[Albion] FA Cup draw round 3 - home v Palace

essexeagle said:

Or is it better to have a half filled soulless arena

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Bozza said:

You mean like Selhurst Park in the Championship before your 10,000 Premier League plastics turned up?

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essexeagle said:

I really don't want to get banned from here. I signed up 13 years ago and only post occasionally but tend to look at NSC quite regularly as it's particularly interesting for non football stuff. But I will say what I think about this whole Brighton vs Palace fiasco this season.

Despite your protestations, the AMEX is a nightmare to get to as an away (Palace) fan. I drive all over the country watching Palace. The AMEX is by far the biggest pain in the arse to get to as a driver. The options at your ground for the masses are pretty limited. Really, who wants to sit in a park and ride car park waiting to get out for more than an hour? As a Palace fan, who wants to share a bus with the home masses so risking a confrontation?

What other options are there? Train? Really? Getting kettled by the police and taken on a 90 min march to the ground? having to run the gauntlet at the tiny Falmer station pre and post match? Getting mixed together and spat at by Brighton fans on the platform? (I'm sure it was the same in the other direction before someone says something)

Now we have this ridiculous allocation of 2000 tickets for a cup match. What I can't understand is why? What has actually happened during the last few matches to justify this? As I have said elsewhere, a few oiks took their opportunity to get into the ground the other week without getting searched. They may, or may not have had tickets. We simply don't know. They then let off pyro's inside and nobody does anything about it. Stewards stood by and watched and the police did nothing to to deal with this law breaking that was going on in front of their eyes by people who they could have just walked up and arrested, at least on suspicion of these offences.

Other than that, what has actually happened to justify this reduced allocation? How come other stadiums can accommodate many thousands of away fans at games yet the AMEX can't? How can 8000 fans attend the Liverpool derby? How can Palace accommodate 6000 Brighton fans at Selhurst (5-0) How can we accommodate 7000 Scumwall fans etc etc and yet the AMEX can't accommodate 4000 Palace fans?

I am not saying all our fans are angels. I'm sure you won't be saying the same about Brighton fans either but how can BHAFC not cope with these fan numbers when other clubs can? Crystal Palace are not the most notorious of clubs for fan violence are we? It calls into question, for me at least, as to whether the whole AMEX set up is fit for purpose or not....

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essexeagle said:

Pot and kettle spring to mind here.....

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Green Cross Code Man said:

Nonsense. We had huge attendances in the championship in a way your fans and owners could only be envious of. First season syndrome wasn't it?

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essexeagle said:

I really don't understand why any Brighton fan would support this lunacy of a reduced ticket allocation. I don't care what you say, Palace does not have a significant number of hooligan fans. Simple as that. What we do have, is a tiny minority of oiks who can act in an anti-social way at times. But that is a massive difference to trouble fans in the true sense of the word.

If this fixture were the other way around, with Palace at home, I would have been hoping for a full BHA allocation. It would have made for a brilliant atmosphere in a cup tie that I, for one, have been hoping for in the 3rd round draw every year for the last nearly 40 years. We finally get it and it has been ruined by what is seemingly BHAFC and Sussex Police' inability to steward and police the AMEX stadium and its surrounding area adequately.

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essexeagle said:

I really don't understand why any Brighton fan would support this lunacy of a reduced ticket allocation. I don't care what you say, Palace does not have a significant number of hooligan fans. Simple as that. What we do have, is a tiny minority of oiks who can act in an anti-social way at times. But that is a massive difference to trouble fans in the true sense of the word.

If this fixture were the other way around, with Palace at home, I would have been hoping for a full BHA allocation. It would have made for a brilliant atmosphere in a cup tie that I, for one, have been hoping for in the 3rd round draw every year for the last nearly 40 years. We finally get it and it has been ruined by what is seemingly BHAFC and Sussex Police' inability to steward and police the AMEX stadium and its surrounding area adequately.

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Blue Valkyrie said:

It's to do with not rewarding bad behaviour.

Never before have explosive firecrackers been set off in the crowd at the Amex. Never before have a steward or 2 been put in hospital by away fans.

Those 2 things were always going to lead to a ticketting sanction. To be honest I'm surprised it wasn't a reduction. If the behaviour improves then the allocations will improve, surely ? Show you can be trusted and you will be.

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essexeagle said:

I can assure you there is nothing associated with the American Express Comminity Stadium that I am envious of.

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Return of the Rev said:

I applaud the decision of reduced away allocation and with this in mind am seriously considering taking my two boys to the game in January.

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essexeagle said:

And yet 4 days later Liverpool fans are allowed to let off red smoke flares in the same stand?

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essexeagle said:

Let's hope they are not sat next to a Palace fan who has been forced to buy a ticket in the home end then eh? The 2000 allocation will achieve nothing and will only add to any potential problems.

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essexeagle said:

Let's hope they are not sat next to a Palace fan who has been forced to buy a ticket in the home end then eh? The 2000 allocation will achieve nothing and will only add to any potential problems.

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essexeagle said:

The 2000 allocation will achieve nothing and will only add to any potential problems.

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essexeagle said:

I can assure you there is nothing associated with the American Express Community Stadium that I am envious of.

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Wozza said:

You really won't like your new stand then!

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essexeagle said:

But at least we will be able to get to the ground and away afterwards without the ballache you lot have to put up with....

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Bozza said:

27,000 home fans week in and week out do just fine.

The fans of numerous other clubs wax lyrical about their day out at the Amex, the friendliness, how good the whole setup is and how they can't wait to come back.

One group of fans disagrees. We'll live with that.

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essexeagle said:

I can assure you there is nothing associated with the American Express Community Stadium that I am envious of.

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