email from club - NO MORE TICKETS ON SALE IN KOP - standing & wrong seat usage

[Mike325]

Let me see if I understand this correctly, you don’t want to buy (row xx , seat yy) you want to buy an unreserved seat in a block (any seat in KB3) and you say thousands of other people cope with this.

At the British GP if you buy a weekend ticket you get a named seat for Saturday and Sunday and a roving seat for Friday (any grandstand).

On the Friday, the place is less than half full and I’ve seen dozens of arguments and fisticuffs twice over the best seats.

These are good natured and well-behaved F1 fans.

Imagine the scenes 10 minutes before kickoff in a coked up pissed up Kop.

Rip the seats out or put them on eBay for souvenirs and make it a terrace like old days pal fucking seats on kop your lose your legs trying to sit comfortably on the things kop for terrace rest for sitting all round the ground

 

[GodricBlade]

Let me see if I understand this correctly, you don’t want to buy (row xx , seat yy) you want to buy an unreserved seat in a block (any seat in KB3) and you say thousands of other people cope with this.

At the British GP if you buy a weekend ticket you get a named seat for Saturday and Sunday and a roving seat for Friday (any grandstand).

On the Friday, the place is less than half full and I’ve seen dozens of arguments and fisticuffs twice over the best seats.

These are good natured and well-behaved F1 fans.

Imagine the scenes 10 minutes before kickoff in a coked up pissed up Kop.

I think we’re on the same side here - the winky face was supposed to be a clue.
I was meaning thousands of fans in the rest of the ground manage to sit in the seat they’ve bought a ticket for.
I really don’t understand how a select few folk think that the rules don’t apply to them & they can sit/stand wherever they like without everyone else suffering the consequences.
I dread to think what the Kop would be like if it was a free for all.

 

[Digs blade]

I think we’re on the same side here - the winky face was supposed to be a clue.
I was meaning thousands of fans in the rest of the ground manage to sit in the seat they’ve bought a ticket for.
I really don’t understand how a select few folk think that the rules don’t apply to them & they can sit/stand wherever they like without everyone else suffering the consequences.
I dread to think what the Kop would be like if it was a free for all.

Get what you are saying mate but why aren’t the club doing something proactive about it and removing the pillars. If tickets are getting close to a sell out why would anyone pay 25 pound + to sit behind a pillar.

Would you because I certainly wouldnt and that’s why a lot buy the ticket for that seat but then go elsewhere I.e. stand st the top with their mates.

I really can’t fault them

 

[GodricBlade]

Get what you are saying mate but why aren’t the club doing something proactive about it and removing the pillars. If tickets are getting close to a sell out why would anyone pay 25 pound + to sit behind a pillar.

Would you because I certainly wouldnt and that’s why a lot buy the ticket for that seat but then go elsewhere I.e. stand st the top with their mates.

I really can’t fault them

The situation all round isn’t great, I agree.
Would the Kop be better without pillars? Sure.
Would I buy a ticket to sit behind one? No.
So I don’t.
But the pillars aren’t the only problem here.
Some folk do, as you say, choose to buy those tickets (or any Kop ticket) with the intention of not sitting there.
Instead they choose to sit/stand with their mates causing build up & crowding & stuff the club & the safety folk don’t like.
And here we are as a result of those choices.
Redeveloping the Kop (they can’t just chop the pillars out) will cost a few million quid we don’t have spare.
So in the meantime fans have to learn to buy tickets for seats they do want to sit in.
It’s not that hard really unless we’re at capacity & so far this season, there’s been ample space in the BLUT with seats to sit in if they really want to watch the game.
And it’s a much better view.
What I don’t quite get is what’s most important to these folk? Watching the match or being with their mates at the back of the Kop?
If it’s the match - sit on the BLUT & maybe ask your mates to swap with you.
If it’s their mates - they’ll go to the back of the Kop anyway won’t they whether there are pillars or not?
I hope it gets sorted soon one way or another as there’s nothing better than a full Kop making a racket.
Sadly, the safety folk are watching us like a hawk at the moment & so the club and the fans have to show the situation is under control.

 

[Champagneblade]

End of the day, society is built on rules. You follow them, like the majority do and you’re fine. You choose not to and you get punished.

That’s how it is. The alternative is total anarchy.

You buy a specific seat. Buy one you’re happy with. Sit in it.

That’s really it. That’s not to say you can’t stand up as the match action dictates.

