What to expect from the Stamford Bridge crowd?

You can pack a whopping 3,000 away fans into the 40,000-seater stadium, and the crowd is always up or it: Chelsea are always gunning for it and expecting their side to deliver a thrashing, and everyone who visits Stamford Bridge wants to return home with a scalp! Home and away fans are kept pretty close together, but many fans reported feeling comfortable and unthreatened. If you’re lucky and find yourself there on a big matchday, expect a raucous atmosphere!

The atmosphere in Stamford bridge differs from stand to stand, so dependent on what kind of experience you want, choose your seats wisely.

The biggest atmosphere can be found in the Matthew Harding and Shed End Stands, behind the goals these stands are normally occupied by the most boisterous of fans – that means shouting, singing and chanting for the length of the game. Away fans are housed in the Shed End, right near the home fans which creates a rowdy atmosphere with plenty of give and take between the home and away fans.

The West and East stands are known to be a lot more reserved, housing the family sections as well as being popular for fans who simply want to appreciate the view.

Nevertheless there are always songs reverberating around the ground as the fans are entertained by a great standard of football.

Home seats are all together and the away fans are placed on one side of the lower tier of The Shed End with around 3,000 tickets allocated for cup games (although this is sometimes increased). It is generally an enjoyable day out for everyone because although the away seats are separated, there isn’t much of a gap so it isn’t intimidating and doesn’t give an “us vs them” mentality. With all of the food and drink available in the away end and the decent seating you won’t be disappointed and everyone enjoys the game.

While it is not always the noisiest of stadiums (except in high stake matches or certain stands) there is still a buzz from the crowd and you will occasionally hear chants such as;

Carefree, wherever you may be,

We are the famous CFC,

And we don’t give a ****

Wherever you may be,

‘Cause we are the famous CFC.

Which is a particularly popular one for home games sung to the “Lord of the Dance” tune.

If you are looking for merchandise, there is the main stadium megastore on site as well as the Stamford Gate Store at the entrance and on match days there are mobile units that are open near the gates around 3 hours before kickoff where you can get a recommended matchday programme for £3.

The biggest rivals considered to Chelsea are Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United although none of these would make the atmosphere considered dangerous and away fans should feel safe, particularly with the extra security at the stadium.