Less corporate guests and tourists. The atmosphere is usually worse against a ‘Big’ club when there tends to be less home fan, season ticket holders may have swapped tickets and the club hold back tickets.There is always a great atmosphere when young fans get in at a discount.
Completely agree that fans need to be prioritised over corporate and tourists, but didn't include that in the article because it's not a hugely measurable action (nor very realistic sadly given the financial pull of those two groups of people)
Tell the stewards in Putney End that if someone points out to them an away fan in the home section, they are required to remove them. Just like every other ground.
Once away supporters stop buying seats in home section, home fans will be happier/more vocal and the seats are more likely to have someone who makes noise
I am a Fulham supporter (>20 years) based in Toronto, Canada. In Jan/Feb 2023 I finally made it out to my first games at the Cottage. By your words, would you not want me to visit then, as a tourist?
In my eyes that is counter productive. We should want to build a bigger fan base, bigger club, etc. and continue to complete financially so that Fulham stays in the Premier League and does not become Charlton, Bolton, or Blackburn.
Your comments come across as elitist and old-timey. A bigger fan base is the only means for Fulham to survive. Like it or not, the Premier League and all of football is now a money game and Fulham need to deal with that.
The problem with a lack of supporter robustness and volume is not the fact there are new people joining at the stadium (stadiums need people!), the issue is, like myself on my visits, not knowing the chants, or knowing the history, or knowing the routines of the regular supporters, etc. I tried to find the chants and protocols etc. online, and even messaged Hammyend.com before I arrived but it was near impossible to get/find anything. There were a few nice chaps at the stadium at the beer concessions (I got a seat in the Hammy End, 10th row behind goal for both games) that were welcoming, engaging, and made me feel part of the club, but most were NOT and sort of ignored me, practically looking at me in dismay.
... If you are a 'club elder', then act like one. If you have experience at the club and want everyone to have as big a voice as yours during game day, then be a leader and bring others in and make everyone comfortable, don't just be a complainer! (again, Hammyend.com)
How is one supposed to add their voice and become part of the euphoria without the means to do so?
Suggestions:
*Have a 'be a fan' (ok that is a ridiculous name, but you get the point) site in cahoots with FFC (for ££ funding) that =In a few paragraphs or pages= spells the basics of the club, the experience at the Cottage, how/what to chant, the pubs to go to before and after the game (I STILL cannot get over there are no beers at the seats during games ... WTF? This isn't the 80's anymore)
*More incentives to get to the Cottage before kickoff for the same as above.
*There need to be more Cottage tours/experiences before game day for the same as above.
Fulham culture is somewhat hidden and not shared readily. It needs to be more welcoming and accessible so that more people have the confidence to raise their voices at the Cottage.
I’m against drums for drums sake but one drummer with a bass drum (who knows how to play it properly - not any old idiot) would do wonders to get some songs started. It just can’t be used on every chant just because it’s there, not all chants are drum chants.
Lastly seeing if there are any small tweaks they can do in the hammy end to help the noise carry better than it currently does.
The only issue with London Calling is that people can only sing along to one line which is "live by the river" - BUT anything is better than Faithless.
Agreed re a drum - they have to know when to join in and when not to join in. Still can't see it being universally popular though no matter how good they are!
As you say, seems like the Hammy sing often during games but we never hear them. I’ve always wondered if there is something to the acoustics of that stand and wonder if the club have ever had engineers in to see if anything can be done to stop the sound getting lost as it travels down from the back of the Hammy.
I honestly think Will that it's just a case that the Hammersmith End isn't that loud and there's an awfully big distance to cover given the shallow gradient of the stand. The acoustics probably could be made a tad better, but it would be expensive and there's not going to be a quick fix that allows sound to travel hundreds of metres. If there were 6000 Legia Warsaw fans in the Hammersmith End, the Putney End would definitely hear it.
Oh, and at St James' Park (Exeter City, not Toon) there is a terrace behind the home end and a nutter banging a colossal bass drum for the full 90 minutes. The drum was good for atmosphere/intimidation and was the basis for some pretty vigorous chants.
Having said that, the result was a pretty insipid 0-0.
I can hear the chants from the Hammy End, but they are a bit muted. And difficult to pick up all the words to the new ones.
From where I'm sitting they sound like a bit of an in-joke shared by people who have been drinking in the same pub before the match, rather than a bit of Fulham heritage you can link to the club.
We have all heard away support come with a rousing set of chants and anthems which have resounded from the Putney End, sometimes drowning the other 7/8 of the ground out.
It takes time and energy to develop this level of commitment and fan lore etc. But it's something to try to get going.
Getting a club anthem like Blue Moon, Mull of Kintyre etc which can be picked up and sung all around the ground, and not just in the back of H3, would be a start.
Viva El Fulham might work. London Calling and CTMEOOY are both good tunes with Fulham hooks, but when have the stands ever broken into these anthems spontaneously? And they both have the air of tracks which management have picked, rather than being something spontaneous and from the terraces.
And when H3 gets a new chant, is it possible for it to be shared a little more widely (on here, perhaps) so that others can pick it up?
Less corporate guests and tourists. The atmosphere is usually worse against a ‘Big’ club when there tends to be less home fan, season ticket holders may have swapped tickets and the club hold back tickets.There is always a great atmosphere when young fans get in at a discount.
