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24 August 2018

Supporter safety update

 
 SMFC Webteam
 Fans News

Following a few unsavoury incidents during our recent match at Ibrox we have received some emails from our supporters and SMISA asking us to consider the security arrangements around any future fixtures at our own stadium where visiting fans will be housed in both the North & South Stands.

In our original announcement regarding the segregation arrangements at those matches we hopefully explained clearly the reasoning and rationale behind the decision. Although there is an obvious financial benefit to the club the security and safety of our own fans will always be our number one priority and we conducted a full due diligence review with our advisors prior to confirming the segregation arrangements.

The clear advice from our safety group, comprising stewards, local police and our own safety officers was that the arrangements offered no concerns over and above those normally associated with hosting high profile matches. There are no concerns over supporter safety and as such we have no further plans to review the segregation arrangements over and above anything which is recommended during our regular pre-match safety briefings.

In actual fact the safety advice we have received is that containing visiting fans within their own specific sections of the stadium, rather than for example sharing the West Stand with home fans, makes policing the match easier than it would have been previously.

Similarly we hope that the increased capacity afforded to the visiting teams on these occasions will reduce the risk of away fans purchasing tickets for the home end of the stadium, something that we have experienced in the past and which causes obvious issues.

Your safety and enjoyment when visiting the Simple Digital Arena is of paramount importance to us and you can rest assured we will do whatever is necessary to make sure you can enjoy your football in a safe environment, taking any additional measures that are recommended by our safety advisors in the run up to these matches.

We anticipate the game against Celtic on Friday 14th September could be the first ever match to reach maximum capacity at the stadium since our move in 2009 so we would recommend buying your tickets as early as possible to avoid any disappointment.

Tickets go on general sale next Thursday, August 30th so we would recommend any season ticket holders from the Family Stand make use of the opportunity to have first choice of the remaining seats before that general sale period begins.

We are all adapting to life back in the top division, both on and off the field, and as ever we appreciate your patience and support as we do so.

#COYS

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Celtic game, moved to a Friday, live on TV, will be heading towards maximum capacity for the first time at the Simple Twenny Twenny Wan.... what drugs are the club officials on when they post shite like this? It might be at capacity in the two stands the club are giving the cnuts, but the two remaining home stands will frankly not be at maximum capacity. I know for sure of one ST holder who’s seat will be empty for the ugly sisters games - mine. So there’s maximum capacity fcuking blown right out of the water by one seat at least. 

Edited by pozbaird
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3 minutes ago, pozbaird said:

Celtic game, moved to a Friday, live on TV, will be heading towards maximum capacity for the first time at the Simple Twenny Twenny Wan.... what drugs are the club officials on when they post shite like this? It might be at capacity in the two stands the club are giving the cnuts, but the two remaining home stands will frankly not be at maximum capacity. I know for sure of one ST holder who’s seat will be empty for the ugly sisters games - mine. So there’s maximum capacity fcuking blown right out of the water by one seat at least. 

I won't ether due to no late ferry. It won't stop me going to Saturday's games my team need the backing :P We go where ever St Mirren go. 

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4 minutes ago, Isle Of Bute Saint said:

I won't ether due to no late ferry. It won't stop me going to Saturday's games my team need the backing :P We go where ever St Mirren go. 

I’ll  go wherever Saint Murrn go,

We are the North Bank agg-a-ro,

We’ll take you on, wherever that may be,

Unless it’s the cnuts and it’s on TV.

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Did have to chuckle at the "we expect maximum capacity".... unless of course thats the Donald Trump take on maximum capacity?

but hey! The club may be intending to pull the same stunt celtic do when they are out of europe and fans stop attending by always quoting ST sales in the attendance figure even if their not there at all?

Edited by Lord Pityme
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16 minutes ago, pozbaird said:

Celtic game, moved to a Friday, live on TV, will be heading towards maximum capacity for the first time at the Simple Twenny Twenny Wan.... what drugs are the club officials on when they post shite like this? It might be at capacity in the two stands the club are giving the cnuts, but the two remaining home stands will frankly not be at maximum capacity. I know for sure of one ST holder who’s seat will be empty for the ugly sisters games - mine. So there’s maximum capacity fcuking blown right out of the water by one seat at least. 

They're probably looking at the sale of tickets to Celtic, the season tickets in the West and Main Stands, and the number of season ticket holders in the Family Stand who have currently bought a reduced price ticket, and forecasting that there will be no spare tickets. There isn't a system where they can forsee your future whereabouts... :wink:

They're also attempting to hype the game to try to get as many tickets as possible sold.

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46 minutes ago, Soctty said:

They're probably looking at the sale of tickets to Celtic, the season tickets in the West and Main Stands, and the number of season ticket holders in the Family Stand who have currently bought a reduced price ticket, and forecasting that there will be no spare tickets. There isn't a system where they can forsee your future whereabouts... :wink:

They're also attempting to hype the game to try to get as many tickets as possible sold.

Aye, I know that, but they also know that there’s a percentage of Saints fans who choose to give games against those two the body-swerve, hence my raised eyebrow and sniggering at any claim to ‘hurry the fcuk up and get your tickets before we hit maximum capacity for the first time ever at the new midden’... aye, right ye’ are.

