• The forums will be unavailable for a few hours on Saturday 6th June, when they do return they will initially be in a degraded state with some features missing, but normal posting/reading will be possible. The main website will not be affected by these updates.
    New user registrations are currently disabled.
    Some other features of the forum are also currently disabled.

New Stadium Measures

Status
Not open for further replies.
The Cabbage said:
A bad situation for you, marra, of course. I tend to be a bit cynical when middle management types blame the faceless ones above them. It's often a sign of wanting to get through a difficult conversation with minimum effort. If the head safety officer really has formally recommended a net and the owners have refused despite that formal advice, then it's not really defensible. I'd be surprised if that was 100% accurate, though - and it could be complicated by the ownership change too.

Short term, they should facilitate the change you outlined and I'd be surprised (and disappointed) if they ultimately refused the request. Might take a bit of faffing given where we are from an infrastructure perspective right now I guess. As you say, we need action not words. There is nothing that can be done to completely eradicate the threat, of course. However, the club clearly needs to make this a high priority - and be clearly seen to be doing so, too.
Click to expand...

RE first bit I tend to agree tbh but even in the minutes of the RAWA meeting (that typically came out a couple of days after Coventry) Davison states they won't be putting a net up so they know/knew and have rejected it.

I'm not expecting a huge change within a short timeframe however the time they have had prior is totally unacceptable.

It only takes one pissed knacker in a crowd to do something (even without the intention of hurting someone) to cause an incident that with affect the lives of multiple people.

I'm not having that on my concience by choosing to sit there when I know (with several incidents as evidence) it isn't safe.

The glass bottle was about 30 seats away from me, but further back, though at the time I didn't realise it was a bottle. I just saw a bloke habging over the railing holding up what looked like a bit of paper going absolutely berserk at a steward. Wasn't till after someone had said there was a bloke kicking off holding up the bottle label with bits of glass still attached to it from what was left, I realised.

Lass in seat in front of me was hit by an empty bottle of diet coke really early on. Obviously that is nowt in context and tbh she barely noticed it bjt when you add it all up you realise how easy it is to be hit with something.

I've sat in premier concourses once (Tyson Nunez friendly game 😂) and hated it but I'd gladly sit in one of those empty seats in the the interim.
 

The Cabbage said:
Did they? This is the third statement that they've released by my count. One straight after the incident to condemn and say they're looking into it, one to say they're upping the stewarding and one to reiterate this and provide info about what this will mean on match day. Given they aren't gonna move the away fans till summer 23 at the earliest and that any proposed netting will need to be properly investigated (and would take a fair old while to implement), I don't really know how much more they can do in a short period of time.
Click to expand...
Why do you think netting would “take a fair old while” to implement?

If it is a priority - which nearly all fans at least can see - then it should be a matter of days or perhaps a couple of weeks

If the worst happens in the meantime it will be no defence force the club to say we were dealing with issues at the other end of the ground - albeit those issues need dealing with as outside bodies have pointed out

It is a shame you can’t walk all the way round the ground inside anymore but you can’t just have a semi-controlled free for all going on at one end (anymore than you can allow bottles to come flying through the air onto fans heads at the other)
 
SmokinMonkey said:
I think 90% of this thread are unable to read?

First paragraph tells you that are introducing better checking of away fans entering the ground. Therefore the missiles should be reduced. A quick and easy response, that I'm sure they will further enhance.

They've gone into more detail around the South stand changes are they are more relevant to our fans and more unique so more questions will be raised.

Out of all of the things that this club is shit at, this statement isn't one of them in my opinion.
Click to expand...

The ‘missiles should be reduced’ does that mean only three missiles are thrown and not four?
 
dred73 said:
A policeman standing there with a big F ... off camcorder knowing you are going to be filmed is a hell of a deterent though
Click to expand...

It's not really tbh in a big crowd. And people who do it are generally pissed and and don't think about it.

