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#AgainstModernFootball - the dilution of the derby day atmosphere

#AgainstModernFootball - the dilution of the derby day atmosphere

The famous Anfield atmosphere; it’s enough to make the knees of any footballer, no matter how illustrious, shake. Steven Gerrard says he’s never experienced anything like it, that not even the cauldron of the San Siro or the Santiago Bernabeu or the Britannia Stadium on a rainy Tuesday night can match the red hot fever of Liverpool’s spiritual home. Really? Because that certainly wasn’t in evidence on Monday night.

Jose Mourinho likely prepared himself for a hostile welcome as he walked down the Anfield tunnel, given his history he has with the Merseyside club. But as he took his seat in the dugout the Manchester United boss was faced with countless opposition fans directing their smartphones at him, taking pictures like they were in the front row of a Miley Cyrus concert. Is this what the famous Anfield atmosphere has become?

It didn’t get much more vociferous beyond that either. The rivalry between Liverpool and Manchester United is billed as the fiercest in English football, but not even Marouane Fellaini’s flailing elbows could jab this encounter into life. Of course, that might have been down to the quality of the fare offered up on the pitch, but nonetheless this was surely the lowest of low-key clashes between the two clubs.

It’s not just Anfield’s atmosphere that has suffered in the modern age, though. It’s the same across the Premier League board, with the dilution of the derby day atmosphere becoming something of an epidemic. English football’s passion and fervour is world-renowned, but is that apparent in the stadiums themselves?

As a symptom of modern football, the diminishing of the derby day atmosphere is something being endured by all. Take West Ham United, for instance, and their new London Stadium home. They have yet to play a true derby at their new ground this season, but the atmosphere at Hammers’ home games has undoubtedly suffered as a result of the move from Upton Park.

Their fans are told to sit down more often than a drunk trying to slalom down the aisle of an aeroplane when the seatbelt sign is on. The predominant noise at the London Stadium is one of disgruntlement rather than any real support of the team.

The same goes for Old Trafford and Stamford Bridge, two famed arenas of spirit and zest of yesteryear. Both stadiums have lost their character over the past decade or so in a blaze of commercialism. They’re about one step away from replacing their pie and bovril stalls with Starbucks and Krispy Kreme outlets, and an IKEA megastore just for good measure (Ken Bates came pretty close to actually doing that).

If the Premier League is now packaged as a product for broadcasters around the world to pluck off the shelf and scan through the self checkout it must be considered what impact this lack of atmosphere is having on the spectacle. How long before tinned atmosphere is played during games? West Ham have already started during it at the London Stadium and if the dilution of derby day in English football continues other clubs might be tempted to do the same. It’ll like how they put a laughing track over the top of Mrs Brown’s Boys, because nobody could ever muster any real laughter watching that.

Analysis of the change in the social demographic of Premier League crowds over the past two decades reveals that English football, as a whole, has become the domain of the wealthier, certainly more financially comfortable. That is a primary factor when considering what has happened to the derby day atmosphere. Is English football really the working class pursuit it once was?

Maybe Safe Standing areas, like the ones that have turned Bundesliga stadiums into jumping swathes of loud and proud supporters, will bring back what has been lost. Celtic have installed rail seating for this season and English clubs could now follow that lead, with West Ham just one of the clubs to confirm they are looking into Safe Standing.

But until fans are allowed to stand during games, swilling beer in between chants, the derby day atmosphere is only likely to dilute further. Mourinho won’t be the last Premier League manager to face the social media paparazzi on his way to the dugout.