All too often this season, when Gary Johnson’s Bristol City side have reached top spot of the Championship, we have been knocked off it within a few hours. But on Saturday, after our 2-1 success at home to Hull City, we stayed top. Before the game, Johnson described the match as a ‘must win’ game as we face a tough March with an away trip to promotion chasers Charlton, and host Watford on 11 March. The match was important and there was big crowd waiting in anticipation, although it was not a sell out and I can’t understand why not.
We are in a fantastic position, the highest the club has been for 28 years yet we still have not had a 19,000 plus crowd cheering on the lads. I know I have mentioned this before but there are few home games remaining and we are on course to achieve the biggest feat this season. To be fair to City fans, the 15,859 spectators present were mostly made up of home supporters with Hull City bringing probably less than 1,000 supporters. With Watford and Plymouth likely to bring support in the region of 3,000 fans, I am sure Ashton Gate will be sold out for some games this season.
Back to Saturday, and Phil Brown’s Hull City side made life very difficult for City and could have easily taken the lead after just 50 seconds when an unmarked Caleb Folan found his way into the box, only to slice his shot wide of Adriano Basso’s left hand post. The miss proved crucial on 14 minutes when a Jamie McAllister long ball forward was misjudged by defender Neil Clement and Dele Adebola lashed the ball on the half volley into the top corner of the net from 15 yards.
It was a fantastic finish from a player many City fans questioned the signing of when Gary made a bid for him in the January transfer window. But three goals in six appearances speaks for itself and this may prove to be one of the smartest signings of Gary’s reign if his goals send us into the Premiership. Personally, when we signed him, I looked at his record at Coventry City, which revealed he had scored six goals this season, and I was unconvinced. Many friends, one a Coventry fan, couldn’t speak highly enough of him, while others believed he was too old. But I think all his doubters can agree they were wrong.
After the first goal, as has been the case so often this season, we struggled to score a second and the visitors equalised on the stroke of half time through a Liam Fontaine own goal. The goal did not come as a surprise as Hull gained in confidence as the half progressed and City seemed to sit on their one goal advantage. I’m sure Gary gave the players a roasting at half time as their performance was not up their usual high standards. His team talk worked again, as it has on so many other occasions this season, as defender Jamie McCombe scored with an over head kick which any striker would have been happy with. From then on the team grew in confidence and could have scored more with Adebola going close and David Noble shooting over the bar.
The atmosphere inside the stadium was fantastic, one of the best all season, as fans began singing and dreaming of promotion as we headed to the top of the league. With Stoke City losing to QPR on Sunday, we are still top and there is now a real belief that we can achieve promotion and with just six more wins needed from 11 games according to Johnson, it is certainly achievable.
ANDY DAVIES
Showing posts with label atmosphere. Show all posts
Showing posts with label atmosphere. Show all posts
Monday, 3 March 2008
Saturday, 1 March 2008
Outplayed but never outsung
Twelve hours ago I awoke with the fuzzy, spreading glow of hope that the 2007-8 season may turn out to be the greatest in Plymouth Argyle’s history. And despite the 3-0 mauling the Greens got at West Bromwich Albion today, it refuses to leave me. Because the almost carnival atmosphere present amongst the 3000 travelling Pilgrims swarming to the Hawthorns provided a clear marker of the positive momentum which has already been accrued. This defeat felt like little more than a setback, and one achieved by an overly numerous margin.
As silver linings go, comprehensively outshouting your opponents from the stands is not to be sniffed at. From well before kick-off, in the pubs and streets of Sandwell, Westcountry accents bawled out all the old favourites and KC & The Sunshine Band-inspired newies. The 19,000 home fans were relatively subdued throughout proceedings, and even after each goal their Boinging seemed oddly restrained. The Green Army were able to eagerly indulge in mocking chants of the "worst support we’ve ever seen" variety, while, in contrast, proding a level of verbal support which was frankly astounding.
The effect of this on players like Paul Connolly and Kristian Timar was immediately obvious. The Baggies were clearly the more technically proficient side, but Argyle outfought them for large parts of the first half, until lacklustre defending allowed Zoltan Gera to scramble home on halftime. A sickening blow for Argyle, a slightly below-par visiting side failed to recover, and Uriah Rennie’s big club refereeing and two more scrappy goals put paid to our hopes.
