Having attended games in the 80s, I have to say football was much more enjoyable then. Football should not be a family sport or 'pleasant', ffs. It's only greed on the part of the owners that keeps pushing this idea. If I wanted family fun I would go to Alton Towers. Put that in your thesis.
I don't get the big fascination with having both stands behind the goals either. I don't remember a single campaign when we were at Boothferry Park saying that away fans should be restricted to the last few blocks of the West Stand so we could have the North and South stands for our own supporters because the situation we had was causing problems with the atmosphere. Plus by the end, because of the crumbling terrace weren't those of us in Kempton only able to get as close to the away end as E4 is at the KC anyway?
It just makes sense to have one at each end behind the goal, it gives the fans the best view of the game Seriously thoughm it's a modern thing, loads of the bigger teams are shoving away fans further from the pitch to limit their effect on the atmosphere and make it as though the stadium is just full of home fans. Having the away fans where they are not only causes a huge gap in our support but also allows the away fans to have a big impact on what is heard on the pitch.
It's all bollocks though isn't it? The atmosphere problem isn't one at the KC, it's one that pretty much every home team is having, and the solution people are giving as though it's a guaranteed way to solve it is to copy what they've done at all the other atmosphereless stadia. The view can't be better either, if it were then South Stand would sell out before the much bigger East Stand, but it doesn't. I'll give you the North East corner will sell out quicker due to fans wanting to be near the away fans to get an atmosphere going (another reason not to place them in the gods, people want them to be near to bounce things off), but what about South East corner? There's no away fans to be near there, so why does that sell out before the South Stand if it's got inferior views? Surely at that end you'd pick the bit with the best view? You'd also find that the directos' box, corporate sections, etc would be behind the goals, rather than them being cheaper than the stands down the side. Now I'm thinking about it, I wonder how many lower league grounds where atmosphere isn't a perceived problem only have home fans behind one goal.
It's nothing to do with view, it's simply just that having your fans on all 4 sides of the pitch rather than 3 is better for the team, no need to over think it.
It would be a good idea to try and get more younger fans in. Under 16's should get in for a fiver at least!
"it gives the fans the best view of the game" I don't think it's any better for the team, it just strikes me that the teams that have stuck the away fans in the gods have a poor atmosphere anyway. So it seems less of a move to promote an atmosphere amongst their own fans, and more one of saying "we're not going to make any noise so we'll stop you being able to as well". I'd rather we looked for proactive measures to get things going with our own fans than decided to give up and make it as quiet as possible, because once you've given the away fans a crappy part of the ground and given home fans the supposed prized seats you can't reverse the decision without people getting arsey about it. We did it for one game before and it didn't go down very well.
As someone posted earlier, the atmosphere at most grounds is pretty poor really. I seem to recall us asking Liverpool where their 'famous atmosphere' was at Anfield a few years ago.. the issue is that it's impossible to 'get up' for the majority of games, take Coventry at home this season - we played terribly and they only brought a few hundred.. it's hardly 'exciting' is it. Unlike when we had Arsenal for example at the KC, with a full away end and the prospect of pulling off a major upset and all of a sudden it's a sing-along.. it's no coincidence is it? p.s the day some fat idiot brings a drum in to the ground and/or music is played after a goal is the day I get a Ferriby pass.
Erm, Im pretty sure we did. I remember for defo one of the final campaigns at BP saw away fans shoved into the north stand end of the West Stand for almost every game. This allowed m,e to stand in the North Stand for the first time ever, I was chuffed.
Putting games consoles down the concourses for the kids is a stupid idea. They had a poll on Facebook asking if people would prefer xbox or playstation. No option for 'neither' Don't kids play enough video games at home?
After reading through the posts I am surprised that no one wants to expand on the before and after match experience. I drink for 2 hours in local pubs before the match. Spending between £12 and £20 depending on what I eat and how much a pint is. The food in the concourse in not what you could ever call a meal and the beer is too expensive and not what I would want. I have not been in the supporters bar as everyone says its too expensive. I want to wear what I want and the dining deal in the West stand has a dress code. Some compromise should be brought in. I fancy the Premier Club but the club colours thing stops that as well. It does not have mass appeal. Better prematch spending will help the club. But the fact that there is always a queue at the chippy and burger vans indicates that there is money that could be made from the food. I would be happy to spend more if there was a better standard available.
There isn't actually a ban on club colours in the Premier Club, just a ban on wearing replica shirts, there's plenty of people in scarves and sweats/polo's/jackets from the club shop.
OLM when I enquired which was admittedly in the PL seasons they would only quote for a table of four. I get asked every now and again if I want to give it a try but it's always mid week matches that I cannot make. I also considered the other executive deals but it has never quite been what I wanted. Its not so much the money as the value for money that is the problem. I can get better food choice, better parking and cheaper drinks away from the KC. Now if there was a hooters style bar restaurant attached to the KC that would be different!
The Premier Club is just a membership for a west stand seat, a parking space just outside and use of the executive bar, you don't have to eat in there. There is food available, but you don't have to take a membership with a sit down meal, you get a choice of pies, pasties, or sausage roll(chips, peas and gravy), there's a carvery sandwich thing, along with a soup and roll bar and the usual crisps and sweets. Despite the popular myth, there aren't actually any prawn sandwiches in there. There's another membership that includes a meal before every game and uses a different function room, but it's not something that ever interested me.
Do away with stewards and put away fans and city singers in north stand with a single row of plod in-between rival supporters . Throw all ctv cameras out of stadium . Allow all banned supporters back in. Play 1970's music . Make fans take there trainers off before being allowed back in and issue them with army boots / doc martins . Bring back cheap football train specials . I'm sure the atmosphere would improve.
When Martin O'Neil was at Aston Villa, he pushed for away fans to be moved from behind the goal and put in a ****ty corner with a **** view. FA Cup (1998/99?) behind the goal- great atmosphere, Premier league- ****ty corner- **** atmosphere. The reason behind his thinking was, whichever end the team were facing, they would have Villa fans behind them "backing them all the way". It sounds daft but I reckon a small section in the bottom right hand corner of the west stand for the visitors would be adequate (plus, we could charge them West stand prices too!)
Noo , just a single line of blue between the fans , o and we should be able to stroll around from one part of the ground to another if we fancy a change of view . Let's rebuild a copy of boothferry park at Melton pre super Market era .. and how come none of my old mates seem to go to footy anymore the boring bastards ..Someone told me 'woolfy' got ate by a crocodile.. ffs. I'm sure I saw fat monty at a game in a Crombie
