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Post by Milkie on Oct 9, 2022 9:06:47 GMT
As a Bet 365 nomad I take the game in from various seats. Having sampled both the Boothen and South stand as well as a mid point in the main stand it is apparent that the south stand is now the louder of the 2, Equally while the Boothen in former years was the area you could always guarantee a full house particularly further back, that now seems to be the South stand. This in its self now gives the club a challenge, that of generating a concerted atmosphere, the South stand seems to be the younger more raucous fan while the Boothen attracts the stalwarts. How do they re integrate the 2 to generate more noise, more atmosphere and get the whole stadium rocking consistently. Improved performance and niggle aside other options could include:
Unreserved Rail seating
Unreserved seating
Moving the away fans out of the south stand
Swap the south stand around
Singing areas
Any other ideas?
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Post by walrus on Oct 9, 2022 9:12:28 GMT
The obvious solution is to get the team playing well consistently enough to get fans excited again.
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Post by Waggy on Oct 9, 2022 9:14:33 GMT
Yes sounds louder from the South Stand from where I sit on the half way line in the upper tier. Got to keep away fans how it is as this created a better atmosphere. Maybe move the family stand to the opposite side or block s 24,25 and 26 then have the now family stand and corner for the singing brigade.
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Post by Waggy on Oct 9, 2022 9:18:04 GMT
Uncle Derek has sat in the Boothen since we moved to the ground. He was 44 at the time. I bet he forgets the words to any new songs. Think if we are going to have the Boothen as a singing area Uncle Derek and his friend Barry need to move to the lower tier.
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Post by J-Roar on Oct 9, 2022 9:30:52 GMT
As a Bet 365 nomad I take the game in from various seats. Having sampled both the Boothen and South stand as well as a mid point in the main stand it is apparent that the south stand is now the louder of the 2, Equally while the Boothen in former years was the area you could always guarantee a full house particularly further back, that now seems to be the South stand. This in its self now gives the club a challenge, that of generating a concerted atmosphere, the South stand seems to be the younger more raucous fan while the Boothen attracts the stalwarts. How do they re integrate the 2 to generate more noise, more atmosphere and get the whole stadium rocking consistently. Improved performance and niggle aside other options could include: Unreserved Rail seating Unreserved seating Moving the away fans out of the south stand Swap the south stand around Singing areas Any other ideas? Play better. |
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Post by Dutchpeter on Oct 9, 2022 10:28:31 GMT
The area in the Boothen where the singing usually used to start doesn’t look as full as it was. The South Stand has been the best for a long time, as the support is more partisan and less likely to be critical. Its also full of the new generation of loud support so the South Stand is the new focal point of vocal support.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 9, 2022 10:49:13 GMT
South stand is the new boothen. It feels more like an away support with people even singing in the concourses at 2:45pm. It’s just a very “laddish” demographic. We easily outsang the (admittedly quiet) away fans yesterday. It also helps that from about row 23/24 upwards everyone stands.
Nothing against the boothen patrons but I think it’s easily explained that the demographic in there has changed given its now more than a quarter of a century since we moved grounds. I did notice though that block 19 (which used to be similar to the south stand with lots of people standing together and in the gangways even) is now sparsely populated. It’s a phenomenon of all seater stadiums as, in the past, the people who are now staying put in their boothen seats would’ve gradually migrated to seated areas of an old ground. So who knows, maybe in another 25 years there’s be another cyclical switch back to the boothen end becoming rowdy again? I have to say, maybe the acoustics are horrendous, but I only heard the boothen pipe up once all game (to sing oh when the reds towards the end) and the south stand followed. It would be cool if both ends could feed off each other but I’m not sure how realistic that is.
I can remember though that back in around 04/05 people on here were moaning about block 19 - though to be fair the hyped up fuckers were incapable of singing Delilah in time with the rest of the boothen end.
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Post by hardcastle on Oct 9, 2022 11:27:21 GMT
Although the numbers are obviously greater in the Boothen, there does seem to be a lot of us in our fifties and sixties which is going to cut down the vocals a fair bit.
I was surprised that the Sheff Utd fans weren't noisier given that they were (a) away fans (who are always noisier) and (b) top of the league.