Fwiw i don't even think Coventry fans were deliberately trying to maim people (although they were at their place a few year ago) but pissed and in heat off moment they do something f***ing stupid without any thought and that's all it takes.
Wearside Wanderer II said:
Can’t be arsed to trawl the Coventry missile thread but there was deffo coppers in the photo, at least 6/7, plus a load of stewards.
Click to expand...

I'm not saying there was no police at all. Just not in that tunnel where they normally are.
 
Tony_in_London said:
Why do you think netting would “take a fair old while” to implement?

If it is a priority - which nearly all fans at least can see - then it should be a matter of days or perhaps a couple of weeks

If the worst happens in the meantime it will be no defence force the club to say we were dealing with issues at the other end of the ground - albeit those issues need dealing with as outside bodies have pointed out

It is a shame you can’t walk all the way round the ground inside anymore but you can’t just have a semi-controlled free for all going on at one end (anymore than you can allow bottles to come flying through the air onto fans heads at the other)
Click to expand...
A net that goes all the way from the edge of the roof to the edge of the north upper, that can be retractible, is fixed sufficiently well to not be a h&s hazard on it's own, can withstand adverse weather and will thread the needle between reducing the ability to throw stuff down while not ruining the viewing experience for the vast majority of well-behaved fans? Then getting the manufacturing done at that scale, the engineering work to install plus getting all safety inspections and sign-offs complete to allow it to be used? Days or weeks for that?
 
samaistonsrightfoot said:
It's not really tbh in a big crowd. And people who do it are generally pissed and and don't think about it.

Fwiw i don't even think Coventry fans were deliberately trying to maim people (although they were at their place a few year ago) but pissed and in heat off moment they do something f***ing stupid without any thought and that's all it takes.


I'm not saying there was no police at all. Just not in that tunnel where they normally are.
Click to expand...

I’m assuming the photos taken were after the incidents hence why they have shown their faces.
 
Wearside Wanderer II said:
I’m assuming the photos taken were after the incidents hence why they have shown their faces.
Click to expand...

Probably, mate. Usually if owt happens they come out of that tunnel. Eg. Last time Coventry threw the bombs down a couple came out and went on the pitch to film the aftermath. I had an argument with 6/7 of them who were still standing there (in the tunnel) doing nowt.

This time there was none in the tunnel. There seems to have been a shift in all emergency services in and around the ground tbh.
 
SmokinMonkey said:
I think 90% of this thread are unable to read?

First paragraph tells you that are introducing better checking of away fans entering the ground. Therefore the missiles should be reduced. A quick and easy response, that I'm sure they will further enhance.

They've gone into more detail around the South stand changes are they are more relevant to our fans and more unique so more questions will be raised.

Out of all of the things that this club is shit at, this statement isn't one of them in my opinion.
Click to expand...
I think the one point you are missing is that the issue of most critical concern - because of the risk of very serious injury or even death - is the lobbing of glass bottles from where away fans have been located above Sunderland fans.

The approach to the other issues does seem reasonable to me - from my safe seat in the East Stand sucking on a Werthers Original - but if I was one of our fans in the north stand lower I would think the club is not taking the issue sufficiently seriously.

Substantial missiles have been thrown down - and not just two weeks ago, this was only the latest incident. What fans expect to see is some urgency - sure it might take more than a couple of weeks to install a net to satisfy safety regulations. But it will take a dam sight longer if the club shilly shallys about the cost and focusses instead on less serious issues.

They are creating the impression that cost is more important than fan safety - not a good look

Especially when it works out about 60p per season ticket holder.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Gaz
People complaining but enhanced searches for pyros etc and increased stewarding and training is what 99% of clubs would do as a first easy to implement measure. If people are able to throw stuff then clearly there either aren’t enough stewards or they aren’t properly trained.

Think people going on as if the stand is the Gaza Strip need to calm down a tiny bit and acknowledge that while it isn’t acceptable, scum bag opposition fans are more an issue than the club here.

See how the changes work before kicking off in the internet seems like a fairly reasonable course of action.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top