An open letter to Southend United

[Jam_Man]

I don't like this either,but is better than scuffles breaking out behind you.
I wonder if the atmosphere would have been worse if West Ham had not taken a comfortable 2-0 lead?

Exactly, if we had won today it could have been nasty, it wasnt a great atmosphere at all.

 

[duncan bulgaria]

Should I be crying? I ceased reading the comments in the profile some time ago when the system was being abused by the SZFC clique.

Are you still banging on about that you tool ????

 

[Xàbia Shrimper]

Are you still banging on about that you tool ????

Apparently so ...

 

[duncan bulgaria]

Apparently so ...

Well put a sock in it as your boring .................no seriously , i very rarely read your posts anymore as you just blab on about the same old **** all the time .

 

[Somerset Ex-TTB]

I think the problem today with all the West ham fans stemed from the clubs greed with the ticket pricing.

Many loyal season ticket holders and other fans thought, that paying £20 was way to step and didn't buy their tickets. (Me and the rest of the Fillary SUFC family).

That meant that rather than there only being a couple of thousand tickets (out of say 8000 home tickets) there were probably 5000 odd unsold tickets that any West Ham living in the area could purchase.

I know for for starters if the price had been a tenner, there would of been a lot more SUFC fans buying tickets, meaning less available for premiership scummers.

I do hope that a lot of new SUFC fans were not put off by today.

 

[daggersfan]

Excellent point. I can say the same about when West Ham visited D&R 2 weeks ago. They sold their 1200 ticket allocation well before the day of the game. Alot of D&R fans are West Ham fans too so it was obvious that there would be a few in the home stands but I was surrounded by them. I felt uncomfortable and was annoyed by their constant ignorant and pathetic comments based on the fact that we are a small club and they are not.

I enjoyed the game but I like to enjoy it in the company of fellow D&R fans (or neutrals) as appose to being out numbered by opposition fans. It was quite interesting actually just how many people I saw who you usually see on a matchday wearing a D&R shirt were wearing claret and blue- still in the home end.

I expected it at our game. But I really would have thought better of Southend to let it happen.

 

[EASTWOOD BLUES]

Excellent point. I can say the same about when West Ham visited D&R 2 weeks ago. They sold their 1200 ticket allocation well before the day of the game. Alot of D&R fans are West Ham fans too so it was obvious that there would be a few in the home stands but I was surrounded by them. I felt uncomfortable and was annoyed by their constant ignorant and pathetic comments based on the fact that we are a small club and they are not.

I enjoyed the game but I like to enjoy it in the company of fellow D&R fans (or neutrals) as appose to being out numbered by opposition fans. It was quite interesting actually just how many people I saw who you usually see on a matchday wearing a D&R shirt were wearing claret and blue- still in the home end.

I expected it at our game. But I really would have thought better of Southend to let it happen.

Good post mate, i thought better of sufc as well thats why i will be on the phone monday morning to complain.

 

[BLUEBLOOD]

I expected it at our game. But I really would have thought better of Southend to let it happen.

In a perfect world yes, but unfortunately the "money rules all" mentality that has ruined football at the top level in this country is slowly but surely filtering down to the likes of you and us, as i'm sure you'll find out for yourself this coming season :( :(

 

[Xàbia Shrimper]

In a perfect world yes, but unfortunately the "money rules all" mentality that has ruined football at the top level in this country is slowly but surely filtering down to the likes of you and us, as i'm sure you'll find out for yourself this coming season :( :(

Spot on. SUFC knew that £20 would put off quite a few home fans but also realised that there were plenty of people who would fill those seats instead. As a pre-season friendly, it really didn't matter much. If it happened in a competitive fixture then that would be different ...

 

[Sean 2]

Does anyone think that we would be charging £20 if it were against someone like Blackburn,a team unlike Wet Spam who finished higher in the Prem?

Wet Spam supporters think we are a pushover and can sit in our stand wearing their colours and chanting.

SUFC think it's fans are a pushover by charging stupid prices for what was effectively a training exercise.

Then as a final insult to the fans that do attend,opposition fans are sitting right next to us and our club does nothing about this except eject those who are causing affray in large numbers whilst ignoring the many,many pockets of claret elsewhere.

I sat in the East and saw claret at all sides to me yet strangely not a steward in sight.

Carry on like this SUFC and that support will dwindle.

 

[Xàbia Shrimper]

I'd imagine if it has been Arsenal or Manchester United then it would have been at least £30 ...

