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Post by southwick1 on Aug 11, 2013 10:43:55 GMT
I think my labelling them as imberciles is maybe a bit over the top.BUT of the 200 or so Wealdstone fans that were in the ground it seemed that about a quarter of them were there for reasons other than football. So maybe Thug or Hooligan would be a more appropriate label to use.
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Post by bluearmy on Aug 11, 2013 11:01:55 GMT
I think my labelling them as imberciles is maybe a bit over the top.BUT of the 200 or so Wealdstone fans that were in the ground it seemed that about a quarter of them were there for reasons other than football. So maybe Thug or Hooligan would be a more appropriate label to use. Seriously? Then the same applies to Maidstone or did you have your amber blinkers on? Out of 1900 Maidstone fans in the ground, 50/100 intent on trouble including the 30 or so who attacked the small group after the game.
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Post by bluearmy on Aug 11, 2013 11:03:21 GMT
A real shame that a great game at a great venue is not the main talking point today. Enjoyed my trip to your new ground, thought it was excellent and stewards aside it was a very professional set up. Clearly family friendly and a real buzz about the place.
Excellent game too. (Weald)Stones have had an indifferent pre-season so not many of us expected a performance like that. We are very encouraged this morning about our chances this season, we look a much stronger side across the midfield than we did last season. And we still have Sean Cronin (double player of the year last season), Scott McGleish and Glen Little to come into the squad too. I know your pitch has it's critics but I felt is suited our game yesterday, particularly for Tom Pett (our number 11) who was in my opinion the best player on the pitch.
As for the incidents off the pitch I think people need to step back and look at things objectively. Firstly, the banter between both sets of fans for the first 30 mins was actually good. Both sets of Stones fans mixing and chatting on the terraces, singing at each other etc. However, the catalyst for the trouble was beer thrown over Wealdstone supporters. Now people can take the moral high ground and claim that there shouldn't be a reaction but really? What in all honesty do people expect? Throw a beer over someone in a pub and what will happen? Throw beer over someone in the street and are they really going to walk away? That stand was packed full of both sets of fans and unfortunately things spilled over. Not condoning the fighting but as always there is a tipping point. Some Wealdstone fans spoke to your stewards before the incident and told them they needed to intervene otherwise things were going to get out of hand. But they ignored it.
The vast majority of Wealdstone and Maidstone fans in attendance yesterday were not involved in the trouble and could quite legitimately make a serious complaint about your stewards failure to control the crowd. Standing next to some of your supporters they did not feel safe from either group and were looking for your stewards to take control. They failed. If the same incident occured at The Vale, Wealdstone would have to take responsibility for the consequences. At The Vale however we would not let two large groups of supporters congregate in the same stand and drink in the middle of a match. For that sort of crowd, I don't think there is any other stadium in the country that would allow it either. It's a recipe for disaster.
As for after the game, a small group of Wealdstone fans attacked by up to 30 Maidstone fans outside the ground including a 13 year boy slapped round the head. Ridiculous. Of course people will say they deserved it merely for being associated with Wealdstone and given the events of the day. Tensions at football run high particularly when fuelled by alcohol. Human nature dictates that unfortunately incidents are likely to occur when large crowds are not controlled and for me that was the root cause of yesterday. It marred a fantastic day where we were hosted by what is clearly a great club.
Don't let the incidents tar your views on Wealdstone. We're a passionate bunch who like alot of you have supported our club through some very dark times. Looking forward to a great game at The Vale in late December in front of another very big crowd and a great atmosphere. However this time, a crowd controlled properly.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 11, 2013 11:06:14 GMT
Whoevers call it was to funnel the Wealdstone support out of gate C at the end needs a good long look at themselves. Some just wanted to get to the supporters coach, some (rightly or wrongly) the clubhouse. All that happened was they left up the stairs then all turned right and walked back down the hill I wonder who that was?! In addition, this decision meant that our fans in the Springfield end who wanted to go to the clubhouse had to walk through the away fans to walk along the river side of the ground. An absolute balls up IMHO
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Post by roystyboy on Aug 11, 2013 11:11:33 GMT
bluearmy you condone the throwing of beer but is it ok for your ian poulter lookalike fan to tear a mans glasses from his face when this person needs them to see and throw them on the pitch
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Post by bluearmy on Aug 11, 2013 11:14:45 GMT
bluearmy you condone the throwing of beer but is it ok for your ian poulter lookalike fan to tear a mans glasses from his face when this person needs them to see and throw them on the pitch I didn't say that did I? What I did say was up until the point beer was thrown over the Wealdstone supporters, things were largely good natured. Some (not all) of your supporters have glossed over the behaviour of a small number of your fans that sparked off the incidents and instead have portrayed the Wealdstone fans as a rampaging bunch of savages acting without any provocation. Do the same thing to any other group of travelling fans and see their reaction. I don't condone any of the actions from either group of supporters. The whole thing was ridiculous and has marred what was a great day.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 11, 2013 11:16:29 GMT
Firstly we have never had a sutuation like this before. Secondly i would suggest that as such its a learning curve for a club with no experience of trouble on this scale. Lessons im sure will continue to be learnt.
The league has no stipulation requiring segregation as instances like this at our level are practically unheard off.
