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canary cherub

Unreserved seating?

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On another thread, people were suggesting that the lack of atmosphere could be partly due to the number of season ticket holders, especially when it means that friends can''t sit together.

Is there any reason why season tickets (and indeed casual tickets) can''t be issued for a particular stand, or possibly a particular block, rather than individual seats?  Some clubs do it already, at least for away fans (eg. Luton last season) so there can''t be a ban on it.  It would bring back some of the flexibility that you used to get with a standing terrace. 

Lack of atmosphere is a problem in football generally, not just at CR.

The club could try it as an experiment in one part of the ground, eg. Lower Barclay.

What do you think?

 

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Totally agree Mystic.....

This is very much a beef of mine. When my clan gather together...there are seven City fans. Years ago it meant a gleeful trip to Carrow Road together as a ''crowd''. Not any more though and sadly that tradition is over.

The result?....Five of the seven don''t ever go anymore. I don''t call that progress.

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i meet 2 mates (sometimes 3) before most games and we all sit in different areas. would be nice to be able to sit togther. id be a fan of this idear

jas :)

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Unreserved seating was rubbish at home! You had to get into the ground by 1.30 just to get a half decent seat in the Barclay. I have an excellent seat in the Barclay & everyone around me has had their same seats for the last few years. We all get on well & have a good laugh, this adds to the atmosphere IMHO. 

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I like the idea Mystic and I like original thought. To much stuff on this board is from people with no ideas except being destructive. It would be nice to go to a match with my 3 sons and 3 grandsons and all sit together. It cannot happen often as middle son is a retail store manager and young son is in the same boat although a little more flexible. Old son is in Oz but he occasionally gets back to Norwich and was so chewed up about the Ipswich result he could not force himself to read the report. Together sometimes we could all,sing and cheer AND FEEL A BIG DOSE OF HAPPINESS! First come , first served . I have no problem with that. Lets make the whole of the Barclay that way and the Snakepit too. Go for it!

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This is the sort of excellent suggestion that you think of 5 minutes after the end of the ''fans forum''! I like the sound of it and hope you''re planning on an inspired  email to the appropriate NCFC suit - is it Andrew Cullen at Sales & Marketing?I don''t know if many season ticket holders would back the idea - they love knowing exactly which seat they''re going to be in - so you''d need to keep this innovation to one area. Lower Barclay would be popular, as you suggest.On a connected topic, I''m sure the law never actually insisted on all-seater, it was the FA, so perhaps we could even push for the lower Barclay to become a standing terrace once more. I''d love to see City lead the way with an initiative like that. I think Lord Justice Taylor''s report recommended something like 85% seating in stadia, but the authorities decided to go the whole hog - something which has left many thousands of disgruntled fans.

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This sounds like a great idea, and maybe something a consultant group should put forward. I guess it would meet with opposition from people such as the Police, as it represents an erosion of their control and knowledge of the crowd.

It would be tricky for them to allow 5,000 fans to organise themselves. It is a lot harder moving from one end of a seated tier to another, as opposed to open terracing. Plus I bet a few people would be over-protective of their seat at halftime if everyone else pops to the bar/tiolets... Maybe that could be the new half time challenge - who can get the best seats for the second half?

I know away fans usually get the option when there''s no hope of the section being filled. It would be good if this could be trialled though... But then, what do I know... [:$]

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Bruce''s Header claims "Unreserved seating was rubbish at home! You had to get into the ground by 1.30 just to get a half decent seat in the Barclay. I have an excellent seat in the Barclay & everyone around me has had their same seats for the last few years. We all get on well & have a good laugh, this adds to the atmosphere IMHO. "I disagree BH. One of the losses at football is that people sit in the bars until just before kick-off - I used to love the hours build-up, all part of the entertainment, really getting some banter with the opposition.May I ask how long it took to develop this friendship? I always used to find myself near the same people without having a reservation. Regular attendees tend to go to the same area at a certain time each game, so you still see the same people each week, even without a reserved seat. The extra bonus was, when tormented by a moron, you had the freedom to move a few seats away, or to a different part of the stand for a week if you did fancy a change.

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I''d advise a note of caution on this, I''ve done a lot of work in customer service and it''s a nightmare if people all turn up five or ten minutes before time, not to mention late and all want seats together.

In addition the amount of people who have phobias about sitting next to someone and always leave empty seats in the middle of rows which means you have to move into the middle of row to get in.

Not for me I''m afraid.

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[quote user="mystic megson"]

Time for another letter to Mr Doncaster.  He must love me.  Perhaps they could discuss it at the Supporters Consultative Committee.

