Anyone that has followed the Gills away will know that we are far more vocal on our travels then we are at home. You also do not tend to witness any form of abuse that is from time to time aimed at our players on home turf. Personally I blame all seater stadiums and the home comforts of plastic, which in turn all so reflect that cold blue mood. So the question is would you like to see a return to terracing at Priestfield, now with all our health and safety geeks that are present in our modern era, it would have to be in the form of safe standing. This could be situated immediately behind the goal at the Rainham End or maybe Town End, possibly both. Views please and can you say how frequently you travel away. If you do not travel to away games, not a problem, I would still be interested in your view but please clearly state your view is purely based on home games to assist me in getting a fair balance of opinion. I can remember someone telling me on twitter that our Chairman was against safe standing, possibly from the AGM. Is anyone able to confirm if they know this to be true? The person who told me that, gave a personal view that it was the politics of the situation. However, more and more league clubs are signing up to the safe standing idea...http://www.safestandingroadshow.co.uk/news/dec11thecaseforsafestandinginfootball Thoughts...
safe standing all the way. not for me persoannly these days but to create a better atmoshere all round. i well remember regularly ending up about 80 feet away the other side of rainham end after a goal went in in the late eightees.
Ah yes the Rainham End glory run, when you could run from one end of the stand to the other without bumping into anyone else!!
brb ( & others ) As you know I have missed only 2 away games this season. I choose to sit or stand after consulting the weather forecast & if the away end is covered. ( ok I'm soft these days .) I enjoy both forms of viewing - I would probably choose standing if all the stadiums were fully covered. I believe that standing allows more bodily freedom of movement - even whilst standing in one position I can usually express myself better than when sat down..... this is probably why, at times, fans do not interact with the game - they're too comfortable. I definitely would like to see 'safe standing'. As previously discussed, such areas also allow for an increase in ground capacity without any construction/extension of stands. With regards to the fans being less critical on their travals - I believe that the criticism still exists - but is contained so that it is not as evident as at home games. I am sure that fans wouldn't want to be seen as mutinous in front of their hosts - "You came all this way just to slag off your team ?" whereas at home that tolerance goes out of the window. " You should be grateful that I got out of my comfy chair on a cold night - now do it for me !"
standing does make for a better atmosphere, without having a reserved seat the more vocal fans will come together and get the noise going followed by those around them and so on, but with all seater you might get stuck for a whole season with those who just want to sit quietly so being loud and jumping around ruins their enjoyment of the game
I don't think that the atmosphere away from home is "more vocal" due to the availability of terracing, more due to the type of fan who travels away is generally younger and more likely to sing, factored in with the fact that away ends are more compact that is why I think away fans always seem louder when you are part of it. That said I would welcome terracing back a Priestfield
Standing is great but it will never be at Priestfield. The chairman wont pay for a perm stand when he is determined to move to a new ground. Massive waste of money. Best keeping the temp thing there.
with away fans noise level it comes down to the fact that if you invest your time and money traveling often large distances to the game you must be a a passionate supporter and be will want to enjoy yourself. that being said stand does have its advantage and anything that makes the tickets cheaper and potential improves the atmospher at preistfield im all for! wont happen though!
I am for standing at matches but against 'safe standing' as standing is ...well safe. The problems arise when too many people are let in which in todays environment of all ticket matches wont happen Bring back the terrace cos its well safe
Thought I would bump this thread after a picture I came across today. So we are not allowed to stand in football grounds but this is considered perfectly safe eh?... please log in to view this image or is it just more difficult to enforce the law in public places while treating every other supporter in football grounds as criminals.
brb When you watch any EPL game, especially at places like Old Trafford, there are thousands who refuse to sit. Nothing is done to enforce the regulations.
I like this old 2007 youtube video despite it being ruined with no sound... [video=youtube;v5yHbDAz2Sc]http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=v5yHbDAz2Sc[/video]
and now for a video of a German crowd with sound, once you get past the introductions... [video=youtube;SDXMbhMQR1U]https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=SDXMbhMQR1U[/video]
Safe standing is the way forward in the lower divisions. Smaller clubs need to offer a different match-day experience to the bigger ones. The problem club boards will have is that terracing is not seen as family friendly, which is what they have concentrated their promotion on for many years now. A must if standing is reintroduced is to have a really great family enclosure.
Newbie posting for the first time... I think this guy is spot on. Standing or seated, you're always going to get a better atmosphere away for this reason. I personally like seating. I wouldn't complain about safe standing; you will never see terracing introduced again because you'll have to spend money replacing it if we're promoted to the Championship but, as I understand it, safe standing is supported in the championship. If I remember correctly at the shareholder's meeting, Scally said he felt that it brought up too many safety risks still. I personally like having my own designated seat as a season ticket older. Safe standing might well still guarantee this but I don't think it will change very much...with the foldable seat option I think most would choose to sit.
Portsmouth are now officially the 24th club to join the safe standing campaign. Reading the report it states that 90% of supporters are in favour of a choice. Whereas only 20% would probably vote in favour of it. My response to that is 20% of a ground designated to safe standing behind a goal would be all I ask if we can change policy. In answer to previous responses, we already have a family enclosure and examples of safe standing in Germany have not raised any issues of risk that I am aware and I would be happy to hear of any to form a level of judgement. This is the way forward and I believe our club should support it as I have not heard of any detriment evidence otherwise.
