Klopp bang on re early leavers.

[Stumpy Tim]

Why not lock the stadium doors until 5 mins after full time. It would discourage people from leaving early and holding on to the fans and atmosphere until the end of the game would benefit the team.

I remember in the 80's Bradford did that. Didn't end well.

I really don't understand why people get so upset about what other people choose to do with their time

 

[WATFORD zero]

I'm a regular Mill roader, but always stay for a couple of beers afterwards to let the queues die down. I have noticed that in the past, a couple of beers, watch the highlights and leave about 35-40 mins after the final whistle were sufficient to stroll up and get on a bus with no queue. The last few games though, the queue has still been there nearly an hour after the game. Does anyone know if they have cut the number of buses ? Because at this rate I am getting home more pissed each week and Mrs Wz is not impressed

 

[Mo Gosfield]

The whole feature of a football crowd is its fluidity of movement. Much more so these days, with advanced ticketing and all seaters. Gone are the days of three hour queues snaking around grounds and fans packed shoulder to shoulder, heaving and swaying masses of humanity, carrying no hope of a quick loo visit or a comfortable trip to get food and drink. Grounds filled up earlier, there was far less movement at half-time and generally, the fans left en masse at the end because it was far more difficult to get out. Apart from the main stands, with bars and the boardroom, there was nowhere to stay.
Now, it is different. Fans can arrive at any time and know they will see the match. There is no pressure. Some will come into the ground after kick-off, many will depart at the first stoppage opportunity to use the loo and masses will start heading for the concourses, at least five minutes before half-time, to use the loo and purchase food and drink. Many will return to their seats well beyond the start of the second half ( 3-5 minutes late ) The early departures usually start around 85 mins, although some go earlier than this. The board going up is usually the queue for more to leave and then the main body see it through to the final whistle. Most leave at this point, others wait for the last player/official to depart the scene. It is now a familiar scene to see many staying on the concourses well after the final whistle and wait for the crowds to die down.
All this coming and going actually helps the situation, it spreads the load, more fluidity equals less pressure. Imagine the situation if we all spilled out at the final whistle. It would be chaos, the whole area around Falmer station would be gridlocked with people.
Why does leaving before the end mean more than being late at the start, or early out your seat before half-time or late back for the second half? If you apply Klopp's logic, they are all as bad as each other. The argument being that there is less support inside the ground to drive the team on. Those that are critical of early leavers are in danger of trying to appear as ' super fans '...i.e they watch every minute of every game, therefore they are more of a fan than those who don't. Does it make a fan more superior if he claps and sings all the game whilst his neighbour sits in silence. Does it make a fan more superior if he claps the players down the tunnel, rather than depart at the final whistle? Does it make a fan more superior if he attends more games than his neighbour?
We are all fans in our own different ways. We all spend money to watch our club. Some travel considerable distances to watch our team. We are an eclectic mix. A lot of us are grown ups and can make our own decisions. I quite like the fluidity of movement at football now. I think it helps the matchday experience.
IMHO Klopp should be concentrating on matters on the field not off them. Get your team playing good exciting winning football and more fans will stay longer. Not all. People will always leave early, for all manner of reasons and that's their choice. It doesn't make them any worse a fan than one who stays until the cleaners are picking up the rubbish.

 

[Gazwag]

No I'm not especially seeing as I park at Lewes for midweek games it doesn't matter which train I get in regards to it's destination. However the 22.05 Eastbourne train is always delayed and if I remember rightly the first train I've been able to get on this season is somewhere around 22.15 which is about 40 minutes after the game. I suppose it pisses me off more than others in the respect that I've been up since 04.00 for work and then will be again the next morning. Saturday's don't bother me as we generally see the other scores come in then wander down for the 18.03. The people on the gate do seem capable of cocking it up though - one game earlier in the season ( forget which one but it was midweek) they kept thegate locked until the train came in and then there wasn't enough time to open the gate and allow people to get on which meant the train left empty. When I asked them why they had done that they unbelievably said that they had to count how many people were on the incoming train so they knew how many of us lot they could let on. Not surprisingly they were met with hoots of derision from those around and thankfully that idea has been knocked on the head.

By my reckoning we have had 46 midweek matches at the Amex and (I think I have missed about 5 or 6 of these) I can only remember 3 matches when the trains have been a real problem - two of those (Millwall & Palace) we due to the special's train and the other was this season's Bristol City match which was my latest home to date at 23.15. I also park in Lewes and can generally get home to Bexhill by 11pm which is acceptable for me, in fact I got home at 10.45 after the Rotherham game which was superb.

 

[Gazwag]

at least five minutes before half-time, to use the loo and purchase food and drink. Many will return to their seats well beyond the start of the second half ( 3-5 minutes late )

In most peoples top 3 Amex experiences will be the St Patricks Day Massacre when we scored goals at 43, 45 and 50 minutes. There are plenty of NS supporters who missed ALL three goals that day and I'm sure the same goes for the other three stands. Does that half time pint and pie experience really replace that feeling when each of those goals hit the net.

