Lansdowne Road

[zinedineontour]

Hopefully on wednesday Lansdowne will not be the graveyard that it usually is. We need to create some sort of atmosphere cause its such a comedown for the players. Anything ive been singing at lansdowne you seem to get looked at funny from the people around me. We need to create the atmosphere similar to paris wont be the same obviously

[Bondvillain]

Dammit, yeah!

The last couple of Home games, I've been surrounded by fish-out-of-water rugger buggers and other corporate types who seem more interested in impressing the talent that they've brought along on their free ticket than watching the game. If You sing & shout you're made to feel like a trespasser. For some bizarre reason, this mindset seems to have been accepted throughout the stadium. I find Smacking these people repeatedly about the face works wonders for the old self-esteem, however, it does result in you getting chucked out on your arse.

[koneinc]

Could not agree more, Lansdowne has been dead for most of this year.

The Brazil and Czech games were sold out however there was absolutely no atmosphere at all.

I too have encountered the odd sly look or dull out-mouthed stare when I have tried to get a sing song going. the effects of a 'ticketmaster' crowd???

That's why I am in support of cheering the Faroes left back, at least it'll get a reaction from the crowd!

I don't we'll ever see the likes of the support in Paris in Lansdowne, which is a crying shame as it was probably the best atmosphere I have ever experienced at an Ireland game.

[Donal81]

The atmosphere at Lansdowne can be brutal. I mostly get tickets for the bucket seats in the North Terrace. There are a few chants and all that but nothing else, really. I don't know what the problem is but when we play quality opposition in a match that we know the team has to perform, the crowd is always there. For example, against Portugal and Holland for the 2002 WC. When Russia and the Swiss came, I don't know what that was all about, the team weren't performing and the crowd seemingly got fed up after about 20 minutes, it clearly wasn't affecting the team. It might indeed have something to do with the manner in which the FAI is cosying up to the corporate sector. I've gone to almost every home match for the past two and a half years but every time it's a struggle to get tickets. We usually end up getting them from my mate's manager in AIB, who seems to have loads of them. I'm not a class warrior or anything but it might lead to people going to the game who aren't as passionate about the team as others.

[Colm55]

It might indeed have something to do with the manner in which the FAI is cosying up to the corporate sector. I've gone to almost every home match for the past two and a half years but every time it's a struggle to get tickets. We usually end up getting them from my mate's manager in AIB, who seems to have loads of them. I'm not a class warrior or anything but it might lead to people going to the game who aren't as passionate about the team as others.

Ditto donal, i think you've hit the nail on the head with that one. Its usually those in the cheaper areas doing most of the singing, ie the two terraces and not the corporate boxes and the fat cats where most tickets go. A friend of mine goes to most of the away matches, WC, holland back in June and paris too, the poor chap can't get a ticket for love nor money in Lansdowne due to the corporate fat cats snapping them all up, thats the only way he says that he can get to see the games. So its no wonder that the atmoshere in lansdowne is bad at the best of times and the away games always have the better atmospheres.

[Peadar]

Its usually those in the cheaper areas doing most of the singing.

This ties in with my theory that the craic you have at a football game is inversely proportional to the cost of the ticket.

[ccfcman]

Ireland matches dont sound like rip roarers on tv either :(

[LadyJane]

Ireland matches dont sound like rip roarers on tv either :(

Unless your idea of a Rip-Roarer is a very quiet funeral in the fog, with a deaf congregation. :(

[tony_grealish]

Agreed. Our block book has been shifted to the upper deck of the west stand. I always thought it looked dead over there but only now do I realise the extent of it! There are alot of very apathetic people getting tickets for these matches through corporate contacts. Also, some of the rest of us have slipped into a bit of a comfort zone over the last few years where we'll only really get going in situations (like holland, portugal wc 2002 quals) where the lads are really up against it - ideally the Faroes should arrive out on the park tomorrow night and be ****ing petrified by the wall of noise and colour that greets them.

[dublinred]

I think we should play the matches at 9pm and make the beer a bit stronger as it worked wonders in Paris , also make sure it rains so that you are stuck in the pub all day beforehand.

[keenanboy]

Agreed!
The atmosphere in Paris will be almost impossible to copy again...it was unreal. I have a memory (blurred) of singing the tune to the Marseilles like it was some sort of disco anthem....don't think thats ever been done before!
It seems that every irish fan was absolutely tanked to the gills after 12 hours scooping, I suppose midweek games at home do suffer to some extent but it doesn't excuse the funny looks fans get for trying to start a few songs! What the hell are these gawkers doing there? Is it no longer cool to sing for the boys? Great to see in paris that we seem to have extended our range of songs from the usual 3 or 4. So more of that tmw night please...