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Post by Dave the Rave on Oct 9, 2022 12:54:31 GMT
South Stand is great apart from trying to sing 87 Delilah's per game.
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Post by doctortheopolis on Oct 9, 2022 13:19:53 GMT
Had the same seat in the boothen in block 22 since the ground opened, up until 3 seasons ago when our lot decided to move to the South Stand as there was 8 of us dotted around the boothen who wanted to all sit together. The new corner/south stand gave us the best opportunity to get decent seats together and I have to say I'm really glad we did.
As other folk have said, we all stand up near the back and this definitely adds to the atmosphere and it does have an away game feel to it. It always feels loud in there but it's hard to judge when you are right in the thick of it as I've got mates in other parts of the ground who say that they can't really hear what the south stand are singing, unless it's really loud. The boothen looks more sparse and is generally sat down and quiet so there has definitely been a migration south.
The other benefit is that there isn't as much of a scrum at half time as there always was in the boothen as the concourse is more open and there are 2 separate areas close by selling ale!
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Post by sportsman on Oct 9, 2022 13:26:12 GMT
The boothen end absolute shit. Less than half full, everyone sat down, sing when we're winning. Just absolute shit. South stand is a mad house, constant singing
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Post by newsteadst3 on Oct 9, 2022 13:46:29 GMT
Did Block 19 look a bit emptier yesterday, have they moved to the South Stand was my first thought?
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Post by Gods on Oct 9, 2022 14:11:30 GMT
I'm a nomad too and I either go South Stand as close to the away fans as possible for some atmosphere or buy my way out of trouble and go main stand lower tier by the dug outs to see what is going on there.
I've flirted with the Boothen End and that desolate waste ground of a stand opposite the main stand but it's just not happening in either.
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Post by bayernoatcake on Oct 9, 2022 14:25:23 GMT
I sit half way between the two and bar the Delilah at the end the two were never in sync.
It’s really fucking annoying.
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Post by Milkie on Oct 9, 2022 14:28:48 GMT
Maybe with the stadium now over 25 years old it’s a time for a review of the whole stadium. It’s been mentioned many times regarding the moving of the away fans, equally locating the core Stoke singing element next to the away fans builds the atmosphere. Maybe relocate the family stand to the other end of the stand, put the away fans in the corner and make the south stand unreserved standing and seating so the singers can get all together?
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Post by lordb on Oct 9, 2022 14:46:59 GMT
When our crowd gets really going it's one if the few grounds anywhere where all 4 sides sing
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Post by Deleted on Oct 9, 2022 15:13:04 GMT
You also get individual madheads in the south stand shouting out bizarre trippy things at full voice (bizarre and trippy to me at least, maybe a joke or an injoke with their mates that I'm not quite getting) and I remember this happening in the boothen (newthen) end when I was a kid. But regardless of if it's bizarre and trippy, I like the fact that people feel relaxed enough to shout odd things in there. Inhibition is the death of atmosphere.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 9, 2022 15:15:55 GMT
I sit half way between the two and bar the Delilah at the end the two were never in sync. It’s really fucking annoying. I only heard the boothen pipe up once all game (oh when the reds, south stand followed). So if they sang more than once then it's impossible to be in sync when you can't hear each other. Maybe we need a roof!?  |
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Post by terryconroysmagic on Oct 9, 2022 15:24:54 GMT
Don’t mention the Franklin stand…
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Post by sportsman on Oct 9, 2022 16:01:10 GMT
You also get individual madheads in the south stand shouting out bizarre trippy things at full voice (bizarre and trippy to me at least, maybe a joke or an injoke with their mates that I'm not quite getting) and I remember this happening in the boothen (newthen) end when I was a kid. But regardless of if it's bizarre and trippy, I like the fact that people feel relaxed enough to shout odd things in there. Inhibition is the death of atmosphere. What bizarre things mate? |
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Post by Deleted on Oct 9, 2022 17:30:49 GMT
You also get individual madheads in the south stand shouting out bizarre trippy things at full voice (bizarre and trippy to me at least, maybe a joke or an injoke with their mates that I'm not quite getting) and I remember this happening in the boothen (newthen) end when I was a kid. But regardless of if it's bizarre and trippy, I like the fact that people feel relaxed enough to shout odd things in there. Inhibition is the death of atmosphere. What bizarre things mate? I can’t remember what is was exactly but some dude kept shouting something at full voice during quiet moments that I had no idea what he was on about. It sounded like something from a film or a monty python bit maybe?? |
