W block reminder....

[Tommy2holes]

Due to the club being picky you now have to have an actual ticket for the W block on a match day.

Serves no real purpose and almost caused a riot last weekend when people tried to walk in, especially as people that had never sat in there before didn't realise what was happening and had young children with them.

Even more pointless as half of the w block was empty for the game.

There is also new rules with the bar and you can no longer enter via the side door at the back of the stand and you can also no longer walk the entire length with a beer as there is now a plastic barrier preventing this.

All a bit pointless and draconian but hey ho.

 

[DTS]

Can you get tickets on the day from the West ticket office for W block?

Absolute joke from the club this. Killed the atmosphere nearly caused a number of fights and totally ruined my experience on the day. Good mind to email Steve Kavanagh.

 

[Bkdside]

I blame the homophobic chanting @ Brighton and Myles Weston

 

[Supa Shrimpa]

I was waiting for this thread to start....It was a farce on Saturday.

There were supporters / families that had bought tickets online, that didn't realise it was a loud signing section, where most people stand up....and supporters that normal walk across from the West Stand, were being told by stewards that this was no longer possible.

Bad communication from the club, i'm afraid. Could so easily have been avoided.

 

[Tommy2holes]

I just don't understand the need for it either.

If the club are trying to identify certain individuals then how does this help?

Turn up match day and pay cash for a w block ticket and how does that help identify anyone?

All they needed was a cctv in place with a polite notice to behave of face the consequences.

Saturday was quite cringey and embarrassing and put the stewards under immense pressure they don't get paid enough for.

Poor effort from the club

 

[IloveShrimp]

Why not designate this area as a 'singing area' (as in restricted view seats) so that any first timers understand this before purchasing seats?

 

[Tommy2holes]

Why not designate this area as a 'singing area' (as in restricted view seats) so that any first timers understand this before purchasing seats?

That's the point you have not been able to purchase seats in this section prior to this season and we're able to just walk across.

They are now selling tickets for this section and not advertising it as such and are also not allowing people to move across even if there are loads of empty seats.

Poor form from the club

 

[Supa Shrimpa]

Exactly ! Poor old stewards being made to look like jobsworths, when better organisation and communication would have prevented the whole situation.

 

[IloveShrimp]

I really don't see why all seats (except seaso's) can be sit where you like. After all other clubs with standing areas can't control where fans stand!

Just paint the season ticket seats yellow and let everyone else sit where they like and have designated singing areas..... simples

 

[Romford Shrimper]

Can you get tickets on the day from the West ticket office for W block?

Absolute joke from the club this. Killed the atmosphere nearly caused a number of fights and totally ruined my experience on the day. Good mind to email Steve Kavanagh.

Why what happened ?

 

[Jam_Man]

I really don't see why all seats (except seaso's) can be sit where you like. After all other clubs with standing areas can't control where fans stand!

Just paint the season ticket seats yellow and let everyone else sit where they like and have designated singing areas..... simples

Because some of us actually want to choose where we sit?

If the stand is busy, like the East Stand can be can you imagine the chaos of not having a designated seat? If you went with a group of 6 like we do we wouldnt be able to sit together and would be having to search for seats every game.

 

[TJC]

Experienced the bar rules. Bizarre and completely pointless. Cannot enter the bar from the back door, but can go out through it with your drink to sit outside. However, you have to walk all the way round to the pitch side entrance to re-enter to get round 2 in.
What is the point? What can this possibly be solving?
I can't seeing the bar rules lasting too long.

 

[Lord Football]

Its a case of cause and effect.

If someone throws, for example, a smoke bomb from an area of unallocated seating, the club cannot identify who threw it.

If someone throws, for example, a smoke bomb from an area of allocated seating the should be able to identify who threw it.

Personally, I wouldn't be blaming the club for this........

 

[DTS]

Felt sorry for the stewards. Doing there job and all generally good lads.

I was stopped from going into the W Block as I had a V ticket as were a few hundred others. All you had to do was go into V and wait for them to turn there back and you can sneak in anyway but why should we have this farce. As it was I couldn't stand with my mates as the steward who rejected me was there so i had to stand half way down.

