Some may associate Old Trafford more with prawn sandwich eaters than hearty singers, but this weekend's Premier League action appears to show that those inside Manchester United's stadium know how to belt out a song better than most.

In the wake of Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho saying he felt his side had been "playing in an empty stadium" last weekend, debate has raged about possible reasons behind any crowd apathy.

Ticket prices have been put forward as mitigation, as have all-seater stadiums and a growing number of day-trippers to grounds.

In a bid to try and see if Mourinho's words were true of other Premier League grounds, Press Association Sport armed its reporters with a the 'Sound Meter' smartphone application which would attempt to record decibel levels at this weekend's games.

Summer transfer flop XI Show all 18 1 /18 Summer transfer flop XI Summer transfer flop XI Michel Vorm (£5m) Vorm, the Netherlands’ third-choice goalkeeper at the World Cup, walked away from a starting job at a decent mid-table club, to sit on the bench behind arguably the second best goalkeeper in world football, Hugo Lloris. 0 Premier League appearances Getty Images Summer transfer flop XI Bacary Sagna (free) Like Vorm, Sagna has gone from a club where he was the first choice and loved by the fans, to sit on the bench behind a superior player. Pablo Zabaleta is probably the best right-back in the division, and while Sagna may win more trophies and earn more money at City, he’s not likely to play unless the Argentine gets injured. 3 appearances GETTY IMAGES Summer transfer flop XI Rio Ferdinand (free) The experienced former Manchester United and England captain was meant to bring quality and a steady head to newly-promoted QPR. Instead he has lost his place to own-goal machine Richard Dunne. 7 appearances Getty Images Summer transfer flop XI Eliaquim Mangala (£32m) When you spend this kind of money on a centre-back he better be good. While Mangala has all the qualities to succeed – pace, strength, quality on the ball – he has made a couple of crucial errors and is positionally poor. The flawed Martin Demichelis remains first-choice to partner Vincent Kompany. 4 appearances GETTY IMAGES Summer transfer flop XI Ben Davies (£10m) One of a few strange moves by Spurs this summer, Davies is a talented left-back, but Maurico Pochettino has so far preferred Danny Rose. The Welshman has played just 18 minutes of Premier League football this season. 1 appearance Getty Images Summer transfer flop XI Emre Can (£9.8m) Still young and will improve but just another example of Liverpool’s awful overall business this summer (if more strikers allowed he wouldn’t be in the team). 4 appearances Summer transfer flop XI Jack Rodwell (£7m) Plenty though that a move away from City could reignite the talented youngsters career, but instead the former Everton man has been pushed out of the team by Lee Cattermole and converted winger Sebastian Larsson; looks devoid of confidence. 9 Appearances Getty Images Summer transfer flop XI Remy Cabella (£12m) Looked like a world beater on his debut against City but since then has shown he may be nothing more than a show pony. Possesses a range of tricks and great feet but just a single assist reveals a lack of end product. 7 appearances Getty Images Summer transfer flop XI Shane Long (£12m) The brilliant form of Graziano Pelle means he can’t get in the team; but Long has looked out of sorts when he does play, usually coming off the bench. As long as Southampton stay near the top of the table this move will stay under the radar. 9 appearances Twitter/@SouthamptonFC Summer transfer flop XI Mario Balotelli (£16m) Enough has been written about the goalless Italian. In short, replacing Luis Suarez with a player whose style is the polar opposite was always going to spell trouble. 8 appearances Getty Images Summer transfer flop XI Brown Ideye (£10m) If West Brom break their club record for a player he should probably expect a place in the starting line-up but he can’t even manage that. Saido Berahino has been much better, while his track record points to a player not worth what the Baggies paid. 3 appearances Getty Images Summer transfer flop XI SUBS: Lazar Markovic (£20m) Like Can, he is young and will improve but £20m looks a tad expensive GETTY IMAGES Summer transfer flop XI Rickie Lambert (£4m) Looked like a no-lose signing as a back-up option but pressed into action the 32-year-old has floundered Getty Summer transfer flop XI Radamel Falcao (£6m loan) A big risk given his recent injury past, Falcao clearly has the quality. He just needs to get on the pitch Getty Images Summer transfer flop XI Emmanuel Riviere (£6m) Missed chance after chance during Newcastle’s abysmal run at the start of the season, costing the Toon points Summer transfer flop XI Filipe Luis (£16m) A good player but Azpilicueta and Ivanovic are the first choice full-backs, plus he’s no spring chicken at 29 AP Summer transfer flop XI Zeki Fryers A lot to spend on a left-back for a club like Palace, especially if he isn’t going to play. At all GETTY IMAGES Summer transfer flop XI David Ospina (£3m) Bought to provide competition for Wojciech Szczesny but when his time came he too was injured Getty Images

While this level of research can in no way be considered scientific and is nothing more than a rough guide, it does indicate that United and Crystal Palace fans made more of a din than any others by as many as six decibels, although for balance there were 30,000 more fans there than anywhere else.

In the interests of fairness, all samples were taken from kick-off to the 60-second mark, the highest recorded point has been used and, as no goals were scored in this period, the decibel levels can be considered to have been generated in similar circumstances.

The recordings will be repeated at the next round of Premier League games in order to gather readings from every ground.

Here are the results, with accompanying reference points from our reporters.

Manchester United v Crystal Palace, Old Trafford (Attendance 75,325)

Decibel level (out of 120) 84: "It was loud inside Old Trafford at the time, with plenty of the noise also coming from the Palace fans" - Paul Hirst, chief football reporter

Juan Mata rescued Manchester United in the 1-0 win over Crystal Palace Southampton v Leicester (31,297)

Decibel level 78: "The opening minute did not drop below 72 and peaked at 78, even though nothing notable happened" - Simon Peach

Sunderland v Everton (43,476)

Decibel Level 78: "Sunderland won a corner after 35 seconds and Connor Wickham headed over at the end of the minute" - Damian Spellman

Tottenham v Stoke (35,699)

Decibel Level 78: "Nothing happened, just a normal opening minute" - Tom Allnutt

West Brom v Newcastle (26,476)

Decibel Level 78: "There was a high of 78 even though there was nothing for the fans to get excited about" - Nick Mashiter

Liverpool v Chelsea (44,698)

Decibel Level 77: "The level rarely dipped, with main action being Emre Can having a shot deflected wide" - Carl Markham

Swansea v Arsenal (20,812)

Decibel Level 76: "There was nothing of note other than possession changing hands a couple of times" - Phil Blanche

Bafetimbi Gomis gave Swansea a 2-1 win over Arsenal QPR v Man City (18,005)

Decibel Level 76: "There was nothing of note in the opening minute, unlike later in the game" - Mark Bryans

Burnley v Hull (16,998)

Decibel Level 74: "Burnley had a chance in the first minute with Danny Ings shooting over" - Phil Medlicott

West Ham v Aston Villa (34,857)

Decibel Level 74: "There was absolutely nothing to report inside an opening minute" - Jim van Wijk