[macdermesser]

Agreed!
The atmosphere in Paris will be almost impossible to copy again...it was unreal. I have a memory (blurred) of singing the tune to the Marseilles like it was some sort of disco anthem....don't think thats ever been done before!
It seems that every irish fan was absolutely tanked to the gills after 12 hours scooping, I suppose midweek games at home do suffer to some extent but it doesn't excuse the funny looks fans get for trying to start a few songs! What the hell are these gawkers doing there? Is it no longer cool to sing for the boys? Great to see in paris that we seem to have extended our range of songs from the usual 3 or 4. So more of that tmw night please...

I still think the range of songs/chants could be extended a bit more. Although I think it probably has something to do with the level of alcohol consumed. I remember in Basle last year being asked to sing a song in a pub by a few swiss fans after the match .. and the only bleedin thing I could come up with through the haze of beer was "A team of Gary Breens" .. a because the words are easy to remember and the tune is easy to sing. Its way past its sell-by date now though .. what about a "team of Roy/robbie Keanes"? .. or am I missing something?

Thierry Henry yer having a larf .. okay .. a bit original .. but I was bricking it that he would stuff that tune back down our mouths with a moment of genius.

And I can never sing that "you'll never beat the irish" when a game is delicately poised.

Didn't hear the Clinton Morrison tune that was sung in Basle at all ..

Think we should adopt the french anthem and rewrite the words .. or a tune close to it .. it was a really great moment. There's an mp3 of it on irishvibe.com for anyone who wants to relive the moment again ..

[zinedineontour]

yeah couldnt come to sing thierry henry song till after the game cause i was ****ting my pants he would score. And youll never beat the irish should be left till after the game....

The clinton song should have been sung in paris for sure and the french anthem sounds good was great singing along to that . Wathced it again on tele sounds deadly

[harpskid]

Right lads let's try and create a good aul atmosphere in the eL section tomorrow night.

Let's recreate the famous Irish support that was seen and heard in Paris on Saturday night.

[thejollyrodger]

Its about time the FAI IRFU starts dumping out all those people with suits and corporate people. Its pathetic that they go to the game and stay quite.

The real fans are Eircom League fans and those in Paris last saturday

[Kingdom]

Yeah, sure none of the people that are too poor to go to more than one away match in the space of two months are real fans at all. Jesus lads I know what ye mean and that ye mean well but c'mon keep those opinions about real fans a bit sensible will ye ?
K

[Slash/ED]

Lads, I wonder would it be an absolutley outrageous idea for a group of fans to get together and form something like an 'ultras' group for the international side? Just a suggestion for someone more energetic than me mind you, I'd have no idea how to go about doing that myself :p

But I wonder if it's an idea that anyone has ever considered before? It could really help get the atmosphere going I'd say if there was a section of supporters thinking up new songs, getting them started, putting on displays etc and would be a nice break from the crap that Rooney has tried to get an atmosphere going.

[Donal81]

It would be a nice break from the crap that Rooney has tried to get an atmosphere going.

Amen to that. I thought I was the only one who felt that a real atmosphere was being ruined by that "heeeey, heey baby, oooh ahh, I wanna know..." f*cking b*llocks that comes on after every goal. You can't create an atmosphere with cheesy gimmicks, you get it from getting real decent fans into the stadium. I'm not going to get into what constitutes a 'real' fan, but basically someone who really wants to be there to roar on their team. Buddy, if you're forming an ultras club, count me in. Opposing teams should walk out on to the pitch and the atmosphere should hit them like a 'This Is Anfield' sign.

[jbyrne]

Amen to that. I thought I was the only one who felt that a real atmosphere was being ruined by that "heeeey, heey baby, oooh ahh, I wanna know..." f*cking b*llocks that comes on after every goal. You can't create an atmosphere with cheesy gimmicks, you get it from getting real decent fans into the stadium

there have been many posts on here complaining about the tacky tunes etc. that rooney and co. have introduced to try and create atmosphere.. but do you think the fai read these fans websites???! they need to be told that what they are doing is actually ruining the atmosphere. that awful "hey baby" after the goals is particularly irritating and the carlsberg band on the north terrace at the cyprus match was worse than useless! people should start sending in emails / letters of complaint...... its only then that they might cut out all that nonsense. i agree, you cant create false atmosphere

[thejollyrodger]

Something needs to be done badly. The atmosphere is a joke to be honest. The FAI are trying to make an effort but have failed badly. There is too many suits for a start but that isnt going to change.