There is no unreserved seating or standing area. Some might have convinced themselves of this or lead themselves they had some sort of arrangement the club turned a blind eye to. But there is no such arrangement.

As has been said the club are in a tight spot now. If you have the club’s best interests at heart you’ll do the right thing.

So either go and sit where allocated or don’t go because you can’t abide not standing with your mates. There is no middle ground anymore until the configuration of the stadium gets amended. If you try to carry on congregating away from your seat then the club has to look after itself. They’ll have no choice but to eject you. And it will be your fault not theirs. They can’t be throwing away a few hundred thousand quid because a handful would like the rules not to apply to them.

Club comes first.

 

[bartman]

why aren’t the club doing something proactive about it and removing the pillars.

And the cost of this would be ? Who would meet the cost ?

 

[ChipButtyBlade]

How/when is this situation going to be resolved,is there negotiation happening are there hoops to be jumped ?

 

[247Blade]

How/when is this situation going to be resolved,is there negotiation happening are there hoops to be jumped ?

Probably when Princey sells

 

[Dkc]

And the cost of this would be ? Who would meet the cost ?

Ndiaye and Berge

 

[bartman]

Ndiaye and Berge

It's the only way we could afford it

 

[Eddiecolquhounsleg]

End of the day, society is built on rules. You follow them, like the majority do and you’re fine. You choose not to and you get punished.

That’s how it is. The alternative is total anarchy.

You buy a specific seat. Buy one you’re happy with. Sit in it.

That’s really it. That’s not to say you can’t stand up as the match action dictates.

There is no unreserved seating or standing area. Some might have convinced themselves of this or lead themselves they had some sort of arrangement the club turned a blind eye to. But there is no such arrangement.

As has been said the club are in a tight spot now. If you have the club’s best interests at heart you’ll do the right thing.

So either go and sit where allocated or don’t go because you can’t abide not standing with your mates. There is no middle ground anymore until the configuration of the stadium gets amended. If you try to carry on congregating away from your seat then the club has to look after itself. They’ll have no choice but to eject you. And it will be your fault not theirs. They can’t be throwing away a few hundred thousand quid because a handful would like the rules not to apply to them.

Club comes first.

This should be printed off and pinned, by means of a four inch tack, to the forehead of all the numpties on here, and those who stand at the back of the kop, who, for whatever reason, cannot understand this pretty simple request from the club.

 

[Dkc]

This should be printed off and pinned, by means of a four inch tack, to the forehead of all the numpties on here, and those who stand at the back of the kop, who, for whatever reason, cannot understand this pretty simple request from the club.

To you it might be just a “simple request from the club” but Blades fans have been meeting their mates and standing on that bit of land on Shoreham St since the club was founded.

In the history of our club, I doubt that there has been a single first team game where everyone on the Kop finds their correct seat, sits down and remains seated for the entire match.

 

[Eddiecolquhounsleg]

To you it might be just a “simple request from the club” but Blades fans have been meeting their mates and standing on that bit of land on Shoreham St since the club was founded.

In the history of our club, I doubt that there has been a single first team game where everyone on the Kop finds their correct seat, sits down and remains seated for the entire match.

QED

 

[cahill]

End of the day, society is built on rules. You follow them, like the majority do and you’re fine. You choose not to and you get punished.

That’s how it is. The alternative is total anarchy.

You buy a specific seat. Buy one you’re happy with. Sit in it.

That’s really it. That’s not to say you can’t stand up as the match action dictates.

There is no unreserved seating or standing area. Some might have convinced themselves of this or lead themselves they had some sort of arrangement the club turned a blind eye to. But there is no such arrangement.

As has been said the club are in a tight spot now. If you have the club’s best interests at heart you’ll do the right thing.

So either go and sit where allocated or don’t go because you can’t abide not standing with your mates. There is no middle ground anymore until the configuration of the stadium gets amended. If you try to carry on congregating away from your seat then the club has to look after itself. They’ll have no choice but to eject you. And it will be your fault not theirs. They can’t be throwing away a few hundred thousand quid because a handful would like the rules not to apply to them.

Club comes first.

Well there are rules, laws even that says it’s wrong to smoke cannabis but people continue and the CJS and the Police have come to a nuanced way of managing it. I’m not sure why the authorities cant come to a similar to way to manage the standing at the back of the Kop affair ? Unless you exist in a black and white world without space for nuance.

