Seven o'clock on a mild February Tuesday evening and a rearranged midweek Scottish FA cup match up is ahead.  Scottish side Aberdeen FC located in the north east of Scotland are set to play lower division East Fife in a cup clash at Pittodrie Stadium. Nearby the North Sea and its vast unforgiving expanse can be seen rolling in and that description alone is enough to make anyone in a stadium feel cold especially if you are standing in an uncovered area of the ground. For the Red Ultras fan group a new adventure is ahead far from the former group home in the upper seating deck of the Richard Donald Stand.

For the average fan traditionally Section Y is accepted to be the least sought after part of the ground to stand or be seated in. Match tickets for the area are generally the last to be sold to fans and even sales at the Pittodrie ticket office are downplayed via an unenthusiastic tone 'we only have uncovered Section Y left is that ok?' often relayed in a sorry tone is a common reply from ticket office staff to fans phoning enquiring to see if any tickets are left. Very few tickets are sold for this area of the ground and very few season tickets are sold either. Over the years - since the emergence of away supporters being located in the south stand east area of the ground - the sparsely populated Section Y area has been the accepted home or at least standing area of what is left of the dwindling numbers of Aberdeen's ageing hooligan element. The area offers 'unofficial' standing opportunities to an assortment of fans who prefer to watch games either sprawled lazily over two seats or with hands in pockets having just arrived before kick off refreshed from the local pubs.

Back in 2002 the area of the ground saw some Aberdeen fans storm the pitch side area during a tension packed Saturday evening game against Glasgow Rangers. The area outside this part of the ground in a nearby graveyard meanwhile saw some Liverpool fans fire a naval rocket distress flare into the ground over section Y during a pre-season friendly match, prompting Liverpool manager Gerard Houllier to ask if an 'Al Quieda' attack had just occurred at the ground. Ironically Section Y is located near the family stand but it's far from that. Its also a world away from the stand adjacent the old Main stand where fans seldom leave seats even for a goal for fear tartan rugs falling off huddled knees.

If you know the club, criticism of Section Y is unfair. All in all though it is an older part of the ground which has seen very little development or restructure over the years. Its location looking west brings back memories of when the line 'walking down the Merkland Road' was once sang in the old home end of the Beach End. It is the home of the cynical and traditional fan whose years of following the club through thick and thin have led to realistic ambitions and great nights against Bayern, Ujpest and Copenhagen. Yet its also the home of spitting blood at underachieving players and gaining grey hairs from the soul-destroying defeats against the likes of Irish semi-professionals Bohemians FC in a UEFA preliminary round tie.

The 'Red Ultras' were formed in 1999 with the majority of members coming from the city. Many of the founding members drew some inspiration and ideas for such a group from the colourful supports of other countries witnessed in Scotland or in Aberdeen playing in European trips. This goes back to matches against the likes of Torino in the early 1990's. The aim was to bring more atmosphere and colour to Aberdeen matches in a stadium more noted for its apathy and lack of occasion. After an Aberdeen against IFK Göteborg European Cup Quarter Final match in 1986 former manager Alex Ferguson famously stated that the turn out of 16,000 fans left him wondering if better opportunities awaited him elsewhere. Quite simply Pittodrie has seen its great nights where the stadia has been rocking to its foundations, but a tradition of apathy has always been around as well.

Over the years since the groups emergence match fan displays have expanded as more members joined and more displays were carried out home and away. During a UEFA Cup a match against Hertha Berlin in the pre-world cup Olympic Stadium one of the groups first displays occurred as banners and red flares were set off amongst the colourful and loud Aberdeen support. At Pittodrie Stadium a ‘Red Army’ banner was soon created which ran the length of the Richard Donald Stand and lay between the two tiers. Thanks to donations from the supportive Aberdeen support other materials were created and card displays occurred which led to images appearing in a variety of media and the reputation of the group growing. Away from Pittodrie the RU soon began to take on a significant presence at away games with streamer displays and flags appearing.   Red Ultras merchandise is available ranging from scarves to hooded tops through to desk calenders. Very few supporters groups who follow Aberdeen boast such an operation. In terms of alliances the RU have forged an affiliation with a similar fan group at Portuguese side Boavista group the 'Panteras Negras.'

Across the United Kingdom a number of similar groupings have also emerged at Celtic, Rangers, Livingston, Motherwell and in England at Accrington Stanley, York, Crystal Palace and Aldershot. From all of that you would think that things have only been positive for the Red Ultras but unfortunately this is not the case. The groups emergence has been met with some indifference and apathy from fellow supporters whilst health and safety operations teams within stadia have made life difficult for the group.

