Terraces or No Terraces in English Stadiums - Barclays Premier League debate
English fans are knocking the doors of the court to bring back the old style English Stadiums, which had standing facilities for the fans. This is quite a debatable issue that has affected the lives of many football fans. Reigning Liverpool manager and club legend, Kenny Dalglish, strongly opposes this idea.
About twenty-one years back, Lord Justice Taylor’s report, in relation to the topic, came to the surface that clearly specified that there is no room for terracing at English football stadiums and suggested that the terraces be outlawed. The abolishment of terraces happened in the aftermath of Hillsborough tragedy, where ninety-six people lost their lives after a terrace collapse.
Dalglish is of the view that the fundamental reasons behind the abolishment of terraces should not be forgotten – how tragic it is for someone to leave home for football and never return? It not only saddens the families but also brings a bad name to the game. Dalglish certainly makes a strong case. His stance is same as that of the Premier League; advantages of seated stadia greatly outnumber those of having terraces. He thinks that having all-seated stadiums has worked and changing it will not do any good.
Dalglish is forcing his point in relation to the Hillsborough tragedy. It all happened in the FA Cup semi-final between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest in 1989. The http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Liverpool-c39809 legend is against the view that standing areas in a football stadium increases the charm of playing and watching the game. The well-being of the fans has to be the priority. Parents would not take their children to a place where they know security is being compromised. Even though all-seated stadiums are not good for atmosphere, the prices one has to pay to create the atmosphere are simply exorbitant. However, there have been great nights, in relation to atmosphere, since standing places have been removed from the stadiums. Therefore, endangering the lives of people is simply not worth the risk.
Kenny admitted that it remains great remembering Saint-Etienne European Cup game in 1977. People could be squeezed in to stadiums but Dalglish maintains that atmosphere was still phenomenal against Olympiakos in 2004, when Steven Gerrard rattled one in to take Liverpool completely against the odds. Same happened in 2005 UEFA Champions League semi-final against http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Chelsea-c38786, when Luis Garcia’s shot over the line took Liverpool through. So, atmosphere is created by the match itself and people, standing or sitting, matter for little. Safety, conclusively, should be the prime objective.
In Europe today, http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Germany-c2904 is one of the football powerhouses that allows people to stand but they have been lucky. There has been no Hillsborough or Heysel stadium disaster there, but should such an unfortunate event happen, there are no two ways about it; standing areas will be banned outright. Simply put, there is no point in having deliberations over considering whether decision taken, back in Justice Taylor’s time, should be reversed or not. The answer is clear as the sun, and the answer is no; there is no need to go back to old days. If anything, changing these parameters will be just another disaster in the making.
(The ideas expressed in this article are solely of the writer's and do not reflect the official editorial policy of better.com)
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