01-11-2005, 13:54
|
#17
|
Senior Member+
Join Date: May 2004
Posts: 2,421
Liked: 177 times
Rep Power: 14540
|
Re: Stewarding
A York fans view that talks a lot of sense, especially the last bit about a guy who threw a bin on the pitch & still managed to watch 90 minutes of football. Now tell me we handled it the right way?
"To my recollection, no-one spilled onto the pitch after the actions of either Bell or Randolph, that happended after the goal. Order was hardly 'restored' either. Accrington made a rod for their own back by throwing people back into the crowd who had gone onto the pitch, if they considered them to be trouble makers surely they should have been thrown out, thereby ending the problem? This obviously stemmed from the fact that the guys working there were more used to dealing with crowd surfing students at concerts or stopping women darting into the mens toilets in some sub-standard nightclub.
The Safety Officer was obviously out of his depth, to his credit, he listend to the comments of City fans but just looked like a nodding dog. No attempt was made to convey anything to the players until one of the stewards showed Randolph one of the 'missiles' thrown onto the pitch. I presumed it to be a coin. The baiting on show from Accrington would have antagonised any football fans, the away was universal in it's annoyance and contempt. What's worse is that it stems from the management and coaching staff down to the players, maybe they have some sort of inferiority complex? The referee isn't going to take a goal away from them but nothing, not even a symbolic gesture was made to tell the players to stop. They are as much thugs as anyone else and demonstrated an overwhelming stupidity.
I would have said that the main antagonism was caused by kids and a few boozed up fans who shouldn't have even got into the ground. Compared to the antics of some fans at BC it was relatively minor though it still shouldn't have been condoned. I don't think City should be singled out as a example of thuggery, I'm sure Accrington fans wouldn't have reacted kindly to deliberate taunts and jibes. It's a bit like a pub landlord serving someone 15 pints then complaining when they're sick on his shoes. I never thought the stewards or police had the game under control, had they wanted to City fans could have run onto the pitch at any time. The reason they didn't is because behind the bravado a lot are bottleless or actually realise it's a bad idea.
All in all it's highly regrettable but I don't think City fans should be hanging their heads in shame. The game was dealt with in a highly amateurish fashion that lacked any kind of pro-active approach. The comments from Accy fans that 'that's how we always deal with away fans and we've never had a problem' sums it up. It was obvious that some police presence was needed and that more than 1 turnstile was needed. Rather than counting the extra £10,000 they were getting they should have looked at how to deal with such a match in the first place. The reason the kids were behaving in such a way was because they were allowed to get away with it. If throwing a metal bin on the pitch doesn't get you chucked out, what will?"
|
|
|