“Moving S82”

[cidered abroad]

35 minutes ago, phantom said:

 

Just to reply to these two comments, for those that didn't see Jon Darch's post on here a few week back, he has met with the club about the possibility of expanding safe standing areas with the ground - for those that don't know Jon he is behind the National safe standing campaign so we are lucky to have him as a supporter of us

In addition to that there is a small subcommittee who meet with senior club officials on a couple of issues, one of them is the possibility to enhance the atmosphere and viewing experience at AG8

At the moment we are in the early stages of this, we are meeting next Wednesday where we will discuss how improvements can be made, Jon and SC&T Chairman Stu Rogers have written a concise document on how the atmosphere can be improved and has already been shared with the club

Following these discussions we hope that the club buy into the fact that something needs to be done to improve our atmosphere

Then, BEFORE anything is done the club WILL liaise with all supporters about any proposed changes.

IF the demand is there for any change the club will then liaise with anyone that could be impacted by any changes, ONLY then will it move forward

IF the demand isn't there, then nothing will happen, if too many people don't agree with any potential changes it will NOT happen

Again this is in the early stages, but the wheels are in motion with the end goal of improving our matchday atmosphere and viewing experience

Sod all will happen while Lansdown Senior owns the club!!!

[LondonBristolian]

1 hour ago, EmersonsKev said:

The arrogance and contempt certain sections of our fan base has towards other supporters shows no bounds!

 

"I want to sit somewhere else, so people who already sit there can move for me!"

 

The only workable option in my view is to split the Atyeo and have home fans in the corner next to the Dolman with the minimum amount of tickets made available to away fans.

I think there is a valid point here. I’d like more people to sing and there to be more of an atmosphere but there is an underlying tone of “we in Section 82 are the REAL supporters and all the other season ticket holders matter less than us”, which I find a little ugly.

[cidered abroad]

9 minutes ago, phantom said:

Problem being a full Atyeo away end is a big money maker for the club

 

SL only interested in money and couldn't care less about the main reason for the club's existence.

[Mr Popodopolous]

Other clubs seem to manage it.

Without slating the overall financial input, is it that SL is less keen to top up the equity/cash flow than he once was?

I certainly don't criticise the ongoing efforts but it does feel like something needs to change.

Edited March 14 by Mr Popodopolous

[Wedontplayinblue]

1 minute ago, LondonBristolian said:

I think there is a valid point here. I’d like more people to sing and there to be more of an atmosphere but there is an underlying tone of “we in Section 82 are the REAL supporters and all the other season ticket holders matter less than us”, which I find a little ugly.

Think that is a harsh on the lads who are within section82 and not the whole standing area, I highly doubt they would view themselves as that. 

[LondonBristolian]

4 minutes ago, Wedontplayinblue said:

Think that is a harsh on the lads who are within section82 and not the whole standing area, I highly doubt they would view themselves as that. 

Ah, sorry - to be clear, I certainly wasn’t talking about everyone in Section 82. Just specifically how a petition to effectively kick season ticket holders out of their seats comes across…

[Silvio Dante]

6 minutes ago, Wedontplayinblue said:

Think that is a harsh on the lads who are within section82 and not the whole standing area, I highly doubt they would view themselves as that. 

Probably fair. But the problem with a “petition” asking to move is that it very much frames things as a one sided issue - ie “we’re section 82, let us move” without seeing the side that means of “we’re a family of 4 that have had the same seats for 15 years, now you’re making us move”

Whether they don’t view themselves as such, it does then come across as superior.

[BCFC11]

2 hours ago, Countryfile said:

Agree with this, the idea that a fans group are in discussion with the club means very little to me. 

The club have made a rod for their own back with this, is there another club in the football league where the most vociferous homes fans are herded into a corner?
 

Its all part of the sanitised atmosphere the club wants to promote, hence why a huge swathe of seats in the central Lansdown are regularly empty, being kept back for ’hospitality’ that is supposed to generate extra income, but is rarely sold out.

 

Premier League but Crystal Palace? They don't seem to have any issues creating a good atmosphere.

[Roger Red Hat]

Surely the main reason there's a shit atmosphere is that the songs are boring and shite. Is there a fire drill, is this a library, your support is fkin' shit., you're not singing anymore, 1-0 and you fkd it up, etc etc. 

[IAmNick]

2 minutes ago, Roger Red Hat said:

Surely the main reason there's a shit atmosphere is that the songs are boring and shite. Is there a fire drill, is this a library, your support is fkin' shit., you're not singing anymore, 1-0 and you fkd it up, etc etc. 

Ok ok, but get this - have you tried all those same songs, but randomly shouting "you ****" at the end?

