| There’s a reason why we play to the Loft in the second half… 20:45 - May 9 with 6067 views | sevenhoop |
It’s because, back in the day, home fans, right ‘on top of the pitch’, almost sucked the ball in. Until recent years, we had a formidable home record.
I sit low down towards the middle of the pitch in the Stan Bowles stand (btw, he was never, ever, known as ‘Stanley’, always just Stan, it was Rodney Marsh who we used to sing ‘Rodneeee’ for). So it maybe that I don’t hear what the other three sides of the ground hear. You boys at both ends of Ellerslie do a great job of trying to stoke up atmosphere (the atmosphere that everyone speaks of at the Bush), but all I can hear at virtually every game is a racaus away crowd, even if they’ve half-filled the School End. As I say, apologies if our fans are heard loud and clear elsewhere, but every bloody home game seems to turn into an away game. There is no other team in the football pyramid that gives a whole end to the away team (accepted that it’s down to access issues that we have to do that) and not have our own ‘end’.
I’ve got loads of time for Lee Hoos but his decision to give up that for a ‘family’ area is completely reckless. Giving young fans nice seats does not, in the longer term, make them paying fans. Giving them a winning team to watch (from whatever part of the stadium) is far more likely to do that.
And look at the teams joining the Championship from both ends next season, all 6, however made up, will fill up the School End. And those 3k fans will again make a frightening noise.
Sorry to raise an old subject, but it’s bleeding obvious to me. Move our noisy fans to the Loft and say ‘sorry but you’ve got to move’ to the family people. I realise that will make some displaced people unhappy, but they’ll be even unhappier if, as seems likely, we lose so many home games next season. At least that will give us a chance of competing on a level playing field. | | | |  |
| There’s a reason why we play to the Loft in the second half… on 01:27 - May 10 with 4889 views | Damo1962 |
Top post. Been thinking and saying this, ever since we closed in Loftus Road on all sides. It's one of the reasons I would love a new stadium that is less welcoming to away support. A good home record is for me the most important part of a club and team. | | | |
| There’s a reason why we play to the Loft in the second half… on 07:54 - May 10 with 4706 views | Hastings_Hoops |
One solution is to give (up to) half of ellerslie to away fans and fill the school end with QPR fans… that would make a lot more sense in terms of creating a ‘home zone’ in South Africa road before and after the match.
…however, there will be little appetite for seasoned V-blockers to give up their seats. | | | |
| There’s a reason why we play to the Loft in the second half… on 08:31 - May 10 with 4647 views | daveB |
Not the family stands fault again. The lower loft became a family stand in 2008, long before Hoos came in.
They broke up the family stand last year to do what you want, get more "noisy" fans behind the goal, improve the atmosphere etc.
Made absolutely no difference as it's always been the way whether you have fans in one stand or another if we play well its a good atmosphere if we are crap its a morgue. | | | |
| There’s a reason why we play to the Loft in the second half… on 08:44 - May 10 with 4604 views | stowmarketrange |
We haven’t had much to get excited about all season at the loft end.Give us a goal or two to cheer and we might get a bit more noisy.
I don’t like both tiers at the school end being given to away fans but we can’t afford to leave a whole tier empty if we don’t.And there aren’t enough qpr fans going to loftus rd to fill up those seats.Brizzle fans made enough noise with just the top tier anyway.Exactly the same as we did at Stoke the previous week. | | | |
| There’s a reason why we play to the Loft in the second half… on 08:48 - May 10 with 4586 views | stevec |
Problem with the lower loft is the roof, or lack of. Any sound just dissipates into the atmosphere.
You can hear the away fans because the top tier has a roof over their heads. | | | |
| There’s a reason why we play to the Loft in the second half… on 08:53 - May 10 with 4576 views | GaryBannister86 |
Don't agree, Dave, and that's from someone who spent years in the Loft with my boy as the family stand.
It doesn't work anymore. The rail seating gives atmosphere. It is time to move the family stand anywhere else.
The whole Loft needs to become rail seating, a partisan end full of those who want to make noise as when it used to be a terrace.
I know kids will be more impressed seeing that anyway than the adject stupor and boredom of the Lower Loft seating most of the time. My last straw was that Sunderland cup game, thrilling stuff, but the main home end was more like a creche with kids doodling, being bored etc.
I know next generation is important but I don't really see how that works.
And - I also agree - the team needs to play well! | | | |
| There’s a reason why we play to the Loft in the second half… on 09:06 - May 10 with 4540 views | daveB |
it hasn't given atmosphere though, the atmosphere is no different to what it was last season, probably worse to be honest
You could make the whole lower loft rail seating would make no difference without a roof, I sit 2 blocks away from the safe standing and can rarely hear them.
safe standing should in Ellerslie imo and the upper loft | | | |
| There’s a reason why we play to the Loft in the second half… on 09:28 - May 10 with 4513 views | Toast_R |
Despite the non existent leg room and cramped facilities int he School end, a lot of away fans still like visiting LR because of the atmosphere being on top of the action behind the goal. Moving the away support to the Stan Bowles stand would just about put the tin hat on the away day experience for visiting fans. Expensive tickets and even less leg room and facilities. | | | |
| There’s a reason why we play to the Loft in the second half… on 09:36 - May 10 with 4500 views | Pikey |
Not sure that making a noise equals goals. Good players playing attacking football equals goals.
Some of you want to disrupt a whole fan base in the upper loft on an expirement that without good players wont work.
People draw comparisons with palace but in the last 30 years they havnt exactly set the world alight or been free scoring. | | | |
| There’s a reason why we play to the Loft in the second half… on 09:40 - May 10 with 4480 views | GaryBannister86 |
You can't hear them because there isn't enough of them. I've stood there and the atmosphere and singing is literally a million times more than when it was seating. Maybe no-one can hear that (strange, although the acoustics are dire) but anyone who has stood there would surely agree the atmosphere is better. And that is in one pocket to the left of the goal. Make it a whole stand, get singing going across the whole stand....that's my point. | | | |
| There’s a reason why we play to the Loft in the second half… on 10:25 - May 10 with 4408 views | daveB |
I'm must be sitting in a parallel universe as I haven't heard much from them all season and only sit 2 blocks away
Where are all these people who are going to fill these empty blocks, we don't often sell out the current safe standing area.
This is where i sympathise a bit with Hoos as it's never ending.
Initially it was bring in safe standing move the family stand and the atmosphere will be rocking, we'll even bring some flags. Done that and even added safe standing to Ellerslie Road as well and nothing improved so now it's lets move more people and then it will definitely work. If they do that this time next year it will be something else when nothing has really changed. | | | |
| There’s a reason why we play to the Loft in the second half… on 10:36 - May 10 with 4379 views | SydneyRs |
I do think our ground is quite conducive to the away end being noisy. Obvs they are right behind the goal and packed into a small stand. Also away fans in general tend to make more noise than the home supporters as they are the loyal ones that travel.
I also think as terrible as we are we're still seen as a 'big day out' by many visitors at this level. Bristol City fans last week (I refuse to refer to them as 'Brizzle'..) on twitter moaning about not getting both tiers. Why the hell are they so desperate to get to a totally meaningless end of season game?
Converting the Loft to a family stand was definitely a bad decision but it has partly been addressed this season, but we've been too rubbish to turn it into an advantage. Even in the old days there was only certain games where the Loft was rocking. The middle section usually was but the sides were mostly quiet aside from bigger games. Our "active" support as they refer to it in Australia was even then split between the Loft, Paddock and other areas.
I'd love to see the away fans stuck in the corner of Ellerslie but the practicalities of that may not work. Also big away followings are good for revenue, something we desperately need. | | | |
| There’s a reason why we play to the Loft in the second half… on 10:36 - May 10 with 4380 views | Lanhoop |
Of all the things that need to be dealt with this summer where people sit/stand/sing/yawn is right at the very bottom of the soddin' list. | | | |
| There’s a reason why we play to the Loft in the second half… on 10:44 - May 10 with 4345 views | Watford_Ranger |
They’ve looked at this before and it’s not doable due to the lack of exits, fire exits etc.
If the team is doing at least ok the atmosphere is good regardless of where the family stand is. In my one experience of the LL standing it’s been great but the sound doesn’t carry well from there. Given the logistics of the ground the current set-up is the best balance they can have IMO. | | | |
| There’s a reason why we play to the Loft in the second half… on 13:03 - May 10 with 4197 views | GaryBannister86 |
I don't understand why you think that "nothing has improved". That's your opinion. I think you will find the majority of people who have gone to the safe standing would think it is a vast improvement (in their experience, apologies if it doesn't improve yours). It's not all about the quality of the singing.
