So why all the empty seats?

Many fans couldn't buy a ticket for Wembly for love nor money. So why were there so many empty seats in the stadium?

What's with the empty seats?

Southampton fans had to sneak into the Carlisle end as they quickly used up their 44,000 seats. Carlisle managed a respectable 25,000 seats but the Football League wouldn't allow any rearrangement of the seating to use up the extra seats. Not only would this have given the stadium much more atmosphere but it would also have given the clubs an extra cash boost. With such a huge difference between Premiership and lower leagues, it would have  been a welcome financial fillip.

It had been argued that there needed to be segregation of fans. Really? For Carlisle and Southampton? The two sets of fans had been happily drinking with each other before the match, travelled in the same tube together and walked up Olympic Way together to the stadium. And yet a few moments later needed to be 'segregated'. This wasn't Leeds or Millwall playing. We 'rival' fans get on just fine thank you. And if you needed proof, just look at how many Saints' fans were hidden in the Blues' end yet caused no trouble.

One more question from my Wembley trip: Why do Virgin trains still call them 'quiet coaches'? More than one person used their mobile phones even though they were sitting next to the notices saying "No mobile phones". Not that I blame Virgin trains. Using a mobile phone obviously blights the brain since no one using them remembered that they could actually get up and walk out the coach for a few minutes and the phone would still work. Why not just call them 'quieter coaches' and change the signs to ones reminding people that their phone is mobile.