Stewards are wankers

[thejackal]

Believe me, the squawking idiots with low peripheral capabilities in the thought department will all blither on incessantly regardless of how succinct is my explanation.

It's already a fact that I have told any normal iq'd person enough to be able to figure it out for themselves, so you who pop your head up to make these comments are only showing y'selves up as the bottom-of-the-class types who can't understand normal thinking.

Toodles

Oh dear, Mr little Hitler in "complete inability to articulate his argument" shocker...

No, with all due respect, what you've written is just plain stupid.

The longer you try to stick up for these unreasonable, humourless jobsworths, the more stupid you look.

Goodbye, and "See you next tuesday" yourself, you inarticulate, holier-than-thou prick.

 

[portslade-by-sea]

Get on with your homework and make something of yourself then. Have you seen the employment figures for those coming out of eduction lately? And it's going to get worse. So don't waste time arguing on here, get on with it and get ahead of the pack by making the most of your time. Don't waste this opportunity, arguments will always be here on NSC for many years to come and you can join in then

 

[portslade-by-sea]

and you are clearly a prick of the highest order.

If i was 30 years younger, i would box yer ears in

 

[Notters]

Believe me, the squawking idiots with low peripheral capabilities in the thought department will all blither on incessantly regardless of how succinct is my explanation.

It's already a fact that I have told any normal iq'd person enough to be able to figure it out for themselves, so you who pop your head up to make these comments are only showing y'selves up as the bottom-of-the-class types who can't understand normal thinking.

Toodles

Jeez. It seems odd that you're accusing posters such as the jackal and I of having an "abnormal" IQ when we're both clearly quite eloquent, certainly by NSC standards.

I can therefore only assume that your comment with regard to our abnormal IQ is in fact a compliment. In which case I am grateful.

I want to make it clear at this point that i don't, personally, have any major gripe with stewards. I was just interested to know whether you could explain this key aspect of your job. The reason I query this, is that I wouldn't do a job that involved ordering people about if there were not some sound basis for this ordering. I suppose I can understand the need for some stewarding but the orange-coated population of the Withdean seems to be getting quite ridiculous these days.

 

[portlock seagull]

Jeez. It seems odd that you're accusing posters such as the jackal and I of having an "abnormal" IQ when we're both clearly quite eloquent, certainly by NSC standards.

I can therefore only assume that your comment with regard to our abnormal IQ is in fact a compliment. In which case I am grateful.

I want to make it clear at this point that i don't, personally, have any major gripe with stewards. I was just interested to know whether you could explain this key aspect of your job. The reason I query this, is that I wouldn't do a job that involved ordering people about if there were not some sound basis for this ordering. I suppose I can understand the need for some stewarding but the orange-coated population of the Withdean seems to be getting quite ridiculous these days.

 

[stewardxxx]

Honestly, it's comments such as these that show you lot up for what you really are! THIS is what's wrong with the stewarding at the our club.

I'm not going to get into the whys and wherefores of people who take part time jobs that involve dressing up in a uniform and bossing people around, other than to say that there are plenty of jobs that don't involve playing at policemen.

No, the real issue is how these people go about doing their jobs. Stewards who approach each game hoping that it'll go smoothly but convinced that it "just wont happen" should not be stewarding.

Why not try approaching your 'job' with some humility and good humour, rather than the confrontational, po-faced attitude that you pretty much all seem to take?

Yes, you have to enforce the rules of the club, but remember these are not statutary laws; they are simply conditions of admission to a private place of business. If you make the rules so stupid and unbendable, or if you try to enforce them without good humour or without remembering that WE are the bloody 'customers', then the 'customers' will simply stop coming throught the door.

In many respects, you guys are actually there to serve us: to keep us safe and to enhance our matchday experience. But you really, really don't get that bit, do you?

Why are you trying to put a negative spin on everything? cup half empty??

I personally wish things would go smoothly so that everyone can enjoy their day and leave in a good mood. theres nothing wrong with that and me stating that it just won't happen does not have any impact on whether I should be stewarding or not. It makes me a realist.

We are there as SAFETY STEWARDS for the safety of ALL the spectators and if a small minority are deemed to be doing something (by the CCTV or safety officer) that is dangerous or against the ground regs then we have to act to ensure the majority are not affected.