[OneTeamInBristol]

4 minutes ago, Roger Red Hat said:

Surely the main reason there's a shit atmosphere is that the songs are boring and shite. Is there a fire drill, is this a library, your support is fkin' shit., you're not singing anymore, 1-0 and you fkd it up, etc etc. 

Every other set of fans in the country sing the same songs and the majority have a better home atmosphere than we do.

It's the fans that create the atmosphere not the choice of song.

[Roger Red Hat]

2 minutes ago, IAmNick said:

Ok ok, but get this - have you tried all those same songs, but randomly shouting "you ****" at the end?

Its the only bit I shout, and not necessarily at the end!

[Robbored]

45 minutes ago, phantom said:

Problem being a full Atyeo away end is a big money maker for the club

 

A&S police dictate that the Atyeo is allocated to away fans for safely reasons. The Atyeo provides easy access/exiting and enables the police to manage away fans far more easily.

Its extremely unlikely that that will ever change.

[Mr Popodopolous]

20 minutes ago, Robbored said:

A&S police dictate that the Atyeo is allocated to away fans for safely reasons. The Atyeo provides easy access/exiting and enables the police to manage away fans far more easily.

Its extremely unlikely that that will ever change.

Well I would seek to push back on this because at other grounds...

I fully understand the argument but is it the same everywhere? Unsure it is.

Even if it is the case, we can still markedly reduce the away allocation thereby reducing their positive impact on the game. Allocate them as far back in the Atyeo etc.

Edited March 14 by Mr Popodopolous

[EmersonsKev]

13 minutes ago, Mr Popodopolous said:

Well I would seek to push back on this because at other grounds...

I fully understand the argument but is it the same everywhere? Unsure it is.

Even if it is the case, we can still markedly reduce their allocation thereby reducing their positive impact on the game. Allocate them as far back in the Atyeo etc.

We do seem to bend extremely easily to the demands of A&S Polices.  Why on earth are other clubs able to facilitate "splitting" a stand with nothing more than a row seats between opposing fans, however we need to keep 100m apart?  

[Mr Popodopolous]

2 minutes ago, EmersonsKev said:

We do seem to bend extremely easily to the demands of A&S Polices.  Why on earth are other clubs able to facilitate "splitting" a stand with nothing more than a row seats between opposing fans, however we need to keep 100m apart?  

I think it is Police probably casting vote via Safety Advisory Group.

I do agree though but if a problem at the very least I'd like to see reciprocal away allocations. Birmingham and WBA game was 2k each this year despite similar capacity? Right that's your lot.

I definitely recall the Atyeo used to hold albeit pre redevelopment 4.2k. Now 3.4k, another request??

[Phileas Fogg]

3 hours ago, Countryfile said:

Agree with this, the idea that a fans group are in discussion with the club means very little to me. 

The club have made a rod for their own back with this, is there another club in the football league where the most vociferous homes fans are herded into a corner?
 

Its all part of the sanitised atmosphere the club wants to promote, hence why a huge swathe of seats in the central Lansdown are regularly empty, being kept back for ’hospitality’ that is supposed to generate extra income, but is rarely sold out.

 

Exactly - i’m like a broken record on this but it’s entirely the club’s doing. They had a unique opportunity to get this right once and for all - and picked perhaps the worst possible location. Bravo.

[Mr Popodopolous]

1 hour ago, cidered abroad said:

Sod all will happen while Lansdown Senior owns the club!!!

Possibly so but I recall the club eventually opened the East End again, to greater numbers in the 2000s. It was split too.

Edited March 14 by Mr Popodopolous

[Robbored]

23 minutes ago, Mr Popodopolous said:

Well I would seek to push back on this because at other grounds...

I fully understand the argument but is it the same everywhere? Unsure it is.

Even if it is the case, we can still markedly reduce the away allocation thereby reducing their positive impact on the game. Allocate them as far back in the Atyeo etc.

Other stadiums aren’t part of A&S police area - apart from the Mem of course.

I’m fairly certain that the police wouldn’t buy any changes to the current situation.

Going back a few years when Aaron Brown was playing for City we were at the  Hawthorns. As we entered the the stadium to see half of the end we were in was segregated by just a few vacant seats. The other side was full of Baggies fans - it all kicked off and there was a huge brawl. Luckily for us it we were able to get out of the way.

It kinda proves that having home and away fans in the same stand is a powder keg.

[Mr Popodopolous]

4 minutes ago, Robbored said:

Other stadiums aren’t part of A&S police area - apart from the Mem of course.

I’m fairly certain that the police wouldn’t buy any changes to the current situation.

