Saints bucking the trend on record attendance

http://www.talksport.co.uk/magazine...ty-southampton-leicester-coventry-and-wembley

From TalkSport:

Southampton achieved a rarity in modern football this week, setting an all-time record home attendance when 32,152 turned up to see them beat West Ham on 18 October 2011.

This beat the previous record crowd at the St Mary's Stadium by just one, with 32,151 seats occupied for the Saints Christmas fixture against Arsenal in 2003. The stadium has a capacity of 32,689, but due to segregation of home and away fans this limit has never been reached.

Southampton moved to St Mary's in 2001, after years of playing at the cramped, but much-loved Dell, which had a capacity of just 15,200 in its final years as an all-seater ground. Even with standing, The Dell's record attendance stood at just 31,044 for a match against Manchester United in 1969, meaning Saints were able to beat this number in their new home.

This is in contrast to the situation for most clubs that have relocated to new stadiums, which almost all have all-seater capacities below the record attendance figure set at the old, terraced grounds. Arsenal, for example, may have left Highbury and its 38,419 capacity for the 60,351 seats of the Emirates Stadium, but in its heyday Highbury could hold over 70,000 fans.

 

I feel quite proud that had I have missed the game, the record would not have been broken.

 

everyone that was there could say that!!

 

Don't they do the count on number of ticket sales rather than those through the gate. Therefore if you bought a ticket but did not turn up you would still count!

 

yes

 

i think they should find a way of segragating home and away fans without having to take seats away from fans!! seems a shame?

 

You have to have a gap, because any other kind of barrier would block the view. Though I sometimes wonder if the gap exacerbates the problem...easy to be the big man when there is no chance of actual contact. Abroad they sometimes have nets, but fans just lob things over the top. No ideal answer.

 

Personally I would prefer the net, maybe have it so they only use 1 row of seats so we gain alot of extra seats. You can throw things as it is now so throwing things will never be solved unless they put the netting right up to the roof! Any way to increase the chances of getting a true full house would be very much welcomed by alot of people, I'm pretty confident of that

 

Its a sad thing that segregation is even necessary.

 

It is sad that people need to be separated to avoid violence, but I like to enjoy a match surrounded by like-minded individuals. I want to suffer in misery surrounded by similar folk..I don't want some idiot jumping for joy next to me. Even I might deck him!

 

That's a great article Nice find.

 

There will be no need for segregation when the Rugby World Cup comes to St. Mary's, I wonder if the ground record could be threatened then?

Given that there still is a need to segregate a tiny minority of idiots during football matches, why not have a moveable see-through plastic screen between them? They could make faces at each other right up close to their hearts content then.

 

I am sure there was only a metal fence between us saints and Manu fans at Old Trafford...........

 

I was in attendance at the Dell in 1969 when it had its record attendance. Lo and behold I was at St Mary's on Tuesday when the new record was set!!