will it end in tiers

[General Mannerheim]

have we done this anywhere else yet?

http://www.theboltonnews.co.uk/sport/wa ... nts-anchor" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

looks like the club plan to close off the north and east upper tiers next season and use the current ST holders up there to fill the gaps downstairs.

seems reasonable to me, but reading the comments below the article (which are quite articulate for for BN) upper tier punters aint happy! I dont really see why folk get sentimental about where they sit, seat is a seat, and to be fair there isnt a bad view in that stadium. plus im sure they would find room in west upper if it that big a deal?

might also be worth sticking the away fans in one half of the east upper, stalwarts can stay in the other half. north upper crowd could move to south lower...?

[Loyal White]

I don't mind them closing the upper tiers, but would rather have known prior to renewing my season ticket. That way I could have picked where I am sitting in a reasonable fashion without messing about with another 1,000 or so who have also renewed all competing for the same spots at the same time.

[thebish]

It was batted around for a couple of pages on Spotty's substandard transfer thread - with some fairly sharp disagreement...

Hotdog suggested closing all the upper tiers

Insano said it would be a logistical nightmare

Crazyhorse wasn't overly keen...

So you think the way to improve attendances is to alienate already disillusioned folk who could possibly have sat in the same seat in the upper tier for the best part of twenty years by taking their seat off them and forcing them to sit downstairs.

Great plan. I mean I'm sure not a single one of them would tell Deano to shove it up his arse.

LK tried to broker peace:

Ok, may i be the voice of compromise and suggest shutting a couple of the upper tiers

Insano wasn't having it!

Crazyhorse offered a more radical solution...

If we're trying to cut costs and not caring about upsetting people lets take it to the next level by closing the whole stadium and offering fans an alternative seat in Ewood park instead.

[BWFC_Insane]

My point was more fairness Bish...those in the upper tiers will get second choice of seats. Which seems somewhat unfair. Logistically to make it fair would be difficult. But we are where we are.

Personally I think they should have announced the closures prior to tickets going on sale and had a very short window (say a week) for existing lower stand ST holders to reserve their existing seats. After that all seats remaining offered to upper tier renewers...

[Abdoulaye's Twin]

Have they actually costed it out to see how much they will actually save? I know it sounds obvious, but...

[BWFC_Insane]

Have they actually costed it out to see how much they will actually save? I know it sounds obvious, but...

Suspect that it isn't just cost. Having 11K fans spread thinly doesn't help the atmosphere in the ground, as we've seen the past couple of seasons. Condensing fans into lower tiers should hopefully boost the noise a bit.

[Gary the Enfield]

Have they actually costed it out to see how much they will actually save? I know it sounds obvious, but...

Suspect that it isn't just cost. Having 11K fans spread thinly doesn't help the atmosphere in the ground, as we've seen the past couple of seasons. Condensing fans into lower tiers should hopefully boost the noise a bit.

We could just pipe crowd noise in like City did.

[LeverEnd]

Have they actually costed it out to see how much they will actually save? I know it sounds obvious, but...

Suspect that it isn't just cost. Having 11K fans spread thinly doesn't help the atmosphere in the ground, as we've seen the past couple of seasons. Condensing fans into lower tiers should hopefully boost the noise a bit.

Some fcuker scoring some goals (for us for a change) would help as well!

[Abdoulaye's Twin]

Have they actually costed it out to see how much they will actually save? I know it sounds obvious, but...

Suspect that it isn't just cost. Having 11K fans spread thinly doesn't help the atmosphere in the ground, as we've seen the past couple of seasons. Condensing fans into lower tiers should hopefully boost the noise a bit.

Some fcuker scoring some goals (for us for a change) would help as well!

Aye. Also, losing a percentage of upper-tierers isn't going to help either. A percentage of them will say fcuk 'em, it's just a question of how many.

[wigan white]

I'm one of those East-Stand upper people (along with my son, Dad and nephew) and have had the same seat since we moved to the Macron. If they'd have done this before the season ended, then fair enough, but to only sort it out after the first payment has gone out on the season tickets has come out is shocking. Its ok saying "There's not a bad seat in the ground" but thats not true. My son is only 9 and when we've sat in the lower tier in cup games (dependent on the seat) he struggles to see the action in certain areas of the pitch, hence why we sit in the upper tier. I understand about the cost cutting (although to say cleaning is a massive cost when there's no actual signs of anyone cleaning our seats etc. is a joke), but to not sort this before the season had ended or before the renewals had gone out is ridiculous and amateurish. When they finally decide if they're shutting it, then what's our options about moving seats as by that time the pick of the lower tier seats will have gone and then we get stuck in a corner where my lad then can't see the match properly.
They should have addressed this sooner (as Aston Villa did).

[Dave Sutton's barnet]

I'm one of those East-Stand upper people (along with my son, Dad and nephew) and have had the same seat since we moved to the Macron. If they'd have done this before the season ended, then fair enough, but to only sort it out after the first payment has gone out on the season tickets has come out is shocking. Its ok saying "There's not a bad seat in the ground" but thats not true. My son is only 9 and when we've sat in the lower tier in cup games (dependent on the seat) he struggles to see the action in certain areas of the pitch, hence why we sit in the upper tier. I understand about the cost cutting (although to say cleaning is a massive cost when there's no actual signs of anyone cleaning our seats etc. is a joke), but to not sort this before the season had ended or before the renewals had gone out is ridiculous and amateurish. When they finally decide if they're shutting it, then what's our options about moving seats as by that time the pick of the lower tier seats will have gone and then we get stuck in a corner where my lad then can't see the match properly.
They should have addressed this sooner (as Aston Villa did).