But we roll on, now effectively joint-sixth with Ipswich, and Tuesday’s home clash with demotion-doomed Colchester United assumes significant importance. The line-up requires refreshment; Steve McLean currently looks lightweight and lacking in confidence, a pair of accusations which it would be unthinkable to level at Jamie Mackie – whose flashes of brilliance during limited runouts from the bench deserve greater exposure. Even today, with his team-mates low on ideas and drive with the game already lost, Mackie beat defenders, won free-kicks, and was unlucky not to be given a penalty after being clattered eight yards out. He deserves a full test alongside the hardworking Jermaine Easter.
Gary Teale is also yet to impress, while his second-half replacement today, Chris Clark, looked sprightly on returning from injury. Let’s hope the change is effective from 7.45pm in midweek.
Argyle should beat Colchester, but either way there is a new spirit and verve among fanbase and players which promises to bring greater glory.
RICH PARTINGTON
As silver linings go, comprehensively outshouting your opponents from the stands is not to be sniffed at. From well before kick-off, in the pubs and streets of Sandwell, Westcountry accents bawled out all the old favourites and KC & The Sunshine Band-inspired newies. The 19,000 home fans were relatively subdued throughout proceedings, and even after each goal their Boinging seemed oddly restrained. The Green Army were able to eagerly indulge in mocking chants of the "worst support we’ve ever seen" variety, while, in contrast, proding a level of verbal support which was frankly astounding.
The effect of this on players like Paul Connolly and Kristian Timar was immediately obvious. The Baggies were clearly the more technically proficient side, but Argyle outfought them for large parts of the first half, until lacklustre defending allowed Zoltan Gera to scramble home on halftime. A sickening blow for Argyle, a slightly below-par visiting side failed to recover, and Uriah Rennie’s big club refereeing and two more scrappy goals put paid to our hopes.
But we roll on, now effectively joint-sixth with Ipswich, and Tuesday’s home clash with demotion-doomed Colchester United assumes significant importance. The line-up requires refreshment; Steve McLean currently looks lightweight and lacking in confidence, a pair of accusations which it would be unthinkable to level at Jamie Mackie – whose flashes of brilliance during limited runouts from the bench deserve greater exposure. Even today, with his team-mates low on ideas and drive with the game already lost, Mackie beat defenders, won free-kicks, and was unlucky not to be given a penalty after being clattered eight yards out. He deserves a full test alongside the hardworking Jermaine Easter.
Gary Teale is also yet to impress, while his second-half replacement today, Chris Clark, looked sprightly on returning from injury. Let’s hope the change is effective from 7.45pm in midweek.
Argyle should beat Colchester, but either way there is a new spirit and verve among fanbase and players which promises to bring greater glory.
RICH PARTINGTON
Wednesday, 12 December 2007
Honours even in derby battle
It’s fair to say that the atmosphere at Home Park for Plymouth Argyle home matches has slowly disintegrated over the last few seasons. When the Greens stormed through the lower divisions from 2001-2004, blitzing all-comers on the way to two championships in three years, there were countless days when the Devonport End roof virtually struggled to withstand the force of noise from underneath. And, for the biggest games, the Zoo Corner of the Lyndhurst began to develop in a similar way, with hundreds on their feet, united in song, for long periods.
This is something which has slowly fallen away, and there are several reasons for this, aside from the obvious – Argyle, of course, haven’t experienced a promotion season in the intervening period. Success will always get the fans singing, and there were so many massively important ties at the time, with so much riding on them – who can forget Mansfield and Exeter at home in 2002, or Swindon and QPR in 2004? The nervous tension of these games and the large, fervent support was conducive to a raucous, intimidating atmosphere.
That was replicated a couple of times when Argyle first went up to the Championship – Leeds at home in particular – but the disappointments and defeats of a long, hard season, where Argyle struggled with the step up to the second tier, wore down the supporters. An average of 16,420 saw league matches at Home Park in 2004-05, the highest number since 1960-61. This should have been the springboard for a widening of the fanbase and increased success, but the incompetence of Bobby Williamson and conservative tactics of his successor Tony Pulis drove the crowds away.
