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Possible re-siting of away fans at SMS


Ivan Katalinic's 'tache

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First of all, thank you for the opportunity to give a view on this topic.

 

My opinion is brief as by the nature of st Mary's being a bowel then the options to me are limited. Its all abit 6 and 2 threes. They are where they are or in the opposite corner where the family area currently resides. I don't see it makes much difference and the bigger question forbthe club i would imagine is more about generating and recreating our own atmosphere by way of safe standing and identifying with the players on the pitch.

 

To answer the question, I'd leave as is and focus on other priorities.

 

This! We have far more pressing matters to worry about than where a bunch of visitors sit.

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This! We have far more pressing matters to worry about than where a bunch of visitors sit.
Making the ground intimidating helps the home team, we just make it easy and one of the favourite grounds to visit. Ridiculous, and perhaps why we have a poor record at home compared to the Dell. So it is important
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All this ******** about the police not allowing us to move them - why can’t the away coaches park the other side of the stadium near the megastore? Still allows to be blocked off and they could go in the itchen chapel corner. The police just want an easy life when in reality it would be absolutely no different.

 

Also, you would like to assume that, as the the club are asking for opinions, they have checked with the coppers first....otherwise, why both to canvass opinion.

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+1 for Kingsland corner. Jesus Christ we are a multi million pound organisation. Hire a ****ing architect to organise the segregation, safe policing routes, etc...make the plans known just after new year so people can get their grumble out of the way and choose their new seat in plenty of time for renewals next season. Rocket science it is not.

 

kingsland north is in many cases as noisy if not noisier than northan which in last 3 or 4 years has been awful, top many anti pompey songs, can often hear more from the Itchen north than northam

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One thing i dont want to see at St Marys is even more fans standing up and restricting the views of others. If away fans were moved, it might see the entire northam standing up, itchen corner and then also kingsland wing. The club are actually breaking its licence by allowing ANY standing up. Some of the best games and atmospheres at St Marys from 2001 onwards have been, when even more away fans have been inside St Marys. Think of the 2003 Cup run and the games against the blue view it was simply all about what was happening on the pitch and because thats not happening in recent seasons this pointless debate appears. Its a total myth that moving fans would change anything other than increasing the potential for crowd disorder. Tradationally away fans in football are always behind a goal and there is nothing worse than fans being now put miles away from the pitch.

 

Win games at home and there is no debate FACT

 

Crowd control and safety is paramount these days and St Marys was designed correctly to have away fans easy access to coaches in britannia road.

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One thing i dont want to see at St Marys is even more fans standing up and restricting the views of others. If away fans were moved, it might see the entire northam standing up, itchen corner and then also kingsland wing. The club are actually breaking its licence by allowing ANY standing up. Some of the best games and atmospheres at St Marys from 2001 onwards have been, when even more away fans have been inside St Marys. Think of the 2003 Cup run and the games against the blue view it was simply all about what was happening on the pitch and because thats not happening in recent seasons this pointless debate appears. Its a total myth that moving fans would change anything other than increasing the potential for crowd disorder. Tradationally away fans in football are always behind a goal and there is nothing worse than fans being now put miles away from the pitch.

 

Win games at home and there is no debate FACT

 

Crowd control and safety is paramount these days and St Marys was designed correctly to have away fans easy access to coaches in britannia road.

 

They'd have even easier access to Britannia Road if they were shifted a couple of blocks across. The only argument given against that has been having to move a concourse partition and having away fans below a few corporate boxes at the end of the Itchen North. That should in fact be seen as an opportunity. How many of the corporate boxes are sold out over the season? Let the few that would be above away fans be reserved for neutrals and visiting fans and perhaps we would sell out a few more and improve crowd control as about the only disorder we've had inside St Mary's in recent years has been caused by away fans and home fans sharing the same corporate boxes.

