North Stand - a heartfelt plea from a fellow fan

[Crowthorne Royal]

Dear North Stand fans,

Like me you enjoy being behind the goal at Reading. Close to the action, enjoying the scorers giving it the big one when they've scored and running to us for adulation. Love it.

We also enjoy the 'civilised' environment where we can support our team in a positive way without having to get embroiled in vitriolic chanting at the opposing fans. Y26 crew this is no offence to you, you do what you do and enjoy supporting your team in a different way to us.

However! The singing and chanting and general enthusiastic support of our highly performing team is becoming NON EXISTENT and I for one am now becoming increasingly despondent with the lack of atmosphere that we are creating.....or not creating!!

I love my team and am absolutely 'Reading till I die' & I want to sing about that positively without aggression, with passion.

Our friend the drummer must sometimes wonder whether it's all worth it. He's even had to steep so low that he plays that ridiculous 'samba chant' that has no place at The Mad Stad..........not his fault though no bugger is singing or chanting when he drums the usual chants.

So, come on Royals fans in The North Stand our team look like they could go up this year, they absolutely need our support and we need just to offer a bit more than we are today. It wouldn't take too many of us to change this situation and get The North rocking again.

Be loud and be proud. Looking forward to Leicester and a big crowd.......Let's hear you

[The Prisoner]

[mr_number]

Maybe the club should give two free pints to everyone in the North Stand to help them lose their inhibitions?

[ZacNaloen]

The north stand tends to react to the drummer (as we can't hear Y26 very well) and the drummer has been really quiet recently.

sort it out drummer, the introverted north stand needs your support.

[Cobi]

It wouldn't take too many of us to change this situation and get The North rocking again.

And that's the key! Even just 10 signing together with get more involved. But you have to persist with it!

If the North Stand had just a thousand that sang I'd swap Y26 straight away, but sadly there just isn't enough vocal/passionate supporters at Reading to get that going in the North IMO.

[melonhead]

lol at not singing cos of caring what other people around you think.




i agree crowthorne royal- its got so much worse this season. mainly to do with it being where all the plastics and day trippers , and kids football teams, and families sit when they come for their one game of the year.
you wont change it though, mabe relocate to the near end of the east stand.
im thinking of doing so

and i h8 that drummer- every time we almost get a good song started, he starts up blarmy and drowns it out

[The Rouge]

I have sat in Y26 and got fed up with the mini gorillas singing the same anti-X team songs every week, I have sat in Y19 and got fed up with the drummer - not my kind of atmosphere. I have sat in the North and enjoy it when the play is down that end but got fed up that you can't tactically see what is going on and the fact I was urging people to shoot from 35 yards when I thought it was 18 (and the drummer).

I find Y23 gives me the best balance as you get some singing and not too close to the mindless - X are shit but they are better than you crap. That said it is not a good atmosphere (normally).

[RFCUK]

I'm sure there are many fans within the north stand who feel the same way, a number of which could be nobbers. Perhaps some kind of seat block //row publishing could be done as two people could be complaining but they are only rows apart.

Much like our play off final, it was deemed that the noisy masses would go in the four blocks directly behind the goal, perhaps by finding out where others with the same opinion sit, you can help each other out and get songs going, join in etc...

[Jobbo no.11]

It wouldn't take too many of us to change this situation and get The North rocking again.

And that's the key! Even just 10 signing together with get more involved. But you have to persist with it!

If the North Stand had just a thousand that sang I'd swap Y26 straight away, but sadly there just isn't enough vocal/passionate supporters at Reading to get that going in the North IMO.

Exactly the same if the north stand started making noise i would be straight over!

[Warfield North Stand]

I have sat in the North for at least 10 years now and made some really good friends (Hugo and co). The North has NEVER started any chanting of any sort, but at its best has been very loud in joining in with the der der der Reading chant and so on. This is all I expect and I agree that this season particulary ,it has been like a morgue.

I personally think it is a cracking view in the North, especially the higher you go and I think it would be better to have all the singers behind the goal. The fact is that the "noiser" fans also seem to have to be near the away fans so they can goad the oxf*rd out of them so this will never happen.

I too will sing my heart out if it gets going in the North but be aware. The other week, I was surrounded by 3 stewards after leaving the toilet and told I had been swearing and I had complaints made about me ( I was with my 7 year old son!!). You keep gesturing and all sorts he said and this is your final warning. I do recall standing up and calling the ref a joke but that was as "outrageous" as I got. So god knows what they will think of a singing section!! Good luck...

[RoyalBlue]

I have sat in the North for at least 10 years now and made some really good friends (Hugo and co). The North has NEVER started any chanting of any sort, but at its best has been very loud in joining in with the der der der Reading chant and so on. This is all I expect and I agree that this season particulary ,it has been like a morgue.

I personally think it is a cracking view in the North, especially the higher you go and I think it would be better to have all the singers behind the goal. The fact is that the "noiser" fans also seem to have to be near the away fans so they can goad the oxf*rd out of them so this will never happen.

I too will sing my heart out if it gets going in the North but be aware. The other week, I was surrounded by 3 stewards after leaving the toilet and told I had been swearing and I had complaints made about me ( I was with my 7 year old son!!). You keep gesturing and all sorts he said and this is your final warning. I do recall standing up and calling the ref a joke but that was as "outrageous" as I got. So god knows what they will think of a singing section!! Good luck...