If this is different at Wealdstone then clearly you have more experience if this sort of behaviour. Make what you will of that
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Post by bluearmy on Aug 11, 2013 11:25:41 GMT
Firstly we have never had a sutuation like this before. Secondly i would suggest that as such its a learning curve for a club with no experience of trouble on this scale. Lessons im sure will continue to be learnt. The league has no stipulation requiring segregation as instances like this at our level are practically unheard off. If this is different at Wealdstone then clearly you have more experience if this sort of behaviour. Make what you will of that It didn't even need segregation. When your fans started throwing beer over the opposing supporters, your stewards should have separated the 2 groups until the situation could have been diffused at half time. Instead they stood watching. I watched half a dozen of your fans walk in amongst the Wealdstone fans at the end of the game trying to stoke the flames again, making hand gestures etc. Many of us could point them out to you if you would like? Perhaps the other Maidstone fans in the same stand will do the same? If you can't stop your fans from throwing beer over your visitors and can't stop your fans from trying to incite trouble after a match, then you probably do need to think about segregation.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 11, 2013 11:36:40 GMT
Firstly we have never had a sutuation like this before. Secondly i would suggest that as such its a learning curve for a club with no experience of trouble on this scale. Lessons im sure will continue to be learnt. The league has no stipulation requiring segregation as instances like this at our level are practically unheard off. If this is different at Wealdstone then clearly you have more experience if this sort of behaviour. Make what you will of that It didn't even need segregation. When your fans started throwing beer over the opposing supporters, your stewards should have separated the 2 groups until the situation could have been diffused at half time. Instead they stood watching. I watched half a dozen of your fans walk in amongst the Wealdstone fans at the end of the game trying to stoke the flames again, making hand gestures etc. Many of us could point them out to you if you would like? Perhaps the other Maidstone fans in the same stand will do the same? If you can't stop your fans from throwing beer over your visitors and can't stop your fans from trying to incite trouble after a match, then you probably do need to think about segregation. Actually from my vantage point i could see a Wealdstone supporter in the back of the stand climbing over the barrier towards the home fans threatening violence which proceeded the beer throwing i observed from the maidstone side. I had a pretty good view from the main stand some members of both sets of fans disgraced themselves, but the whole, they started it is surely irrellevant and just a little infantile like the behaviour on display. It also appeared to me that the largest area of aggresion was within the away fans
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Post by Adie Ohruru on Aug 11, 2013 12:32:18 GMT
From my vantage point (about 3 yards from where it kicked off - didn't get involved), as blue army said first 30 minutes nothing really happened, a little bit spiky (one of our fans and presumably one of theirs were giving it the old you come here, no you come over here, but this was quickly self policed). Then Brown committed a foul by the halfway line, one of our supporters called out 'it was shoulder to shoulder' (quite possibly ironically). One of their supporters took great offence to this and appeared to charge at our support, from my point of view that started it. The first beer I saw thrown was well after it had all began and at this point being hit by a pint was the least of your worries; like I say this is just what I saw and I could have missed stuff being thrown before, certainly nothing came across my line of sight, but I was right at the back so couldn't really tell what was happening at the front to my right.
Regardless of Wealdstone and 'who started it' etc, anyone who thinks we don't have an unsavoury element of our own is at best naive, as proven by the Calais trip and the welcoming party for the Wealdstone supporters after the game. This needs to be eradicated with the utmost urgency if we are to maintain our crowds and reputation as somewhere the whole family can enjoy their afternoon.
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Post by ontheup on Aug 11, 2013 12:34:32 GMT
The club owners I am sure will investigate the matter properly and take the best course of action. Looking forward we will need some sort of segregation in future.
The vast majority of games it won't be required but when we are expecting a larger than normal away following then isn't the obvious solution to put them in their own area?
Last year when Dover played Tonbridge in the FA Cup segregation was in place and isn't yesterday a huge wake up call?
For the return game, I would happily be segregated from the Wealdstone fans
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Post by Deleted on Aug 11, 2013 12:36:15 GMT
Firstly we have never had a sutuation like this before. Secondly i would suggest that as such its a learning curve when Leatherhead visited exactly the samething happened. Shared the terrace till one of our lot chucked beer at them. The only difference they didn't react. Regardless of who started what, the stewarding was atrocious and it all could have been avoided imo. Our main failing always seems to be our stewards are always reacting. Never preventing.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 11, 2013 12:50:22 GMT
The club owners I am sure will investigate the matter properly and take the best course of action. Looking forward we will need some sort of segregation in future. The vast majority of games it won't be required but when we are expecting a larger than normal away following then isn't the obvious solution to put them in their own area? Last year when Dover played Tonbridge in the FA Cup segregation was in place and isn't yesterday a huge wake up call? For the return game, I would happily be segregated from the Wealdstone fans Totally agree save for the Tonbridge and Dover segregation would i would suggest be down to known tensions between those fans
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Post by Deleted on Aug 11, 2013 12:55:54 GMT
Firstly we have never had a sutuation like this before. Secondly i would suggest that as such its a learning curve when Leatherhead visited exactly the samething happened. Shared the terrace till one of our lot chucked beer at them. The only difference they didn't react. Regardless of who started what, the stewarding was atrocious and it all could have been avoided imo. Our main failing always seems to be our stewards are always reacting. Never preventing. Accepted point and my intention was no previous problem on this scale I have stated elsewhere that we have inherited our own unsavoury element as shown at Leatherhead and perhaps significantly increased following reports from calais and now the Wealdstone game. If we have aquired a thuggish hooligan BNP/EDL add your own as applicable type then it needs to be addressed quickly and firmly and not be allowed to take route
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Post by dannymeyes on Aug 11, 2013 13:08:16 GMT
As a season ticket holder for a premiership club I am glad to say the hooligan element has greatly reduced. However, I see more stories of trouble further down the pyramid. Wealdstone feature often. They don't take responsibility for trouble at their games. They blame everyone and everything for violence meted out by people who have no interest in football. But when it is the same club over and over it says something. Perhaps the poster on here would like to reciprocate and identify those involved in trouble from Wealdstone. No justification for violence from anyone. My non-league club plays them in a few weeks. Not looking forward to it. Make sure there is stewarding at your return fixture and tell your fans to be careful. There is a huge difference between passion and aggression. It should not be confused.
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