...and got pelters. This is one of those where it's impossible to please all the people; I completely understand the objections, but I also understand why they're taking their time to assess demand and reaction. If they'd just announced they were shutting the upper tiers without consultation they'd be accused of patriarchy, presumptuousness, bad timing (just after relegation), negativity, riding roughshod etc etc. Like Villa were.

I don't know what the answer is and I don't have skin in the game, except obtusely – I'd like my club to be efficient and my team to benefit from a good atmosphere. I have sympathy for both sides, and I think this is a problem for which any board would struggle to get overwhelming consent either way.

[BWFC_Insane]

I'm one of those East-Stand upper people (along with my son, Dad and nephew) and have had the same seat since we moved to the Macron. If they'd have done this before the season ended, then fair enough, but to only sort it out after the first payment has gone out on the season tickets has come out is shocking. Its ok saying "There's not a bad seat in the ground" but thats not true. My son is only 9 and when we've sat in the lower tier in cup games (dependent on the seat) he struggles to see the action in certain areas of the pitch, hence why we sit in the upper tier. I understand about the cost cutting (although to say cleaning is a massive cost when there's no actual signs of anyone cleaning our seats etc. is a joke), but to not sort this before the season had ended or before the renewals had gone out is ridiculous and amateurish. When they finally decide if they're shutting it, then what's our options about moving seats as by that time the pick of the lower tier seats will have gone and then we get stuck in a corner where my lad then can't see the match properly.
They should have addressed this sooner (as Aston Villa did).

...and got pelters. This is one of those where it's impossible to please all the people; I completely understand the objections, but I also understand why they're taking their time to assess demand and reaction. If they'd just announced they were shutting the upper tiers without consultation they'd be accused of patriarchy, presumptuousness, bad timing (just after relegation), negativity, riding roughshod etc etc. Like Villa were.

I don't know what the answer is and I don't have skin in the game, except obtusely – I'd like my club to be efficient and my team to benefit from a good atmosphere. I have sympathy for both sides, and I think this is a problem for which any board would struggle to get overwhelming consent either way.

I think people would have understood more though had they done it immediately. I mean the reverse of "we're closing the upper tiers so choose your lower tier seats initially but if there is high demand we will open the upper tiers and let you re-take your original seats" would have been better I think.

[Dave Sutton's barnet]

Tell it to Villa fans. Also, presumably the enormofaff of asking people who've paid lower-tier prices to pay again to upgrade.

Whatever they did, people would think the other was better. It's a seat-based Andranik Parallel Universe Theory.

[BWFC_Insane]

Tell it to Villa fans. Also, presumably the enormofaff of asking people who've paid lower-tier prices to pay again to upgrade.

Whatever they did, people would think the other was better. It's a seat-based Andranik Parallel Universe Theory.

We aren't a big City club just relegated from the top flight though...think situations are somewhat different...

[Dave Sutton's barnet]

Tell it to Villa fans. Also, presumably the enormofaff of asking people who've paid lower-tier prices to pay again to upgrade.

Whatever they did, people would think the other was better. It's a seat-based Andranik Parallel Universe Theory.

We aren't a big City club just relegated from the top flight though...think situations are somewhat different...

Tell it to the Bolton fans clamouring for Martinez or Moyes. And yes, they exist.

Villa might not be a perfect parallel but there's no way the fanbase would have said "So you're just going to move me without consulting me, make me choose a seat in a stand I don't want to use, then you might move me back? Oh OK then, I shan't complain about that at all. Up the Trotters!" - that world doesn't exist.

[wigan white]

Tell it to Villa fans. Also, presumably the enormofaff of asking people who've paid lower-tier prices to pay again to upgrade.

Whatever they did, people would think the other was better. It's a seat-based Andranik Parallel Universe Theory.

We aren't a big City club just relegated from the top flight though...think situations are somewhat different...

Tell it to the Bolton fans clamouring for Martinez or Moyes. And yes, they exist.

Villa might not be a perfect parallel but there's no way the fanbase would have said "So you're just going to move me without consulting me, make me choose a seat in a stand I don't want to use, then you might move me back? Oh OK then, I shan't complain about that at all. Up the Trotters!" - that world doesn't exist.

I think I meant to say the consultation should have been done before the end of the season into trying to find how many "upper tiers" will renew their season tickets before the renewals actually took place. To then assume (maybe incorrectly but no evidence to point to this) that when we renew we'll have our normal seat then to be told, "well actually we don't know, we'll still charge you for it but then consult with you the following month and then decide from there", is the piss take bit.

[Loyal White]

So when the decision is made to close one/more of the upper tiers (which is quite clearly coming) what happens to the 1,000+ or so who have already renewed?

Logistically it will be an absolute nightmare;
- Are we automatically allocated a seat?
- Do we get to pick one?
- How do 1,000+ people claim seats at the same time? (All of whom will want seats as high as possible)
- How do you co-ordinate multiple groups of people who sit together who don't their tickets collectively?

Again, I don't have an issue with closing the upper tiers, I have a problem with doing it after I've already paid for my seat.

Yet another farcical decision.

[Lord Kangana]

D'ya think they're listening to me with regards the new manager too?

[Harry Genshaw]

Some fcuker scoring some goals (for us for a change) would help as well!

Indeed but without one, there'll be nobody sat up there to catch Madine's efforts

[Abdoulaye's Twin]

D'ya think they're listening to me with regards the new manager too?

Lets hope not