anyone know how many tickets have been sold for tonight?

-- Anonymous, August 21, 2001

Answers

Someone from the Chronicle was on talkSport this morning and quoted over 40,000. Can't see it myself though but.

-- Anonymous, August 21, 2001

It'll be over 40,000 but won't break the record. Cue, Makem abuse........................Mind, I've broken their European record attendance myself twice this season already.

-- Anonymous, August 21, 2001

LOL Screacher!

-- Anonymous, August 21, 2001

It was 36,507 I think

Whether that is the actual or the tax man's attendance I don't know

It was certainly a lot noiser than the vast majority of last season's games.

-- Anonymous, August 21, 2001

The crowd made plenty of noise after the 1st goal and for the last 15 minutes, but in between this was possibly the meanest, whingingest SJP crowd I've ever had the displeasure to be part of.

There were a few pockets of residual support, most notably the Gallowgate, but at 1-4 I found the torrents of abuse from around me in the East Stand horribly embarrassing.

Warren Barton was very clearly visibly shaken by the abuse he received. Love him or otherwise, imho there is absolutely no excuse for subjecting a dedicated servant of the Club to that kind of treatment on the field of play AND during a game.

A very sad evening, for more than one reason.

-- Anonymous, August 21, 2001

Yeah I totally agree with you, they are meant to be fans, supporting the club and its players, not singling them out for abuse.

I was up in Level 7 of the SJH stand so luckily the bloke behind me couldn't be heard by WB. The bloke took his two young (about 8-10 year old) kids to the match with him and he uttered the work fuck more times than I have probably ever said in my whole life.

The pathetic thing was that he was almost crying at the end of the game. As soon as their first went in, the torrent of abuse began, how Barton was an effing ugly f..k and should get the f..k back to effing Wimbledon where he effing belongs. I went along with my 8 year old cousin and thankfully he's got better sense than to start repeating entire phrases from the dictionary of the bloke behind me, but is this the sort of place you want to take your kids into?

The sad thing is that most of those that were shouting the abuse were quite old - this is not anything against the older fans, most of them were fine - but more of the younger fans seemed to go to support the team whereas many older ones went for a moan and a drunken insult throwing session.

By the way, Aston Villa had a higher attendance than us tonight, which is a little embarrasing.

-- Anonymous, August 21, 2001