The 'big six' atmospheres ranked.
Fans leaving after 70 minutes, phones out all game, half and half scarves, silent stadiums and the away end making more noise, welcome to the reality of a 'big six' football ground. When we was promoted to the Premier League in May of 2023, I was buzzing to visit the big 6 grounds, expecting an atmosphere like no other, but this was very much not the case, except for Anfield.
Lets start with Stamford Bridge, home of Chelsea FC, the so called 'Pride of London'. Well, pride would be the last word I would use to describe the atmosphere. Being a Luton fan, we was in good spirits, our second game of the Premier League campaign and our first at a famous ground, obviously we would be louder to start with, but when the home side went a goal up, not much changed, the goal was rewarded with half hearted claps, not the limbs and chants I was used to from the EFL. The same happened when the lead was doubled on the 68th minute mark and the third, well it was even quieter, due to the fact there was hundreds of empty seats by this stage.... Atmosphere rating: 1/10
Our next big six visit was to Old Trafford, the most iconic football stadium in the world, against one of the biggest clubs in the world, surely one of the best atmospheres in the world? Absolutely not. The saying "you could hear a pin drop" was no exaggeration. Credit where it's due, there was a slight roar when the players came out, but the loudest the stadium got in the first half, was the noise of the Mancunians leaving their seats to get their half time pies. It was a dull performance from the home side, who were expected to walk the game, the sound of 74,000 people celebrating a goal, was loud, as you'd expect, but then again there was silence until full time, where another half empty stadium applauded their players off the pitch. A very low bar, but Old Trafford was louder than Stamford Bridge. Rating: 3/10.
3 months later and after visiting some 'loud-ish' stadiums, we visited Anfield. Some say the best atmosphere in the country, some say overrated. You'll Never Walk Alone certainly lived up to the stereotype of the noise coming from speakers, you could very clearly hear Gerry & The Pacemakers, but from the crowd, a little murmur or two, at best. We took the lead after 12 minutes to silence an already quiet Anfield. Down at the break, I was surprised to hear the crowd roar the players on and actually get behind the team, unlike their NW rivals. Liverpool scored 2 quick goals and Anfield was deafening, I have never experienced the feeling of 'not being able to hear yourself think', until that point. Each corner was celebrated like a goal, each tackle was celebrated like a goal. I felt intimidated by the atmosphere and that is rare. The full time whistle went and the roof, if there was one, would have been blown off. Every single person remained in their seats to cheer on their team and to see Klopp's famous fist pumps in front of the Kop. Only sing when you're winning? maybe, but when they sung it was loud. Rating: 9/10.
Now to the Tottenham Hotspur stadium, where I don't have too many words as, well, there was no atmosphere to describe. An airhorn before the game failed to build atmosphere. An 86th minute winner, in front of empty seats failed to build an atmosphere. You'd think they was a team with nothing to play for. The worlds biggest library? Rating: 0/10
Finally, we took a trip to league leaders Arsenal. First half the Emirates was loud, then fans started to leave around the 65th minute mark and then a bunch more around the 75th. They seemed to have adopted the 'Highbury library' and took it with them to the Emirates. The loudest the ground was all game, was when the Luton Town players came over to the away end at Full Time to applaud the travelling fans, who actually made some noise. The less said about 'North London Forever' the better. Rating: 4/10.
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