There was a Mexican stand off at 3pm where the stewards and a group of fans were all grabbing and showing each other. Do we really need this hassle just to stand together and try and support our club. Do the stewards really want this hassle also.

What was so different between Brighton game and Walsall. Brighton is a lot more high profile and they brought more fans. The police clearly knew this they for once policed Shakespear Drive after the Luton masscare. So why can we stand where we want for Brighton and not for Walsall?

Also and not many people know this the Stewards have been issued black books to record down the name and address to record down the names and a description of anyone that dares question the regime and I know this as was told directly by a steward.

W block was a joke on Saturday and the atmosphere was dire. The club need to look at this at is massively reduced the support.

 

[DTS]

Its a case of cause and effect.

If someone throws, for example, a smoke bomb from an area of unallocated seating, the club cannot identify who threw it.

If someone throws, for example, a smoke bomb from an area of allocated seating the should be able to identify who threw it.

Personally, I wouldn't be blaming the club for this........

There was no allocated seating as it was everyone just invaded the end as they had done for the last few seasons. Six stewards cannot stop a few hundred people of enforce that you sit where you should so whilst the principle might make sense the practicality is that all it did was make a pain for all involved.

The only people they stopped were a group who made a right fuss about coming into the block. My Dad aged 63 sneaked in wihout issue and he is hardly mobile at the moment.

That block I would say has a low number of ST's and it is a fairly transient crowd. I can stand with a group of up to 30/40 lads but they dont all come to every game so how is the club going to know who came in when all buy tickets on the day.

 

[Supa Shrimpa]

Because some of us actually want to choose where we sit?

If the stand is busy, like the East Stand can be can you imagine the chaos of not having a designated seat? If you went with a group of 6 like we do we wouldnt be able to sit together and would be having to search for seats every game.

What do you do at the moment ? Buy in the West and all walk across together ?

 

[wakes123]

In respect of the West bar, I overheard the stewards saying that they had been told to change it after the Brighton game on Tuesday due to health and safety. I don't think this was the clubs decision but a third party enforcing it.

 

[Supa Shrimpa]

Why don't the club notify us beforehand, rather that leaving it to the stewards to take the flack on the day ?

 

[Jam_Man]

What do you do at the moment ? Buy in the West and all walk across together ?

No we buy 6 seats and sit in em.

Wasnt referring to the W Block.

People need to realise that the actions taken to make the W block more formal are as a result of behaviour there. The club need to demonstrate they have made attempts to control their crowd.

Why don't the club notify us beforehand, rather that leaving it to the stewards to take the flack on the day ?

They have mentioned it , probably should have made a bigger deal of it though as its a big change to what many are used to.

 

[united we stand]

No we buy 6 seats and sit in em.

Wasnt referring to the W Block.

People need to realise that the actions taken to make the W block more formal are as a result of behaviour there. The club need to demonstrate they have made attempts to control their crowd.



They have mentioned it , probably should have made a bigger deal of it though as its a big change to what many are used to.

I have a season ticket in W but wasn't there on Saturday , however at the Brighton game lots of people were not sitting/standing in their allocated seats. I spoke to Kavanagh on this at the end of last season as it was obvious what was going to go wrong . Unfortunately as usual the way we implement things and don't do the 'obvious' things that cost no money would astound me, or would astound me if I wasn't used to it.

How difficult would it be to :

• Make it clear on the on line ticket section - ie re name W 'Singing/standing section'
• Posters at the ticket offices - nothing fancy just explaining you MUST have a ticket for W to go to W
• Telesales- for the first few matches give the sales staff a script to read out to anyone buying tickets in the West- one script for if you are buying in W-'did you know this is the singing/standing' section' , one for all over blocks ' If you attending to move to W block you will need to buy a ticket in that block '
• Explanation letter to fans sellotaped to each seat in W for the first couple of games
• Explanation in the programme (not sure if we have done this as I don't buy one)

All of the above would have kept us informed and would have cost sod all and are easy to do- yet all we seem to have done is a piece on the website weeks ago