ToffeeWeb - Season 2007-08

The Mail Bag

Sky Conspiracy?

It seems that the Goodison faithful were a lot louder than what appeared on TV. I watched the match at home and was thinking to myself, "Why are we not out singing the Chelsea fans?" It seems that Sky have been using their 'creative licence' to make Chelsea fans sound more like they were up for the game than us.

To be fair I can't see what Sky could possibly gain from this, and would probably be in their best interest to make out Goodison was rocking; but hey, who knows what goes on in Sky's minds? Can anyone who was at the game shed some light on this 'conspiracy theory?'
Trevor Thompson, Croydon Posted 24/01/2008 at 14:56:20

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Michael Kenrick

Trevor, the explanation has been provided elsewhere on a number of threads in the mailbag. 'Conspiracy' sounds a bit silly... although you might have expected that other ambient noise phones around the pitch (do they still use those?) would have picked up a more representative sound sampling covering the whole stadium, and not just the Upper Bullens. In which case, it becomes an issue of sound mixing in the Sky control room... Hmmmm....

John Lloyd
1 Posted 24/01/2008 at 15:46:33

Dont know if its a conspiricy but just for arguments sake, in answer to your question....

Sky would protect Chelsea and the other 3 members of the ’sky4’ as they are the most marketable teams off these shores to foreign markets due to them being the teams involved in the champions league year after year. Just like we always get Barca & Real games from spain, its vice versa......

As i say I’m not shouting conspiracy, but if I was............

Anthony Osullivan
2 Posted 24/01/2008 at 15:47:34

At the start of the game all i could hear was the Everton fans but after a few choice comments being picked up by the mics they seemed to change ( or at least turn them down ).

I remember one that got picked up When Sidewell got called a ginger something or other !!! hilarious for me prob not for sky

Joe Wightman
3 Posted 24/01/2008 at 15:54:44

There has been a lot of debate over the forums about Sky TV?s dubious placement of pitchside microphones. Whilst there can be no doubt that for the first twenty minutes of the game, and for a ten minute period in the second half, the Everton fans shouted loud and proud. But outside of these periods?We?ve all been at games where the atmosphere is flat, and you feel compelled to start a cheer yourself. But then nobody else picks up on it and you look like a complete fool. Even worse, another fan stares at you with contempt and you feel like chinning him but then realise the cardinal sin of striking a fellow Evertonian, no matter how much of a knob they are*.We are told that Goodison is the ?grand old lady? of football stadiums, and that a ready-made Tesco Value stadium in Kirkby will never recreate the atmosphere of Goodison. All week we heard promises of ?this generations? Bayern Munich?, where the game could just as well be won off the pitch as much as on it. ?It?s a night game, under the floodlights ? no opposition will fancy playing us...?Unfortunately none of this came true. There have been many times when the atmosphere at Goodison has been more than disappointing. Oh yeah, when Z-Cars starts the place is rocking, the fans are roaring and the old stadium creaks and shakes. But then the match kicks off and everyone sits down and you can actually hear the sound of silence.Last night was a prime example. Even if the conspiracy theories regarding the microphones are true, surely 38,000 Evertonians constantly singing their hearts out would have been picked up on some audio device. Even if the microphones were placed solely in the top row of the Bullens (which I find hard to believe) there should have been some home voices filtering through. It was arguably the biggest game outside of a Merseyside derby to have been played at Goodison for 13 years. And yet the noise was a fraction of that witnessed at White Hart Lane the previous night. Will Kirkby provide a worse atmosphere? Based on last night?s evidence probably not, and at least we?ll have better seating, a better view. And the ensuing investment might mean we?re actually watching players worth cheering about.(*this never happens in the Gwladys street)

David Nicholls
4 Posted 24/01/2008 at 15:49:55

Spot on Tom, I’ve been an avid reader of this mailbag for about two years and have continually had to restrain myself from from posting a comment which would make me come across like a Barton family member. Some of the critisism he has received over the last couple of years is simply laughable, even after spurs last year I never for a second doubted that we were going in the right direction under Moysie.

John Fitzsimmons
5 Posted 24/01/2008 at 15:54:15

Broadcast sound isn?t really ?mixed? as such. The pitch mics are combined with the crowd mics and pretty much left alone, most attention being paid to the commentry and anything being played in from video sources. The positioning of the crowd mics at Goodison (either end of the Upper Bullens & on the central gantries) create a false impression. No conspiracy, then, just the way things are when we sell more of the Bullens Road to away fans.