 

[duncan bulgaria]

Spot on. SUFC knew that £20 would put off quite a few home fans but also realised that there were plenty of people who would fill those seats instead. As a pre-season friendly, it really didn't matter much. If it happened in a competitive fixture then that would be different ...

O thats ok then , i'll tell my son that it was my fault that you were scared ****less today cos i ought of known better that westham fans would be willing to pay the money more than Sufc fans and there for be entitled to cause trouble .

I also think that he will sleep safe in the knowledge knowing that if it had been a competitive match then that would bea different :fury:

 

[Prodigal Son]

Does anyone think that we would be charging £20 if it were against someone like Blackburn,a team unlike Wet Spam who finished higher in the Prem?

Wet Spam supporters think we are a pushover and can sit in our stand wearing their colours and chanting.

SUFC think it's fans are a pushover by charging stupid prices for what was effectively a training exercise.

Then as a final insult to the fans that do attend,opposition fans are sitting right next to us and our club does nothing about this except eject those who are causing affray in large numbers whilst ignoring the many,many pockets of claret elsewhere.

I sat in the East and saw claret at all sides to me yet strangely not a steward in sight.

Carry on like this SUFC and that support will dwindle.

This is my point about long term brand/franchise damage versus the chance to make a quick buck.None of the West Ham fans will be repeat customers (until the next friendly against them!),but how many SUFC fans were put off in some way today?

Incidentally, it looked to me that nobody was ejected but just relocated,again probably a sensible thing to do.

 

[Xàbia Shrimper]

O thats ok then , i'll tell my son that it was my fault that you were scared ****less today cos i ought of known better that westham fans would be willing to pay the money more than Sufc fans and there for be entitled to cause trouble. I also think that he will sleep safe in the knowledge knowing that if it had been a competitive match then that would bea different :fury:

As I said on another thread: what could the club have done to have prevented ticket sales prior to matchday to opposition fans, especially for a pre-season friendly? Not a great deal, I suspect. Whether you believe it or not, I understand your anger towards the club but I think that laying the blame entirely on the ticket office is unfair. Barring a full ID check per ticket sale, what could have been done? It was *only* a pre-season friendly, after all.

I'm sorry that your son was "scared ****less" but I ask you: given the amount of pre-match hype and abuse of this and other forums, might you have considered not taking him to this highly-volatile game? I know it's not an ideal solution but it's something I might have considered ...

 

[Cricko2]

This is my point about long term brand/franchise damage versus the chance to make a quick buck.None of the West Ham fans will be repeat customers (until the next friendly against them!),but how many SUFC fans were put off in some way today?

Incidentally, it looked to me that nobody was ejected but just relocated,again probably a sensible thing to do.

Very good point ..over the past few years we have built up a very "Family Friendly" club, you only have to look at the amount of young children at the games and the amount out in the Borough wearing Blues shirts now...I hope this was just a one off today and people take it as that and stay loyal ..whosoever's fault this fiasco was today, maybe the club will take heed of the fans and think twice in future, that it's the Home fan's that count far more than the quick payday.

It takes a long time to build up a reputation and minutes to lose it.

 

[Boreham Shrimper]

I'm sorry that your son was "scared ****less" but I ask you: given the amount of pre-match hype and abuse of this and other forums, might you have considered not taking him to this highly-volatile game? I know it's not an ideal solution but it's something I might have considered ...

I agree to a large extent with what you're saying but why the hell should he?! It's his town and the home ground of the club he loves. If you can't even take your kids to a Southend game, what is this world coming to?

It is an absolute disgrace that those Scummers should be able to ruin it with their pathetic behaviour.

:guns:

 

[Davros]

i agree, if people stop doing things, then the thugs and idiots will end up ruling this world

 

[Xàbia Shrimper]

i agree, if people stop doing things, then the thugs and idiots will end up ruling this world

George W Bush? Tony Blair? Angela Merkel?

It's already happened, Dave ...

 

[Prodigal Son]

I agree to a large extent with what you're saying but why the hell should he?! It's his town and the home ground of the club he loves. If you can't even take your kids to a Southend game, what is this world coming to?

It is an absolute disgrace that those Scummers should be able to ruin it with their pathetic behaviour.

:guns:

Sorry everyone for encouraging my son to support Southend,want to wear his shirt with pride and sit in the seat he always sits in for all matches.

 

[steveo]

As I said on another thread: what could the club have done to have prevented ticket sales prior to matchday to opposition fans, especially for a pre-season friendly? Not a great deal, I suspect

How about allocating a larger area for away fans? I would have thought of lot of hammers would have preferred to sit together, and if, as it seems likely the Club knew they would sell a lot of tickets to hammers fans they could have given them more seats.