Withdean Stewards

Hi Insider.

Firstly, I understand there have been a large number of questions/complaints about the Withdean stewards before, however being the last season at Withdean I had hoped that there might have been at least a bit more leniency this season as the club try to attract fans for Falmer.

After the match against Rochdale my first plea is the give the away fans a break. For christs sake they had just had a long journey down, are sitting 100 yards away from the pitch getting rained on and all I can see is a small minority AT THE BACK of the stand, (ie – causing no harm to anyone else’s view) standing. The first hour of the match consisted of a huge gang of stewards forcing them to sit down every two minutes. It’s just embarrassing to watch. At least give them a chance to create some sort of atmosphere after being charged £25 for the experience. At Swindon the previous week we were standing for the whole game without any problems whatsoever. I know the power-crazy stewards are never going to let that go on here, but why do they go and create a problem when there is no problem there in the first place? If they were blocking others view etc then I could understand, but they weren’t, and from an outside point of view it just seems there is a COMPLETE lack of common sense being shown.

As for the usual bunch watching over H/J block I really think they could be driving potential fans away by being so over the top. As mentioned, I have given up on the hope that a certain section of fans could be allowed to stay standing, but when they are pinpointing out individuals who are two/three rows from the back with no-one behind them and forcing them to sit down it just comes across as bully tactics. Again, if people are complaining and having their view blocked fair enough, but please can they just try and show an iota of common sense for the rest of the season just to make the countdown to Falmer a bit more bearable!

Thanks

Sorry, but this isn't really the place for rants at the stewards, who do a good job. They have to enforce the regulations, and to call them bullies is pretty offensive. It would be better if fans assisted the stewards in doing the job they are trained to do, instead of criticising. If however, you have a genuine complaint about a specific incident, then you should contact the club's safety officer.

Incidentally, last week we had a number of complaints from Albion fans about other Albion fans constantly standing at Swindon, with some now saying they won't bother to attend away matches as all they had was a restricted view. Obviously, this is the responsibility of Swindon's stewards to deal with - but it's a shame fans are now choosing to stay at home as opposed to supporting the club.

The simple answer is to sit down.