Away Game Etiquette

OhMyGodden said:

What's happened to it? People in Row A standing, which caused a chain reaction, which meant me in Row C with crutches couldn't see and am unable to stand for long periods. Got abuse when I asked the two rows infront to sit down. You pay for a seat not a terrace spot ffs. In the end I moved to a couple of free seats in the disabled section. Makes me wonder why I'm even gonna bother with Coventry.

Also, a lack of seat belt wearing on Coach 1. Pretty sure it was only me and the wife wearing them. I did take comfort knowing we'd be the only ones to make it out alive if anything did happen.

OhMyGodden said:

What's happened to it? People in Row A standing, which caused a chain reaction, which meant me in Row C with crutches couldn't see and am unable to stand for long periods. Got abuse when I asked the two rows infront to sit down. You pay for a seat not a terrace spot ffs. In the end I moved to a couple of free seats in the disabled section. Makes me wonder why I'm even gonna bother with Coventry.

Also, a lack of seat belt wearing on Coach 1. Pretty sure it was only me and the wife wearing them. I did take comfort knowing we'd be the only ones to make it out alive if anything did happen.

Unfortunately it's been like that for years. And years. 

That and people sitting anywhere they like & not in their allocated seat. Gillingham away was probably the worst for this. Probably because it was local & we had a bigger allocation than other away grounds. 

This was one of the reasons that I got tickets in the main stand at Ipswich for me and my family. I wanted my 10 year old girl, and (vertically challenged) wife to feel safe and enjoy themselves, not get abuse from w**k*** because she / they want to see the match.

We will fill the bingo card quickly with this 

I agree with the principle of someone buying a seat is entitled to it. I also think a lot more flexibility could be applied from my own lived experiences of this 

2 games come to mind as it was the first I'd tried to resolve the situation practically.

Watford away 07. Me and a few others get to the ground to find we are about 4 rows from the front of a sold out away end. It was a stinker of a game but a few moments got us on our feet to be greeted with a smack on my arse from behind telling me to sit down. I'm not a dick, well thats not entirely true, I am a massive one but I don't want to spread that to everyone around me. So I suggested we swap seats, "no, these are our seats" was the reply. Which is fair but maybe a little but too stubborn. So this dance continued and nobody was happy. 

Southampton away a few years later a similar thing occured and the bloke behind me just suggested swapping seats and that was that. Then at half-time as these things often do, the situation righted itself with everyone standing at the back and those wanting to sit at the front. 

When I'm standing or intend to stand I'll always ask and check that the people behind me are ok with that and most of the time they are standing too but if anyone had a problem I'd sit my arse down. I'd have the hump and probably think nasty, selfish thoughts but they are technically in the right and well within their rights 

jimmymelrose said:

OhMyGodden said:

What's happened to it? People in Row A standing, which caused a chain reaction, which meant me in Row C with crutches couldn't see and am unable to stand for long periods. Got abuse when I asked the two rows infront to sit down. You pay for a seat not a terrace spot ffs. In the end I moved to a couple of free seats in the disabled section. Makes me wonder why I'm even gonna bother with Coventry.

Also, a lack of seat belt wearing on Coach 1. Pretty sure it was only me and the wife wearing them. I did take comfort knowing we'd be the only ones to make it out alive if anything did happen.

This comparison to standing at matches and seatbelts on transport is an interesting one.

Those not wearing seatbelts have obviously never found themselves hanging upside down in a crashed car like me. I'm astounded at their naivity as a result of my experiences.

I always question why seatbelts are not on trains. It makes no sense to me how standing on trains is allowed. 

In both the case of football and transport, if you pay for seat, you are entitled to a seat.

Good grief. 

Carter said:

We will fill the bingo card quickly with this 

I agree with the principle of someone buying a seat is entitled to it. I also think a lot more flexibility could be applied from my own lived experiences of this 

2 games come to mind as it was the first I'd tried to resolve the situation practically.

Watford away 07. Me and a few others get to the ground to find we are about 4 rows from the front of a sold out away end. It was a stinker of a game but a few moments got us on our feet to be greeted with a smack on my arse from behind telling me to sit down. I'm not a dick, well thats not entirely true, I am a massive one but I don't want to spread that to everyone around me. So I suggested we swap seats, "no, these are our seats" was the reply. Which is fair but maybe a little but too stubborn. So this dance continued and nobody was happy. 

Southampton away a few years later a similar thing occured and the bloke behind me just suggested swapping seats and that was that. Then at half-time as these things often do, the situation righted itself with everyone standing at the back and those wanting to sit at the front. 

