Dougie
Well-known member
- Jan 11, 2012
- 5,818
Only disabled seats left.
I wonder if he has a ticket ?
Interesting take from a West Ham fan from last weekend...
http://www.kumb.com/article.php?id=4290
On Saturday, I left the match at Crystal Palace two minutes after Mark Noble's penalty - which I didn't see due to two lads shoving past us (cheers lads). That's because the row I was in had far more people stood in it than should have been, forcing three of us to attempt to relocate elsewhere...
The reason, I suspect, other than mates wanting to stand next to each other, is the poor view from many of the seats in that stand. It's understandable that people who have paid for a ticket want to actually see the game. The concourse was dangerously overcrowded, poorly and ineffectively stewarded, with many supporters then trying to gain access to their seats using one single entry point to the side of the stand (rather than through the ones at the rear).
That then means people are shoving along rows, obstructing views and being a pain in the f***g arse. Entry to the ground was difficult due to the refreshment area, immediately there, as you enter through the turnstiles. Being overcrowded making egress from the turnstile difficult. Seriously, if you're struggling to actually get in due to a blockage immediately behind the turnstile, how safe is the place ?
Every aisle in the stand was full of supporters. Again, I'm not blaming them, they're simply trying to get a view of the pitch... but all of the seats in the Arthur Wait should be sold as restricted view. Overall, that stand is no longer, if it ever was, fit for purpose. It is, in my opinion, unsafe, poorly stewarded, and I mean, really poorly stewarded, over-crowded and dangerous.
All the relevant authorities will receive correspondence from me on Tuesday; Police, Fire, ambulance, CPFC - their head of safety, Chairman and anyone else the Premier League handbook suggests may be involved. WHUFC, the FSF and WHUISA too. To be absolutely clear, the issue is not the behaviour of West Ham United's supporters which is in any way any different to the behavior and actions of supporters from other clubs.
It's the stadium design age and layout, coupled with the worst stewarding I've ever encountered on the road (and I've done plenty of miles). Two stewards in WHU Hi Viz uniform spoke with me today and both were excellent, and they were the only attempts at proper stewarding I saw today. The problem very clearly rests with Palace.
The stadium and the Wait Stand are from a bygone age and Steve Parish needs to spend his money on a new stand instead of taking his girlfriend out. I'm not expecting any of the authorities cited above to take any action, but should a major incident ever occur in that stand all of those authorities will have a document on file telling them of the state of the place.
And, West Ham United, I'll have the cost of my ticket refunded, thank you. You can reclaim it from Crystal Palace.
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Its not NEWS to most of us I suppose, that festering decrepit griefhole has barely changed in generations. Bit of a heads-up on what to expect for any newbies going in a couple of weeks though.
Funny, I would have assumed he would be used to not being able to see much if hes a regular to the London Stadium. Unless he's managed to get those tiny binoculars in.
Selhurst is a dump (to the untrained eye) and theres plenty of other teams stadiums to be envious of but the self titled London Stadium is not one of them. A soulless abomination of a football stadium.
That doesn't make any of his points any less valid though, does it ?
Interesting take from a West Ham fan from last weekend...
http://www.kumb.com/article.php?id=4290
On Saturday, I left the match at Crystal Palace two minutes after Mark Noble's penalty - which I didn't see due to two lads shoving past us (cheers lads). That's because the row I was in had far more people stood in it than should have been, forcing three of us to attempt to relocate elsewhere...
The reason, I suspect, other than mates wanting to stand next to each other, is the poor view from many of the seats in that stand. It's understandable that people who have paid for a ticket want to actually see the game. The concourse was dangerously overcrowded, poorly and ineffectively stewarded, with many supporters then trying to gain access to their seats using one single entry point to the side of the stand (rather than through the ones at the rear).
That then means people are shoving along rows, obstructing views and being a pain in the f***g arse. Entry to the ground was difficult due to the refreshment area, immediately there, as you enter through the turnstiles. Being overcrowded making egress from the turnstile difficult. Seriously, if you're struggling to actually get in due to a blockage immediately behind the turnstile, how safe is the place ?
Every aisle in the stand was full of supporters. Again, I'm not blaming them, they're simply trying to get a view of the pitch... but all of the seats in the Arthur Wait should be sold as restricted view. Overall, that stand is no longer, if it ever was, fit for purpose. It is, in my opinion, unsafe, poorly stewarded, and I mean, really poorly stewarded, over-crowded and dangerous.
All the relevant authorities will receive correspondence from me on Tuesday; Police, Fire, ambulance, CPFC - their head of safety, Chairman and anyone else the Premier League handbook suggests may be involved. WHUFC, the FSF and WHUISA too. To be absolutely clear, the issue is not the behaviour of West Ham United's supporters which is in any way any different to the behavior and actions of supporters from other clubs.