 

[/quote]

In your letter Mystic could you please suggest another area than the Lower Barclay. I know I''''m sad but 2 of my most precious possesions are my NCFC shares and my seat. Upsetting me is no problem but taking my daughters seat from her.. well, lets just say tou wouldn''t wanna [;)]

 

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Ideally all the spare seats from the buy back scheme would be grouped together in each stand, and a computerised system of allocating seats when entering the ground would be used. Season ticket holders who agree to be allocated different seats (couples etc would still be grouped) could be offered a discount.

The mad scramble to get on a budget airline flight would put me off the idea of completely unreserved seating. But the benefits of being able to watch matches with friends rather than sat on your own would be excellent.

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Hi,

I have a great seat in the Lower Barclay and would not want to give it up for anyone, esp. not so groups of people can sit together. It''s a football match, not a social get together. I don''t believe being with people you know makes you more vocal or supportive, nor does it give a better atmosphere.

The whole point of a season ticket is to have your own seat. Admittedly not me personally, as I''ve only been a season ticket holder for this season, but my family have paid thousands of pounds out over the years to have the same three seats. Why should we have to give that up?

If you are going to try this sort of thing, why not in the city or Jarrold stand where there seems to be no atmosphere at all? Or in the two corners which never fill up?

 

 

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[quote user="Barclaybeehatch"]

Hi,

I have a great seat in the Lower Barclay and would not want to give it up for anyone, esp. not so groups of people can sit together. It''s a football match, not a social get together. I don''t believe being with people you know makes you more vocal or supportive, nor does it give a better atmosphere.

The whole point of a season ticket is to have your own seat. Admittedly not me personally, as I''ve only been a season ticket holder for this season, but my family have paid thousands of pounds out over the years to have the same three seats. Why should we have to give that up?

If you are going to try this sort of thing, why not in the city or Jarrold stand where there seems to be no atmosphere at all? Or in the two corners which never fill up?

 

[/quote]

"It''s a football match, not a social get together" . . . Oh dear. 

I rest my case m''lud . . .

 

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[quote user="mystic megson"][quote user="Barclaybeehatch"]

Hi,

I have a great seat in the Lower Barclay and would not want to give it up for anyone, esp. not so groups of people can sit together. It''s a football match, not a social get together. I don''t believe being with people you know makes you more vocal or supportive, nor does it give a better atmosphere.

The whole point of a season ticket is to have your own seat. Admittedly not me personally, as I''ve only been a season ticket holder for this season, but my family have paid thousands of pounds out over the years to have the same three seats. Why should we have to give that up?

If you are going to try this sort of thing, why not in the city or Jarrold stand where there seems to be no atmosphere at all? Or in the two corners which never fill up?

 

[/quote]

"It''s a football match, not a social get together" . . . Oh dear. 

I rest my case m''lud . . .

 

[/quote]

 

I''m not sure I get your point, sorry.

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I don''t see how unreserved seating on a large scale could be implemented both fairly and safely. Especially with the ground being a near sellout every match.

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[quote user="Barclaybeehatch"][quote user="mystic megson"][quote user="Barclaybeehatch"]

Hi,

I have a great seat in the Lower Barclay and would not want to give it up for anyone, esp. not so groups of people can sit together. It''s a football match, not a social get together. I don''t believe being with people you know makes you more vocal or supportive, nor does it give a better atmosphere.

The whole point of a season ticket is to have your own seat. Admittedly not me personally, as I''ve only been a season ticket holder for this season, but my family have paid thousands of pounds out over the years to have the same three seats. Why should we have to give that up?

If you are going to try this sort of thing, why not in the city or Jarrold stand where there seems to be no atmosphere at all? Or in the two corners which never fill up?

 

[/quote]

"It''s a football match, not a social get together" . . . Oh dear. 

I rest my case m''lud . . .

 

[/quote]

 

I''m not sure I get your point, sorry.

[/quote]

I''m sorry too.  We are so far apart in understanding that I don''t think there''s any point continuing with this.  You''re entitled to your point of view.  Let''s just agree to disagree.

PS.  You''re not winding us up, are you?

 

 

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[quote user="Flan in the face"]I don''t see how unreserved seating on a large scale could be implemented both fairly and safely. Especially with the ground being a near sellout every match.

[/quote]

Could you elaborate on what your concerns are Flan?  Sounds a little vague to me.

 

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No way,not for me.I remember when the River End was first changed to seating,with unreserved seats.It was a nightmare.You had to get to the ground early to get a decent seat,then you daren''t move.It encouraged ''towel on sunbed syndrome'' where one person in a group would try and reseve seats for their mates/family.It was also a nightmare for the stewards,as the stand filled up,trying to fit people into the odd spare seats.

What you are effectively asking is for fans who have had season tickets some time,who do sit with their family/friends,and like their seats,to give them up for a free-for-all.I appreciate your problem,but I think you''ll just have to wait until the upper tier is put on the City Stand.

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The main point of my suggestion was to improve the atmosphere.  I didn''t expect it would ''Out'' the terminally selfish in such numbers.

