Southampton Stewards

[Fez of Mahrez]

Very true ; the stewards ( like traffic wardens etc) have a job to do that involves telling a few people that the feckin world does not revolve around them and what they want to do

They seemed ok to me (no better no worse than any other ) it is , after all , a pretty standard job

We stood up a few times when the occasional excitement on the pitch causes that reaction to stand , and then sat again a few seconds later and none of us were spoken to by the stewards

Maybe the ones saying that the stewards should use more discretion ( and stupidly relating it to penis size etc) should look to themselves to use more

Standing up in a football ground! It's the new paedophilia!

I've seen some pretty vile behaviour at football grounds over the last few years - fans spitting at the back of the Walkers, blokes openly smoking in other people's faces at Coventry the other week, people trying to start fights with their own fans, racial abuse, sexism, throwing things onto the pitch etc etc - most of that the stewards have turned a blind eye to. Don't get me wrong, some of these characters are not people I'd like to get involved with. But to start chucking out kids for standing at a Tuesday night game at Southampton? Have a word with yourself.

I've got powers in my job that I could exercise if I wanted to but it doesn't mean I do. I certainly wouldn't have done anything comparable to what they did last night.

[purpleronnie]

I hope people have contacted southampton even its just by email to tell them what you think. Dont complain about them on here be a bit more pro active. We are great moaners but terrible complainers.

[Fez of Mahrez]

I hope people have contacted southampton even its just by email to tell them what you think. Dont complain about them on here be a bit more pro active. We are great moaners but terrible complainers.

As you can probably tell, I'll be complaining.

[Corky]

The same thing happened in the 3-1 defeat at Norwich last season. Some of our fans wanted to stand, the stewards wouldn't let them, but the home end stood throughout. The stewards didn't even look interested in the Norwich fans.

To be fair at the Walkers, the stewards let the away fans, as well as L1, stand throughout. You can't have one rule for one, one for the other.

[Leicester Lass]

I may have a few words about this as well, anybody have any idea what the e-mail address is?

[purpleronnie]

I may have a few words about this as well, anybody have any idea what the e-mail address is?

Check their website, theres a supporters feedback form you can fill out, and a host of emai addressesl+tel numbers.

[Zingari]

Standing up in a football ground! It's the new paedophilia!

I've seen some pretty vile behaviour at football grounds over the last few years - fans spitting at the back of the Walkers, blokes openly smoking in other people's faces at Coventry the other week, people trying to start fights with their own fans, racial abuse, sexism, throwing things onto the pitch etc etc - most of that the stewards have turned a blind eye to. Don't get me wrong, some of these characters are not people I'd like to get involved with. But to start chucking out kids for standing at a Tuesday night game at Southampton? Have a word with yourself.

I've got powers in my job that I could exercise if I wanted to but it doesn't mean I do. I certainly wouldn't have done anything comparable to what they did last night.

Stewarding at a football ground is just that ; "stewarding" .

This involves ,telling people where to sit and generally "keeping an eye out" for bad behaviour . They are NOT policeman who are the ones that should be dealing with the example situations that you describe . They should relay these concerns to the police, but if there is considered to be danger to themselves they are not expected to intervene .

In the same way that a car park attendant is not expected to chase after drink drivers or any other motoring related offences.

And i would have a word with myself if it was me making the stupid suggestion that somehow standing up at football grounds is evenly remotely considered by anyone to be the new paedophilia

( actually if you really do think this, then you should have a word with someone who is more qualified in mental illness )

[Floating Fox]

Very true ; the stewards ( like traffic wardens etc) have a job to do that involves telling a few people that the feckin world does not revolve around them and what they want to do

They seemed ok to me (no better no worse than any other ) it is , after all , a pretty standard job

We stood up a few times when the occasional excitement on the pitch causes that reaction to stand , and then sat again a few seconds later and none of us were spoken to by the stewards

Maybe the ones saying that the stewards should use more discretion ( and stupidly relating it to penis size etc) should look to themselves to use more

I don't know wether it has ever crossed your mind, but some people prefer to stand at the game (And by that I don't mean at moments of excitement)

Why is it to much to ask for some common sense, to have un-reserved seating, and to allow people at the back to stand up, when (And espcially if they had unreserved seating) they wouldn't be blocking anyones view..?