At an administrative level the Taylor Report of the early 1990's led to the introduction of all seater stadia. From that the United Kingdom has seen the disappearance of traditional 'home supporter ends' where hardcore singing groups of fans would congregate and the emergence of branded identi-kit stands. At association level there has been a drive to familyize stadiums with the determination of clubs to saturate supports with season ticket sales. All of this has led to a dumbing down of colour, enthusiasm and atmosphere within grounds. At club level the hands of club security staff have been tied through rules being enforced from above. Through these pressures from national associations to familyize and introduce politically correct rules and regulations at grounds excessive health and safety measures have emerged. The opportunity for groups such as the Red Ultras to grow has been available but to flourish and expand the system is not helping.

Where things get muddy and hard to understand is at a fellow supporter level where the emergence of the RU group has led to some indifference towards the group from other fans. This has ranged from criticism through supporters web fan forums to letters of complaints to the club asking that flags not be flown to complaints that fans were standing. In the customer complaints culture that we exist in and with the drive to retain season ticket holders such complaints lead to club operations staff taking action and indifference again creeps in. To a large extent Aberdeen Football club have done all they can through the rules available to them to allow the RU grouping and its activities to flourish. The group themselves have there own storage areas within Pittodire where materials are stored and located.   Members have high visability jackets which are provided for RU members to exit and manoeuvre around the various areas of the ground. Outwith that there are very large question marks at the apathy of fellow Aberdeen supporters of whatever variety to join in with the singing and atmosphere at games and this brings us to the question of Section Y.

Against East Fife Section Y in the south stand has a few hundred supporters in it but largely these either sit to the rear of the stand either sitting down quietly or standing to the left of the seats. A plethora of age groups are around, some with scarves some without colours a few dads with sons and some wannabe casuals with Stone Island jumpers stand watching. At the front of the Y area what members of the RU are around congregate with flags, scarves and banners. They are instantly noticeable amongst a sea of not very much else. Across in the Merkland Family stand some supporters sit open mouthed in amazement at the appearance of the group in the area. Even though Aberdeen football club themselves have done all they can to publicise the grouping of the fans in this area of the ground via its official website some either don't want to join in or are non the wiser at what is going on. It's a Tuesday night and the RU that have congregated are of a variety of ages an assortment of teenagers, some 20-somethings and some 30 year olds with families of their own. As the teams emerge giant red and white flags are flown and songs begin. These range from chants paying homage to players to songs about the club. Aberdeen like any club has its fan songs but many of these have become tired or overly used. The Red Ultras though produce a wide array of original chants most amusing being the one for striker Darren Mackie which goes to the same beat as the one used by Fiorentina fans for Gabriel Batistuta. As the match goes on Aberdeen players rack up five goals against hopeless opposition but the singing does not stop and its to the groups credit and players advantage that this is the case. Feedback from players to the chants whether on the pitch or on the subs bench seems to be reciprocated and even more appreciated.

One of the most prominent RU members 'Mezz' is aware it will take time for such an area with the South Stand to grown and develop. To the RU group's credit they have tried to maintain an open thread of transparency with regards to communications and a dialogue with the club despite numerous disputes and fall outs. From that the group now finds itself with an open area in the south stand that is seldom populated and its really up to fellow Aberdeen supporters now to lose inhibitions; lose negative attitudes and remove themselves from an ingrained mentality of apathy that clearly exists.  

There is very little players of whatever team, who are on a football pitch, gain from supporters who come to a stadium to either shout abuse or to be critical from start to the final whistle. Yes, people pay an entry fee at a turnstile and shout what they want but if its negative its not helpful in any language. That is a fact anywhere.  Specifically at Aberdeen the  Red Ultras group look very enthusiastic about what is occuring on the pitch and look like they are enjoying themselves. Surrounding them though there a great deal of fans who look miserable and you wonder why they actually came to the game.   The match was live on national radio, would this not have been more appealing? Being at a football match silent, perhaps looking miserable and not engaging does nothing for players.

Against that there is a lot footballers can gain from supporters who are together with one voice who are trying to offer encouragement via a created atmosphere. Following and supporting a team provides an amphitheatre for a variety of people to lose inhibitions, attitudes and states of mind in an effort to engage collectivity to the benefit of a team or at least this is how it should and can work. In actual fact this is how it does work in a variety of places. But it is up to the club, authorities but most importantly the supporters to make it happen. The club seems to have made a contribution to allowing this but can the fans do the same?

For the future if the section Y area within Pittodrie Stadium is to grow as a place of atmosphere or as as an official singing section of some type then its not just a question of the Red Ultras or the club; it requires ordinary fans to who sit nearby to join in to help create and generate something better.   Time will tell if the club, the system or most importantly fellow Aberdeen fans allow this to happen.