Town End

[Crazy Neil]

At last the opposition have been given an extension at YS instead of being given the Town End so make some noise lads and be the extra man

[York Street Pilgrim]

It's not so good for those of us that have our regular spots in the York Street end though, is it?

Personally I think it's a bit unfair to force any regular home supporters, season ticket holders, etc., away from their preferred spots for the sake of supporters who will only be attending one game at York Street all season. Loyalty should be with the home crowd. But I do understand that money talks.

[beefpilgrim]

On the other hand, is it not the same principal when the town end regulars get turfed out. There are arguably more supporters who frequent the townend than the york street end.
These decisions will never please everyone unfortunatley.

[York Street Pilgrim]

90 per cent of the away grounds we visit don't segrega between home and away fans, and that would include visits from the bigger supported clubs like Stockport. By lifting the segregation restrictions on York Street you could arguably keep more people happy _ first come first served, but all of the home supporters would stand in their regular places and the away fans would mingle around us.

I know there have been arguments in the past about the ground losing its A grading if we removed the segregation and that would affect us if we got back in the league, but with the Quadrant around the corner we're safe to assume that York Street will never hold Football League matches again. Would it really matter therefore if we reduced the ground grading?

Any arguments around police advice, stewarding and crowd safety shouldn't really apply, as why would we be any different from the clubs that don't segregate?

[youngchubby69]

Really good point YSP, seems all a little OTT if you ask me, I stand on Spayne Rd and would be really annoyed if someone moved me.
But I do think the club are trying to keep the atmosphere going in the ground,with keeping the town end for our fans, Adam Murray seems to like the good atmosphere thing,he probably use's it as motivation tool for the players.
Its nice to think that the chairman is a proactive man,in trying to keep the Town End on match days,but sadly at you and others expense.
You are most welcome to come and stand with me if you wish.

[Pilgrim86]

We have to segregate, it's part of the safety certificate for the ground. Without it, we play behind closed doors.

The alternative is to allow Stockport fans into all areas - can't see the stewards/police wanting that.

[The Third Twin]

We have to segregate, it's part of the safety certificate for the ground. Without it, we play behind closed doors.

The alternative is to allow Stockport fans into all areas - can't see the stewards/police wanting that.

there's always at least a dozen sat in the main stand behind us every year as it is, and the stewards do or say nothing about it.

[youngchubby69]

Do they behave themselves TTT ?

[The Third Twin]

Do they behave themselves TTT ?

they are often quite vocal, but not obscene

[York Street Pilgrim]

We have to segregate, it's part of the safety certificate for the ground. Without it, we play behind closed doors.

The alternative is to allow Stockport fans into all areas - can't see the stewards/police wanting that.

This argument doesn't make sense. FC United have a similar sized ground to ourselves and bigger crowds. Yet home and away fans go through the same turnstile and there's no enforced segregation. Why then would that have a safety certificate when the same arrangements at York Street would affect ours?

You have to listen to police advice of course, but at the same time surely they're aware that 99.99 per cent of spectators are there to watch a football match as opposed to looking to cause trouble. There's no previous history as far as I'm aware of trouble between Boston and Stockport, therefore why would advice on Saturday s game suggest segregation?

[Lee Newell]

From memory, I'm sure we had the Town End last season v Stockport and they had the york street end. Don't think they brought that many.

[Pilgrim86]

We have to segregate, it's part of the safety certificate for the ground. Without it, we play behind closed doors.

The alternative is to allow Stockport fans into all areas - can't see the stewards/police wanting that.

This argument doesn't make sense. FC United have a similar sized ground to ourselves and bigger crowds. Yet home and away fans go through the same turnstile and there's no enforced segregation. Why then would that have a safety certificate when the same arrangements at York Street would affect ours?

You have to listen to police advice of course, but at the same time surely they're aware that 99.99 per cent of spectators are there to watch a football match as opposed to looking to cause trouble. There's no previous history as far as I'm aware of trouble between Boston and Stockport, therefore why would advice on Saturday s game suggest segregation?

Every ground's safety certificate is different. Ours includes mandatory segregation - FCUM's won't do, but will includes details on where they CAN segregate on a match-by-match decision (mainly for local games, e.g. Stockport!).

[Pete Brooksbank]

York Street has proper stands with dedicated entrances and exits, and each one of these stands will have a maximum safe capacity based on a number of factors. Segregation is likely enforced to ensure no stand exceeds its maximum safe capacity. It’s a bit different at grounds like North Ferriby where they don’t really have stands per se, just an open ground with terracing that doesn't have dedicated exits/vomitaries that could become dangerously congested.

As an example, if segregation wasn’t enforced, the narrow gate between the Main Stand and the York Street end could get very nasty if large numbers of people attempted to move around the ground. As far as I’m aware, the FC United ground has no such pinch points because it was designed quite differently.

Segregation is definitely the best option for a ground like ours, and it annoys me when people criticise the club (the safety board, really) for giving away the Town End – they have a responsibility to ensure no-one gets hurt and in a ground like ours there are far more potential trouble spots than you realise.

[York Street Pilgrim]

Useful to know Pete B and a good post, though I'd disagree with you on the lack of pinch points at FC United. One of the walkways (e.g. underneath the large terrace stand behind the goal) is narrow at both ends - I think probably narrower than anything we've got at York Street. Add into the mix the fact that there's a bar underneath and you can easily see a situation in which lots of people are heading for those entry points at the same time - e.g. on the stroke of half-time. If that passes it's safety certificate I don't see why York Street wouldn't.

[Pete Brooksbank]

Useful to know Pete B and a good post, though I'd disagree with you on the lack of pinch points at FC United. One of the walkways (e.g. underneath the large terrace stand behind the goal) is narrow at both ends - I think probably narrower than anything we've got at York Street. Add into the mix the fact that there's a bar underneath and you can easily see a situation in which lots of people are heading for those entry points at the same time - e.g. on the stroke of half-time. If that passes it's safety certificate I don't see why York Street wouldn't.

True. I've not been to FC United yet so I was only going from the pictures I've seen online, where the ground looks a lot easier to navigate than ours. I agree that it's frustrating that the green guide is interpreted differently when it comes to these things, but I still think segregation is right for YS. As I say, I think it's less about keeping home and away fans separate (after all, they mingle quite happily in the bar, which is always good to see) and more about just restricting general movement around the ground. It's not a very 'non-league' approach, of course - but we don't really have a non-league style ground! Plus it also allows the club to operate a different pricing structure for standing/sitting.