How do we keep the grove safe?

[BrummieYeltz83]

Hi all,
Following the issues we are having with crowd trouble towards the back of last season and during this preseason what do you think could be done to prevent these incidents occurring?
It is a fact the this is a issue that seems to be on the rise across ever level of the game but I know the main reason I started being my lad to the grove was to see the other side of football where money is everything and fans mixed in together.
It’ll be very sad if recent incidents put other families off coming matches because of a very small group people who clearly don’t care about the club!

[AwayDayYeltz]

It's sad that people attend games with intention of causing trouble, and ruining the experience for genuine fans. It's happening all over the country, and at all levels.

You've experienced the shit at Yeltz level, and you've obviously seen examples on the news, at the very top level. This dickheadery is rife.

I'm not sure what the answer is, and it's not a situation I'd want to deal with. It's a clear problem with society, and the attitude of the youth that they can act how they want without any regard to how it impacts on other folks, or without facing proper repercussions, is really boiling my piss.

As a society we're too soft on these idiots.

Whatever action Karen and Keith take, it'll cost the club money. And therefore could ultimately cost us promotion. All because a handful of spotty arsed teenagers don't have respect for this great club, the owners and loyal fans.

[AwayDayYeltz]

@KBrookes293 @Macca__73 an idea, Membership system for 14-18 year olds. £10 a season, photo ID card. Reduced admission for the members. Applications to be handed in by hand with parent/guardian with proof off address.

A Tweet I've come across on Twitter. Great idea.

[Noggin]

It's sad that people attend games with intention of causing trouble, and ruining the experience for genuine fans. It's happening all over the country, and at all levels.

You've experienced the shit at Yeltz level, and you've obviously seen examples on the news, at the very top level. This dickheadery is rife.

I'm not sure what the answer is, and it's not a situation I'd want to deal with. It's a clear problem with society, and the attitude of the youth that they can act how they want without any regard to how it impacts on other folks, or without facing proper repercussions, is really boiling my piss.

As a society we're too soft on these idiots.

Whatever action Karen and Keith take, it'll cost the club money. And therefore could ultimately cost us promotion. All because a handful of spotty arsed teenagers don't have respect for this great club, the owners and loyal fans.

If we are deducted league points or thrown out of the Cup for crowd disturbance the financial cost could be significant. if this would happen, I would say that the reputational cost could well be greater then the financial cost. The Grove has always been a welcome place for decent visitors, I am not sure that is still true

[BrummieYeltz83]

Since returning to the groove a couple of seasons ago I noticed that fans don’t swap ends like they used to at half time there are definitely more away fans standing in the shed which is the cause of most issues that I’ve seen. Maybe encouraging more segregation to avoid any issues.
I also think a membership scheme is a great idea!

[andy]

Target practice from a watchtower. Charge folks a pound a shot and make money as well!

[andy]

Ok, maybe a bit radical for some. Just banning them may help though.

[piearce9]

A few options, I guess.
1. The preferable one - The youngsters get the memo that it's not the Premier League and just start to calm it down a bit.
2. More stewards - albeit at more cost and sometimes the "external" stewards are a bit more of a target for the abuse
3. Some sort of control measure - I do quite like the above shout about a young supporters scheme, but would preferably not want to go down that route

A lot of it is "kids being kids" - if I'm being brutally honest it's partly because there are young girls amongst them, and you can see the lads are all trying their hardest to get noticed. However they are becoming very numerous and more rebellious by the week, to the point that there were loads of our supporters saying that they can't be standing in The Shed End now. That's really damaging, for the team as well, because the atmosphere in that home end makes a big difference on matchdays.

I'm hopeful it'll start to settle down as the season goes on and that point 1 from the above prevails. But I will just add - it's not just the "kids", there are some grown-ups who have been behaving like morons too, much to everyone's frustration.

[fairweatherfan]

I think it's a bit naive to think it will just go away - ask any teacher in any school across the country about behaviour since lockdown and they all say the same: kids are more defiant and less responsive to authority. I don't see it getting better in the short term.

Ultimately, if you make it so that below 16s have to either pre-register or be accompanied by an adult (or if they don't, have to pay full adult prices) the super casuals who are just after a fumble or good Snapchat probably won't bother. For all it's a massive embuggerance, think the club needs to be proactive on this one.

[piearce9]

That's probably a very fair comment and shows some very wishful thinking on my part.

On the positive, Keith has tweeted saying that there are plans underway to remedy this - possibly in line with the aforementioned scheme - so sounds like we're not messing around in fixing it.