The supporters stood around us are the same people week in week out. Seems a very safe space to me, but hélas !

 

[bartman]

In the history of our club, I doubt that there has been a single first team game where everyone on the Kop finds their correct seat, sits down and remains seated for the entire match.

And finding the correct seat and staying there during the game is the club's biggest issue for fans to understand which shouldn't be too challenging except for the small % of fans that believe they can do what they want

 

[Gerritforud]

bbc article on safe standing
"The initiative is part of a club trial after concerns over "persistent standing" of fans were raised in 2021."
Seems Liverpool took action without stopping ticket sales.

 

[Gerritforud]

"Following a review of the initial rail seating trial last season, we will now expand the trial and introduce rail seating in additional areas of the Kop to further address crowd safety and persistent standing in line with SGSA [Sports Grounds Safety Authority] guidance,"

 

[Sheffsteel]

Seems Liverpool took action without stopping ticket sales.

But that action costs a few million for no financial return.
A few year back I read that a rail seat costs £1000 each.

Also due to the Hillsboro disaster Liverpool need to be seen as whiter than white when it comes to safety.
The reputation damage of having their fans flout the fan safety rules has been prented.

 

[cahill]

And finding the correct seat and staying there during the game is the club's biggest issue for fans to understand which shouldn't be too challenging except for the small % of fans that believe they can do what they want

I get and take your point, but football stadiums aren’t theatres and football crowds aren’t opera crowds, football is an exciting ( or should be), passionate game in the main followed by the heritiers of working class people.

I don’t recognise this « sit down, shut up and applaud politely « world. Just curious but do fans at rock and pop concerts sit throughout the entire event ?

 

[Digs blade]

The situation all round isn’t great, I agree.
Would the Kop be better without pillars? Sure.
Would I buy a ticket to sit behind one? No.
So I don’t.
But the pillars aren’t the only problem here.
Some folk do, as you say, choose to buy those tickets (or any Kop ticket) with the intention of not sitting there.
Instead they choose to sit/stand with their mates causing build up & crowding & stuff the club & the safety folk don’t like.
And here we are as a result of those choices.
Redeveloping the Kop (they can’t just chop the pillars out) will cost a few million quid we don’t have spare.
So in the meantime fans have to learn to buy tickets for seats they do want to sit in.
It’s not that hard really unless we’re at capacity & so far this season, there’s been ample space in the BLUT with seats to sit in if they really want to watch the game.
And it’s a much better view.
What I don’t quite get is what’s most important to these folk? Watching the match or being with their mates at the back of the Kop?
If it’s the match - sit on the BLUT & maybe ask your mates to swap with you.
If it’s their mates - they’ll go to the back of the Kop anyway won’t they whether there are pillars or not?
I hope it gets sorted soon one way or another as there’s nothing better than a full Kop making a racket.
Sadly, the safety folk are watching us like a hawk at the moment & so the club and the fans have to show the situation is under control.

I agree with a lot of that and also that the pillars are t the only reason for the issues.

However when getting close to a sell out, which we have on a number of times, I’d guess that there are around 500 tickets on the kop with either a partially or severely restricted view and might be the only tickets available.

The club do nothing to sell these tickets at a reduced price due to the restricted view so many people in this scenario will reluctantly buy one of these but then stand elsewhere.

I can’t really blame them to be honest

 

[Digs blade]

And the cost of this would be ? Who would meet the cost ?

Well if we can’t afford to remove them to enhance the fan experience, can the club really moan when fans, on some occasions, have to buy tickets for these seats and then choose to stand elsewhere (stand because no other seats are available to swap into).

If the pillars remain then they should at least be selling these seats at a reduced price but they don’t.

I’m okay, I have a season ticket but if I was pay in the day, no way would I pay 25-30 pounds to have to spend the entire game peering round a pillar

 

[GodricBlade]

I agree with a lot of that and also that the pillars are t the only reason for the issues.

However when getting close to a sell out, which we have on a number of times, I’d guess that there are around 500 tickets on the kop with either a partially or severely restricted view and might be the only tickets available.

The club do nothing to sell these tickets at a reduced price due to the restricted view so many people in this scenario will reluctantly buy one of these but then stand elsewhere.