Bristol City are currently in a similar position to where Argyle were three years ago. Flushed with the feel-good factor from promotion, the crowds are still high and roaring on their team. However, with the Robins having managed to hang on to their messiah, manager Gary Johnson, while the Pilgrims lost ours, Paul Sturrock, to Southampton. City have started their assault on the Championship impressively well, the winning momentum yet to catch up with them.
Saturday, of course, was where the two sides met, and as well as providing an opportunity to decide the strongest side in the Westcountry, it allowed an intriguing insight into the state of two broadly progressive clubs who, sooner or later, should be making real challenges for places in the Premiership.
This was the first Argyle game which came anything close to a derby since promotion to the Championship, and, with City having sold out the Barn Park End, they were obviously up for it too, despite their claims that this week’s home tie with Cardiff means more.
The police, at any rate, were not taking chances. Travelling down on the train with my Turnip companion Andy Davies, and clad in a green shirt and scarf, I was surrounded by a see of Bristolians from Temple Meads onwards. There was certainly a degree of comfort in having the boys in yellow blazers only a couple of yards away.
At Plymouth station the security was stepped up with City fans diverted away from everyone else. I very nearly got dragged with them, but thankfully several determined jabs at my scarf amid the din conveyed to the coppers that this might be unwise. On the way back, I was not able to find Andy until we had passed Bristol, with the City fans having been kept inside the ground for more than 20 minutes after the match, and the train coaches segregated to avoid conflicts.
The Britannia Inn, on the corner of the ground, held a calmer ambience, with red and green mixing happily, but this was obviously not the case inside Home Park. A small segregation area, and the apparent willingness of the stewards to allow the massed opposing ranks in the Zoo corner and away end to stand for the entire game, was conducive to a crackling atmosphere. Even Andy admitted, at the time, that Argyle outsang Bristol. And we had something approaching those days I was referring to; the first time since the Watford FA Cup quarter-final, last season, that Home Park had felt like a real football ground.
And there was the return of personalised songs. An Argyle team entering the field of play in 2003 would have been greeted by an individual chant for almost every player – from ‘Marino, woah-oah!’ (Marino Keith) to the famous Jason Bent Song (he ‘came from Canada to play for Ar-gy-le’, to the tune of ‘John Brown’s Body’, and was compared favourably to the also-dreadlocked Edgar Davids) – but as the folk heroes have been found out at higher levels, and the club have got bigger, the relationship between players and fans has become weaker and these songs have dwindled.
Also, these songs, often started as a joke by small groups of fans, are much harder to spread in the bigger crowds and designated seating of today.
But when Sylvan Ebanks-Blake was tugged down in the box by Louis Carey on 23 minutes and got up to smash home the resulting penalty, the former Manchester United trainee’s enthusiastic celebrations were greeted by the Lyndhurst roaring his name to the cheesy tune of KC & The Sunshine Band’s ‘Give It Up’. Sylvan’s further exploits provoked repeat readings, and a classic was born.
Kristian Timar didn’t have the best of afternoons, slicing the ball horrifically over Romain Larrieu’s head for City’s second-half own-goal equaliser, but beforehand he had been treated to several hearty bellowings of his surname. And for Argyle’s man-of-the-match goalkeeper, ‘He’s French, he’s great, he’s David Friio’s mate’ made a welcome return.
I didn’t sit down all afternoon. And though the 1-1 result, while probably a fair reflection of the game, was mildly disappointing given Argyle’s winning position, the atmosphere was how it should be every week.
The problem of making this happen is a complex one which must be examined separately, but certainly the decision to reduce prices for the Hull City FA Cup game on January 5 is a step in the right direction.
As for the best team in the Westcountry…the league table suggests the Robins are on top, but this game was as tight as they come, and for 70 minutes the Pilgrims looked the likely winners. Four months til the rematch. I’m excited already.
RICH PARTINGTON
This is something which has slowly fallen away, and there are several reasons for this, aside from the obvious – Argyle, of course, haven’t experienced a promotion season in the intervening period. Success will always get the fans singing, and there were so many massively important ties at the time, with so much riding on them – who can forget Mansfield and Exeter at home in 2002, or Swindon and QPR in 2004? The nervous tension of these games and the large, fervent support was conducive to a raucous, intimidating atmosphere.
