Barbarians v Samoa August 29th

An archive of news, events and discussion leading up to and post West Ham United's historic move from Upton Park to Stratford in 2016.

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Antwerp_Lad
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Re: Barbarians v Samoa August 29th

Post by Antwerp_Lad »

AlfieG wrote:Good to hear your feedback BG.

I hope that people will take some time to look at your pictures on twitter....

Some worrying points highlighted.

I too experienced the management of fans trying to get away after the game yesterday and I have to say that it was p1ss poor especially when it is raining...... I suspect that an angry group of football fans will not be so compliant with their stupid rules.... We will see....

Oh and finally, I suspect that you will now be accused of being a negative moaner because you do not fully agree with the clubs view that this move is 'fantastic' for the supporters..... :
Behave :lol:

Seems like most of the stuff he is talking about are things that can still be fixed. I would have expected them to sort out the coming and goings by now, but I'm sure that will be handled by the time we move.

As for the view: It was always going to be bad when you're all the way up in the rafters, I hope the club at least take this into consideration and make those tickets really cheap.
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AlfieG
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Re: Barbarians v Samoa August 29th

Post by AlfieG »

Really?

Another armchair expert...... :lol:

When you have taken the time to investigate the place i'm sure people will take your opinions on the OS more seriously AL.......
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Antwerp_Lad
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Re: Barbarians v Samoa August 29th

Post by Antwerp_Lad »

I don't even disagree with him, if it's really that bad then it needs to be handled.

I just disagree with you complaining that he will be called a negative moaner when there's nothing to indicate that.

Do you seriously think they will not have a look at it to see if it can be fixed to allow people to enter and exit the ground faster ?
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Big George
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Re: Barbarians v Samoa August 29th

Post by Big George »

Antwerp_Lad wrote:
Behave :lol:

Seems like most of the stuff he is talking about are things that can still be fixed. I would have expected them to sort out the coming and goings by now, but I'm sure that will be handled by the time we move.

As for the view: It was always going to be bad when you're all the way up in the rafters, I hope the club at least take this into consideration and make those tickets really cheap.
I'm fascinated to see how they will fix the fact that most of the upper tier won't be able to see much of the play of the far side without binoculars
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Re: Barbarians v Samoa August 29th

Post by Antwerp_Lad »

Big George wrote:
I'm fascinated to see how they will fix the fact that most of the upper tier won't be able to see much of the play of the far side without binoculars
That won't be fixed, so the only way to sell those seats is to make them relatively cheap compared to the better ones.

Have a look at this:

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/ ... _night.jpg" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I've been there plenty of times when I lived in Berlin. It looks really far, right ?

Those tickets are around 15-20 euro in general and only really sell out when the likes of Bayern, Dortmund,... come to Berlin. I'm sure for those with season tickets there will be a lot better options available, right ?

At least I hope so...

edit: I also don't think that this view will be the same for all of the upper tier.
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AlfieG
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Re: Barbarians v Samoa August 29th

Post by AlfieG »

Antwerp_Lad wrote:
I just disagree with you complaining that he will be called a negative moaner when there's nothing to indicate that.
Have you looked around the OS related threads recently? :eh:
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Big George
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Re: Barbarians v Samoa August 29th

Post by Big George »

Antwerp_Lad wrote:
That won't be fixed, so the only way to sell those seats is to make them relatively cheap compared to the better ones.

Have a look at this:

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/ ... _night.jpg" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I've been there plenty of times when I lived in Berlin. It looks really far, right ?

Those tickets are around 15-20 euro in general and only really sell out when the likes of Bayern, Dortmund,... come to Berlin. I'm sure for those with season tickets there will be a lot better options available, right ?

At least I hope so...

edit: I also don't think that this view will be the same for all of the upper tier.
The problem is that so many of the seats are so far away. I was about 5 rows from the front of the upper tier when I took that in-play pic, on the side by the corner flag. There were 60 odd rows behind me and then the ones behind the goals. The problem was, even remodeled, it was never designed with Football in mind.


The can't, and they won't, sell you 2/3rds seat at rock bottom prices. .
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Glory Hunter
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Re: Barbarians v Samoa August 29th

Post by Glory Hunter »

While I don't want to criticise someone who's actually watched a match at the OS, I have to agree with AL. I sat in a very similar position to that in the pic from the Berlin OS when I was lucky enough to get invited to the German cup final. I felt the view was fine for football, but I a bit ropey when all the way up the far end.

As far as I know, the London and Berlin OSs are roughly the same size.

Personally, I think football is far easier to watch from a distance than rugby as the action in Rugby requires you to be up close.
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Big George
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Re: Barbarians v Samoa August 29th

Post by Big George »

Glory Hunter wrote:While I don't want to criticise someone who's actually watched a match at the OS, I have to agree with AL. I sat in a very similar position to that in the pic from the Berlin OS when I was lucky enough to get invited to the German cup final. I felt the view was fine for football, but I a bit ropey when all the way up the far end.

As far as I know, the London and Berlin OSs are roughly the same size.