Some sort of group is needed. they need to be all in the same part of the stadium (stadium?) so when they do start singing they wont get funny looks. Anyone who gives funny looks to supporters shouting and singing should be told on no uncertain terms to

"shut the fúck up, go back to the bord room if you want peace and quite"

The flares in Stade de France from the Irish section looked brilliant. Pity that cant happen because it's going to be dark.

The " heeeey baby .... i wanna know...." is pathetic. Cheesy stuff. A few flares, smoke bombs, drums, songs/chants would be a lot better. :)

[4tothefloor]

Think we should adopt the french anthem and rewrite the words .. or a tune close to it .. it was a really great moment. There's an mp3 of it on irishvibe.com for anyone who wants to relive the moment again ..

Where exactly on irishvibe.com is the mp3? I've looked everywhere and can't find it at all........

[Slash/ED]

The flares in Stade de France from the Irish section looked brilliant. Pity that cant happen because it's going to be dark.


Does the fact it's going to be dark not just make the flares look better? :confused:

[pineapple stu]

Something needs to be done badly.


people should start sending in emails / letters of complaint......


Just a suggestion for someone more energetic than me mind you


if you're forming an ultras club, count me in


We need to create some sort of atmosphere

Don't mean to knock any of the posters above, who obviously want to improve the atmosphere, but some of the posts here sound like a People's Front of Judaea meeting - all agreeing that something should be done, but not being able to kick-start things! So a couple of ideas to start things off -

1) Especially if you're in the North Terrace, try and bring a drum of some kind. I know the big lambegs, etc., can be a hoor to carry around, but you can get a decent enough bodhrán in Carroll's for twenty or thirty quid, and a shoulder bag to carry it for a tenner. Get a few of yez to chip in, or get a Supporters' Club to cough up - it's hardly going to break the bank either way. Bodhráns are a great way to get a chant going as people will respond to them. I brought one to Paris and back without too much bother, so they aren't that awkward for the short trip to Lansdowne either.

2) Stand up. If someone tells you to sit down, tell them where to go. Not very diplomatic I know, but that really annoys me. It's a fact - for whatever reason - that it's easier to create an atmosphere standing up. It's a myth that seating is significantly safer in well stewarded grounds. Unfortunately, many of the stewards at Lansdowne are muppets who simply do what they're told without questioning it, so this may be easier said than done, but there's no point sitting down quietly if you're going to create an atmosphere. Anyone in the North Terrace who doesn't want to shout and sing should be questioned as to why they're there in the first place.

That may sound very ranty, but it really bugs me! Probably because the sitters always come across as being very self-righteous...

3) E-mail the FAI instead of suggesting it. You can contact the CEO (Rooney?) here (http://www.fai.ie/feedback.asp). I've put my feedback below for youz to use as a template (probably no point us all sending in the same thing, as it's fairly recognisable and nobody likes spam!). He's asking for some feedback - if all the regular posters here gave him some, he couldn't ignore it, could he? Only one way to find out, I suppose! It may be too late to change the Faeroes game, but the Portugal game or the next home World Cup game may see a change if we put our minds to it...

4) The ultras idea is interesting - how would it work or what would it do? One problem I can see is grouping together if the stewards want us to sit in the seats assigned to us. Whatever about being too lazy to organise it, throw us out a few ideas and see if we can go anywhere from there!

5) As others have mentioned, we need more songs. But realistically, it's hard to get people to learn new songs, and if they're any way long, they usually end up sounding rubbish unless people have the words written in front of them. A few of us were throwing the idea around recently about an Ireland fanzine, which would include humour, away trip news and, most importantly, a couple of pages of songs. There's ten fanzines or so in the league, so if we share the burden, we may be able to get something going. Any ideas on that?

Or any other ideas?

Post away! Don't be shy!

[pineapple stu]

My feedback, as promised... Probably best not to be too negative or accusatory if you're writing in...

A chara,

While I applaud your intent on improving the atmosphere in Lansdowne in the past year or two, I think there are some areas where this could be improved still further which, from reading various internet forums such as foot.ie, appear to be favoured by many of the eL fans in the North Terrace section.

