[Albion] Paul Barber Absolutely Seething

[chaileyjem]

We’re getting pretty good at football and merchandising but absolutely useless at looking after our fans and giving them what they want.

Unscrewing bottle tops is a bit of a faff but the Amex is hardly alone in doing that.
But come off it ? Is Albion really "absolutely useless" at looking after our fans ? Really ?

 

[mikeyjh]

Aside from not being able to take my flask in, my biggest problem with the policy is how it flies in the face of the clubs supposed environmental policies. It encourages throwing away more plastic (who is going to reuse a pop bottle without a lid?), and those that don't want to be forced to buy drinks in place of their flask were told they could get a cup of water for free, but this means more throw away plastic cups.

So I suspect, the simple answer from the club's point of view to the attached lids, will simply be to pour all drinks into more throwaway plastic cups. Further increasing the waste of plastics.


EDIT to add reminscence: I remember some years at the goldstone being them pouring coke out of those big bottles into cups. Am I misremembering that?

Reminded me of Liverpool and their claim to be 'carbon neutral' because they planted loads of trees (greenwashing) as part of their commitment to the environment. Then seeing that they flew to Luton and back for the cup final probably saving zero minutes in travel time. Tossers.

 

[rippleman]

Maybe this could be one of the top agenda items for the Fans Representatives on the Board. Problem is Barber will never admit he got something wrong; has he ever yet? And he will waste hours of his life writing essays explaining why he isn't wrong.

You know, it is good sometimes to accept you made a mistake and aren't perfect but I wish our reps well in their endeavours.

It was always a bloody stupid rule; introduced without any real justification or explanation. One week (after a number of years) bottle tops were no problem at all. The next week they were a curse and a blight on the game. Just daft. To come up with rules like bottle tops and latterly banning my rucksack, Barber has waaaay too much time on his hands.

 

[Stat Brother]

We’re getting pretty good at football and merchandising but absolutely useless at looking after our fans and giving them what they want. A bit like the government being out of touch with what people are really experiencing and thinking.

For someone prone to bouts of hyperbole that's even a reach for me!

 

[Bold Seagull]

Unscrewing bottle tops is a bit of a faff but the Amex is hardly alone in doing that.
But come off it ? Is Albion really "absolutely useless" at looking after our fans ? Really ?

I've so far not had any kind of head or shoulder massage from any of the Amex staff given the tension the team have put me through most home games. I would think this is a minimum level of care they should be offering.

 

[Westdene Seagull]

Prior to Utd.
One of the top 3 memorable moments this season, at the AMEX, was when Jnr came back from the kiosk with 2 cokes...






...LIDS ON.

We went cra-cra.

Master WS and myself have had that as well. Not that it really matters as Master WS always has at least two spare caps with him .... equally I've been known to swipe the removed caps off the counter when the server goes to get our pies. A rather pointless policy really.

 

[Springal]

It was always a bloody stupid rule; introduced without any real justification or explanation. One week (after a number of years) bottle tops were no problem at all. The next week they were a curse and a blight on the game. Just daft. To come up with rules like bottle tops and latterly banning my rucksack, Barber has waaaay too much time on his hands.

Probably came from the stadium safety officer or similar rather than Paul Barber himself to be honest.

I can only assume most on here haven’t been to gigs, Wembley stadium etc - it’s pretty common practice. Just take your own bottle tops like most have been and worry about something else !

 

[BN9 BHA]

Barber has waaaay too much time on his hands.

Not as much as Paulie

Yet was able to buy an Albion kids wall clock, which as you could imagine would make a great frisbee from the WSU if i bizarrely I had the sudden urge (not withstanding great accuracy) to instigate a targeted attack on a specific player.

 

[chaileyjem]

Maybe this could be one of the top agenda items for the Fans Representatives on the Board. Problem is Barber will never admit he got something wrong; has he ever yet? .

This year i've been to 13 away stadiums and also Luton FC for a friendly. I've had a Coke Zero at every one. And everyone took off the bottle top or decanted it into a plastic glass. Every one. Its nothing to do with Paul Barber and its not really a Brighton thing. Its a safety issue recommended by the police etc and nearly all modern venues now do it . Its not going to change.
Its a faff but tbh who really cares.

