Segregation

[David Holden]

We now know that we will have segregation for the matches against Hereford on Saturday 24th August and Doncaster on Tuesday 24th September.

 

For those matches season ticket holders will have to enter via the main gates as the car park gates will be for away fans only. How this affects the car parking arrangements I don't know yet, but if there are any special arrangements, I will let you know.

 

Would you please also note that for Conference matches, no alcohol is allowed on the terraces.

[Stu M]

Would you please also note that for Conference matches, no alcohol is allowed on the terraces. <hr /></blockquote>

 

 

What about Class A drugs? It's all that's got us through the last 10 years and we've taken it as something of a right that we can have a good long spliff and more during a nervous 90 minutes.

 

And Louis Figo's got kilos of pure Colombian in his backpack ready for the forthcoming season.

[Lennie Macfartney]

Hey! Keep up to date man!

 

Don't think you'll find that even in the days of Empress Thatcher that the honourable weed was ever a class A 'substance.' Hasn't the government just decided to downgrade it from B to C status, hence the resignation of Gerri Halliwell's dad, or Czar Nicholas II or whatever he called himself.

 

Just heard on the radio (still hoping to hear 'Who do you think you are kidding, Canvey Island?' get some air time) that the Old Bill will still arrest you for smoking it openly on the streets, though. No mention of Stonebridge Road, however, where some of us have been getting away with dodgy practices for decades.

 

Lennie M

[FleetFanatic]

segregation sucks ?

 

Oh sorry...I thought we were playing blankety blank.

[Alan W (GNFC)]

Are these the only games we need segregation for all season, Dave, or have the police only considered the first couple of months of the season and will look at other games as the season develops ( I suspect it must be the latter)

 

I can understand the decision on the Hereford game, given what happened on our message board a while back & suggestions that Hereford followers have caused trouble el;sewhere in the past, but Doncaster ?? If it were on a Saturday, the decision would be reasonable - but how many Doncaster fans will really turn out on a Tuesday night ? I cant really believe the numbers will justify segregation

 

<img src="/forums/images/icons/confused.gif" alt="" />

[David Holden]

They are the only ones that we know of so far.

 

There will be others possibly as many as 7 or 8.

 

Doncaster have a London based fan club that had (I think)three coaches heading our way on New Year's Day when our match against Aldershot was one of the only matches on in Kent. (At their time of departure that is)

 

It's safe to assume that there will be over a hundred of them.

[Alan W (GNFC)]

Me thinks the world has gone mad - all those extra police & associated costs to look after perhaps a couple of hundred or so supporters. I'm sure the money could be far better spent & police resources better used elsewhere.

 

I appreciate that 200 or so people could cause reasonable problems if they tried, but lets face it, the vast majority of them will only be coming to enjoy the game and support their team.

 

And again, you only have to look at the Canvey game last year, where there must have been a somewhat larger number of their fans in the ground, still mixing happily with our supporters, despite the importance of the game.

 

If anything, segregation can actually increase tensions between fans on occasions.

 

We all understand that, as you rise through the leagues, segregation becomes more of a fact of life, that we must grudgingly accept, but that still doesnt necessarily make it right.

[Andy Y. (G&NFC)]

I think you are looking at this situation with slightly rose tinted spectacles Alan!

 

The problem is that it will only take one incident to sod up the entire season as far as getting fans through the turnstiles, so it really is better to be safe rather than sorry and if these supporters cannot be trusted then we shouldn't take a chance. (We would soon moan if there was trouble and their wasn't sufficient Police to deal with it.)

 

Remember we have a reputation for having a good bunch of supporters but we will no doubt, have some "hangers on" who will need to be dealt with at some point as the season progresses. Its just a sad fact of success.

 

That said, I still reckon that segregation is a bad thing when handled badly, the Margate debacle being a classic example. The really sad thing is that I don't disagree with your sentiments at all!

 

By the way, with reference to the Wacky Backy thread, you will find, in some parts of London for sure, that the Police are enforcing the regulations a little stricter than normal because of "The Brixton Experiment" and the problems its causing, so be careful out there!

[Alan ( GNFC )]

Alan W , I think you're being a tad naive .