It's the stadium design age and layout, coupled with the worst stewarding I've ever encountered on the road (and I've done plenty of miles). Two stewards in WHU Hi Viz uniform spoke with me today and both were excellent, and they were the only attempts at proper stewarding I saw today. The problem very clearly rests with Palace.
The stadium and the Wait Stand are from a bygone age and Steve Parish needs to spend his money on a new stand instead of taking his girlfriend out. I'm not expecting any of the authorities cited above to take any action, but should a major incident ever occur in that stand all of those authorities will have a document on file telling them of the state of the place.
And, West Ham United, I'll have the cost of my ticket refunded, thank you. You can reclaim it from Crystal Palace.
__________________________________________________________________________________________
Its not NEWS to most of us I suppose, that festering decrepit griefhole has barely changed in generations. Bit of a heads-up on what to expect for any newbies going in a couple of weeks though.
Odd. I'll have to re-read my post but I don't remember stating I disagreed with his findings. Also alluded to the fact Selhurst is less than accommodating for most peoples taste. But you crack on
Unfortunately, that fits in with my last few trips to that stand. Apart from being about to leave after 30 mins - when I tried to leave a few years back after they scored their 5th, there was no way out. Kept locked in until 15 mins after the game "for our own safety" albeit in a patently unsafe environment.
Thank [MENTION=21064]easy[/MENTION]_10 for the reminder of just how grubby, and miserable the day at Selhurst away end is, because I was wavering about going again.
Not odd at all. You've summarily dismissed the entire complaint with a classic big ol' slab of "whataboutery". Whats the London Stadium got to do with it ? The style of it might not be to your liking, but it is at least a modern arena. You can hardly compare it to the Arthur Wait at Selhurst, but you went ahead and did exactly that anyway. THATS odd.
wheres the face palm emoji? I was likening the poor view as opposed to the construction and era of the stand lol
Anyway from your last post I can see you are advocating not supporting your team as you do not like the hospitality does not meet your expectations so I can already tell the type of fan you are. Good day.
You do know the difference between whats considered a "poor view" (ie a long way from the pitch) and a "restricted view" (ie pillars/gantrys in the way) ? Because thats clearly the crux of this complaint, as it caused fans to overcrowd into areas where they could properly see the pitch. There are other points made about the concourses and turnstiles, but you seem to have glossed over them. Everything he has said is perfectly relatable to my experiences in that grim outdated hovel. Its barely fit for purpose.
I've been to Selhurst about half a dozen times. My last visit was the Playoff game, and it was just a shite experience all round. You can't enjoy a pre-match drink anywhere in the area, you're in stuck in a crumbling relic of a stand in probably the worst stadium in the top 2 divisions, you're held back, kettled through the streets, plus all the morons and dimbots (on both sides) come out in force. Nothing to do with "hospitality". Its just a truly crap day out, and I'm too old now to bother with it any more.
Good day to you.
Come and join us in the pub chap.
Win lose or draw, your day will be immeasurably enhanced by the simple fact that you haven't spent most of it in Croydon
My last visit was the Playoff game, and it was just a shite experience all round. You can't enjoy a pre-match drink anywhere in the area, you're in stuck in a crumbling relic of a stand in probably the worst stadium in the top 2 divisions, you're held back, kettled through the streets, plus all the morons and dimbots (on both sides) come out in force. Nothing to do with "hospitality". Its just a truly crap day out, and I'm too old now to bother with it any more.
I genuinely don't think that Palace fans could possibly appreciate how dire the experience is as an away fan in there.
There is literally NOTHING from that experience that would have you believe the 1980's chaos that exists in another section of the ground.But [MENTION=27478]TypicalPalace[/MENTION] the accounts on this thread are very accurate of my experiences in there. It's dangerous, and if a tragedy happens in there it will be shocking to everyone apart from those who have ever been in there.
You do know the difference between whats considered a "poor view" (ie a long way from the pitch) and a "restricted view" (ie pillars/gantrys in the way) ? Because thats clearly the crux of this complaint, as it caused fans to overcrowd into areas where they could properly see the pitch. There are other points made about the concourses and turnstiles, but you seem to have glossed over them. Everything he has said is perfectly relatable to my experiences in that grim outdated hovel. Its barely fit for purpose.
I've been to Selhurst about half a dozen times. My last visit was the Playoff game, and it was just a shite experience all round. You can't enjoy a pre-match drink anywhere in the area, you're in stuck in a crumbling relic of a stand in probably the worst stadium in the top 2 divisions, you're held back, kettled through the streets, plus all the morons and dimbots (on both sides) come out in force. Nothing to do with "hospitality". Its just a truly crap day out, and I'm too old now to bother with it any more.
Good day to you.
Obviously my attempt at a light hearted post in relation selhurst has been lost. Selhurst is sh!t and will be for a long while yet. Either deal with it and support your team or just don’t I suppose. Which seems pretty popular.
Good day. (To you) (!)