Where would you rather watch your football for your team.

[Old Diamond]

4 minutes ago, AyrTroopMajor said:

Happy to come at this thread from a different perspective - staying at Somerset after the Scottish Executive pissed all over out plans for a new stadium was a prime example of a blessing in disguise. Somerset is a hole, but what a brilliant place to watch football, especially when there's a good away support in the Railway End and both teams are shooting towards their own fans. Wouldn't trade it for anything. The only thing I wish we had was a pub right beside the ground and perhaps a slightly higher level of sanitation in the toilet department.

That part of Ayr has changed dramatically over the years, Somerset Park used to be surrounded by Industry, now it is housing or derelict land where the railway depot used to be, waiting to be turned into housing, bet the local council wished you had been able to move back then

[fuzzydunlop]

1 hour ago, The Moonster said:

Could somebody mention new modern grounds having no "character" please? It's all I need for a full house.

At the majority of grounds in Scotland, if you've got enough arses in the door then you'll generate atmosphere. If you've got 300 bodies making no noise, it doesn't matter if you've got terracing or seats, the atmosphere will be shite. I enjoy the Terrace TV show as much as everyone else, but I was reaching for the sick bucket on Friday night when the segment on stadiums came on. Acting as if stadiums have some unknown spirit that encapsulates the fans every week and generates this feeling that nobody else can feel. It's just a place we go to watch something we love, nobody goes to watch a film and comes home saying they enjoyed it but the cinema lacked soul or character - why are stadiums different?

i know what you are saying..kinda...but come on, you dont have people in the cinemas 'supporting the actors' and cheering them on (well you do in certain cinemas).  Been at Falkirk Stadium when the atmosphere has been great, not going to argue with that.  But I'd go as far as saying it would have been better if we had been closer to the away fans.  In fact it would have been carnage at the Hibs and Rangers game if we had. 

I'd say pretty much every game at Brockville the atmosphere was great.  Maybe a bit of rose tinted spectacles on and I know there were no doubt games when we were shit or getting horsed when the atmosphere wasn't great.  But most games there was a great atmosphere before kick off that continued throughout the game.  Whereas now at FFS it seems something needs to happen first to get the atmosphere going.  If we were nearer the away fans then theres a good chance that it could bring that back.

[George Parr]

17 hours ago, Bring Back Paddy Flannery said:

Very much this.

A lot of folk call our stadium soulless etc but by the end up Boghead was a crumbling shitehole and it really wasn't a great place to watch a game of football. Every seat in the current place has an excellent view and the facilities are far superior than anything we had at Boghead (in my lifetime).

Not to mention the Clydebank ground share that effectively killed the pitch and led to postponement after postponement after postponement.

Boghead was such a dreary place at times. Ideally a few improvements could be made to the Rock (inclusion of a small terracing option) and it would be far preferable to a return to that tip.

[The Moonster]

24 minutes ago, fuzzydunlop said:

i know what you are saying..kinda...but come on, you dont have people in the cinemas 'supporting the actors' and cheering them on (well you do in certain cinemas).  Been at Falkirk Stadium when the atmosphere has been great, not going to argue with that.  But I'd go as far as saying it would have been better if we had been closer to the away fans.  In fact it would have been carnage at the Hibs and Rangers game if we had. 

I'd say pretty much every game at Brockville the atmosphere was great.  Maybe a bit of rose tinted spectacles on and I know there were no doubt games when we were shit or getting horsed when the atmosphere wasn't great.  But most games there was a great atmosphere before kick off that continued throughout the game.  Whereas now at FFS it seems something needs to happen first to get the atmosphere going.  If we were nearer the away fans then theres a good chance that it could bring that back.

My point is about the stadiums though, they seem to be the only buildings that have this requirement for "soul" and "character". I just don't understand it - others say they do understand it, fair enough, but I'm yet to be convinced of it.

Fill TFS for a game against Hibs or Rangers and you'll obviously get a crowd who are up for it from the get go and you'll get a great atmosphere. 2-3,000 who have showed up expecting a routine victory over Dumbarton won't ever give you the same atmosphere. If Falkirk were pissing this league by 10 points right now I suspect your atmosphere would be great, as it is you've struggled through 2 or 3 seasons, your fans are very apathetic and looking for major change at the club. Having terracing or being at Brockville wouldn't change that atmosphere.

