Arsenal News 24/7Writer: Rocky7 
Date:Thursday January 18 2007
Time: 3:38PM
UK time is: 14:37:08
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Official: Less Spurs Fans The Better
The ticket fiasco regarding the Carling cup semi final allocations has finally been resolved by the football league arbitration panel, and it agree's with us; The less Spurs fans the better!
Competition rules state that all away clubs are allocated 15% of the home teams stadium capacity. However due to Arsenal's massive new stadium, it would have seen 9,000 (almost a quarter of their own stadium) Spurs fans descending upon Ashburton Grove.
The official word was that The club, football league and metropolitan police were worried about the jump from 3,000 to 9,000 away supporters attending a game in one fell swoop with no prior testing, however, the history and rivalry between the two clubs and the sheer volume of Spurs fans could be a recipe for destruction.
Here's the clubs official statement.
"In relation to the ticket allocation for away supporters for the tie at Emirates Stadium, the Club is pleased that the Football League upheld its decision to cap the number at 5173, as the safety of spectators is paramount. Emirates Stadium has been designed to host up to 9000 away supporters for a cup competition fixture in line with the 15% regulation. However, to date, we have not hosted a cup match at Emirates Stadium and were therefore advised by the Football Licensing Authority and Islington Council, as well as supported by the Met Police, that it was unsafe to make the considerable increase from 3000 to 9000 away supporters in one single step.
"On the upside, as a result of accommodating over 5000 away supporters for the first time at Emirates Stadium on January 31st, we will be in a position to review the opposition`s allocation with the necessary parties for future cup ties. This will hopefully enable the Club to provide visiting teams with the maximum 15% allocation for the FA Cup and Carling Cup competitions.
"We now look forward, to what we hope will be, two exciting derby matches between the two north London sides."
Less tickets for Spuddies mean more for the Gooners.....HURRAHH!!!
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Your Comments
and you only get 3,000 at our gaff - oh and by the way, that is cobblers, cos the FA suggested you offer 15% and you refused.
Jacky B
The 15% mandatory, as per competition rules, except in this case where the league agreed 9,000 Spurs fans in one place would just be too horrific to bear!!
Rocky7
http://www.tottenhamhotspur.com/news/articles/carlingcupticketnews.html. depends what you read. Actually, it seems to me that you got away with it cos of it being the first such occasion - can't wait for the next opportunity where you will be forced to comply with the rules. Same old arsenal....
Jacky B
hahahahahaha, we all knew those spuds are the biggest bunch of *****ers in the country, and now the FA agree with us too :p..
luckys_10
lol Jacky can't wait for the next opportunity? mate you won't be in the last four of any competition for the next five years, so enjoy this moment ;)..
luckys_10
Once again Jacky, if you actually have read the entire article instead of just wading in with your size 10's, you see at the bottom of the article it says that this being the 'first ocassion' is the exact reason you didnt get the full allocation. Oh, and a Spurs website......that's gunna print the truth isn't it!!
Rocky7
actually i am a size 10! lol and where would i get that impression if i did not read to the bottom? - apologies if my choice of words were not up to standard. I was just replying to the inane idea that its cos the FA hate us as much as you do. actually, they prob do in light of this and other such favouritism. Likewise with a gooner statement.
Jacky B
Yep. Operative word seems to be ...the first time...
TeamSpirit
Jacky? What's a woman doing with size 10 feet??? Anyway having 9000 fans at our stadium making a little noise still won't make a difference to your *****poor team!!! Also do you realise waht a ribbing you're gonna be in for if our kids beat your best team??? If you win you'll only have been playing our kids haha
scooch
I have to say, in all objectivity, this is really sad. I've been to WHL many times and witness the appalling behaviour of a MINORITY of Spurs fans outside the away turnstiles, it's those people Spurs fans should be upset with, they are the ones who have ruined it. 9,000 would be a security risk, believe me.
Little Dutch
why? if its just a minority? i see what you are saying but... the minority is the same amount be it amongst 5,000 or 9,000
Jacky B
How do you work that out? Almost twice as many tickets means twice the oppotunity. Also, and I realise this happens in all support of all teams, you get your hangers on. Not initially looking for trouble or indeed with the travelling pack of hoolies, but after a few beers and an emotional match with maybe a controversial decision or two, and a fight breaks out.....then people who usually dont get involved with this kind of this may get involved.
