The club don't want it, the majority of fans don't want it, the players don't want it, the police and stewards don't want it and I couldn't do it even if I wanted to but guess what? It will happen because a few morons will run onto the pitch and kick it off.
Perhaps a compromise, let the players do their thing, and then PARTY, all half dozen fans still left in the stadium that is.
Fair enough going on the pitch with promotion or last day safety but a lap of honour will surely suffice this time
A few will run on. Stand in the middle and realise no one is joining them. Look a tad pathetic and make the walk of shame back to their seat.
That's probably true. In any case, despite the rights or wrongs of it, I think it's unfair to place the restriction on the fans. Roughly every fortnight they turn up and are generally as well behaved as 30,000 odd people can be, given their passions and motivations of the moment, and the club want to stop them just having the freedom of the pitch for 20 minutes. Let's not fool ourselves though. This isn't about the players wanting to thank the fans with a lap of honour. It's about the players, staff and management being scared that their precious multi-million pound assets become injured by over-enthusiastic, or worse, down nasty fans with evil intent, either for a laugh or to get some notoriety. Of course, they can't say that though.
It might also be that it is against the law and they don't want to be responsible for any fan who injures himself scrambling over seats or whatever. And it would make us all look pretty daft. I appreciate what you're saying but it is not anyone's right to run onto the pitch. It has been allowed for the past two seasons because of exceptional circumstances. The circumstances are not in any way exceptional now and they cannot be seen to be tacitly encouraging this.
There's not an unlimited number of stewards though. If enough people want to get on the pitch, they'll get on. Personally, I don't understand why anyone would want to run on. Inevitably though it will happen, slightly frustratingly.
Don't get me wrong, PSF. I appreciate that the club would be a little afraid of having the massed crowd swarming onto the pitch, and I realise they can't come out and say such things as reasons for not allowing a pitch invasion, but personally I'd like a little more honesty. I also know that it is a truth that can't be officially admitted, because you automatically alienate supporters by doing so. Myself, I've never been a great fan of laps of honour by footballers. Laps of Honour are for track athletes/cyclists and motorsport podium finishers to parade themselves around and take the applause after the race is over. Not for some clapping parade to say thank you. Footballers just need to do their level best on the pitch and that's thanks enough.
I always feel for the groundsman seeing pride and joy being trampled on, there was a sign there once, "Grows by the inch, killed by the foot" sums it up really, but as we shan't be needing it for a while, no harm done.
Just a thought about those on FB saying they are going to run on the pitch. Most peoples FB accounts have their real names so the club could quite easily check those names with those on the database and take action before hand if they wanted. The other thing is that a pitch invasion implies that we have achieved something big during the season, promotion over the last few years falls into that category. However with our Chairmans lofty ambitions and high standards, staying up is not really an achievment in the grand scheme of things, so a pitch invasion would show we still have that small club mentality, where staying up is the only target we have.
I can't get over that bloody low wall by the advertising so I won't get onto the pitch either. I can't stand on one leg anymore.
I scolded my cat for not wiping his feet when he came in throught the cat flap and he just ignored me. Vin
31,539 there today and one person ran on to the pitch and didn't stay long, most Saints fans avoided the five minute early exit to show their appreciation, my thanks to all of you who resisted the temptation, you have my and my family groups admiration and gratitude, there are a few things at a football match that makes your spine tingle, that slow rendition of OWTS by the Northam had the hairs on my nape standing up, I hope someone got some vid of it especially if it brings out the atmosphere.
