No, I was kidding. However, I don't go to so many away games these days because of it. My wife being shortish just can't see much at all.
So, reading Vin's comment about people knowing that people stand in the Northam, why wouldn't you go there? Not digging, just interested to know (you can say if it's because of Vin)
If you add up the number of women, children, short men and shrunken oldies, we need most of the ground.
We also need wide seats for over large people...I'm in trouble if two people of a large disposition sit either side. And large people should not be allowed to wear padded jackets...they really don't need them.
Without a doubt. Love standing when i go to lower league games. Give people the choice. Make one stand ""safe standing"" and charge less but it will also allow more fans to attend. Standing should never have been taken away like it was. Give the public the option in a democracy.
Well you can get more in a standing area for starters. Plus standing was always cheaper than seats in the past. Older fans will remember. Charge £15 for standing and the area would be sold out.
But there is a cost to do it and that should come from those ticket prices, should it not? Just because standing was cheaper in the past, doesn't mean it should be again. The irony of the sell-out part, is that I would guess the area that most clubs' fans who would want to stand, will be in the area already that will become the standing area, and in our case mostly sold out anyway.
I am not one for bringing back standing personally. Although saying that, that is because I like my seat. Would bring it into Northem as they are always standing.
You don't have to be particularly short. You only need be stuck behind someone taller than you. Or one of those idiots who think that holding a scarf or banner overt their heads will improve your enjoyment of the match. My seat is in the Chapel as I started taking my son when he was quite young. He was forever missing the goals because as soon as a cross was about to come in, the folk in front insisted on obscuring his view. So that rather spoils things for the young and less able, as well as the short. If the Northam want to stand that's up to them and understood. But if that is tolerated by the club/police, why do you need to spend money on a standing section? And where would you put it? No prizes. The place the fans stand anyway.
I think the issue here is "safe" standing. It's rather easy to topple over the seat in front of you (after a few ales).
I guess it depends on what you want from your matchday experience. I know exactly the "pushing, shoving" etc you refer too, and I can understand why you wouldn't want that, but as I understand it, any re-introduction of terracing would see numbers controlled, and therefore more space. The terraces allow more freedom, you can stand at the front (and get squashed), go to the back for a better view, and best of all, mingle!! You can move from one group of friends to another whenever you want, and not have to stay stood next to some knobhead if you don't want to. I guess its a little like going to a gig. I want to go and mosh down in the pit, and sing my head off like a goon. Much better than just standing around and tapping one's feet, but of course we are all different.
The only time I've sat in the Itchen North this season, there was one steward on a crusade to get anybody standing up to sit down. He dragged at least 3 or 4 guys out of the ground for refusing to sit. Made all the more frustrating that only a few yards from us the majority of away fans were all standing and taking the piss. The steward was such a prick we just started singing stand up if you love the saints in protest. Now I sit in the Northam and expect to stand. People who sit often stand up when there is even a slight chance of action anyway.
There's another good point: I was moved to the Kingsland for the Chelsea thrashing in the cup the other year and I ended up stuck next to a grossly fat bloke. How the seat withstood it, I simply don't know. Parts of him were overlapping into the SO15 postcode. He was so fat that when he passed his wallet from hand to hand he had to throw it, etc, etc. I mean HUGE. The game was a total and utter misery for me (not just the score). I was wedged into half a seat. Fortunately Vin Jr was in the next seat so I could slide half onto his seat and take it out on him. However, every game, some poor bugger has to sit next to the large-boned individual and might not have that luxury. He took up pretty much two seats, so why shouldn't the club charge him for two? He chose to be that size. I didn't choose to be 6ft3in tall so apologies if you get stuck behind me. Vin
