Atmosphere

[Cobblersfan17]

The atmosphere at sixfields today, up until about 60/70 minutes was pretty miserable and has been on several occasions this season. I know the poor football this season hasn't helped at all. However, the contrast in atmospheres between home and away games is so wide sometimes, that its hard to believe that its the same set of fans sometimes. Anyone else feel the same?

[Zen Master]

I love a party with a happy atmosphere

[corno_ntfc]

The atmosphere at sixfields today, up until about 60/70 minutes was pretty miserable and has been on several occasions this season. I know the poor football this season hasn't helped at all. However, the contrast in atmospheres between home and away games is so wide sometimes, that its hard to believe that its the same set of fans sometimes. Anyone else feel the same?

Felt really flat today, almost pre-season like as I got to ground 5 mins after ko.

Home games never compare to the away games though.  Singers split some in North, some South of West doesn't help.

Oxfords plan to treat their home game as an away game against us (see other thread) does have a certain logic to it.

[GrangeParkCobbler]

Really poor atmosphere......the crowd was down, plenty of empty seats in the upper West, so that doesn't help...neither did the fact that Blackpool bought relatively few fans and those that did come were almost silent. No banter between the stands today.....and I was a little surprised that there were no protests/chanting against their owners by the Tangerine fans, and no chants of "Premier League and you......." from ours!

[Cobblersfan17]

Felt really flat today, almost pre-season like as I got to ground 5 mins after ko.

Home games never compare to the away games though.  Singers split some in North, some South of West doesn't help.

Oxfords plan to treat their home game as an away game against us (see other thread) does have a certain logic to it.

Really think the club should help with it, allocating 2/3 blocks together in the stadium as allocated seating for the singers to congregate together. Even able to get a season ticket there.

[BedsCobb]

Sadly due to our 14 years continuously being held as an ' insignificant football club'  that could be a gateway to vast wealth if NBC are daft enough to yet again hand over Sixfields land  unconditionally without any guarantees or up front investments to develop the ground to ensure the professional  football club of Northampton get the necessary expansion to attract a whole new generation of our supporters and other visitors and subsequently better players and local corperate investors , attracted to a more atmospheric and professional  ground.
This same question  has been posted hundreds of times in the past and the answer is simple, Sixfields is not fit for purpose and we/NBC must not give away a single blade of our enabling land to outside speculators without cast iron agreements that gives us the infrastructure that will be sustainable and a stadium our Town can be proud of and wants to visit.

[guest2487]

Sadly due to our 14 years continuously being held as an ' insignificant football club'  that could be a gateway to vast wealth if NBC are daft enough to yet again hand over Sixfields land  unconditionally without any guarantees or up front investments to develop the ground to ensure the professional  football club of Northampton get the necessary expansion to attract a whole new generation of our supporters and other visitors and subsequently better players and local corperate investors , attracted to a more atmospheric and professional  ground.
This same question  has been posted hundreds of times in the past and the answer is simple, Sixfields is not fit for purpose and we/NBC must not give away a single blade of our enabling land to outside speculators without cast iron agreements that gives us the infrastructure that will be sustainable and a stadium our Town can be proud of and wants to visit.

Yeah, but what about the atmosphere.

[Vintage Cobbler]

Quite simple really - the players must do the business on the pitch to excite our crowd. It is no different elsewhere. There were very few shots from either side yesterday and I struggle to recall either 'keeper having to make a save of any note.  That says it all although I am relieved about the win. 

[Buster]

Quite simple really - the players must do the business on the pitch to excite our crowd. It is no different elsewhere. There were very few shots from either side yesterday and I struggle to recall either 'keeper having to make a save of any note.  That says it all although I am relieved about the win. 

While I don't disagree with this, the reality is that the stadium is the fundamental reason why the atmosphere is almost always flat at Sixfields.  It's simple acoustics. Even at it's best, when the play is exciting or during controversial incidents, the atmosphere is just OK.  What we never experience is that numbing volume of noise that people lose themselves in and become part of.  And sadly it is that, more than the football, that first time supporters return for and eventually become lifelong fans.

