Jasonccfc wrote:Chatting to a few sat around me lastnight the main topic was Wayne Nash and how he's the main culprit in killing the feel good factor and atmosphere at the club..
Any truth in this and if so why hasn't he been pulled up on it by the club or by the fans?
There was quite a long post by Annis initially in this thread , but it now seems to have disappeared. Perhaps the mods can explain why as it raised a number of points that were well worth debating and discussing.
Overall , it seems that a small number of people bear some kind of personal grudge against Wayne Nash for reasons that are not clear. I know Wayne , but not that well , and I can`t see how he can be allocated blame for a lack of atmosphere at home games - the blame lies with all of us as fans .
Some facts and opinions
1) Wayne Nash was appointed as Stadium Manager many years ago (by the Sam Hammam/Peter Ridsdale regime I believe) with the task of making the stadium run safely and smoothly for ALL fans and on non match days for corporate events. This , to me , has been achieved very well.
2) He , along with others at the club , has put in a tremendous amount of work on behalf of fans with the local authorities , police and ground safety people to enable standing at every match in the Canton End. This has also been achieved, creating ample opportunity for a "singing" section to evolve. Anyone who likes to stand and sing (as opposed to old farts like me who can still sing when sitting down) therefore has ample space and opportunity to do so.
3) Why some (and it appears to be a relatively small number) either want to swap ends with the family stand to do this singing or to stand in the Ninian Stand end next to away supporters is a bit of a mystery to me. The family stand don`t want to move and have just as much right to their seats as those who want to move them (they were polled and the vast majority said they wanted the ground set up to remain as it is). Also , why do some feel the need to spend at least part of the game watching and singing at away supporters rather than watching the match?
4) The current ground layout works very well. It is safe , cost effective in terms of policing and stewarding , and would cost the club a lot more money if it was changed.
5) To reiterate , any lack of atmosphere is down to all of us as fans. It is us who make (or don`t make) enough noise in support of the team.
On a related topic of safe standing , I personally would like it introduced into the grounds of the top two divisions in the near future. This is a view shared by Cardiff City Supporters Club and Cardiff City Supporters Trust .However, the fact remains that it is currently illegal and the Government have recently said that they have no current appetite to change the law. They did say that they would closely monitor the scheme introduced in Scotland by Celtic but , unfortunately, Celtic fans have not helped the position by some of their behaviour in that area since it was installed.