I've had the same treatment myself on a couple of occasions and that was in the East Stand!

Since we moved to the Mad Stad I have been exceptionally careful not to swear (unless the prudes regard 'bastard' as a swear word). Once it was apparently because I was shouting too loudly! On that occasion, I very nearly gave them my season ticket back with instructions as to where they could stuff it .

[who are ya?]

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

[pea]

Brighton resolved this issue pretty much in the first month of moving in to the Amex. They just get the main singers (usually the morons with a 'Ultras' flag behind their goal) to goad the quieter stands into singing.

The North Stand starts with 'East/West Stand, East/West Stand, give us a song'

We're the East Stand, we're the East Stand, we're the East Stand Brighton Boys.
Followed by We're the North Stand, we're the North Stand, we're the North Stand Brighton Boys,
Followed by We're the West Stand, we're the West Stand, we're the West Stand Brighton Boys,

Sometimes only two stands do it but they usually finish off with a generic song sung in unison (can't remember what - probably the Albion chant they stole off Liverpool). Sounds very good (from the home end at least) and I think it was instigated on their North Stand Chat website.

[Wizard]

lol at not singing cos of caring what other people around you think.




i agree crowthorne royal- its got so much worse this season. mainly to do with it being where all the plastics and day trippers , and kids football teams, and families sit when they come for their one game of the year.
you wont change it though, mabe relocate to the near end of the east stand.
im thinking of doing so

and i h8 that drummer- every time we almost get a good song started, he starts up blarmy and drowns it out

Please don't leave me alone with the fcuking kids.

I'll join in any north stand singing going on.

[rob the royal]

I don't care who you are or where you sit, if you have any inclination towards making noise then please do.

I get the feeling a lot of people think other people can't be bothered so they give up as well, and the apathy becomes contagious. Every now and then on Tuesday it actually got going a bit, hoping the fans can up it on Saturday.

If I was the manager I'd drop number 13 after recent home performances!

[Gordons Cumming]

The North is slowly becoming the stand of death.

3 games running the doctor has been called out for heart attacks.

Maybe there should be sign up with a health warning. "Enter this stand at your own risk"

[William Oddie]

I too will sing my heart out if it gets going in the North but be aware. The other week, I was surrounded by 3 stewards after leaving the toilet and told I had been swearing and I had complaints made about me ( I was with my 7 year old son!!). You keep gesturing and all sorts he said and this is your final warning. I do recall standing up and calling the ref a joke but that was as "outrageous" as I got. So god knows what they will think of a singing section!! Good luck...

On this point, i would like to point out that the stewarding in the North Stand is beyond a joke. I am in no way saying this is the sole reason due to the lack of atmosphere, but on several occasions this season i have seen the stewards approach fans for even attempting to stand and sing. It makes no sense whatsoever as it couldnt be any further away from away fans or inciting trouble. There is definately a zero tolerance policy in operation from the stewards and i would love to no why. I was watching the Coventry fans at the game a few weeks ago and it was almost as if the stewards were scared to even look at them, hence why the issues arose at the end. There is definately a conflict in interests between the stewarding approaches around the ground.

(just making this point on this thread as it is going some way to limiting the atmosphere in the north stand at the minute)

[pea]

On this point, i would like to point out that the stewarding in the North Stand is beyond a joke. I am in no way saying this is the sole reason due to the lack of atmosphere, but on several occasions this season i have seen the stewards approach fans for even attempting to stand and sing. It makes no sense whatsoever as it couldnt be any further away from away fans or inciting trouble. There is definately a zero tolerance policy in operation from the stewards and i would love to no why. I was watching the Coventry fans at the game a few weeks ago and it was almost as if the stewards were scared to even look at them, hence why the issues arose at the end. There is definately a conflict in interests between the stewarding approaches around the ground.

(just making this point on this thread as it is going some way to limiting the atmosphere in the north stand at the minute)

+1

Not being a season ticket holder I sit in different stands each game and it is so much stricter in the North Stand. If everyones singing then its fine but if its just a couple trying to get it going then the stewards apply librarian standards and have words with people for disturbing others. Had a bizarre moment in the West Ham game where one guy was getting told he would be taken out if he swore again in the North Stand whilst the whole of the East Stand was chanting w*nker at a West Ham player (probably Collison).

[East Grinstead Royal]

The North is slowly becoming the stand of death.

3 games running the doctor has been called out for heart attacks.

Maybe there should be sign up with a health warning. "Enter this stand at your own risk"

A guy who sits two rows behind me in the North was taken ill on Tuesday, surrounded by paramedics at the final whistle. He's certainly been one of the more vocal supporters in my vicinity, although his attitude towards Rodgers always annoyed me. Anyway, I hope he's OK, will wish him well on Saturday... if he's still with us.

[pea]

A guy who sits two rows behind me in the North was taken ill on Tuesday, surrounded by paramedics at the final whistle. He's certainly been one of the more vocal supporters in my vicinity, although his attitude towards Rodgers always annoyed me. Anyway, I hope he's OK, will wish him well on Saturday... if he's still with us.

How long does it take you to get to the Madejski on a Tuesday night from EG?