Safe Standing at PL Games.

[gillie]

Is it a viable option or not.We all know the reason why all seated stadiums were brought in and whilst Hillsborough was a tragic event I think that nowadays with the way stadiums are set out a repeat of Hillsborough would not happen.1: A PL ground would have a set attendance limit whether there is standing or not and once all tickets are sold that's it no one else could enter the ground.2.Health and Safety rules are so much better these days.So I think safe standing area's are viable.Over to you guys to discuss whether they are or are not?

[BlueinBosnia]

They'll be introduced in the next 10 years. I think you can get around 1.3 people where you now get 1, if you use the German safe standing system. That's an extra 3,000 people in a 10,000 capacity stand, and a lot of extra revenue. I doubt ticket prices will drop, though, due to the demand for the limited safe standing places that will be introduced at first...

[Ted Hughes]

The issue about standing has always been a pack of lies & typical of the kind of thing which ruins this country: a bunch of scouse cunts & a bunch of hooray fucking Henrys forcing everyone else to go along with their way of thinking.

People were still standing at other events, like Rugby, ten years after Hillsborough. How can it be ok for that to happen if it's not safe ? 1000s of people taking their lives in their hands every week ? The authorities just letting them get on with it ?

The toffs used Hillsborough to control 'the great unwashed' football fans, & the scousers used emotional blackmail to force everyone else to sit down because they no longer wanted to stand, so everyone else has to fall in line so they are appeased.

Then the cunts go to an away game in Europe & stand on a terrace built in 19fucking18. Did they all stay at home ? Did they fuck.

It's ok for them to stand up in fucking Latvia but we're not allowed to stand up in our own grounds. Hypocritical cunts.

If, as stated recently, the rags are considering safe standing (just after City announce ground expansion) then it will probably happen sooner or later, & every punch up will then be highlighted by bleating toffs & scousers, as if there has never been any trouble in seated areas.

[City64]

sooner the better for me , it's a no brainier ! we have all seen first hand how good , passionate and noisey the German fans are . The Premier league is crying out for this but we are unfortunately faced and shackled with dinosaurs running the English game holding us and our football back massively !

[Goaters 103]

Cant see it happening at all. Too many hurdles to jump, too many opposition voices and with the losses of life we have had regardless of where blame is apportioned, we have gone way too far and too long into the all seater stadia route to ever go back.

For those that stood on the Kippax, you will tell your Grandkids about what it was like as the memories fade.

A generation has now grown up with all seater stadia and don't know of anything different. Not saying its right or wrong wither way, just that for my $0.02 worth, we wont go back to standing areas in top level English footy anytime soon.

[Wonderwall]

I can see it happening, which is why it's being called safe standing and not revenue generating animal herding. If it's done right and Controlled it will be excellent, however i am now 43 and stood on the kippax for years as well as many other grounds. I quite like sitting on the second tier....I might experience it for a cup game or two but I always end up behind some giant fucler.

[nottsblue]

Cant see it happening at all. Too many hurdles to jump, too many opposition voices and with the losses of life we have had regardless of where blame is apportioned, we have gone way too far and too long into the all seater stadia route to ever go back.

For those that stood on the Kippax, you will tell your Grandkids about what it was like as the memories fade.

A generation has now grown up with all seater stadia and don't know of anything different. Not saying its right or wrong wither way, just that for my $0.02 worth, we wont go back to standing areas in top level English footy anytime soon.

Agree in that we won't see a return of standing in Prem league any time soon if at all. An act of parliament will have to be revoked and there's no way the govt will do that. The flak over hillsborough hasn't died down yet (they've got the truth now we want justice: ie compensation) so to reverse decision for all seaters is not going to happen even if the public want it.

The comment about a generation being used to all seaters is true. The longer it goes without standing the less people will remember it. Couple of lads i work with under 30 have only known all seaters and have said they couldnt imagine standing. A great shame as most of my happiest football memories have been on kippax.

As Ted says other sports allow for standing and people seem to manage. Concerts have standing and you dont hear of people dying. The police won't want it as they'd be shit scared of another Hillsborough even though its highly unlikely.