In fact, the only irritating thing about it is the slight "sing up you c****" mentality, but for me it is the best thing to happen at Loftus Road for ages. I've definitely gone more often this season because of it, without a doubt.
As for how we would fill it - by improving the experience. By making the whole Loft safe standing, making it an end to be proud of.
And, of course, the odd goal down that end too. | | | |
| There’s a reason why we play to the Loft in the second half… on 14:16 - May 10 with 4082 views | daveB |
I didn't say nothing has improved, I'm not against safe standing at all but I don't think the atmosphere in the stadium has improved. A major reason for that is the team of course and losing every week, you could have the whole stadium safe standing but if you lose every week the atmosphere will be shit | | | |
| There’s a reason why we play to the Loft in the second half… on 16:54 - May 10 with 3956 views | sevenhoop |
I know it’s a bore but no one has addressed my point. Even when both ends of Ellerslie are singing, I can’t say where I sit that there is a massive atmosphere generated. Does it sound great in South Africa Road? Other side of Loftus Road? Take it from me, the Bush used to be a fortress. Agreed the team is crap and that helps no one. But, say we’re 2-0 down and pull one back. The opposing keeper and defence would have hostile fans breathing down their necks but they have people shouting from each corner, once loud corner at the wrong end of the ground ffs. It stands to bloody reason.
And I repeat, we’ll get more young fans if we win, regardless of where they sit.
As for who will fill it, the guys at both ends of Ellerslie, surely?!
As I say, I know it’s a bore and been raised many times before, but it seems an absolute no-brainier to me. | | | |
| There’s a reason why we play to the Loft in the second half… on 17:15 - May 10 with 3907 views | ManinBlack |
I agree with a lot of the points made and by and large all that the original poster stated.
When I have been it always sounds like the greater noise comes from the away end but do our fans want to switch ends like we did in 1980 for better acoustics? Of course we might see more goals down the School end. I think one problem we have is our singers are not altogether so there is no coordination between the Loft and those in R block etc. If all together like the away supporters they might generate more noise like we do away.
With this group of players it felt like the away fans scared them to such an extent we couldn't score and wound up with the most home defeats ever. It probably would be a good idea to stick the away fans out of the way in Ellerslie but this means upsetting some season ticket holders to move.
If you look at Luton they have a smaller ground but they don't appear to be worried about loss of income restricting away fans. They only give away fans a section from the corner flag to the six yard box down one end, with a gap behind the goal and Luton fans to the other corner flag. They don't want 3,000 away fans corner flag to corner flag like we give over as they believe in home advantage so less support for the visitors.
It is a policy that has brought them success over the past 10 years and made them tough to beat at their place. They ended the season with just one defeat in 20 games. We would do well to follow their example as it has been a cakewalk for visiting teams at our place for 6 months. [Post edited 10 May 2023 17:18]
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| There’s a reason why we play to the Loft in the second half… on 18:31 - May 10 with 3804 views | stowmarketrange |
I haven’t been down the school end since 1980,but the away games I find best is when you have the noisiest home fans next to the away fans,like Coventry and Reading.The dismal ones are like Blackburn where they put us up in the gods with nobody near us.
Is it impossible to have home and away fans sharing the school end upper and lower tiers?I don’t know if the stairways and entrances allow that to happen,but that might improve the atmosphere a bit. | | | |
| There’s a reason why we play to the Loft in the second half… on 18:37 - May 10 with 3798 views | CateLeBonR |
Can we not take the roof off the school end and put it over the lower loft? That would soon shut the fckers up!
Seriously though I don't think adding more safe standing would make a lot of difference at this stage. We've been god awful at home this season.
Nothing against Jamal Lowe personally but if I never hear that dreadful song again it'll be too soon.
*Edit - Just re-read this and to clarify I mean the team have been god awful not the fans. Think we've been decent. [Post edited 10 May 2023 22:34]
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| There’s a reason why we play to the Loft in the second half… on 19:22 - May 10 with 3726 views | dubaistu |
Warnock (only QPR manager to do so) used the current away bench as the home bench, so he could get closer to the lineman's ear. Warnock was also operating in 2030 compared to the rest of us. | | | |
| There’s a reason why we play to the Loft in the second half… on 20:37 - May 10 with 3629 views | ManinBlack |
If you want to have an intimidating ground for the opponents then you have to reduce their allocation. To unnerve the opposition we need to be louder than the visiting fans, stands to reason. However, if you let 3,000 Coventry fans for example attend and they make more noise than us then chances are our team will be the ones intimidated.
