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Where's the Premier League atmosphere gone?

By Steve Wilson

Last Updated: 1:03pm GMT 02/01/2008

Seven years after Roy Keane's 'prawn sandwich' tirade it is not seafood snacks but corpses stinking out Old Trafford these days.

"The crowd were dead," said Alex Ferguson. "It was like a funeral out there. It was the quietest I have heard here for some time. Sometimes we need them to get behind us. They can help produce the right performance but we did not get that today."

Is it reasonable, then, for a United crowd who have grown spoilt by glory nights and thrilling football to no longer be able to rouse themselves for a scrappy, but important, 1-0 win over Birmingham?

Or is what Ferguson observed at Old Trafford happening everywhere; another step forward in football's consumerism, where fans are replaced by customers who can, and should, expect to be entertained for the money they are paying?

THE GOOD:

Fratton Park - Portsmouth

A raucous, intimidating atmosphere at home is one of the reasons no teams look forward to a trip to the South Coast. A traditional, tight ground with fans on top of the action helps, too. Just try and avoid sitting anywhere near that bloke with the bell.

Anfield - Liverpool

Though perhaps not everything Andy Gray will have you believe, few English grounds regularly produce the noise and fervour that Anfield does and the Kop's character has survived the introduction of seating better than most famous old stands.

Stadium of Light - Sunderland

It is easy to sing when you're winning but when you have been satistically the worst - as well as holding the dubious honour of the second worst Premier League side ever - team in the top flight in recent years and you still command passionate, vocal crowds suggests something works at the club. Or the shops are so bad, as Keane would have us believe, that people are just looking for something to do on a Saturday afternoon.

Goodison Park - Everton

Deemed good enough to host a World Cup semi-final in 1966, Goodison has seen better days but the wooden seats and crumbling facilities do nothing to dampen down the spirits of the regulars. Crowds took their fall from the old 'big five' with better humour and equanimity than others fallen on harder times and are enjoying the rise again.

THE BAD:

The Riverside - Middlesbrough

Rows of empty seats are not the sole preserve of Middlesbrough but regardless of wether you are a stadium half-full or stadium half-empty kind of fan there is often a desolate feel to the Riverside. In their defence, Middlesbrough is not a big a place, especially when compared to Sunderland and Newcastle, and several seasons of Steve McClaren has to take some sort of toll.

Craven Cottage - Fulham

Probably the nicest location and most picturesque environs for a football ground but the lack of a harsh, working class backdrop comes along with a loss of atmosphere, too. A limited number of sets when compared to their peers doesn't help either.

JJB Stadium - Wigan

Such has been the pace of Wigan's ascent to the top tier of English football it is perhaps understandable that many people were left behind. Rarely full and always quiet, Wigan are another small town team punching above their weight with a limited number of foot soldiers to make their presence felt.

Emirates Stadium - Arsenal

Highbury was derogatorily branded 'the Library' by visiting fans and Arsenal are still getting used to their new home. Few memories or shared experiences in the flash new stadium probably don't make it feel like home just yet. Only one defeat there mean there is usually something for the home fans to sing about but full houses should be able to muster more noise than they do.

...AND THE UGLY:

St James' Park - Newcastle

"I don't think I've heard a crowd that vicious," said Joey Barton of the Newcastle fans, and you would imagine he knows a thing or two about it. Regular sell-outs despite more than 50 seasons without a trophy speaks highly of their loyalty; their impatience and eagerness to get on the backs of players and, especially, managers does not.

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What do you think? Which grounds still impress you on TV with the level of vocal support? Which grounds have an atmosphere more akin to a training session?

To be honest, I think some of the grounds lower down the leagues have a better atmosphere than a lot of the EPL grounds.

Good places, Cardiff (Intimidating, allthough <deleted> stadium), Leeds (always a hostile atmosphere), Southampton (The Dell- always a good atmosphere there, not sure what it is like these days @ St Mary's), Bristol City (Decent stadium, pretty vocal fans), Torquay United (Obviously).

Bad places, Bristol Rovers (Eastville - bloody dog track), Newport County (A dump) Wigan (Old and new grounds, Sprinfield park was bloody awful place, with no atmosphere)

As for EPL - Aston Villa, Tottenham, Everton, West Ham, Man City IMO opinion are pretty good places. Man Utd can be a little indifferent. Liverpool and Fratton Park I would say are the most atmospheric at present, and suprisingly Sunderland even with a poor run of results.

Nothing beats a lower league ground though when it's the FA cup and an EPL team is the visitor.

All are welcome at Spotland

As for City. A lovely ground and facilities. Infrastructure for traffic, great. Will host 2008 Eufa Cup Final. Atmosphere not as good as at Maine Road but it's getting better slowly. Moving to a new ground always seem to have this effect on supporters

Gone with the terracing

Gone with the terracing

Plus it's so expensive now. Different kind of person going to football.

Gone with the terracing

Plus it's so expensive now. Different kind of person going to football.

Very true, one match is gonna cost you at least 100 notes when you take into account all the add ons.

Gone with the terracing

Plus it's so expensive now. Different kind of person going to football.

Very true, one match is gonna cost you at least 100 notes when you take into account all the add ons.

I have no kids (that i know of anyway ) but my brother has 2 , so 3 Man City season tickets and hotdogs and coke and beer and.... etc

My sister has 3 kids, so with her husband that's 5 season tickets and hotdogs and programmes and cokes and......etc. I tell you, it costs them a <deleted> fortune.

However, the main issue that we all have, isn't so much the cost but it's that there is rarely a 3 o'clock saturday game anymore

the kop is dead

anfield has such a bad atmosphere nowadays that the more seasoned reds have resorted to starting up a group called "Reclaim the Kop"

http://www.reclaimthekop.co.uk/cgi-bin/mai...?action=charter

however, still a great atmosphere on european nights.