I believe the away fans are the total opposite. Quite a few Utd players have acknowledged it on social media.

A shame it can't be replicated at home. Some areas of the ground are better than others for fans getting vocal. K stand was good whenever I've sat there in the past. I don't know what it's like now though.

That's been the case for years though. You'll get people saying "Yeah but I remember when we all sang" but in all honesty that was a really really long time ago.

The mix of 'day trippers' which I include myself in a because I only go every couple of months and corporate isn't going to generate the noise. The past 3 seasons you've been holding your breath to not get beat.

Hopefully it might be a bit better this season, as we do have quite a few songs, it is just trying to get them known to as wide a section of people as possible, so that once they start, people know what to sing, rather than not joining in if they don't know what to sing.

Hasn't that always been the case?

Why would this season be any different?

New season, new hope I guess.

It would be great if the place could be rocking, although I do have my doubts sadly.

As I say there just needs to be a way to get the words/lyrics to the songs to as wide an audience as possible, perhaps someone could develop an app or something like that to get new(er) fans up to speed??

It's a nice thought, but it wouldn't work.

Atmospheres have being dying ever since all-seater stadia became the norm. I'm not criticising them, and wouldn't want to go back, but it's an inevitable consequence of forcing people to sit down.

Add in expensive tickets, meaning that the age demographic has significantly changed, more family stands, and fewer people on the piss, and you get quieter crowds.

It's especially true for bigger clubs, who are used to some level of success. A lot of fans expect to be entertained. It's a different world to when I started going to matches.

It doesn't mean that it is not possible, if for example, as I say more people who come to the matches knew the words/lyrics to the songs, then I do think more would join in, and thus the atmosphere would be better.

What does annoy the heck out of me (even at concerts) is people with their ipads, or cameras just recording the whole match it seems, rather than actually watching or trying to join in with anything.

We shouldn't just accept that the atmosphere is poor, and that there is nothing that we can do about it, we should be actively trying to see what we can do to improve it,if that means an app, or something else, then so be it.

There must be people out there with far more knowledge on this subject matter then myself, who can figure something out.

Apart from the factors already mentioned by Jim, add into that displacement of those that would sing to different sections of the ground when the ground was redeveloped and so the clusters of fans willing to start songs and sing long and proud has diminished. That's why our away support is so good, everyone joins in and we are all in one area, the same at Old Trafford, with the away fans making more noise.

It does seem that we now only seem "up for it" for the really big games, but even they seem few and far between these days. The build up and atmosphere in the ground say for United v Liverpool doesn't seem to be the same as it once was, even going back to the 90's rather than the 80's and even at the start of the century. However, things got sanitised and since then it's got quieter and quieter.

Not only within the ground was things "cleaned up", but I also feel the way the game has gone hasn't helped. For those of us old enough to remember beyond the Premier League era, we'll remember the time when you could tackle and not be booked, where sliding tackles were not deemed to be reckless. The game today, is almost non contact, and that in part effects the atmosphere within grounds, the surge of energy from a big tackle to galvanise the team and fans that would come from say Robson, Ince, and Keane has been lost.

I'm watching what's going on up at Celtic this season, as they are experimenting with safe standing, I hope that it's a success and would hope that one day we may be able to have safe standing in our grounds in England. I think it could help bring back the atmosphere into grounds, but would the clubs want it though? Do they see those fans that would sing, as the target audience, who'll buy tickets and anything with a club badge on it, as opposed to those that just turn up on a match day and support the team?

Utd aren't going to bring an app out to encourage fans to sing "And I said bollocks you're a c***" or Zlatan's new song "6 foot 5 hard as f***"

Apart from the old stuff like United Calypso most have either swearing in or have a dig at other clubs.

I think an app isn't a bad idea tbh, I've got visions of a load of Japanese tourists singing along to the old classics like "You're gonna get your f*****g head kicked in".

This reminds me when Keith Fane was in charge of pre match duties and half time stuff, and in the lead up to the end of the 1999 season they decided to create a Man Utd mega mix to get the fans singing before games. Apart from being an awful idea they cleaned up every song in it, which had the opposite effect in the build up to the games. Thankfully it didn't last, not that anyone actually used the lyrics that were sung on the recorded tracks.

The killer for me was putting Exec seats smack bang in the middle of the Stretty.

The Mail are claiming that there will be no more incoming transfers this window, unless 'the right player' suddenly becomes available.

Sounds fair enough. Not sure who the 'right player' would be, mind. Messi?

Fair enough, as I say it was only one idea off of the top of my head to try and help the situation out.

I am sure there are people with far more knowledge on this subject, that have tried to sort this out, and our still trying to improve it.

I think we all would like an improved atmosphere, it is just how you go about trying to achieve that, which seems to be the most troubling part.

I think things now rest on our outgoing transfers in that regard, so if we sell one, two or more players, then José might well bring in another player, but as of right now, our squad is looking quite good (if lacking a true, out and out DM).

The problem is that it tends to be fairly cringeworthy, when the club tries to do something about it.

Think of Chelsea's 'plastic flags', or those clapper things that they have at Leicester (although that does work, to an extent). We got quite a bit of stick for the 'singing areas' idea, too.


Schneiderlin.

Oh I agree it can come across as a bit cringeworthy, but there does need to be an improvement, surely we shouldn't just accept this is how things will be now until the end of time itself?

Now I a not saying my app idea would have been a great success, it was merely just one idea, as I say I am sure that there must be people out there with far more knowledge of this, that can come up with better ideas than that.

As for Schneiderlin, yes he does seem like the best person for the role, just a shame that he seems out of favour for whatever reason(s).
I do think an all French partnership of him and Pogba could work out very well, and I would quite like to see it tried.

Herrera has done an interview talking about how Mourinho wants him to try and adapt to playing deeper as part of a midfield two. Don't think he'd be effective alongside Pogba without a holding midfielder as well but it makes a lot of sense to move him towards that role if we're sticking with the 4-2-3-1, useful backup to Pogba.

Oh I agree, I would not be that confidant if he was in a deeper role, I think he is best in a more creative role.

Looking forward to watching this game.

Just hope your fans can create a half decent atmosphere, English football is becoming terrible for atmosphere that leaves me falling asleep trying to watch the games. I seen Mourinho talking about the lack of it at Old Trafford the other day.

Get your fingers out Man U fans, put the prawn sandwiches away and enjoy a game of football, 70,000 odd sitting in silence is an embarrassment to the sport.

He is moving to a deeper role and I'm ok with that, but I would want a more defensive player alongside him, kinda like how we'd have Carrick alongside Scholes. Schneiderlin, Carrick or Fellaini alongside him would be a requirement in a midfield two rather than Pogba.

Thanks for the advice.

I'd find IRA songs more embarrassing personally, but each to their own like.

De Gea, Valencia, Bailly, Blind, Shaw, Pogba,
Fellaini, Mata, Rooney, Martial, Ibrahimovic

Subs: Romero, Smalling, Herrera, Mkhitaryan, Schneiderlin, Young, Rashford

So the reason Mkhitaryan hasn't started yet is because Mourinho said he has better options in place against the teams we have played. I'm sorry but some of our players are in no way better options, the dude was the players player of the year last season with 23 goals and 15 assists, no way is that a player you leave on the bench.

Shame no Miki, or Schneiderlin, as I do think that they should be in the team.

Good to see Pogba start though.

Let's hope for a good start to the weekend!