NOT many Man Utd players have stood up and being counted this season.
But throughout what has been a miserable campaign, the Old Trafford faithful have turned up in their droves and tried to keep vocal encouragement raining down from the terraces.
Old Trafford chiefs are proposing a standing sectionCredit: Reuters
And now chiefs are backing fans by placing a safe standing section in the Theatre of Dreams.
Will Old Trafford capacity be raised?
AT whichever ground you go to in the top two divisions in England, you will see fans standing in seated areas.
Regulations brought in after recommendations by the Taylor Report mean that top-flight and second tier clubs have to have all-seater stadiums.
But with thousands choosing to stand infront of their seats each week, chiefs are turning to rail seating – used throughout Europe – to make the terraces safer.
The government has softened it’s stance on standing in recent years, with Celtic trialling a successful standing section north of the border since 2016.
United have applied for permission to install rail seating for up to 1,500 fans at Old Trafford.
The club proposes to replace some existing seats in the north-east corner of the stadium.
It won’t currently add any extra capacity to the 76,000 Old Trafford, which is the largest in the Premier League.
Current season ticket holders in the proposed area have been made aware of the plans.
Celtic installed rail seating at Parkhead in 2016Credit: Kenny Ramsay – The Sun Glasgow
Jon Darch of the Safe Standing campaign group was delighted that United have followed Wolves and Tottenham in installing rail seating within their stadiums.
He said: “It is fantastic news that the world’s most famous club is seeking to enhance spectator safety in this way.
“Hopefully, they will be very soon be able to not only install rail seats but also to operate any areas of Old Trafford fitted with this form of seating as official standing areas.”
Safe standing areas have a rail infront of all seats, which can then be bolted back into an upright position.
This allows them to be used as either a seating or standing area, with the barrier preventing fans from falling down over onto the row below.
When will the section come into play?
UNITED are not wasting any time in implementing the new standing section.
Trials are expected to take place later this season once the club have received the green light to install the seating.
And if successful, the rail seating could be installed over the summer ready for the 2020/21 campaign.
For now though the club are awaiting a reply from the Safety Advisory Group on whether the move will get the go ahead or not.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