You are quite right that SOME regulations are not statutory laws but as you have stated if you don't like it, dont come through the gate (we don't make the rules, we may not even agree with them but we are doing our jobs and have to uphold them)

You talk about approaching the job with humility and good humour, Personally I do, I don't take myself seriously at all and try to let everyone get on with what they want to do. equally, I am not a failed copper or wannabe Hitler etc I just do what I am told.

I agree that there are some stewards who, similar to bouncers seem to have a real chip on their shoulder and thrive on arguments and conflict and that is wrong. There are also Fans that seem to thrive on this...

The point is that neither fans nor stewards are perfect but we need to stop working against each other and start working together. (Also need to stop tarring the majority of fans/stewards with the same brush as the minority who are arseholes - there are a lot of blinding fans to chat to and have a laugh with and equally I know a fair few stewards who really do care and want to help)

 

[stewardxxx]

Jeez. It seems odd that you're accusing posters such as the jackal and I of having an "abnormal" IQ when we're both clearly quite eloquent, certainly by NSC standards.

I can therefore only assume that your comment with regard to our abnormal IQ is in fact a compliment. In which case I am grateful.

I want to make it clear at this point that i don't, personally, have any major gripe with stewards. I was just interested to know whether you could explain this key aspect of your job. The reason I query this, is that I wouldn't do a job that involved ordering people about if there were not some sound basis for this ordering. I suppose I can understand the need for some stewarding but the orange-coated population of the Withdean seems to be getting quite ridiculous these days.

From what I understand is that with the new stadium only a season away they are ramping up so that there is some experience in every part of the new stadium.

Hope this helps?

 

[Husty]

its close,, but its not right!

(not even close i'm afraid.)

So your the other one... when you say not even close, are you infact a bloke?

 

[Spider]

The point is that neither fans nor stewards are perfect but we need to stop working against each other and start working together. (Also need to stop tarring the majority of fans/stewards with the same brush as the minority who are arseholes - there are a lot of blinding fans to chat to and have a laugh with and equally I know a fair few stewards who really do care and want to help)

If you care ane really want to help, don't become a steward - simples!

 

[Publius Ovidius]

If you care ane really want to help, don't become a steward - simples!

But if every steward took that attitude, then we would not be able to play at all!

How does that help the situation?

 

[stewardxxx]

So your the other one... when you say not even close, are you infact a bloke?

neither of them i'm afraid - have never actually worked on H block. I am a bloke.

(I know who you mean about the female supervisor though and she's really rude and gives attitude to stewards so can only imagine how she is with fans. I have wondered once how she became a supervisor but then remembered that she does have a big mouth...)

 

[Spider]

But if every steward took that attitude, then we would not be able to play at all!

How does that help the situation?

Yeah I know, I wasn't really being serious. It's just a bit grating hearing stewards telling you that they are just doing their job, they don't agree with all the rules, some of them really care etc. when it seems to me that if you didn't enjoy having to enforce rules that you thought were over the top you would go and find another part time job.

 

[Westdene Seagull]

Honestly, it's comments such as these that show you lot up for what you really are! THIS is what's wrong with the stewarding at the our club.

I'm not going to get into the whys and wherefores of people who take part time jobs that involve dressing up in a uniform and bossing people around, other than to say that there are plenty of jobs that don't involve playing at policemen. You would appear to have a very large chip on your shoulder. I didn't do stewarding because of the uniform or because I fancied trying to be a policeman ( I'd have become a special constable if that was the case ). It was a part time job to allow me to place my kids in private education.

No, the real issue is how these people go about doing their jobs. Stewards who approach each game hoping that it'll go smoothly but convinced that it "just wont happen" should not be stewarding.

Why not try approaching your 'job' with some humility and good humour, rather than the confrontational, po-faced attitude that you pretty much all seem to take? Most stewards do take this approach. The general exception is the stewarding of the away fans and if there have been any specific complaints from home fans about fellow home fans at previous games. In these cases there are certain "targets".

Yes, you have to enforce the rules of the club, but remember these are not statutary laws; they are simply conditions of admission to a private place of business. They are part of the safety certificate and therefore need enforcing to allow future matches to continue to take place. The club didn't make them up - the council, police and football authorities did.