Rocky7
I reckon they wanted the extra seats for Paul Robinsons Family.......The Klumps! 2 seats per Arse Cheek and a seat for their Balti Pies and Coke.
iceman10
Safety and crowd segregation at all football clubs are paramount but what does seem rather strange is that why did the Licensing Authorities, Islington Council et al sign off the safety certificate for the stadium at the beginning of the season when everybody was aware that both of the domestic Cups had a ruling that the away team had an allocation of 15%? Does it not seem very strange that this all comes to light prior to the second leg of a Cup semi-final against your biggest rivals? If the Emirates Stadium and its procedures are not fit for purpose for domestic Cup competitions then why was the stadium signed off in the first place and/or why were Arsenal allowed in either of the competitions if they cannot clearly abide by the rules and regulations? The new Wembley stadium will not be signed off until all procedures are in place so why should Arsenal be different? Surely this could have all been resolved by employing more police and stewards?
Hotspur3854
Point 1 Mr Hotspur....You are not our biggest rivals (see article entitled "Man Utd - The Real Rivalry" point 2.....The ground has been specifically designed to house 9,000 away spectators for the cup matches, but seen as this is the first domestic cup match at our new home we have not had a 'ramp up' event. Considering the nasty nature of an element of a section of your support, and the equal element of ours looking to have a rumble, 9,000 tickets without prior 'tests' would be foolish at best, neglegent at worst!
Rocky7
Mr Rocky - the point is that legally no stadium or public building should have been given a safety certificate if it has not been proven that the set procedures work for which the certficate is issued - Wembley stadium will have "dry runs" BEFORE any certificate is issued - your club should have paid for "dry runs" before the stadium was opened and before you entered any Cup competitions to ensure that your club complied with all the necessary regulations - de facto your stadium has not had its procedures tested and therefore should not have been given any certificates and is legally not fit for purpose for any domestic Cup competitions. How did your club get the certificates if you have not complied with all the requirements? What percentage of away tickets are being allocated to Bolton for the FA Cup 4th round?
Hotspur3854
What sort of a ramp up event do they have in mind? Sounds like "Catch 22" to me!
Westl
How do you have a re-run of a real hooligan incident?! we did the neccesary Dry runs, we had members day, then The Bergkamp Testimonial both times increasing capacity to the required level thats why the Certificate was issued.
iceman10
*dry run, not re-run*
iceman10
Mr iceman - The certificate is not issued purely based on the total capacity - it is issued for all requirements of the stadium and its purposes which obvioulsy includes allocating 15% of away tickets for domestic Cup matches. So when you had the "dry runs" did you take into account that 9,000 of the fans were away fans? Surely you must have done or you would not have had the certificates issued - would you? Because if you had not done that then the stadium would not be fit for purpose and the certifcates would not have been issued. Perhaps you can tell me the percantage of tickets that have been allocated to Bolton for the FA Cup 4th round match - Bolton are selling them so you must have made a decision on the allocation. It wouldn't be 15% by any remote chance would it???
Hotspur3854
I like your attitude Hotsp*r3854 rather than ensure the safety of everyone who is going to the ground and the local residents you would rather risk a massive incident at a poweder keg cup tie. Its not as if we are cheating you we have been given the same percentage for the game at the Shoebox. With all due respect to Bolton there is no way that game is as likely to have a Hooligan incident than the 1 against you.
iceman10
mr iceman - if you read my original post I started off by saying that safety and crowd segregation are paramount so you are way off base with your comments. I have supported my club since 1960 and was on the terraces in the late 60's and most of the 70's and there is no way that I would ever want to go back to the days of the pitched battles - I want total safety as there will be a time when I will take my grandchildren to grounds. If you were an independent person would you not think it highly suspicous of the wranglings of ticket allocations? In essence your club is saying that it is not sure of its safety procedures thus giving it an excuse to lower the number of tickets to the away team in the 2nd leg of a Cup semi final - perversely enough 4 days later there seems to be no problem in allocating the full amount to Bolton for an FA Cup match. Why wouldn't your club agree to 8,000 tickets and a huge increase in stewards and police staff - costs to be shared? No sensible and true fan of either side wants trouble and does want safety and any true fan wants everything above board and quite frankly this whole ticket allocation stinks. Why should Arsenal be allowed to flout the rules when it suits them? And yes I would be just as vociferous if any other club was to try and bypass the rules - including my own club.