Perhaps the FAN Board could discuss Albion's support or not for some real things
- Drinking alcohol at our seats
- Gambling brands sponsoring clubs , and how gambling is sold to young fans via the Premier League
- A due process for when fans are banned from the club - what does "besmirching" actually mean ? Perhaps some transparency there ?
- Compensation and travel subsidies for when matches, away matches especially, are rescheduled due to tv
- the pre match / post match "experience" but obviously singing sections.
- Standing at matches/ working with stewards. - the whole approach to safe standing.
- Pricing. Of everything.

But not bottle tops. Or Flasks . Honestly.

you know. some important things.

 

[Guinness Boy]

This year i've been to 13 away stadiums and also Luton FC for a friendly. I've had a Coke Zero at every one. And everyone took off the bottle top or decanted it into a plastic glass. Every one. Its nothing to do with Paul Barber and its not really a Brighton thing. Its a safety issue recommended by the police etc and nearly all modern venues now do it . Its not going to change.
Its a faff but tbh who really cares.

Perhaps the FAN Board could discuss Albion's support or not for some real things
- Drinking alcohol at our seats
- Gambling brands sponsoring clubs , and how gambling is sold to young fans via the Premier League
- A due process for when fans are banned from the club - what does "besmirching" actually mean ? Perhaps some transparency there ?
- Compensation and travel subsidies for when matches, away matches especially, are rescheduled due to tv
- the pre match / post match "experience" but obviously singing sections.
- Standing at matches/ working with stewards. - the whole approach to safe standing.
- Pricing. Of everything.

But not bottle tops. Or Flasks . Honestly.

you know. some important things.

It’s a pointless box ticking exercise, which is why everyone does it.

See also “banning” pyro / smoke flares


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[BN9 BHA]

Its a faff but tbh who really cares.

I’m thinking of wearing flippers or wellies to the Amex, there seems to be a mini waterfall most weeks coming down from the seats behind me. Maybe I should take a few bottle tops and offer them to the clumsy t**s that sit behind me.

I care

 

[Westdene Seagull]

This year i've been to 13 away stadiums and also Luton FC for a friendly. I've had a Coke Zero at every one. And everyone took off the bottle top or decanted it into a plastic glass. Every one. Its nothing to do with Paul Barber and its not really a Brighton thing. Its a safety issue recommended by the police etc and nearly all modern venues now do it . Its not going to change.
Its a faff but tbh who really cares.

Perhaps the FAN Board could discuss Albion's support or not for some real things
- Drinking alcohol at our seats
- Gambling brands sponsoring clubs , and how gambling is sold to young fans via the Premier League
- A due process for when fans are banned from the club - what does "besmirching" actually mean ? Perhaps some transparency there ?
- Compensation and travel subsidies for when matches, away matches especially, are rescheduled due to tv
- the pre match / post match "experience" but obviously singing sections.
- Standing at matches/ working with stewards. - the whole approach to safe standing.
- Pricing. Of everything.

But not bottle tops. Or Flasks . Honestly.

you know. some important things.

I rather like my FIZZY drink ... well ..... FIZZY ... and I drink it through out the match so need a bottle top on it. It's a pathetic policy regardless of other grounds and venues doing it. I'll continue to smuggle in bottle caps and PB can do not a thing about it.

 

[chaileyjem]

I rather like my FIZZY drink ... well ..... FIZZY ... and I drink it through out the match so need a bottle top on it. It's a pathetic policy regardless of other grounds and venues doing it. I'll continue to smuggle in bottle caps and PB can do not a thing about it.

Sure. But is it really the #1 issue for fans to use an advisory board to campaign about especially when its never been a Brighton or even an exclusively football issue. It seems totally trivial and a waste of the opportunity to me.

 

[chaileyjem]

It’s a pointless box ticking exercise, which is why everyone does it.

See also “banning” pyro / smoke flares


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Its also fairly pointless , in my mind , to get worked up about it - especially as those that seem to care have found a workaround anyway.