Fleet supporters have had a lot of fun the last few years but we're now mixing with supporters who use their clubs as a vehicle for political purposes .

 

[Dave M]

Big St George flag at the England games during the world cup. So big it was passed over the fans heads..The flag read....No Surrender. Hereford United.

Made me realise we will be visited by all sorts of new levels of fans next season.

Segregation is sometime needed and justified albiet regretfully.

[Alan W (GNFC)]

I accept that it needs to be used sometimes, but it is so frustrating that as usual it is generally a small minority that spoil things for the rest.

 

There are 2 problems with segregation though - how do you make it work ?

 

After all, there are ways of infiltrating the opposition supporters if you really want to cause trouble.

 

Equally, the same is true outside the ground - again, you might prevent trouble inside the ground, but what about outside it, as Millwall found to their cost last season.

 

And are we going back to those bad old days that I remember as a Leeds supporter where away fans were herded straight to the ground, and not allowed to wander off anywhere before the game, even if it means they end up in the ground an hour or more before the game kicks off ? I always found that most frustrating when I didnt want to arrive at the ground that early.

 

One also wonders if troublemakers will switch their allegiances to follow other clubs, whose games are not segregated, just so they can cause trouble.

 

I suppose, however, that by having an increased police presence and taking the precautions, you are at least minimising the possibility of trouble and that is , I guess, the most anyone can ask

 

 

[Andy Y. (G&NFC)]

Alan I really thought this would start an argument...... Damnn <img src="/forums/images/icons/wink.gif" alt="" />

 

 

[Alan ( GNFC )]

Alan W - a Leeds supporter .

Oh Dear ! <img src="/forums/images/icons/shocked.gif" alt="" />

[David Holden]

<blockquote><font class="small">So said Dave M:</font><hr> Big St George flag at the England games during the world cup. So big it was passed over the fans heads..The flag read....No Surrender. Hereford United.

Made me realise we will be visited by all sorts of new levels of fans next season.

Segregation is sometime needed and justified albiet regretfully. <hr /></blockquote>

 

Although we are segregating the Hereford fans, I can't help thinking that the No Surrender refers more to their financial plight than anything else.

[Alan ( GNFC )]

Dont you remember the Cheltenham fans little ditty about -no surrender to the IRA- ?

Could be !

[John M.(GNFC)]

I still think that 6 strokes of the birch and\or 3 months breaking rocks for causing an affray (never mind all the posh modern nicely nicely terms)would put a stop to 99% of this silliness.

[Alan W (GNFC)]

Not a true supporter though - I saw them at Upton Park a couple of years ago, but prior to that hadn't been to a Leeds game for, probably, something like 15 years.

 

I grew up when they had their wonderful team in the late 60's and early 70's, so followed them from then - very much in the same way that kids today follow the dreaded Man U.

 

The early 80's were the worst time for following them - I remember several games where there was trouble including that game at Birmingham on the last day of the season when a youngster was crushed to death by a falling wall (the day of the Bradford fire as well), Derby, where crazy policing gave Leeds fans seating at one end of the ground, immediately above Derby terracing (and guess what happened - the seats got ripped out and hurled down at them), and at Chelsea, where Leeds fans in one section resorted to hurling coins & rubble at fans in another section, because there happened to be police there, as well as fellow Leeds fans.

 

I was always the first to run in the opposite direction whenever trouble occurred, I hasten to add.

 

Thank goodness we have generally rid ourselves of that behaviour these days - lets hope we dont ever return to it - & if that means we are advised to be segregated at certain games, so be it, as long as the segregation is sensibly organised.

[Andy Y. (G&NFC)]

I have vivid memories of that day when there was the fire at Bradford and the wall caved in at Birmingham. I went to see Arsenal play at WBA. We lost and were blissfully unaware of the unfolding dramas elsewhere.

Remember this was in the days before mobile phones. My wife was convinced that we had become embroiled in the tragedy in Birmingham as the breaking news gave no details of what or where this had occured.

 

She was genuinely frightened for my safety, and I, had no idea of this until I rolled home about nine at night. God did I get a bollocking, (which I deserved!) for not contacting her sooner!

 

Dreadful dark days, the like of which I never want to see again.