Rage Online

While the Kassam and many other stadia are all-seater, as a result of the rather ridiculous legislation enacted because of the Taylor Report into the Hillsborough disaster, a majority of football supporters would like to have the option whether to stand or sit. Liberal Democratic Sports Spokesthing Dan Foster has launched a bill aiming to amend the current laws to allow safe standing areas to be built at grounds where there is scope for doing so, eg the unbuilt end at the Kas.

To show your support for this bill (and let's face it, there's no serious reason to oppose it) you can write to your MP by following the link on this page:
http://www.fsf.org.uk/news/Safe-Standin ... iament.php

It's got to be done!

Good plan Bozza!

Maybe they should turn the all-seater Commons in to terracing.

Every time fans go onto the pitch the argument for terracing gets pushed back 10 years. Seating is not just about safety, it's also about control. Seated fans are expected to behave better.

I don't think terracing will come back, although if the missing stand could be built as safe standing it would generate an awesome atmosphere.

&quotSmileyMan&quot wrote:Every time fans go onto the pitch the argument for terracing gets pushed back 10 years. Seating is not just about safety, it's also about control. Seated fans are expected to behave better.

I don't think terracing will come back, although if the missing stand could be built as safe standing it would generate an awesome atmosphere.

Seating is all about crowd control (with a dollop of greed on the side) and nothing to do with safety whatsoever. I very much doubt that this bill will be passed because I'm sure that plod will be lobbying heavily to get it suppressed, but if the will within the game was there to introduce safe standing (for example if capacities could be increased without prices being lowered) then I suspect that the football authorities would be a more powerful voice among MPs than babylon.

&quotSmileyMan&quot wrote:Every time fans go onto the pitch the argument for terracing gets pushed back 10 years. Seating is not just about safety, it's also about control. Seated fans are expected to behave better.

Why? What's the logic in this?
Most recent pitch invasions have been from seated areas have they not?

&quotboris&quot wrote:While the Kassam and many other stadia are all-seater, as a result of the rather ridiculous legislation enacted because of the Taylor Report into the Hillsborough disaster, a majority of football supporters would like to have the option whether to stand or sit. Liberal Democratic Sports Spokesthing Dan Foster has launched a bill aiming to amend the current laws to allow safe standing areas to be built at grounds where there is scope for doing so, eg the unbuilt end at the Kas.

To show your support for this bill (and let's face it, there's no serious reason to oppose it) you can write to your MP by following the link on this page:
http://www.fsf.org.uk/news/Safe-Standin ... iament.php

It's got to be done!

Done. Thanks for the heads-up.

By the way, it's Don Foster, not Dan. He's gone up in my estimation, though he's still going to break one of his pre-election promises tomorrow, by all accounts...

&quotBaboo&quot wrote:

&quotSmileyMan&quot wrote:Every time fans go onto the pitch the argument for terracing gets pushed back 10 years. Seating is not just about safety, it's also about control. Seated fans are expected to behave better.

Why? What's the logic in this?
Most recent pitch invasions have been from seated areas have they not?

The argument would be made that standing fans are more likely to be animated and agitated, and therefore initiate a pitch invasion. It's probably true.

We don't have fences around the pitch any more, so the players have to be protected by controlling the crowd.

Of course, with modern ticketing/turnstile systems, Hillsborough would never happen anyway. But when did politicians ever bother with facts?

There's a lot of standing in seated areas anyway. Is this an arguement for or against ???

Standing areas are actually safer than seating areas in many respects.

In the event of a real emergency it is much quicker to evacuate a terrace (as long as you haven't got fences at the front and policemen stopping you climbing over them) than it is a seated stand.

There is much more chance of injury when surrounded by protruding, inflexible shards of plastic. I don't think I was the only one to wake up the morning after Wembley (mk II) with bruises and scratches all over my legs - that never happened on the London Road terrace, although I occasionally ended up on the floor there too!

And, of course, a terrace doesn't provide trouble-makers with ready-made missiles in the event of crowd disturbance.

In conclusion, please contact your MP and ask them to support this bill. It will only take a couple of minutes of your time. Things won't change if you complain on internet forums that terracing will never become acceptable again how ever much you'd like it to. Things have a decent chance of changing, however, if everyone who cares about an issue makes a small gesture of support for it.

Stand up if you love Oxford!

Done, and with the greatest of pleasure.

Many thanks for bringing this to our attention!

Part of the reason I first went to rugby league in Melbourne when I first came was that it was the last bastion of terracing in this otherwise Godforsakenly seated city. Needless to say even THAT'S gone now but I yearn to hear that the over-egged and slightly misguided ruling of Taylor's could be one day over-turned.

Got a response from Andrea Leadsom MP yesterday. She won't be supporting the campaign.

To sum up, she (or whoever actually wrote the letter) still thinks Taylor was right, that grounds now are much safer and more comfortable, the Kombi system won't work in this country, and that she supports Hugh Robertson who says the policy on standing areas should not be changed.

Happy to send a scan of letter to someone who knows how to post it up on here if anyone is interested.

As someone who spent most of 16 May stood up at Wembley I fail to see what purpose seats serve other than somewhere to rest between the action. It's fairly obvious at away matches where we have a choice that the vast majority prefer to stand, even if some might do so due to finance. As someone who has been attending matches since 1971 I can honestly say that the atmosphere at all-seater stadiums is just not the same, however hard we all try, and I welcome this initiative.

&quottheox&quot wrote:Got a response from Andrea Leadsom MP yesterday. She won't be supporting the campaign.

To sum up, she (or whoever actually wrote the letter) still thinks Taylor was right, that grounds now are much safer and more comfortable, the Kombi system won't work in this country, and that she supports Hugh Robertson who says the policy on standing areas should not be changed.

Happy to send a scan of letter to someone who knows how to post it up on here if anyone is interested.

http://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/a ... ing-126667

Don't sit down and give up...

&quottheox&quot wrote:Got a response from Andrea Leadsom MP yesterday. She won't be supporting the campaign.

To sum up, she (or whoever actually wrote the letter) still thinks Taylor was right, that grounds now are much safer and more comfortable, the Kombi system won't work in this country, and that she supports Hugh Robertson who says the policy on standing areas should not be changed.

Happy to send a scan of letter to someone who knows how to post it up on here if anyone is interested.

Probably got one and the same generic letter from David Cameron.

Thanks for the next link, which I shall also follow!