According to this report, Pards is calling for away fans to be moved from their current location in the Jimmy Seed stand.
Now, I can’t vouch for the accuracy of the report or if he’s been quoted out of context, but I’m against this for a number of reasons.
Firstly, if away fans are to be put to one side, it would be tricky to move them anywhere other than the south section of the West Stand. The East Stand would have accessibility issues with segregation, so I can’t see it being much of an option.
Secondly, if we want more fans behind the goal there’s already plenty of room in the North Stand! I sit in Block B, and for each match this season there have been plenty of empty seats. Some of these may be non-attending season ticket holders, but I’d rather see a packed Covered End than a threadbare Jimmy Seed.
Thirdly, it would inevitably mean moving some supporters. Now, after 5 seasons in my seat, I’ve come to think of it as my own. I’m happy there, and wouldn’t want to be forced to move. I know the people around me, and I wouldn’t expect any other season ticket holders to have that taken away from them for the sake of a stadium re-shuffle.
Fourthly (not even sure if these are words now…), if anyone were to be forcibly moved to the Jimmy Seed stand, I doubt they would enjoy the facilities much! In my stand we can head downstairs to keep warm, have plenty of outlets to buy food and drink, and can watch Sky Sports for the scores.
Without significant redevelopment of the area, or lower prices, it would be unfair to expect people to move to a lesser environment. And if their prices were lowered, would mine go up? Unless they want a threadbare end, it would have to involve movement of season ticket holders to avoid embarrassment. This may be less of an issue in the Premiership, but let’s get there first.
Finally, I am proud of the fact that away fans have their own end at The Valley. It’s long been a tradition to have opposing fans at each end, and frankly moving the away supporters is a cowardly way of attempting to resolve issues of stadium atmosphere.
I find the banter with away fans to be part of the game, and there are many times that the reaction of the away fans can make us louder and more passionate as a result. Can you imagine a stadium with no away fans? I reckon it would be practically silent. By that token, moving away fans to a ‘less intimidating’ area would have a similar effect on the noise levels from the home support.
Don’t get me wrong here – I want us to get behind the team and have a great supporting atmosphere at The Valley. But I think it’s against the spirit of the game to do a Villa or a Newcastle and simply try and hide away supporters like they don’t exist - they have paid for the right to be there as well as us.
The atmosphere at home has been fantastic on occasions, and I reckon it will be electric on Friday. Pards – concentrate on what’s happening on the pitch, this really is something I don’t think needs changing.
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2 comments:
I agree, but the South Sound has better acoustics that make the away fans seem louder than us. As an alternative, why don't we just take the roof off the stand and make them sit in the rain. That would make them seem quieter and have the bonus that in the rain they are less likely to sing anyway. Quick take the roof off before Friday!
When the stadium improvements have been made, and the stadium is fully connected up, we can move the away fans to a corner, but until then leave them where they are. Pards seems to be using it as an excuse for poor homw form, yet it never really was a problem stopping us from winning under Curbishley.
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