I'm against it. Too many memories of losing at home in PL and them celebrating perhaps. Gives advantage to opposition also. And nothing wrong with atmosphere if team performing. Coventry in the semi was ok wasn't it?
Aye, my only logic is the holding cells. It’s gonna annoy a few whatever is done, and that includes if we ‘do nowt’
Ignore the family section. In reality that doesn't exist anymore. I sit there and it's mainly all adults now. I know the club sell it as family section but you don't get moved on when your children become adults. We join in with the south stand and it's quite loud and not family friendly at times. I pity any newbies with little ones who've bought there this season thinking it's a family section as they're in for a shock! So where to move the away fans? SEC - no longer a family section but right next to the Stokoe statue. I know they've done studies of people movement after the match and that corner is very popular outside with people meeting up after the match and people moving off the stadium site and through Sheepfolds after the match. SWC - not big enough and away fans would be in front of the hospitality boxes that are used by pundits on televised games, so the opportunity for visitors to cause mischief on live TV. As you know Sheepfolds is currently a building site. The new bridge is opening soon, so the home fans will have a bigger spread through Sheepfolds with some going over the Wearmouth bridge and some using the new bridge. Once the new buildings are finished, there will not be space to park away coaches at the south end of the stadium. It will also border onto residential areas. Putting away fans anywhere in the south end of the stadium would cause issues afterwards escorting them back to their buses at the north end, through the masses of people exiting into Sheepfolds. North end works well as there's plenty of room to park buses and it's easy to get them out and onto Keir Hardy Way, but: NEC has the new ticket office there. It would need careful managing so there's no conflict between away fans coming and going and home fans wanting to use the ticket office. NWC has hospitality boxes behind it. Back of the lower north stand has the premium padded seats. That doesn't take into account the people who will be upset to be displaced from a seat they've become attached to over a number of years. Wherever you put them, there's going to be problems that need sorting out.
The way I remember the reason given for the move at the time was that it looked bad on TV. We would be getting 42-44 thousand but the unfilled away section in the corner in front of the TV cameras would make the place look empty. So if that is the issue still but we want the away fans downstairs, then the west stand bottom part would make sense as not on the cameras very often. Obviously people would be displaced from there too, so never good.
What about the NW Corner and into the West lower bowl? Just 2k you are going to upset, but wherever they go, there'll be upset.
Personally I think NW would be the best place. Then you can have either upper or lower section, or both depending on how many away fans are coming.
Aye could corner it off like they do in Germany, then we could allocate a tier for extra home tickets against teams with **** away numbers. Good idea.
I’ve no issue with it mate, it’s good that there’s a defined section and area for those who are a bit more placid.
