The Flatmosphere

DiggersBFC

DiggersBFC

Well-known member
Last season, under the stewardships of Messrs Appleton and McCarthy we were treated to a plethora of dross, week in, week out. Yet the atmosphere in the stadium was rocking each week. We took pride in the fact that the opposition fans praised us after every game for the noise we made.

This season, despite winning 8 of our home games the atmosphere at Bloomfield Road has been, frankly, garbage. The North stand has been quieter than I can remember it ever being, since it opened. The South are not blameless either. Even when the North do sing, the majority in the South don’t. They just clap. Fine, clap, but f*cking sing as well! FFS!

Of course since the end of the boycott and the “consolidation” of the Muckers into the North, the responsibility for singing in the ground sits firmly with the North stand. The North sing, the rest follow. Like it or not, it’s how things are these days. But, the problem is, right now the North are not doing their job. There is no cauldron of noise, there is no intimidating atmosphere, the ground for most of the game today and for many of the previous, was silent.

It was shameful that the 50 or so Lincoln fans that were singing today made more noise than the rest of Bloomfield road together. Even Forest Green outsang us and they only brought three men and a sheep. Shameful.

Now, I am sure there will be some responses along the lines of the following : "We are singing in the North, you're talking out of your @rse", "We're not near the away fans", "The standard of football in blah blah". "We didn't want Critchley back". Well, we can't hear you if you are, the football is substantially better than last year, Critchley is the manager nobody cares if you don't like him and if you need to be near to the away fans to be motivated to sing, move to the bl00dy South then.

There is no longer a 12th man at Bloomfield road. We no longer have the best atmosphere in the league. Realistically we're probably one of the worst.

So I ask you to ask yourself the following questions
Why do you go to watch football? To socialise with friends? Why not go the pub? To watch a football match - why not go watch grass roots, they're local and it's free? To cheer on my team - well that's no happening is it! Why then, do we all shell out our dosh week in, week out - of course it's a combination of above, but we do it because we go FOR THE ATMOSPHERE, for the craic with the away fans and to release the tensions we've bottled up at work etc all week. And yet, for some inexplicable reason, this season we're not doing it. It's time to get it back.

We are halfway through the season, we're in a reasonable position at home the team is getting results. It's time to bring the atmosphere back to Bloomfield road. We do it away, so we need to do it at home. Get it going North and the rest will follow.

#UTMP
 
It was flat yesterday for several reasons.
The 2 away defeats dampened our spirits.
Many think the season is now over with mid table security .
Opposition was not an attractive fixture..
Poor away support for banter.
New Years day blues/ hangover.

There were many occasions last season when the atmosphere was as bad.

I bet it won’t be flat against Bolton !
 
GrahamwantshisOates said:
It was flat yesterday for several reasons.
The 2 away defeats dampened our spirits.
Many think the season is now over with mid table security .
Opposition was not an attractive fixture..
Poor away support for banter.
New Years day blues/ hangover.

There were many occasions last season when the atmosphere was as bad.

I bet it won’t be flat against Bolton !
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Division three's poor quality kills passion.

Blackpool's home wins - the most points in League One - prove only workmanlike.

Add the club's dire away record - six losses, without a single goal in five.

The Bloomfield Road atmosphere reflects inadequate confidence and belief.
 
We must not forget that 3 of the players that left all had their own song that enabled the north to keep up the tempo without repeating too soon. Like a lot of posts earlier in the season these songs could easily be tweaked to suit current players. At least that is my thoughts on it, once we open up with "We follow Blackpool FC" the we don't have too much to follow it with unless we get an early goal.
 
The demographic of the North has changed year and year and now it's full of older types and loads of families.

Block A&B used to be rammed with the more vocal types(youth)now there's less,maybe because quite a few have been banned I don't know.
 
I think it stems back to the boycott years when many of us just found other things to do then obviously covid hit and maybe some of the fan base are still waiting for a spark to re-ignite the passion
Let's be honest last season killed the atmosphere with the standard of football and ridiculous management appointments
And whilst we've won at home this season the football is turgid
Maybe it's my age but I was actually bored watching us and whilst it wouldn't of been the first time in my 750+ games i could say that I think the circumstances feel different this season
And knowing he would feed his ego and fist pump at the end of a limp performance pissed me off
This style of football is sucking the life out of the ground in my humble opinion
 
Macseasider said:
Can someone summarise the OPs essay as I got bored with it.