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Post by bayernoatcake on Oct 9, 2022 17:37:40 GMT
I sit half way between the two and bar the Delilah at the end the two were never in sync. It’s really fucking annoying. I only heard the boothen pipe up once all game (oh when the reds, south stand followed). So if they sang more than once then it's impossible to be in sync when you can't hear each other. Maybe we need a roof!? I can very rarely hear the south stand tbh. |
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Post by thewonderstuff on Oct 9, 2022 17:55:30 GMT
Moving to the South Stand is the best move I've made at the new ground. At least there are discernible signs of life there. After years in the East Stand I tried the Boothen End, lasted 6 games. More life in Brian Blessed's beard than that place these days
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Post by J-Roar on Oct 9, 2022 18:46:13 GMT
It's like the old Boothen vs the paddock. Was always louder and more fun in the paddock
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Post by Milkie on Oct 9, 2022 19:00:01 GMT
The more I read the comments the more I think unreserved seating\ standing is the solution, that would surely congregate those that want to get it going together, season tickets holders would be guaranteed for the stand without a specific seat/ stand area , casuals can go and join in and they are all in one area, it might upset a few, I have sat here for 25 years, so a restructure of the south stand is probably the path of least resistance?
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Post by newsteadst3 on Oct 9, 2022 19:00:20 GMT
I love the South Stand,only ended up there by accident as I ended up walking the games on trentham rd and couldn't be bothered walk all the way around the ground, South Stand was nearest and been there ever since. Its like being 21 again.
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Post by fortressbritannia on Oct 9, 2022 22:11:39 GMT
Does TJ still sit in the boothen? Religiously there used to be a deliah in the first 10 minutes to get the atmosphere going
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Post by callas12 on Oct 9, 2022 22:57:12 GMT
Now this is something I've thought about a few times lately and I keep coming back to the same conclusion but honestly can't think of how to rejig things around to make it work..
I've read through all the above comments and was kind of expecting someone to have already raised the points im going to raise.
I know the discussions been had on here before now, but for me our biggest problem is the positioning of the Away fans, where it is now was a badly designed idea from the outset & always has been to this day.
Away fans should never be able to boss the tunnel area & be the first thing the players hear & see when they appear from the tunnel opening. It gives the away fans chance to orchestrate the chants towards the officials at half time & towards all our players and coaching staff etc when leaving and entering the tunnel area.
Most other clubs have the visiting fans well away from the tunnel area for this very reason. Struggling to think of any other grounds that do actually?!
I know Derby, Hull, Reading and Sunderland have all gone through moving the away end around to different parts of the ground over the years with the main advantage of distancing the away fans from the main vantage point and influential areas of the stadium.
In an ideal world and judging by where us Stoke fans are housed at away grounds, the away fans should be housed in the 'filled in' corner area between the South & Tile Mountain Stands.
Or where the family stand area is in the Tile Mountain Stand right now.
Having sat in the front row of the current away section in the South Stand for the recent England Lionesses match, I can really now appreciate how our ground set up's all wrong. I know & appreciate it's small margins but away fans at our ground are treated to far to much leeway when it comes to creating an atmosphere & being the first thing the players hear when they enter the pitch and when they leave it at half and full time.
I totally get logistics and current ground perimeter structure means we're kind of stuck with what we've got now but the main change I think that is needed to begin improving the atmosphere & match day experience is repositioning the away fans enclosure.
As has been discussed above, 'The Boothen End' in its current format seems to have totally lost its once proud aurora & aside from its name, any resemblance to it's initial & Premier League impactive days, or indeed the Victoria Ground 'Boothen End' have sadly long since gone. It seems week on week the empty seats are increasing and the atmosphere over there is not what it used to be at all. The South Stand definitely creates the atmosphere and starts the songs nowadays.
Renaming the south stand the 'Boothen End' is a thought, but wouldn't really work coz of geography and the fact the 'Boothen End' could never contain visiting fans!
Maybe the Boothen End name concept needs dropping, controversial I know but perhaps that was best being consigned to the Victoria Ground memories and record books?!
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Post by Deleted on Oct 10, 2022 0:50:06 GMT
Now this is something I've thought about a few times lately and I keep coming back to the same conclusion but honestly can't think of how to rejig things around to make it work.. I've read through all the above comments and was kind of expecting someone to have already raised the points im going to raise. I know the discussions been had on here before now, but for me our biggest problem is the positioning of the Away fans, where it is now was a badly designed idea from the outset & always has been to this day. Away fans should never be able to boss the tunnel area & be the first thing the players hear & see when they appear from the tunnel opening. It gives the away fans chance to orchestrate the chants towards the officials at half time & towards all our players and coaching staff etc when leaving and entering the tunnel area. Most other clubs have the visiting fans well away from the tunnel area for this very reason. Struggling to think of any other grounds that do actually?! I know Derby, Hull, Reading and Sunderland have all gone through moving the away end around to different parts of the ground over the years with the main advantage of distancing the away fans from the main vantage point and influential areas of the stadium. In an ideal world and judging by where us Stoke fans are housed at away grounds, the away fans should be housed in the 'filled in' corner area between the South & Tile Mountain Stands. Or where the family stand area is in the Tile Mountain Stand right now. Having sat in the front row of the current away section in the South Stand for the recent England Lionesses match, I can really now appreciate how our ground set up's all wrong. I know & appreciate it's small margins but away fans at our ground are treated to far to much leeway when it comes to creating an atmosphere & being the first thing the players hear when they enter the pitch and when they leave it at half and full time. I totally get logistics and current ground perimeter structure means we're kind of stuck with what we've got now but the main change I think that is needed to begin improving the atmosphere & match day experience is repositioning the away fans enclosure. As has been discussed above, 'The Boothen End' in its current format seems to have totally lost its once proud aurora & aside from its name, any resemblance to it's initial & Premier League impactive days, or indeed the Victoria Ground 'Boothen End' have sadly long since gone. It seems week on week the empty seats are increasing and the atmosphere over there is not what it used to be at all. The South Stand definitely creates the atmosphere and starts the songs nowadays. Renaming the south stand the 'Boothen End' is a thought, but wouldn't really work coz of geography and the fact the 'Boothen End' could never contain visiting fans! Maybe the Boothen End name concept needs dropping, controversial I know but perhaps that was best being consigned to the Victoria Ground memories and record books?! Some good ideas but I expect it would be an absolute logistical clusterfuck to move the away fans. Our ground has a specific away enclosure with coach spaces etc. Now this was built and planned at a time when stoke away was far dicier for visiting fans, but I still suspect it’s appreciated by the police on the rare occasions when there’s still the chance for disorder. They have their control box in that part of the ground too. I agree that having away fans relocated to the corner or where the family stand is would be ideal, and the south stand (ends in general) should be stoke only. The only thing I can think is the club would have to build segregated pathways from the old away enclosure all the way to the corner (and a new bank from the road to east stand would have to be built too as the current one would become for away supporter access) meanwhile access to the turn style area for south standers would have to be near to the club shop. Maybe it’s possible but it would be difficult. I agree though that, if there’s a way to make it happen then it should because it would really make it tougher for away teams to not be greeted by their own supporters as soon as they step out of the tunnel. Also kind of agree with the boothen end stuff. The mainstream media still lazily use the boothen end cliche’ but we’re all aware that the modern boothen end is a pale imitation of what is was even 15 years ago, let alone what the original boothen end was. I’m not sure we can (or should) retract the name though - rather just accept that it’s no longer the rowdiest part of the ground. |
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Post by leicspotter on Oct 10, 2022 17:33:20 GMT
The migration of certain sections from the Boothen to the South stand was a co-ordinated action planned to increase the atmosphere around the ground. Sadly, as we keep hearing, it hasn't quite achieved its original objective. We, in the Boothen, can rarely hear the South stand, and I am reliably informed, it is the same the other way around. As others have also stated, neither area is in sync with the other The acoustics in the ground are poor anyway, or is that just the PA system?  Benno / TJ doesn't attend anymore, so that it is one less chance to co-ordinate a good Delilah, and the raucous element in Block 19, who were always out of step anyway, seems to have mainly migrated South (and not just for the winter) It's a conundrum...but promotion and a full stadium would make one hell of a difference  |
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