East End - A vision for the future
Recent years have seen increasing complaints that the atmosphere at football matches is steadily disappearing. There are plenty of theories why this has occurred, such as the removal of terraces, gentrification of the game, high ticket prices, fewer younger supporters, and higher football exposure on TV.
What about Ashton Gate?
In the 1990s we saw the East End become all-seater and eventually given away to away fans, despite there being a 70 year history of City fans using this end. During the 1970s and 1980s the East End became synonymous with noise, passion and being home to a type of supporter that would be known in continental Europe as the fanatic. The East End became as important to Bristol City fans as the Kop to Liverpudlians or the Stretford End to Manchester United fans. The East End's replacement was the Atyeo stand, with its "noisy" section pre-planned by the club's administrators in the top corner furthest away from the pitch, presumably to compensate for the loss of the noise generated by the East End.
East End's Early Days
The roof of the original East End was damaged in 1916 following severe gales. In 1917 the roof was condemned and subsequently pulled down, leaving the terrace open to the elements for the next 11 years. In 1928, following the sale of two City players, Albert Keating and Clarrie Bourton, to Blackburn for £3,640, funds became available for a new roof. Following this move, the stand became known as the "Keating Stand". Unfortunately for Albert Keating, time moved on and the stand became known simply as the "Winterstoke Road End" or the "Covered End." During the 1970s, the stand became popularly known as the East End, a name that endures amongst fans, despite officials at the club renaming it the "Wedlock Stand." It is a mute point whether the former City legend required further honour, since a local pub was already named in his honour. Since then, name changes have occurred as regularly as the sponsor changes, the "Blackthorn Wedlock Stand" is now officially known as the "Micra Wedlock Stand."
Ashton Gate now
The Atyeo stand proved a failure in terms of replacing the East End, with little noise or passion generated by the stand. Season ticket holders took many of the seats with better views, leaving pay on the day customers with the peripheral, unwanted seats, such as the supposedly noisy corner. Fans in the rest of the ground began to look for a new focal point and gravitated towards the formerly unpopular areas, such as G block of the Dolman and E block in the Williams Stand. With no formal home of their own, the former East Enders were divided between the three stands. Such a loss in unity reduced the levels of noise they were able to create. Ashton Gate became gradually known as a quiet ground for home fans and one where away fans could take advantage of their ability to congregate in one stand and cheer their team on. Such noise from the away fans is all the more sickening for City fans as it is being generated in their former home, the East End, which is often left underutilised with small amounts of away supporters.
Attempts in 2003 to allocate a section of the East End to home fans were deemed unsuccessful by club officials, due to reports of teenagers "running around" and "climbing" on a fence. The East End thus remained closed to home fans until 2007.
During the latter part of 2006, a group of City fans, increasingly frustrated at the lack of atmosphere generated by home support, and continual under-use of the East End by away fans, launched a campaign to open the East End once again for home fans. A petition was organised in mid September receiving a total of 3220 signatories by early December 2006. The petition was handed over to club officials via the newly created Bristol City Supporters Trust in January 2007. Later that month a meeting was arranged and chaired by the Supporters Trust, between club chairman, Steve Lansdown, and the organisers of the East End campaign. Following a passionate debate Steve Lansdown agreed to open the East End for the Brentford game 10 March 2007.
During January and February two high profile games against premiership opposition Middlesbrough in the 4th round of the FA cup and against local rivals Bristol Rovers in the semi-final of the Associate Members cup saw the East End briefly open as an overspill for home fans once the rest of the ground had sold out. However the Brentford game would be the first time the stand was official opened since the experiments of 2003. Nearly 700 fans cheered City on to a 1.0 victory. Of the game, Gary Johnson, Bristol City Manager stated ""The support was magnificent and the lads in the East End were fantastic. It made a difference because instead of having three parts of the ground singing their different songs they all seemed to get together and sing for 90 minutes. I went over there and showed my appreciation afterwards because I am a fan of having that stand with our supporters who are singing".
