Do we have an atmosphere problem at the King Power?
After Leicester beat QPR last weekend, Enzo Maresca sent his troops to celebrate with a raucous away end. The manager has often prodded the home support to be more like their travelling counterparts.
As the King Power prepares to host the biggest game of the season so far, we asked our writers if there’s an atmosphere problem at LE2, and what can be done about it.
Jamie Thorpe
Yes, and one that Enzo Maresca is working to address.
In previous seasons you could characterise our general approach as underdogs, those who are completely capable of spoiling anyone's day and take great pleasure in doing so. There was no expectation on results, just an acceptance that with a raucous and often buoyant home support, well, anything is possible. It was this attitude that Nigel Pearson was excellent at cultivating, a sort of siege mentality that suggested win or lose, we were in things together.
Last season though, this couldn't have been further from the truth. Obviously, results were dire and the general style of play sucked much of the life from the stands, but what was telling was how quickly certain sections of our fanbase turned when things went against us. "Through the good times and the bad, we always back the lads" rang rather hollow indeed.
This, I think, has come from a sense of expectation bordering on entitlement (although I must reiterate this is a minority, not the majority). It has even been visible this season, with several fans being quite vocal in their criticism of the playing style, despite all of the fairly monumental changes being made at the club and the ridiculous results we have started with. This arrogance that we can just attack teams at will, and should be able to simply sweep them aside because we are Leicester is misplaced, unhelpful and not what we are about as a club.
Maresca is forging a unity, you can clearly see it within the players, and he is attempting to get the fans to buy in to it too. Perhaps it was not only the mentality within the playing staff that needed a refresh, but the fans as well.
Adam Hodges
"You only sing when you're winning" - we've all heard the chant and revel in singing it ourselves but do we have an atmosphere issue at the King Power?
I started going to Leicester games in the mid ‘90s at Filbert Street and the ground's unique design added to the atmosphere. The Kop in the lower half of the Double Decker was directly next to the away fans in the East Stand. The ridiculing chant of "East Stand, start the wave" still sticks with me.
The modern King Power Stadium instead has the away fans at the opposite end as the Kop and this can create a disconnect in the atmosphere. Often there can be opposing chants from the fervent fans in Block L1 next to the away end and the Kop, in particular the SK1 Block.
It looks like this will remain, with the application for stadium expansion not showing plans for Kop relocation.
So how can this be remedied?
I have sat in various parts of the King Power and have now settled in sitting in G1. The view is great and I enjoy the atmosphere sat by SK1's singing section. I applaud Union FS for trying to create an atmosphere but feel that if we want a support to be proud of then everyone needs to be vocal and back the lads.
The stadium expansion gives the club opportunity to look into safe standing to return to the 'singing on the terraces' feel. Having been at the Etihad I was surprised to see rail seating in the away end and it added to the atmosphere of heckling the Man City home supporters. It also gives supporters the option to sit or stand and at the Etihad I stood whilst my wife sat.
Of course, what happens on the pitch has a huge influence on the atmosphere and we all have a part to play. Whenever we let a goal in I always offer encouragement by cheering the team on as they return to the centre circle.
This support will ensure "we always back the lads" through the good times and the bad.
James Knight
Could the KP be louder and more supportive? Yes. Is this a specific problem with Leicester fans that we can solve at the drop of a hat? Probably not.
So many factors play into the lack of atmosphere: the cost of tickets, the lack of safe standing, the identikit bowl stadium, even the style of play and opposition. Most of these aren’t unique to Leicester. The first two are easier to solve but personally, I think the latter two might be more of an issue. The physical construction of the stadium is one of the biggest problems.
Every time you go to a compact ground where the stands feel like they’re on top of the pitch you realise how much better they are for atmosphere. We are unfortunate in the fact our ground was built at a time when stadium designers apparently had zero idea what they were doing. In a shallow, bowl ground like ours the noise just disappears into the ether.
Then there’s the style of play. I’m totally on board with The Idea, but it’s hard to deny that it doesn’t exactly have you on the edge of your seat, encouraging you to roar on the latest successful recycling of possession. The best atmospheres we’ve had have come alongside aggressive, underdog teams who want to come out and punch you straight in the face. ‘Yes Jannik, pass it backwards again!’ as you coast to another victory doesn’t have quite the same inspirational power.
I think the atmosphere would (will?) probably improve once we get back into the Premier League. It might sound like a sense of entitlement, but a) we’re used to playing bigger games at a higher level and b) the lack of jeopardy is surely playing a part. We haven’t even conceded a goal at home for two months. I think Maresca’s early success has encouraged the crowd to trust the process, which is a vast improvement on last season in itself, even if it hasn’t prompted a suddenly raucous hotbed of noise.
So we could improve the atmosphere. It’ll probably be better when we’re back in our more comfortable role of underdogs in the big time. The club should expand the singing section and introduce safe standing. But it’s not quite as bad as the narrative suggests at the moment.
