Manchester United singing selection
The Manchester United Singing Section
I came up with the idea of writing this article at the start of the October half-term. As a Manchester United season ticket holder, I had the prospect of seeing four games during this two-week break. The second of those games, a Wednesday night Champions League game against Real Sociedad of Spain, was the game during which United had chosen to trial the much anticipated singing section.
The singing section was an idea pushed by two fan groups, Reclaim United and Stretford End Flags. I have been part of the Reclaim United movement, which has an aim of improving the atmosphere at Old Trafford and I have taken part in activities such as pre-match marches, as well as making videos of the best atmospheres inside the stadium for them.
The leading individual behind the idea of having a singing section was none other than one of the fans, Pete Boyle, who is well known amongst the fan base for making up many of the current chants. At half time in the game against West Brom towards the end of September, Pete made an announcement about the trial of the singing section. He explained that while the Stretford End, where I sit during home matches, was often singing, the sound tended not to travel around the whole stadium. Therefore he advocated a singing section in the south-east quadrant at the other end of the stadium where the harmonics are believed to be the best.
The singing section was a great success: 1400 rowdy Reds sung throughout the whole game and generally there was more singing from the home fans throughout the stadium. There was a vast difference compared to the previous game, during which travelling Southampton fans had sung, “Is this a library?”, which suggests to me that putting the most vocal fans together in one section is a good idea. The atmosphere at the next match against Stoke City was also much improved, not only due to the impact of the singing section in the previous game, but also because United
I came up with the idea of writing this article at the start of the October half-term. As a Manchester United season ticket holder, I had the prospect of seeing four games during this two-week break. The second of those games, a Wednesday night Champions League game against Real Sociedad of Spain, was the game during which United had chosen to trial the much anticipated singing section.
The singing section was an idea pushed by two fan groups, Reclaim United and Stretford End Flags. I have been part of the Reclaim United movement, which has an aim of improving the atmosphere at Old Trafford and I have taken part in activities such as pre-match marches, as well as making videos of the best atmospheres inside the stadium for them.
The leading individual behind the idea of having a singing section was none other than one of the fans, Pete Boyle, who is well known amongst the fan base for making up many of the current chants. At half time in the game against West Brom towards the end of September, Pete made an announcement about the trial of the singing section. He explained that while the Stretford End, where I sit during home matches, was often singing, the sound tended not to travel around the whole stadium. Therefore he advocated a singing section in the south-east quadrant at the other end of the stadium where the harmonics are believed to be the best.
The singing section was a great success: 1400 rowdy Reds sung throughout the whole game and generally there was more singing from the home fans throughout the stadium. There was a vast difference compared to the previous game, during which travelling Southampton fans had sung, “Is this a library?”, which suggests to me that putting the most vocal fans together in one section is a good idea. The atmosphere at the next match against Stoke City was also much improved, not only due to the impact of the singing section in the previous game, but also because United