Not to be outdone, City Chairman, Steve Lansdown commented "The game against Brentford on Saturday was by no means a classic but once again the players dug deep, worked hard and came away with 3 vital points. What encouraged me more than anything was the attitude of the crowd. For the first time there was a belief that we could win promotion. There was also the attitude that whatever happened the crowd were going to get behind the team and give them every bit of support they possibly could. Amazingly this turned almost into a carnival atmosphere at times helped by those in the East End who I congratulate on their contribution on the day". The following game against Bradford saw the East End open to away fans only. A paltry 180 Bradford fans saw their team win 3.2 in front of an almost silent Ashton Gate.
The East End in the future
During the 30th of January meeting, Steve Lansdown indicated that he was in favour of replacing the East End with a new stand. Such a possibility raises a huge amount of new opportunities for the club. Clearly a repeat of the Atyeo Stand experience would not be in the club's favour in terms of atmosphere generation. During the meeting both parties agreed that a section of unreserved seating would enable like minded fans to congregate and that this would potentially lead to an improved atmosphere.
Lessons from our own recent past
Why was the East End so popular during the 1980s? Fans were able to congregate freely behind the goal at one end of the goal and participate in lively goal celebrations and a high degree of constant singing and chanting. As fans matured and no longer wanted to support City in the manner expressed behind the goal, they moved to the sides of the goal or elsewhere in the ground. However they were constantly replaced by younger fans drawn to the noise, colour and passion. Rising numbers of season ticket holders and all-seater stadia have led to reduced availability of seats in popular areas for those who cannot afford a season ticket. This, coupled with growing ticket prices, and less opportunity to pay on the day, has squeezed younger fans out of watching live football. Unreserved seating may solve this problem by allowing fluidity in seat use that would reduce individual ownership of a particular seat.
Lessons from the Dutch
Several medium to large Dutch football clubs, such as F.C. Groningen, Ajax and AZ Alkmaar, have recently moved to new grounds. Conscious of the value of noisy fans, and eager to preserve the fan-built heritage and folklore of their clubs, they have worked closely with fan groups to secure a section in their new grounds that would retain the passion and atmosphere of their old ground. Similarly to in the old grounds, these new popular stands have been placed behind the goal, the same area as the East End, known in Italy as the "Curva." They have been purposely named after the part of the old ground, thus preserving the identity of the stand and the fans that populate it, and give it its sense of uniqueness. Groningen went one step further and had the plastic seats spell out
Z SIDE in white against a green backdrop. The stands themselves were also designed to enable supporters to hang banners and flags creating a rich colourful backdrop. In Holland many clubs provide areas within the ground for supporters to store large banners and flags safely. Many clubs in Holland made a concerted effort to enable fans to promote a colourful, South American style approach to supporting football, in an attempt to move away from football hooliganism. New trends in fan behaviour in Holland indicate that these attempts are working with the birth of the 'fanatics', a non-violent, 'ultra' style movement that have developed throughout the top two divisions. These fans congregate in specifically recognised parts of the ground and often name themselves after that section of the ground; hence we see groups such as Ajax's Vak 410 (vak = gate). They create new banners for games with local rivals and generally create noise and passion throughout the whole 90 minutes. Without the fanatics, Dutch games would often be subdued affairs.
A New East End
The new East End presents an opportunity to encourage the development of a non-violent group of Bristol City fanatics that will offer an alternative to the football hooligan culture of bygone years. This requires listening to fan groups and the continuation of the traditions of the East End, a stand with its own history and repertoire of songs and chants. The design of the new East End will play an enormous part in the retention and development of the new fanatic fan culture.
Currently many fans would prefer a two tiered structure with a lower tier area for like-minded fans to congregate. It is important that such an area is close to the pitch to enable fans to connect with the players, as is common with similar such areas elsewhere, hence the need for the lower tier.
A single tiered structure would not lead to the development of an area with its own identity within the new East End. One tier stands are generally monolithic with few possibilities of creating a separate
space or identity for fanatical support. The former terraced East End had its own set of acceptable behaviours for different sections. The liveliest fans generally congregated between pillars 3 and 4, directly behind the goal. Their behaviour was not replicated elsewhere in the East End. This is an important point, as the whole East End was not often required by the noisy City supporters during the 1980s. A two tiered stand in the East End with a section of unreserved seating directly behind the goal would therefore serve two goals; the retention of Bristol City's history and supporting traditions; and the development of a new non-violent fanatical European style of support along the Dutch/European model.