Going back a few years when Aaron Brown was playing for City we were at the  Hawthorns. As we entered the the stadium to see half of the end we were in was segregated by just a few vacant seats. The other side was full of Baggies fans - it all kicked off and there was a huge brawl. Luckily for us it we were able to get out of the way.

It kinda proves that having home and away fans in the same stand is a powder keg.

I'll rephrase that, other areas of the country seem not to have the same level of restrictions on it as far as I know.

We have examples and precedent in our favour. Reading was one in 2021-22, stand split.

Don't go away as often as I used to..it can be managed and handled but it needs to be policed and stewarded correctly.

Stoke will have away fans in the South East Corner next year. Another example.

Edited March 14 by Mr Popodopolous

[Silvio Dante]

40 minutes ago, Robbored said:

A&S police dictate that the Atyeo is allocated to away fans for safely reasons. The Atyeo provides easy access/exiting and enables the police to manage away fans far more easily.

Its extremely unlikely that that will ever change.

Christs sake man we do this every few months and literally nothing goes in with you!

 

[Numero Uno]

Not sure what the problem is? Judging by the footfall on Sunday we’re only talking about 25 people moving….

[Robbored]

9 minutes ago, Silvio Dante said:

Christs sake man we do this every few months and literally nothing goes in with you!

I don’t think that all our fans realise why the Atyeo is allocated to away fans Silvio…………

 

[Silvio Dante]

Just now, Robbored said:

I don’t think that all our fans realise why the Atyeo is allocated to away fans Silvio…………

 

But as that thread proves you think they’ve been in there over 20 years and are oblivious to most things around the ground.

Its just possible you may be an unreliable witness….

[Bris Red]

 

2 hours ago, lenred said:

May be a surprise to some but people do sing in the South Stand already and try to get an atmosphere going in there.   Plenty of them.  Moving a few people into the back rows when there are already singers there is going to make no difference whatsoever to the atmosphere.  There is no silver bullet here. 

 Certainly would help to extend the standing area across the South Stand . Standing and a better atmosphere go hand in hand IMO, nobody i know or myself included want to sit and watch football.

[OliOTIB]

Needs changing ASAP, dependant on factors of course, but it gives the team an advantage, even if just 5% extra performance. 

[Bris Red]

1 hour ago, Silvio Dante said:

Probably fair. But the problem with a “petition” asking to move is that it very much frames things as a one sided issue - ie “we’re section 82, let us move” without seeing the side that means of “we’re a family of 4 that have had the same seats for 15 years, now you’re making us move”

Whether they don’t view themselves as such, it does then come across as superior.

Been done to death on here but the locating of fans after the renovation was handled extremely poorly by the club.

That was the golden opportunity to really make the South stand a proper home end. The middle two or three blocks should have been made unreserved seating like the old EE was and familys and people who want to sit in silence (seems like the vast majority in the SS from what i've seen) should never have been located there in the first place. 

Edited March 14 by Bris Red

[Silvio Dante]

7 minutes ago, Bris Red said:

Been done to death on here but the locating of fans after the renovation was handled extremely poorly by the club.

That was the golden opportunity to really make the South stand a proper home end. The middle two or three blocks should have been made unreserved seating like the old EE was and familys and people who want to sit in silence (seems like the vast majority in the SS from what i've seen) should never have been located there in the first place. 

Don’t disagree with any of that. The issue now is I don’t think you can unpick it without a lot of fans getting justifiably upset.

[formerly known as ivan]

Don’t want to turn it into one of those threads, but to me the atmosphere is as good as the performance. Look at West Ham games and Southampton for reference. Matches like Swansea are never going to have an atmosphere due to performance on the pitch.

So to me, it’s irrelevant where they sit.

Also, if you need a drum to create an atmosphere I would give it up completely.

Edited March 14 by formerly known as ivan

[LondonBristolian]

5 minutes ago, formerly known as ivan said:

Don’t want to turn it into one of those threads, but to me the atmosphere is as good as the performance. Look at West Ham games and Southampton for reference. Matches like Swansea are never going to have an atmosphere due to performance on the pitch.

So to me, it’s irrelevant where they sit.

Also, if you need a drum to create an atmosphere I would give it up completely.

I think the other bit of context for this thread is most clubs have an underwhelming home atmosphere in comparison to what people ideally want it to be. I think people remember how the atmosphere felt when they first went as a kid, or during a particular game, and imagine that is what all games are like but it really isn’t.

Granted, Leeds fans have really impressed me and Millwall are decent if slightly over-rated but there are a lot of teams - QPR, Forest, Southampton and (especially) Fulham whose atmospheres have felt pretty underwhelming when I have visited. I get that our atmosphere could be improved but I don’t think an objective observer would see it as anywhere near as bad as some of our fans perceive it to be.