Evening all. Yeah, fcuk off newbie and all that sh*t, seen it all before. Your author is a seasoned Nobber in another life so fcuk off back to you all
Appreciate this is a second thread on seemingly the same thing but it's better we post here in a new thread of our own to enable the masses a single go-to place on the inimitable forum that is Hob Nob Anyone?
You'll all hopefully have seen that RFC have released the south western side of the South Stand to us for season 2018/19 with a view to organically growing what we are trying to do. If you haven't already done so and are interested in moving for the season, season tickets are available at the same price as the Eamo Stand. If you've already renewed in another stand you can move across at any time for no charge, and if you move ST before the season commences you'll get the difference in price refunded. I've done it - simple 2 minute phone call is all it took me.
Also note, it's unreserved seating. Capacity takes a 10% hit but the effect will be better having everyone in the same area of the stand.
We chose the South Stand last season because it was an empty cavernous waste for half of the visiting clubs last season. More importantly though, it was an area of the stadium that we felt we could realistically lever into without displacing and disenfranchising any existing supporters. However, we were acutely aware that because of the layout of the South Stand the slight spanner in our works is the 15% away allocation regulation for both League Cup and FA Cup games. If we draw a club that will fill both sides then we will have to relocate for the match. How that works is undecided, however we average less than one of these matches a season since the move to the Madejski so it was an acceptable compromise.
The Club 1871 Twitter account @Club1871 has been busy over the last couple of days as we're also crowd funding to raise money for decorations. We're looking to get a massive big f**k off flag in there, banners and other bits and bobs to make the area our own. Link is http://www.gofundme.com/Club1871. I would sincerely ask all to donate, even if you aren't heading over. Every penny will be put back into this initiative which we want to grow organically. The response so far has been incredible, at the time of writing this we're just shy of £1k after just a day, when we thought we'd set a ludicrously high target!! The more money we get the more stuff we can get and the better we can make it become more of a home. And if incentive were needed, you can grab some of our tat if you donate enough
Between £10 and £19.99 is a Club 1871 pin badge, or if you donate £20 or more then a Club 1871 scarf will be winging its way to you.Lastly, just t reiterate, what we're about is creating a positive atmosphere at a ground that has descended into toxicity negativity over the last half a dozen years or so. We'll give it verbal hell for leather for the full 90. We're not about arbitrarily chanting a left back who hasn't touched the ball for 10 minutes for 10 seconds and then onto the next chant for the keeper at the other end of the pitch. We want to bring a more continental feel to proceedings with inventive chants going on and on. This doesn't mean we're not interacting with the game, of course we will be. But while we watch we also chant. The test games at the end of last season were far from perfect admittedly, particularly as the group grew in number, but what we do have is an enthusiastic core of likeminded people who want to make this work. And one big thing which proved controversial - WE'RE DITCHING THE MEGAPHONE (edit - personal opinion alert - praise the Lord!) However, the more we get together, the more we finetune what we do and hopefully we introduce some creative and unique chants that all stands can get into. And we need inventiveness. Football fans as a collective can be a judgmental bunch, we want to avoid that and allow people the chance to create and try things without fear of ridicule. Some things may catch, others may not, but there's no harm in trying
Signing off for now, and even if you don't want to join us, please support us in whatever way you can. Ultimately a good, positive atmosphere is for the benefit of everyone. This thread will be monitored so feel free to offer critical feedback or massage our egos, our shoulders are broad enough to accept either. Genuine questions will be responded to truthfully and honestly, or DM us of course. Alternatively look for us on Faceache (http://www.facebook.com/club1871) or Twatter (@Club1871) for the latest opinions and initiatives.
