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I was at the HJK Helsinki v Inter Turku game at the weekend, the first league match I've gone to over here and was extremely impressed by HJK's 'ultras', particularly because it highlighted for me how easy it would be to achieve a similar effect in Perth and how big an effect it had on the match/experience.

The crowd was about 3000 in a 10,000 seat stadium, very similar to McDiarmid - mostly empty main stand, with nearly all the home fans in the stand facing it and behind one goal. The away support was tiny (but fantastic) and accommodated in one block of seats to the left of the main stand. HJK only have a couple of hundred at the very most die hard fans (who are grouped together in a small block behind the goal to the right of the main stand) but they stood and sang for the entire 90 mins, despite going in a goal down at half time having failed to trouble the Inter keeper.

When HJK were attacking the goal towards these fans in the second half it was one way traffic, the players noticeably fired up by the noise of the crowd and, although the game ended 1-1, it should have been 4 or 5-1.

For most of the game there were a few guys standing on seats/railings/jumping up and down in unison etc and the stewards were totally fine with it. The SPL could do a lot worse than take a leaf out of the Finns book in terms of support/stewarding.

I hope this idea takes off as Saints games at home have been like Morrissey's stag night in recent years. I'm going to be home for the next two home games, here's to noisy crowds at both who leave their negativity at home and actually support the team.

COYS!

Singing the whole match regardless of the score strikes me as a very important part of what ultras are about (or should be). That was my experience of the small group of ultras in Romania too. Their songs were about: supporting the club on the one hand and stating who they were and what they stood for on the other. They didn't have negative songs aimed at rival groups of supporters, but I reckon that was partly because the club didn't have any really fierce rivals.

My personal opinion is that the time spent at a match is best spent encouraging your own team by singing as much as possible to drive them on, which doesn't leave much time for slagging off the other supporters, but having said that, when you've got a rivalry like that between Saints and Dundee, that has to be referenced in songs.

Anyway I reckon deciding what songs you're going to sing is one of the most important parts of setting up a group of ultras (and then actually singing them at matches of course). My question is: what songs are you planning to sing? And also: what are the best Saints songs over the years? Maybe there are some from years ago that should be resurrected?

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  • 2 weeks later...

Keep up the good work, it's clear you're expending a lot of time, money and effort on trying to improve the atmosphere at Saints games. I'm sure the fans and players appreciate it.

This. It's not my thing really but good luck. Don't get too down hearted if it doesn't take off straight away. Things like this takes time.

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  • 1 month later...

Until you change the clubs views on any kind of group like this you have no chance of making this work.They employ the stewards to stop this kind of thing happening.Like an Aberdeen fan said,you rustle a crisp packet at McDiarmid and the stewards are over at you.

The clubs view is spend your money and sit down and shut up.If you dont like,dont come back.

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What about the "pointlessly starting aggro at footy matches because we've got bored beating up our little brother and want to beat up someone bigger cos I'm a real man yeh bring them on yeh pass me the buckie and cheap hash yeh I once told my teacher to fek off look at me yeh yeh" ??

Get a job.

:wink: :wink:

Yer playing up to a stereotype ter don't want to be associated with. Change the name. Or if you're really an "ultra" fekof to Ibrox.

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What about the "pointlessly starting aggro at footy matches because we've got bored beating up our little brother and want to beat up someone bigger cos I'm a real man yeh bring them on yeh pass me the buckie and cheap hash yeh I once told my teacher to fek off look at me yeh yeh" ??

Get a job.

:wink: :wink:

Yer playing up to a stereotype ter don't want to be associated with. Change the name. Or if you're really an "ultra" fekof to Ibrox.

or sheltic park
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Until you change the clubs views on any kind of group like this you have no chance of making this work.They employ the stewards to stop this kind of thing happening.Like an Aberdeen fan said,you rustle a crisp packet at McDiarmid and the stewards are over at you.

The clubs view is spend your money and sit down and shut up.If you dont like,dont come back.

Spot on. A meeting regarding the matter is already in place so at least they are showing interest. Can only be good news that 'standing sections' are a topic currently being broadcast across differing media platforms.

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What about the "pointlessly starting aggro at footy matches because we've got bored beating up our little brother and want to beat up someone bigger cos I'm a real man yeh bring them on yeh pass me the buckie and cheap hash yeh I once told my teacher to fek off look at me yeh yeh" ??

Get a job.

:wink:/> :wink:/>

Yer playing up to a stereotype ter don't want to be associated with. Change the name. Or if you're really an "ultra" fekof to Ibrox.

Thanks for your input.

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