[clarkeysntfc]

Boring game coming off the back of 3 consecutive home defeats with 0 goals scored, earlier kick off and a load of cardboard cut outs in the away end.

[Cobblersfan17]

Along with all this i feel the stadium also lacks colour, the only colour is that of the advertisements everywhere. Doesn't feel homely just like a concrete heap with advertisements all over. No flags, no claret colours......

[meccanostand]

No songs sung from either side's fans till the goal went in on 21 minutes.  Maybe the early kick-off had an effect?

Atmosphere is generally pretty poor though. All-seater has done for that. If we'd have been playing Blackpool at the County Ground there would be songs going on 20 mins before kick-off at both ends.

Standing behind the north would help no doubt about it as would lowering prices to get a few more of the louder types in.

A lot of clubs fans have set up ultras groups to proactively deal with the issue, quite a few in our league.

Atmosphere is not going to improve on its own. That said, the match day 'experience' is the best it has been in quite a long time imo. The club needs to devote more resources to getting more people through the gates.

[Cobblersfan17]

Agreed, something needs to be done to gather both sets of singers in the same blocks, as i previously said something like having 2/3 unallocated seating blocks perhaps in the north would help lots. However people wouldn't want to give up the seats.

[Coolcat]

Really poor atmosphere......the crowd was down, plenty of empty seats in the upper West, so that doesn't help...neither did the fact that Blackpool bought relatively few fans and those that did come were almost silent. No banter between the stands today.....and I was a little surprised that there were no protests/chanting against their owners by the Tangerine fans, and no chants of "Premier League and you......." from ours!

Those 300 odd (never looked or felt like 371!) Blackpool fans aren't likely to protest. They were (as commented on by several Cobblers' fans) to man, woman and er not boy, blanket wearing pensioners...the kind that can be seen at the County Ground on a Wednesday afternoon, but would refuse to watch the Steelbacks!

A 2pm k.o. hinders pre-match alcohol intake...banter with cardboard cut outs rendered nigh on impossible!

[meccanostand]

A lot of the Blackpool hardcore are boycotting Oyston's ownership tbf.

[DrillingCobbler]

It was sh1t yesterday because of the following:

1. Poor game.
2. Poor form going into the game (particularly at home)
3. 22nd in the league going into the game
4. JFH honeymoon period is over
5. Blackpool fans were the quietest away supporters we've had for gord knows how long
6. 2pm kick off, less beer consumed
7. The dick in the North stand who always runs on the pitch when we score missed the first half because he didn't realise it was a 2pm kick off

[guest2995]

Terrible atmosphere yesterday .
If it wasn’t for the Lino , there would have been nothing to shout about at all .
There is only one reason it’s so dead and that’s the team performances .
Dull , uninspiring football with everyone behind the ball as we try to avoid more defeats .
I think you will find it was the same stadium that witnessed the fantastic atmospheres against Bristol Rovers in the play offs / Oxford last game of the season etc etc

[Vintage Cobbler]

Meccano if you were at the County Ground regularly in, say, the last 5 years of our time there you would have to admit what you write is complete tosh.  Average gates were about 2,000, frequently lower, and that in a ground with a tiny temporary main and with the cricket and Spion Kop open to the elements. I think your imagination is at work. 

As Boot & Shoe comments no problem with the atmosphere when we score goals & attack as a matter of course rather than sit back. That said, I understand JFH has decided this is necessary in our present predicament.  I hope he is given the wherewithal to change this in January but I have my doubts.

[Cobblersfan17]

I agree, but its such a rarity that the atmosphere is good. Fans cant just rely on a good performance to create an atmosphere. I think our atmosphere is too reactive, and not proactive enough. Many of the better atmospheres nowadays are created by fans who have adopted the 'ultra' style of support... an idea i suppose

[Vintage Cobbler]

I was looking at the crowd around me yesterday and the age profile was I would guess on average over 50 years. If that is so then you cannot expect them to create a noise when there is nothing to get noisy about.  However, like an old car once started they keep going.