The Albion Roar - 11 Sep - WITH GUESTS RICHARD HEBBERD & PC DARREN BALKHAM

[User Removed]

What's their favourite breakfast cereal?

 

[Working class pride]

If its not too late then someone ask the police why us taxpayers have to spend money stopping people that voluntarily want to fight each other? As long as it takes place in the ground, I would suggest on the pitch after the game, then why not let them get on with it, instead of us having to pay policeman to stop people doing what they clearly want to do. It would also save the local pubs much bother if they classed it as a sport like boxing. I also expect that when it lost its "cool status" that nobody would bother and if they did want a fight then who cares? It would allow the rest of us to go home without any problems as all the hoolies would be on the pitch. It is not on that I and the rest of us taxpayers are paying a policeman a wage to do this when he could be maybe investigating a burglary instead of sending a letter to say that they might be round in 6 weeks time.

 

[KneeOn]

Do the club realize the age-discriminative approach some response stewards have taken, and do they plan on changing it at any time or making the complaints procedure more transparent and accessible to those who might not yet know how to complain officially.

 

[Highamgull]

1) As a signed up member of the 1901 Club will we get to 'vet' the stewards that we get in that area at the Amex?

2) Please ask Mr Hebbard to arrange for his 'Response Teams' to muster somewhere other than in front of H and J block as I have come to watch the football and not their antics every match.

 

[The Large One]

Before we go on air, can someone give me a brief account of what happens (is it a regular occurance) in front of H & J?

 

[rool]

Before we go on air, can someone give me a brief account of what happens (is it a regular occurance) in front of H & J?

I've been once this season (rochdale) and if it's representative of what happens every game then I wouldn't be keen to attend again.

Basically six stewards gather together. Three are response. One stands in a ready for action stance, chewing gum, staring into the crowd, looking 'ard and happy to rush in when required. Another, who looks like a heavy bouncer seems to flit back and forth from the stairs. The others are constantly looking, pointing, whispering to each other and then all of a sudden the bouncer and hard man rush up into the stand, you can almost see the excitement in them. Repeat every 15 mins for the rest of the game.

 

[The Oldman]

1) As a signed up member of the 1901 Club will we get to 'vet' the stewards that we get in that area at the Amex?

2) Please ask Mr Hebbard to arrange for his 'Response Teams' to muster somewhere other than in front of H and J block as I have come to watch the football and not their antics every match.

You can include the whole of the South Stand in that comment. The constant to and fro of stewards, response teams and sometimes police together with their finger pointing is most distracting. At most grounds the stewards sit on the ground or a chair and stay still. Why do Withdean stewards have to march up and down all the time? There were up to 18 staff in front of the South Stand for the JPT match. It's not as if the south stand is a hotbed of hooliganism. Could I suggest they try the same level of stewarding in front of the north stand and see how it goes?

 

[Highamgull]

Before we go on air, can someone give me a brief account of what happens (is it a regular occurance) in front of H & J?

Have PM'd you.

 

[portlock seagull]

As if hebbards going to back down and say he's going to change his ways. Size of this pricks ego is all you need to know. And imposing a condition like no mouth related questions...what a farce this interview is going to be. Quite pleased I can't pick up this radio station. Time for buzz word bingo with the words h&s the hot favourites inside 1st minute, closely followed by legislation and rules is rules etc. If he had any guts, and club any idea about crm, then they'd host a fans forum and do all this face to face.

 

[The Large One]

As if hebbards going to back down and say he's going to change his ways. Size of this pricks ego is all you need to know. And imposing a condition like no mouth related questions...what a farce this interview is going to be. Quite pleased I can't pick up this radio station. Time for buzz word bingo with the words h&s the hot favourites inside 1st minute, closely followed by legislation and rules is rules etc. If he had any guts, and club any idea about crm, then they'd host a fans forum and do all this face to face.

 

[Working class pride]

Can I suggest that this angle is tackled along the lines that the fans are the customers and their stewarding policy should have that at heart of their policy. At the moment the stewards are upsetting the clubs customers and that is not clever.

 

[Ned]

I've been once this season (rochdale) and if it's representative of what happens every game then I wouldn't be keen to attend again.

Basically six stewards gather together. Three are response. One stands in a ready for action stance, chewing gum, staring into the crowd, looking 'ard and happy to rush in when required. Another, who looks like a heavy bouncer seems to flit back and forth from the stairs. The others are constantly looking, pointing, whispering to each other and then all of a sudden the bouncer and hard man rush up into the stand, you can almost see the excitement in them. Repeat every 15 mins for the rest of the game.

I'd agree with this. There were barely 100 fans in H block for the JPT game but we still had 7 stewards watching them, and going back and forward. It's very annoying and distracting.
Last season we sat on the front row because of my decreased mobility (surgery) but havehad to move back 4 rows because of the stewards constantly standing on the landing at the top of the steps ready to rush up. We had to ask them constantly to move because we had paid money to watch the game and not have a steward stand in our line of sight.

 

[severnside gull]

they could be maybe investigating a burglary instead of sending a letter to say that they might be round in 6 weeks time.

that is so wrong.....................................all I got was a letter referring me to a victim support group

 

[The Albion Roar]

Just to let you all know that you can keep your questions coming as we will try our best to address as many as possible during the show live.

 

[rool]

Not a question but an observation to add to my previous post.

I am, generally, an easy going kind of person. During the match I went to I found my self becoming more and more agitated by the attention and activities of the stewards, which then started to develop into an anger that made me want to become confontational with them if the opportunity arose.

Surely good stewarding should be like good refereeing where they are invisible but to hand should the situation arise.

I can only compare to my experience at Fulham this season. I was in the home end. Stewards sat quietly and singularly behind advertising hoarding, general there to help and assist. No scrutiny of the crowd, no looking for action. When Manchester United scored there was a group in hospitality behind us that started celebrating the goal. A chap behind me turned to them giving a foul mouthed stream of expletives towards them. Did the Stewards wade in? No. The Man U fans laughed at him, the fans around him laughed at him and in the end the stewards did the same. In the end he felt a little silly at his reaction and sat down again. No drama, No lectures, No bannings. The situation difused itself without the help of over zealous stewarding.

 

[Working class pride]

that is so wrong.....................................all I got was a letter referring me to a victim support group

I bet that helped

 

[portlock seagull]

Before we go on air, can someone give me a brief account of what happens (is it a regular occurance) in front of H & J?

Great. You use a Emoticom to ridicule my remark (but then anyone disagreeing with your thread was always going to get that from you). And now you're asking a question like this that suggests you've not exactly done you homework on this well known issue. I think my comments about this being a farce before it begins may well ring true. Most Albion support like me will be having a prematch beer followed ironically by mints because you can be classed as drunk if smell alcohol by hebbard and his crew of chumps. The club will not do anything about stewards so until club makes a statement then you airing hebbards propaganda is like listening to haw haw. It's likely to be all controlled jaw jaw.

 

[The Albion Roar]

Live now, keep questions coming!

 

[Giraffe]

Specifically ask why standing is allowed at many grounds, Leicester springs to mind, where thousands stand in the home end, but not at all at withdean.

 

[Notters]

This bloke hasn't got a clue. Swearing is and SHOULD BE a part of football (except in the family stand). People go to footy to let off steam after a hard week at work. 30 or 40 people? Give it a rest!

It certainly didn't do me any harm going to the Goldstone as an 8 year old with people around me calling the referee a ******* ****. I'm still capable of forming an eloquent sentence as an adult.