I am a Safety Steward at a premier league football club AMA!

Bringing the /r/soccer crowd out here. Hang on. It's reddit's football subreddit.

Can't wait :D

why don't you do your ama in /r/soccer?

Felt it fitter better in the AMA section.

What is the craziest thing that has ever happened to you?

Erm, had to break up a potential fight between two Ukrainians and they they turned out to be a very physical reunion. It ended up with me in between to guys bear hugging.

And yeah, who are the worst and best behaved fans to chance upon Tyneside?

Worst Man United fans, they haven't been very nice when i've been with them on level 7.

Nicest tend to be the smaller clubs, although Everton were my favorite this season

Just wanted to say that as a Villa fan the Toon stewards have never been arseholes to me once! We'll take Sunderland down for you pal!

Haha, good lad! :D

How did you get the job? Can anyone just apply?

My cousin applied for a turnstile job and told me about a big intake coming up for turnstile operators. I went along and got the job, then underwent my Steward training which was 6 weeks (I think) of 1 night a week.

Yeah pretty much anyone so long as you are a nice enough person, have good communication skills.

Futhermore, how good is the pay? And what do you do in the off-season?

Pay is reasonable enough, I make around £35 per game which for what is basically 5 hours work ain't too bad.

I'm looking for a summer job at the moment and got a few things lined up but its basically down time for us until the season starts back up again.

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Yeah around that.

Have you ever been hit by a ball during a match?

Not yet although i've had one very close call and seen snow wipe out one of the pitch side stewards when it had snowed quite heavily.

Do employees get even larger discounts on Diadora trakkies?

I wish :P Nah we don't get anything discount wise besides a hot drink and some food for free before the match.

To be honest that's still a fair deal that.

It really is, especially when its been such a cold winter like this seasons. A warm drink really helps hahaha

You get a hot drink and food before a game?! At Fulham we get a free bottle of water and that's it :(

We're well looked after haha :-)

Free pies= worth it.

Damn right!

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Hahaha :P

Did you ever say fuck the police and hide the ball in your asshole?

Yes.

What do you think about the possibility of safe standing being introduced into stadiums in England, based on the German model.

Honestly I really don't see it being brought back into the stadiums. Besides the obvious reason why standing was banned in the first place the main reason for me is that although standing may be perfect for those who are tall however from what i've seen the smaller peoples vision tend to be blocked. Then the other safety issues, for example in our stadium with the seats being in tiers if a person was to fall forward a few people could get quite badly hurt.

Although I can see why people want to bring standing back in the stadiums with what happened at Hillsborough still being relatively fresh it will be a long time before it is seriously considered again.

At least this is in my opinion.

EDIT: Also the costs required to implement all the new seats/barriers would be quite considerable and in some of the older stadiums in the UK it may not be worth the effort.

You believe that with the safety advancements in safe standing, it's still considered a risk? There hasn't been any major accidents in Germany over several years of its implementation.

I think it still would be considered a risk. Although it would be interesting to see it implemented into some of our stadiums as a trail.

Nice to have you here! Hi! So what's the most dangerous incident you've handled?

It tends to be people who have had too much to drink. There haven't been many dangerous incidents. One I do remember were smoke bombs being thrown around which obviously is a hazard if someone if hit with them.

You timed this badly by posting this at 12:30 on a Friday night.

Yeah I could have timed it better, but I'm still getting plenty of questions so I'm happy :)

Is it true there is a 30 year waiting list for a season to gan see da toon?.

Haven't heard anything about they but id doubt that the waiting list is that long :-)

Were you one of the stewards that got bombarded with snow off the roof during the Reading game? That was hilarious!

First time I've been to SJP, were our fans well behaved compared to other clubs, I saw a few people get kicked out but I'm assuming thats the norm.

I was a lucky one and the snow missed me by a few inches,Needless to say I shit myself.

Yeah the reading fans were a lovely bunch, quite a few families seemed to be there which is always a good sign.

