England U20 international at Home Park

[pilgrimmike1]

You could pick out the daytrippers, firstly they are always the ones making a fuss about sitting in the exact seat on their ticket getting the stewards to move people who sit there week in week out. Secondly they also have a tendency to arrive quite late and leave quite early, meaning the fuss is amplified as everyone has already sat down and there's a lot of getting up and blocking people's views. Thirdly, the sandwich box, the sandwich box is the identity badge of the daytripper, meaning whoever is unfortunate enough to be sat near them spends the game holding nostrils to block out the smell of egg. And finally, the nattering, the nattering comes about once they remember why they are daytrippers in the first place, they realise football really isn't for them and choose to pretend they are in a pub or restaurant, the lady infront of me today spent 90 minutes talking about someone named Cindy & her wedding.

And there you have it, the daytripper observed in their, well, unnatural environment, I'm off to get a job with the nature channel, Attenborough watch out :wink: :lol:

It is interesting to read that it is regular fans who think it is okay to sit anywhere they want despite what is on their ticket whereas the daytrippers seem to know the rules.

Wembley is going to be a rather chaotic place in a couple of months time when the regular divisions of the Green Army turn up and want to sit anywhere they darn well please.

Can't argue with that LC, made me smile, thank you.

 

[pilgrimmike1]

Does anyone know how we do as far as the gate money is concerned or do the FA cream most of it?

The FA rented the stadium for the day. The only benefit 11,000+ turning up for Argyle would be ancillary sales around the ground I guess.

That wont be a lot then as according to Cobi the ground was full of conformists and sandwich boxes

 

[Cobi Budge.]

All football grounds should have unreserved seating, better yet, safe standing.

Forcing everyone to sit in their correct seats just kills an atmosphere, no group of singers is formed and everyone has to sit down.

And to answer LC's point, if we get to Wembley I'd rather everyone just STOOD where they like, otherwise it's going to be a pretty dull day out, unable to stand up because the bloke behind me who's probably attending his first ever game, wants me to sit down.

I can't stand being seated at football matches, which is why unreserved seating would be best, those who want to stand can stand & those who want to sit can sit.

 

[Ollieargyle9]

All football grounds should have unreserved seating, better yet, safe standing.

Forcing everyone to sit in their correct seats just kills an atmosphere, no group of singers is formed and everyone has to sit down.

And to answer LC's point, if we get to Wembley I'd rather everyone just STOOD where they like, otherwise it's going to be a pretty dull day out, unable to stand up because the bloke behind me who's probably attending his first ever game, wants me to sit down.

I can't stand being seated at football matches, which is why unreserved seating would be best, those who want to stand can stand & those who want to sit can sit.

I'm pretty sure "an atmosphere" comes well behind public safety in the in the list of priorities.

Safe standing is only thus because it includes a designated area for one person to stand in, the one thing it looks to avoid is complete chaos where nobody knows where they are going to sit/stand so they stand wherever they want ending in tragedies like Hillsborough where nobody is keeping track of who is sat where.

Don't tell me that unreserved seating is fine because people will find a designated seat and sit/stand there, they most certainly do not. Oxford away this season I was forced to stand on a row with people who really would have been thrown out of their respective watering holes at least two pints prior to entering the ground. I didn't choose to stand with them, they found a few of their mates and joined the "singing group". The problem was the singing group kept growing and growing and growing until it really was full (one green to one seat), the thing was a group of drunk blokes seem to lose all perspective of seating plans and still proceeded to fill the row until there were no drunkards left to join it. We were looking at about two greens to a seat, the bloke on the end tried his best to squeeze in and after a few words from the steward (who paid no attention to the fact that we were crammed in like battery hens) left him stood there one foot in the gangway the other on the last spec of concrete in the row.

That is why you have reserved seats, firstly to ensure some sort of order among several thousand fans, secondly to give the bloke and his two kids the written rules in his hand to wave in the face of five unruly drunkards when they refuse to sit apart from one-another and thirdly to ensure that trouble is scattered as far away as is possible from one-another. It might not be great for an atmosphere but in this day and age when football is trying to attract young families to build a new generation of supporter as a result of the thankfully dying "good ol' days" it does a hell of a lot to keep trouble makers apart, loutish behavior to a minimum and welcome mummies, daddies and kiddies to the football scene.

Would you like me to continue onto people standing when/where "they" want, I have an speech for that one as well you know?

 

[Zac N]

Cobi,maybe, just maybe, people should sit in the seats they have paid for?

if people cant be arsed to book their tickets in advance and just expect to rock up on the day and sit where they want, then it shouldn't be a surprise when they are turfed out of their seat. This is one of the reasons I sat in a different part of the ground away at Whadden park yesterday to my sons (at least for the first 20 mins). If your ticket says' first come first served sit anywhere' then fair enough, but if it has a specific location on it then that is where you sit.

