The Kop is Rubbish !!

Don't know what the problem is , there was about 2 thousand town fans standing up the whole game on Saturday . And 4 thousand Leeds fans standing up in there end . No body told anyone to sit down through the game . So why are you talking about a problem that isn't there .

The truth of the matter is there is no risk from standing any more as it is done on a weekly basis and the stewards either throw people out to be awkward or let them be. The issue is this is an unofficial position and needs to be agreed at a higher level as a club cant be seen to actively allow or encourage standing if it is not considered safe, thats then good old health and safety mob come in.

The temp stand is the perfect place to try it and Hoyle has even mentioned safe standing as such recently so I dont understand why he is getting a hard time here. Until the wider football community press for it nothing will change.

Saturday was a good example of how the crowd lifts itself based on the opposition and also how the team performs. We started badly but then worked hard and the crowd got more active and loud. The team responded and you could see the reaction of the players at the end.

Thats half the trouble as it is a two way street and the fans feed off the team as much as the team needs the crowd behind them. You only have to look at a game like the Barnsley one to know the fans will make the noise with or without a special area to do so, they just need a reason. When a club is pushing to go up or fighting for survival then its always buzzing in a stadium but when in the middle it can be more tame, no matter which club it is.

http://www.fsf.org.uk/campaigns/safe-standing/

What Dean could do is sign Town up the safe standing lobby which is leading a campaign for this. Hull, Doncaster, Barnsley and Leeds have their names down, but not Town.

I tweeted a link to Sean Jarvis and asked if Town wanted to have a look at the demo which is on offer...he didn't reply.


I think the idea is that a safe standing zone would encourage all the more vociferous fans into one area..and allow those that want to sit down to be able to enjoy the game without constant obstruction. These standing fans will hopefully not be waiting for Town to stimulate them into action, but will in fact provide Town with the stimulation regardless of how the team are playing at the time...that's the general idea...proactive not reactive.

Can't get a peep out of Town at the moment, not even about the All Together Town initiative either. Maybe all these kind of issues will come to the fore when they've collated the survey and established some list of priorities. Just have to be patient I guess.

I admire your dedication to this issue Jacko but I fear that is one of the issues. Its harder than ever to get focus onto a single issue as technology has allowed things to be so much wider.

TV advertising revenue is falling through the floor thanks to people having Sky + type systems where they fast forward through adverts, or watch (legal and illegal) shows online with little or no adverts at all. Even when people are watching live TV the growth of the "second screen" has meant that less and less attention is being paid to what is happening on TV in the ad breaks.

Taking that to a football context it used to be at most that someone would have a little radio to keep up with key scores. Now with smartphones I regularly see people checking out the scores and other things whilst games are going on, some even seem to have that Gillete Soccer Saturday show on whilst at the game! I dont think people are any more distractable but there are more and more distractions and when games get quiet they drift off to other things. You could argue its no different for going for a drink or something to eat when the game is going on or people who leave early even when its going to the wire!

Town have to work out how to deal with this as its a growing problem for many entertainment sectors and gets harder year on year. That said, when the action on the pitch is at its peak, anyone who chooses to look at their phone needs it confiscating!!!

MBWB...very perceptive there, I suppose at Leeds Road the old boys would just put another 'sh-agg' of tobacco in their pipes if things were meandering...or read the program notes..or go for a pee...there has always been distractions if you are the distractable type..My own son I see staring at the footy scores numerous times during the lulls in play...these moments were times for conversation ..but alas...he's more likely to text me....while I'm sat next to him...

Maybe the present day supporter just gets bored, there's nothing much going on so why not get on the iphone... It's boring because no one is doing anything to liven things up....it's almost as dead as sat on a park bench watching the sparrows...

Times have indeed changed....matches used to have that 'buzz' amongst the fans...pre and post segregation.

Are we flogging a dead horse...? I'm suddenly feeling very out of touch...

& up to now.
No recognition or acknowledgement that all the comments above are meaningless.

Jacko & Brycey excepted !

