Although it may have been a condition that the stadium be an all seater, I don't like it. There are a few problems which I hope the club will think about.

Firstly, I have travelled with the swans to a few games in the last couple of years, and there has been a difference in the amount of leg-room. At 6'3" I am hardly a giant, but the seats at QPR would have had Leon Britton struggling to sit properly, wheras the seats at the Kassam Stadium had plenty of room. I do hope that the club have taken leg room into consideration.

Secondly, is more of a problem with unreserved seating: you don't choose who's sitting next to you. In the Wales v Poland game, me and my father ended up sitting next to someone who was so drunk they could hardly stand, or even sit down. He introduced himself to us about ten times and asked if we were Welsh. We did manage to reassure him on that point, had he known my father was actually English he may have got a bit nasty! And of course he had to go to the toilet more than once during the half.

In a terrace, if someone standing next to you has had a few you can walk away. In a stand you can't. And of course the problem of once someone wants to go to the toilet, or to buy a burger/pint of beer then everyone in the row has to get up to let them past.

The problem has also been pointed out about people standing when there are people behind them who want to sit. I personally find it very hard to sit down to watch a football match, although it seems I'll have to learn. It is also a problem for those who want to sit. At Reading despite there being a sign to the effect of "standing is strictly prohibited" it was not enforced. Some stewards got everyone down the front to sit down (myself included), then the "stand up if you hate Cardiff" chant came around. Everyone stood up, and we were not asked again for the rest of the match.

The stand up-sit down campaign has suggested that there be areas in all seater stadia specifically for people to stand up in front of their seats. This approach has a lot going for it: those who want to stand can stand, as can those who want to sit in another part of the ground. That is likely to be the area where the "singers" would all congregate allowing the potential for more noise. Unfortunately, as Manchester United have discovered supporters consistently standing can lead to reduced ticket allocations in the future. Doesn't seem to be universal: apparently everyone stands on the Kop, but so far as I know there have been no reduction in allocations against Liverpool.

Finally, the price. It is bound, not unreasonably to go up, but I am worried that this could be prohibitive for encouraging new families to go and watch the Swans. It is not a cheap day out anyway: an adult and a child in the (current) East Stand would cost £22. Especially if we fail to get promoted, we need to remember that we are still watching 3^rd division football however grand the stadium.

These worries aren't too serious, but I hope that plans will be in place to prevent them becoming problems.

JACKARMY

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