As for the abuse of stewards, I think it is more a heat-of-the-moment thing, genrally speaking they are okay, It is just a fair few (Not always the minority at some grounds) give them a really, really bad name.

This has made me angry and made me remember the whole preston fiasco. I'll be writing a letter to the Football League Complaints Commission tonight.

[syston_fox]

Check their website, theres a supporters feedback form you can fill out, and a host of emai addressesl+tel numbers.

I'd guess it would be best to use the e-mail adds rather than a feedback form - at least you know that an e-mail is going somewhere!! I might well jump on the bandwagon and send a message off because they were a joke.... although Jamie arguably had a better time outside than those at St Mary's.

[Saint G]

To be fair the stewards at most grounds these days seem pretty bad.

The fans to the left of you arn't that bad, the stewards usually make them sit down except for the back couple of rows.

But to your right (where I sit) the stewards don't even go past the 10th row back as they get abuse etc aimed towards them. They give up trying to make 3,000 people sit down. Safety in numbers!

[lildave3]

To be fair the stewards at most grounds these days seem pretty bad.

The fans to the left of you arn't that bad, the stewards usually make them sit down except for the back couple of rows.

But to your right (where I sit) the stewards don't even go past the 10th row back as they get abuse etc aimed towards them. They give up trying to make 3,000 people sit down. Safety in numbers!

I was displeased at the lack of Itchen/Northam chant this time round.

[Saint G]

I was displeased at the lack of Itchen/Northam chant this time round.

Ah well you only get that when the game is boring, which I guess was most of the first half. Not a chance of that after we scored though.

Not many songs directed at yours fans either, and suprisingly none about the chairman.

[syston_fox]

Ah well you only get that when the game is boring, which I guess was most of the first half. Not a chance of that after we scored though.

Not many songs directed at yours fans either, and suprisingly none about the chairman.

And far too many renditions of "oh when the saints!"

[lildave3]

And far too many renditions of "oh when the saints!"

Hideously so.

[Saint G]

, what do you expect? Atleast it's not oh when the spurs, or oh when the reds. Teams should get their own dam songs!

[Sods]

To be fair the stewards at most grounds these days seem pretty bad.

The fans to the left of you arn't that bad, the stewards usually make them sit down except for the back couple of rows.

But to your right (where I sit) the stewards don't even go past the 10th row back as they get abuse etc aimed towards them. They give up trying to make 3,000 people sit down. Safety in numbers!

So if we had been abusive we would of got away with it.

[Saint G]

So if we had been abusive we would of got away with it.

Well don't, mainly because you don't play at st. marys atleast 23 times a season.

[Alexikokopops]

I hope people have contacted southampton even its just by email to tell them what you think. Dont complain about them on here be a bit more pro active. We are great moaners but terrible complainers.

My sister's boyfriend who came with the match with me is writing a letter of complaint (and he's a bloody Arsenal fan).

He was also the one told off for taking pictures, ha.

[Fez of Mahrez]

Stewarding at a football ground is just that ; "stewarding" .

This involves ,telling people where to sit and generally "keeping an eye out" for bad behaviour . They are NOT policeman who are the ones that should be dealing with the example situations that you describe . They should relay these concerns to the police, but if there is considered to be danger to themselves they are not expected to intervene .

In the same way that a car park attendant is not expected to chase after drink drivers or any other motoring related offences.