This is a unique opportunity to encourage the development of vibrant, enthusiastic support that would be the envy of other clubs across the UK, and would draw people from far and wide to watch Bristol City at Ashton Gate.
UP THE CITY
Allow the page back ground sound to play twice (as it will play just twice) before playing the video below
About The Survey
The national survey of 2,046 football fans was conducted by the Football Fans Census on behalf of “Safe Standing” between 11th December 2006 and 6th January 2007.
The survey was conducted online and supporters of 159 teams were represented including all clubs in the Premiership and Football League. 46% of respondents were season ticket holders.
About The Football Fans Census
The Football Fans Census is a football research organisation. It has over 100,000 registered member/users.
Tables of Findings
Source “Safe Standing Survey” by the Football Fans Census. Sample size 2,046 football fans.
Q1. Should fans be given the freedom to choose whether they stand (in "safe-standing" areas) or sit inside football grounds?
Yes 92%
No 7%
Don’t know 1%
Q2. Should "safe-standing" areas be allowed in grounds?
Yes - it should be mandatory 27%
Yes - the option should be allowed 65%
No - "safe-standing" shouldn't be allowed 7%
Don’t know 1%
Q3. If clubs went ahead with it, what percentage of a ground's capacity should be allocated a "safe-standing" area?
Over 35% 23%
Over 21- 35% 36%
Over 11-20% 24%
10% or less 11%
Don’t know 6%
Q4. Who should have the power to decide whether or not grounds should include "safe-standing" areas?
Government/ Dept of Culture, Media & Sport 9%
Local authorities - councils and police 20%
ndividual clubs 52%
Supporters 17%
Don’t know 2%
Q5. If there was a "safe-standing" area in your ground how often would you buy a standing ticket IF going to a match?
All the time 40%
More often than not 23%
Occasionally 17%
Never 17%
Don’t know 3%
Q6. How would the introduction of "safe-standing" areas affect your match attendance?
I'd go to a lot more matches 18%
I'd go to a few more matches 13%
Wouldn't affect my attendance 65%
I'd go to a few less matches 1%
I'd go to many less matches 1%
Don’t know 2%
Q7. If designated standing areas were available would you generally prefer to use a standing or sitting area?
Standing 69%
Sitting 31%
Q8. What effect would the introduction of "safe-standing" have on crowd trouble and hooliganism?
Would improve the situation a lot 4%
Would improve the situation slightly 7%
Wouldn't make any difference 69%
Would make the situation slightly worse 10%
Would make the situation a lot worse 4%
Don’t know 6%
Q9. What effect would the introduction of "safe-standing" have on spectator safety?
Would improve safety a lot 6%
Would improve safety slightly 18%
Wouldn't make any difference 54%
Would make it slightly more unsafe 14%
Would make it significantly more unsafe 4%
Don’t know 4%
Q10. What effect would the introduction of "safe-standing" have on your view during the match?
Would improve it a lot 17%
Would improve it slightly 19%
Wouldn't make any difference 43%
Would make it slightly worse 13%
Would make it significantly worse 4%
Don’t know 4%
Q11. Do you think the introduction of "safe standing" areas would improve the atmosphere at football?
Yes - significantly 72%
Yes - somewhat 20%
No - it wouldn't make any difference 8%
Q12. Overall, what effect would the introduction of "safe-standing" have on your match-day experience?
Would make it a lot more enjoyable 52%
Would make it slightly more enjoyable 26%
Wouldn't make any difference 17%
Would make it less enjoyable 2%
Would make it significantly less enjoyable 2%
Don’t know 1%
Q13. Regardless of your preference to stand or sit, do you think that there should be designated standing areas at all grounds, to allow choice for all supporters and overcome the current problem of supporters standing in seated areas, blocking the view of those behind who may wish to sit?
Yes 90%
No 10%
Q14. Do you think there can ever be such a thing as "safe standing"?
Yes 79%
No - but I would like there to be standing areas anyway 13%
No - and I would not like there to be standing areas at football 6%
Don't know 2%
Q15. Would you be more or less likely to vote for a politician in Local Elections who supported the reintroduction of some form of standing at football?
