In the wake of the Hillsborough disaster in 1989 a raft of changes were made to English stadia in an effort to ensure such a devastating tragedy never happens again.
Many of those changes – like the removal of perimeter fences which penned fans in – were sorely needed, and I have no doubt they have made a vital contribution to spectator safety over the three decades.
But one of the measures introduced as a result of the recommendations made by the Taylor Report has always been controversial, with many saying it was unnecessary, impractical and actually made grounds less safe: the total ban on standing areas for fans.
Since 1994, every ground in the top two flights of English football has had to be all-seater. Fans, who had been standing at football matches for decades without incident suddenly found themselves forced to sit.
At face value it sounded like a good plan. And I think at first it probably did send the right message to supporters – sit down and behave.
But over the decades, fans have become increasingly reluctant to follow this rule. In fact, as any supporter who has been to watch a match in England in the last 10 to 15 years will tell you, supporters are getting back on their feet in their thousands.
And this has led to a situation which is actually more dangerous than the one they were originally trying to avoid – because the people who are standing are doing so in areas that simply aren’t designed for it. The gaps between the rows are narrow and there are no rails or barriers to hold fans back.
Obviously, other than making regular announcements, there is little clubs can do to force people to sit during a match. They can’t exactly walk down the aisles pushing people into their seats.
All that means that if, God forbid, there was a Hillsborough-style surge in a packed area where fans are ‘illegally’ standing, the outcome could be horrendous. Lives could be lost.
Some people, including fans groups, have been campaigning for many years for safe standing areas to be introduced. And now, it seems, the authorities have finally relented with the announcement last week that clubs in the top two tiers can start trialling safe standing from January.
Many clubs have been preparing for this moment by installing rail seating – areas which can be transformed from seated to safe standing – and I would expect most clubs to take up the offer of this trial.
I don’t want to underplay the Hillsborough disaster in any way, shape or form. I remember it happening like it was yesterday, as my father and I listened to the tragedy unfolding on the radio.
And I understand that in its immediate aftermath the authorities had to do whatever it took to try and ensure no fan ever lost his life because of poorly designed and managed stadia.
Hopefully this is the first big step towards supporters having the freedom to watch games however they want to
But times have changed, technology has moved on, and forcing clubs to be all-seater is now more likely to cause an incident than prevent one. Hopefully this is the first big step towards supporters having the freedom to watch games however they want to.
For me that will still be sitting down, of course, but that’s probably more to do with age…
First name on the team sheet
As European football fans we often think the people that own our clubs interfere too much in the way they are run.
But we have it easy in comparison to some. Like, for example, fans of Suriname club Inter Moengotapoe.
Last week, club owner Ronnie Brunswijk (who also happens to be vice president of the country itself) decided it was time for him to get really involved in his team. So he named himself in the starting line-up for their crucial CONCACAF League match against Honduras side Olimpia.
As a former revolutionary soldier, rebel leader and convicted drug trafficker, I’m hardly surprised nobody told him it was a bad idea.
Now, just for the record, this isn’t some silly friendly or charity match but the North American and the Caribbean equivalent of the Europa League. And let’s also keep in mind that Ronnie is 60 years old.
But that didn’t stop him playing himself up front from the start and naming himself as captain for the occasion, which was made more memorable by the fact that Brunswijk was playing alongside his son. No nepotism there then.
As you would imagine, Brunswijk senior didn’t do an awful lot of running but instead hung around telling off his teammates for not passing to him and generally getting angry at everyone.
Still, at least it all ended well.
Just kidding, it ended with Inter Moengotapoe getting thrashed 6-0.
I wonder if Ronnie will line up in the return leg this Wednesday? Then again, who is going to have the courage to tell him to bench himself…?
£23.5 million a goal so far
Shall we have a little Rhian Brewster update? Just for fun?
As you may recall, Sheffield United signed the promising Liverpool and England striker in the summer of 2020 to fire the goals they needed to stay in the Premier League.
It was a £23.5 million gamble but, with Rhian widely seen as one of the most exciting young players in the game, it felt like a gamble worth taking.
Well, fast forward more than a year (and down a division) and Brewster has now made 38 appearances for the Blades. And in that time he has scored one goal. Yep, that’s right, one solitary goal.
That monumental moment – a tap-in from a rebound that even I wouldn’t have missed – came in an early round of this season’s League Cup.
Well, on Tuesday he took his Sheffield United career to new heights by missing a penalty in the League Cup shoot-out with Southampton. It wasn’t the decisive one, but it gave the Saints the momentum they needed to book their place in the next round.
As signings go, I think it’s fair to say this hasn’t been the greatest in the history of football.
The strange thing is, having seen him play several times this season, I can tell you there is a very good player in there somewhere trying to get out.
He has pace, he has energy, he has the ability to beat his man and he has a shot that is packed with venom. He just seems to be using all those attributes in the wrong order.
I can only assume his confidence has been dramatically eroded by spending the equivalent of an entire season either shooting the ball at the floodlights or passing it to the opponent’s goalkeeper.
Will he eventually come good? Yes, I don’t doubt it. Will that happen at Sheffield United? Possibly.
What he needs is a little change of luck – a mishit shot which trickles over the line, a ball to bounce off his backside into the bottom corner, a misplaced back pass handed to him on a plate.
If he gets one or two I can see him going on to get 20 to 25 this season and blowing away the Championship.
The question is, where are those one or two coming from…?
twitter: @maltablade