Hotspur3854
How are we cheating anybody when we have the same % of away tickets? Bolton is hardly going to have the hatred invested atmosphere as a NLD. Add to that its an evening game where people can ply themselves with alcohol all day and I really cant see the point of your crying.
iceman10
You are cheating because the rules are very clear and that you have to allocate 15% of tickets to the away team but all of a sudden there are "safety issues" and out comes the book of excuses as to why you cannot allocate the full amount. And then miracle upon mircales 4 days later (even though you have no idea if your so called "safety issues" have been addressed) Bolton come along with their full quota of 15% of tickets.
Hotspur3854
Oh silly me I have made such a mistake - the Bolton CUP match is actually 3 days BEFORE the 2nd leg of the semi final of the Carling Cup. So the Bolton match can be used as the "dry run" for large numbers of away fans!!! Surely there can be no excuses now for the full allocation to be given - can there???
Hotspur3854
Truth is ur just latching on to the story to try and portray us in a bad light when the facts are THERE IS A SAFETY ISSUE MUCH LARGER FOR A SP*RS MATCH THAN A BOLTON MATCH. I think so, the football league thinks so, Arsenal think so, Islington council think so and most importantly the police think so. Only you lot think otherwise but then again you wrote a letter to the FA begging for the Lasagne gate game to be replayed so u must be right.
iceman10
There is NOTHING in your clubs request for it being a Spurs match - your excuse was that you cannot jump from 3000 away fans to 9000 away fans in one step - well it has been proven that is not the case - but hey dont let anything like the rules and regulations ever stop your club from doing the right thing.
It is YOUR club that is portraying itself in a bad light by NOT adhering to either the rules and regulations or indeed the spirit of the game.
Hotspur3854
Common sense is wasted on you lot, it really is. If you cannot understand the implications that i have listed then there is no point arguing with you. Lets always follow a strict set of rules instead of using common sense......are you a referee by any chance?
iceman10
YOUR implications are NOT what your club put forward as the "reason" why they would not allocate the full 15%. It has been proven that your club's "reason" is just not true - your club does not want our club to have its full allocation of tickets period.
Hotspur3854
Why do you think we do not want you to have a full allocation? is it because we stole ur dinner money and were not friends anymore, because Levy called deans mum something rude or because of safety issues. If you are so adamant that we are acting improperly tell us why you think we are doing this?
iceman10
*dein's*
iceman10
Only your BOD will know the real reason why but there are some that would think 9,000 passionate fans would make a lot more noise and thus more support for their team than 5,000.
Hotspur3854
what other conspiracy stories can you tell us? Did the Titanic really sink? Is the King Really dead? is the chicken in a mcnugget really chicken?
iceman10
The real issue here is the greed of your greasy chairman who refused to lower the prices at Arsenals request. I see you have chosen to neglect that issue and concentrate on one which means nothing except the same percentage share of tickets for both sets of fans.
iceman10
Sorry but we have won the league infront of 33,000 sp*rs fans and 64,000 Man Utd fans, 9000 sp*rs fans is hardly going to be harder than that so just like the man who made THAT lasagne it doesnt wash.
iceman10
Very good iceman - what next? Personal abuse? The FACTS are there to see and are what I have pointed out - I do not know why your BOD has acted in this way - we will never know - but what has been PROVEN is that your club has been less than totally truthful and has gone out of its way to flout the rules of the competition.
Hotspur3854
And by the way I was that man on the grassy knoll.
Hotspur3854
This article was about the % of tickets and not the prices, however, I am in full agreement that the prices should be lowered.