Much more likely 29%
More likely 24%
Would make no difference 43%
Less likely 2%
Much less likely 2%
Q16. Would you be more or less likely to vote for a politician in National Elections who supported the reintroduction of some form of standing at football?
Much more likely 25%
More likely 25%
Would make no difference 46%
Less likely 2%
Much less likely 2%
Safe Standing results summary,
results produced by the Football
fans census 12th january 2007
Bristol citys artist,
proposed new stand!
but would it be a
better eastend??
FORZA EASTEND
what’s all this about?
FORZA EASTEND literally means strength to the Eastend.
However its true meaning can only be found in the lyrics of the Eastend’s anthem, Tom Thumb.
An away match at home
Over the past year we have seen a successful supporters campaign led by city fans Ciderhead and North Street to open the Eastend, culminating in a petition signed by over three thousand city fans and the eventual re-opening of our traditional home end. The decision to open the eastend was met with immediate success on its first use against Brentford. The first outing of the Eastenders in over four years drew accolades from manager Gary Johnson and Bristol City Chairman Steve Lansdown. With fans inside the stand commenting that the atmosphere inside the Eastend was like an “away match at home”.
FORZA EASTEND builds on their hard work and represents the next step in re-establishing the Eastend as the 12th man, essential in bringing success to the club on the pitch, and increasing the atmosphere on match-day. Since the club has taken the correct decision in re-opening the Eastend, we have seen truly incredible sights within Ashton Gate, an amazing atmosphere during the promotion party against Rotherham, and the neutralising of the vocal activities of away supporters against Swansea and Yeovil town. FORZA EASTEND is the response to the positive decision by Bristol City’s chairman, Steve Lansdown, to re-open the Eastend. We aim to actively promote the Eastend and the club as a whole and working with the club, arrange fan-organised events during individual matches this season.
As a fan movement, FORZA EASTEND aims to increase the levels of home support by encouraging noisy fans to congregate in the Eastend, and thus once again fill Ashton gate with the sound of home fans urging City onto victory. It’s not enough just to buy a ticket for the Eastend, to sample the atmosphere and rely on the efforts of others to create a red and white wall of sound, all Eastenders must sing until they can sing no more. The library at Ashton Gate is closed for good.
FORZA EASTEND seeks to create a spectacular backdrop to watching Bristol City at Ashton Gate through the use of flags and banners of all shapes and sizes, including the return of our own unique giant flags. As we speak Eastenders, new and old, are creating their own flags and identity within the Bristol City family.
FORZA EASTEND also aims to safeguard the history and traditions of the Eastend through promotion of our own individual Chants and West Country songs. Bland generic songs, which can be found throughout the sea of half empty modern concrete bowls that we come across on our travels, are also to be discouraged.
Throughout the UK, groups of supporters are setting up ultras groups. Their activities such as use of giant flag displays are created for the fans, by the fans. They can be found on www.ultrasuk.co.uk
Whilst FORZAEASTEND is not interested in blindly following others, the UK ultras movement is a positive move and is perhaps long overdue as an antidote to the recent corporate-jester-hat influence in English football. However, the Eastend has always had a degree of fanatic/ultra mentality, the only difference this time is that we are adding flags and colour to the match day experience. Rather than creating something new and artificial, we are building on the fanatical support of Bristol City that is found in the long and fine tradition of the Eastend. FORZA EASTEND seeks to promote and safeguard our unique West Country identity. Rather than shamefully turn away from our regional icons and heritage, we celebrate what separates us from the rest of the UK. Think local, act yokel.
We call upon the club and the two supporters bodies to work closely with us in bringing about the reality of FORZA EASTEND. We ask that the club listen to requests from FORZA EASTEND with an open mind. Permission will be sought from the club to raise funds for our flags and for their safe display within the ground. More detailed requests will follow.
FORZA EASTEND also supports the campaign for real cider (including local cider farms) and will be issuing advice for the correct purchase and consumption of our local apple based beverage.
News and updates on FORZA EASTEND events and fundraising can be found on independent City supporter’s message board www.subcider.co.uk and on the new fanzine www.bcfc3lions.co.uk