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Seems like a sensible outcome after consulting the experts in maintaining stadium safety on match days.

Considering Partick Thistle and Kilmarnock seemed to have survived their bigot infestations last week without any reported incidents, a club of our stature should be able to cope too.

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26 minutes ago, FTOF said:

Seems like a sensible outcome after consulting the experts in maintaining stadium safety on match days.

Considering Partick Thistle and Kilmarnock seemed to have survived their bigot infestations last week without any reported incidents, a club of our stature should be able to cope too.

Quick question? given your sanguine attitude to this, does your user name stands for Facilitate The Old Firm???

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48 minutes ago, FTOF said:

Seems like a sensible outcome after consulting the experts in maintaining stadium safety on match days.

Considering Partick Thistle and Kilmarnock seemed to have survived their bigot infestations last week without any reported incidents, a club of our stature should be able to cope too.

Some of our support are in denial that crowds have been growing at a fast rate over the past three seasons and set to grow further this year.  However, not enough fans have converted their interest in the club into buying out season tickets in the three "home stands". The size of expected away supports will be sharply up on last season.  This left the board with difficult decisions to make. Whilst my preference would have been to give teams with larger away supports the West Stand rather than both ends, I accept the Board's decision.  For my part I hope our fans react positively by buying up tickets for these games and by supporting the club at the matches.

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4 hours ago, Eric Arthur Blair said:
24 August 2018

Supporter safety update

 
 SMFC Webteam
 Fans News

Following a few unsavoury incidents during our recent match at Ibrox we have received some emails from our supporters and SMISA asking us to consider the security arrangements around any future fixtures at our own stadium where visiting fans will be housed in both the North & South Stands.

In our original announcement regarding the segregation arrangements at those matches we hopefully explained clearly the reasoning and rationale behind the decision. Although there is an obvious financial benefit to the club the security and safety of our own fans will always be our number one priority and we conducted a full due diligence review with our advisors prior to confirming the segregation arrangements.

The clear advice from our safety group, comprising stewards, local police and our own safety officers was that the arrangements offered no concerns over and above those normally associated with hosting high profile matches. There are no concerns over supporter safety and as such we have no further plans to review the segregation arrangements over and above anything which is recommended during our regular pre-match safety briefings.

In actual fact the safety advice we have received is that containing visiting fans within their own specific sections of the stadium, rather than for example sharing the West Stand with home fans, makes policing the match easier than it would have been previously.

Similarly we hope that the increased capacity afforded to the visiting teams on these occasions will reduce the risk of away fans purchasing tickets for the home end of the stadium, something that we have experienced in the past and which causes obvious issues.

Your safety and enjoyment when visiting the Simple Digital Arena is of paramount importance to us and you can rest assured we will do whatever is necessary to make sure you can enjoy your football in a safe environment, taking any additional measures that are recommended by our safety advisors in the run up to these matches.

We anticipate the game against Celtic on Friday 14th September could be the first ever match to reach maximum capacity at the stadium since our move in 2009 so we would recommend buying your tickets as early as possible to avoid any disappointment.

Tickets go on general sale next Thursday, August 30th so we would recommend any season ticket holders from the Family Stand make use of the opportunity to have first choice of the remaining seats before that general sale period begins.

We are all adapting to life back in the top division, both on and off the field, and as ever we appreciate your patience and support as we do so.

#COYS

That's all well and good but what happens at the end of the game when THEY are at both exits for the West stand? Will the stewards and police keep them in while we are allowed to exit safely?

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3 minutes ago, stlucifer said:

That's all well and good but what happens at the end of the game when THEY are at both exits for the West stand? Will the stewards and police keep them in while we are allowed to exit safely?

Exit safely?

What, exactly, are you expecting?

TBH if they win their support will be laughing and having a jolly old time.

If we draw/win, then they will be, mostly, snarling and bumping their gums.

A small minority will be looking for trouble and if anyone else is looking then their could well be some trouble.

I doubt it'll be the 3rd world war some are dreading.

 

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1 minute ago, faraway saint said:

Exit safely?

What, exactly, are you expecting?

TBH if they win their support will be laughing and having a jolly old time.

If we draw/win, then they will be, mostly, snarling and bumping their gums.

A small minority will be looking for trouble and if anyone else is looking then their could well be some trouble.

I doubt it'll be the 3rd world war some are dreading.

 

I'm not expecting anything but there are indications  recently that their supporters are likely to cause trouble so I feel the club should take steps to make sure the opportunity for this to happen is reduced as much as possible.

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3 minutes ago, stlucifer said:

I'm not expecting anything but there are indications  recently that their supporters are likely to cause trouble so I feel the club should take steps to make sure the opportunity for this to happen is reduced as much as possible.

Are there? 

Ok, let's see if the club draft in the army to protect the support/fans/super fans. 

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9 minutes ago, stlucifer said:

I'm not expecting anything but there are indications  recently that their supporters are likely to cause trouble so I feel the club should take steps to make sure the opportunity for this to happen is reduced as much as possible.

