[Albion] The declining quality of my match day experience

[Jam The Man]

Two things would improve park and ride.
1. Open both sets of doors on the bendy buses to get fans on quicker. (especially after games life the last two when so many fans leave early and fill up the first buses)
2. Periodically hold the oncoming traffic up at the top of Mill Rd. Used to happen years ago and would help prevent the 30 minute wait trying to get away due to huge queues.

Just one of those would improve my experience immensely!

 

[Official Old Man]

Seats - Whilst applauding the desire to maximise the capacity of the stadium, our row of seats were all squashed up to get extras in during the closed season. The seats are all mounted close up together whereas they used to be at least 40mm apart on each side. Neighbouring rows haven’t been altered. The width of the seats is now almost on the legal minimum and it is not comfortable at all. We didn’t initially notice but since people have started coming back properly, it makes for a poor experience. So far, the club have just suggested that we move? I like sitting where we do with some really nice people. I hope that they can put it back to how it was, we can see on the mountings where they used to be which is how we know how much space has been lost.

Same thing in my seat Saturday. For the first time a group of three in our row turned up along with all the individuals. Full row and a lot less room than I seem to remember a couple of years ago.
Pre-match we really need to dump that EPL theme song. 20,000 singing GOSBTS and then it all goes quiet whilst some noise booms out. By then the atmosphere has gone. Then we get Hey Jude and the away fans give it loud whilst we sit back and admire them and it all goes quiet again for the knee. Whilst I'm for the message, time to stop the knee?

 

[Guinness Boy]

Then we get Hey Jude and the away fans give it loud whilst we sit back and admire them and it all goes quiet again for the knee. Whilst I'm for the message, time to stop the knee?

No, time to stop any generic music that other teams' fans have nicked the songs to. Sweet Caroline was a great example of one that should never have been played (I don't think pissed Arsenal fans know it was CH's victory song) and ditto with Hey Jude, which seems to be played everywhere.

A couple of very Albion specific numbers and then it's up to us to carry on through the knee. It's on at every other PL game for a start, so you can't really say it's just detrimental to us, and the overall societal effect is far more important than Brighton winning.

 

[Tom Hark Preston Park]

Is that still a problem
Rail staff / stewards should just make people get on the first train to clear the platform as quick as possible as a safety requirement
As you say it’s easier / safer to change at Lewes as more room
To go Eastbourne or Seaford

If people are going to be that dumb, maybe just announce that all the trains are 'Lewes only' and let them sort themselves out at Lewes where there's wide open spaces on the platforms

 

[Washie]

I think we'll always find some sort of reason to moan...especially now we've got used to watching high class football in a superb stadium. It's easy to start to take things for granted. I have to say that I was getting mighty pissed off by the traffic yesterday (post match, that is - I avoided the pre-match issues, thank God). Then I think back to the "delights" of Priestfield and Withdean - and even the Goldstone.

I honestly preferred Withdean. It felt special compared to how soulless the AMEX feels.

Sent from my SM-G781B using Tapatalk

 

[maresfield seagull]

If people are going to be that dumb, maybe just announce that all the trains are 'Lewes only' and let them sort themselves out at Lewes where there's wide open spaces on the platforms

I think you may have something there
I mean if after 10 years it’s Still an issue ? why Not trial the scheme
Sadly much like the trains that profess to by pass East Croydon
It never happens in reality

 

[Terry Butcher Tribute Act]

Matchday experience is never going to feel great all the while the results at home are pretty shit.

Just whatever you do don't you dare have the audacity to boo or you might get told off by the manager or have the CEO write another 1000 words in the programme/Athletic about the great young team/record breaking season/highly rated young manager/well run club bla bla bla bla bla.

If and probably when we are genuinely challenging for Europe then I'm sure the experience will improve.

Sent from my SM-G998B using Tapatalk

 

[Since1982]

Ain't that the truth. Only missed a couple of games at Gillingham and in truth it was all fairly hassle free, generally an easy drive, easy to park and plonk yourself where you wanted on the terraces and normally watch TERRIBLE football. Have to be honest, it's all a bit of a faff nowadays - I'm another ex-university parker and the Bridge is generally awful and the whole nonsense of mobile tickets pisses me off. I do wonder how quickly a lot of these things would be solved if PB had to use the train each game, remember to be around for the 5 minutes car parking goes on sale each time or fanny around with bottles with no lids.
I'm incredibly grateful for the lovely stadium and Premier League football but, with the addition of endless side to side football, it's getting dangerously close to being a bit of a chore now (at least in my aging mind).

Another ex uni parker here. We now seem to have the worst of all worlds, the nonsense of trying to book a ticket at the bridge, now having to give a Reg number, insanely difficult to leave and meantime game by game parking now being sold at the uni and by all accounts the stewarding leading to massive queues to get in.

 

[swindonseagull]

Another ex uni parker here. We now seem to have the worst of all worlds, the nonsense of trying to book a ticket at the bridge, now having to give a Reg number, insanely difficult to leave and meantime game by game parking now being sold at the uni and by all accounts the stewarding leading to massive queues to get in.

Just a question who sells the uni tickets? Ive never seen them on the club site or have I just missed them? always try and park at Bridge.

 

[Gazwag]

I have seen it suggested m²any times by different posters on here, it makes perfect sense.
The first few home games this season there was still a very large queue to the Lewes bound platform an hour after the final whistle.

