MESSAGE TO FANS
PSB is writing this message to both CCFC fans and the club owners regarding the decision to close the North stand for the forthcoming season 2015/16.
We at PSB have mentioned in a number of our posts our belief that something has to change at the Ricoh to improve the match day atmosphere.
Closing all the top rows off and bringing all fans lower down towards the pitch would have been our preferred option but we accept that it's not that straightforward a process and that this would not generate any financial savings where as closing down the whole of the North stand would.
The club have confirmed that they will close the North stand unless the attendance at any given fixture dictates the need to reopen it.
We see this as a progressive step which will bring all City fans together creating a much better atmosphere which can only give the players a boost on the pitch. That can only be seen as a positive surely.
We at PSB believe a match day atmosphere can play a vital role in determining the outcome of a game of football. A vocal crowd can often play the role of the "12th man".
At a time when Coventry City are getting the lowest gates in their history. (We won't go into the reasons for that just now) we at PSB support any such move by the club to help create a better atmosphere.
Our home form has been shocking all season and that also mirrors the atmosphere at the Ricoh in our opinion.
However away from home it's the total opposite, it's always a great atmosphere in the sky blue away end and our results have clearly been so much better on the road too.
We see this as no coincidence. We obviously aren't blaming City fans for the poor home form, far from it. We just believe that in certain games or times in a game a big atmosphere created by your own fans can spur the team on just enough to go and get the 3 points in the bag.
We don't think this as a time for fans petitions about a stand being closed. We see this as a time to maybe acknowledge that for the first time in a very long time that the club are actually doing something positive to create a better atmosphere for fans and players alike. We believe that steps like this one taken by our owners should be encouraged.
We know fans love sitting behind the goal as it has arguably the best view of the match. Who didn't like watching City games from the West Terrace at Highfield Road? However this is not Highfield road , this is the Ricoh Arena a 32,000 seater stadium with twice as many empty seats as fans. The Ricoh has a massive lack of atmosphere that must affect the players. It makes sense to close a stand that is nearly empty each game to save on costs and to help create a much improved atmosphere.
We at PSB are the first to point out where and when we think the club are going wrong but on this occassion we see this as a positive step. However we sympathise with fans that don't want to move from behind the goal. We recognise that there has been a fans petition put in place to seek a reversal of this decision. We therefore ask the question,
Can there be a compromise ?
We propose that the club proceeds with its plan to shut down the Alan Higgs stand resulting in the club still cutting on costs but lets fans who still want to sit behind the goal during games sit behind the opposite goal next to away fans with the required segregation in place.
By doing this everyone gets their way. The club saves on costs on closing the North stand whilst creating a better atmosphere and the fans that want to sit behind the goal to watch the game still get to do so.
We believe this is possible, would be easy to administer and would appease most of those fans who have taken to raising a petition.
We urge the club owners to give this some serious consideration.
Kind regards PSB