OliOTIB

Nice one fevs

https://x.com/darrenowitcoop/status/1693920547975872738?s=46&t=q3VrrEzaARUbEOUthE50uA not sure why the tweet wont show but Darren Witcoop suggesting that WBA are ready to ‘sell’

Hope so, this kid is decent Didnt do it at Boro, bang average there and WBA. Will be on a fat wage too.

There is a limited few now - Massengos, Scotts, Dasilvas, Bentleys, Conway out injured, Semenyo - all songs which arent sung now, since they have left/arent playing. Not like we have any new ones anyway!

Fear my life is going to a dark place when ive just read an article on how to improve acoustics at a flipping 27,000 sports stadium ?

Exactly- would need upmost planning for probs around a year, ready for next season, if there was to be any infrastructure changes tbh

The typical start of season OTIB atmosphere moan is here. As always, few fixes which could help to improve the dire atmosphere that we witnessed today. Being in S82 was dreadful today, the display was the only interesting bit, and being honest, I did leave on 85th minute after they scored. Dont hurt me please, I missed my dog ? Anyway, heres my ideas. 1) Move some home fans back into the Atyeo. Just like 16/17 season when we had around 30% of the Atyeo, other team had 60% and 10% was left empty. Birmingham were hugely advantaged by the fact there were 3000 away fans, attacking that end. Simply the acoustics allow for that stand to outsing the whole ground, so reduce allocation, put home fans in there. 2) Move Home fans to the middle of South stand, behind the goal. Every teams singing section seems to be behind a goal, which is such a huge advantage when attacking it in the second half. This will of course increase singing across south stand, lansdown and dolman, as singing is closer to them. This will of course be difficult as the infrastructure is already in place in blocks s25,26 and 27. However, it will allow for a whole stand of just standing. We will of course have to relocate those who dont want to be a part of this, which of course will be a huge issue. The main problem currently with the SS is the £55 junior season tickets. Say a kid wanted the new home shirt, which costs £40, if a season ticket is bought as an alternative which of course comes with the new shirt, that leaves the season ticket technically costing £15, which works out to 65p per game!! Yet we wonder why its always so empty, kids don’t show up. Yet a part from this, the stand always comes up as full despite it being 1/2 empty, and people miss out on sitting there. Stupidity really. 3) Expand the ‘singing section’. This can be simply done by putting safe standing rails in S24 and allowing for people to stand in there. Of course, the same applies for above, some people wont want to move/ will have to move as a result which is a tad unfair and wont be easy. This can therefore spread the noise more towards the other end of the SS and make that louder. Also, this comes with the issue of the potential problem of people in S23 not being able to see the corner flag. 4) Two singing sections. Like at Plymouth (used as an example). 2 areas of the ground which will make noise, similar to the ABLOCK/S82 combination we had at the turn of the year. Not particularly sure why that fell apart so much, but when it was in full flow it certainly improved the atmosphere quite considerably. I remember games like Birmingham, Norwich, Blackburn all being really good atmospheres due to the combination of two singing sections. Of course, these things suggested aren’t particularly easy to achieve by any stretch of the imagination, but just some ideas You reds x

Slightly off topic - struggling to sleep currently. Just wondering if everyone felt the same way about this Does football impact everyone else in such a positive way? Saturdays with my mates, and still playing on the odd occasion with friends. As cringe as it sounds, it really is my only real drive to get out of bed some days, all i look forward to every week. Very random i know, but just wondering how much of an impact it genuinely has on everyones mental health and motivation.

Mate, if you really feel that way there are hundreds of options of professional helplines and support services to reach out to, as well as absolutely everyone on this forum constantly having their messages open for you to reach out if you need to. We’ve all felt low at some point. Personally, during lockdown I felt like I was down in the dumps, felt like everyone was forever against me. I finally built the courage to reach out to loved ones and some external help and I managed to get myself up the ladder and feel so much better about myself. These days, Im loving life and feeling more and more like myself day by day. Were all in this together mate, life is never perfect and never will be, but we are all brilliant in our own ways. Wishing you all the best.

Marlon was apparently brilliant at leyton orient.

6 More to go surely weve got 200 pages in the bag

200 pages please

Relevant to the other ongoing atmosphere thread - some songs what my mate and his dad thought up. Kal Naismith- Rhythm is a dancer Naismith is the answer You can play him anywhere Stole him from the luton He is our solution Try and stop him if you dare Woaaahhh Kal Naismith Woaahhhh You should see him in the air Woaaahhh Kal Naismith Woahhhhhh Mark Sykes - I am in love I cant deny An irishman who plays for city called mark sykes Hes running up And down the right Hes fkn rapid and he plays in red and white De de de de (to song) Ross Mccrorie - Whats the story Ross McCrorie Wellllssssss Need a little time to wake up wake up Wellllsssss Whats the story Ross McCrorie Sam Bell - vid from 20 seconds From Down the road He loves to fight Hes born to play In red and white So listen close It must be said Just like his dad Sam bells a red Open to opinion of course, but could be a solid base for a few songs @James

Another point - Would rather (as someone in s82) be situated behind the goal like most clubs. This is obviously not discussing the difficulty of moving current ST holder’s there, but I believe that it would boost the atmosphere. my dad is more of a day tripper, going on occasion and likes to sit in the middle of the lansdown and says its like a library there, and unsurprising when the club put our loudest fans in the corner. If we did (and this is a big maybe) move our ‘noisiest’ fans to the centre of the south stand, it would get the whole south stand going, and if the A Blockers keep trying to get the Dolman going, there is a high chance that the atmosphere would massively improve. Most grounds ive been to in the Champ, and that is the large majority have their noisy, standing fans behind the goal, and they are louder. Get a proper home end going again, attacking that end in the second half, get the lansdown going and the dolman, it really could get it going. Then again, itz just a suggestion ?

Nothing really mate - large majority of the ‘youth’ who moved into A Block have all now moved back into S82 - noticed about 30 or so stood up at the front on saturday? Didnt hear them once anyway ?

Heineken Lounge sign is there but believe seats are in the Lansdown/South Stand corner of the stadium (ie, where away fans used to sit in the wedlock) and they are situated relatively high up. That being said you are not getting a great view, one that would cost 30 quid usually and less than that with a membership, so hardly a premium experience when it comes to watching the game.

Almost 150 pages on a 19 year old kid, who is still at the club haha. Sad bunch arent we ?

25m take the money and run. Hopefully we have someone lined up who can replace him straight away.

BBC Sounds

Just carrying a knock, could potentially miss season opener

OTIB - ‘Believe that hes done his ACL there, looked like he tore something and screamed in pain with no one around him, definitely out for the season’ Pearson and Fleming - ‘Yeah we got no injuries’

Hi jer, why have booking fees increased this year, including a booking fee now for the coach?

Matty Taylor signed on there too - might make the pilgrimage to Nailsworth soon aha

As much as I rate that Maja comment I honestly don't believe that we saw the complete story behind that move - Donald was always going to come down on that agent after that series of events and how angry he was that Maja was just snatched away from him.

As much as I agree with some of the stuff mentioned, I cant help but say the SOD days were some of the worst (and boy, there has been some dark days) as a fan of this club