This won't be a reoccurring problem. Everybody will get used to the card readers and those who missed a bit of the game this time will likely get there a bit earlier next time.
i wonder how many of those who leave 5 minutes before the end were complaining about missing the first 5 minutes?
I missed about 7 mins of he game going through East 1-5, but not complaining as they made it clear to turn up a little earlier. I recon next home match will be a lot smoother.
We turned up to Turnstiles 1-5 about 5 minutes before kick off and got in fine. The big queue was only going to 2 of the turnstiles, so coming from Walton Street rather than the walkway we just joined the much shorter queues for the other 3 turnstiles (2 turnstiles with a queue going half way down the stand, the other 3 had queues that didn't even reach across the perimeter road). I asked the "Turnstile Control" person (the useless one in a blue vest) if anyone had told the big queue to break down into the others and the response was "I think someone is about to do that", which given he'd been stood there the whole time we were queuing just looking at it was ridiculous. It wouldn't have got the whole crowd in more quickly, but it would have stopped me getting in the ground before people who'd already been waiting 10-15 minutes.
In the Premier Club, we've had digital cards for several seasons, normally they're scanned by staff with hand held scanners, but today, for the first time, there was a scanner like the ones in the rest of ground. This shouldn't have mattered, only the cards have to be visible at all times in the bar and we have to wear them round our necks on a logo tape and the scanner is about three feet off the ground, so everyone has to take them off to scan them. It's not the most well thought out of systems, if the post the scanner is on was a foot higher, then everyone could just walk straight in. I might buy the club a one foot square box for Christmas.
The police came down our queue and said the queue's were due to a technical hitch with the machines that happened just before we got there.
I came in through East 1-5 half an hour early. A steward at the gate told me how to present my card properly. When I presented my card, the machine said "No valid ticket", so the lass on the turnstile put her card up and I went through. She was obviously expecting the system to foul up, and was ready with the work-round. Maybe some staff on other turnstiles weren't immediately bypassing the system failures, so people were being held up by re-presenting their cards. If the system had worked, there would have been no delays.
I arrived at 2.30 and so did not miss any of the match, but my entry to the east stand (7-12) was messed up by what seemed to be a mechanical problem. The guy in front went through, but the turnstyle turned more than 45 degrees, meening I could not access the next barrier segment, the scanner said valid ticket, but when I pushed the turnstyle, it stopped me, as i should have been in the segment in front. my card was scanned again and this time it was not valid, so the clubs own card was used. this freed the turnstyle, but it only moved about 30 degees, meaning I could not now get all the way thorugh until the next person came in. I'm sure I was not the only one who encountered this, hence the queues. Not good enough I'm afraid.
I thought it was ridiculously simple to use. The people in front of me were wiggling it about like crazy - it should be blatantly obvious that the big pretty red light has to scan over the barcode, but the people in front were shining it at the other end of the ticket Still, there were people at every turnstile to help, so I don't quite understand why it took any longer for them to put in the right place than it would do for them to tear a ticket in half.
It's all well and good the club telling people to arrive early but the point is it couldn't handle the main body of traffic at the ground between 2:30 & 3pm. It was the smallest crowd I can remember for a league game in ages yet the queues were bigger than any I can remember for the premier league or otherwise. I'm sure the system will cope better as time goes by but it does seem a lot ****ter than similar ones I've seen round and about like at Eastlands or the Riverside where it was a red light that turned green when you put your card in the slot- no need for the turnstile to be manned.
It was a doddle ,but it felt far too much like clocking on at work. For those who have an obsession about people leaving early though,how's about we make it so everyone has to clock out as well
To be fair, I have a feeling the attendance reported wasn't the actual attendance. This has been suggested on the Daily Fail website in the comments section by some other fans and I heard others at the stadium suggesting it too. Maybe those that came through late, or those who had problems getting through weren't added to the attendance figures. The attendance was probably higher.
Me and my son passed through the new turnstiles with no problems, the friend that went with us bought a ticket from the ticket office and they forgot to print a barcode on it,that delayed it slightly but the turnstile attendant got it sorted immediately.
Even worse was the fact one of my family members went in with my ticket early as he had had them for another game, yet he had to scan both tickets in despite the fact there was only one of him. Led to some unsavoury language when he went outside to give my ticket. They do seem to lack some common sense with some of the changes they continously make to the Premier Club.
Just before the game kicked off, I told junior that the crowd looked ****, I guessed at less than 16k, I don't think the reported numbers were wrong at all.
The new Premier Club system was shambolic, we had to queue for about 20 or 30 seconds to get in yesterday instead of the usual 10/15 seconds, that's a 50% increase, surely with how important we are this shouldn't be allowed