That was replicated a couple of times when Argyle first went up to the Championship – Leeds at home in particular – but the disappointments and defeats of a long, hard season, where Argyle struggled with the step up to the second tier, wore down the supporters. An average of 16,420 saw league matches at Home Park in 2004-05, the highest number since 1960-61. This should have been the springboard for a widening of the fanbase and increased success, but the incompetence of Bobby Williamson and conservative tactics of his successor Tony Pulis drove the crowds away.
Bristol City are currently in a similar position to where Argyle were three years ago. Flushed with the feel-good factor from promotion, the crowds are still high and roaring on their team. However, with the Robins having managed to hang on to their messiah, manager Gary Johnson, while the Pilgrims lost ours, Paul Sturrock, to Southampton. City have started their assault on the Championship impressively well, the winning momentum yet to catch up with them.
Saturday, of course, was where the two sides met, and as well as providing an opportunity to decide the strongest side in the Westcountry, it allowed an intriguing insight into the state of two broadly progressive clubs who, sooner or later, should be making real challenges for places in the Premiership.
This was the first Argyle game which came anything close to a derby since promotion to the Championship, and, with City having sold out the Barn Park End, they were obviously up for it too, despite their claims that this week’s home tie with Cardiff means more.
The police, at any rate, were not taking chances. Travelling down on the train with my Turnip companion Andy Davies, and clad in a green shirt and scarf, I was surrounded by a see of Bristolians from Temple Meads onwards. There was certainly a degree of comfort in having the boys in yellow blazers only a couple of yards away.
At Plymouth station the security was stepped up with City fans diverted away from everyone else. I very nearly got dragged with them, but thankfully several determined jabs at my scarf amid the din conveyed to the coppers that this might be unwise. On the way back, I was not able to find Andy until we had passed Bristol, with the City fans having been kept inside the ground for more than 20 minutes after the match, and the train coaches segregated to avoid conflicts.
The Britannia Inn, on the corner of the ground, held a calmer ambience, with red and green mixing happily, but this was obviously not the case inside Home Park. A small segregation area, and the apparent willingness of the stewards to allow the massed opposing ranks in the Zoo corner and away end to stand for the entire game, was conducive to a crackling atmosphere. Even Andy admitted, at the time, that Argyle outsang Bristol. And we had something approaching those days I was referring to; the first time since the Watford FA Cup quarter-final, last season, that Home Park had felt like a real football ground.
And there was the return of personalised songs. An Argyle team entering the field of play in 2003 would have been greeted by an individual chant for almost every player – from ‘Marino, woah-oah!’ (Marino Keith) to the famous Jason Bent Song (he ‘came from Canada to play for Ar-gy-le’, to the tune of ‘John Brown’s Body’, and was compared favourably to the also-dreadlocked Edgar Davids) – but as the folk heroes have been found out at higher levels, and the club have got bigger, the relationship between players and fans has become weaker and these songs have dwindled.
Also, these songs, often started as a joke by small groups of fans, are much harder to spread in the bigger crowds and designated seating of today.
But when Sylvan Ebanks-Blake was tugged down in the box by Louis Carey on 23 minutes and got up to smash home the resulting penalty, the former Manchester United trainee’s enthusiastic celebrations were greeted by the Lyndhurst roaring his name to the cheesy tune of KC & The Sunshine Band’s ‘Give It Up’. Sylvan’s further exploits provoked repeat readings, and a classic was born.
Kristian Timar didn’t have the best of afternoons, slicing the ball horrifically over Romain Larrieu’s head for City’s second-half own-goal equaliser, but beforehand he had been treated to several hearty bellowings of his surname. And for Argyle’s man-of-the-match goalkeeper, ‘He’s French, he’s great, he’s David Friio’s mate’ made a welcome return.
I didn’t sit down all afternoon. And though the 1-1 result, while probably a fair reflection of the game, was mildly disappointing given Argyle’s winning position, the atmosphere was how it should be every week.
The problem of making this happen is a complex one which must be examined separately, but certainly the decision to reduce prices for the Hull City FA Cup game on January 5 is a step in the right direction.
As for the best team in the Westcountry…the league table suggests the Robins are on top, but this game was as tight as they come, and for 70 minutes the Pilgrims looked the likely winners. Four months til the rematch. I’m excited already.
RICH PARTINGTON
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