 

[Peter Grummit]

The whole feature of a football crowd is its fluidity of movement. Much more so these days, with advanced ticketing and all seaters. Gone are the days of three hour queues snaking around grounds and fans packed shoulder to shoulder, heaving and swaying masses of humanity, carrying no hope of a quick loo visit or a comfortable trip to get food and drink. Grounds filled up earlier, there was far less movement at half-time and generally, the fans left en masse at the end because it was far more difficult to get out. Apart from the main stands, with bars and the boardroom, there was nowhere to stay.
Now, it is different. Fans can arrive at any time and know they will see the match. There is no pressure. Some will come into the ground after kick-off, many will depart at the first stoppage opportunity to use the loo and masses will start heading for the concourses, at least five minutes before half-time, to use the loo and purchase food and drink. Many will return to their seats well beyond the start of the second half ( 3-5 minutes late ) The early departures usually start around 85 mins, although some go earlier than this. The board going up is usually the queue for more to leave and then the main body see it through to the final whistle. Most leave at this point, others wait for the last player/official to depart the scene. It is now a familiar scene to see many staying on the concourses well after the final whistle and wait for the crowds to die down.
All this coming and going actually helps the situation, it spreads the load, more fluidity equals less pressure. Imagine the situation if we all spilled out at the final whistle. It would be chaos, the whole area around Falmer station would be gridlocked with people.
Why does leaving before the end mean more than being late at the start, or early out your seat before half-time or late back for the second half? If you apply Klopp's logic, they are all as bad as each other. The argument being that there is less support inside the ground to drive the team on. Those that are critical of early leavers are in danger of trying to appear as ' super fans '...i.e they watch every minute of every game, therefore they are more of a fan than those who don't. Does it make a fan more superior if he claps and sings all the game whilst his neighbour sits in silence. Does it make a fan more superior if he claps the players down the tunnel, rather than depart at the final whistle? Does it make a fan more superior if he attends more games than his neighbour?
We are all fans in our own different ways. We all spend money to watch our club. Some travel considerable distances to watch our team. We are an eclectic mix. A lot of us are grown ups and can make our own decisions. I quite like the fluidity of movement at football now. I think it helps the matchday experience.
IMHO Klopp should be concentrating on matters on the field not off them. Get your team playing good exciting winning football and more fans will stay longer. Not all. People will always leave early, for all manner of reasons and that's their choice. It doesn't make them any worse a fan than one who stays until the cleaners are picking up the rubbish.

I find this ramble sadly depressing.

The definition of a supporter here is someone who pays their money. Full stop. Getting behind the team by cheering and encouraging, by identifying with the collective or by the radical notion of actually being there for the duration are all dismissed as being irrelevant. It's the individualist, libertarian view of being a fan and it bears no resemblance to why I and most fans go to matches.

 

[chimneys]

Have you tried driving to Lewes? I reckon you could stay to the end, clap the team off and be home by 630 at the latest. It's also about 12 miles shorter driving each way so you'd save a chunk of petrol, and you wouldn't have to leave home so early to make Mill Road by 130.

Either park for free in Malling, Lewes near the 28 bus stop or if you want to know a free place to park 3 mins walk from Lewes station then PM me.

PG

Many thanks for that PG. I have to use Mill Road in order to meet up with family who live close by.

Also would rather take my chances with M23/M25 than the fight through Tunbridge Wells/Southborough.

 

[chimneys]

An hour's difference? We leave from WSU right on fineal whistle for Mill Rd P&R. With the crowds lately we've always got the first wave but even when we didn't, wait is only about 15/20 minutes at most.

15/20 minutes after final whistle you get on the second wave Mill Road buses?!

I guess it even matters where you are in WSU. Right by the "vomitory" and guess you can whizz out. We are mid row so by the time we get out its a slow walk down stairs with the masses.

 

[drew]

15/20 minutes after final whistle you get on the second wave Mill Road buses?!

I guess it even matters where you are in WSU. Right by the "vomitory" and guess you can whizz out. We are mid row so by the time we get out its a slow walk down stairs with the masses.

Fair enough, we are admittedly on the end of the row right by the exit.

 

[sussex_guy2k2]

Was waiting for a fellow Mill Road park n rider to pop up on here. All been about the wonderful trains up to now. I had to be back in Sevenoaks (50 miles and just under an hour on a good day) asap after match on Saturday. Left WSU on 89 mins, back on my drive in Sevenoaks by 6.03.

Had I left at final whistle, back by probably 7/7.15, a wrecked evening and a very irate wife!

Miss the first wave of buses back to Mill Road and you are stuffed. Leaving on 89th/90th makes around an hour's difference for Mill Road. I often don't do that and suffer the wait but there are times when its unavoidable.

Makes me jealous of all these superfans who saunter out after final whistle and are home in no time!

The thing is, I think that the transport links BHFC put on are brilliant. They really are well organised and usually very efficient. But in my book, if I have to put aside 8 hours in my Saturday to watch a 2 hour football match then that isn't acceptable. Not when leaving at 89/90 minutes means I can be back within an hour and cut that 8 hours down to 6.