[Big Fifer]

I always prefer an away game. Whoever led the charge when we moved from Old Bayview and decided on the one stand effort needs their head examined. I always prefer standing behind the goals at a match for some reason so not being able to do that at a home match is annoying. I long for a small terrace at the sea end, but no idea how much it would cost. Regardless, I can't imagine it'll come anytime soon as it's not going to attract more fans to show up (myself aside of course!). 

Somerset the away ground I've most enjoyed but for a team of our level I like Montrose's ground as it has the option for those who want to sit, but with a terrace end and you can stand the whole way round the park. 

[fuzzydunlop]

2 hours ago, The Moonster said:

My point is about the stadiums though, they seem to be the only buildings that have this requirement for "soul" and "character". I just don't understand it - others say they do understand it, fair enough, but I'm yet to be convinced of it.

Fill TFS for a game against Hibs or Rangers and you'll obviously get a crowd who are up for it from the get go and you'll get a great atmosphere. 2-3,000 who have showed up expecting a routine victory over Dumbarton won't ever give you the same atmosphere. If Falkirk were pissing this league by 10 points right now I suspect your atmosphere would be great, as it is you've struggled through 2 or 3 seasons, your fans are very apathetic and looking for major change at the club. Having terracing or being at Brockville wouldn't change that atmosphere.

I do know what you are saying.

I remember being at a game at FFS a few years ago against Raith.   I just remember sitting thinking back in the day, even if the game was crap, we'd at least have a bit of banter with the Raith fans, but it ended up being Mark Stewart who got the abuse. I've never been one to start a song, but will join in. However it was pretty lacklustre.   I do remember gaems at Brockville that were sh*t but you then turned  some of your attention to singing about how sh*t the other town was.  Some people might not think thats what football should be about but it certainly made it more interesting. 

Obviously it would be great if every week the Falkirk faithful turned up and sang and created an atmosphere but i think our stadium doesnt make that easy even if we wanted to.   I'm under no illuison again that back in the Brockville days when there was maybe a core of 100-150 who created the noise it probably wasnt as loud as I remember it. However I'll never forget the goosebumps when the main stand would start singing, "come on ye bairns" then round to Hope Street joining in and then the choir would join in... jumpers for goalposts hmmmm

However I do agree. When morale and faith in the club at all levels is low then folk can't be f8cked -and its been that way for some time now so that doesn't help at all.   Said in a previous post we really need a 'hero' at the club more than ever..someone on the park who can get us on our feet and something to shout about...and until then I fear as you say it doesn't matter where we are playing, the atmosphere will be sh*te.

[fuzzydunlop]

21 minutes ago, fuzzydunlop said:

I do know what you are saying.

I remember being at a game at FFS a few years ago against Raith.   I just remember sitting thinking back in the day, even if the game was crap, we'd at least have a bit of banter with the Raith fans, but it ended up being Mark Stewart who got the abuse. I've never been one to start a song, but will join in. However it was pretty lacklustre.   I do remember gaems at Brockville that were sh*t but you then turned  some of your attention to singing about how sh*t the other town was.  Some people might not think thats what football should be about but it certainly made it more interesting. 

Obviously it would be great if every week the Falkirk faithful turned up and sang and created an atmosphere but i think our stadium doesnt make that easy even if we wanted to.   I'm under no illuison again that back in the Brockville days when there was maybe a core of 100-150 who created the noise it probably wasnt as loud as I remember it. However I'll never forget the goosebumps when the main stand would start singing, "come on ye bairns" then round to Hope Street joining in and then the choir would join in... jumpers for goalposts hmmmm

However I do agree. When morale and faith in the club at all levels is low then folk can't be f8cked -and its been that way for some time now so that doesn't help at all.   Said in a previous post we really need a 'hero' at the club more than ever..someone on the park who can get us on our feet and something to shout about...and until then I fear as you say it doesn't matter where we are playing, the atmosphere will be sh*te.

sorry I came onto this thread on the back of reading the Best 11 of the Decade thread, and although it was nice to reminisce it just made things worse comparing those players to what we  have  now! Not good for a Monday..