I think he is angered that people aren't singing but I'm not sure.
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The mug who wrote it obviously has his head in the sand. It’s hard to generate any kind of atmosphere when the product being served up in front of you is as boring as fcuk. As far as being told to go to the pub or watch grass roots football 🙄
 
Martonmosser said:
The mug who wrote it obviously has his head in the sand. It’s hard to generate any kind of atmosphere when the product being served up in front of you is as boring as fcuk. As far as being told to go to the pub or watch grass roots football he’s a knob 🙄
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The fact we had a better atmosphere last season when the standard of football was far worse says that not only are you the one with your head in the sand but that actually it's you who's the knob. Knob!
 
DiggersBFC said:
Last season, under the stewardships of Messrs Appleton and McCarthy we were treated to a plethora of dross, week in, week out. Yet the atmosphere in the stadium was rocking each week. We took pride in the fact that the opposition fans praised us after every game for the noise we made.

This season, despite winning 8 of our home games the atmosphere at Bloomfield Road has been, frankly, garbage. The North stand has been quieter than I can remember it ever being, since it opened. The South are not blameless either. Even when the North do sing, the majority in the South don’t. They just clap. Fine, clap, but f*cking sing as well! FFS!

Of course since the end of the boycott and the “consolidation” of the Muckers into the North, the responsibility for singing in the ground sits firmly with the North stand. The North sing, the rest follow. Like it or not, it’s how things are these days. But, the problem is, right now the North are not doing their job. There is no cauldron of noise, there is no intimidating atmosphere, the ground for most of the game today and for many of the previous, was silent.

It was shameful that the 50 or so Lincoln fans that were singing today made more noise than the rest of Bloomfield road together. Even Forest Green outsang us and they only brought three men and a sheep. Shameful.

Now, I am sure there will be some responses along the lines of the following : "We are singing in the North, you're talking out of your @rse", "We're not near the away fans", "The standard of football in blah blah". "We didn't want Critchley back". Well, we can't hear you if you are, the football is substantially better than last year, Critchley is the manager nobody cares if you don't like him and if you need to be near to the away fans to be motivated to sing, move to the bl00dy South then.

There is no longer a 12th man at Bloomfield road. We no longer have the best atmosphere in the league. Realistically we're probably one of the worst.

So I ask you to ask yourself the following questions
Why do you go to watch football? To socialise with friends? Why not go the pub? To watch a football match - why not go watch grass roots, they're local and it's free? To cheer on my team - well that's no happening is it! Why then, do we all shell out our dosh week in, week out - of course it's a combination of above, but we do it because we go FOR THE ATMOSPHERE, for the craic with the away fans and to release the tensions we've bottled up at work etc all week. And yet, for some inexplicable reason, this season we're not doing it. It's time to get it back.

We are halfway through the season, we're in a reasonable position at home the team is getting results. It's time to bring the atmosphere back to Bloomfield road. We do it away, so we need to do it at home. Get it going North and the rest will follow.

#UTMP
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Its definitely been flat and given the last year its understandable it would drop off.

There are factors like expectation to beat sides rather than enjoying anything we can do against mostly bigger clubs.

Slipping away from the playoffs given the indifferent form is another. The connection with the manager isn't what it used to be for many.

However, as I've said on another thread we need to be more resilient to the tougher times, have a bit more about us, some pride in the atmosphere and just enjoy watching Blackpool win, which we've seen a lot at home.

Yes there's not a lot of away fans at times but we can still show more of 'who we are' to steal a NC quote...

I always get involved when the chants spread to block E however there haven't been too much spreading compared to the past.
 
poolseasider said:
The demographic of the North has changed year and year and now it's full of older types and loads of families.

Block A&B used to be rammed with the more vocal types(youth)now there's less,maybe because quite a few have been banned I don't know.
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I don't think that's a big factor, I think the others are far more.
 
To me it’s just indicative of the general apathy of society, my generation used go ** nuts all the time whether we were winning or losing coz more often than not we were losing.

The club certainly could do with a lift though, it seems the whole place is just drifting along, going through the motions and the feel good factor of the new owner and an exciting future has well truly dissipated.
 
DiggersBFC said:
The south aren't singing because the North aren't singing. Not rocket science is it.
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When we played Brizzle, I went in the South for the Heineken experience.
I was pleasantly surprised how vocal the South was. Plenty of banter too with a decent Brizzle following considering it was Xmas.
Consequently, I’d say your assumption of the South’s atmosphere is wrong. Try it yourself.
 
Probably a mix of the football being served up, the inconsistency in results, the culmination of last season and also higher expectations for this one.

I've been to plenty of away games this season where the fans have been very vocal for the first 10 mins or so and then we concede and aren't offering much back, etc.

