Posted by MC on November 23, 2000 at 11:37:20:
Join the campaign and lets get standing back.
STANDING AREAS
S.A.F.E. standing areas for eastlands (MCFC) Spokesperson
Phill Gatenby. [email protected]
www.footballsupporter.net/safe Issue 8 - 22nd November 2000 Well, it is not even the end of November yet and this is the third newsletter this month! Literally, each day has seen new developments and activity with the campaign. Issue 7 was only sent via the email, as I knew this update would follow quickly, so for the benefit of those receiving this by post, I will begin
with an update from issue 6. The campaign has received 2 sources of support from the political arena. Tom Pendry, MP for Stalybridge and Hyde � and Chairman of the Football Trust - has expressed the need for dialogue between Government officials and other bodies
on the issue of safe standing areas, which he has
advocated for a number of years now. Bob Russell MP for Colchester - who is the Liberal Democrats
Spokesperson for Sport (and a season ticket holder at Colchester United for 44 years) - contacted us and offered his full support. We need to build on support from other MP�s who would also be likely to support the campaign.
Until 2 weeks ago, the campaign was moving on at a pace we could keep up with, with a few new contacts and supporters groups getting in touch weekly. This all changed after an unlikely source bought the subject of lack of atmospheres in stadiums into the national spotlight - and propelled the issue of standing areas as a solution to the problem. Step forward a certain Mr Roy Keane!
Regardless of whether you think he was correct in his observations or accused him of biting the hand that feeds him, his comments certainly created the environment for the media to debate the subject of atmospheres, �corporate spectating� and standing. The Independent (Friday 10th November) featured an article on Keane�s comments, linking it nicely with safe standing areas and featured interviews with the Independent Manchester United Supporters Association (IMUSA) and SAFE. The following day, the paper gave contact details for SAFE and the web site details for Bayern Munich�s stadium http://www.m-u-f-c.co.uk/tsj/Olympiastadion.htm , which brought in a whole flood of support.
Also on the 11th November, I was able to gain a fair bit of air time on Tom Watt�s show �it�s round and it�s white� on Talk Sport, whilst IMUSA did likewise on Kevin Miles show �early doors� on BBC Radio 5 Live. Then, on Tuesday 14th November, Alan Brazil on Talk
Sport, hosted an hour-long debate on the subject of whether or not standing areas should return. I managed to book the first call, setting out the aims of the campaign and bringing the German issue into the debate. The producers managed to pretty much alternate �for and against� callers - and once again SAFE was backed up by IMUSA who also managed to get onto the airwaves.
The star of the show was undoubtedly Brazil�s studio guest, Alan Parry, who stood firm on his belief that safe standing areas should be implemented into stadiums. The rest of the week was then spent dealing with various aspects of the media resulting in the following: On Sunday 19th November, Sport First produced an excellent feature covering nearly 4 pages on the return of standing areas. Alongside a large article on SAFE (including IMUSA again) was an interesting interview with former Arsenal and Scotland
player, Frank McLintock - who referred to the
�Highbury Library�, and calling for standing areas to be built at Arsenal�s new stadium.
2 other articles looked at The Taylor Report and the state of stadiums at the time of the Hillsborough tragedy and a look at current stadia in Germany and Italy, ending with comments from Simon Inglis - a leading authority (and author) on stadium designs. Inglis discussed the difficulties the campaign faces,
both political and technical. Indeed members of both SAFE and IMUSA met Inglis at a reading session for his latest book, �Sightlines�, at Waterstones bookshop in Manchester on Friday 17th November, when he expressed the same comments.
On Tuesday 21st November, I was interviewed by Sky Sports for a show to be screened that afternoon. This was followed by a good feature in the Manchester Evening News, highlighting the fact that City and United fans have put their �rivalries� to one side and joined forces on the campaign. Wednesday 22nd, the Evening News followed up with the leading article on
Paul Hince�s weekly sports column, supporting Kate Hoey MP in her efforts to �persuade English soccer�s top brass to reinstate terrace areas in grounds�.� Good luck with your campaign Kate � let us know if we can be of any assistance!!!
However, the biggest media scoop has come from the BBC�s consumer affairs show �Watchdog�. All last week I was in contact with a team from the programme - who are also very supportive of the campaign. Before the �derby� game on Saturday, a few interviews were recorded and these will be shown on this coming Friday 24th November at 7pm on BBC 1. The feature also includes interviews with high profile supporters of the campaign � one of which may surprise you! To date,
the Government, Football Licensing Authority and The Premier League have all declined to speak against the campaign in the studio live.
Whilst all the media interest over Keane�s comments took up welcome space in the press, a few papers also picked up on the story of safety issues over cantilever stands not being able to hold the weight of fans standing up throughout the
game in seated areas. You may recall there was a scare at Anfield during a pre-season game against Celtic, when the upper tier appeared to �move�. The Premier League has ordered every ground to have further checks within the next fortnight. A spokesman for the Premier
League even called for fans to �think seriously about the safety aspects of this and to remain seated�! It goes without saying that if a stand is moving due to the weight, it is not because fans are standing up, but most likely due to (once again) clubs / developers cutting costs and producing on the cheap.
Surely when being built, it must be taken into account that at certain times (ie when a goal is scored) the whole stand will jump up and celebrate within seconds of each other. Once again, the fans are being blamed for the negligence of those who are responsible for
our safety and well being within the walls of the
stadiums�. The spokesman went on to say that whilst there is an issue of safety here, the issue of standing is not up for discussion. So we must write ask �when will it be an issue for discussion?� Then there was the marvellous news that apparently the
Premier League are powerless to stop Fulham from using
terraces at Craven Cottage next season - should they
win promotion to the nations top league.
Of course, if fans are able to stand safely at Craven Cottage, then why not elsewhere? SAFE shall be arguing the point that even we are not satisfied with the quality of the terraces at Fulham and want to see even safer standing areas implemented! And � pause for breath - that�s what has been happening over the last 2 weeks! Action. Write to the following people: Your
MP at - The House of Commons, London, SW1A 0AA The Premier League, 11 Connought Place, London, W2 2ET & Your club chairman
This is crucial to ensure the above realise the strength of commitment from all fans on
this subject. To keep the campaign moving further, pass this on to your club fanzine, supporters association and local press / radio station.
You may have noticed from the heading, we are now on the web! The site is almost finished, just a few little things to add, but thought it was best to launch it with this issue. We are open to suggestions to improve the site, please drop a line with any ideas. If you are from a fanzine, supporters club or association, please reply with details, so we can produce a list showing who is supporting the campaign.
Some of you are happy to receive the newsletters, but would prefer not to have your address revealed. Please contact me and I shall ensure your copy is sent without details displayed (but there are over 90 of you � so please don�t all do it!) I understand I may
be able to send future newsletters from the web site direct, but bare with me, I am a technological virgin!
Finally, thanks to all those involved in the media who have given us so much support as outlined above. It is important to maintain as high a profile as we can otherwise we could be in danger of simply disappearing or being forgotten about. Oh yeah, and thanks to Roy
Keane too!
Thanks.