Just watch the clips....
end of.

We are nothing.
Light years away.

most of you are missing the whole point

Do the German fans wait till there is some excitement on the pitch before having a sing song ? Or are they in full voice before the game even kicks off, yup,,, Do the Germans have proper safe standing areas and areas where those seated are not bothered by those who stand, Yup,,,,, Did someone say you are now allowed to stand up in the stadium, I have seen nothing saying that you can now stand up at the jSS,,,, It wont be too long before Knobinsson has his mob saying "you have to sit down or we will be fined as a club",,, What if i want to stand up in the Kilner and spoil the view of a little old dear behind me ? (she should be in the riverside anyway as far as i am concerned),,,,,,Lots of things need sorting at Town to improve the match day experience and i dont think the current mob have any interest whatsoever, Other than paying lip service.

So if a comment isnt in agreement then it is meaningless?

No wonder people are leaving this site!

I would love it if people were singing throughout a game but how often have you ever known that in this country. People often go on about how much better it was but maybe I was at different games in th 80s and 90s in freezing cold stadiums with a bovril and wagon wheel for nourishment! There was plenty of quiet times when it wasnt going very well. I think its a bit of a cultural thing as we can be a more reserved bunch than others apart from when we get a drink or two inside us or there is something worth getting worked up about.

In German stadiums the beer flows freely and Im sure that has an impact. You ask a sober man to do karaoke and they will laugh in your face, 5 pints in and Bat out of Hell is blasted out with gusto. Maybe that would help but then thats another issue, rugby fans can drink whilst they watch but we cant!

Having spent a fair bit of time over in Germany over the last 5 years they are hardly an extrovert lot so I can only think that the combination of the terraces and beer gets the vocal chords going.

The Krauts are just like us lot,,,, Perhaps the difference in modern football is that they still have unreserved standing, Still enjoy prices that are realistic and affordable to your average working man,,,,, My mate lived and worked in Holland on the German border and regularly travelled to watch Moenchuengladbach,,, Great day out he used to say,,,, Funnily enough he does not seem to enjoy nor frequent Town games much anymore ! A terrace with beer and bratwurst does sound rather better than what we have here,,,,Perhaps the Bosch still see going to football as a way of getting rid of their frustrations and testosterone after a hard week at work,, Just as the Brits used to do before being priced out of it a little.

eMBee.

The 'Wanderers' were losing in 'that clip'.....
& LOST the match !!!
& didn't leave the stadium at the end untill their team did a mini lap of Honor ...
100% Not a chance of a 'drink' involved ...Not ALLOWED.

You obviously haven't had a look at the numerous clips available, They even 'march' to the games before hand, It's a spectacle, people watch from the sides, They are chaperoned of course, but it is becoming an event.

NO ONE HAS TO AGREE WITH ME,
OR TAKE THE HUFF ?

I'm trying to point out that clubs around the WORLD are doing things differently to great effect...While at TOWN, despite relative team success from Div 1 to the Championship, gates are actually failing, (to get less despite success = 'failing'
The matchday experience is nothing short of abysmal
(imo) And
Nothing.
Absolutely nothing is being done by 'htfc-inc' to look into, or bring about change.

I want to know Why !

Like Jacko has told you, Many English clubs are banding together to address the issue of 'standing'.
Brycey points out That TOWN could have been at the forefront of this new direction...
They haven't even signed up with the rest

Watch the 'clip'.
Then decide ..
as a youngster, You get taken to Two games,
the 1st. You sit in the Kilner Bank . That is now your experience of going to a live game.
then by some twist of fate your 2nd experience is to watch Western Sydney Wanderers at home (where you sit or stand is irrelevant- they ALL join in )

Then tell me who that youngster of two games experience is going to latch himself onto !

Oil & co are not doing enough.
There are plenty of TOWN fans out there who could get that stadium rocking..but we need help, (to overcome needless restrictions) & it has to come from the 'htfc-inc' of the equation ..

Like Jacko says.
'They'..aren't listening.