Standing at the Lane!!!!!

[Kenilworth]

Holt would say that though wouldn't he because however rowdy the Scousers were on the day it was a major balls up to open the middle gates to the Leppings Lane terrace, which was the critical decision that caused the deaths of the 96. SYPD would never sanction standing again because they maintained their innocence in the whole matter - funny how the critical CCTV footage was lost though wasn't it.

Not sure seats are safer at all grounds anyway. That bloke that fell off the stand at the Millwall vs Cardiff game is a case in point and if you have been to Old Trafford the incline is pretty severe at the top.

Things are different now though since the Taylor Report was published and the recommendations acted upon - we dont have cages at the front of the stands to stop people getting onto the playing surface. So there is no reason I can see why they cannot introduce safe standing and charge a lower rate to attract more people to the games. Everyone knows football is too expensive to go and watch. It will suffer badly these next few years if they dont do something about it.

I prefer standing, always have done. I used to love the surge when we scored but can accept that being a thing of the past. A lot of jerks with spasmodic knees around that spoil it for everyone else.

 

[Muttley]

Seats aren't safer when Leeds fans are in town!!

 

[oldblade]

Things are different now though since the Taylor Report was published and the recommendations acted upon - we dont have cages at the front of the stands to stop people getting onto the playing surface.

Precisely! Terracing in itself never was unsafe at football grounds. It was the later addition of the perimeter fences that caused the safety problem.

 

[Ollessendro]

I used to stand and I enjoyed it, but the safety factor is really not there. You only need to look at the Champions League Final in Athens when Liverpool fans turned up without tickets, the authorities at the stadium panicked and opened the gates, resulting in hundreds of fans storming the ground. Fortunately the ground was all seater, so ticketless fans just took up seats in the ground, had this been a standing ground then the consequences would be different.

Having watched football in Germany, Italy and England, the argument for following the Germans doesn't wash with me. They are exceptionally well disciplined in the ground. I stood at 2nd tier 1 Union Berlin last season and whilst it was a real throw back to the standing days, the Germans don't surge, they celebrate on the same step of the terrace. For me this wouldn't work in England.

Germans can go on holiday to the so called 18-30 style resorts and enjoy themselves, the Brits can't.

I'm not suggesting that Germans are perfect, they have their problems too both within football and socially, but there is a different level of discipline and respect which we just don't have in the UK.

I have to disagree. I went to a Werder Bremen game last year and sat with the Bochumm fans. Whilst it was a fantastic experience, they are no angels. We (all the away support) spent the whole time chugging beer, stood on our seats, abusing the opposition fans and being general dicks. When Bochum score their second and went 2-1 up, I can tell you for sure that there was a surge. Everyone went mental and I ended up behind the goal, from row J.

Just look at the facts. How many people stood up and watched a football match in the UK over a hundred years? How many suffered serious injuries or were crushed to death? This is one of those cases where the risk is generally miniscule, but a high profile incident led to an overreaction on the part of the authorities. We have seen such reactions in other areas, like banning a drug because of a single death, or banning forks and spoons on planes.

It's part and parcel of the world we live in, where we're not trusted to open a train window or let our kids play on a roundabout.


A safe standing area would work at the top of the kop but it would be a major undertaking. Not only would terracing have to be installed, but a method would be needed of restricting the terrace's capacity. People would have to show tickets to get in and out.

Good post.

I think that banning terracing and introducing all seater stadiums was a complete and utter knee jerk reaction to Hillsborough. Simple as.

South Yprkshire police got it wrong. They should have delayed kick off and help people back. Letting people through all at once was the catasphropic decision. Theypaniced and it went horribly wrong.

Then the government paniced and got it horribly wrong. Compllete over reaction and it has cost the game big time. Unfortunately it is common place. Just look at Germany shutting down 2 of iit's nuclear plants after the Japan tsunami. Knee jerk reaction.

It's fine to blame SYP and S6, just don't mention the scousers, I REPEAT; DON'T MENTION THE SCOUSERS. none of them were pissed up, pushing, trying to force their way into the ground without a ticket and not a single one of them had consumed so much as wine gum prior to said match. Lession no1 (in life, not just football): Scousers are never the perpetrators of trouble, just victims. So we should all STFU and not discuss or blame them in anyway.

This is my favourite non pc post. Simply brilliant

......
If you believe Hugh Robertson when he says they will be considered, you're a mug. There will be a pretense of considering so that they can say they have done so and then refuse to look into it again until 2015.

The guardian poll shows 77% in favour (even though that will be skewed because people like myself who are passionate terrace-supporters are more likely to vote), but even if the real figure IS around 77%, it's not likely to change much.

Andy Holt of our own SYPD and spokesperson for the association of plods has pretty much stated that the police will never back the move, and governments are only willing to say they'll 'consider it' and take advice from the plod...they are even wasting your money going through the pretense of considering it, the dirty chuffs.

Some good points. As much as I want this to happen, I just cannot see it. Police don't want it (extra work and potential to make bad decisions - again) and no politician will risk it. Too much at stake if something goes wrong. In our risk averse culture I doubt we'll see a return to terraces. Shame. I am all in favour of it*



* At Pompey the other week (near the back) we stood the whole time and it was great. Forgot how much I missed it.

 

[MunXy]

erm am i missing some points here, yes SYP did make mistakes letting the dumb scousers in ll at once, funnily similar at hysel thousands of scousers without tickets storming a severly understaffed police line, appears to me that a simple cordon a few hundred yds away from the ground, no one without a ticket allowed inside the outer perimeter would A mean no more of the h'boro or hysel because there would be at most the proper catered for capacity inside the ground and B give the police the ability and time to filter out the knob heads just there causing trouble problem solved and the standing kop can return.
for those that missed the standing kop days or were too late to witness 44,000+ inside the lane in full voice, then im afraid you missed a real sporting beauty, forget hairs on the back of your neck raising, at times with the kop full and singing it felt like every cell in your body reverberating a feeling of pure passion coursing thru your entire body, but even if they bring back standing i doubt that feeling will every be quite the same.

MunXy

 

[Kenilworth]

erm am i missing some points here, yes SYP did make mistakes letting the dumb scousers in ll at once, funnily similar at hysel thousands of scousers without tickets storming a severly understaffed police line, appears to me that a simple cordon a few hundred yds away from the ground, no one without a ticket allowed inside the outer perimeter would A mean no more of the h'boro or hysel because there would be at most the proper catered for capacity inside the ground and B give the police the ability and time to filter out the knob heads just there causing trouble problem solved and the standing kop can return.
for those that missed the standing kop days or were too late to witness 44,000+ inside the lane in full voice, then im afraid you missed a real sporting beauty, forget hairs on the back of your neck raising, at times with the kop full and singing it felt like every cell in your body reverberating a feeling of pure passion coursing thru your entire body, but even if they bring back standing i doubt that feeling will every be quite the same.

MunXy

Spot on Munxers - Them were't days lad

 

[Ballinpigpubs13]

Who was at forest away back when we beat em' 2-5 in the Bassett era? Blades fans going banana's and not a seat in sight, awesome. Bloke in front of me on all 4's looking for his gigs after the 4th or 5th went in!
Personally would like to see G and H block standing

 

[Kev Gee]

I think theres a case for standing AREAS in grounds for people that choose to.
Why cant both be accomodated?