Hotspur3854
I never personally abuse. your conspiracy theory has no back up? there is no reason we wouldnt give you the tickets unless it was a safety issue. To say its because you will generate too much of an atmosphere is ridiculous, we have played in the Nou Camp, The Bernabeau, Olympic stadium rome, olympic stadium Munich, The San Siro etc. If you can at least come up with a decent reason then i would be more than happy to accept it.
iceman10
Ticket prices have im afraid been set with no discount thanks to Levy.
iceman10
Bottom line here. The police said it was unsafe. End of story.
Little Dutch
I am not a conspiracy theorist and your safety issue argument does NOT stand up one iota. I have been to many NLD's as well as England v Scotland matches at Hampden as well as Wembley so I am fully aware of safety issues and segregation but the "reason" given by your club has been proven to be not true otheriwse you would have restricted Bolton's allocation - 9,000 Bolton fans is not a pretty sight and they have been known to give a few kickings in their time - with extra policing and extra stewards the full allocation could have been allowed - the reason given does not stack up as we know and I could give a number of "conspiracies" but as that is not my style and nor could I prove any of them and nor can you disprove them so it is a pointless excercise. What I can prove is that the safety issue does not stack up as you have not restricted Bolton - yes it will be a "fired up" atmosphere becuase of the rivalry but nowhere is a no go area these days and with the right amount of policing and stewrads there would be little or no problems. Of course Levy will play hardball over the ticket prices because he has lost the allocation of tickets and of course he will restrict your club to the same percentage - quite frankly I do not give a ***** about either of them over this issue because the ONLY losers are the true fans who find it hard to get tickets at the best of times and when they do they pay through the nose. The whole thing stinks and in my view is so unecessary - if Dein had given the full allocation Levy would have cut the prices - who loses out? EVERYBODY that is a true fan.
Hotspur3854
I agree with some of your sentiments here. But an issue that is being ignored is that Arsenal are increasing Tottenham's allocation and Tottenham are not reciprocating. Personally, I hate travelling to WHL, I absolutely detest it because a) it is incredibly dangerous for Arsenal fans and b) it makes me feel a little less in love with the game I give all my time and money to. Personally, I would have felt a lot better if 4,000 or 5,000 gooners were allowed in WHL, for my own safety as well as in the interests of fairness. What should be an extremely exciting tie has the sheen taken off of it because of both club's immaturity and the fact that I once again have to risk serious injury and see many people suffer that fate.
Little Dutch
Is it fact that Levy would have lowerd prices? regardless of how many tickets we give you 45% of gate revenue comes your way so you have actually indulged in fantasy there. There is no precedent of a NLD with 9000 away fans in the last how ever many years with an 8pm kick off. If it was an FA cup game i would guarantee it would be a 12pm kick off for safety reasons and im sure you would have had a better chance of securing the full 9000 tickets. But hey if you think its because we are scared of 9000 voices so be it.
iceman10
ive been to many games away,including england qualifiers in eastern europe,so ive seen my fair share of trouble and i have to say without doubt that every single time ive been to a nld there has always been fighting,so if you add the late kickoff and alcohol and 9000 spuds you are looking at safety issues.....its got nothing to do with being scared of the away fans making too much noise,bolton is nothin compared to tots,you could have bolton fans mixed in with the gooners and you still wouldnt get any trouble,but have a walk around the ground before and after the game and you will see it kicking off big time,forget about police and stewards,9000 fans is def. asking for trouble
fran merida
i always thought it was 10%, besides since when do spuds get 15% travelling away fans ? granted its only a few miles up the road.. and the class of venue is much superior to their own ground.
PUREGOLD
There has been a lot of talk saying that 9,000 fans is a risk, but you plan to accomodate 9,000 in the future. You guys keep saying its dangerous, and if it is, it always will be.
Jacky B
People seem to be missing the point here. It was spurs who released a statement saying they couldn't accomodate the full quota of arsenal fans on police advice not vice versa. Secondly Bolton haven't requested 15% of the stadium capacity because they know fully well they would'nt be able to fill it. They barely get 9000 home fans at their own stadium so they certainly wouldn't get it away from home. Thirdly Levy is a money grabber, everything that has happened has shown him up to be that. Not just about the ticket prices for this match. Instead of making a stand about chelski last season he chose the money route & sold out with regards arnesen, then after the final match against west ham he threatened to sue the fa for 30 million lost champions league revenue, threatened to sue the hotel & yet when it all came out the whole fault lay with his own club he went extremely quiet!! Its just a shame the fa or the hotel didn't sue him!!