This is even more relevant for someone like myself where there are 4 of us in one car usually, all with separate Saturday evening plans and other halves to keep happy. It's not perfect but we'd prefer to come and support our team then leave 2 minutes early (to make the trip feasible every other weekend), rather than miss the game completely just because idiots around us get worked up because we go when the added time board comes up. The ironic thing is, when I speak to people at the ground that voice an issue with others leaving matches early, I often (not always, but much more often than not) find that I'm actually spending much more time getting to and from matches than they are, and consequently I'm putting in much more time to support my team BHFC.

 

[Murray 17]

The only time I have left early was when I was sitting at the back of the West Stand Upper and wanted to catch the P Bus. Leaving with 2 minutes of injury time left meant that if I ran all the way I could get on the bus before it filled up and get home in a reasonable time. This meant I could get home in time for my daughter's bedtime. Leave 2 minutes later and it would take me nearly an extra hour to get home, waiting for another bus or the train.

Everybody's circumstances are different and we should not be judgemental on people leaving early.

 

[Marty___Mcfly]

I remember in the 80's Bradford did that. Didn't end well.

I really don't understand why people get so upset about what other people choose to do with their time

If more people stayed till the end, and cheered the team on, and they in turn pushed harder until the final whistle, and the team maybe scored a few more goals, and maybe a few more points, that could matter at the end of the season.

THAT'S THE POINT.

Why do some fans think it matters if they are there cheering the team on for the first 85 minutes, but it has no impact on the team if for the last 5 minutes, players see hoards of people wandering out like they don't care?

It impacts on the team, many people however choose to prioritise the convenience of their onward journey over what happens on the pitch.

That's why it annoys people.

 

[Stumpy Tim]

If more people stayed till the end, and cheered the team on, and they in turn pushed harder until the final whistle, and the team maybe scored a few more goals, and maybe a few more points, that could matter at the end of the season.

THAT'S THE POINT.

Why do some fans think it matters if they are there cheering the team on for the first 85 minutes, but it has no impact on the team if for the last 5 minutes, players see hoards of people wandering out like they don't care?

It impacts on the team, many people however choose to prioritise the convenience of their onward journey over what happens on the pitch.

That's why it annoys people.

The wellbeing of my 4 year old trumps a few minutes of football. Not even close

 

[chimneys]

The wellbeing of my 4 year old trumps a few minutes of football. Not even close

Would be interesting to know how many of the always stay till the end fans no matter what, have any other commitments ever other than jobs/school/ themselves.

I'm pretty certain I would have had a very different view back in my teens/twenties as all that mattered in those heady days was the beers before/football/beers after/night on the p*ss. Fill your boots kids!!

 

[Return of the Rev]

I was finding that i was having to leave on 80 minutes to avoid the 85 minute crowds leaving

 

[Murray 17]

If more people stayed till the end, and cheered the team on, and they in turn pushed harder until the final whistle, and the team maybe scored a few more goals, and maybe a few more points, that could matter at the end of the season.

THAT'S THE POINT.

Why do some fans think it matters if they are there cheering the team on for the first 85 minutes, but it has no impact on the team if for the last 5 minutes, players see hoards of people wandering out like they don't care?

It impacts on the team, many people however choose to prioritise the convenience of their onward journey over what happens on the pitch.

That's why it annoys people.

I think you are exaggerating the affect that maybe a few hundred fans (many of whom won't cheer at all during the whole game) leaving early has on the desire of a team of professionals to play their best. Does a teacher put in less effort when a few pupils are away, or a hairdresser for the last cut of the day?

I never left early at The Goldstone, Gillingham or Withdean, but The Amex is a different kettle of fish entirely.

 

[SAC]

I think you are exaggerating the affect that maybe a few hundred fans (many of whom won't cheer at all during the whole game) leaving early has on the desire of a team of professionals to play their best. Does a teacher put in less effort when a few pupils are away, or a hairdresser for the last cut of the day?

I never left early at The Goldstone, Gillingham or Withdean, but The Amex is a different kettle of fish entirely.

I think the early leavers are in the thousands not hundreds.

 

[goldstone]

Customers pay to get in and can leave whenever they like. Fans stay until the end even if the team are being handed a drubbing. I cannot remember ever once leaving early in all my 50 odd years of following my club

Spot on Mr Dorset Seagull. I certainly haven't left early on one single occasion in more than 55 years of supporting the Albion .... however dire some of the football may have been from time to time! I have paid my money and I'm going to watch every minute of the game. A true fan will never leave early (or go to get food/drink before the half-time whistle!) because he/she wants to give 100% support to the team.

 

[goldstone]

I think you are exaggerating the affect that maybe a few hundred fans (many of whom won't cheer at all during the whole game) leaving early has on the desire of a team of professionals to play their best. Does a teacher put in less effort when a few pupils are away, or a hairdresser for the last cut of the day?

This is nonsense. We are discussing people leaving before the end of the game, not people who don't come to the game.

 

[Murray 17]

This is nonsense. We are discussing people leaving before the end of the game, not people who don't come to the game.

Er, that's what I'm talking about, is it not?