Personally, I think football is far easier to watch from a distance than rugby as the action in Rugby requires you to be up close.
You literally can't see the ball or ID players. The gap makes it much further than at Wembley for example
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Re: Barbarians v Samoa August 29th

Post by eastsider »

Big George wrote:I'll live with it

Me too George!! Cannot wait to get in there next season, like winning the lottery for us fans :clap:
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Big George
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Re: Barbarians v Samoa August 29th

Post by Big George »

eastsider wrote:

Me too George!! Cannot wait to get in there next season, like winning the lottery for us fans :clap:
I think you may have misread my stance on the subject
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Re: Barbarians v Samoa August 29th

Post by Chris BMU »

Big George wrote:You literally can't see the ball or ID players. The gap makes it much further than at Wembley for example
My season ticket now is halfway back in the BML. When play is up the other end I struggle to make out what is going on and often mis-identify our own players. So what's new?
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Re: Barbarians v Samoa August 29th

Post by Kitt the car »

Chris BMU wrote: My season ticket now is halfway back in the BML. When play is up the other end I struggle to make out what is going on and often mis-identify our own players. So what's new?

This. I sit STBL row 3 & do the same thing, From that angle it's not even a big deal for me now so why will it be in a newer bigger stadium? One place I HATE sitting is in the lower corner of a ground as I can literally see f*** all in the opposite corner. I was sat in the first few rows of the West stand/STBL corner for the Sheffield United cup game last season and hated it but why would I expect a simar seat in a bigger stadium to have a better view? I wouldn't

I would say this, based on what I saw yesterday, upper part of the lower stand and the lower part of the upper stands (including where I say yesterday in the upper corner) will give you the absolute best views no matter where you are in the stadium.
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Re: Barbarians v Samoa August 29th

Post by Big George »

I sit in Row E in the STBU with my lad. The view in the OS is far worse. Look at the in play pic I posted on Twitter in an earlier post. Completely different scale. At least twice as far. I've been there and seen it. This is why they didn't want to release the measurements
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Re: Barbarians v Samoa August 29th

Post by WestHamIFC »

Big George wrote:They kept trying to push us to Hackney Wick
Polar opposite of our experience. We were most definitely herded directly to Stratford station.

Big George wrote:took us over an hour until we were on the tube platform
:? I'm amazed/baffled how it took you that long. Less than half of that time for us.

Big George wrote:Its going to take a lot of sorting out.
Agree. The single bridge by the Aquatics centre funnels the crowds too much and slows your progress considerably. Although this was also hindered by the major construction work going on between the Aquatics Centre and Westfield - that definitely had a major impact. Hopefully that will al be complete by the time we move in.
I've done the same walk on a non-match day and it's very quick.

The same problem with funnelling when you approach Westfield. We were held for a short while by stewards holding "Please Wait" signs, but to be fair it wasn't for very long.

I also noticed we were being filmed at this point. The club have clearly said they are observing the Rugby games as a 'test' so hopefully the crowd congestion points are being noted, and will be addressed.

However when we got to the station the crowds dispersed very quickly. Instead of everyone attempting to travel on a single tube line like @ UP, this was a noticeable difference with the hordes qucikly splitting up between those going to the BR, Central, Jubilee, DLR and Overground, etc, etc.
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Re: Barbarians v Samoa August 29th

Post by WestHamIFC »

WestHamIFC wrote:I was in the Lower Tier today. Loved it!

Awesome stadium, felt very close to the pitch, great views, and superb acoustics with the new roof. It felt far, far more intimate than Wembley or the Millennium Stadium.

Sound travels really, really well and clearly. I can't wait for the first match and hearing us sing "Bubbles" as the team comes out. It will be spine-tingling!

The 'curve' of the seats actually helped me see the corner furthest away on my side far more clearly than in a conventional football stadium!

My fears/concerns are absolutely gone, can't wait for the WHU branding to be added and for us to move in!

Got a few pics I'll post tomorrow at some point. :raver:

Posted the images in the Picture Thread here.

East Stand, Turnstile H, Block 140, Row 140 Lower Tier:

http://imgur.com/a/a7qJr
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Re: Barbarians v Samoa August 29th

Post by WestHamIFC »

WestHamIFC wrote:
The 'curve' of the seats actually helped me see the corner furthest away on my side far more clearly than in a conventional football stadium!

Here's what I meant by this. With a conventional football stadium you would have to turn almost 90 degrees to view that corner with much of your own crowd obscuring the view. This is a problem I currently have where I sit in the Boleyn. Perversely the 'curve' mostly gets rid of this issue!:

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Re: Barbarians v Samoa August 29th

Post by Rio »

Also once we settle in, not all the support will be headed towards Stratfordas has been the case for the 'neutral' events. Just as not everyone heads towards Upton Park now.

That's a huge difference in helping crowd management
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Re: Barbarians v Samoa August 29th

Post by Pop Robson »

We sat in the upper tier behind the posts couldn't see what was going on at the other end at all and couldn't really see what was going on looking at the screen either unless it was zoomed in to the play.

Left on 24mins when the sprinklers came to watch West Ham win at Anfield

Mind The Gaps !!

What happened to the 15mins to the train and high St pubs :lol:
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Pop Robson
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Re: Barbarians v Samoa August 29th

Post by Pop Robson »

Directing people to hackney wick isn't helpful when there was a bus replacement service between Hackney wick and Stratford !
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