Just read an article on the beeb website that Bristol City are installing a standing area to their revamped ground. It is the same of what Dortmund have at their stadium- its called railway seating, can be pushed back for standing or used for extra seats. http://www.bbc.com/sport/0/football/26141427 Knowing that a certain group of our supporters like standing at the Lane I'd like to get some thoughts on whether its feasible for the PL. I remember standing at the Park Lane end as a kid and there's nothing like it. Over to you lads.
Would love it. I've been threatened to have been removed from the ground 3 times this season already after numerous arguments with stewards at refusing sit down that it'll be bliss to finally stand and support my team without some orange-coated twat thinking they're part of a military covert operation tasked with making people sit down. ****ing jobsworths do my head in. Safe standing would 100% get my vote. All that needs to be done is remove the seats, replace with a railing and voila.
The Football League are lobbying Parliament with this and have been for some time, it is the law afterall following the Taylor report post Hillsborough. I'm not sure if setting a precedent here will have the FA following suit. Other countries haven't had a 'Hillsborough' on their doorstep, so the subject perhaps isn't so thorny there. Although this criteria fits UEFA and FIFA guideines, the German teams still have to have the seats in place for league games and are only raised for European/other games. To answer the question, yes, having grown up on it, I'd like standing room again.
Several have, actually: Russia had the Luzhniki Stadium disaster in 1982 where 66 died, Scotland has seen two disasters at Ibrox (25 died in 1902, 66 died in 1971), and there's been similar disasters in Turkey, South Africa, Ghana, Greece, and Egypt over the years. The problem is that whenever the subject of standing in stadiums is raised, it's always shouted down by people bringing up Hillsbrough - yet the fact is the Taylor report did not state that standing should be banned. The recommendations in regards to terraces are as follows: It doesn't say grounds should change to all-seater stadiums anywhere in the report.
Having a Dortmund-esque kop would be a useful option, allowing those who want to stand to do so without forcing it upon those who'd prefer to sit. It seems to instill a better atmosphere, promote singing and chanting and get other parts of the ground more into the game, too. As long as the whole thing's approached sensibly and safety concerns are addressed as a priority, then I think it'd be good for the club.
Read my post properly...the government banned it. People bring up Hillsborough because thats what prompted the Taylor Report. I did not mean there have been no other accidents either, just none that have resonated through football and still mentioned today, the magnitude of Hillsborough....get it now! Quite frankly you've taught me nothing I didn't know, nor contributed anything here????? just homed in on the usual non essential facts missing the main points.
How about you read my post properly, specifically the part that states "It doesn't say grounds should change to all-seater stadiums anywhere in the report." No disasters on the scale of Hillsborough, you say? 127 died in the Accra Sports Stadium in 2001, which makes it bigger on a human scale, whilst the Heysel disaster also resonated through football and is still mentioned today. Maybe you'd learn something you don't know, and judging by your reply there's plenty you don't know other than how to be unnecessarily arsey in response to my posts, if you pulled your head out of your backside once in a while.
If only you had taken that anger management course years back... No, there should be a "safe" standing area, as standing could never return like it was before, its just not feasible but an area for standing, for fans that want to stand is feasible, I didn't get to many games where standing was still around, Fulham was one as my mate was a Fulham fan growing up and we went to a game as they had standing, but unfortunately football has too many idiots who after a few drinks before the game would barge and push their way around, you always get these types! that are likely to cause a fight and as soon as a fight happens then there will be a problems again. But aslong as they had good stewards and CCTV, then "safe standing area" should return.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/26158044 Aston Villa have told the BBC that almost half the clubs in the Premier League are interested in reintroducing standing at their stadiums. Villa have offered to conduct a trial of 'rail-seats' at Villa Park. Their football operations manager Lee Preece said: "We'd be interested in a trial at Villa Park if that would help. "We've identified areas we could use for a small-scale trial so the rest of football could see if it works within a Premier League environment." He added: "There's at least seven or eight clubs that have come forward to say they are also interested in furthering the debate."
I wish Villa phrased this differently, saying something more along the lines of "We are interested in re-introducing standing at our ground and believe other Premier League clubs feel the same." The way they phrased it actually takes away from what they are saying, as it instantly paints them in a minority (because they say that more than half of Premier League clubs don't want standing), plus it puts other clubs on the spot to support them which can often backfire. Standing could certainly reintroduce atmosphere into some stadiums that have lost theirs, which is something that can be said for a lot of modern grounds that seem muted compared to their predecessors (which is a sticking point for many QPR fans in regards to their proposed new stadium) but the issue is that it needs to be properly managed, meaning that stewards and police should be vigilant but not overzealous. The problem I see is you're more likely going to see overzealous policing ejecting people for minor infractions which will soon drain the atmosphere and make the exercise redundant.
I don't see the problem with having safe standing areas in this day and age. With the design tech available, planners can work out how many people can fit into a safe area, and with computerized turnstiles and gates, they can tell straight away when capacity is reached. I work at Lansdowne road on matchdays, and 'event control' are always updating over the radio leading up to kick off, the current attendance and the rate of people coming through the turnstiles. I'm sure the same is done in Prem and League stadiums in England too. With the overheads needed to run a club, I'm surprised all clubs aren't pushing for this, to get a boost in income with larger attendances.
Discussions of Hillsborough often forget the sad fact that the supporters were caged in like animals so when it all went wrong there was nowhere for them to go. Without a cage a lot of them could have spilled onto the pitch, not ideal but 100% more satisfactory than death. The people that put up the cages have a lot to answer for and never have done. The seating issue is almost a red herring compared to that.
No brainer for me, safe standing is a must. Cheaper tickets, better atmosphere and more fans. I really think in years to come we will all look back at all seaters and be amazed it lasted so long.
I doubt that somehow. This isn't the German League, if anything the bigger clubs in this country would charge you more for the privilege of standing!
Another thing that's overlooked is the Leppings Lane end was an accident waiting to happen - it so nearly happened to us in the 1981 FA Cup semi. The fact that Hillsborough did not have a valid safety certificate since 1979, a fact that members of Sheffield city council attempted to cover up at the time, is also overlooked - it makes The FA culpable, as surely they should have known this.
Man Utd have now announced that they're backing the move toward safe standing. Interesting development.
Given their fans have been standing for years, with the club receiving the grand total of none of the sanctions The FA or Premier League threatened them with, it's not much of a surprise.
Being on the young side is a great help for standing but the older fans a seat is required. But when I look back standing was great fun even in cold weather when your legs felt as though they had gone to sleep! I cannot remember any serious crowd problems at The Lane,unless they shut the gates early!!!! I can actually remember standing in a full house at the Lane behind (and almost inside) a young shapely lady.I don't remember much of the game!!!!!! MEMORIES..............
As an outsider, standing does seem like a better option, as long as it can be done safely. (A football game flies by to someone who's used to four hour baseball and gridiron games. All sitting does is jam my knees against plastic, so standing would be more comfortable.) IMO, safety should be double insured, both by strictly limiting the number of people in a standing area, and by providing some kind of way of quickly relieving excessive pressure on the edges of the area. There's a long history of people getting crushed by hard barriers in front of them and crowd pressure behind. Those hard barriers have got to be movable, and very quickly movable at that. A third way to ensure safety is to divide the standing areas into small subsections. The more people are in an area, the more pressure can build up on those in front.
