Read context? I've never mentioned the Rookery. They should make as much noise as possible. "Normal" people do get tired of the constant snide remarks about the stand we choose to sit in. And my final comment on the subject is that tolerance and offering to settle the matter outside appear not be compatible.
Read the OP!!!! This thread is about somebody moaning about standing and noise in the Rookery not the GT. Just because you choose to sit in the GT doesn't mean this thread is about you so thankfully we're in agreement never said anything about outside either, I suggest you read a little more carefully before putting fingers to keypad. If you can't recognize sarcasm then sorry I know its the lowest form of whit but I happen to like it....
OK Aberdeen, time to draw a line under this. I will start by apologising for over-reacting and for a rare humour loss which I'm not usually prone to! Your comments clearly weren't directed at me. In my defence I would say I've paid to watch more than 500 games at the Vic and have stood in both Rookery and Vicarage Road ends many times. You're not the first to hint in a humorous way that the former UR is inhabited by an inferior sort of fan who doesn't know how to make a noise or get behind the team and that other parts of the ground are full of proper fans. I can only say you should join me one day and listen to the row behind. Stewards have been called to calm them down on a dozen occasions and some have offered to help throw them out! Anyway, as an English graduate there's not much wrong with my reading ability and I'm one of the few on here who could identify six types of irony so I didn't misread what you wrote, simply got irritated as we all do sometimes. I'm sorry for that and hope we can virtually shake hands and move on.
Just to support Theo, I still remember the man who used to more or less hang over the front row of the UR to batter the advertising hoardings!
I have no issues with fans wanting a quiet uninterrupted view of a game but writing a letter to the WO is a step too far and as for threatening to report the club to the authorities that's just plain wrong There are plenty of quieter sections of the ground, the new Elton John stand would be perfect, the club are normally helpful with seat swaps so I don't know why this idiot didn't wait for the club to respond before putting the matter in the public terrain.
I can assure you he still does, though he's convinced that they're not as secure as before and the advertising is printed on plastic that doesn't make so much noise. He and his pals are pretty vociferous especially away. They've done their bit in the Rookery etc, the passion is still there though if not the stamina. I know them well.
Having been in the SEJ stand yesterday, I can assure Guy that it was not at all quiet (well maybe in the first half). There was plenty of noise if not organised chanting and the atmosphere was most certainly not sedate.....
a lot of this is great to hear i want noise from all parts of the ground its good for other clubs to fear coming to the vic terry venables came hear with qpr played a very negative game and lost 1 nil . the reporters gave him a hard time and he told them "what was he to do the last time here they play attacking football we won 4 nil lol
This is the sort of thread where I openly out myself as a complete hypocrite. I really want us to have a great atmosphere with loads of noise but am fully aware that I will not contributor to it, I am very much a nail biter not a singer. I used to sit in the Rookery and it was fine, I was happy to stand at the relevant points. The times it annoyed me was/is when people stand unnecessarily, or appear to want to be the last person to sit down as if its some sort of contest. Equally I think it is possible to show passion without a constant flow of foul language, nobody's a saint I swear plenty at the football but some people take it too far. I sit in the UR/UGT now which suits me fine as I get a better view of the game and that is more important to me personally than the atmosphere I'm (not) creating.
This subject is really about respect and how you treat others. People who supported smoking used to argue that it was up to them what they did and nobody had the right to stop them. As a result public transport, cinemas, pubs, clubs and many other places were made horrible for those who did not like the smoke making their breathing unpleasant, stinking out their clothes and so on and so on. The law changed and I doubt many people would now advocate smoking in those places. It is similar in football grounds. People who stand up prevent others from seeing the game. However the similarity ends there. It is perfectly possible to accommodate both tastes. Either by allowing standing in certain sections or stands - perhaps the rear seats in all stands together with designated areas of stands like the Rookery. Unlike smoking where you cannot control where smoke blows you can control where people can stand. The club can rigorously enforce no standing in areas where it is not permitted. What the bloke who wrote to the Watford Observer forgets in his demand for the rights he wants is that many people want the right to attend a football match with a vibrant atmosphere. Whether we take part ourselves or not most of us enjoy the shouting and noise and sheer exuberance which is created often by those who want to stand, jump and shout. I enjoy the Proms with the promenaders making a huge noise but for those who prefer to they can sit in the seating areas. I would like to see the VIc full of noise. Each to their own - the WO bloke appears to forget about what others want and the club could have done better by answering him and offering him a move of seats if he is so unhappy where he is
you are not a hypocrite you just want different things i cant jump up and down and stand for 90 min . like most on here waford fc is in my blood and i will try and do all i can in my own way
Quite a bit of reaction to the letter in this week's WO including an article by Frank Smith. http://www.watfordobserver.co.uk/sp...free_to_stand_inside_football_grounds/?ref=mr Opinion in the letters pages was quite divided TBH.
Good article by Frank Smith. Of course you can accommodate both sides - just needs a little planning and organisation.
When I occasionally go to watch FC. Cologne in the 1 Bundesliga I travel on the train from Engelskirchen to Cologne on match day (about 40 km.) - the journey is free if I have a match ticket, just as all public transport in the City is free under the same conditions. When I get into the stadium there is an area of safe standing for about 8,000 home fans and about 4,000 from the away club - in the remaining 38,000 places common sense prevails and there are parts of the ground where people remain seated for the whole game and other parts which are more boistrous. Beer is in plentiful supply throughout the stadium (yet there is scant evidence of drunkenness) - going behind the stands at half time for a cigarette is also no problem - ventilators, and well separated from non smokers. There is also very little sign of over officious stewards - though if trouble does occur they are there when needed. Ticket prices have also remained the same as last season (when in division 2) so I can now watch games against teams like Borussia Dortmund or Bayern for exactly the same price as eg. Allemania Aachen from last year. And prices ? 10 Euros for standing and an average of 25 Euros for seating. In short I feel like a valued customer - which is often very much in contrast to the English experience of football. A football stadium is big enough to be able to accomodate all different types of fan, it just needs a little organization.
I begin to see your point regarding the smoking area, you're judging from German standards and I from British. Still don't agree it would work here ditto the alcohol. The Bundesliga does come across as a football Utopia where you are. Incidentally I am watching Augsburg v Hoffenheim on the telly as I type
On the smoking point, I think all most of us want is to be able to go outside the ground at half time and come back in. But for me it is a minor inconvenience.
there should somewhere behind a stand in the open air that you could smoke with out the club having to police people coming and going being a ex smoker for the last 18 months i understand the problems
During the match (Augsburg) the camera cut to a couple of fans in the safe standing area who were there having a pint and a ***! Surprised me. They looked like they'd had a few steins too, bless. Not sure I'd want to be stood next them, particularly if they were at odds with the smoking rules.