And i would have a word with myself if it was me making the stupid suggestion that somehow standing up at football grounds is evenly remotely considered by anyone to be the new paedophilia

( actually if you really do think this, then you should have a word with someone who is more qualified in mental illness )

Oh get over yourself. If you really think ejecting people for standing at the back of stadia counts as "bad behaviour" then fair enough. I may be having a moan at a situation that occurred but you seem to just be having a moan for the sake of argument. If you could see the bigger picture perhaps you could appreciate that for people who go to games to enjoy themselves and try and get something out of even the most soul-destroying defeats and goalless draws, last night was incredibly frustrating - something that is heightened by the situation on the pitch and in the league table.

[Zingari]

Oh get over yourself. If you really think ejecting people for standing at the back of stadia counts as "bad behaviour" then fair enough. I may be having a moan at a situation that occurred but you seem to just be having a moan for the sake of argument. If you could see the bigger picture perhaps you could appreciate that for people who go to games to enjoy themselves and try and get something out of even the most soul-destroying defeats and goalless draws, last night was incredibly frustrating - something that is heightened by the situation on the pitch and in the league table.

ok ok you win , i now see the bigger picture , yes indeed,

Being able to stand at all seater stadia is a very serious social injustice that needs to be addressed and i urge you to continue your lantern jawed fight against the fascist stewards , whose only aim in life is to ruin our enjoyment

( they only do it cos they've got little dicks you know )

It doesn't matter how many grounds you and your defenders of the people's right to stand get ejected from ,one day you will win and the world will rejoice once again

Seriously , if you feel that want to protest about something ( as most angry young men/adolescents do ) , protest about something that actually fecking matters .

[Floating Fox]

ok ok you win , i now see the bigger picture , yes indeed,

Being able to stand at all seater stadia is a very serious social injustice that needs to be addressed and i urge you to continue your lantern jawed fight against the fascist stewards , whose only aim in life is to ruin our enjoyment

( they only do it cos they've got little dicks you know )

It doesn't matter how many grounds you and your defenders of the people's right to stand get ejected from ,one day you will win and the world will rejoice once again

Seriously , if you feel that want to protest about something ( as most angry young men/adolescents do ) , protest about something that actually fecking matters .

What??!?

[Simi]

Seriously , if you feel that want to protest about something ( as most angry young men/adolescents do ) , protest about something that actually fecking matters .

You've got to love the dismissal of other peoples opinions and views.

[Zingari]

You've got to love the dismissal of other peoples opinions and views.

yeah , i don't care what anyone thinks

really i do take the point about standing at grounds ( but dems de rules) and it is no more use blaming the Southampton stewards ( see thread title ) than blaming traffic wardens for where yellow lines are .

i'd love to see standing areas re-introduced, but don't think getting chucked out of grounds will achieve it ,and i don't have any sympathy for those that get thrown out any more than people who get parking fines .

good luck with the campaign , if thats what you're about

[Shrenchel]

i'd love to see standing areas re-introduced, but don't think getting chucked out of grounds will achieve it

What do you suggest then geez?!

Every avenue has been explored. Indisputable evidence about the safety of modern standing areas was presented to the government along with the signatures of over 100 MPs who support the motion. Hundreds, probably thousands of letters have been written to clubs, MPs, the police etc on this issue. National newspapers have ran campaigns exposing the fallacies about the dangers of standing at football and called for its reintroduction.

None of this altered the fact that the powers that be couldn't give two ****s about the average fan. What's keeping the campaign alive is the fact that every week tens of thousands fans from clubs like Man Utd, Villa, Leeds, Newcastle, Spurs, West Ham etc stand at the football and display that despite the FLA's attempts to turn every fan into a docile, silent sitter many many many want the choice whether to stand or not. It's a shame we can't be one of those clubs.

[TAFKA Castroneves]

I was row LL on the left hand side at the game (so quite near the back) and the stewards were not good at all. From what I saw the majority of the people wanting to stand did so with a lot of respect for other people sitting behind and so forth. The thing that got to me was the fact that you guys standing at the back seemed to be constantly targeted when you were in the best place to be standing and not causing any problems. Sigh.