 

[drew]

This year i've been to 13 away stadiums and also Luton FC for a friendly. I've had a Coke Zero at every one. And everyone took off the bottle top or decanted it into a plastic glass. Every one. Its nothing to do with Paul Barber and its not really a Brighton thing. Its a safety issue recommended by the police etc and nearly all modern venues now do it . Its not going to change.
Its a faff but tbh who really cares.

.

It's been done to death. You're banging your head against a brick wall. There an none so blind as those who refuse to see!

 

[Acker79]

This year i've been to 13 away stadiums and also Luton FC for a friendly. I've had a Coke Zero at every one. And everyone took off the bottle top or decanted it into a plastic glass. Every one. Its nothing to do with Paul Barber and its not really a Brighton thing. Its a safety issue recommended by the police etc and nearly all modern venues now do it . Its not going to change.
Its a faff but tbh who really cares.

Perhaps the FAN Board could discuss Albion's support or not for some real things
- Drinking alcohol at our seats
- Gambling brands sponsoring clubs , and how gambling is sold to young fans via the Premier League
- A due process for when fans are banned from the club - what does "besmirching" actually mean ? Perhaps some transparency there ?
- Compensation and travel subsidies for when matches, away matches especially, are rescheduled due to tv
- the pre match / post match "experience" but obviously singing sections.
- Standing at matches/ working with stewards. - the whole approach to safe standing.
- Pricing. Of everything.

But not bottle tops. Or Flasks . Honestly.

you know. some important things.

Who says what is important?

I don't drink that much alcohol so drinking it at seats is very low priority to me. I don't do away games and walk to home games so compensation for rescheduled games meands nothing to me. Get to matches pretty much on kick off most games so don't care about the pre-match entertainment. Don't have any interest in standing during the games.

I'd also note that your list of important things occur at most grounds. You can't dismiss complaints about flasks and bottle tops on the basis they happen everywhere, then list a bunch of your own issues that also occur at most grounds.

If your answer is 'well, it's what most/large number of fans think/what keeps getting brought up, isn't it?' Well, yeah. And one of those things that fulfill that criteria are bottle tops and flasks. Might not be a priority for you, but it clearly is for a lot of other people.

 

[Paulie Gualtieri]

Not as much as Paulie

Time flys….

 

[Vaughan Storm]

Eh?

Anyone remember at spurs we couldn't take in our own water bottles at all? I wouldn't be surprised if barber is going to do that soon, then eventually no food either then the club makes more money from the kiosks as we aren't allowed our own food and drink anymore. That's what I mean

 

[LamieRobertson]

Aside from not being able to take my flask in, my biggest problem with the policy is how it flies in the face of the clubs supposed environmental policies. It encourages throwing away more plastic (who is going to reuse a pop bottle without a lid?), and those that don't want to be forced to buy drinks in place of their flask were told they could get a cup of water for free, but this means more throw away plastic cups.

So I suspect, the simple answer from the club's point of view to the attached lids, will simply be to pour all drinks into more throwaway plastic cups. Further increasing the waste of plastics.


EDIT to add reminscence: I remember some years at the goldstone being them pouring coke out of those big bottles into cups. Am I misremembering that?

As an aside I use one of these which has got me round the problem …they are used and used etc etc ..only £3 each

 

[Vaughan Storm]

Aside from not being able to take my flask in, my biggest problem with the policy is how it flies in the face of the clubs supposed environmental policies. It encourages throwing away more plastic (who is going to reuse a pop bottle without a lid?), and those that don't want to be forced to buy drinks in place of their flask were told they could get a cup of water for free, but this means more throw away plastic cups.

So I suspect, the simple answer from the club's point of view to the attached lids, will simply be to pour all drinks into more throwaway plastic cups. Further increasing the waste of plastics.


EDIT to add reminscence: I remember some years at the goldstone being them pouring coke out of those big bottles into cups. Am I misremembering that?

The reality is that if the rule came back as I mentioned earlier, bottles would be banned completely and no replacement cups then it forces you to buy a drink at the kiosks which will funds barbers over inflation pay rise for the year