Ashburton Gooner
I hope one day your side is decimated in a similar way for a massive game.
Jacky B
If our players don't wash their hands after having a dump, we'll get what we deserve!
Little Dutch
At the end of the day we know that Arsenal dont want Spurs to have 9000 fans at our stadium because there will be trouble. FACT. However, if they come out and make a statement to that efect it will only serve to add fuel to the fire and more than likely help in increasing the trouble. If I am being honest with everyone, p1ss taking aside, the reasons the club have given are an excuse, but given the volatile situation it is the fact still remains that Arsenal need to take precautions which ever way they can, and if that means "Applying" to change the rules, and not cheating as Spuddies keep saying, then fair enough. At the end of the day, human life is much more important than football, and if p1ssing off a few whiney Spurs fans is what we have to suffer for peoples safety, then that's a small price to pay.
Rocky7
And Jacky, our side has been decimated for almost 2 years continuously, and not just one measley game, and we coped. That's why we're far superior and you will live forever in our shadows!
Rocky7
LD - I never wash my hands and that hasn't happened to me! lol In seriousness, it could have started like that, but it might not have
Rocky - Note i said "In a similar way", meaning everyone gets injuries and has to cope. Point being we had next to no time to prepare and i'd like to see how you like it. I am sure you'd be "applying to change the rules"
Jacky B
In Janurary last year we were without 8 first team defenders for over 3 weeks, EIGHT!!! Tell, how owuld you think Spurs would cope with that and is that worse than having 2 players (harldy decimated is it?) poorly for one game. At the end of the day, you weren't good enough for a full season.
Rocky7
Absolute nonsense - I agree, the way you coped with that was amazing, especially reaching the champ league final, and it's something that Spurs could only dream of. But like I said, you had time to adjust to that. Where do you get your numbers (2) from? If we only had 2 players ill - then they would not have played. Nearly all of our first 11 were "off colour" and the (wrong) decision was made to play them, rather than a reserve side. Gotta agree though, that if we beat sunderland (and the like) at home it would not have been an issue. Knowing our luck, even if we did finish 4th you would have somehow won the final - so in a way i am glad things "panned" out how they did. Still don't see the comparison with injuries though. Also, i am sure if a team bus crashed on route to a game, leaving a lot of players unable to play, the game would have been postponed. I believe had it not been the last game of the season, we would have been allowed to postpone.
Jacky B
sorry bout the poor quality of writing at the bottom - and the hypothetical example, but i think you'll get the idea
Jacky B
Spurs had said that they had 10 players suffering from sickness and dihoreaha, however after the investigation it turned at that only 2 players we suffering from the symptoms whilst a few other were feeling 'under the weather'. Read the report!! And it doesnt matter how much time you have to adjust, eight defenders out for one reason or another is ridiculous, but it's football, you crack on with it, instead of blaming others!!
Rocky7
I didn't blame anyone - I leave that to Arsenal. I just said i hope it happens to your team, and see how you like it. (And listen to Wenger moan which he excels at) Anyway, I am over it. On to wednesday then.
Jacky B
Jacky B, Usually you speak some sense but your posts this time have been ridiculous. Wenger never moans about injuries & never uses it as an excuse. Infact if you look at his comments both before & after the Sheff Utd game you will see that. We were decimated before that game but all Wenger says is that its an excellent chance for the reserves & youngsters to show what they can do. The premiership is based on 38 games for each team not 1 so stop whinging & accept spurs bottled it. Thats why they will never be a big team & why they never have been!!
Ashburton Gooner
I didn't say he moans about injuries - just that he is a top class moaner.
Jacky B
You said he would moan if the same situation happened to us as that which happened to spurs (which was their own fault, at least the fault of 1 player in the squad). But Wenger never complains about things like that & anyway I think any spurs supporter that complains about Wenger moaning should look at Fat Jol. Anyway just be pleased you're probably getting a bye in the next round of the UEFA cup because we all know Feyenoord would have beaten you.
Ashburton Gooner
You dont want the ground full of pikies anyway.........
col8
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