[AyrTroopMajor]

This is what you're wanting. A big fence and the chance to exchange some 'views'. 

[San Starko Rover]

We’ve obviously not moved (well not in anyone’s lifetime anyway) but the ground has been ruined by the ridiculous 10,000 seats rule brought in for the fans of the OF which gave us two enormous ends and a railway stand we will never use unless in the Premiership. For a club of our size we should have been looking at two small stands at the sides with family sections corporate and disabled seating with a social club. The ends should have been covered terracing allowing supporters the choice of seating or standing. An overall capacity of 6-8k would suit most medium sized Scottish clubs. Sadly I don’t see anyway to change Starks short of a new stadium and I’d rather we don’t move away from the centre. So unless someone wins the Euromillions and wants a project I doubt much will change. Fortunately it’s not a bad stadium but it could have been so much better without stupid unnecessary rules about all seater and minimum capacity.

[TxRover]

There is a definite connection between size and character for a lot of these current stadia. The huge stands built for rules (see Starks Park) removed a good bit of the feel from watching a game there. Look at all the teams with stands that get opened perhaps 4 or 6 times a year, that vast empty space drains the life from the place the rest of the time.

Now, the current smaller “generic” builds like Bayview can still feel alive when things happen (most recently when the BSC fans went nuts, for example, or when EF humped Raith), where in those huge empty bowls, even that enthusiasm gets lost. The biggest problem is having a field that can handle the 3-4,000 that might show for a big match, but that doesn’t feel soulless when 600 show up...and even standing areas can’t fix that one.

[Diamonds are Forever]

I much prefer away games where there is terracing and really enjoy visiting grounds that are 'old fashioned'. I don't go to lower league games for a luxury experience and feel the older grounds are a bit more 'authentic'.

Not really sure what I'd prefer at home. As much as I like the older grounds I think the novelty would disappear if we had it every week. I'm absolutely sure I'd rather not play in a 10,000 seater stadium like ours. There is nothing particularly wrong with the stadium itself, it's just that it's completely inappropriate for a club of our size. Not sure what the solution is though because the kind of half-stadium that Hamilton have I'm not a fan of either. I'd probably have liked something like Palmerston where there is a mixture of old seating, new (in relative terms) seating and terracing. It can cope with bigger crowds but also doesn't feel like a ghost town when it is pretty empty.

For those that have moved away from older grounds like ourselves and Falkirk it's hard to separate the nostalgia when thinking about where you preferred playing. If we'd only had 600 odd fans going to games at the Old Broomfield I doubt many Airdrie fans would think as fondly of the old ground as they do. It doesn't help that ever since we moved we have been rubbish so very few positive memories have been created at NB, which means fans probably look back to the old ground more than they would if we'd had a successful team in the last 20 years.

Edited November 25, 2019 by Diamonds are Forever

[AyrTroopMajor]

16 hours ago, TxRover said:

There is a definite connection between size and character for a lot of these current stadia. The huge stands built for rules (see Starks Park) removed a good bit of the feel from watching a game there. Look at all the teams with stands that get opened perhaps 4 or 6 times a year, that vast empty space drains the life from the place the rest of the time.

Now, the current smaller “generic” builds like Bayview can still feel alive when things happen (most recently when the BSC fans went nuts, for example, or when EF humped Raith), where in those huge empty bowls, even that enthusiasm gets lost. The biggest problem is having a field that can handle the 3-4,000 that might show for a big match, but that doesn’t feel soulless when 600 show up...and even standing areas can’t fix that one.

Agree with much of what you have said but I do think that standing areas can certainly help in terms of atmosphere.

Somerset technically holds 10,000 people, exactly like Airdrie. If there are only 1,000 there, it is still a good atmosphere when shooting towards the home end with fans all standing behind the goal. Compare that with Airdrie if they have a crowd of 1,000. They are all sitting along the side of the pitch, spread out in a stand that holds 3,000, with the end behind the goal empty. There is certainly a different feel despite the crowd total being the same.