Re: Widnes fans : Tue Jul 16, 2013 7:38 am  

Pemps wrote:

Fans fighting amongst themselves, setting flares off, behaving like drunken school kids....

Those fans are an embarrassment to the club.

An old dear who's supported Wigan, paid money to the club for 50+ years, chooses to watch the game in silence and not dance around is not and will never be an embarrassment to the club.

Absolutely, those reasons you mentioned at first are also an embarrassment to the club.

But in my opinion our support this year is embarrassing, I feel ashamed that our fans choose to not only get outsang on a weekly basis and mocked from the away end, but then have the nerve to boo the players when they don't perform for the first 40 minutes against Castleford.

What makes it more bizarre is most people tend to agree the support is terrible, but accept it.

Re: Widnes fans : Tue Jul 16, 2013 7:41 am  

Cruncher wrote:

Yeah, but on the whole Wigan's support is very good.

Widnes's used to be - but mainly when they were winning everything.

The noise your lot made last night was mainly a case of "we're losing and we don't care ... honest." I doubt anyone was fooled.

So they wasn't singing from their arrival, no? They haven't sang on all our visits there, and their visits here over the last 2 years?

This isn't just a one off either is it, all year we've been embarrassed by away support.

People just don't like the truth!

[Pemps]

Re: Widnes fans : Tue Jul 16, 2013 7:43 am  

Frank35 wrote:

Absolutely, those reasons you mentioned at first are also an embarrassment to the club.

But in my opinion our support this year is embarrassing, I feel ashamed that our fans choose to not only get outsang on a weekly basis and mocked from the away end, but then have the nerve to boo the players when they don't perform for the first 40 minutes against Castleford.

What makes it more bizarre is most people tend to agree the support is terrible, but accept it.

Wigan fans have been quiet ever since we moved to the new stadium. The 'singers' have never had a home really. It's been tried and unfortunately, and well documented, it's been hijacked by a few morons. Hopefully it'll start up again at some point.

I think this year has been a very poor year for all of SL. The whole atmosphere and feeling around the game is at an all time low and I'm not sure why.

Re: Widnes fans : Tue Jul 16, 2013 7:45 am  

Frank35 wrote:

So they wasn't singing from their arrival, no? They haven't sang on all our visits there, and their visits here over the last 2 years?

This isn't just a one off either is it, all year we've been embarrassed by away support.

People just don't like the truth!

Relax. Small bands of away supporters traditionally make a lot of noise.

In the first half they were watching the game and cheering when they thought they were in with a chance. In the second half, they were attempting to distract attention from their inevitable defeat by making a spectacle of themselves. Seen it before a million times, yawn yawn.

Ultimately its numbers that count, not singing. But perhaps, as Pemps said, you'd prefer it if we invited back the people who set off fireworks in the crowd and picked fights with each other when there were no opposition fans within reach?

At present the game overall is flat. On the subject of away fans, I've been more concerned by how few have been attending the DW this year. Never seen so much empty space. Widnes should be embarrassed that the club chose to close off half the stand. But they aren't the only ones that has been done for.

Re: Widnes fans : Tue Jul 16, 2013 7:51 am  

Pemps wrote:

Wigan fans have been quiet ever since we moved to the new stadium. The 'singers' have never had a home really. It's been tried and unfortunately, and well documented, it's been hijacked by a few morons. Hopefully it'll start up again at some point.

I think this year has been a very poor year for all of SL. The whole atmosphere and feeling around the game is at an all time low and I'm not sure why.

Very true, can't say I'm as excited at the prospect of Wembley as I was in 2011 and 2002 at Murrayfield. Other clubs fans still seem to have that enjoyment factor at games, or perhaps just when they play us, who knows ...

Re: Widnes fans : Tue Jul 16, 2013 7:57 am  

Cruncher wrote:

Relax. Small bands of away supporters traditionally make a lot of noise.

In the first half they were watching the game and cheering when they thought they were in with a chance. In the second half, they were attempting to distract attention from their inevitable defeat by making a spectacle of themselves. Seen it before a million times, yawn yawn.

