[Football] The Future of Football

[Weststander]

I agree. But it would reduce our attendances by a third at a stroke. Some people like certainy - ticket in advance, seat. I do. I'm old. POTG and I simply wouldn't go again - until our attendances had dropped below 20,000. If I were forced to stand I simply wouldn't go. Not with my back/knee/neck etc

Same here. Achy knees, neck, back, so I sit as much as possible. Away games when everyone stands for 90 minutes are a pain (literally), but being tall I can still sit if I get lucky with shorties in front.

But I loved those North Stand days and enjoy telling my Albion loving son about it. (Especially with the old much lower NS roof up until 1979ish. Darker inside, more chaotic and harder for PC Beard to see what was going on).

 

[Beach Hut]

The fans that came week in week out to Gillingham? All 2000 of us? Obviously not.

We could always go back to that. Add another 4,000 who could be arsed to go to Withdean.....

I vote let's go for it. Occasionally we may beat the likes or Arsenal. We can also dream of 'doing a Leicester'.

It is the human condition. You get a good career, a lovely wife, nice kids, car, holidays, and then you think.....not like the good old days and/or I WANT MORE

Now, pull you knickers up, and make me a cup of tea.

I understand that as well and perhaps there is a bit of that in me, I thought the Amex was great but clearly some still appear to have issues.

Maybe it just was not the dream I was thinking of

 

[GT49er]

The Taylor report did not endorse the removal of terracing, that was Thatcher and her government and Jimmy Hill. Justic Taylor was also against her membership enforcement and ensured that fell through although ironically that is more of a reality now. Its almost like nobody read the Taylor report because he also criticised the police handling of the incident which took till last year to finally be recognised.

Absolute bobbins! The Taylor report recommended that all major stadiums convert to an all-seater model - OK, the Thatcher woman and the football mandarins took the idea up with indecent enthusiasm, but it was Taylor that suggested it!

Read the first two lines of the fourth paragraph..........

http://footballnetwork.org/violence/taylor-report/

 

[Harry Wilson's tackle]

I understand that as well and perhaps there is a bit of that in me, I thought the Amex was great but clearly some still appear to have issues.

Maybe it just was not the dream I was thinking of

Well, no worries. The OP post was a bit stark. We shall see what transpires. Mind you, my bet is 99.9% of us would regard relegation this season as the thing they would most like to avoid, bar nuffink.

 

[studio150]

The old Bolyjn ground had a great [sometimes scarey!] atmosphere and they have lost it foreevr ,:

I bet you never attended the Boleyn Ground, when you went it was Upton Park, and will to me always will be Upton Park. This is one of the things about West Ham under the new ownership why did they have to change the name of the ground from what everyone was familiar with and used to call it.

 

[Saunders]

Absolute bobbins! The Taylor report recommended that all major stadiums convert to an all-seater model - OK, the Thatcher woman and the football mandarins took the idea up with indecent enthusiasm, but it was Taylor that suggested it!

Read the first two lines of the fourth paragraph..........

http://footballnetwork.org/violence/taylor-report/

Thats not the Taylor report you are quoting there again nobody actually read it did they. He didnt suggest it, that was Jimmy Hill from his very vocal role through the BBC at the time. Its still out there so quote to me from his actual report where he demanded we go to all seater.

"Lord Taylor noted that the evidence he received was overwhelmingly in favour of more seating accommodation and that most was in favour of reversing the two-thirds to one-third standing-seating rat" Thats from the report Wiki changing the ratio does not equal all seater.

 

[BadFish]

I bet you never attended the Boleyn Ground, when you went it was Upton Park, and will to me always will be Upton Park. This is one of the things about West Ham under the new ownership why did they have to change the name of the ground from what everyone was familiar with and used to call it.

I was going to ask this. Why and when did it change from Upton Park to the Boleyn Ground? I used to go a couple of times a season and it was always Upton Park.
[MENTION=2019]jevs[/MENTION] ?

