core fans.
I agree that Premiership atmosphere is not what it was in the 80's (due to no terraces) but English fans still sing throughout the match..... compare it to La Liga games where the crowd only sing when they are being entertained
Too bad I'm an American. However, an Arsenal fan from another board did play a large part in my rediscovery of the beautiful game. It's the same with American football, though. When I go to a game, I like to watch certain players or concentrate on what's happening along the line. Yet, there always seems to be some lugnut without a shirt, covered in body paint who needs to express how big a fan he is by making an ass out of himself to try to get on television. Frustrating. Fans have become too much a part of the goings on, and at times, it takes away from the action on the field. Crowd noise is fine. Hurling batteries, packed in snowballs onto the field and urinating on fans of the opposing team (Phillyphans...at the Vet) is not. Part of the reason I don't like to watch soccer from South America is the fans. The constant noise from artificial noisemakers and all the shit on the field is utterly distracting.
As some other people have said on here, the English fans are reactionary. The atmosphere goes with whats happening on the pitch - unless it's a big derby game. Abroad, it seems that some mono-syballic chanting and beating a few drums passes for a great atmosphere which is clearly nonsense. Some teams have a guy with a speakerphone standing at the front even dictating what they should sing. The British fans are far more involved with the game in my view. The noise can soar and dip away very quickly showing the emotional highs and lows, unlike on the continent where there is just a monotonous drone throughout.
I have to say, having been to quite a lot of games on the continent (40ish), that view isn't that realistic on the whole. It's possibly most true in Italy and Spain, but Germany, for example, is not like that. I've been to games at Malmo and Brondby, to name but two, that'd put most English clubs to shame for atmosphere. I'd love to see one English venue that can get the same atmosphere with 8000 in that Panathinaikos can generate in their (half empty) stadium with that number. And no, it's not all done with megaphones and air horns. They are actually relatively rare.
well i've been to games at the parc and the fans have sung the whole 90 minutes in full voice despite it being abundantly clear that they were going to lose. Maybe you're applying too much the stereotype of the greasy, shifty continental european. All these fans (well, the ones i've seen) love their team and will sing even louder when the other side is up. Lens fans are fantastic too, have you ever seen/heard them in a stadium? to be a little more precise, i'm only speaking for the ligue 1 atmosphere, as i have no idea about spain, italy etc.
Oh please. Unless this was a game with Marseille, PSG are no louder than anyone else. I've seen games in the Camp Nou, the Bernabeu, the Stadio Olimpico, and the atmosphere is not that loud. As is reflective of, say, Italian fans, who travel in great numbers but make very little noise. That's why they have ultras - someone has to. In England, most of the stadium will just pick up the chant; there's no need to plan it.
no not reallly. seeing a friendly a while back against Sevilla and Man U, there was a lot of people at the game, but it was utterly quiet. the crowd bored me out of my mind, and aside from the occasional applause, i bet 50 Korean supporters couldve made more noise than everyone else at the stadium. you could occasionally hear a little girl scream United. i think only three times in that friendly the whole stadium chanted United
Arsenal/United in 2002 was certainly extremely loud. Although Tyler and Gray noted that it had never been that loud since before it was all-seater. I miss terraces, sorry.