 

Football fans have known for decades that you get the best atmosphere by having a large number of noisy home fans directly behind one of the goals. You only have to look at any top 10 best atmospheres at football grounds lists, both in this country and abroad, and they nearly all have that in common.

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One thing i dont want to see at St Marys is even more fans standing up and restricting the views of others. If away fans were moved, it might see the entire northam standing up, itchen corner and then also kingsland wing. The club are actually breaking its licence by allowing ANY standing up. Some of the best games and atmospheres at St Marys from 2001 onwards have been, when even more away fans have been inside St Marys. Think of the 2003 Cup run and the games against the blue view it was simply all about what was happening on the pitch and because thats not happening in recent seasons this pointless debate appears. Its a total myth that moving fans would change anything other than increasing the potential for crowd disorder. Tradationally away fans in football are always behind a goal and there is nothing worse than fans being now put miles away from the pitch.

 

Win games at home and there is no debate FACT

 

Crowd control and safety is paramount these days and St Marys was designed correctly to have away fans easy access to coaches in britannia road.

 

Get a life.

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One thing i dont want to see at St Marys is even more fans standing up and restricting the views of others. If away fans were moved, it might see the entire northam standing up, itchen corner and then also kingsland wing. The club are actually breaking its licence by allowing ANY standing up. Some of the best games and atmospheres at St Marys from 2001 onwards have been, when even more away fans have been inside St Marys. Think of the 2003 Cup run and the games against the blue view it was simply all about what was happening on the pitch and because thats not happening in recent seasons this pointless debate appears. Its a total myth that moving fans would change anything other than increasing the potential for crowd disorder. Tradationally away fans in football are always behind a goal and there is nothing worse than fans being now put miles away from the pitch.

 

Win games at home and there is no debate FACT

 

Crowd control and safety is paramount these days and St Marys was designed correctly to have away fans easy access to coaches in britannia road.

 

At the inconvenience to the home fans?? What a ridiculous comment!

 

It really annoys me when home fans are made to walk the long way round when the North Car Park is closed after the match. Can you imagine that happening at Old Trafford, Anfield etc.??? It's laughable and sums up our club and what it thinks of the loyal fan base

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We hardly ever sell out the Northam stand now anyway.

 

Having said that games like Coventry at home promotion, MK Dons JPT when virtually the whole end was home fans stood were great , would be all for it if we could create the same every week.

Cardiff have a good end like that where the club have made it known they won't enfore seating so fans can stand without the hassle of stewards telling them to sit.

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I love the way people think that by moving the Kingslanders into the Northam they will suddenly start singing!

 

It wouldn’t make the slightest bit of difference if the away fans were moved.

 

Block 37-42 and 1 and 2 all pretty much stand and sing, especially from about row 15 upwards. Bringing them together is a no brainer.

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Block 37-42 and 1 and 2 all pretty much stand and sing, especially from about row 15 upwards. Bringing them together is a no brainer.

 

But they won’t be brought together, those areas are full of the noisy fans because they want to be close to the away fans, they will just move. All the Kingsland fans who like to sit and occasionally clap will move to the Northam so you will end up with another Chapel stand. My mum and her mates sit in the Kingsland, they are in their 70s - they like to sing OWTS and clap along but they are not going to turn into Danny Diers just because they’ve been shifted into the Northam.

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This has been done loads of times and it’s virtually impossible that the club will move the away fans. The stadium was built and designed around the away fans being where they are. It’s easy for the police to get them in and out and the cells in the stadium are built in that section of the ground in case of trouble. The club would also have to re-jig the changing rooms, security rooms and dugouts to move the away fans. It simply won’t work.

 

What CAN happen, is the hardcore fans move to the Chapel end. The away teams will ALWAYS shoot towards the Northam in the second half so it makes no sense (and in my opinion is no coincidence we suffer in the second half) why the end we shoot towards in the second half is full of silent fans. No other team in the country has its quiet section behind the goal their team shoot towards in the second half.

 

Move the family section to Kingsland/Northam corner and get a wall behind the Chapel goal. Most other teams do it and do it well.