1) Playing cheesy music after the team scores doesn't improve the atmosphere - in fact, it appears to be the one thing people hate most about Lansdowne Road at the moment. The consensus is that a forced atmosphere kills any genuine atmosphere, and the two are hugely different. Fortunately, though, the dreadful dance version of Fields of Athenry has been put to rest, so credit where credit is due!
2) Asking the crowd to give the eL fans a big cheer at half-time alienates them from us, and probably leads to them viewing us as a curiosity rather than encouraging them to join in, which is ultimately the point.
3) It isn't necessary to push the latest Pop Idol/Eurovision "star" on the crowd at half-time - anyone I've talked to agrees that it doesn't add anything to the occasion. As with the forced Mexican Wave...
4) I appreciate this will be a touchy topic, but people should be allowed to stand if they want to - for whatever reason, it is a fact that people will shout and sing more if they are standing. The stewards at games are far too heavy-handed at this (again, my opinion relates to the North Terrace), and force people to sit down, killing the atmosphere. The stewards in the Stade de France had no problems with people standing up - actively encouraged it, in fact - and the atmosphere was exceptional.
5) While admittedly the atmosphere hasn't been great in the North Terrace at recent games, Supporters' Clubs are being more encouraged to bring drums, come up with chants, etc. to improve this. Hopefully, between the fans and the FAI, we can build the atmosphere to something approaching the away days!
6) A final point not related to the atmosphere - why not announce (without pushing them) the upcoming weekend's eircom League fixtures at half-time and full-time during the games? Free advertising to 40,000 people in the target market. No reason not to!

I hope that these ideas are at least taken on board and considered when planning the remaining home group games and beyond. Tús maith leath na hoibre - the tús maith was getting so many eL fans together at games; all it needs now is fine tuning and improvement.

Mise le meas,

Kevin Burke

[jbyrne]

"Originally Posted by jbyrne
people should start sending in emails / letters of complaint......"

I did write in a year ago.... thought that i made a few very good points at the time but surprise surprise no reply and things have actually got worse!!

pineapple stu.... great letter..... please post any response you get from the fai. thanks

[Don Vito]

Its all down to alcohol lads. We should definitely put the matches on later so everyone can get a few jars. The Ultras idea is great too, bout tiume we had somethin like that!

[Slash/ED]

4) The ultras idea is interesting - how would it work or what would it do? One problem I can see is grouping together if the stewards want us to sit in the seats assigned to us. Whatever about being too lazy to organise it, throw us out a few ideas and see if we can go anywhere from there!



Well you would have to get the FAI on board with the idea in so much as they would have to have a section of seats somewhere designated to everyone who was getting involved. It'd simply be a group that would stand and sing for the full match and bring in drums, flares, banners etc to try and put on some displays. At the moment, we have people from the SEI, SRFC Ultras, Briogaid Dearg etc all going to Ireland matches and hanging up their own flags and banners and doing their own thing, I think all of the people involved with this sort of thing at club level who want to get involved with it for the national side could try getting together and working together on putting on the displays. More or less like the Eircom League section at the moment, but with everyone working together under some name as like, the Ireland Ultras, or something along those lines and getting banners and flags and the like just for international matches, as at the moment, to an outsider, it looks like everybodys just doing their own thing.

I would also say that I think that the section for the singers should be in the lower tier of one of the stands rather than the terracing. I know the tradition is on the terrace, but with the roof overhead it would mean most of the singing doesn't get completley lost which happens at the moment alot of the time.

[TheJamaicanP.M.]

Its all down to alcohol lads. We should definitely put the matches on later so everyone can get a few jars. The Ultras idea is great too, bout tiume we had somethin like that!

Agree 100%. Me and my mates all drank this green stuff called Boomerang in France. It sold out in every shop we went into. Great stuff. It put us in the right frame of mind. :D

[thejollyrodger]

People's Front of Judaea

you mean the Judea's People's front

[Bondvillain]

you mean the Judea's People's front

No, not them. There a bunch of splitters. :D

[macdermesser]

Where exactly on irishvibe.com is the mp3? I've looked everywhere and can't find it at all........

Original Thread (http://foot.ie/showthread.php?t=18353)

I can email it to you, if your email can take it .. the file is about 1.8 MB.
PM me if you want the file.

(actually just checked the site and its there now)

http://www.irishvibe.com/downloads-cat4.htmlHere's the link (http://www.irishvibe.com/downloads-cat4.html)

[Cowboy]

No, not them. There a bunch of splitters. :D

where are the popular peoples front of Judea? where does he stand on this?

[Kingdom]

Did anyone read Gerry McDermott's article in the Indo today about the fans and Lansdowne ?

Top notch I thought.

[Irish_Praha]

Did anyone read Gerry McDermott's article in the Indo today about the fans and Lansdowne ?

Top notch I thought.

Yeah it wasn't a bad piece. Good to see this subject getting discussed in the general media rather than just on message boards like this.

[thejollyrodger]

Excellent article by Mc Dermott. I liked the point about only 15,000 people in Albania making plenty of noise and atmosphere. 36,000 people should be plenty of people to make noise.