As a preamble, I apologise if I come across as being the resident old arse who’s always bleating on about what it was like in the good old days.That’s not the intention. It wasn’t perfect back then, far from it on occasions. Even still there was usually “enough” from the Kop to at least connect with the players. Getting in early and singing the players names in the kick-in for a start.
The main points as I see it are these and we’re touching on sensitive territory here so I apologise in advance. I also apologise if I’ve repeated myself on here loads of times. Sorry. I can’t help myself!
The Kop is too comfortable in the sense that when there was standing and having to queue to get in, the “senior” supporters invariably chose another part of the ground to watch their football. Like it or not, it was natural selection and the rough and tumble wasn’t for everybody.
It’s desperately sad to see an ever-increasing number of passionless folk on the Kop, arms folded even during YNWA and clearly not giving two fucks. Next to them, you’ve invariably got the amateur Thomas Cook amateur photographers and the halfy-halfy brigade filming the whole sad debacle. And whilst we have to understand the older supporters (I’m one myself) who may say, ”I’ve had my season ticket for decades , what right have you to say that I don’t belong there blah blah,” there comes a point when the club need to be encouraged to do something if they still want to market our reputation.
They need to accommodate people who have had season tickets for donkeys years and aren’t interested in the singing elsewhere- even elsewhere on the Kop. The same obviously applies to the occasional visitors. But the central part of the Kop needs to be set aside to what it’s always been famous for. That’s not to criticise the supporters who don’t want to take part in the singing but want to watch the match quietly. Not at all. Just that they should be encoraged to watch the game from elsewhere. It’s not fucking rocket science. Or maybe it is and I’ve been away for too long?
That said, of course there are occasions when the support is still white-hot, and our fans are capable of creating an atmosphere which we all know is second to none. If there was a Champions league semi-final tomorrow you can guarantee that it’d be right up there with the other great nights.
Even still, it’s when there is general malaise and like yesterday on the back of poor form and bad results, that the Kop needs to reach out and do something to lift the team. It’s the general bread and butter matches where the Kop in its present state (as well as the team) is woeful.
Where are the songs that used to be sung to lift the team in these moments? “Come on Scousers…” “Get into them”…”Come on you mighty reds, come on you mighty reds?” “Allez-les rouges” Defient, easy-to learn songs which used to do the trick and give encouragement even when the atmosphere wasn’t scintellating . Simple songs that kept the atmosphere ticking over even if it wasn’t St Etienne or Barcelona. At least the Kop knew that they had to help out and encourage the team. If these songs aren’t passed down , sung and learned by newer generations, they’re lost.
In addition, there needs to be some sort of behavioural self-regulation like there is (or should be) in many walks of life. If your mate’s got his phone out and talking to his missus during the game, tell him not to. If you see the halfy-halfy brigade, don’t get agressive, just them that you don’t do that- but with a smile. Tell them before the match but don’t offend people who love our club. Educate and teach them the traditions but respect them. As others have already said, the club should be doing the same by not selling these rags in the club shop, but that’s another story.
As a kid, (70s and 80s) if I or one of my mates couldn’t get to a match, the first question we’d ask those who’d been would be what the atmosphere was like. It was that important. It was as if we had a duty to make it good. And that’s why I and others on here are so passionate, not just about the result but about everything that is connected with our success. I don’t want trophies if the rest is missing.
If the club really wanted to do something, they could. A lot of people writing on here, who are more informed than me at the moment seem to be saying that they don’t. I really hope they listen to Tony Barrett.
I’m probably a deluded old dreamer and maybe I shouldn’t take it so badly. But it’s very hard to, especially when you can’t even get to the game yourself and all you live on is memories.