 

Sadly it won’t happen as most fans seem to have an ignorance to being open to ideas and would rather sit next to away fans giving them the odd w@nker sign behind some steward than supporting the team.

 

The away fans won’t be moved, however YOU can.

 

Imagine the whole of the Chapel being a wall supporting the team to glory in the second half.

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Move them and create a real Kop of Saints fans. 100% no brainer.

 

We can’t move them, however our fans can do the latter. We have two goals and always shoot towards one in the second half, it completely bemuses me as to why our fans are completely against taking the sensible option and move to the Chappel end

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Said it here and on other threads over the years. If it's difficult to move them and our fans are reluctant to move then do this:

push them slightly further into the itchen and then expand the Northam by a few thousand to help dilute the away fans influence. The expansion should be very basic, just extend current stand by adding further rows at rear. No corporate.

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SS i know it's been done before and that was the line trotted out, but why would the club ask for a canvass of opinion if this was a non-starter?

 

I believe the plan would be for a move into one of the corners but this is an exploratory move by the club, in the first instance, and subject to necessary approvals from the police and Safety Advisory Group. My remit is to feed back thoughts from whatever sources are available to me.

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Said it here and on other threads over the years. If it's difficult to move them and our fans are reluctant to move then do this:

push them slightly further into the itchen and then expand the Northam by a few thousand to help dilute the away fans influence. The expansion should be very basic, just extend current stand by adding further rows at rear. No corporate.

 

But we’ll still shoot towards the silent Chapel in the second half which kind of defeats the object.

 

If everyone moved to the Chapel, it would create a far better atmosphere for far less hassle and 100% realistic.

 

Why is everyone so obsessed with the Northam?

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But we’ll still shoot towards the silent Chapel in the second half which kind of defeats the object.

 

If everyone moved to the Chapel, it would create a far better atmosphere for far less hassle and 100% realistic.

 

Why is everyone so obsessed with the Northam?

Agreed, but it would take massive insentives to get our fans to move en masse or to stop them following the away fans if they get moved. Either way a few things that would help: guarantee large safe standing section when it gets the all clear, make it over 16's, create external fan area for pre game/half time, get in the multi pour drinks systems, encourage flags/banners/ultra style atmosphere (not hooligans). It would have to be a massive effort by the club to work.

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Move them!

 

If we want a better atmosphere then the next thing is to make clear to fans that they are now being given the option to have a singing end, but to create one some people will have to move. I think the fans will respond. We have fans who like to sing / chant - just go to an away match and you'll find them. So let's encourage them to do the same at St.Mary's.

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I believe the plan would be for a move into one of the corners but this is an exploratory move by the club' date=' in the first instance, and subject to necessary approvals from the police and Safety Advisory Group. My remit is to feed back thoughts from whatever sources are available to me.[/quote']

 

Makes sense, thanks for clarifying. See if you can email Steve Grant and get a poll up?

 

For those suggesting adding a few rows or expansion of Northam, totally unrealistic & unneeded at this point and would cost millions.

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Makes sense, thanks for clarifying. See if you can email Steve Grant and get a poll up?

 

For those suggesting adding a few rows or expansion of Northam, totally unrealistic & unneeded at this point and would cost millions.

Was part of a suggestion if it proved problematic to move away fans and ours didn't want to move either.

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I agree with moving the away fans into a corner. If their position was swapped with the Northam/Itchen corner we would have the majority of our singing fans behind the goal. It would also be worth canvassing season ticket holders/members as well as this forum to get a proportionate view from the supporters. I tend to think that some of the views on this forum are not the views of the majority. I also agree that we should have our singing fans in the Chapel and we could ask if they would, in the best interest of the club, be prepared to move so they can make their voices heard. Surely the infrastructure of the stadium could be easily modified for the away fans in the Northam /Itchen corner to leave through the same exits as they are now which would sort out the Police/Safety factors. I think away fans in a corner and especially away from the singing home fans could dull some of the opposition support.