It isn't difficult.

 

[Cobi Budge.]

I'm not arguing with the technicalities Ollie & Lyndhurst, I'm not actually saying you are wrong.

I'm simply saying I actually think it would far less chaotic & more atmospheric if stadiums had unreserved seating, at least in some areas.

 

[Ollieargyle9]

I'm not arguing with the technicalities Ollie & Lyndhurst, I'm not actually saying you are wrong.

I'm simply saying I actually think it would far less chaotic & more atmospheric if stadiums had unreserved seating, at least in some areas.

But as I have detailed with an example of such a case where unreserved seating in itself created chaos above I am suggesting that you may be wrong.

If people sat in the seats they were allocated there would be zero chaos, that is what a seating plan was designed to do eliminate chaos. If you want to sit/stand next to singers book tickets with said singers, if you haven't got the collective will to go to such efforts to book tickets together then you can have no complaints when you aren't sat together. Lyndhurst's example is an unfortunate bi-product where a father (or mother of course) cannot sit with their children but it is how modern football works, you get the seat you bought because there was someone with far more knowledge of health, safety and the particulars of that football ground than yourself who set out a seating plan which aims to prevent situations from the thankfully not so serious one I witnessed at Oxford to the unfortunate and horrific tragedies that occurred at Hillsborough.

 

[pilgrimmike1]

All football grounds should have unreserved seating, better yet, safe standing.

Forcing everyone to sit in their correct seats just kills an atmosphere, no group of singers is formed and everyone has to sit down.

And to answer LC's point, if we get to Wembley I'd rather everyone just STOOD where they like, otherwise it's going to be a pretty dull day out, unable to stand up because the bloke behind me who's probably attending his first ever game, wants me to sit down.

I can't stand being seated at football matches, which is why unreserved seating would be best, those who want to stand can stand & those who want to sit can sit.

I was jesting with you cobi and as it goes I agree with much of what you say. Us old farts remember when apart from the grandstand the whole ground was standing and with no offence meant to the demport lads and lasses that try to make a good atmosphere it has to be said that the atmosphere then and now just doesn't compare. Having said that there is also a place for reserved seating as old farts like me like the same seat. What you must remember is to remain seated is the law and the bloke you speak of in front of you is at present correct mate.

 

[pilgrimmike1]

I'm not arguing with the technicalities Ollie & Lyndhurst, I'm not actually saying you are wrong.

I'm simply saying I actually think it would far less chaotic & more atmospheric if stadiums had unreserved seating, at least in some areas.

But as I have detailed with an example of such a case where unreserved seating in itself created chaos above I am suggesting that you may be wrong.

If people sat in the seats they were allocated there would be zero chaos, that is what a seating plan was designed to do eliminate chaos. If you want to sit/stand next to singers book tickets with said singers, if you haven't got the collective will to go to such efforts to book tickets together then you can have no complaints when you aren't sat together. Lyndhurst's example is an unfortunate bi-product where a father (or mother of course) cannot sit with their children but it is how modern football works, you get the seat you bought because there was someone with far more knowledge of health, safety and the particulars of that football ground than yourself who set out a seating plan which aims to prevent situations from the thankfully not so serious one I witnessed at Oxford to the unfortunate and horrific tragedies that occurred at Hillsborough.

Different thing ollie, Hillsborough only occured because the police allowed the ground or stand capacity to be well and truely exceeded, it was the police at fault not the standing fans.

 

[Ollieargyle9]

I'm not arguing with the technicalities Ollie & Lyndhurst, I'm not actually saying you are wrong.

I'm simply saying I actually think it would far less chaotic & more atmospheric if stadiums had unreserved seating, at least in some areas.

But as I have detailed with an example of such a case where unreserved seating in itself created chaos above I am suggesting that you may be wrong.

If people sat in the seats they were allocated there would be zero chaos, that is what a seating plan was designed to do eliminate chaos. If you want to sit/stand next to singers book tickets with said singers, if you haven't got the collective will to go to such efforts to book tickets together then you can have no complaints when you aren't sat together. Lyndhurst's example is an unfortunate bi-product where a father (or mother of course) cannot sit with their children but it is how modern football works, you get the seat you bought because there was someone with far more knowledge of health, safety and the particulars of that football ground than yourself who set out a seating plan which aims to prevent situations from the thankfully not so serious one I witnessed at Oxford to the unfortunate and horrific tragedies that occurred at Hillsborough.

Different thing ollie, Hillsborough only occured because the police allowed the ground or stand capacity to be well and truely exceeded, it was the police at fault not the standing fans.

