Shall we sing a song for you? Manchester United draft in 'noise specialist' to improve Old Trafford atmosphere

Move follows complaints from home supporters

Simon Rice
Friday 05 April 2013 13:39 BST
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A view inside Old Trafford
A view inside Old Trafford

Manchester United have appointed an acoustic engineer in a bid to up the decibel levels from home supporters inside Old Trafford.

Following complaints from supporters in the Stretford End that they felt their singing was not being heard around the rest of the stadium, the Premier League leaders have made the appointment in a bid improve the acoustics in the 75,000 capacity stadium.

A club source told the Manchester Evening News: "There were supporters in the Stretford End who thought they had made a lot of noise only for friends in different parts of the ground to say they couldn't hear them."

The engineer has reportedly already attended the match in January against Liverpool and will attend further games before the end of the season before submitting findings on how the situation can be improved.

Despite having the largest ground of any club side in the Premier League, Manchester United fans are regularly accused of not making enough noise - with away fans often more audible on match days.

In 2000, former captain Roy Keane famously said: "Away from home our fans are fantastic, I'd call them the hardcore fans. But at home they have a few drinks and probably the prawn sandwiches, and they don't realise what's going on out on the pitch."

A 'singing section' has been mooted in the past in a bid to improve the atmosphere, however those plans have now been abandoned.

United trialled moving away fans from their current position in the corner of the East Stand during their match against Aston Villa last season. The Villains' followers were moved to the top tier of the Sir Alex Ferguson stand, however, police deemed the move unsafe.

According to the Manchester Evening News, United said at a Fans Forum that they "remain committed to moving away supporters from their current location".

United take on Manchester City at Old Trafford on Monday night.

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