Persistent Standing Policy

[Quizmike]

I think I've cracked it.

When West Ham moved to the London Stadium they threatened to cancel the season tickets of persistent standers.

When Spurs moved back into White Hart Lane they BANNED a load of supporters for standing during a CHAMPIONS LEAGUE GAME.

The connection. New stands.

It could be a case that we are being threatened with not getting a safety certificate for the new Mayflower unless we can guarantee that people won't stand. Hence the call out for people to sit down.

 

[Argyle Casual]

Talk about project fear! Cant beleive that somebody has stated that the EFL will force us to close a block or even a full stand if people continue to stand :funny: :funny: This site is comedy gold at times I must say.

 

[Frazer Lloyd-Davies]

What strikes me as odd is that a firmer stance on persistent standing that results in stewards and possible ejections will in all likelihood cause more safety issues than just turning a blind eye to it as per the status quo.

 

[Action Jackson]

Talk about project fear! Cant beleive that somebody has stated that the EFL will force us to close a block or even a full stand if people continue to stand :funny: :funny: This site is comedy gold at times I must say.

Beyond ridiculous isn't it. I genuinely wonder how some people on here get by in day to day life.

Everyone knows that Blocks 3/4 stand and so do a small bunch at the back of 14/15

You literally have the rest of the ground to chose from to sit for christs sake :lol:

Stop making an issue out of nothing. You will alienate a huge section of very loyal support that brings the only remaining part of atmosphere to the Home Park morgue these days.

 

[Keen Green]

I'm sure the disabled (boring) community, endorse your feelings. :sad: Sigh

 

[Quizmike]

I think I've cracked it.

When West Ham moved to the London Stadium they threatened to cancel the season tickets of persistent standers.

When Spurs moved back into White Hart Lane they BANNED a load of supporters for standing during a CHAMPIONS LEAGUE GAME.

The connection. New stands.

It could be a case that we are being threatened with not getting a safety certificate for the new Mayflower unless we can guarantee that people won't stand. Hence the call out for people to sit down.

Just repeating this for those who seem to have skipped it.

Moral of the story, do the club a favour until the Mayflower is open and then everyone will turn a blind eye again.

 

[Heathrow Green]

Talk about project fear! Cant beleive that somebody has stated that the EFL will force us to close a block or even a full stand if people continue to stand :funny: :funny: This site is comedy gold at times I must say.

The thing is thought it's not the EFL. As has been stated quite a few times it is the law that requires supporters to be seated.

The authority that can revoke our safety certificate, thereby closing a stand or the ground, is the Sports Ground Safety Authority. These are the people the issue the "Green Guide" that clubs need to abide by. You will have seen JonB mention this guide several times when talking about grandstand re-development.

Green Guide
Statement on Standing in Seated Areas

And while SH has gone out of his way to make the point about this, you can be sure that the same message was received by every PL and EFL club and that each will, in there own way, have put out the message out there, no persistent standing in seated areas.

 

[The Doctor]

I think I've cracked it.

When West Ham moved to the London Stadium they threatened to cancel the season tickets of persistent standers.

When Spurs moved back into White Hart Lane they BANNED a load of supporters for standing during a CHAMPIONS LEAGUE GAME.

The connection. New stands.

It could be a case that we are being threatened with not getting a safety certificate for the new Mayflower unless we can guarantee that people won't stand. Hence the call out for people to sit down.

Just repeating this for those who seem to have skipped it.

Moral of the story, do the club a favour until the Mayflower is open and then everyone will turn a blind eye again.

I think Quizmike is onto something here. It is hard to imagine the authorities closing down an existing stand/block etc. and it would be very difficult and confrontational to start ejecting fans who persistently stand but it would be VERY EASY for the authorities to refuse to grant a safety certificate for a new, as-yet unpopulated, stand. It seems VERY likely to me that this is the reason that the club has embarked on this campaign now.

 

[davie nine]

I, currently, have a seat in the Lyndhurst and I always use it. The only time that I have stood for a whole game was at Anfield because everyone was stood and there was no alternative if I wanted to watch the game. I’m not complaining about that because it was a great atmosphere.

However, if the authorities want to make an example of a club or clubs that are contravening the rules, it should be Premiership or Championship clubs rather than those from League 1 or 2.

Why would they bully those who could not afford to challenge their actions?

 

[Argyle Casual]

Talk about project fear! Cant beleive that somebody has stated that the EFL will force us to close a block or even a full stand if people continue to stand :funny: :funny: This site is comedy gold at times I must say.

The thing is thought it's not the EFL. As has been stated quite a few times it is the law that requires supporters to be seated.

The authority that can revoke our safety certificate, thereby closing a stand or the ground, is the Sports Ground Safety Authority. These are the people the issue the "Green Guide" that clubs need to abide by. You will have seen JonB mention this guide several times when talking about grandstand re-development.

Green Guide
Statement on Standing in Seated Areas

And while SH has gone out of his way to make the point about this, you can be sure that the same message was received by every PL and EFL club and that each will, in there own way, have put out the message out there, no persistent standing in seated areas.

Ok so its not the EFL who are driving this, who is then? Which governing body are trying to uphold the LAW and keep supporters seated as much as possible? Surely its not the Police?

 

[IJN]

Why would they bully those who could not afford to challenge their actions?

How to ask and answer in one sentence. :greensmile:

 

[DrP78]

I quite like the new PR coming from the club, but I think they've mis-managed the message this time, in particular with their use of the '1800 injuries at football grounds' stat.

For starters, the 1800 injuries were recorded against 35,800,000 total attendances in the 2016/17 season, which represents one injury per 19,205 fans.

Of those, the biggest category was falls/trips/slips, which accounted for 500 injuries and may have been as much due to alcohol consumption as standing (i'm pretty sure the club aren't going to stop serving alcohol in the interests of fan safety though). None of the next few categories relate to standing at all - hit by the ball, insect bites, scalding, etc.

If you want people to sit down because you're worried about the fine, just say that, don't try to scare people into thinking it's about injuries.

 

[Jose446]

I quite like the new PR coming from the club, but I think they've mis-managed the message this time, in particular with their use of the '1800 injuries at football grounds' stat.

For starters, the 1800 injuries were recorded against 35,800,000 total attendances in the 2016/17 season, which represents one injury per 19,205 fans.

Of those, the biggest category was falls/trips/slips, which accounted for 500 injuries and may have been as much due to alcohol consumption as standing (i'm pretty sure the club aren't going to stop serving alcohol in the interests of fan safety though). None of the next few categories relate to standing at all - hit by the ball, insect bites, scalding, etc.

If you want people to sit down because you're worried about the fine, just say that, don't try to scare people into thinking it's about injuries.

Why let facts get in the way of a good argument.

Standing needs to be re-introduced, or at the very least a non allocated seat section. I think (in terms of Home park) this will blow over come the new year when there is the opportunity to spread out a bit more (assuming we're not going to be selling out each and every week). I think "some" of the block 14/15 more vocal element will navigate back to the lower end of the Mayflower and some will remain. Leaving 3 main (but small) unofficial singing / standing areas. Block 3, Block 14 and a section of the new lower grandstand (for those who don't mind getting wet)

 

[Stiffler]

No statement on sticking children next to the opposition hooligans then or the new away dug outs within reaching distance of home fans?
The whole standing situation is subjective and will not by law result in somebody being objected for one game, even then the club will need a good solicitor as lots of evidence to prove people would of been standing longer than those targeted.

 

[Vampires11]

1800 injuries is 1800 too many.

to paraphrase our H&S manager :thumbup: