Wembley: Where Is the Atmosphere?

The "new" Wembley stadium is out of this world. With that arc and the 90,000 seats, it's like something from a distant planet. Unfortunately, there is about as much atmosphere in the Wembley stadium as there is on said distant planet. None.

Fabio Capello has once more urged the England fans to shout until their lungs give out to back their team, but it never really happens.

The old Wembley was a fortress. It looked like a fortress from the outside, and the fans created a deafening and intimidating environment for the opposition's players. In the new Wembley, however, the hostility is directed more at our own players.

The fans may create noise now and again, but if you have 90,000 fans packed into a stadium, then, quite frankly, the chanting and singing should only cease for half-time refreshments.

Part of the problem is the large corporate area, which is level with the half-way line. I have never seen it full, and those few who sit there aren't the type of people who will start chanting for Theo Walcott after he has just completed his hat-trick.

Pardon the stereotypes, but they are more the kind of people who will clap and say "bravo," perhaps getting out of their seat if it's a really good goal.

It's not just Wembley, however; it's most new stadiums, like the Emirates Stadium, for instance. The Arsenal fans make a lot of noise, and it has turned into something of a fortress—unless you're Hull that is—yet you still don't get that feeling, that buzz that you got at Highbury,

It is one of the worries I have of Liverpool's new stadium. It looks wonderful, but when it's finished, or indeed if it ever gets started, I fear it won't have the same passion or atmosphere as Anfield.

Will the Kop ever be able to be re-created? Perhaps not.

But even Anfield at the moment is a shadow of what it used to be in terms of atmosphere. Why? Well, in my view, it's the seating.

When you had thousands and thousands of people cramming into the terraces, the atmosphere grew. When you have thousands and thousands of people sitting down, the atmosphere diminishes.

I have been to Anfield and not one person in my section was chanting, despite us being 3-0 up.

About two weeks ago, I went to Ashton Gate to watch Bristol City v Plymouth. I was in the away end, standing up, and not once did the Plymouth fans stop chanting. Not when it was 0-0, 1-0, 2-0, 2-1, or 2-2. Even after the final whistle they were singing, despite having thrown away a two-goal lead.

Despite this, Anfield has one of the best atmospheres in the league.

Of course, terracing was abandoned mainly because of the Hillsborough tragedy, so if lack of terracing, and therefore lack of atmosphere, means saving lives, then fair enough.

The main problem, however, is the ticket prices.

When tickets cost £40 or more, very few working-class, die-hard fans will go to see matches, particularly in this current economic crisis. This, I think, is the reason for Wembley's lack of atmosphere.

What the FA needs to do is lower Wembley ticket prices, get rid of that corporate area, and fill the stadium to the brim. That way, Wembley will become the fortress it once was. That way, our players will be inspired to up their game. That way, we can beat the biggest and the best, and once again, at Wembley!