The WORST views inside football stadiums: Pillars directly in front of seats, an away end stuck behind plexiglass – and someone who had a better view of a TV at the top of the stand than the pitch!
- Football fans fork out big money to see their teams play at home or away
- However, their views can be restricted when they book certain seats at stadiums
- Mail Sport takes a look at some of the worst views shared by supporters online
Football fans fork out their hard-earned money to watch their sides play at home or across the country to get the best view of the action.
While there is little to compare to the joy of watching your team, there is a lot that can go wrong, from nightmare journeys to having to watch your side suffer a heavy defeat.
But one of the most frustrating things is buying a ticket and getting to the stadium to realise that your view of the pitch is severely restricted.
Clubs do warn ticket-buyers online that their view is restricted when they choose particular seats – which is not as much of an issue with the newer grounds – but sometimes there is little to prepare someone for how compromised it might be.
Here, Mail Sport highlights some of the worst views from seats inside football stadiums which have been shared on social media over the years.
Liverpool
We start off with one where if the people in front of you are standing, then good luck seeing the other end of the pitch!
Or that is how it appears from this tweet from @kungfunahi, who said that he had ‘ticked off’ the worst seat inside Liverpool’s Anfield stadium.
Situated in the top corner of the lower section of the Anfield Road stand, the picture in the tweet suggests that he can’t see much further past the halfway line.
The same user did also share a video where you can see the other end of the pitch when sat down, but if someone is standing in front, then seeing the goal at the Kop end might be an issue.
Perhaps the most distracting element of the seat is the fact the roof of the lower section of the stand is very prominent in the eye-line of the supporter.
The Anfield Road stand is currently undergoing redevelopment in which around 7,000 seats will be added to take the stadium’s capacity to 61,000.
The roof is very prominent in the eye-line of any supporter who chooses the corner seat in the lower section of the Anfield Road stand
Hartlepool
One obstruction that can often get in the way at football grounds are the pillars going up to the stadium roof.
This Portsmouth fan originally shared this picture below of a match he attended at Hartlepool back in 2017.
Fans across the country at other grounds would also have had views similar to this unlucky supporter.
Though they can see both goals from this seat, it covers a whole line of the pitch and the fan would have had to peer around this pillar to make sure they didn’t miss anything too important.
This pillar at Hartlepool blocked the action when it started for this Portsmouth supporter
Leeds
This picture shows that a supporter’s view might be compromised if they are high up in the John Charles Stand at Elland Road.
The overhead gantry from this seat appears to be blocking the far end of the pitch.
While there is a good view of the South Stand to the right, action at the side of the North Stand might be more difficult to watch – especially if a corner is taken in the area hidden the gantry used by television and radio personnel at stadiums.
Fans would struggle to see action at the far end of the pitch due to the overhead gantry
Crystal Palace
There is a similar issue at Crystal Palace’s Selhurst Park towards the back of the Arthur Wait stand, which houses up to 3,000 away supporters for Premier League matches.
The gantry would again block the far touch line and supporters at the back of the stand might need to duck down slightly to see players at the far end.
This Twitter user said that while binoculars are needed at West Ham’s London Stadium, at least they ‘can see all of the pitch, unlike Selhurst Park’.
This fan preferred the view at West Ham compared to Crystal Palace despite saying fans might need binoculars at London Stadium
West Ham
The London Stadium was originally built for the London 2012 Summer Olympics, and memories of that year come flooding back for anyone who visits the venue, now the home of West Ham.
However, the layout of the seating inside the stadium has been a controversial topic for West Ham supporters as many are further from the action than they were at Upton Park.
While there are no obstructions of the pitch in this view in the away end, taken during Aston Villa’s trip to the London Stadium, they are further away from the action than they will find themselves at most other grounds. Newcastle’s away end is higher, but the visiting section at West Ham is split in two.
Another person tweeted a more central view from the stand where they joked they were ‘five miles from the nearest corner flag’.
Fans can often find themselves sitting far from the action at the London Stadium
Tottenham
For many, a trip to the sparkling new Tottenham Hotspur Stadium presents the opportunity to watch football in first-class facilities.
But for this fan, his experience felt like a throwback to one of English football’s traditional stadiums as his view of a television placed in front of the seat was better than the one he had of the pitch itself.
Seated at the back of the stadium, his view is restricted by screens with a TV on the back to ensure fans can see some of the activity taking place pitch side.
There appears to be a better view of the TV than the pitch itself from this view inside the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium
Barcelona
Perhaps a controversial inclusion – but many are not fans of the away end at Barcelona.
Mail Sport reported in 2019 how Liverpool supporters described their view, high up at the top of the Nou Camp, as ‘disgraceful’.
At £103 a ticket for their 3-0 loss to Barcelona that night, Reds fans who had made the trip to Barcelona were aggrieved to find plexiglass and netting obstructing the view of one of their biggest games of the season.
The same still exists for European ties today. The Manchester United fan in the tweet below called it the ‘worst view from an away end ever’.
One person responded saying they disagreed and that it was the ‘best, worst view ever.’
Barcelona’s away end in the Nou Camp is controversial amongst visitors due to being located right at the top of the famous venue, with plexiglass in front of their view
The away end is situated right in the top corner of the stand at the Nou Camp
Luton Town
Should the Hatters get promoted to the Premier League it will make for one of the most unique away day experiences in the top flight – though maybe not one with the best views.
The away end is packed tightly into the neighbouring residential houses, with the entrance to the Oak Stand leading fans up stairs between the houses and past their gardens.
Fans in parts of the stadium will have their view blocked by pillars, posts and pylons, making it one of the worst views in the English Football League.
The club are hoping to move to a new stadium in the future, with Luton having planning permission for their new ground at Power Court in the town centre since 2019 as they bid to get their ground closer to Premier League standards.
Luton Town has one of the most unique away sections in the English Football League
Port Vale
The League One side has a restricted view in their stadium due to the placement of a low-hanging electric scoreboard above the goal.
Though fine for those sitting lower in the stand, those at the top might struggle to see the action at the other side of the pitch.
So supporters would have to hope that the majority of the goal-mouth action happens at their side of the pitch.
Celtic
The home of the Scottish champions, similar to Hartlepool earlier, have a restricted view inside their stadium due to bollards.
This pillar below is a distraction to those sitting in its eyeline and blocks a portion of the pitch off to fans sitting behind it.
Fortunately the supporter sitting here can see both nets, meaning they won’t miss any goals.
Fans seated behind this pillar at Celtic Park in Scotland might miss some of the action
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