There is a notable difference from the last couple of seasons tbh.
 
Couldn’t agree more about the atmosphere, and you’re quite right unfortunately there are a lot of people not going to watch the football but to socialise. I sit in Block H and I’m sure a good majority in that area spend more time out of their seats than in them… the ones that come up the steps and stand still watching the game whilst blocking other people’s views from their seats drive me mad… and I’m not the only one that says that 👍
 
There are wars going on all over the place . Cost of living has gone up. Mortgage interest rate hikes. Economic uncertainty. BFC relegated . Inconsistent results.

People just arent as happy as they were. They need a lift.
 
DiggersBFC said:
I have a season ticket in the South mate. We do sing, but mostly it's following the North.
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There is one slightly seperate annoying thing, we in the north constantly have to look at a half empty, what appears rather lifeless south, it's a bit depressing.

Whereas the south get to see a full north, even now, and in the past usually bouncing.

Far better to look at when it's nearly full.

With a bit more effort the club could have got the extra fans in for me.
 
Its League 1 FFS. Who really wants to go and watch league 1 football apart from the die hards? Yes we might attract bigger crowds against teams like Bolton but then we go back to the usual dross. Most people like myself are looking at the Critchball style and are thiinking that its leading to another season in league 1. There really is nothing to get excited about going to watch Blackpol these days hence the lack of crowds and atmoshere.
 
I can only speak for myself, but I think a lot of it is to do with the optimism being drained from the fanbase.

When Sadler took over, there was understandably a wave of optimism which was built on by promotion to The Championship. However, the absolute cluster fuck last season and the relegation that followed has completely ruined that.

I'll get criticised by some on here for saying this, but the absolute facts are that in a couple of months, we'll be half a decade into Simon Sadler's custodianship, and we're in the same division as we were when he took over, and still talking about the need for a new training ground and rebuilding the East stand, without a foundation being laid on either.

Even if we do get promoted, the hierarchy of the club constantly talk us down and tell us how lucky we are that a club like Blackpool managed to survive a season in The Championship.

I'll still buy our season tickets and go to away games because I'm a Blackpool fan and it's what I do, but it's hard for me to muster much enthusiasm for the club these days.

That's not a personal attack on anyone, I'm just being honest.
 
Mr Tangerine Man said:
Its League 1 FFS. Who really wants to go and watch league 1 football apart from the die hards? Yes we might attract bigger crowds against teams like Bolton but then we go back to the usual dross. Most people like myself are looking at the Critchball style and are thiinking that its leading to another season in league 1. There really is nothing to get excited about going to watch Blackpol these days hence the lack of crowds and atmoshere.
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Tend to agree, big comedown from the Championship.
Hope it’s not too many years before we are back there again🙏
 
At the end of the day I don’t remember a division in which there were so many unattractive fixtures.

Maybe that’s me being a snob but I just can’t get excited to go and watch us play against Bristol Rovers, Burton, Port Vale, Lincoln etc.

Of course that’s just life in league 1 but when it follows a previous season where we were in the same league as Preston, Burnley, Blackburn etc it’s just really dull, and that’s without even mentioning the football.
 
Briggs5 said:
I can only speak for myself, but I think a lot of it is to do with the optimism being drained from the fanbase.

When Sadler took over, there was understandably a wave of optimism which was built on by promotion to The Championship. However, the absolute cluster fuck last season and the relegation that followed has completely ruined that.

I'll get criticised by some on here for saying this, but the absolute facts are that in a couple of months, we'll be half a decade into Simon Sadler's custodianship, and we're in the same division as we were when he took over, and still talking about the need for a new training ground and rebuilding the East stand, without a foundation being laid on either.

Even if we do get promoted, the hierarchy of the club constantly talk us down and tell us how lucky we are that a club like Blackpool managed to survive a season in The Championship.

I'll still buy our season tickets and go to away games because I'm a Blackpool fan and it's what I do, but it's hard for me to muster much enthusiasm for the club these days.

That's not a personal attack on anyone, I'm just being honest.
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True, but tbf covid and the cost of living made it more difficult.

So under normal circumstances things probably would have happened quicker, it was completely unforeseen.

The east is happening and the council are purchasing properties, the majority are done I believe at the time of last update, this should be the first big project we see.
 
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BFC_BFC_BFC said:
The ground is full of Victor Meldrew types these days. Too busy thinking up the next thing to grumble about instead of creating an atmosphere.

We need an injection of new blood 👍
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People just need to get over where we are and enjoy it, the games are far more fun when there's the great atmospheres.

