Phoenix fans silenced by sour notes
The decision to blast music during Wellington Phoenix’s A-League opener has hit a bum note with supporters.
Yellow Fever members were left frustrated as their chants were regularly drowned out by loud music at various stages of Sunday’s game against Newcastle Jets at Westpac Stadium – the club’s intention of improving the matchday experience clearly missing the target.
‘‘There were chants going and songs were being played over the top, and some of that is about timing issues.
‘‘But that drowned it out pretty quick and that gets people dejected pretty quick when you put effort into getting something started and it dies quickly because it’s getting overpowered by the PA system,’’ Yellow Fever member Dale Warburton said.
‘‘I just find it pretty weird that music can be playing while a game is being played. I don’t think it’s enjoyable for players either. We don’t chant all the time and when we’re losing we go particularly quiet, which is understandable. But on Sunday we were winning and I would question the need for it.’’
Phoenix general manager David Dome admitted the use of music was excessive and he said the club has taken the feedback on board, after reading numerous complaints on social media.
‘‘100 per cent we’ve seen the feedback and we’ve taken it on board – in fact we took it on board during the game,’’ Dome said.
‘‘Social media is great in that regard as it’s instantaneous and once we got the feedback through we thought we better pull back on this to something a bit more realistic.’’
He said the Phoenix have already planned to limit the tunes during their next home game, which is against Western Sydney Wanderers on November 3, and that club representatives would meet with Yellow Fever members later this week to work out a solution that would suit both parties moving forward.