When I'm standing or intend to stand I'll always ask and check that the people behind me are ok with that and most of the time they are standing too but if anyone had a problem I'd sit my arse down. I'd have the hump and probably think nasty, selfish thoughts but they are technically in the right and well within their rights 

If you're in row 4 of a modern stand (i.e. not somewhere with terrible rake and no legroom like Luton) the default position should be to sit. 

Similarly if you're at the back, you can't expect everyone in front to sit down, as that's where the standers will end up. 

It would make life a lot easier if there was more flexibility in terms of where people could go BUT then it was enforced more. At Ipswich it got a bit farcical, as in the lower tier the people at the front all stood, giving us behind them no choice but to stand as well, amusingly blocking the view from the exec boxes right behind us!

FFS - stand where you want but stewards police that the first few rows are left for those who want to sit. Sadly we've never been that sort of a fanbase so it'll never happen. 

Would also help vocal support too as even with say 1.5k we sometimes seem incapable of singing a chant in unison and have three different sections of the crowd singing different things. Seating allocation isn't the best excuse for this however.

Having said all this - the aways I've been to recently seem to sort themselves out much better with a better atmosphere than previous years.

OhMyGodden said:

WillmoreTheRed said:

It's an unwritten rule within it's self that you stand at away games - I think it adds to the atmosphere which makes away days so special.

I do appreciate your situation though and I guess the best solution would be to buy tickets within the disabled area so you can comfortably watch the game and people can also stand.

If you wanna stand, go find a ground with a terrace. I don't wanna book a space in the disabled bit and take away from someone who needs it. Thankfully for Coventry I've got decent seats and I've only got Swansea to worry about but I should be better by then.

Fucking hell.

As someone who is getting on a bit, but not old as the hills, I prefer to sit these days, but can stand with no problem for 45 minutes if necessary. Mrs Algarve has a bad back and is not tall, but in no way would she or should she qualify for a disabled space. 

Is it right that she should either not see the game or have to peer through railings at ankle level for 90 minutes? I appreciate everyone stands when there's an incident, that's just football.  

OhMyGodden said:

Croydon said:

OhMyGodden said:

WillmoreTheRed said:

It's an unwritten rule within it's self that you stand at away games - I think it adds to the atmosphere which makes away days so special.

I do appreciate your situation though and I guess the best solution would be to buy tickets within the disabled area so you can comfortably watch the game and people can also stand.

If you wanna stand, go find a ground with a terrace. I don't wanna book a space in the disabled bit and take away from someone who needs it. Thankfully for Coventry I've got decent seats and I've only got Swansea to worry about but I should be better by then.

Fucking hell.

Oh, I'm sorry for wanting a nice normal day of watching without having any jumped up dickheads around me. Would it be acceptable to twat them around the head with my crutches?

You seem like a patronising prat who's only just discovered football away days, and if you're taking the tone you have on this thread into real life then I'm not surprised people aren't willing to accommodate you when you can't see at the match.

Saying things like "if you wanna stand, go find a ground with a terrace" when you're in the minority of away travellers is as helpful as me telling you to stay at home because you want to sit.

boggzy said:

ValleyGary said:

This same old shite comes out every year. All the grumpy oldies sit at the front, all the gobby shitbags stand at the back, it’s not hard.

This!!

But it is hard. Can you really expect gobby shitbags to work that out?

In 50 years they’ll have to stop going to away games (as my Dad had to) due to wear and tear of body parts, so they’ll reap what they sow.

The solution to this problem I believe stares us in the face:

Maybe clubs should actually let people cheer for whatever team they choose in a designated stand. In practise, at The Valley for example,  away fans should be allowed in The West Stand to mingle with Charlton fans, and they should be allowed to sing and cheer for their team, with zero tolerance to chants against any team. We could actually exercise some tolerance and friendliness as we do currently outside the stadium,  and wait for it...............it would actually be quite fun! Radical ideas these days I know.

People may laugh and say that my idea is unworkable but give it a try. Strick segregation has been around for 40-50 years and society has changed a lot in that time. I think the gobby shitbags these days don’t want a fight, they prefer to cowardly congregate in a crowd to insult others from a safe distance anyway. Let the decent people sit down together and enjoy themselves together. If stadiums around the country can show respect to people in minute silences and minute applauses ( sometimes for people 100 years dead) then can’t they show respect to living people who have travelled a long way to simply support the other team? Good grief, indeed @arny23394

I only go to away games, 7 or 8 a year.
I am not really bothered where my seat is or whether I have to sit or stand, I just want to see the game. 
Arrived just in time for the Wrexham game, someone was in my seat (row D) with his mates. No problem, I asked where his allocated seat was and went there (two rows in front).
Everybody (well, nearly) was standing and I was happy to. Like someone said above, I'm 6'2" so I don't want to block anyones view but happy to swap seats with anyone.