Stewards

[brucie]

I missed a fair chunk of the second half having been embroiled in an arguement with the stewards following an incident where two guys were ejected from block f at the back of Bristows Bench.
There were two lads sat behind me in their early 20's. They were quiet and had caused absolutely no trouble at all during the game. In fact it was a normal day in the stand - normal placid atmosphere,no hint of trouble, nothing of any note.
About ten minutes into the second half the two lads were approached by steward 07 - a tall ,thin guy in an orange jacket, and was asked if he was filming or taking pictures on his mobile.
The guy said that he wasn't filming and there seemed to be some sort of converstation between him and the steward which seemed pretty amicable.
The steward stood at the back of the stand for a couple of minutes and then told the same guy to take his feet off the seat in front of him.
The sole of the guys foot was resting on the back of the plastic seat - he wasn't kicking it or causing damage or anything.
This actually caused a few supporters to turn on the steward - I actually said that the bloke wasn't causing any trouble and told the steward that he was being heavy handed.
The steward seemed uncomfortable and seemed to be losing face as some of the crowd had turned on him.
That seemed to be the end of the matter but a few minutes later I could hardly believe my eyes as four or five members of the response team (including one extremely rude blonde haired woman) walked into the row where the two guys were sitting and attempted to eject them.
This incensed several supporters in the stand - I coudn't believe these guys were getting removed for doing precisely nothing wrong.
The two guys stood there ground and refused to leave trying to argue their case. They wern't shouting or swearing but remained calm.
Cue the arrival of a uniformed police officer and the two guys left the stand.
I was then approached by an older steward who seemed to want to explain to me why the two people had been removed.
His opinion was that "Torquay United could not afford to replace damage seats" - which I guess is the case, but as these lads did not have the slightest inclination to cause any damage in the first place
The whole incident was witnessed by three or four Torquay staff members who were sat right next to the two persons who were ejected - you could see they were embarassed by what was happening and at one point one of the staff also spoke to the steward 07 on the two lads behalf.
Thought I had seen everything at Plainmoor but really this was the most disgraceful thing I have ever seen.
Torquay United need every supporter they can get. These two lads should be traced, given a personal apology and free tickets to the next five matches.
How long can the stewards be allowed to carry on this way. It is an absolute disgrace.

[AustrianAndyGull]

Customer service. Still top priority at TUFC Brucie.

[ethantufcbaker]

I saw this from the popside and I thought they must have done something very bad to have 5 stewards and police involved but this is ridiculous.

[MidDevon]

The same steward spoke to the youth team players sat at the back of the bench 4 times today about putting their feet on the seats.....none of them were kicked out of course

This particular steward is a problem for the club, when things really kick off (like the match against Bristol Rovers) you will not see him, but give him a 12 year old to arrest and he will puff his chest out and prove he's a hard nut.....we could do without him....I have been unfortunate enough to meet the blond haired lady I am sure you refer to 3 or 4 times.....my God does she think she is important.

Next match I will be asking 007 to calm down, and hope some others will do the same

[brucie]

He is the same steward who I mentioned was disrespectful to a disabled supporter on a previous occasion.
Really some of these people give the club a bad name.
I tried to tell the blonde lady that the aforementioned steward had overeacted and the two supporters had done nothing wrong.
Her response was to raise her arm and say to me "watch the game"
Quite laughable really unless you consider that these two supporters had paid £42 entrance money - it actually puts the club in a very poor light.
I have visited plenty of grounds - I have never seen any stewards act the way ours do.

[simona]

I too witnessed this clown reprimand the youth team players in Block C of the bench. I was sitting directly behind them for the whole game. They were doing nothing wrong, were well behaved and causing no problems. One could even argue that their conduct and behaviour was a good advert for the club.

I often place my feet on the seat in front if it's empty and, in doing so, probably impose less wear and tear on it than the average backside of a paying punter. I did so today but was lucky enough to escape the attention of Agent 007. The lads in front of me were not willfully defying this "official", but simply forgetting what they'd been told and doing something I consider quite natural.

I don't think I'd have been as restrained as these lads were if I'd been the subject of his attention. Not a good advert for TUFC.

[AustrianAndyGull]

It's about context. I'm old fashioned but contrary to Brucie's beliefs I am in my mid to late thirties. You decide.

If I'm on a bus or a train and someone puts their feet on the seats then I get pissed off because it's rude and i'll tell them but I think it's ok to 'rest' feet on the back of the seat in front at a ground if it is unoccupied. Unless the person doing the resting has just stood in the worlds biggest pile of rhino shit then I don't see it as a problem. I think relieving power crazed stewards of their duties would be the most amicable outcome.

[Dutchgull]

Please Brucie bring this to the attention of Andy Candy hopefully this pathetic over the top reaction by the power crazed loons we have as stewards will be addressed.I was in Bristows bench and was questioning what all the fuss was all about ....obviously all about NOTHING ! FFS we need all the support we can get and what a way to piss people off. This is one league we are top of !

[Burnhamgull]

All this at a time when we scrape just under 2,000 fans to a home game after a 3-0 midweek win.

The stewards have always been full of self importance but when a big away following rocks up, they all sit down the family end and leave the older stewards to "police" the event.

Gutless cowards

[gullintwoplaces]

Brucie has explained very clearly what he saw, and i trust that Andrew Candy will act on what he has said by investigating this particular steward's behaviour. The fans are the backbone of the club, and jumped up little Hitlers will alienate the fans. Most of the stewards are fine, but a small number really must be ditched ASAP. They are damaging relationships with the fans and should go.

[hector]

I did hear an announcement about no photography was permitted, which my friends and I did comment on how they could possibly police this, with people have phones. A ridiculous thing to try and enforce. Incidentally, this season people have been stopped for bringing in plastic bottles without a lid when in the past you had to remove the lid. No explanation for either case.

[taxilady]

I've been bringing in bottles of water in my rucksack for two seasons; never had a problem. I was stopped against Welling & told I couldn't bring it in; so I asked for an explanation. I was told that a 'few lads' had been bringing in alcohol in water bottles, so now they will only allow sealed bottles. I had to hand the lid of one of my bottles over to a steward at Portsmouth: again, it was explained to me that full bottles with a lid on can be thrown onto the pitch at players. No way I could lob a bottle that far at Fratton Park. The ruling on the Bench entrance for bringing in a sealed bottle differs a bit to Hector's complaint, so I think that the Candy Man does need to address the whole stewarding thing fast .Didn't notice the incident yesterday; I get fed up when people behind me put their feet on the back of the seat that I'm sitting on, but otherwise, no problem !

[A Candy]

I am very disappointed and angry to read yet again about the behavior of some of the stewards. Clearly I will need to investigate the matter properly to ensure that I have all the facts but from what I am reading it does seem a heavy handed approach to dealing with a minor issue. I promise that I will address this tomorrow with the Safety Officer. My apologies in advance to everyone who was affected by this yesterday. Best regards, Andrew

[Sunnysideup]

Im guessing Brucie must be the loudmouthed idiot in the green jacket with a black stripe?
Next time, keep your mouth shut instead of inflaming the situation. The steward appeared quite happy to tootle off having got the guy to delete the picture(s) until you started having a go at him.

[Dave_Pougher]

Guessing being the key word in a sweeping statement about not inflaming a situation there lol