There are always a few who try to ruin it for everyone but then that's why we have a job. To try and deal with these problems before they start ruining other fans experience.

Reading have quite a middle class fanbase, I went to the Madejski vs Aston Villa and they're sadly quiet for the size and quality of the stadium.

They do indeed.

Yeah I saw some of the highlights and it looked very quiet.

Are you a supporter of Newcastle United?

Which EPL teams will be relegated this year?

Will Everton be going to Europe?

When will Liverpool next have there year?

Yeah I would say I am although its more to do with my whole family being brought up around that area so I was brought up being a Newcastle Fan.

Sunderland unless their new manager can work some magic with only a few games to go. Besides that QPR.

Haven't seen many of there matches but they've been playing solidly all season so I really wouldn't put it past them.

Not for a long while yet, with Man United, Man City, Chelsea and many other teams playing very well this season it seems unlikely they will get going for at least another 2-3 seasons.

Di Canio will save Sunderland. He thinks he's Mussolini and everyone knows Mussolini got the trains to run on time, so turning Sunderland around should be easy :P

I think he could.

Before I honestly though Newcastle would win 100% against Sunderland, however now I really wouldn't have any clue.

Yeah tough call. Tomorrow is our most important game. We have to beat fulham otherwise it will get complicated.

Yeah all the best to you guys, a bit of competition is always welcome!

You play Fulham tomorrow. Newcastle. Not Sunderland.

I know :)

Football fan here, I saw your answer about safe standing and the fact you think it won't ever return, what about flares and smoke bombs? Personally I think I've seen them at every match so far this season apart from Wigan and QPR, do you think they will ever remove the ban for using them?

Flares and smoke bombs I can say for a defiant will never return. Simply the risk that they present is far to high, the way you have to imagine it is one of our smaller stands in the corner might hold around 200-400 people depending on where in the stadium you are. So for example If a smoke bomb was thrown into that area the first major risk is a head injury if a person is hit, which obviously is very serious. Secondly the panic and confusion with tends to follow as people cannot see very well if at all and this can then lead to people falling down the tiers of seats or falling down the stairs when trying to move away from the flare or smoke bomb.

Worst trouble you've seen at a football match?

For me the worst was when we hosted Metalist Kharkiv. Almost everyone was in their seats when the noise became very loud from the fans upstairs (I was helping the fans to where their seats were) and all of a sudden a pounding on the exit gate near me. The other steward with me opened the door and around 14-15 police officers charged through the gate and up the stairs. Apparently some of their fans were fighting.

Would you ever take the ball and give it to a young lad/lass that would be priceless:)

If i could get away with it i would but i don't think i could :-(

Were you working this match? If so, did you have to deal with it?

I was indeed just not up there. I think they just tried to clear the area and then move the smoke bomb as soon as they could but that match was difficult with there being a few of the being throw

Some personal questions. How old are you? Do you play football and is that why you became interested into a job like this? What is your typical day on the job like? Start? Finish?

I'm 18, I worked my first year as a Turnstile Operator :)

I don't play any football as I'm completely hopeless at it :D. The reason I wanted the job was that It was really easy to manage as my father and brother both have season tickets so I get a lift home with them.

Typically we start around 2 and a half hours before kick off, this gives us time to sign in go to our stands, get briefed, check the area for any hazards (Sometimes the cleaners leave the hoses out) and then get some food or a drink and wait for the fans to start coming in. Then finish is usually 15-30 minutes after the match has finished.

I used to live in the toon and had a few friends doing your job. I had good experience with stewards when going to games there. I'm now living in hong kong and I miss going to saint james. What's the funniest song you heard from fans? Mine was during Stoke game when they started singing at Pullis, 'you're just a tramp in a track suit'

I didn't hear about that one but i laughed hard :P

Our fans were screaming "the referee's a wanker" and then about 5 seconds later this middle aged bloke with his wife stood up and boomed "the referee's a scouser". Just because nobody could have seen it coming, the first time being professional went out the window and i just started laughing :)

What is the best part of your job

And is it good pay?

