The Kingsland Stand is the most densely populated area of St Mary's so why was it closed for the Sunderland cup tie and more importantly with only a few hundred seats left unsold in other areas, why has it not been put on sale now.

Saints supporters in the Kingsland Stand are not any better than those in the other three stands, however due to the size of the stand, it is the most densely populated in terms of the number os supporters who prefer to watch the game from there.

Therefore it was a surprise that the club chose to keep the stand closed for the visit of Sunderland, from a logisitcal point of view it made sense not to open up the entire ground, after all only 14,000 turned up for the visit of Crystal Palace in the last round, however given that the Kingsland can hold around 10,000, it surely made sense that this would be one of the stands open.

Not to mention the fact that a lot of the vocal noise is generated from the corner that joins the Northam.

The only reason I can think of for not doing so is one of making the highlights of the game on TV look as if the ground is fairly full as the Kingsland would not be visible.

But now it looks like chaos could ensue this evening, a lot of Kingsland regulars that I know have held back from purchasing tickets in the hope that the Kingsland would be opened at some point.

Now we have a situation where the other 3 stands are virtually sold out with only a few hndred seats left at lunchtime as I write.

Given that for these type of games there is always a good walk up, it seems likely that if these last seats are not sold online there will be more than enough people this evening to fill them.

So are the club intending on opening the Kingsland stand or are they unable to now due to a lack of staff ?

It would not be a good situation if Saints supporters who want to go tonight are unable to get in, yet there are 10,000 empty seats inside St Mary's.

If the club do open it they are going to come in for criticism, there are undoubtably a sizeable number of fans who would have preferred to have sat in the Kingsland as they prefer a side view and are now behind the goal, not to mention those that have held back and now face paying an extra £2 on the ticket price for purchasing on the day.

Either way it is an extraordinary situation that with less than 8 hours to go to kick off there has been no statement issued by the club as to the situation, perhaps they are hoping that if they keep quiet there will not be a big walk up and that the few hundred seats still available will be enough !

But that will be a gamble and the likelihood is that whatever they now do there will be some form of chaos, not least in the numbers that will have to collect tickets before kick off even if they do book online.

Photo: Action Images

kenis added 14:18 - Oct 26 Good if ground looks full on TV - but that will be about 30seconds of highlights?! Agree should be itchen and northam open first then if demand gradually open up kingsland in stages and chapel last/not at all. I was tempted to go tonight but this does raise doubts in my mind especially when I'm 90mins away anyway. Must be too late for stewarding and concession staffing to open up if they have no plans to.

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dirk_doone added 15:04 - Oct 26 Apart from the family stand, fewer than 100 tickets left now. The Club is steadfastly refusing to open the Kingsland so they must be planning to turn people away tonight unless they have staff lined up waiting to work in the Kingsland and open it as the last minute. Usually at a game like this there would be a few thousand turning up to buy tickets on the night. This attempt at penny pinching on staff wages is going to cost them a lot more in lost ticket money and mean many fans missing kick-off. Shambolic.

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SaintNick added 15:16 - Oct 26 It is about getting in staff, perhaps there wont be a big walk up, but if there is then a chance of utter chaos, given that it is half term and many will be children it is a little worrying that the club seems to be doing little or have no plans
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altonsaints added 17:51 - Oct 26 I had hoped to book tickets but could only purchase 1 ticket per number on the database so unfortunately we can't go. With the reduced ticket prices I thought they were encouraging people to go and fill the ground
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StRipper added 02:48 - Oct 27 I thought they made the best of an awkward situation. The atmosphere was good, Saints crowd helped to see them over the line. And you can't really have no fans behind the goals. Gives a psychological advantage to the home team. I've never really noticed the Kingsland stand being a hub for promoting any real singing.
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SaintBrock added 07:52 - Oct 27 The downside for me was that there were some right miserable weirdo's sitting with us in the posh part of the Itchen, really lowered the tone!
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simmo400 added 09:48 - Oct 27 Penny pinching from Saints is the only reason. Saving a few coppers on stewards and food hall. They don't deserve the 21,000 that turn up tobe hemmed in.
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