I'm told David Renwick created Victor Meldrew after happening upon H&V and reading a couple of the threads.
Quote from: CT Villan on March 03, 2023, 04:05:32 PMI'm told David Renwick created Victor Meldrew after happening upon H&V and reading a couple of the threads.No, I'm sorry I don't believe it.
Apologies for the length of this - I didn't intend for it to be so long
Atmosphere will always come from performances on the pitch but pre match fans can play a part to get the excitement up. Over the years we have had light tribute to Sir Graham Taylor, tribute to Ron Saunders, Martinez banner after the World Cup, Regis Tributes. The banners that adorn the back walls of upper and lower Holte. Ugo, Mings banners too. It’s not a case of a flash in the plan new idea. We’ve been trying for over 10 years. Tomorrow hopefully will be an improvement on Leicester with scarves! UTV
Apologies for the length of this - I didn't intend for it to be so long:The atmosphere at Villa has been on my mind for a while now. I sit towards the back of the Holte, so when people describe the atmosphere as “shit”, I have to admit that I take it a bit personally. I sit where the noise should come from, and so I have to take some responsibility if things are a bit flat.However, I’ve sat in the same seat for 25 years or so, and I can’t say the atmosphere is discernibly worse now than it has been before. There are good games and bad games, as has always been the case - right? If you think back to pre-lockdown, in the first season back, we had the Everton home game which has become famous for the atmosphere. Then there was the Watford and Leicester games just before lockdown, where I can (mis?)remember the crowd carrying the team to victory - at least that’s how it felt at the time.Since lockdown, everything has been a bit shit on the pitch - we saw the end of Dean, and then there was the failed Gerrard experiment. Despite that, though, the Man City game this season was great in terms of atmosphere, I thought, as was the Man United game under Emery.Before the Leeds game, there was a lot of talk about the crowd - I think this was in the wake of Stevenage, and everyone was getting the blame for it from some people, including us. Anyway, I decided to try something - I made it my aim to be the last person singing for each song. (I am a pretty timid person in real life, but for some reason I am not self-conscious when in the Holte End). So I did it, and I feel like it did make a difference, if only in my little section (or even just in my little head?). We kept a few ‘Unai Emery’s Claret & Blue Army”’s going when they might have otherwise faded out. There is something incredibly satisfying about hearing a little ripple of people picking the song back up again - it’s genuinely thrilling. (I appreciate this is a slightly pathetic over-analysis of shouting at a football match). Did that have any impact on what happened on the pitch? I don't think there's any way of knowing for sure, but I guess most people would say that it didn't. I felt exhausted after the match, but like I had earned that win. It felt good, so I've tried to keep it up since. (I think we've lost every home game since...)I guess my point, if I have one, is this: if you think the atmosphere is ”shit”, which seems to be an increasingly popular opinion these days, then you can do something. All it takes is standing up and signing, with the only risk being looking a bit odd. Don’t let a chant die, wherever you sit in the stadium.I get what people are saying about what happens on the pitch dictates the atmosphere, and that the players should be able to put in a performance regardless of what the fans are doing. That is the cold, hard truth of the matter, and there isn’t anything I can say that can really undermine that position. If the atmosphere made that much of a difference, how come Man City win the league every year?I still want to believe, though, that the crowd can have an impact on the performance, that despite the footballing world clearly moving on from giving a shit about the fans in the stadium, and that we are there purely to make a contribution the third-choice keeper’s wages for a couple of months of the year - that we do still matter. That we can help. Even a marginal gain is a gain.I am desperate for Villa to win every single match. Desperate. If singing until I am hoarse makes even the tiniest difference to whether that happens or not, I am going to give it a try. Wasn’t there a shift in the amount of away victories during the lockdown period? Does that suggest home fans can make a difference? I don’t know.And I know how I sound, believe me. This will almost definitely come across as a lecture on how to be a better fan - I really don’t mean it like that. I sit next to my 70-year-old dad for every match. He doesn’t sing. In fact, he gives off what one might describe as a ‘nervous energy’ at every game, pretty much regardless of the score. He’s in good health, but if the worst should happen any time soon, I’m pretty sure the cause of death would be listed as “Konsa playing it out from the back”. Anyway, I don’t think he is a ‘worse’ fan than me for not singing - he cares so much he is almost paralysed with fear for 90 minutes!I guess this is more aimed at people who talk about the atmosphere being “shit” as if it’s someone else’s responsibility.I have thought about writing something like this for a while now, but have hesitated because I know how I probably come across. On top of being a patronising bellend, I am also a sucker. The less the sport, the league and the club care about me, the more I try to help them, and pay an amount that is increasingly significant to me, and increasingly insignificant to them, in the process. But this morning I thought I’d write this because, like singing in the Holte, if it makes even the tiniest difference, then it will have been worth it - at worst, all that’s going to happen is that I’ll look like a dick in front of a load of strangers.To wrestle this nonsense back on topic - I have a lot of respect for the people behind Project B6, because they are trying to make a difference, and I have no reason to suggest that they are doing it for any reason other than to help the club they love. It’s just such a difficult balancing act, though - for an organised group to generate an atmosphere in a natural way. The second it feels unnatural, it fails. It’s plastic. Artificial.I’ll bring my scarf tomorrow. And I’ll bring a spare for my Dad. (should that be capitalised?)
Quote from: ChicagoLion on March 03, 2023, 09:09:19 AMI hate the constant noise build up to kick off. The ground is not allowed to find its voice because of this choreographed assault to the ear drums.It’s small time and pathetic.Agree completely. The PA system should read out the teams, advertise upcoming fixtures, then shut up until half time. I might just about allow a rendition of that video that's soundtracked by Crazy Train about ten minutes before kick off, but nothing else. I realise I'm an incredibly miserable person.
I hate the constant noise build up to kick off. The ground is not allowed to find its voice because of this choreographed assault to the ear drums.It’s small time and pathetic.
Who's this fucking guy?