 

[studio150]

Thats not the Taylor report you are quoting there again nobody actually read it did they. He didnt suggest it, that was Jimmy Hill from his very vocal role through the BBC at the time. Its still out there so quote to me from his actual report where he demanded we go to all seater.

"Lord Taylor noted that the evidence he received was overwhelmingly in favour of more seating accommodation and that most was in favour of reversing the two-thirds to one-third standing-seating rat" Thats from the report Wiki changing the ratio does not equal all seater.

Final Recommendations Paragraphs 1 to 4.

 

[GT49er]

Thats not the Taylor report you are quoting there again nobody actually read it did they. He didnt suggest it, that was Jimmy Hill from his very vocal role through the BBC at the time. Its still out there so quote to me from his actual report where he demanded we go to all seater.
"Lord Taylor noted that the evidence he received was overwhelmingly in favour of more seating accommodation and that most was in favour of reversing the two-thirds to one-third standing-seating rat" Thats from the report Wiki changing the ratio does not equal all seater.

"61. There is no panacea which will achieve total safety and cure
all problems of behaviour and crowd control. But I am satisfied
that seating does more to achieve those objectives than any other
single measure.
62. It is obvious that sitting for the duration of the match is
more comfortable than standing. It is also safer. When a
spectator is seated he has his own small piece of territory in
which he can feel reasonably secure. He will not be in close
physical contact with those around him. He will not be jostled
or moved about by swaying or surging. Small or infirm or elderly
men and women as well as young children are not buffeted,
smothered or unsighted by larger and more robust people as on the
terraces. The seated spectator is not subject to pressure of
numbers behind or around him during the match. He will not be
painfully bent double over a crush barrier. Those monitoring
numbers will know exactly how many are there without having to
count them in or assess the density by visual impression. There
will still, of course, be scope for crowd pressure on stairways
whilst entering and especially when leaving, but involuntary and
uncontrolled crowd movements occasioned by incidents in the game
are effectively eliminated"

Ringing endorsement of all seater stadiums by Lord Justice Taylor. All seater stadiums then followed on from said report.

 

[Mo Gosfield]

I agree entirely with the sentiment of this thread.

Nothing about the Premier League has been unexpected but I have beeen shocked a little about how poor an experience the away trips to the big guys have been. Their fans have completely sold out. Their is a tourist feel to the match. It’s like an exhibition. Yes you might get the odd decent result but it will only be because they didn’t give a shit for whatever reason. The gap is massive.

I have enjoyed trips away to the bottom 10-12 far more than those to the top six. I may even not bother with some of them next season if we are still here next season.

My feelings entirely.
The PL has succeeded in its gameplan. To consolidate and strengthen the position of a certain number of elite clubs. This has now been achieved to such an end that their respective positions are almost impregnable. They may not always finish in one of the top six places but this is always quickly rectified. With this assured success has come ever increasing popular support and with this has come an expectation level that has to be maintained. With this has also come a disinterest about anything outside this elite group, to the extent that the other 14 clubs ( 70% ) that make up the PL are treated with a level of disdain and disrespect that would not have been dreamed about 30 years ago. There is an air of arrogance and expectation at the big clubs that makes visits to them extremely disappointing experiences. You are cannon fodder and are there to be swept aside. If the big club struggles to win, it is them that have underperformed.
There is little or no passion generated. Just sit back and wait for the goals to go in. A dull, quiet, passive experience. Its no surprise. Many traditional fans have been driven away by pricing and the new ' global ' fans are not used to banter and noise. They are just happy to be there and be able to go back home and relate the experience.
There is a new expression in football now and it is found at the upper reaches of the PL...." we should be beating teams like....( insert any of the 14 clubs outside the big six )....."

 

[Tim Over Whelmed]

Well, no worries. The OP post was a bit stark. We shall see what transpires. Mind you, my bet is 99.9% of us would regard relegation this season as the thing they would most like to avoid, bar nuffink.

Don't get me wrong this is exactly what I want and wanted for us, my post is more about the way I can see football going and how out of touch from the beautiful game it's becoming.