Completely agree that fans need to be prioritised over corporate and tourists, but didn't include that in the article because it's not a hugely measurable action (nor very realistic sadly given the financial pull of those two groups of people)
Tell the stewards in Putney End that if someone points out to them an away fan in the home section, they are required to remove them. Just like every other ground.
Once away supporters stop buying seats in home section, home fans will be happier/more vocal and the seats are more likely to have someone who makes noise
I am a Fulham supporter (>20 years) based in Toronto, Canada. In Jan/Feb 2023 I finally made it out to my first games at the Cottage. By your words, would you not want me to visit then, as a tourist?
In my eyes that is counter productive. We should want to build a bigger fan base, bigger club, etc. and continue to complete financially so that Fulham stays in the Premier League and does not become Charlton, Bolton, or Blackburn.
Your comments come across as elitist and old-timey. A bigger fan base is the only means for Fulham to survive. Like it or not, the Premier League and all of football is now a money game and Fulham need to deal with that.
The problem with a lack of supporter robustness and volume is not the fact there are new people joining at the stadium (stadiums need people!), the issue is, like myself on my visits, not knowing the chants, or knowing the history, or knowing the routines of the regular supporters, etc. I tried to find the chants and protocols etc. online, and even messaged Hammyend.com before I arrived but it was near impossible to get/find anything. There were a few nice chaps at the stadium at the beer concessions (I got a seat in the Hammy End, 10th row behind goal for both games) that were welcoming, engaging, and made me feel part of the club, but most were NOT and sort of ignored me, practically looking at me in dismay.
... If you are a 'club elder', then act like one. If you have experience at the club and want everyone to have as big a voice as yours during game day, then be a leader and bring others in and make everyone comfortable, don't just be a complainer! (again, Hammyend.com)
How is one supposed to add their voice and become part of the euphoria without the means to do so?
Suggestions:
*Have a 'be a fan' (ok that is a ridiculous name, but you get the point) site in cahoots with FFC (for ££ funding) that =In a few paragraphs or pages= spells the basics of the club, the experience at the Cottage, how/what to chant, the pubs to go to before and after the game (I STILL cannot get over there are no beers at the seats during games ... WTF? This isn't the 80's anymore)
*More incentives to get to the Cottage before kickoff for the same as above.
*There need to be more Cottage tours/experiences before game day for the same as above.
Fulham culture is somewhat hidden and not shared readily. It needs to be more welcoming and accessible so that more people have the confidence to raise their voices at the Cottage.
Hey, we’ve had Loads of Bangers at the Half Moon.
London Calling pre match before kickoff.
I’m against drums for drums sake but one drummer with a bass drum (who knows how to play it properly - not any old idiot) would do wonders to get some songs started. It just can’t be used on every chant just because it’s there, not all chants are drum chants.
Lastly seeing if there are any small tweaks they can do in the hammy end to help the noise carry better than it currently does.
The only issue with London Calling is that people can only sing along to one line which is "live by the river" - BUT anything is better than Faithless.
Agreed re a drum - they have to know when to join in and when not to join in. Still can't see it being universally popular though no matter how good they are!
Putney End STH, for my sins.
As you say, seems like the Hammy sing often during games but we never hear them. I’ve always wondered if there is something to the acoustics of that stand and wonder if the club have ever had engineers in to see if anything can be done to stop the sound getting lost as it travels down from the back of the Hammy.
I honestly think Will that it's just a case that the Hammersmith End isn't that loud and there's an awfully big distance to cover given the shallow gradient of the stand. The acoustics probably could be made a tad better, but it would be expensive and there's not going to be a quick fix that allows sound to travel hundreds of metres. If there were 6000 Legia Warsaw fans in the Hammersmith End, the Putney End would definitely hear it.
Oh, and at St James' Park (Exeter City, not Toon) there is a terrace behind the home end and a nutter banging a colossal bass drum for the full 90 minutes. The drum was good for atmosphere/intimidation and was the basis for some pretty vigorous chants.
Having said that, the result was a pretty insipid 0-0.
There was a drum many moons ago in the HE but it wasn't universally popular - can't see that coming back any time soon.
JH STH here.
I can hear the chants from the Hammy End, but they are a bit muted. And difficult to pick up all the words to the new ones.
From where I'm sitting they sound like a bit of an in-joke shared by people who have been drinking in the same pub before the match, rather than a bit of Fulham heritage you can link to the club.
We have all heard away support come with a rousing set of chants and anthems which have resounded from the Putney End, sometimes drowning the other 7/8 of the ground out.
It takes time and energy to develop this level of commitment and fan lore etc. But it's something to try to get going.
Getting a club anthem like Blue Moon, Mull of Kintyre etc which can be picked up and sung all around the ground, and not just in the back of H3, would be a start.
Viva El Fulham might work. London Calling and CTMEOOY are both good tunes with Fulham hooks, but when have the stands ever broken into these anthems spontaneously? And they both have the air of tracks which management have picked, rather than being something spontaneous and from the terraces.
And when H3 gets a new chant, is it possible for it to be shared a little more widely (on here, perhaps) so that others can pick it up?