But it's a different style of policing with cameras etc. Also, the fans are a lot different now. How often do you see a fight in a ground these days? I saw many a fight in the seats back in the day. Anyway **** it, just leave the seating as it is.
The piss weak beer they serve at football ground these days means the piss is definitely watered down
Beavertown Ale at the longest bar in Europe at Spurs, actually. If we ever open the stadium, of course!
Yeah the whole set up is different. CCTV and named and numbered tickets means that clubs know who is sitting where in the ground. Back in the day you just rocked up and paid at the turnstiles. As you mention, the hooligan element is practically gone these days and UK football grounds are, thankfully safe places to visit. Safe standing is proven to be safe also, so if fans want it, then there's no reason not to implement it imo.
When I used to go to Highbury. There was a bloke who used to go round at HT selling bags of peanuts. I've got no idea if he was licenced by the club or if he was just some enterprising random bloke selling peanuts. That ****er must have made a fortune doing that though.
As long as it's ticketed properly then there's no problem from what I see mate. I prefer a seat these days anyway, as I'm an old git now.
Twickenham had people wandering about with beer dispenser backpacks when I attended a gig there. Not really going to happen at an English football match, though.
The overcrowding should never happen again. The Hillsborough Family Groups are against standing in principle citing that no such tragedy has occurred since the all-seater indroduction and the potential for overcrowding is therefore zero vs unknown risk.
I think we might see more movement once the criminal prosecutions are complete tbh, though like you say I'm not sure we'll see it at your place for a long, long time.
I don't believe the lessons from Hillsborough have ever been fully learnt or properly understood due to the political agendas behind them at the time. I made to claim earlier that Thatcher took to war on the working classes and she was even taking to her prejudices well before the Taylor report. Only a few seasons back problems nearly arose again outside a Premier League football ground that started to result in congestion and a street crush, I can't remember what game it was now, but it leads me to the Taylor report where it was stated that ID Cards would cause such an event, remembering this was some 30 years ago now. But Thatcher was having none of it and blundering on, completely regardless of what the report said. Thatcher wanted to hand the game over to the more affluent and in that she has succeeded, many will not see the connections I make, but the tragedy occurred because of the failings and cover-ups of the Police and the Government at that time. I've been dismayed when I've heard even Bradford blamed on football hooligans, when we all know it was nothing the such, but the government and the media had an agenda that was to affect every football fan in the UK, and the way they did that was pointing the finger constantly at hooligans, rather than pointing the finger at the South Yorkshire police. Over crowding happens now outside grounds, and i await the next tragedy and the next report that will blame the football fans rather than the people wearing a uniform or yellow jacket. Yet the strange football regulations don't apply to concert goers or any other big sporting event. It's ok for people to stand crushed in a field or even in a stadium but as long as it's not at football. Discrimination at its finest.
Exactly this, the tragedy happened because people were penned in, not because they were standing, yes maybe seating controls numbers but congestion happens outside grounds and in the exits. If you look at some of the worst stadium disasters in history, including all seater stadiums, it was because of exits, they are either too narrow in a panic or are locked and many world tragedies occurred because of the actions of police!
I was at Sunderland v Scunthorpe and everyone stood for the whole match. May as well stand the seats are made for 8 year old kids, they are tiny.
If you are at the back of the Rainham End (Gills home end) you stand. Most away grounds in lower league, you can stand. Even when i went to Spurs at the old WHL in the cup, we stood the whole time.
It's been a library since the North Bank went all seater. When it was all standing, it generated as much noise and atmosphere as a terrace that size should.. I always liked Highbury. Only been twice to The Emirates, and while it's a great stadium in one sense, like most new stadia it is a bit antiseptic imo.