Very, very depressing.

 

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[quote user="Fat Barman"]This is the sort of excellent suggestion that you think of 5 minutes after the end of the ''fans forum''! I like the sound of it and hope you''re planning on an inspired  email to the appropriate NCFC suit - is it Andrew Cullen at Sales & Marketing?

I don''t know if many season ticket holders would back the idea - they love knowing exactly which seat they''re going to be in - so you''d need to keep this innovation to one area. Lower Barclay would be popular, as you suggest.

On a connected topic, I''m sure the law never actually insisted on all-seater, it was the FA, so perhaps we could even push for the lower Barclay to become a standing terrace once more. I''d love to see City lead the way with an initiative like that. I think Lord Justice Taylor''s report recommended something like 85% seating in stadia, but the authorities decided to go the whole hog - something which has left many thousands of disgruntled fans.
[/quote]

 

Funny, was only discussing this subject after the game tuesday. How great would it be if City were the first club to stick they`re necks out and introduce a totally safe standing area? It would help bring the capacity up to somewhere approaching what is required, would improve the atmosphere, would bring alot of dissenting fans back on side and would be (are you reading Doncaster?) CHEAP! If the club went a bit OTT on the safety side-loads of exits, barriers and stewards-i think the authorities would just look silly trying to take action against them.

Of course, Doncaster is more likely to take a nice shiny apple down to his meetings at the FA rather than do anything which might upset them......

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[quote user="mystic megson"]

The main point of my suggestion was to improve the atmosphere.  I didn''t expect it would ''Out'' the terminally selfish in such numbers.

Very, very depressing.

 

[/quote]

You are on the ball with this Mystic....and I think we have a bit of the old ''that''s my chair'' syndrome coming out.

There are some excellent replies to this topic and it proves considerable dissatisfaction with the seating system. Some people can''t handle change of any kind for some reason....even if it means improvement for their fellow supporters. Gone are the days when kids were passed down to the front to get a better view eh?.......[:(] 

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When the Barclay was first built, the lower tier was - as many have said - an unreserved seating area.  This changed on higher profile games when the Barclay was likely to be full, and then season ticket holders had a designated seat they occupied.

The problem then, and almost certainly it would apply at least as stringently now, is the the County Council''s Safety Advisory Group would only issue a safety certificate for the ground provided the capacity of unreserved areas was reduced by 10%.  I don''t know the exact season ticket numbers in the lower Barclay, but I imagine cutting nearly 300 spaces out might well create a problem even before someone tried to put it into practice ...

In terms of safe standing areas, the imposition of all-seater stadia is entirely down to successive Governments.  As the Government has a appointee (dressed up as a member of the Football Licensing Authority) ''advising'' the Safely Advisory Group of every local authority, I''m afraid the immediate prospect of terracing reappearing in the top two divisions is pretty remote - let''s face it, this is the unelected body that finds it difficult to accept that people may stand up in a seated area for more than a few seconds at a time.

 

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[quote user="mystic megson"]

The main point of my suggestion was to improve the atmosphere.  I didn''t expect it would ''Out'' the terminally selfish in such numbers.

Very, very depressing.

 

[/quote]

Mystic

We all have to make a decision whether to renew every year and I seem to remember that you chose not to renew your season ticket and I respect your decision. But having made that decision it could be seen to be selfish to write to the club asking them to interfere with the arrangements they have made with people who chose to renew.

I do understand where you are coming from though and I don''t disagree with your sentiments about atmosphere at football in general. One way to regain some of that atmosphere and to allow casuals to be grouped together would be to introduce a safe standing area, as suggested on another post,  with possibly only a 50% or less season ticket option. Don''t ever see it happening though.

 

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[quote user="mystic megson"]

The main point of my suggestion was to improve the atmosphere.  I didn''t expect it would ''Out'' the terminally selfish in such numbers.

Very, very depressing.

 

[/quote]

 

I really think the amount of money people spend on season tickets gives them every right to be selfish.

 

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[/quote One of the losses at football is that people sit in the bars until just before kick-off -/quote]

This is NO loss - it''s one of the reasons reserved seating is best for me - 6 friends with season tickets together meeting for a few scoops before every game, getting to the ground 5 mins before kick off. Don''t think we''d bother if we needed to be there an hour before to have a chance of sitting together - it''s more the social side than the football side these days (thank god) as everyones married, kids etc.

 

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[/quote One of the losses at football is that people sit in the bars until just before kick-off -/quote]

This is NO loss - it''s one of the reasons reserved seating is best for me - 6 friends with season tickets together meeting for a few scoops before every game, getting to the ground 5 mins before kick off. Don''t think we''d bother if we needed to be there an hour before to have a chance of sitting together - it''s more the social side than the football side these days (thank god) as everyones married, kids etc.

 

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