Trouble in the East Stand??

[GeorgeP823]

Re: Ejections in 109

I Don't get all this extend 109 and 119 to singing/standing sections they already were last year! I was in 108 last year and all of 109 was up I was even told by a steward that if I wanted to stand up id have to by a ticket in 109 this year, so I did. its not that were trying to expand standing its that there trying to restrict it from what it already was, I've moved specifically to stand and thats what I'll be doing all season

 

[leithblue]

Re: Ejections in 109

by arguing with stewards/Peter Fletcher etc you're fighting the wrong person

The problem many fans have is coming to the match to watch the game and soak up the atmosphere Yet stewards/fletcher etc are being aggressive, provoking bad behaviour in fans.

Fans (in most parts) are happy to sing and watch the game, not argue for 90mins with random stewards.

I watched on Monday stewards provoking (in particular) young Males (18-24 demographic)

This was not filmed and at our next home game I will be filming their behaviour as we were treated like shit on monday night.
Myself I completely ignored it and tried enjoying the game but many could not as they were targeted and thus eventually ejected.

Myself I have my SIA License, I know about crowd control.
What I could not understand is their provocative behaviour towards a specific demographic.
Everything I was taught during my training told me not to do what they were doing.

This is the last level - once you attain the level of being aggressive there is no going back.
How can you expect people to react calmly in situations or even do what you are telling them when you yourself are displaying forms of behaviour deemed out of control?

As said I will be filming this come the next home game, with this issue raised at the next supporters club meeting.

I didn't see the stewards behaving inappropriately, but i wasn't really looking so can't really comment on that.

My point was really that there's been a lot of (valid) arguments for safe standing sections on here but that some seem to think that standing in sections that have not been designated by the club as tolerating standing that they will accelerate this process. As if reacting against Peter Fletcher and stewards will help - when it cannot help. To be honest, safe standing will only come about when the powers that be "trust" football fans again. Clashing with stewards and consistently breaking the rules will only set the argument back.

I still think we should be grateful that the club tolerate standing to some extent. Again, if you are not lucky enough to have a ticket in that block then just abide by the stadium regulations.

 

[Safe Standing Roadshow]

Re: Ejections in 109

My point was really that there's been a lot of (valid) arguments for safe standing sections on here but that some seem to think that standing in sections that have not been designated by the club as tolerating standing that they will accelerate this process. As if reacting against Peter Fletcher and stewards will help - when it cannot help. To be honest, safe standing will only come about when the powers that be "trust" football fans again. Clashing with stewards and consistently breaking the rules will only set the argument back.

I still think we should be grateful that the club tolerate standing to some extent. Again, if you are not lucky enough to have a ticket in that block then just abide by the stadium regulations.

Morning All!

Interesting thread. I run the 'Safe Standing Roadshow' (http://www.safestandingroadshow.co.uk) and would be happy to bring it along to Manchester to show club officials what 'rail seats' are all about.

I think leithblue is right about working with the club and not against them. It sounds to me as though the club is actually on your side in that by turning a blind eye to standing in at least one block they clearly recognise that some fans prefer to watch football standing up. Given that the club understands this (many don't!), we should now work with them to show them how it might be possible to move to a situation where standing was not simply 'tolerated' but, in properly designated, purpose-built areas, formally allowed and encouraged. The issue of stewards having to try to make fans sit down would then disappear altogether.

Wouldn't it be great to have City seen as pioneers in the field of safe standing! To have City become the first Premier League club to say "we've seen rail seats, we think the concept has merit and we call upon the Football Licensing Authority and the government to look seriously at permitting their use in English football"!

To get to that situation, we need to work with the club and help them to come to that view. Stevie B was in touch with me last night and I've now written to the Supporters Club to see if they'd like to arrange a 'safe standing' event to which I'd bring the roadshow. I've also written to the club offering to come and show them what rail seats are all about.

If you'd like to help in this process - and we won't change things overnight - maybe you'd like to contact the club as well and ask them to take a serious look at rail seats and then, in turn, to start lobbying the powers that be to be allowed to accommodate their own fans in the way that they would like to.

Cheers!

 

[Manchestercitychorlton]

Re: Ejections in 109

England need to take a look at german football. Probably the best league for fans in the world, they have made tickets a lot cheaper and they have implemented safe standing in some sections to create a brilliant atmosphere.
I have no idea why this cant be done in england?

 

[mossley_blue]

Re: Ejections in 109

Me and my brother got ejected on monday night 5mins into the game! Just gone to sort bolton tickets out and they said i now have a stadium ban! Awaiting letter from Peter Feltcher! Absoloute joke cos we were stood up cos we were singing 'stand up if you love city!'

 

[Deleted member 14625]

Re: Ejections in 109

My point was really that there's been a lot of (valid) arguments for safe standing sections on here but that some seem to think that standing in sections that have not been designated by the club as tolerating standing that they will accelerate this process. As if reacting against Peter Fletcher and stewards will help - when it cannot help. To be honest, safe standing will only come about when the powers that be "trust" football fans again. Clashing with stewards and consistently breaking the rules will only set the argument back.

I still think we should be grateful that the club tolerate standing to some extent. Again, if you are not lucky enough to have a ticket in that block then just abide by the stadium regulations.

Morning All!

Interesting thread. I run the 'Safe Standing Roadshow' (http://www.safestandingroadshow.co.uk) and would be happy to bring it along to Manchester to show club officials what 'rail seats' are all about.

