Atmosphere

[Fulham Broadway 16,392]

My god doncha just hate those 'unwarranted whoops'

[bushman 2,043]

Not hate them, just wonder about that whoopee gang.

[Fulham Broadway 16,392]

Yeah i think the whoopee gang are some kind of left over from the head hunters

[zolayes 14,489]

cannot praise too highly the travelling fans ,,,at home there can be a lot of tourists ,,but there are genuine chanting singing shouting fans ,,

the old SO bar was proof of that ,,, miss the days travelling by trains to away games ,,

the game has lost a lot through all seater stadium .. never easy to sing sitting down ,

[Hutcho 8,443]

I think it comes down to a lot of different things.

Many people are just looking forward to next season, so arn't feeling it as much...

The team doesn't feel united as it was under RDM

At away games it feels like everyone is against you and there is an underdog mentality which sets in which gets everyone together singing louder.

We are definitely not the only team. And the atmosphere will be vastly improved based on the opposition.

Ticket price is a factor. Many of the noiser perhaps younger fans can't afford to travel to that many games... For example if you sit in the east stand upper, there is very little singing anyway as most comes from the matthew harding end or shed end. And on the sides there are a lot more regulars who talk and commentate on the game rather than singing... (From what i have seen, but i am not there every game obviously so my experiences could all be anomolies).

Thats my thoughts. Its not like we are the only team though...

[Laylabelle 9,296]

Guys who were sat near and around yesterday seemed to chat more then chant though did have a good ole shout..though did seem to think girls should watch sewing and child birth rather then football lol.

2nd half was much better after the other lot had scored.Just varies I guess still say the best game atmosphere wise at the Bridge I've been to is where we lost to City
And agree we aint the only team,others have outsung the home support at other places.Guess get kinda comfy?And like you said at away your the underdog.

Champions League/Europa games always bring up a decent away crowd,they dont tend to vary from their home support always lalalalala loud and sing songy

[Paddingtonblue 0]

Really vocal support from the Bucharest fans, I get to go to mainly cup games the atmosphere varies from game to game, lucky enough to have a ticket for the upcoming Man U game expect we will be buzzing for that one.

[AndersonBLUE 819]

Away support is always going to be better cause they are the 'die-hards' who more than likely go to every away game in groups and meet up with each other and get boozed up.

When I went to the Bridge I saw some people who sit there and don't even talk. But you will always get jokes and banter to each other and the opposition at the Shed End and Matthew Harding, me and dad had a right laugh and sang all game. It's what you make it

[CHOULO19 24,332]

I was there last night in MHL and I haven't seen that many empty seats since Stamford Bridge was redeveloped.

It's because the club refused to put the tickets on general sales so they won't be bought by Steaua fans.

[Laylabelle 9,296]

Didnt really work though as there were a few Steaua in the Shed end,but was a few rather then loads

[Rmpr 8,977]

I was there last night in MHL and I haven't seen that many empty seats since Stamford Bridge was redeveloped.

It didn't mean a lot to most fans but then if we get Spurs in the next round or get to the final then tickets will be gone in a flash. There are some people (although not everyone) just using Benitez as an excuse not to bother going to less glamorous games yet will quite happily go to the final even when he is still in charge. To be fair some people are very firmly against Benitez and just wouldn't have gone regardless but there are others who will sneak into games against Man U and Spurs.

To be fair the Europa League isn't that bad a tournament, a lot of people just get put off it by constant taunting about 'Thursday nights, Channel 5' and so on. We took the piss out of Man U and Man City about it last season. It is the fans in this country that make it seem unattractive whereas in lots of countries they take it reasonably seriously.

Right, onto atmosphere.

The atmosphere at Stamford Bridge isn't great but I don't think it is awful either. There are times when it is like a graveyard but you get that in just about every stadium. A lot of people want to try to compare it to the atmosphere of other big clubs. These include Liverpool and Man United, both of whom actually have very poor atmospheres that are made out to be better by the pro-northern media and also in Man United's case having a bigger stadium than us. Bare in mind that our stadium capacity is only 41,000 (38,000 for European games) with tickets that are very expensive compared to other parts of Europe (particularly Germany) and you will realize that it isn't really possible to create an atmosphere like at Borussia Dortmund (80,000), Bayern Munich (67,000), Barcelona (98,000) (where they use speakers to make it seem louder), Ce**ic (60,000).

I'm not saying a bigger stadium would make for a better atmosphere though. Just look at Old Toilet or the Bernabeu, both of which can be like libraries. The solution is cheaper ticket prices like what they have in Germany (about £10 for an adult) to bring back our passionate support from the 70's and 80's but this obviously isn't financially viable because we can usually sell out with high ticket prices anyway. Therefore we are left in an awkward situation. Make more money or have louder fans. As we and many other large clubs these days are all about business, it is easy to see that in the interest of finance, more expensive ticket prices are the way forward.

Drogzola, coincidentally use of guys with speakers was suggested at a fans forum meeting with the club about 2 years ago. It was discussed but it never went any further than that.

In terms of being outsung by away fans, people comparing England with other countries should note that this is simply part of English football. We went to Old Toilet on Sunday and outsung their 65,000 or so fans and they will come down (or in most of their cases take a short tube journey) to Stamford Bridge next month and more than likely outsing us. Like only place to be said, we sing 'your support is shit' at an away game to home fans and they come to Stamford Bridge and do the same thing.