If you make the rules so stupid and unbendable, or if you try to enforce them without good humour or without remembering that WE are the bloody 'customers', then the 'customers' will simply stop coming throught the door.

Agreed to an extent but if these are the rules the club are forced to operate under then what are they to do ? Unfortunately there are a number of mongs who think challenging the stewards is the way to show that they don't like the rules. It would be so much simpler if people just sat down when asked - what's so difficult about that ?

In many respects, you guys are actually there to serve us: to keep us safe and to enhance our matchday experience. But you really, really don't get that bit, do you? Yes on the safety point but stewards are not there to enhance your matchday experience. In theory the players are. If you can't create an atmosphere without standing up or being a prick ( that's not aimed at YOU specifically ! ) then clearly you're probably not intelligent enough to even understand the offside rule so one would question why you're there !

As an ex-steward I'll respond.

 

[Barrel of Fun]

As an ex-steward myself I can confirm that 90% of all football stewards I came into contact with were morons who enjoyed having a bit of control and power for a small part of the week. Thankfully it was not a career and I didn't have to do it for long, just long enough to earn some beer tokens.

 

[thejackal]

Why are you trying to put a negative spin on everything? cup half empty??

I personally wish things would go smoothly so that everyone can enjoy their day and leave in a good mood. theres nothing wrong with that and me stating that it just won't happen does not have any impact on whether I should be stewarding or not. It makes me a realist.

We are there as SAFETY STEWARDS for the safety of ALL the spectators and if a small minority are deemed to be doing something (by the CCTV or safety officer) that is dangerous or against the ground regs then we have to act to ensure the majority are not affected.

You are quite right that SOME regulations are not statutory laws but as you have stated if you don't like it, dont come through the gate (we don't make the rules, we may not even agree with them but we are doing our jobs and have to uphold them)

You talk about approaching the job with humility and good humour, Personally I do, I don't take myself seriously at all and try to let everyone get on with what they want to do. equally, I am not a failed copper or wannabe Hitler etc I just do what I am told.

I agree that there are some stewards who, similar to bouncers seem to have a real chip on their shoulder and thrive on arguments and conflict and that is wrong. There are also Fans that seem to thrive on this...

The point is that neither fans nor stewards are perfect but we need to stop working against each other and start working together. (Also need to stop tarring the majority of fans/stewards with the same brush as the minority who are arseholes - there are a lot of blinding fans to chat to and have a laugh with and equally I know a fair few stewards who really do care and want to help)

Fair enough; I do accept some of what you say, although I don't agree that I was just trying to put a negative spin on this. I base my comments on my own experiences at the club in the last few seasons.

The sad truth is that many of the stewards, in my recent experience at the Withdean, are unfriendly, and do nothing to eradicate the 'them and us' attitude that you allude to in your final paragraph. You yourself admit that some of the stewards are arseholes that have real chips on their shoulders and thrive on conflict, and that at least one of the supervisors is rude and gives attitude to her fellow stewards.

Surely, just as we don't accept anti-social behaviour from the fans, neither should we accept it from the staff. I definitely think the fans and club could do more to work together on this.

 

[thejackal]

You would appear to have a very large chip on your shoulder. I didn't do stewarding because of the uniform or because I fancied trying to be a policeman ( I'd have become a special constable if that was the case ). It was a part time job to allow me to place my kids in private education.

I don't have a chip on my shoulder - I just refuse to be treated rudely by the representatives of an organisation that I support financially and emotionally. Like if you went to your favourite restaurant and your waiter was rude to you, you would complain. Well, I would.

Most stewards do take this approach.

Maybe so, but a significant amount don't. Please read current withdean steward stewardxxx's comments on this thread.

The general exception is the stewarding of the away fans and if there have been any specific complaints from home fans about fellow home fans at previous games. In these cases there are certain "targets".

I'm not sure about targeting people that may or may not have done anything wrong, because somebody might have complained about them in the past? That doesn't sound very fair.

They are part of the safety certificate and therefore need enforcing to allow future matches to continue to take place. The club didn't make them up - the council, police and football authorities did.