Even the standing areas in Germany are sanitised with strict guidelines on where people can stand. The beauty of the old terraces was you stood wherever you wanted. The swaying of the crowd and the surges when goals were scored were what made the kippax and any other standing area. I've stood on kop, stretford end, hillsboro kop hiding my colours and they are experiences far better than sitting. I fear the demographic of who goes to football has changed in last 20/25 years as well. Far more day trippers and for want of a better phrase "prawn sandwich munchers". It's no longer a working mans game which i think is a detriment to the game.

[Wonderwall]

Cant see it happening at all. Too many hurdles to jump, too many opposition voices and with the losses of life we have had regardless of where blame is apportioned, we have gone way too far and too long into the all seater stadia route to ever go back.

For those that stood on the Kippax, you will tell your Grandkids about what it was like as the memories fade.

A generation has now grown up with all seater stadia and don't know of anything different. Not saying its right or wrong wither way, just that for my $0.02 worth, we wont go back to standing areas in top level English footy anytime soon.

Agree in that we won't see a return of standing in Prem league any time soon if at all. An act of parliament will have to be revoked and there's no way the govt will do that. The flak over hillsborough hasn't died down yet (they've got the truth now we want justice: ie compensation) so to reverse decision for all seaters is not going to happen even if the public want it.

The comment about a generation being used to all seaters is true. The longer it goes without standing the less people will remember it. Couple of lads i work with under 30 have only known all seaters and have said they couldnt imagine standing. A great shame as most of my happiest football memories have been on kippax.

As Ted says other sports allow for standing and people seem to manage. Concerts have standing and you dont hear of people dying. The police won't want it as they'd be shit scared of another Hillsborough even though its highly unlikely.

Even the standing areas in Germany are sanitised with strict guidelines on where people can stand. The beauty of the old terraces was you stood wherever you wanted. The swaying of the crowd and the surges when goals were scored were what made the kippax and any other standing area. I've stood on kop, stretford end, hillsboro kop hiding my colours and they are experiences far better than sitting. I fear the demographic of who goes to football has changed in last 20/25 years as well. Far more day trippers and for want of a better phrase "prawn sandwich munchers". It's no longer a working mans game which i think is a detriment to the game.

it wont be the same as the act that was passed. It will be a fully backed new initiative to trial it, it will definitely return, its successful elsewhere and its getting backed here and gaining momentum. I personally dont care, but can see it being in here i the next 5-10 yrs

[Blue Since 76]

The rags have just said that they'd be willing to consider it, if the law was changed. That's in line with what City has said previously.

With modern stadia and particularly the access cards, it should be possible to implement it - you swipe a card to access the stadium and you have to swipe through another gate to get into the standing area. Problem would be you'd have to swipe out to go to the loo etc, unless you had a complete area of the stadium for standing with toilets, bars etc. You'd also have to have some sort of barrier between each standing area or seating area to stop people just moving into the next area and over crowding it. That may mean fences coming back and would anyone want that?

The Germans seem to have got it to work, but that's maybe because they like rules and always have the man at the front who tells them what to chant and when - you'd have thought they'd have learnt about the risks of that by now. We must be able to learn something from them.

However, although it'd be a vote winner, the publicly educated politicians we have these days care even less for football than Thatcher did. You can't imagine Cameron or Milliband ever being at a game where they'd paid for the ticket, let alone reminiscing about the good old days of atmosphere. As more of the politicians seem to be becoming professional politicians ie not people with real jobs who got into politics, I can't see it ever changing. The only person likely to pick this up and run with it would be someone like Nigel Farage, which would probably not help the credibility of any campaign.

City's approach of ignoring it in certain areas is probably as good as it'll get. Now if we could only find a way to get the people standing there to actually sing...

[sweenyuk]

I would like to see beer back on the terraces first... If I go to a concert at the Etihad I can drink in my seat, same if I go there to watch Rugby, but as a football fan I can only drink on the concourse or outside in the rain... I don't currently drink at games but probably would if I could do so during the game