Mick Dempsey
6 Posted 24/01/2008 at 16:19:26

I knew some girl who used to work in the Admin at Goodison, and I remember her telling me Everton had a big fall out with Sky over the box they use, for the pundits, cant remember the details but wasn’t it the same box we sold for private hire in the corner of Park End. I dont think it matters though, what mattered was the result on the pitch, I was in the Park End and Godison was bouncing, but lets be honest, the TV gantry is next to the away section so you will pick up their noise.

Trevor Thompson
7 Posted 24/01/2008 at 16:18:46

I never thought it was a conspiracy I mean that is going a bit too far that’s why I put it in quotation marks. I was just curious to find out if it was true or not or just basically if any light could be shed on the matter. I just figured for one of our biggest game in over a decade it sounded like Chelsea bought more fans. To be fair, I never thought the player’s gave us much to shout about, they didn’t get among Chelsea and the long balls to Johnson was ridiculous.

Barry Kingham
8 Posted 24/01/2008 at 16:33:02

Has anyone emailed Sky to find out why there was this obvious noise discrepancy?

Almost every single article I’ve read has said the atmosphere was terrific with special praise for Evertonians - even that dirt rag The Sun poured scorn on the Chelsea fans "who couldn’t flog half their tickets" while praising us.

Iain Latchford
9 Posted 24/01/2008 at 16:59:57

As another exciled fan I had to watch it on Sky. I?m actually going to cancel my subscription as I can now watch almost all EFC games on the internet and certainly all the ones which are on Sky.

The sound last night was riduculous. Sky blatantly increased to Chelsea volume to make up for the fact they only had just over 2,000 fans there.

You could hear the CFC fans singing that Neville is a cunt as clear as anything. Do you think they?d let us get away with similar things ?? I don?t think so.

Gareth Cooper
10 Posted 24/01/2008 at 17:10:29

I wonder where the line is on this issue? Conspiracy theories (although I appreciate you meant it playfully Trevor) usually mean to me that straws are being clutched at or that someone has dropped their marbles. In this case however I wouldn’t put it past Sky. I can imagine that they could change the sound to suit whichever viewpoint they like. And why wouldn’t they? I mean political views are heavily influenced and propaganda is rife in the written media! so why not use propaganda similarly in the televisual age as well. Big Brother is watching and all!!

Or maybe I’m just a bit pissed off today after the frustrations of last night?

One thing that we must do now is forget. It would be terrible if this was to effect our league form and confidence in the UEFA cup. Onwards and upwards. Good efforts lads, we’ll just have to get further next time!

frankie miller
11 Posted 24/01/2008 at 17:18:14

I sat in the paddock, right next to the chelsea fans. They were louder than us throughout the game, it didnt really feel like a big game to me.. unlike the Big dunc man utd game a couple of seasons ago. Chelsea passed us quiet when we just needed to make it scrappy with maybe a couple of strong or even late challenges early on to get the home fans pumped up, it didnt happen an im gutted.
4th place is our aim now though and hopefully a bit more support from the home fans in our home legs in the Uefa cup to help us to City in may. COYB

Tom Carter
12 Posted 24/01/2008 at 17:31:56

It does’nt take a genius to work out we were quite the chelsea fans kept singing "your so quite goodison" .

Tris Allerton
13 Posted 24/01/2008 at 17:48:49

Personally I think Sky should issue an apology fairly promptly. Having had the misfortune to have to listen to that obnoxious rabble of Chelsea fans swearing their heads off for 90 minutes. I?m not trying to be a prude but people watching that with kids ahving to listen to sounds like "Goodison shithole" and "Neville is a cunt" have a right to be a bit narked off with Sky. However, it did prove what a classless bunch of yobs the Chelsea fans are!

Barry Cass
14 Posted 24/01/2008 at 17:55:44

I too am amazed by the reaction that we have recieved today from many quarters stating that Chelsea outsung us ! I was in the Gwladys Street and couldn’t hear myself think ! Honestly didn’t hear the Chelsea fans once even when they scored !

Tom, don’t know where you sat or even if you where there but our supporters gave them a lot of stick for being so quiet. Sky love the ’big 4’ and will always try to talk them up and it seems on this ocassion turn them up !!

Paul Lambert
15 Posted 24/01/2008 at 18:15:58

Gentlemen I was one of the lucky few at the game last night belive me when I say that EFC was a hell of alot louder than the Chelsea supporters.

When I saw highlight of the game It was perfectly obvious that Sky had indeed turn the volume down on the Everton fans and turned the volume up on the Chelsea fans.

The main reason Sky did this is they just simply dislike Everton because this is a team that constantly prove them wrong by getting results over the so called big 4, over the past few years and do that without spending billions pounds.

Guys we are all true blue, so do not take the biased media attemps to block out Evertons singing and cheering the only thing it does is it makes them sore losers that cannot tack the fact that EFC has once agian gate crashed the "Sky 4".

Mick Dempsey
16 Posted 24/01/2008 at 18:31:15

Look does it matter if Chelsea sounded louder on the box, the bottom line is they returned half of the allocation for a SF, that sums it up to me. The ground was rocking last night, but at the end of the day we lost, I thought Chelsea was the best team we have played this season.

Dominic Fitzpatrick
17 Posted 24/01/2008 at 18:47:13

I was at the game last night and I actually thought that at times, atmospherically, it is one of the best matches I have been two.

It’s a close call between the Carsley Derby, the Newcastle ’Champions League’ match and Pompey at home last season.

I thought the atmosphere was spot on, and the difference between last night and the night before at White Hart Lane was simple, goals.

I have no doubt in my mind that had Everton scored, we would have all been going mental, then we would have been able to make true comparisons with Bayern Munich.

I’ve also noticed the quiet coverage, not just on Sky, but on the BBC also.

I also cannot help but notice how loud Anfield seems to be on their televised games, and become increasingly annoyed with the way commentators seem obliged to make atleast one gesture to LFC, something along the lines of ’Just listen to the Kop.’

You never seem to get that at Goodison, not even for the biggest game in thirteen years. In fact on the contrary, we all come out of the stadium with hoarse throats and then get told by people who didn’t even go to the game that we didn’t even sing.

Alan Clarke
18 Posted 24/01/2008 at 18:57:11

Following on Dominic about the kopites. I watched their game against Villa and all you could hear was them singing about the club being in the wrong hands followed by numerous comments from the commentator regarding this chant. I’ve a mate who’s a Villa fan and went to that game. He said the home fans were shit and he didn’t here them sing all night. He’d lost his voice from chanting but Villa’s fans sounded very quiet on the telly.

Chelsea’s support was embaressing last night for a club who class themselves as "big". Our support was awesome and we deserve more for it. I find it depressing that we haven’t made it to Wembley because some russian twat decides to buy a football club ruining any competition.

Darren Jones
19 Posted 24/01/2008 at 19:36:17

I was in the lower glad last night, and it was the loudest game ive been too!! It even gave me a headache!!

I cant speak for the main stand end of the glad (as I couldnt see it from my seat) but the end by the bullens didn’t sit down for the whole 90 minutes!! We all stood tall and sang proud.

You could see from AJ’s reactions after the game that he was proud of the crowd.

Karl Jones
20 Posted 24/01/2008 at 19:32:46

I was watching the Wigan game on Sunday on Sky interractively with just the crowd noise (as I cant stand any of the pairs of beauts who commentate on their games, especially Alan Parry). There were no chants or any singing from the Everton fans barely audible.I have mentioned this to a couple of fans who went and couldnt understand this. The Wigan support seemed incredibly loud!....Having attended the game last night I thought the support was magnificent...Sky sport though dont give a damn about supporters and what they think or perceive as being fair, as anyone who has ever written or emailed them will Know.

Joh Jones
21 Posted 24/01/2008 at 22:19:49

Tom Carter, the Chelsea fans sang that after they scored in retaliation to the Everton fans who were singing similar things to them earlier on. I think it doesn’t take a genius (as you say) to work out that all the people who went think it was good atmosphere. Why would all these people lie? - Now that would be a conspiracy theory! (Or your schizophrenia)?

Pat Whitty
22 Posted 27/01/2008 at 13:11:14

Saw this from a Chelsea fan on the 606 website and thought it would interest you:

As a Chelsea fan who was at the game last night, I feel I should stick up for the Everton fans who seem to be getting criticised on various forums for not making any noise.

The atmosphere at Goodison was superb, and the noise coming from the Evertonians at the start of the game was deafening. Of course they got quieter as the game went on (particularly after Joe Cole scored) but that's to be expected really, Chelsea were strangling the game.

It seems that on the telly all everyone could hear was the Chelsea, we sang our hearts out for the whole game and made as much noise as 2100 people can, but it obviously didn't do justice to the overall atmosphere. As Everton might eventually move stadiums I'm glad I experienced the Goodison atmosphere last night, which was electric for most of the evening. Ignore the atmosphere jibes Everton fans, you couldn't have got behind your team any more last night and anyone who was there knows it.