They were in both end stands at Kilmarnock and that seemed to go smoothly, apart from the smell of shite that they brought with them.

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I've been generally trying to avoid this thread, as I have a real gut feeling that this whole scenario stinks.

Whether I'm being remotely reasonable or rational is moot, but I think it will be to the ultimate detriment of the club.

Families are getting shunted and shafted for this, and that means kids, the lifeblood of our club's future.  This is going to be a tough season, so I think the club should be doing everything it can to ensure that it isn't an easy decision for folk to opt to stay away. When people stay away, it is more likely that they won't bother coming back.

As I say, I reckon it stinks. It stinks of short-termism.  I very much hope I'm well off the mark.

 

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2 hours ago, Drew said:

I've been generally trying to avoid this thread, as I have a real gut feeling that this whole scenario stinks.

Whether I'm being remotely reasonable or rational is moot, but I think it will be to the ultimate detriment of the club.

Families are getting shunted and shafted for this, and that means kids, the lifeblood of our club's future.  This is going to be a tough season, so I think the club should be doing everything it can to ensure that it isn't an easy decision for folk to opt to stay away. When people stay away, it is more likely that they won't bother coming back.

As I say, I reckon it stinks. It stinks of short-termism.  I very much hope I'm well off the mark.

 

I worry about this as well. I completely understand the club taking the decision of extra seats for the bigots - unfortunately we can't fill it up with our own fans.  It makes sense financially.

I hope the long term view involves getting those corners set up to accommodate further away fans. It isn't fair to displace any of the home fans for this. As you say it could turn some kids away, and who knows - one of those kids could be the next Stewart Gilmour, Gordon Scott - someone who could pour some money into the club. Perhaps slightly dramatic but how many of us fell in love with this club as a child? How much have each of us contributed, either through money or support in our time as Saints fans? Kids are the future support of this club after all and it's a shame they are being displaced for the visit of the bigots. I really do hope there's a different idea for the long term.

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2 hours ago, FTOF said:

They were in both end stands at Kilmarnock and that seemed to go smoothly, apart from the smell of shite that they brought with them.

Both of their stand looked full on tv so they would have been around 8000 of them there compared to 4000 killie fans. With them having 3200 at our place, it is likely they will be more of us than them so maybe it is them that should be shitting themselves after the game   :boxing    :rolleyes:

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2 minutes ago, renfrew said:

Both of their stand looked full on tv so they would have been around 8000 of them there compared to 4000 killie fans. With them having 3200 at our place, it is likely they will be more of us than them so maybe it is them that should be shitting themselves after the game   :boxing    :rolleyes:

Says the man with no teeth.....................gum them to death? :lol:

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Afraid I'm in the f*ck them camp on this one - give them the away stand and that's it.  As a club GLS has stated we have ambitions to establish ourselves in this league - why then would we give both of the ugly sisters the advantage of having both ends of the ground filled with their fans ? Could be that any point(s) gained could be the difference between us staying up and going down but we are willing to sacrifice that for a fast buck. Pish poor I reckon. 

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3 hours ago, Drew said:

I've been generally trying to avoid this thread, as I have a real gut feeling that this whole scenario stinks.

Whether I'm being remotely reasonable or rational is moot, but I think it will be to the ultimate detriment of the club.

Families are getting shunted and shafted for this, and that means kids, the lifeblood of our club's future.  This is going to be a tough season, so I think the club should be doing everything it can to ensure that it isn't an easy decision for folk to opt to stay away. When people stay away, it is more likely that they won't bother coming back.

As I say, I reckon it stinks. It stinks of short-termism.  I very much hope I'm well off the mark.

 

whilst I agree with much of what you have to say , I think its a decent enough idea , it generates extra income from ticket sales and from policing , but also allows us to highlight what great value a season ticket is , in the family stand , is it not £235 for an adult and two kids for 15 games ? 

that should be commended

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Given the club have kicked children and families out of their seats, and presumably closed the Panda club too,  what then is their strategy to encourage more families with children to support the club?

you would think at higher profile games, where it is easier to get children interested to come down to SMP it would be a no-brainer to ramp up your family friendly strategy? I suppose the sevco fans will enjoy the facepainter in the family stand, after all thats another one they wont be paying for!

are we entering the Family Club of the season award again? You got the front for that Gordon?

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We don’t fill the family stand or the stadium with our own fans when the old scum come so I’m with the club on this take their money. As for trouble it’s only there if you are looking for it & I mean by both sets of fans.
 
Like the young girl who was hit by a bottle at Ibrox?

Or the bottle that was thrown at Pittodrie?

Or the police in Maribor?

Or the guy working in McDonald's?

Or the 2 Croatian fans who were stabbed?

All of them asking for it?
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Like the young girl who was hit by a bottle at Ibrox?

Or the bottle that was thrown at Pittodrie?

Or the police in Maribor?

Or the guy working in McDonald's?

Or the 2 Croatian fans who were stabbed?

All of them asking for it?

So let’s blame all the supporters for one or two idiotic fans. There are a bad element in all supporters so don’t tar all supporters with the same brush because there’s some idiot at the game for the wrong reasons.
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