Best part is meeting new people and having a workplace which has such an immense atmosphere.

I get paid around £6-7 an hour

Can you make members of the jawdee nation keep their tops on.

We don't want to see moobs and big bare bellies.

Its embarrassing for the whole north east.

But they're so pretty.....

Unfortunatly we can't sorry :-(

Who is your favorite Premiere League player?

Ben Arfa at the moment even though he hasn't been playing his best lately last season he proved how good he can be.

hasn't been playing his best lately

It's hard to play your best when you're not playing at all. =P

Indeed. Although the few matches that he has played he hasn't really been there at all.

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Currently 01:48 AM Uk time, but im watching the League of Legends LCS so I have this open on my other screen :)

I plan on continuing it for as long as there are fresh questions :)

Football steward and an LCS fan? A true man's man if ever there was one.

Hahahaha, thanks man! :D

How much is the season ticket? and where do they sit? near the football field? or are there different prices?

Season ticket prices depend on where a person wants to sit, age ect. People can ask for a specific place where they would like to sit.

Have you had any noteworthy interaction with any Premier League players as a steward?

Shook hands with Shola and Ben arfa. Was a pretty epic experience. Shola especially is a very down to earth humble guy.

Have you met any of the players? if yes, then who is the nicest of the bunch?

Yeah i've met a few of the team. The nicest has to be Shola he's really genuine, humble and just generally a nice bloke.

Do you personally support Newcastle?

I do but it was mainly to do with my upbringing as my family we raised in Jarrow and my grand-parents both used to work in Newcastle.

I find it upsetting how people go all the way to the stadium and turn their backs to the game! Is that your job?

Pretty much-we watch you while you watch the game!

What do you think of Spurs supporters and the controversy surrounding the use of the word "Yid"?

Spur supporters that i've met are actually very nice people. However the word Yid is a very touch subject and although to some people it is perfectly fine to others it is highly offensive.

Don't you think people need reasons to be offended? I mean what's the point... clearly the negative intention isn't there...

I don't think its that bad, but still some people take it in a negative light.

I mean you have to have a fucked up life to be offended over such a non-issue. The fans probably don't care at all.

Yeah I wouldn't have a problem with it personally.

You think Andy Carroll is comin back next season?

I'd be surprised if he did although I wouldn't say no to him returning. He was a quality player when he was with us and his return wouldn't go amiss

are you general steward or supervisor, also are you in house or out house and what are newcastles policies :)

General steward In house Typical stadium rules such as the prohibiting of knives, no standing that kinda stuff :)

I know it is late but what is the preparation leading up to a Sunderland game? Also, you guys do a great job. I know as i am a season ticket holder at NUFC.

I suspect a bolstered division line up in level 7 and a much larger steward and police presence all over the stadium and especially when the fans are coming into the stadium and leaving. One of the major problems is the metros to get people home as both sets of fans share them.

have you been involved in any incident with players?

None at all. The players tend to conduct themselves quite well.

Why is football so important to the fans in England e.g. in your place, Newcastle, as if those two hours are the most important ones in your life. It's a bit of a mystery to the outsider. Your thoughts?

For most of these guys its part of their life from a very early age. Its the primary sport taught in schools and tends to stay with people for the rest of their lives. It allows people to be part of a very large community and no matter where in the country they go the chance is they will have a common interest because of football.

And about you? Do you get to watch the matches? Or are you facing the wrong side for most of the time? And do you enjoy the experience?

Kind of get to watch the game its more of a look over your shoulder if you know something is about to happen. More than anything its to get prepared for the crowd to react to something such as a goal or a free kick. Whenever a goal is scored for example the stewards must stand up on pitch side. Normally we're facing the other way so we don't get to see much of the match but that's what Match of the Day is for :D I love my job I get to meet so many different people and learn a little about them all.

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I'm not a huge football fan and rarely talk about unless someone brings it up :P

Your right sport in general promotes a certain friendship between those who support the same team or play the same sport