Ultimately its numbers that count, not singing. But perhaps, as Pemps said, you'd prefer it if we invited back the people who set off fireworks in the crowd and picked fights with each other when there were no opposition fans within reach?

At present the game overall is flat. On the subject of away fans, I've been more concerned by how few have been attending the DW this year. Never seen so much empty space. Widnes should be embarrassed that the club chose to close off half the stand. But they aren't the only ones that has been done for.

I'm sure the players would prefer 3000 vocal fans than 10,000 silent fans, like it or not the players appraciate vocal support. It's the connection and can/does lift their performances when needed.

Sure, I know they contribute in terms of money, but I wish we'd make use of the 'numbers' we have at times.

Re: Widnes fans : Tue Jul 16, 2013 7:59 am  

I think our problem is threefold. First, we've not got much to sing about. What I mean by that is, yes the team are winning most weeks and playing some very attractive rugby, but that's exactly the reason I don't think we're as loud. Back in the Noble era, we would go to games not knowing if we'd win by 20 or lose by 20, no matter the opposition (Quins Easter Monday anyone?). It was genuinely exciting and the crowd seemed to rally in a close game.

Secondly, I sit in the double letters of ES6 and the atmosphere there has noticible quietened. As far as I can tell, it's still the same people around us, except for one thing. The drum. I know this is a devisive issue, but I always felt that it added to the atmosphere up there. Now it seems like a library and the quietest it's been for the 9 years I've been sitting there.

Finally, I just dont think the DW is a great stadium for generating an atmosphere. Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't want us to move, but with the exposed corners any noise just dissipates almost immediately. I can only think of a few recent examples of the place absolutely rocking, the 2011 WCC and Good Friday the same year.

I would never want us to go back to the dark days of 2005/6 just for the sake of atmosphere, but I think the reason we stuck by the team back then and why perhaps the Widnes fans aren't sticking with their team is that back then we knew that we would get back to the top. Anything else was inconceivable. I don't think Widnes have that.

EDIT:

Frank35 wrote:

Very true, can't say I'm as excited at the prospect of Wembley as I was in 2011 and 2002 at Murrayfield. Other clubs fans still seem to have that enjoyment factor at games, or perhaps just when they play us, who knows ...

Just to say on that note, if we're at Wembley against Wire, I can't see anything but a full house with 80-odd thousand voiciferous supporters on both sides. I'd love to beat Wire at Wembley and I'm sure their fans would love to beat us as well.

Re: Widnes fans : Tue Jul 16, 2013 8:14 am  

Cruncher wrote:

Still a very poor show from the Widnes fans, though, compared to the days when they were winning everything. I'm fast starting to think that only Wiganers will stand by their team in great numbers during difficult times.

Great numbers? Did you see the attendance last night? Did you all forget the game was on?

Thought the Widnes fans were a credit to their team last night. Utterly outplayed, outenthused and completely battered on the pitch, and their supporters still trying to make a night of it.

Re: Widnes fans : Tue Jul 16, 2013 8:21 am  

beetwaste wrote:

Great numbers? Did you see the attendance last night? Did you all forget the game was on?

Thought the Widnes fans were a credit to their team last night. Utterly outplayed, outenthused and completely battered on the pitch, and their supporters still trying to make a night of it.

Yeah, but so few of you.

Can't remember the last time half the away stand was closed in anticipation of a Widnes visit. That honour used to be reserved for the likes of London.

But as I said in another post, you're not alone. Few visitors to the DW have brought a crowd in 2013.

Re: Widnes fans : Tue Jul 16, 2013 8:25 am  

Lighten up guys. It was a hot day, the fans knew the team largely hadn't turned up so they had a bit of fun to make the most of the rugby, weather and being with friends. They made conga lines not riots and I'd much rather have a party atmosphere to silence - this isn't the golf! Which would you prefer?

Plus, it's a Monday night, the game is on Sky and it's against a team we were almost certain to get beat by. How many did you expect to attend??