I agree with every word.

He makes some reasonable points but why can't fans sing when they're sitting down?

They try but you feel more self-concious - don't ask me to explain it because I can't.

Its not a cure-all - I think the crowd has changed to the point that as I said to you at the start of the season there are far too meny "nice" people going to football nowadays but I think it would be a start.

I know that away fans generally stand and they generally sing and support a lot more than home fans - being "better" fans is a factor but I think standing helps.

His point about child-friendly pubs is spot on as well :) (sorry parents)

I think the idea that people will sing when standing up is a bit daft. Like we all burst into song every time we're on our feet. Its also true that the demographic in football has changed a lot in the last 15 years. Its no longer a w**king class sport. It now crosses all of the classes. But that isn't the reason for a lack of singing either though.

It all comes down to lack of alcohol inside most grounds these days. Everyone is much more likely to sing and be rowdy after a few pints. When you're stone cold sober, you feel too self conscious for singing. If you go to the cricket, everyone in the crowd drinks all day, everyone sings, and the atmosphere is great.

It annoys me that we have had to give up so much control over football because of a few violent dickheads. No drink in the ground, because some people can't handle it, and might start fighting. Well, its the same everywhere. You might as well ban pubs, as there is often some idiot who is about to kick off, once he gets drunk enough.

Why don't the police target the actual offenders, rather than tarring everyone with the same brush?

95% of fans don't turn up until 30 mins before kick off. Anone who wants a drink usually has plenty time. The "event" last 2 hours. Buying alcohol in the grounds has never been an issue though in general tems you are right. The 12:30 kick-offs for sky are usually dead. We play Arsenal at 17:15 next month and the atmosphere will be rocking.

I forgot to add you can buy alcohol in Premiership grounds nowadays anyway.

Sounds like a 'when I were a lad...' article to me - to the author I say you're living in a different world get over it. Maybe he's having a midlife crisis...

......ahh football in the park, jumpers for goalposts........

Maybe so but when football goes tits up in the next 5 years after they've squeezed too much blood out of the sky nouveau tossers it'll be people like him and me who'll still want to go.

There appear to be a growing number of people disillusioned with 'the game', so much so that championship and non league attendances are at their highest at the moment (ah so much info from the beeb). That would indicate the article has merit.

Nonetheless I would argue that clubs these days are just trying to w**k out how much (and I mean in cash terms) fans want to support their clubs. Deloitte's report on the Premiership details that on average far more than 60% of club revenue is spent on wages (chelski was 81% :o ).

The question really is not whether you can stand or not or whether the right type of man is going to the match, but whether you want to give that much cash to some kid who can kick a ball really well - so far people do.

I don't, but I wouldn't class myself a fan, I'm presuming the author does, but that's the economic choice: don't go if you don't like it anymore. :shrug:

The next TV deal may be the point it all comes to a head. If the EU ruling is followed and "top" clubs see their incomes hit then their instinct may be to raise prices. That will be fatal as I think its approaching breaking point with some signs already that fans have "had enough".

It may be a "desperate" idea to bring standing back to try and capture something that may have gone for good but there is still a lot of support for the idea and the off-hand dismissal of it as mentioned in the article does anger a lot of people.

When was the last time you went to a gig and the singer was sat in a plastic tip-up bucket seat with no leg room? :) Fans who sit down just don't sing - either you stand up or you don't make any noise. It's certainly not true that all people who stand up will sing, but fans who sing are invariably standing up when they do so.

I don't see any argument against bringing back terracing at top-flight grounds, provided access is properly controlled. It's no different to policing an all-seater stand - you know what the capacity is, so you don't let more people in than there are seats. Hardly rocket science.

There are quite a few things you can do to improve the matchday experience which don't involve redeveloping stadia though. For a start, ban all musical instruments from the ground (especially those fucking drums) and also stop playing music after a goal is scored. Improve the quality of food - outsource it if necessary - but a proper selection of food will not only make more money for the club but it'll keep fans happy. Allow alcohol into the stands, like at cricket. Don't employ arsey stewards *cough*Derby*cough* and don't try and ban swearing from the ground. Although it was funny to see Surrey plod nicking Franny Vines for swearing last season :)

For the record, the reason terracing is allowed at lower-league grounds is because they're almost never full, so capacity issues don't come into play. Also because it's much cheaper to build/maintain a terrace than an all-seater stand.