Was no segregation measures for Farnham Yesterday although the following they took wont be as big as ours

Posted by: @dorking-eagle

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Be interesting if this one is segregated this season. 

I think last season was a reaction to the trouble at the Ebbsfleet and Farnborough games so possibly not

Be aware - absolute cobblers from Slough for Under 21 year olds....

https://www.sloughtownfc.com/article/3959/Slough-Town-announces-new-partnership-with-Identisurge

I’m an away fan – what do I have to do?
All away supporters aged between 14–21 will require an IDentiSurge account to access Arbour Park.

A 24-hour pass will be available for £1.99 via IDentiSurge. No alternative passes will be made available, so please ensure this is completed before travelling to the game.

Had a family discussion about this and to be honest it's bollocks.

My son will be 17 when we go there, so (I) will have to pay an extra £1.99 on top of his £8 match ticket price.

But what does it achieve? (apart from making Slough a nice bit of commission)

I can kind of understand Maidenhead's approach where under 16's have to be accompanied by an over 18 - they hope a bit of adult supervision improves behaviour of youngsters...

But this doesn't do much at all - if you are a 15 year old shitbag intent on acting up on your awayday, then you just pay the extra £1.99 on top of the match ticket price, then act like an idiot regardless. They still probably can't chuck you out due to safeguarding rules around what they can do to unsupervised kids.

There is the inequality that all Slough fans can get one of these IDentisurge passes for free, but away fans have to pay.

There is also the issue that to get this special ID you need a passport or driviing licence - what if you don't have one of those? Plenty of 15/16 year olds might not have either (I can think of one avid young Dorking fan who doesn't)

Surely if you DO have a passport then just show that - it is perfectly valid ID everywhere else.

And if you do play along, comply and sign up for it, I am not sure what it is proving anyway - that you are 15, 16, 17 years old? And what else?...nothing really, Slough have just made a little bit of commission.

I know there ARE young fans that are a PITA, but I am not sure what this ID proves?

@dorking-eagle Exactly David, it's boll*cks tbh. At the very least make it free, but there must be better ways of sorting the 'youth' issue currently rife in lower/non league.

As an aside, but on a related note, I'm pretty sure Maidenhead barred entry to certain youth fans of both clubs when we played the other week. 

At Maidenhead when my family walked up to the turnstile area there were a couple of teenagers lurking who said to us, 'can we say we are with you', no idea who they were but we said yes, for all we knew they just wanted to watch the game but didn't come with a 'grown up' (FFS!)

It is of course possible that they could have run amok inside the stadium and it would have all been our fault, but it just seemed surreal as if going to watch a game waas akin to a youngster hanging around an off licence asking you to buy them a four pack of some grotty cheap lager!

As for Slough, it's just a poorly thought out 'tax' on being 14-21.

I honestly don't understand the logic, unless it is to put out a subliminal message that they aren't welcome.

If they had a problem (for example) with under 18's buying alcohol in the ground, then you could perhaps understand that they now require this particular form of ID, and then youngsters can make the choice to either obtain the particular ID (to be able to buy) or if they don't get the particular ID, then they can't have a beer even if they are over 18 (eg 21).

But say you are 21, you need this particular £1.99 form of ID, yet still have to pay full adult price as well. It's not as if there is a special U22 'young adult' price to compensate!

All that paying for this particular £1.99 ID does is prove you are a certain age. So you are 16, and....? 

If the 16 year old gets the required ID then carry on and act up....?!

Even teenage girls have to get it, I am not sure teenage girls particularly require this specific ID 'safeguarding'

Dover hosted Tonbridge on Tuesday, and came up with the following..."Away supporters under the age of 18 will only be admitted when accompanied by an adult, and ID will be required." I can at least understand there is some logic around that.

Overall I just think that Slough want too put out a message that they don't particularly want 14-21 year olds, and are therefore making it a PITA for them.

At the end of the day it is SLOUGH for goodness sake. One of the most bland awaydays there is, arguably the most bland (Horsham is pretty dull but at least there is the local rivalry angle), it's not an all day pub crawl by the seaside! It's not particularly near a station, the ground has zero character, unless it's the first or last game of the season it's not a big event on the calendar!!

Posted by: @dorking-eagle

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At the end of the day it is SLOUGH for goodness sake. One of the most bland awaydays there is, arguably the most bland (Horsham is pretty dull but at least there is the local rivalry angle), it's not an all day pub crawl by the seaside! It's not particularly near a station, the ground has zero character, unless it's the first or last game of the season it's not a big event on the calendar!!

Hahaha tell it how it is, David! 

I think all this is in part a reaction to some problems with Dagenham last season, could be wrong tho

I get they have had trouble and want to stamp it out Ade, that is a good thing.

This blanket policy (it has to apply to females as well by the way because to do otherwise would be discriminatory) is very limited in what it can achieve.

Potentially a 17 year old trying to buy a beer in the ground might be stopped because the bar staff can ask to see this ID, but aside from that I can't see how it stops morons acting up? 

Even if they chuck someone out the ground for bad behaviour, how does this ID stop that having occurred?

It's bizarre but also very draconian.

Robust stewarding and segregation is the main way to deal with it, not this!

Posted by: @dorking-eagle

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At the end of the day it is SLOUGH for goodness sake. One of the most bland awaydays there is, arguably the most bland (Horsham is pretty dull but at least there is the local rivalry angle), it's not an all day pub crawl by the seaside! It's not particularly near a station, the ground has zero character, unless it's the first or last game of the season it's not a big event on the calendar!!

From what I've been reading, I honestly think we should all sack it off, and hit them where it hurts....In the pocket

Lets see if Slough come back with a response - when they changed the club crest to some bland initials logo there was a huge outcry and they doubled down. We shall see....

Sorry to bang on about this stupid Identisurge ID thing, but it seems that Dagenham & Redbridge also use it

I get D&R emails due to having bought tickets from them in the past

They say this about their upcoming home game tomorrow:

All Next Gen ticket holders, even those who have verified through IdentiSurge, must visit the Ticket Office before entering the stadium.

Supporters can either have their IdentiSurge profile scanned or have their ID checked by a member of staff in the club shop. Once verified, you will be given a card confirming that your ID has been checked, which can then be shown at the turnstile when entering the stadium.

If you are a Next Gen ticket holder, please allow plenty of time before kick-off to visit the Ticket Office and complete the verification process. Supporters arriving close to the 3pm kick-off may experience delays if they have not completed their verification in advance.

For info, they class 'Next Gen' fans as 15-21 year olds

Sounds like another PITA. Talk about sucking the joy out of attending non league as a youngster.

@dorking-eagle Agreed David, but Dagenham do appear to have a big, big problem atm with thier younger fans -it's bubbled up over the past 2 years (there were literally zero issues over there when we beat them in the NL 2 years back) so clearly they want to deal with it.

If this becomes more of a rollout across the league then attendances and match day revenue will dwindle

If you weren't a seasoned and committed supporter of one of these clubs (who have a game where it is in place, eg us at Slough) then you'd sack it off and take your custom elsewhere.