Looking at next season the clubs coming up and coming down will all bring big followings and easily fill both tiers if we let them. I cannot see how we can turn this ground into a fortress if most of the noise is down the away end spurring their teams on. We could end up losing 10 or more iome games again. | | | |
| There’s a reason why we play to the Loft in the second half… on 01:27 - May 11 with 3463 views | Jules4367 |
Two things........
Without wishing to be corrective or contentious - yes, we DID actually sing 'Stan-lee' on many an occasion after he, more than adequately replaced Rodney, and one cold night when he scored the winner against Coventry to beat them 3-2 the chant rocked the ground!
But on to the more important points being made many of which I too agree with but would like to add:
(i) If we are going there to support the club, then we have to support them when they are playing crap (and man, were they crap at times this year) just as much as when they are playing well. Booing them and chanting 'not fit to wear the hoops' gives the other team and its supporters the boost but the numpties leading the chants don't seem to have the wherewithal to understand this.
(2) The same applies to telling the ref or assistant that 'they are another shit ref' isn't going to suddenly make the guy in the middle change and at best, he'll still award things against us and at worst, if we get an opportunity- he conveniently won't see it - the Dickie push on Monday is an example of that! But same old crap chants before and after! I understand the emotion but the sound of such chanting does nothing than to reinforce the feelings of the players that they are playing against 15 men!
(3) It is clear that a lot of home supporters in Stanley Bowles, The Loft AND South Africa Road stand don't bother chanting. They cannot be bothered. No idea why but they don't!
(4) If we want to make our voices heard, why cannot the club, knowing that few days before a home match that tickets are not sold out, release the lower school tier to local schools (perhaps they do) at say a £1 per ticket. The club may argue against this on safety grounds and people dropping things from the upper tier, but then why give away supporters the WHOLE of the upper tier? Why not force them into a corner (upper and lower) so there support is NOT across the whole of the width of the pitch but solely in one corner? Other teams do this...why not us?
Yes, we can make home a fortress but it needs a number of things to happen on the pitch, in the club's ticket office but mainly in the minds and understanding of those leading the chants.
Telling a ref or the players they are crap may make you feel better but it will never improve their performance (If someone told you, that you were shit, would you suddenly play or referee better?? No- then think about it!)
Find some new chants, one for each player we get or filed and make them feel wanted and want to impress.
Yes - I know what's coming after this post. A number of you will say that I am talking bollocks and I have to accept and acknowledge that, perhaps I am. But then aren't any of you who sing ' we're the finest football team, the world has ever seen!' also singing a load of old tosh too?! Perhaps you just can't see it!
Please....find some chants that support the team, that get everyone involved, do something 'unique' !! The whole stadium on Monday stood and clapped for the the young lad Teddy for a whole minute. Imagine how away supporter and our players would fell if - every 10 minutes we stood and clapped or cheered AS ONE - the sound would go across the pitch our players would be boosted and their team might find it disconcerting!
But this is probably me just talking bollocks again! | | | |
| There’s a reason why we play to the Loft in the second half… on 23:32 - Sep 30 with 2715 views | sevenhoop |
Make no apologies for bringing this back. Yet another ‘home’ game that felt like an away game. We give a whole end to the opposition fans, and split ours into corners of the ground. it is absolutely fuking mad! Who else does it? Who else in their right fuking minds would do it?!!
I repeat that you do not build up a young fan base with young fans having half decent seats to watch a team lose game after game after game. They won’t be thinking ‘oh, at least we had good seats behind the goal’. No, they’ll be thinking ‘bugger this for a game of soldiers, I wan to support a team that wins like Brentford, or Man City’. It is absolute fuking bollocks and makes me so angry that we give up home advantage like this | | | |
| There’s a reason why we play to the Loft in the second half… on 07:15 - Oct 1 with 2416 views | PlanetHonneywood |
3,000 away fans paying £35 a ticket.
That's £105,000 and there's your answer muchacho. | |
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