Standing at matches (important!)

[Notters]

I have posted this on the mailing list as well... but am really worried!

I've just read the piece from Saturday's programme about standing in all seater stadia. Martin Perry is (understandably) concerned that we may get in to trouble if large numbers of our fans continue to stand both at "The" Withdean, and at away matches; it could lead to various actions from the football league, including the limiting of away allocations and home capacity (!!!). I would love to know how the rules can be enforced, since they seem to rely on the definition of times of "excitement"... Now at away matches, I can honestly say that I am generally excited for the whole game!!! I'd also love to know how standing at these moments is acceptable and safe, yet immediately as the game loses its excitement, standing is dangerous.

I'm seriously worried that our longstanding tradition of fantastic away support, with many unique songs, is going to be lost forever. If we're to all be made to sit down at games this season, we could end up travelling to far flung places like Wigan for a Withdean atmosphere... I really can't see many people wanting to do this. I concerted push is surely needed for the introduction of safe standing areas, before it's too late.

I also wonder how the league can justify having terraces in the lower leagues, but not allow terraces OF THE SAME SIZE in division one and two (yes, s*d all the championship/premiership rubbish) due to safety concerns. (and for Rugby, etc.)

Can anyone make me feel any better about this? Having supported the Albion for 13 years, I'm not sure I can face and always-seated future. What's happening to football!?

 

[tinx]

I was quite shocked as to the number of people who were sat down at Reading. In years gone by almost everone in the away end would be stood up all the way through.

 

[Fourteenth Eye]

You have a point but unfortunately there is sod all we can do about it. I think it just comes down to common sense of the stewards and the size of stadia. Obviously at some grounds like reading there is more room between the seats making standing safer whereas at our fabulous luxury surroundings of withdean there is next to nothing & the whole structure feels like its going to collapse at any time.

I dont yhink it will come to the point when we are told to fasten seatbelts at the first whistle tho

 

[3gulls]

I was quite shocked as to the number of people who were sat down at Reading. In years gone by almost everone in the away end would be stood up all the way through.

Perhapse they all sat down because they were too hot, as i was?

 

[the full harris]

What's happening to football!?

basically, it is slowly becoming less enjoyable to watch live.

In a few years time the only people who will go to live games will be corporate guests. Everyone else will go to big places with big screens (by this time, every single game will be televised, all games will kick off at 2pm on a Saturday rather than 3) where you can stand and watch and sing and shout. When I am old I will tell my grnadchildren about how I used to stand next to the pitch towatch the game rather than next to a television screen, they won't belive me and will just the think 'the old fool is reminiscing in fantasy land again'.

Perhapse they all sat down because they were too hot, as i was?

Does that work? Does sitting down cool you down?

never knew that.

 

[zefarelly]

a bloody good point Full Harris, I dislike sitting at matches, particularly as they cram you in and its very uncomfortable, coupled with a few other factors it is definitely becoming less enjoyable to watch.

 

[Weezle]

I was told to sit down several times by people sitting behind me at Reading. Shame!

I must have been making them feel hot!!

 

[Mr Popkins]

being 6ft 3 its painfull at withdean to sitdown for too long,

 

[Trigger]

The fun has really gone out of football now, i don't enjoy it anymore, give me cricket any day.

 

[Kryten]

The fun has really gone out of football now, i don't enjoy it anymore, give me cricket any day.

are you going tommorow? (cricket)

 

[Trigger]

are you going tommorow? (cricket)

Yes, will be in the pub at 3:30 then in ground for 4...

Now, back to the thread... Football isn't fun anymore...

 

[wehatepalace]

being 6ft 3 its painfull at withdean to sitdown for too long,

i agree im 6'5" and it hurts my knees to sit

 

[Tom Hark Preston Park]

The fun has really gone out of football now, i don't enjoy it anymore, give me cricket any day.

Have to say that only having been to cricket twice, I remain gobsmacked to find that you can take in picnic hampers, duvets, cases of Stella, get pass-outs to the pub etc. and generally treated as a grown-up and valued customer by everybody employed by the club.

Unlike at Withdean where you pay in excess of twenty notes and get treated like a criminal piece of shit.

Just won't do

 

[Notters]

A very good point J... I mean fh!!! Soon they'll be erecting big terraces in pubs!!! For that last England game shootself ) We were all on the tables and allsorts. The backs of my legs have only just recovered from bashing against the chair behind me when THAT disallowed goal went in.

"You have a point but unfortunately there is sod all we can do about it."

I really think we should do something about it... We NEED a nationwide protest.

 

[Brighton till i die]

I concerted push is surely needed for the introduction of safe standing areas, before it's too late.

I also wonder how the league can justify having terraces in the lower leagues, but not allow terraces OF THE SAME SIZE in division one and two (yes, s*d all the championship/premiership rubbish) due to safety concerns. (and for Rugby, etc.)





i would be well up for a campaign to have "safe standing" areas!

i f***ing hate sitting down, its bollox - for some people its great, so why cant the others be housed in safe terraces?

i am getting well f***ed off with all this sit down and shut up bollox at games now - the 3 BEST games of last year for me were Chesterfield (terraces), Brentford (terraces) and Peterborough (terraces) - all the other away games were good, but terracing brings the whole game to life!

 

[Strike]

Same here I would be up for it.

 

[Notters]

Right... This could be tougher than the Ar****, or even the campaign or even the Falmer one, but surely it's worth a shot. It is important, though, that people realise we're not trying to re-introduce terraces with unlimited capacities, stuffing thousands of people into a small space like at Hillsborough. Carefully planned, there's no reason it can't happen (as in Germany). There is a SAFE standing campaign here, but haven't heard much about it lately.

 

[Dave the OAP]

Trouble is the the terracing was, rightly or wrongly blamed for the Hillsborough disaster and also the trouble caused by young hooligans in the 70's and 80's.

All seater stadiums became the preferred option and in so, gave our esteemed owners( Not just DK and MP) the ability to charge rediculous prices to sit down and watch football.

To be honest, where I sit, everyone stands up when there is A) a corner, b) a fee kick, C) an attack down the east end of the ground, D) the Falmer chant, E) the hate palace chant, F) the first 10 minutes when people get there late, G) 10 minutes before half time when people go for a pee or burger,F) 10 minutes after half time when people get back late, G) 10 minutes before the end when people go to stand down on the track.

That doesnt leave much time to sit down really

 

[Storer68]

Well you'll never get standing areas back in major stadia in this country - politically its never going to happen (it would mean repealing the laws passed as a result of Heysel and Hillsborough) - clubs don't want to cos its too expensive now that so many clubs have spent big time on making their grounds all seater, and the police won't allow it because seats make it so much easier to control crowds.

And as one who can remember squeezing into the Goldstone during the 1977-78 campaign, ankle deep in someone else's piss and not able to move and who can recall the ease with which rucks kicked off inside the grounds I'm not depaerately keen to go back to those days..............

Safe terraces (such as they have in some grounds in Germany) would need to be able to convert into seated areas to satisfy UEFA requirements. This is only viable in new stadia where there is loads of room to build (the kombi system takes up a lot more room that an ordinary seat) and usually in this country the sites occupied by grounds are not big enough to accomodte this.

 

[Mendoza]

i was at home this morning having a shower , singing a long to something on virgin radio.........................
when a bastard of a steward started banging on the bathroom door, telling me that i should have a bath and lie down, instead oh standing in the shower, AND stop singing because it was creating too much noise in the back garden and the birds in the trees couldnt get along with their usual worm catching business