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This has been done loads of times and it’s virtually impossible that the club will move the away fans. The stadium was built and designed around the away fans being where they are. It’s easy for the police to get them in and out and the cells in the stadium are built in that section of the ground in case of trouble. The club would also have to re-jig the changing rooms, security rooms and dugouts to move the away fans. It simply won’t work.

 

What CAN happen, is the hardcore fans move to the Chapel end. The away teams will ALWAYS shoot towards the Northam in the second half so it makes no sense (and in my opinion is no coincidence we suffer in the second half) why the end we shoot towards in the second half is full of silent fans. No other team in the country has its quiet section behind the goal their team shoot towards in the second half.

 

Move the family section to Kingsland/Northam corner and get a wall behind the Chapel goal. Most other teams do it and do it well.

 

Sadly it won’t happen as most fans seem to have an ignorance to being open to ideas and would rather sit next to away fans giving them the odd w@nker sign behind some steward than supporting the team.

 

The away fans won’t be moved, however YOU can.

 

Imagine the whole of the Chapel being a wall supporting the team to glory in the second half.

 

The most sensible and only most-likely-to-happen-solution but even this would upset long-standing (sitting!) Chapel ST holders. The club would have to risk upsetting them while making the Chapel attractive to encourage a younger, more lively type of fan. Change the name, add more bars, make it known that any future safe-standing will be at this end. They can't openly encourage it but they can advise that standing is more likely in this area and show more toleration.

 

Why our fans are so adamant about standing next to away fans, it's only the ones standing right next to them that can snarl and make hand gestures. We must have some of the least intimidating fans in the PL, what they think they're proving is bemusing. Most crowds with a reputation tend to have an 'end' opposite the visitors, Cardiff a good recent example.

 

Move the away fans, the same spotty-15-year-olds will just try and follow.

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This has been done loads of times and it’s virtually impossible that the club will move the away fans. The stadium was built and designed around the away fans being where they are. It’s easy for the police to get them in and out and the cells in the stadium are built in that section of the ground in case of trouble. The club would also have to re-jig the changing rooms, security rooms and dugouts to move the away fans. It simply won’t work.

 

What CAN happen, is the hardcore fans move to the Chapel end. The away teams will ALWAYS shoot towards the Northam in the second half so it makes no sense (and in my opinion is no coincidence we suffer in the second half) why the end we shoot towards in the second half is full of silent fans. No other team in the country has its quiet section behind the goal their team shoot towards in the second half.

 

Move the family section to Kingsland/Northam corner and get a wall behind the Chapel goal. Most other teams do it and do it well.

 

Sadly it won’t happen as most fans seem to have an ignorance to being open to ideas and would rather sit next to away fans giving them the odd w@nker sign behind some steward than supporting the team.

 

The away fans won’t be moved, however YOU can.

 

Imagine the whole of the Chapel being a wall supporting the team to glory in the second half.

 

This is a top idea!! most of the best atmospheres in club football is because the HOME fans are the other side to the away fans, and are causing a wall of noise and displaying tifos/flags etc (not saying we'd ever see a tifo at St Marys though). Leave the away fans where they are and move home fans! If we are the other end of the ground causing a wall of noise, the away fans will be watching us all game and could be intimidated to respond, which would hopefully reflect in the away team not wanting to shoot/attack that end.

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At least we are getting the fans thoughts and opinions on this.

 

Crystal Palace have just done something similar ( kind of ) and have moved all there ‘ultras’ from the corner to behind the goal.

What they didn’t do is consult the season ticket holders behind the goal and just told them that all 400 are moving and deal with it.

 

I think it would be a good idea and help improve what is a really poor atmosphere . Easy for me to say though when I wouldn’t be one of the ones who would potentially be asked to give up their ST seat, that they have had since the ground opened or something.

 

Though saying that. They don’t actually own that seat so to speak.

