First game following the enforced move from East stand. I certainly can’t complain about the atmosphere. Though I don’t recall it been that loud the last time we were there, so the jury is still out on that. It was probably more to do with it being first game of the season. My main concern though is that the bars aren’t sufficient for that area. I thought It’d be useful to start a thread to monitor this in the hope it can be passed on and something done about it. I started queueing at 3.42. Was served at 4.07. Back to my seat at around 4.20. So including first half injury time, I missed 25 minutes just because I wanted refreshments at half time. We should surely expect much better service than that? Wondered about other’s experience?
Was going to ask you this tomorrow. Home bars in North weren’t big enough, or quick enough, last time we were shoe horned into there, and I don’t think it was that sold out then either? It surely can’t be beyond the wit of bar managers to have a bloody good idea of what’s about to be sold and get way ahead of the pouring before the queues form. It really just needs proper bar staff in there tbh (and maybe roaming drink sales by people on foot round concourse too?) Queue loads of people questioning why we can’t go 90 minutes without a drink…
There were quite a few enjoying a bottle from the comfort of their seats yesterday. It appears the stewards are now more relaxed or less observant, unless of course, they now sell a wide selection of non-alcoholic beers
Let’s go back to the days when a cup of Bovril was enough. (Ironic that you could take a cup of scalding hot Bovril onto a packed, swaying terrace but nowadays having a cool pint sat down is deemed unacceptable and some sort of risk) I love a pint, more than most my wife would claim, but can manage a couple of hours without one. Wouldn’t be missing any of the game to queue up for a pint of overpriced crap beer. But each to their own.
When I started going (80s), range was something like: Tea/Coffee/Bovril Fish n Chips (horrible savoury biscuit things), Wagon Wheels Pies
As well as the bar issue, it made me wonder at what point the overcrowding in the concourse becomes a safety liability. It was really difficult to get across the concourse from the entrance staircase to N4 at about 14:40. There'd be carnage if the stadium had to be evacuated at a time like that. It just seems like a way too small concourse for the amount of people in that area.
I don't know. I was meaning if the concourse had to be evacuated whilst full. I'd have thought it'd be a real struggle to get people put of there quickly, and if people started to panic it'd become a crush quite quickly.
I've seen hot Bovril used as a weapon before, when Charlton were mixed in with us in Kempton, it soon made a few people scatter, not sure a cold pint would of had the same effect.