I loved Withdean, I loved visiting smaller grounds in Leagues 1 and 2 but I've also loved this season, my fear is, to compete beyond where we are we have be more corporate Man Utd plc than Albion as we are now.

Staying up and having another go at this next year would be superb.

 

[el punal]

Football is like dating. In the good old days, you only really got to f*ck the women you saw in the local pubs or clubs, and in that sense you were competing against a tiny few, meaning you had a chance to bag the best looking broad. Things have changed though, with the development of social media and globalisation. Now you’ve got people from all over trying to f*ck the local hottie because she has access to them and they have access to her, and the likelihood is they’re taller, better looking and better paid than you. Life goes on - you either improve yourself or you f*ck someone of your level.

Now that is a strange analogy. On that basis I follow a club in the Mid-Wales Sheep Shearing League Division 8. I don't get the opportunity to f*** anything human.

 

[Mo Gosfield]

On the subject of ' Big Six ' dominance...they have won 31 out of the last 37 FAC Finals.

 

[Mo Gosfield]

On the subject of ' Big Six ' dominance...they have won 31 out of the last 37 FAC Finals.

....and 2 of the others were Everton, who are arguably the 7th biggest club in the country.

 

[glasfryn]

And that k god our owner is British ....

 

[sussex_guy2k2]

Now that is a strange analogy. On that basis I follow a club in the Mid-Wales Sheep Shearing League Division 8. I don't get the opportunity to f*** anything human.

You've misunderstood the analogy. The analogy isn't about fans of clubs, but about the clubs themselves, their position within the footballing pyramid and the overall progression of football. A lovely bit of xenophobia there though.

 

[el punal]

You've misunderstood the analogy. The analogy isn't about fans of clubs, but about the clubs themselves, their position within the footballing pyramid and the overall progression of football. A lovely bit of xenophobia there though.

No, I did understand the analogy. I was just putting a nice, little, Monday morning perverted twist on it. I'm quite good on xenophobia but useless at sudoku by the way.

 

[Saunders]

"61. There is no panacea which will achieve total safety and cure
all problems of behaviour and crowd control. But I am satisfied
that seating does more to achieve those objectives than any other
single measure.
62. It is obvious that sitting for the duration of the match is
more comfortable than standing. It is also safer. When a
spectator is seated he has his own small piece of territory in
which he can feel reasonably secure. He will not be in close
physical contact with those around him. He will not be jostled
or moved about by swaying or surging. Small or infirm or elderly
men and women as well as young children are not buffeted,
smothered or unsighted by larger and more robust people as on the
terraces. The seated spectator is not subject to pressure of
numbers behind or around him during the match. He will not be
painfully bent double over a crush barrier. Those monitoring
numbers will know exactly how many are there without having to
count them in or assess the density by visual impression. There
will still, of course, be scope for crowd pressure on stairways
whilst entering and especially when leaving, but involuntary and
uncontrolled crowd movements occasioned by incidents in the game
are effectively eliminated"

Ringing endorsement of all seater stadiums by Lord Justice Taylor. All seater stadiums then followed on from said report.

He still did not recommend an all seater he accepted that a lower portion of terracing would be safer not the total removal of it. All seater stadia followed because they ignored what he said just as they ignored his criticism of the policing of Hillsborough and just did what they wanted letting Jimmy Hill be their endorsing mouthpiece.

 

[the captain]

I have a good mate ,Westham fanatic who always called it the old Boleyn ,he wrote a fanzine for a few years called that and I guess I picked it up from him ,but you are right when I attended in the 70's i always called it Upton park .Before I get abuse for this I went occasionally with my brother who was a WestHam fan in those days until we discovered the Albion ['76]

 

[Weststander]

I was going to ask this. Why and when did it change from Upton Park to the Boleyn Ground? I used to go a couple of times a season and it was always Upton Park.
[MENTION=2019]jevs[/MENTION] ?

I thought the same happened with colloquially known Parkhead, which somehow evolved to Celtic Park, in recent times. Why?