eastlondonseagull
Well-known member
Hmm...
Just found this posted on Football 365. Trench foot?!
Thoughts, anyone?
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Making A Stand Against Return Of Terraces
According to the results of a suspiciously rounded-up survey released today, 80% of the footballing masses want standing to be brought back into Premier League football grounds.
The issue of 'safe' standing has been bubbling along for a while now, with various groups campaigning for its reintroduction.
The Football Supporters' Federation produced a very carefully considered and measured report on the issue in June last year, there is a dedicated website to the cause and it has even been discussed in parliament, with a good number of MPs signing an early-day motion to bring terraces back to England.
This baffles me.
In general, people who romanticise about standing at football are those who no longer have to do it anymore. The season before last I stood in a puddle at Doncaster's now mercifully demolished old ground Belle Vue, and had a terrible view of a terrible game (which actually turned out to be the last at the 'stadium'), about halfway through which I thought trench-foot had set in.
Aside from sitting next to Ken Bates, I can't imagine a more unpleasant way to watch football. However, that obviously is not the problem.
The problem is that there is no such thing as 'safe' standing. Incidents like Hillsbrough and Heysel may have been freak occurances, but they were disasters that were made possible by the terraces. Advocates of 'safe' standing cannot possibly guarantee that another calamity will not happen.
Germany is often pointed to as the shining example of how standing can work, and there is no doubt that it has certain benefits to the average footballing punter. Crowds are up and prices are down - good for both club and fan, one would think.
However, last week The Times reported new figures from Germany, stating that no less than 851 people (not including players) were injured at football games in 2007. In England, where Premier League grounds have been all-seater for the best part of 15 years, the number banning orders and violent offences have consistently fallen.
It would be naive in the extreme not to make a link between terraces and hooliganism. Anyone who has been watching football for a long time will tell you that grounds are without question safer places these days. Obviously there are isolated incidents, but unfortunately you can't legislate for morons.
Some complain that the atmosphere in all-seater stadiums has suffered, and in some cases that is probably true. However, the air is still thick with tension at big games. Important matches still create electric atmospheres, regardless of whether the fans are sitting down or standing.
However, boring it might sound, seating is much safer than standing in any number of ways. It's a no-brainer to say that it is preferable to watch a game without fear of getting your head kicked in, or being crushed against twenty other men if you're lucky, a barrier if you're not.
The most persuasive argument made is that terraces will make the game cheaper for 'the common man', and given that you have to pay £55 to watch Fulham these days it's difficult to argue against that.
And yet the reason tickets for the Premier League are so expensive because people are willing to pay it. It's not the scarcity of space in all-seater stadiums that make prices high. If clubs wanted to, they could slash prices if they wanted, but as long as people keep stumping up then clubs will keep charging.
While we might all save some money, a return to terraces would represent a dangerous step back for English football, in more ways than one.
Just found this posted on Football 365. Trench foot?!
Thoughts, anyone?
---
Making A Stand Against Return Of Terraces
According to the results of a suspiciously rounded-up survey released today, 80% of the footballing masses want standing to be brought back into Premier League football grounds.
The issue of 'safe' standing has been bubbling along for a while now, with various groups campaigning for its reintroduction.
The Football Supporters' Federation produced a very carefully considered and measured report on the issue in June last year, there is a dedicated website to the cause and it has even been discussed in parliament, with a good number of MPs signing an early-day motion to bring terraces back to England.
This baffles me.
In general, people who romanticise about standing at football are those who no longer have to do it anymore. The season before last I stood in a puddle at Doncaster's now mercifully demolished old ground Belle Vue, and had a terrible view of a terrible game (which actually turned out to be the last at the 'stadium'), about halfway through which I thought trench-foot had set in.
Aside from sitting next to Ken Bates, I can't imagine a more unpleasant way to watch football. However, that obviously is not the problem.
The problem is that there is no such thing as 'safe' standing. Incidents like Hillsbrough and Heysel may have been freak occurances, but they were disasters that were made possible by the terraces. Advocates of 'safe' standing cannot possibly guarantee that another calamity will not happen.
Germany is often pointed to as the shining example of how standing can work, and there is no doubt that it has certain benefits to the average footballing punter. Crowds are up and prices are down - good for both club and fan, one would think.
However, last week The Times reported new figures from Germany, stating that no less than 851 people (not including players) were injured at football games in 2007. In England, where Premier League grounds have been all-seater for the best part of 15 years, the number banning orders and violent offences have consistently fallen.
It would be naive in the extreme not to make a link between terraces and hooliganism. Anyone who has been watching football for a long time will tell you that grounds are without question safer places these days. Obviously there are isolated incidents, but unfortunately you can't legislate for morons.
Some complain that the atmosphere in all-seater stadiums has suffered, and in some cases that is probably true. However, the air is still thick with tension at big games. Important matches still create electric atmospheres, regardless of whether the fans are sitting down or standing.
However, boring it might sound, seating is much safer than standing in any number of ways. It's a no-brainer to say that it is preferable to watch a game without fear of getting your head kicked in, or being crushed against twenty other men if you're lucky, a barrier if you're not.
The most persuasive argument made is that terraces will make the game cheaper for 'the common man', and given that you have to pay £55 to watch Fulham these days it's difficult to argue against that.
And yet the reason tickets for the Premier League are so expensive because people are willing to pay it. It's not the scarcity of space in all-seater stadiums that make prices high. If clubs wanted to, they could slash prices if they wanted, but as long as people keep stumping up then clubs will keep charging.
While we might all save some money, a return to terraces would represent a dangerous step back for English football, in more ways than one.
Is it impossible to sing whilst sitting