Yep I first said it 10 years ago, but nothing will happen

 

[Cheeky Monkey]

If you are doing that on a regular basis I ll take your word
But the one occasion I’ve gone that way in quite some time was against Arsenal
When I had to go to a party in HH post match
Found it just as bad as going the other way

If walking isn’t an issue, a relaxing option is walking to Moulescoomb station post match, and getting on a relatively empty Amex/Lewes bound train. So much nicer, and the time spent queuing at Falmer you spend on a stroll. (Just don’t tell anyone else)

 

[BN9 BHA]

Yep I first said it 10 years ago, but nothing will happen

The first 2 home matches this season the staff at Falmer were getting abuse from fans on the ramps because trains leaving had empty seats. I stopped getting the train home after the Everton match.
If nothing has happened for 10 years I suppose they won’t change anything now.

 

[Charlies Shinpad]

If walking isn’t an issue, a relaxing option is walking to Moulescoomb station post match, and getting on a relatively empty Amex/Lewes bound train. So much nicer, and the time spent queuing at Falmer you spend on a stroll. (Just don’t tell anyone else)

Done that for 5 years now [emoji106]

Sent from my CPH2195 using Tapatalk

 

[Since1982]

Just a question who sells the uni tickets? Ive never seen them on the club site or have I just missed them? always try and park at Bridge.

The club. It seems to appear randomly on the club site along with the extra spaces they release at The Bridge.

 

[Cowfold Seagull]

If walking isn’t an issue, a relaxing option is walking to Moulescoomb station post match, and getting on a relatively empty Amex/Lewes bound train. So much nicer, and the time spent queuing at Falmer you spend on a stroll. (Just don’t tell anyone else)

I thought that many trains didn't stop at Moulescoomb post match? . . . or maybe that's just going in the Brighton direction as trains will be rammed full from picking up at Falmer.

 

[chaileyjem]

Just a corrective to this thread and dozens like it in the last few months and also some regular posters who insist that you're better off going virtually anywhere other than the Amex for your football fix - nearly 3000 Albion fans were surveyed last month and Albion are in the top 2 or 3 clubs in the Premier League for a host of questions relating to the match day experience and overall they are second for match day experience out of the 20 clubs.

how welcome fans are made to feel upon entering the ground (2nd)
the matchday programme (3rd), announcements in the stadium (3rd),
Wi-Fi connectivity and mobile phone signal (2nd),
stadium cleanliness and toilet facilities (3rd),
quality and range of food and drink on offer (2nd).
provision of digital ticketing (1st)
performance of ticket office staff. (1st)
The family-friendly environment (2nd).
Stewards (2nd)
Reporting abuse and having it dealt with. (significantly more likely than other clubs)

Of course doesn't mean that thats the case for all fans and i'm sure it won't convince some regular NSC posters. But the idea that the match day experience is declining and thats what other fans think too is not borne out by the data.

 

[Brovion]

Matchday experience is never going to feel great all the while the results at home are pretty shit.

Just whatever you do don't you dare have the audacity to boo or you might get told off by the manager or have the CEO write another 1000 words in the programme/Athletic about the great young team/record breaking season/highly rated young manager/well run club bla bla bla bla bla.

If and probably when we are genuinely challenging for Europe then I'm sure the experience will improve.

Sent from my SM-G998B using Tapatalk

Agreed. If the results and/or performances aren't good then all the little inconveniences, annoyances, grumbles, complaints, etc take on a far bigger proportion - maybe even to become deal-breakers when it comes to ST renewal. (And I'm leaving the sheer cost of football put of this). Results improve and the problems shrink. You'll see posts like: "Yeah we had to wait two hours for a train there, and three hours for one back. The queues for food were massive, the pies were £10 each and were frozen in the middle, all they had to drink was warm, flat Fosters, the stewards strip-searched me, my seat had broken glass sticking out of it, the toilets were blocked, and on the way back to the station Paul Barber followed me all the way yelling highly-detailed personal abuse into my ear. Worth it all to see a performance like that!"

 

[Binney on acid]

Your match day experience is of little or no significance. In reality, football doesn't really need any of us.

 

[Terry Butcher Tribute Act]

Just a corrective to this thread and dozens like it in the last few months and also some regular posters who insist that you're better off going virtually anywhere other than the Amex for your football fix - nearly 3000 Albion fans were surveyed last month and Albion are in the top 2 or 3 clubs in the Premier League for a host of questions relating to the match day experience and overall they are second for match day experience out of the 20 clubs.

how welcome fans are made to feel upon entering the ground (2nd)
the matchday programme (3rd), announcements in the stadium (3rd),
Wi-Fi connectivity and mobile phone signal (2nd),
stadium cleanliness and toilet facilities (3rd),
quality and range of food and drink on offer (2nd).
provision of digital ticketing (1st)
performance of ticket office staff. (1st)
The family-friendly environment (2nd).
Stewards (2nd)
Reporting abuse and having it dealt with. (significantly more likely than other clubs)

Of course doesn't mean that thats the case for all fans and i'm sure it won't convince some regular NSC posters. But the idea that the match day experience is declining and thats what other fans think too is not borne out by the data.

Well I for one am glad the tannoy announcements were good on Saturday. Who's the real winner here?

Sent from my SM-G998B using Tapatalk

 

[chaileyjem]

Well I for one am glad the tannoy announcements were good on Saturday. Who's the real winner here?

Well i'm not that fussed about it but it matters to some.
But the real winner is the fans as 3000 of (those surveyed) think Albion provide a better match day experience - in a dozen or so categories - than 18 other clubs in the Premier League. Thats a positive thing ?
Agreed ?