- Crystal Palace Ultras enjoy Fiorentina win
- Fan culture under scrutiny
- Eagles fanbase among the most passionate
Crystal Palace’s Ultras, the Holmesdale Fanatics, have consistently been criticised for their methods of improving atmosphere and supporting the club.
The ‘ultra culture’ in England is a concept of the past. Premier League grounds are too full of tourists for any real atmosphere to build, and other clubs have unorganised bands of lads that simply don’t do enough to make the atmosphere good.
A more recent example of an ‘ultra’ group is the self-proclaimed Ashburton Army. It’s evident that the handful of displays they have presented before games this season are club-funded and simply printed, or in some cases, clearly designed by AI.
Other clubs have this issue too, with Aston Villa’s end at Wembley in the FA Cup semi-final last season dwarfed by Palace’s. Now, this isn’t a piece to say ‘no one does … like Palace fans’, that conversation can upset people very easily.
Instead, the focus is on just what Palace are doing that is working, because whether you like it or not, it’s working.
Embracing the European way
Members of the HF were recently critiqued online for their habits during games at Selhurst Park. Standing at the front of their singing section, one or two lads will not watch the game, but instead orchestrate the support for ninety minutes. That is their role, and undoubtedly they enjoy it.
This comes from European fan culture, where the Capo stands and conducts the fans. Across every European league there will be fans with this duty, and yes, they all use megaphones. What this does is create a consistent, synchronised atmosphere.
Palace have also embraced certain chants from the continent, putting a South London spin on staple European chants.
The Tifo culture is also something which the Holmesdale Fanatics have nailed. Pre-game displays throughout the seasons, marking memorable games with incredible, fan-funded, and fan-created banners.
Outcasts Amongst English Support
There are other groups in England attempting to replicate this culture. Nottingham Forest have fan-made tifo displays and a fan group dedicated to them alone. Other clubs, however, rely on club-funded, AI-designed sheets that fall from the roof. There’s just not the same authenticity.
For the most part, Palace’s display in Florence last night, accompanied by hundreds of flags and numerous flares surrounding the HF’s iconic Ultras banner, was heavily praised.
Noticeably, that praise was coming from other European fans. Germans, Spaniards, Italians, French. Countries known for their incredible fan support. The Scots were also big supporters of the Palace away, and clubs like Rangers and Celtic certainly know how to create an atmosphere.
The condescending, disapproving comments were literally all from fans of other English clubs, and the correlation between those clubs’ poor seasons was astounding.
Millwall fans, of course, came out of the woodwork to share their unwanted views, whilst fans of clubs generally competing either towards the bottom of the Premier League or even lower were consistently negative.
Labelling the Palace fans as ‘performative’ and ‘embarrassing’. The issue for me, is that as fans, we always look to European ultras and think, ‘wow, I wish we had a bit more of that here.’
That is inevitable until someone does just that. Jealousy is an interesting psychological phenomenon. It often underlies people’s emotions and subconsciously impacts their thoughts and feelings. You’d have a hard time convincing me that had your club done the same, you wouldn’t be praising the actions of the Palace fans.
However, fan culture is actively discouraged in England. Sure, you may be mocked by other fans, but who really cares about their opinions? Football is such a tribal sport after all.
Flares are banned, clubs interfere with attempts to build atmosphere by drowning out crowds with unwanted pre-game music, and ultra-culture is generally frowned upon because the line between passionately supporting your club and going to football to be violent is blurred.
Ultimately, though, as a Palace fan, I’ve loved seeing these displays, and good luck to the HF, because they are the centre of the Selhurst Park atmosphere.