Absolutely Mike, I am not denying that which is why reserved seating has been put in place to ensure fans, stewards and police alike know where they stand (unfortunate pun but yes in both senses of the word). The police have been proven to have been at fault but given tickets to fit a seating plan and safe seating/standing arrangements Hillsborough may not have ended so tragically. Which is why I used it as an example here, it was the disaster that made people think and make a change to the way football seating was organised.

 

[pilgrimmike1]

I can see you're point ollie but you have to ask yourself if the enquiry had known the truth at the time of writing it's report would they have taken the same stance instead of listening to what the Sun rag had to print. I suppose at the end of the day it is the law and should be adhered to but I honestly believe they got it wrong.

 

[Mannamead Green]

Did anyone actually think that there wouldn't be daytrippers at an England U20s game? I didn't go for the atmosphere yesterday, I went to watch the football.

In terms of the football, Grimes absolutely bossed it in midfield and I'm convinced he'll be something special - it wouldn't surprise me at all to see him get full England caps. Right-back Odubajo was good - positive, quick and direct - but you'd expect that from a Championship regular who used to play as an out-and-out winger. Kwame Thomas, who scored the second goal, was a trier with a lot of energy but lacked genuine quality for me. Left-back Harry Toffolo was caught out all the time on his side.

 

[SWTT]

Ollie, I was stood in that section of the Oxford away crowd. It was quite crammed, but if you were so upset by being among such people, why didn't you move to one of the many empty seats available?

I get what Cobi's saying, although expecting a club atmosphere at an England U20s game is a bit absurd. People were their for their country, not Argyle. The Wembley experience for some will be the enjoyment of seeing the greens on the prestigious pitch in front of a massive crowd and the rest of the country through the cameras will be enough. For others, they'll no doubt want to roar with passion and let Molly Malone ring loud over Wembley. It'd be nice if "singers" (for lack of a better phrase) had better opportunity to book tickets together in a specific section of the ground rather than being frustrated at being dispersed throughout and away end and mixed in with the Bovril sippers.

 

[Knarf Reprah]

All football grounds should have unreserved seating, better yet, safe standing.

Forcing everyone to sit in their correct seats just kills an atmosphere, no group of singers is formed and everyone has to sit down.

And to answer LC's point, if we get to Wembley I'd rather everyone just STOOD where they like, otherwise it's going to be a pretty dull day out, unable to stand up because the bloke behind me who's probably attending his first ever game, wants me to sit down.

I can't stand being seated at football matches, which is why unreserved seating would be best, those who want to stand can stand & those who want to sit can sit.

I'm pretty sure "an atmosphere" comes well behind public safety in the in the list of priorities.

Safe standing is only thus because it includes a designated area for one person to stand in, the one thing it looks to avoid is complete chaos where nobody knows where they are going to sit/stand so they stand wherever they want ending in tragedies like Hillsborough where nobody is keeping track of who is sat where.

Don't tell me that unreserved seating is fine because people will find a designated seat and sit/stand there, they most certainly do not. Oxford away this season I was forced to stand on a row with people who really would have been thrown out of their respective watering holes at least two pints prior to entering the ground. I didn't choose to stand with them, they found a few of their mates and joined the "singing group". The problem was the singing group kept growing and growing and growing until it really was full (one green to one seat), the thing was a group of drunk blokes seem to lose all perspective of seating plans and still proceeded to fill the row until there were no drunkards left to join it. We were looking at about two greens to a seat, the bloke on the end tried his best to squeeze in and after a few words from the steward (who paid no attention to the fact that we were crammed in like battery hens) left him stood there one foot in the gangway the other on the last spec of concrete in the row.

That is why you have reserved seats, firstly to ensure some sort of order among several thousand fans, secondly to give the bloke and his two kids the written rules in his hand to wave in the face of five unruly drunkards when they refuse to sit apart from one-another and thirdly to ensure that trouble is scattered as far away as is possible from one-another. It might not be great for an atmosphere but in this day and age when football is trying to attract young families to build a new generation of supporter as a result of the thankfully dying "good ol' days" it does a hell of a lot to keep trouble makers apart, loutish behavior to a minimum and welcome mummies, daddies and kiddies to the football scene.

Would you like me to continue onto people standing when/where "they" want, I have an speech for that one as well you know?

totally agree, I go to the football to watch the match not be surrounded by idiots who can't hold their ale acting like twelve year olds. Why can't the stewards do their job and throw the clowns out? Ask most of them the score and they wouldn't have a clue .....pathetic morons that football doesn't need.

 

[PAFC94]

At most away games I've attended people just sit where ever. It's annoying when people tell you to sit down when you've traveled long distances and want to make an atmosphere, ruins away games for me when that happens. If you want to sit, sit at the front, if you want to stand, stand at the back. It's not difficult, however you always seem to get one ar$e who insists on sitting at the back and then has the audacity to tell you to sit down because your blocking them.