Agreed to an extent but if these are the rules the club are forced to operate under then what are they to do ? Unfortunately there are a number of mongs who think challenging the stewards is the way to show that they don't like the rules. It would be so much simpler if people just sat down when asked - what's so difficult about that ?

Nothing. I have never been asked to sit down by a steward because I don't persistently stand up, but why do some of you guys have to be so rude and agressive when you do ask us to do something?

Yes on the safety point but stewards are not there to enhance your matchday experience.

Oh dear, I was right then: you don't get that bit do you? Why is it so hard for stewards to accept that they might have a responsibility to be NICE to people as they go about their job?

In theory the players are. If you can't create an atmosphere without standing up or being a prick ( that's not aimed at YOU specifically ! ) then clearly you're probably not intelligent enough to even understand the offside rule so one would question why you're there !

In theory? In every sense, the stewards are there to serve the customers: to keep them safe, and - yes - to enhance our day at the ground. If they cannot do their jobs in a polite and friendly manner then surely there is no place for them at the club.

Maybe the club needs some sort of steward / fan forum so that bridges can be built. I'm pretty sure the vast majority of supporters would be in favour.

 

[Westdene Seagull]

I don't have a chip on my shoulder - I just refuse to be treated rudely by the representatives of an organisation that I support financially and emotionally. Like if you went to your favourite restaurant and your waiter was rude to you, you would complain. Well, I would. Agreed I would complain - directly to the manager not on a internet forum. In my 8 years of stewarding I rarely saw rudeness from stewards. The exceptions where when a supporter was clearly out for confrontation - agreed they should have held their cool but what do you expect for £6 per hour part timers mainly made up of students ?



Maybe so, but a significant amount don't. Please read current withdean steward stewardxxx's comments on this thread. I disagree with stewardxxx's comments in some areas and this is one of those areas.


I'm not sure about targeting people that may or may not have done anything wrong, because somebody might have complained about them in the past? That doesn't sound very fair. They are targeted because fellow fans have complained about behaviour, language etc. What are the club meant to do with the complaints - ignore them ? I was involved in a situation that Ian Hart decided to get all upset about a few seasons ago. There had been complaints about a couple of supporters on a number of occassions using foul, abusive and racist language. I was put into the crowd to observe and identified the people using this language - 2 fathers with their daughters ( who were both around 8 years old ) using language that you would expect in the trenches - they were spoken to at half time and it stopped. Unfortunately Ian Hart in his over heated way decided to make a big deal of the method of stewarding despite the fact there were dozens of complaints form other customers. Therefore targeting IS fair when it it helps enhance the experience of other customers.


Nothing. I have never been asked to sit down by a steward because I don't persistently stand up, but why do some of you guys have to be so rude and agressive when you do ask us to do something? I've never been rude asking someone to sit down - even when told to F*** O**. Politeness does go both ways though. Stewards are human beings as well and despite what some people might state on here ( mostly people who have no knowledge of individual stewards circimstances ) are there to earn a few bob and not get any aggro.


Oh dear, I was right then: you don't get that bit do you? Why is it so hard for stewards to accept that they might have a responsibility to be NICE to people as they go about their job? I do get it and it's a two way thing - 99% of stewards will ask nicely the first time and generally the response if F*** O** or baiting takes place. In those situations more forceful options need to be explored. Those that aren't polite in the first instance should be sacked. H Block is a prime example of a group of idiots who lost all their rights to politeness a long time ago ( see I can generalise as well as you ! - I of course mean the numpties that think they're 'ard and want to question the rules and NOT the whole of H Block ).



In theory? In every sense, the stewards are there to serve the customers: to keep them safe, and - yes - to enhance our day at the ground. If they cannot do their jobs in a polite and friendly manner then surely there is no place for them at the club. There to keep you safe yes - if the fans and players can't create an atmospshere to enhance the matchday experience then I fail to see why it's the stewards responsibility. Anyway, if you just go to watch the match and sit and watch it without using foul and abusive langauage then you probably won't even encounter a steward apart from at the turnstile - I know I haven't in the dozens of matches I've been to since being a steward.

Maybe the club needs some sort of steward / fan forum so that bridges can be built. I'm pretty sure the vast majority of supporters would be in favour. The opportunity is already there - Richard Hebbard already attends the fans forums.