I can’t really blame them to be honest

Mate, we’re not gonna agree on this one.
Selling those seats behind the pillars at a reduced price would not resolve the issue you describe.
Come on - you’re not telling me that these folks would suddenly start sitting in their restricted view seats if they got ‘em half price.
Nor that these unrestricted view seats have been the only available tickets for any home game this season so far.
It’s about the choices some people make and right now, tickets for the Kop aren’t on sale as a result of the actions of people. Not because of 2 pillars that have been there for years.

 

[bartman]

Well if we can’t afford to remove them to enhance the fan experience, can the club really moan when fans, on some occasions, have to buy tickets for these seats and then choose to stand elsewhere (stand because no other seats are available to swap into).

If the pillars remain then they should at least be selling these seats at a reduced price but they don’t.

I’m okay, I have a season ticket but if I was pay in the day, no way would I pay 25-30 pounds to have to spend the entire game peering round a pillar

It isnt juat removing the pillars, we would have to replace the whole roof

 

[Digs blade]

Mate, we’re not gonna agree on this one.
Selling those seats behind the pillars at a reduced price would not resolve the issue you describe.
Come on - you’re not telling me that these folks would suddenly start sitting in their restricted view seats if they got ‘em half price.
Nor that these unrestricted view seats have been the only available tickets for any home game this season so far.
It’s about the choices some people make and right now, tickets for the Kop aren’t on sale as a result of the actions of people. Not because of 2 pillars that have been there for years.

View attachment 148644

All good healthy debate mate which is how it should be so yes we may have to disagree.

The attendance figures quoted kind of backs up my point. If you factor in at least 4 of those from memory were gsmes where the away side came nowhere near to selling their allocation then a number of our games this season have had limited home tickets available.

I agree with your point but I’m trying to also see things from another perspective.

Club has hundreds of restricted view tickets but puts them on sale without a price reduction.

Club then questions why people buy these tickets when often they are the only ones left on sale but choose not to sit in said seat.

You’ve already acknowledged that you wouldn’t pay normal prices to sit in one of those seats and so have I. Why then would we expect someone else to.

Maybe there is other odd seats dotted around the stands but the kop sells the cheapest tickets and there will be plenty of Blades in this day and age whose only choice is a kop ticket or don’t go

Mate, we’re not gonna agree on this one.
Selling those seats behind the pillars at a reduced price would not resolve the issue you describe.
Come on - you’re not telling me that these folks would suddenly start sitting in their restricted view seats if they got ‘em half price.
Nor that these unrestricted view seats have been the only available tickets for any home game this season so far.
It’s about the choices some people make and right now, tickets for the Kop aren’t on sale as a result of the actions of people. Not because of 2 pillars that have been there for years.

View attachment 148644

 

[Snowflake]

How/when is this situation going to be resolved,is there negotiation happening are there hoops to be jumped ?

Jump hurdles, but go through hoops !!

 

[Champagneblade]

Well there are rules, laws even that says it’s wrong to smoke cannabis but people continue and the CJS and the Police have come to a nuanced way of managing it. I’m not sure why the authorities cant come to a similar to way to manage the standing at the back of the Kop affair ? Unless you exist in a black and white world without space for nuance.

The supporters stood around us are the same people week in week out. Seems a very safe space to me, but hélas !

Maybe if they took cannabis instead of coke they'd be a lot more compliant

I feel it is black and white now, unfortunately. The club have no room for manoeuvre.

If these fans persist they'll be ejected. They might even be banned if they offend repeatedly. If the Board were less friendly they could pursue them for the loss of earnings their actions have led to. I think the club has been very softly, softly with this to be fair to them.

The fans just need to do their bit now and at the same time have the fans group rally for rail seating.

I see very few options left that lead to a positive conclusion.

 

[reedy63]

my seat is AF row at the back of the kop.no one behind me, I have to stand on my seat to see the match. season ticket holder by the way.like everyone else all I would see is someone's back of the neck /head. taller than me. why would I tell them to sit down .. you would be told to fuck off or end up with a broken nose.

 

[ChipButtyBlade]

Jump hurdles, but go through hoops !!

 

[Snowflake]

View attachment 148686

 

[Ace of Blades]

To you it might be just a “simple request from the club” but Blades fans have been meeting their mates and standing on that bit of land on Shoreham St since the club was founded.

In the history of our club, I doubt that there has been a single first team game where everyone on the Kop finds their correct seat, sits down and remains seated for the entire match.

If they've been meeting since the club was founded, surely they're old enough to know better? And I would think they would be glad of a seat at their age.