I think leithblue is right about working with the club and not against them. It sounds to me as though the club is actually on your side in that by turning a blind eye to standing in at least one block they clearly recognise that some fans prefer to watch football standing up. Given that the club understands this (many don't!), we should now work with them to show them how it might be possible to move to a situation where standing was not simply 'tolerated' but, in properly designated, purpose-built areas, formally allowed and encouraged. The issue of stewards having to try to make fans sit down would then disappear altogether.

Wouldn't it be great to have City seen as pioneers in the field of safe standing! To have City become the first Premier League club to say "we've seen rail seats, we think the concept has merit and we call upon the Football Licensing Authority and the government to look seriously at permitting their use in English football"!

To get to that situation, we need to work with the club and help them to come to that view. Stevie B was in touch with me last night and I've now written to the Supporters Club to see if they'd like to arrange a 'safe standing' event to which I'd bring the roadshow. I've also written to the club offering to come and show them what rail seats are all about.

If you'd like to help in this process - and we won't change things overnight - maybe you'd like to contact the club as well and ask them to take a serious look at rail seats and then, in turn, to start lobbying the powers that be to be allowed to accommodate their own fans in the way that they would like to.

Cheers!

I think a lot of people at City are pro safe standing. When we played Hamburg in the Europa League quarter finals a few years ago, almost the whole of the bottom tier was stood up. The stewards that night didn't do anything. They let us enjoy the night and it turned out to be one of the best atmospheres at our stadium since we moved there in 2003.

But somewhere in the club there are people who don't understand about atmosphere or safe standing and are completely lost on the subject. There are people who work for City who need to go and spend a few weekends in Germany to sample what atmosphere is all about and see what safe standing is like.

As City seem to be pioneering all new ways of running a football club in England with the way we're building a squad, the way we are developing the areas around the football stadium and wider local community, and with sponsorship from a wide range of companies... I think that being pioneers for safe standing in England would make City unbelievably popular throughout the country.

We all need to keep on at City. Constantly!

 

[Matty]

Re: Ejections in 109

This isn't a post about the rights and wrongs of standing, nor is it an aim to express my own opinions on whether I agree with standing at the football or not. This is a statement of the facts.

It's a fact that standing in the "singing section" is tolerated.

It's a fact that standing in the other areas, regardless of what happened in the past, is not now tolerated.

It's a fact that City sent out letters to the people in the relevant blocks requesting that they sit down rather than stand (whether these were sent out at the appropriate time is a different matter).

It's a fact that people at the front of section 109 were asked to sit.

It's a fact that, for whatever reason, the vast majority refused.

We may, or may not, agree with the actions of individual stewards but what is unavoidable is the facts, we are not allowed to stand in 109, we were told prior to the game that we weren't allowed to stand, and we were told during the game we weren't allowed to stand. It's not hard to grasp that standing isn't allowed based on all those things. If you persist in standing the City will react to that. It might involve throwing you out, but it also might involve writing to you and banning you from the ground.

I can't see City backing down on this matter. It wouldn't surprise me to see the first 3 or 4 rows of 109 all receive a letter banning them from the next home match for persistant standing, and those rows be covered with netting. Again, not saying I agree, but that could well be the way City go with this.

 

[GeorgeP823]

Re: Ejections in 109

This isn't a post about the rights and wrongs of standing, nor is it an aim to express my own opinions on whether I agree with standing at the football or not. This is a statement of the facts.

It's a fact that standing in the "singing section" is tolerated.

It's a fact that standing in the other areas, regardless of what happened in the past, is not now tolerated.

It's a fact that City sent out letters to the people in the relevant blocks requesting that they sit down rather than stand (whether these were sent out at the appropriate time is a different matter).

It's a fact that people at the front of section 109 were asked to sit.

It's a fact that, for whatever reason, the vast majority refused.

We may, or may not, agree with the actions of individual stewards but what is unavoidable is the facts, we are not allowed to stand in 109, we were told prior to the game that we weren't allowed to stand, and we were told during the game we weren't allowed to stand. It's not hard to grasp that standing isn't allowed based on all those things. If you persist in standing the City will react to that. It might involve throwing you out, but it also might involve writing to you and banning you from the ground.

I can't see City backing down on this matter. It wouldn't surprise me to see the first 3 or 4 rows of 109 all receive a letter banning them from the next home match for persistant standing, and those rows be covered with netting. Again, not saying I agree, but that could well be the way City go with this.

I never got a letter about sitting im in 109 1 seat away from 110

 

[goater1978]

Re: Ejections in 109

I sit in 109 and stand all game, if the stewards get the 3 rows in front of me to sit down then I am happy to sit down. However they have never managed to get more than 2 rows to sit down for 2 minutes at most so how they think that they are going to get the whole stand to sit down is beyond me! People in 109 won't sit down when over the aisle everyone is standing. The people thrown out on Monday were not thrown out for persistant standing but for arguing with the stewards.

I understand the argument of some people want to sit. However I believe in 109 this is a minority of people, its that minority that are complaining and causing the problems. Its 45 minutes each half and most people can stand for that long without problem. Frankly if you want to just sit and watch the game there are many many areas of the ground where that is possible.

 

[SteWadda]

Re: Ejections in 109

What's a rail seat?
And why isn't it safe to stand in front of a normal seat?

I think City have shown it is safe to stand up, the club don't have to spend any money changing seats they have just said you can stand in these areas.

I think if the blocks who have been told they can't stand persist they will eventually tolerate it in these blocks too.

When we first moved to the stadium there were always rows with the stewards about standing in the South Stand with people getting bans.