Hmmmm

 

[thejackal]

Agreed I would complain - directly to the manager not on a internet forum. In my 8 years of stewarding I rarely saw rudeness from stewards. The exceptions where when a supporter was clearly out for confrontation - agreed they should have held their cool but what do you expect for £6 per hour part timers mainly made up of students ?

I disagree with stewardxxx's comments in some areas and this is one of those areas.

I wasn't making a complaint - I was attempting to contribute to the debate about the standard of stewarding at our club. In my 30 years of going to games I've met my fair share of stewards – both as a home fan and an away - who are rude and clearly only there because they're on some petty power trip, and I am not the only person to notice this. Given that stewardxxx is still stewarding and seems to give a pretty balanced account I would be inclined to believe him. I presume you also disagree with BoF's post #94?

They are targeted because fellow fans have complained about behaviour, language etc. What are the club meant to do with the complaints - ignore them ? I was involved in a situation that Ian Hart decided to get all upset about a few seasons ago. There had been complaints about a couple of supporters on a number of occassions using foul, abusive and racist language. I was put into the crowd to observe and identified the people using this language - 2 fathers with their daughters ( who were both around 8 years old ) using language that you would expect in the trenches - they were spoken to at half time and it stopped. Unfortunately Ian Hart in his over heated way decided to make a big deal of the method of stewarding despite the fact there were dozens of complaints form other customers. Therefore targeting IS fair when it it helps enhance the experience of other customers.

I've never been rude asking someone to sit down - even when told to F*** O**. Politeness does go both ways though. Stewards are human beings as well and despite what some people might state on here ( mostly people who have no knowledge of individual stewards circimstances ) are there to earn a few bob and not get any aggro.

I do get it and it's a two way thing - 99% of stewards will ask nicely the first time and generally the response if F*** O** or baiting takes place. In those situations more forceful options need to be explored. Those that aren't polite in the first instance should be sacked. H Block is a prime example of a group of idiots who lost all their rights to politeness a long time ago ( see I can generalise as well as you ! - I of course mean the numpties that think they're 'ard and want to question the rules and NOT the whole of H Block ).

Fair enough, I'm not saying you shouldn't come down hard on racists, homophobes and other abusive prats, but that's not really what we're debating here. We're talking about stewards that have a bad attitude. We're talking about stewards who can't be polite and revel in bossing people around; stewards that attempt to use a minor disagreement with a fan as a reason to try to get them banned from the ground. I'm glad you agree that stewards with a bad attitude should not be allowed to work at the club. I suppose what we don't agree on is what constitutes a bad attitude.

I also agree that stewards are also human beings and that politeness goes both ways. What I don't agree with is that all stewards are just there to earn a few bob and not get any aggro. That's just not borne out by my experience. Surely, many of them must do it because they enjoy the position of 'authority', and some clearly go on to abuse that position.

There to keep you safe yes - if the fans and players can't create an atmospshere to enhance the matchday experience then I fail to see why it's the stewards responsibility. Anyway, if you just go to watch the match and sit and watch it without using foul and abusive langauage then you probably won't even encounter a steward apart from at the turnstile - I know I haven't in the dozens of matches I've been to since being a steward.

Maybe the club needs some sort of steward / fan forum so that bridges can be built. I'm pretty sure the vast majority of supporters would be in favour. The opportunity is already there - Richard Hebbard already attends the fans forums.

I'm not suggesting that the stewards are there to entertain us or create an atmosphere, but they are definitely not there to make the experience of watching the Albion any more negative than it already can be sometimes! And if the rules that they are enforcing are negative in nature (i.e. don't do this / don't do that) then I personally think it's incumbent upon them to do it in a friendly and positive manner.

I'm glad to hear Dick Hubbard attends the fans forums. Fat lot of good that's been doing!

Hmmm indeed!

 

[Dick Knights Mumm]

As an ex-steward myself I can confirm that 90% of all football stewards I came into contact with were morons who enjoyed having a bit of control and power for a small part of the week. Thankfully it was not a career and I didn't have to do it for long, just long enough to earn some beer tokens.

That is what I suspect to be the case.