We are where we are, the team need to improve away but all we can do it get behind them and hope it makes a difference.
 
Briggs5 said:
I can only speak for myself, but I think a lot of it is to do with the optimism being drained from the fanbase.

When Sadler took over, there was understandably a wave of optimism which was built on by promotion to The Championship. However, the absolute cluster fuck last season and the relegation that followed has completely ruined that.

I'll get criticised by some on here for saying this, but the absolute facts are that in a couple of months, we'll be half a decade into Simon Sadler's custodianship, and we're in the same division as we were when he took over, and still talking about the need for a new training ground and rebuilding the East stand, without a foundation being laid on either.

Even if we do get promoted, the hierarchy of the club constantly talk us down and tell us how lucky we are that a club like Blackpool managed to survive a season in The Championship.

I'll still buy our season tickets and go to away games because I'm a Blackpool fan and it's what I do, but it's hard for me to muster much enthusiasm for the club these days.

That's not a personal attack on anyone, I'm just being honest.
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Good post
 
Briggs5 said:
I can only speak for myself, but I think a lot of it is to do with the optimism being drained from the fanbase.

When Sadler took over, there was understandably a wave of optimism which was built on by promotion to The Championship. However, the absolute cluster fuck last season and the relegation that followed has completely ruined that.

I'll get criticised by some on here for saying this, but the absolute facts are that in a couple of months, we'll be half a decade into Simon Sadler's custodianship, and we're in the same division as we were when he took over, and still talking about the need for a new training ground and rebuilding the East stand, without a foundation being laid on either.

Even if we do get promoted, the hierarchy of the club constantly talk us down and tell us how lucky we are that a club like Blackpool managed to survive a season in The Championship.

I'll still buy our season tickets and go to away games because I'm a Blackpool fan and it's what I do, but it's hard for me to muster much enthusiasm for the club these days.

That's not a personal attack on anyone, I'm just being honest.
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I'll add as well, there have been big improvements to things like squires gate, the pitch, the stadium issues and there were many legacy issues. The squad is miles better and we actually sign people properly to good deals and extend when needed.

It's night and day really and more to come.

Doesn't guarantee success and still far more to do to improve. The manager choices overall haven't been inspired.

But once a big project is done it'll give many a lift who are still skeptical given the past.
 
There was a big difference between yesterday and the last home game I attended against Carlisle.

Not even a rendition of going down to Bloomfield road or day trippers yesterday I don't think.

I think the effect of the Christmas period just put a massive downer on things.

Atmosphere got better towards the end of the game though.
 
To me, it feels a bit like everything has drifted. Fanbase doesn't feel 'together' - we're going back to playing out the roles of a decade or so ago in terms of happy clappers vs ambition. Having people constantly laying into each other about how they support doesn't help.

Manager isn't liked by half the ground. I mean, I don't dislike the guy and I don't wish failure on him, but I don't feel the same as I did at all about him.

The infrastructure feels like it's drifted. Apparently there's progress but there's still not really any concrete plans to look at. We've got no real idea what the new stand might look like or what it might contain for example.

We've got very few 'cult' players. CJ we sort of love being a bit of a shambles. Dembele is fine, Rhodes is great but almost boringly good. There's no great character there ATM.

Everything is a bit more squeezed too as people have said and the club haven't really moved on things like payment plans and match day pricing and so on.
 
td53 said:
To me, it feels a bit like everything has drifted. Fanbase doesn't feel 'together' - we're going back to playing out the roles of a decade or so ago in terms of happy clappers vs ambition. Having people constantly laying into each other about how they support doesn't help.

Manager isn't liked by half the ground. I mean, I don't dislike the guy and I don't wish failure on him, but I don't feel the same as I did at all about him.

The infrastructure feels like it's drifted. Apparently there's progress but there's still not really any concrete plans to look at. We've got no real idea what the new stand might look like or what it might contain for example.

We've got very few 'cult' players. CJ we sort of love being a bit of a shambles. Dembele is fine, Rhodes is great but almost boringly good. There's no great character there ATM.

Everything is a bit more squeezed too as people have said and the club haven't really moved on things like payment plans and match day pricing and so on.
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Bang on Matt
 
It boils down to two things for me. It’s not as full as last season for obvious reasons. The other issue is at present we’re not even in the play offs or within a win of the play offs. If we get into the top 6 where is there something to fight for and a satisfaction and purpose in winning, the atmosphere will get a lot better. With the away form being so poor, home victories feel hollow victories at present. It’s almost a case of what’s the point at present.

We’re too open at the back away from home playing a 3. I just wish he would change to a back 4 away from home.
 
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