Why is it like that? I really don't know. It has been that way for a while though. Maybe it is because you generally only get around 2000-3000 away tickets and mainly loyal and thus in most cases the most vocal will go. The most loyal who get up to get on a train somewhere up north in the early hours etc. (Btw I'm not saying people who go to away games are better fans than those who go to home games only)

You make a day or sometimes a weekend of an away day. You sometimes find yourself pissed by 10AM because there is nothing else to do on a coach/train, you want to show the opposition fans that you are better than them and encourage the team by being louder despite there being far less of you (unless you are at Wigan where your own sanity is your worst enemy with all the bright red and blue empty seats). You are building yourself up for hours beforehand on a train/in a pub etc. on an away day so it is natural that you want to give it your all and shout as loud as you can for the 90 minutes you have to encourage your team.

Whereas as a home fan it is the same place you go every other week. There is not as much sense of adventure like there is on an away day. For a lot of the regular fans the ground is no more than 2 hours away. You can go out after lunch and be home in time for dinner. It doesn't feel as special because in some cases you are surrounded by people who don't care as much. They will cheer when we score in the last minute but on an away day you end up in some sort of bundle hugging someone you have never seen in your life because they care as much as you. This is sometimes but not always the case at a home game and it applies right across England IMO.

That is exactly the problem, it has become part of English Football. Even worse when English people think it is normal and try to defend it.

I just gave my opinion on your post, I wont discuss this with you Harry, I like you too much....

[The only place to be 11,313]

That is exactly the problem, it has become part of English Football. Even worse when English people think it is normal and try to defend it.

I just gave my opinion on your post, I wont discuss this with you Harry, I like you too much....

It is normal in English football though, and despite what some people might think we are still an English club. It's just one of those things that makes us unique.

Talking about a new stadium, it could make a big difference to the noise. Our ground isn't the best one in the world for keeping noise in to be honest. It's not as bad as it was before the mid-90s in that regard but because it's not really a unified structure it's not as good as modern stadiums. You'd also be able to get more corporate seating in which can be used to subsidise the cost of normal seating, which could remain at it's current price or even come down a bit because of increased supply.

But I can pretty much guarantee that if you go on any big English club's forum, you'll see a thread like this. It's just the way English football is nowadays.

[bushman 2,043]

How many boo crowds are at the other stadiums ?

[The only place to be 11,313]

How many boo crowds are at the other stadiums ?

What's a boo crowd?

[Ollie 4,400]

More often than not, the away fans will make more noise than the home fans. Despite what you people may hear about Anfield, they're quiet too. The Emirates, Old Trafford, Stamford Bridge, Anfield etc are all pretty quiet but the away fans are all super. I was in the West Stand when we beat Atletico Madrid in the UCL, i actually wished i'd stated at home. no atmosphere, no support, no knowledge of football and no interest from anyone there. We felt left out wearing Chelsea stuff. The West stand is shameless.

[TorontoChelsea 4,064]

It is normal in English football though, and despite what some people might think we are still an English club. It's just one of those things that makes us unique.

Talking about a new stadium, it could make a big difference to the noise. Our ground isn't the best one in the world for keeping noise in to be honest. It's not as bad as it was before the mid-90s in that regard but because it's not really a unified structure it's not as good as modern stadiums. You'd also be able to get more corporate seating in which can be used to subsidise the cost of normal seating, which could remain at it's current price or even come down a bit because of increased supply.

But I can pretty much guarantee that if you go on any big English club's forum, you'll see a thread like this. It's just the way English football is nowadays.

New stadiums IMO tend to make crowds even quieter for a couple of reasons.

1) Corporate seats/boxes means lots of people going to games as a business expense so plenty of quiet crowds and people who aren't supporters.

2) Generally more expensive tickets means a different type of atmosphere.

(In theory, prices could come down, but in new stadiums with a successful team, it's more likely they'll go up.) That said, we do need a new stadium to compete long-term and if it's done right, it will be a massive help for Chelsea and allow more people to go to games.

[Liquidator 5,176]

How many boo crowds are at the other stadiums ?

Give it a rest you pillock

[Rmpr 8,977]

New stadiums IMO tend to make crowds even quieter for a couple of reasons.

1) Corporate seats/boxes means lots of people going to games as a business expense so plenty of quiet crowds and people who aren't supporters.

2) Generally more expensive tickets means a different type of atmosphere.

(In theory, prices could come down, but in new stadiums with a successful team, it's more likely they'll go up.) That said, we do need a new stadium to compete long-term and if it's done right, it will be a massive help for Chelsea and allow more people to go to games.

Only if you plan them the wrong way...

There are two iconic new stadiums that translate in two different mentalities: Emirates and Gremio Arena.

The Emirates was done with a business only mentality, it is super comfortable and high end, but it ruins the football essence and that translates to shit crowds.

The Gremio Arena is a newly built (2012) 55k stadium, with a great internal division. There are two 8k standing areas behind the goal (usually go for 10-15 pounds), then there are familiy areas in the middle of the first level (like West Lower), 20k "VIP" seats in all second level (that goes for about 70-80 pouns and compensate the standing cheap tickets), the third level is for regular fans that still want to sit, have a good view of the pitch, but dont want to get in the middle of the crowd (goes for 20-30 pounds) and the rest of the third level is for away fans (5-10%) . It has become a modern stadium, with seats for every type of fan and an amazing crowd.

I honestly think we can do something similar to improve the profit and atmosphere. I personally never complained about it, but this season is too much...