To stand, or not to stand, that is the question…

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As Kent Nielsen’s shot went in against Inter Milan, the Holte End went crazy. This was one of the last standout memories Villa fans have of standing areas. By 1994, standing had been abolished in the top two tiers of English football, following the recommendations of the Taylor report.

With calls for the reintroduction of terracing, the major talking point is whether or not standing is safe.

I went to the safe standing demonstration at Villa Park yesterday and the proposed system looks like a very simple but effective one. All it involves is a barrier in front of every row of lock and key seats, which means stadia could easily be reconfigured as and when necessary. Jon Darch, who runs the Safe Standing Roadshow, has visited Germany to see how the rail seating system works and he has brought the idea over to Britain.

In response to The Telegraph’s poll – Should safe standing return to English football? – 92% of supporters said yes.

The safe standing rail seats are split up by a barrier every row or every two rows, which gives fans safety, whereas barriers were at a minimum in the past. The increased presence of barriers increases the safety of supporters who are standing.

Overall, it generates a better atmosphere. A lot of fans refer to the old days, when all of the Holte was standing. This created a party-like atmosphere as it allowed fans to jump and go crazy with their celebrations. Standing brings back good memories. My dad highlighted the game against Inter Milan in 1990, when the reaction of the crowd to Kent Nielsen’s pile driver was amazing. They were memories to cherish.

The reduction in ticket prices that safe standing would bring is a major advantage for some fans. Some supporters’ finances mean they can’t afford to go to a lot of the games. With cheaper tickets, they could get to some more games, which is a bonus. Supporters can also socialise more with friends and family when standing in a certain area.

The safe standing clearly works in lower leagues and also in other sports, such as horse racing. If safe standing is fine to use in other divisions, why not in the top division of English football?

On the other hand, clubs have had to spend money to convert from standing to all-seater stadiums and would need to spend money to transform some parts of the ground to accommodate standing again.

It may become intimidating for younger fans. When Villa score, and everyone is jumping, what happens if a child gets separated from his or her carer? The child may panic after losing sight of his or her carer. However, Jon Darch also has a plan to counteract this: introducing a children’s zone in which the children could be left with stewards to watch the game of football by themselves.

Another talking point may be the Hillsborough disaster, which means standing may bring back disturbing memories. Margaret Aspinall, whose 18-year-old son James was one of the unfortunate victims at Hillsborough, chairs the Hillsborough Family Support Group and she had this to say:

“There are 96 reasons why it should not be allowed, there were 96 dead at Hillsborough and it could have been a lot more. Standing should never, ever come back. I do not think there is anything safe about standing. I feel insulted that while people are trying to fight for justice for Hillsborough, that this campaign is growing now.”

What are your thoughts about safe standing? What is your experience of standing in the past? Let me know by leaving a comment below.

4 comments

  1. I like every football fan feel terribly about what happened to the 96 who lost there lives on that awful day but if we continue to stigmatize standing at grounds which work perfectly at the biggest stadiums in Europe except the UK then, What does that say about us as a nation? For me that show’s we are living in the past, We have moved on leaps and bounds from the dark day of Hillsborough and despite Margaret Aspinall’s comments which in reality can be accepted due to her loss, I humbly disagree and believe the time is right and the time is NOW to bring back safe standing for the good of the game and its FANS.

  2. Hillsbourgh had very little to do with fans standing but more bad policing and bad crowd control, thousands of games before that had been played before then without any problems.

    Do i think they should bring back standing then “yes” is the simple answer, will it ever happen “No” i believe it won’t.

    It would cost way to much money to convert grounds into part seating stadiums and as for your comment that it would be cheaper standing, then your mistaken as they would probably be the most expensive and sought after positions in any ground.

    Meanwhile i will still have to suffer those people who decide to stand anyway, and being a small person i struggle to get a view of the game, and that is what i go to watch, not the back of someone,s head.

    U.T.V

  3. Definitely YES to bringing back standing areas. The tradegy of. Hillsborough was down to useless and spiteful policing and a shocking level of crowd control. I think a better way to honour the victims would be to bring back SAFE STANDING at more affordable prices so that working class people can once again take their kids down safely like my dad did with me an my 3 brothers. Rip 96.

  4. ….. I would rather not stand for 90 minutes. Everyone says they want standing now. But we are all so used to sitting that if we do convert to standing its probable that most people will complain they cannot sit lol. Hate to say it, but god knows im a lazy SOB and so are most of us whether we want to admit it or not.

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