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This is a top idea!! most of the best atmospheres in club football is because the HOME fans are the other side to the away fans, and are causing a wall of noise and displaying tifos/flags etc (not saying we'd ever see a tifo at St Marys though). Leave the away fans where they are and move home fans! If we are the other end of the ground causing a wall of noise, the away fans will be watching us all game and could be intimidated to respond, which would hopefully reflect in the away team not wanting to shoot/attack that end.

 

The problem is that the home fans in the Northam/Kingsland corner won't move because they think that by being there they are having 'bantz' with the away fans in the Northam, even though there is an empty block and sometimes even two next to them and 90% of the away fans don't even notice they are there. As you say, they'd get noticed a lot more if they were in the designated home end, the Chapel, and the away fans could actually see them and hear them but because of inertia they won't move there. That is why the players have taken the initiative and asked if the away fans could be moved as they would like our most home vocal fans to be behind the goal in the Northam, where they and the referee could see them and hear them more.

 

Anyway, it would support the players' initiative if we had a poll on here which showed that the majority of our fans are in agreement with them. So, based on the club's remit, a simple poll with 2 choices, move the away fans into a corner or leave them where they are, would be the best way to canvas opinion and very helpful for our club.

 

Is it at all possible for anyone on here to organise that?

 

At this stage, we really don’t need to worry about the minutiae of moving a partition in the concourse, how many yards away fans have to walk to their coaches or who sits in particular corporate boxes. The club will obviously deal with that later and anyway, in terms of obstacles to progress, they don’t seem to be particularly insuperable ones.

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The problem is that the home fans in the Northam/Kingsland corner won't move because they think that by being there they are having 'bantz' with the away fans in the Northam,...…………...

 

I normally go into the Northam / Kingsland corner but I don't go there to have bantz with away fans. I go there because I like to shout and sing during the game. I think many folk do the same.

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I normally go into the Northam / Kingsland corner but I don't go there to have bantz with away fans. I go there because I like to shout and sing during the game. I think many folk do the same.

 

Well, that's good. The players and referee would notice you shouting and singing a lot more if you were in the middle of the Northam end, where there is currently just an empty block used for fan segregation, and the away fans would be heard less if they and the empty block were shifted over to the Itchen/Northam corner. The acoustics in the corners are the worst in the ground as the sound get directed inwards, not outwards, and is muffled.

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  • 3 weeks later...

We saw once again today, why this needs to happen. The away fans behind the goal have such an influence on the referee. As soon as the City fans reacted the way they did, you knew the ref was going to give a red card, and the lack of reaction from behind the goal when Ward-Prowse went down ensured no penalty would be given.

 

Research into why in sport there are more home wins than away wins found that the key factor was the home crowd's influence on referees meant that most marginal decisions went the way of the home team. Most of the play is in the central strip of the pitch and obviously penalties are awarded there, so having a noisy bank of home fans directly behind the goal is critical. We don't have one so our team misses out on crucial home support. If the fans in the Kingsland/Northam corner really believe that by being there they are drowning out the away fans, they are sadly deluded. They should be directly behind the goal, where they can make themselves heard and influence the ref.

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We saw once again today, why this needs to happen. The away fans behind the goal have such an influence on the referee. As soon as the City fans reacted the way they did, you knew the ref was going to give a red card, and the lack of reaction from behind the goal when Ward-Prowse went down ensured no penalty would be given.

 

Research into why in sport there are more home wins than away wins found that the key factor was the home crowd's influence on referees meant that most marginal decisions went the way of the home team. Most of the play is in the central strip of the pitch and obviously penalties are awarded there, so having a noisy bank of home fans directly behind the goal is critical. We don't have one so our team misses out on crucial home support. If the fans in the Kingsland/Northam corner really believe that by being there they are drowning out the away fans, they are sadly deluded. They should be directly behind the goal, where they can make themselves heard and influence the ref.

It always was madness having the away fans having half one end
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