Is there a problem?

Oz White · Is there a problem?

A couple of articles from YEP on related subjects of soccer hooliganism

http://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/le...s-football-hooliganism.3591219.jp

http://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/le...s-act-quickly-to-stamp.3578337.jp

Publicity for a new book, media beat-up or real problem?

Views please.

Cheers

raveydavey

"Hooliganism" isn't anywhere near as bad as it was. Not by any stretch of the imagination.

There are however, odd groups of blokes who do go out looking for trouble, often after a gallon or so of beer. These are little different to the people who want to know if you are "looking at my pint / bird / kebab" on a Friday night, but have attached themselves to a football club and linked up with like minded individuals.

There is an element of "organising", especially at derby games, but don't be fooled by recent press hyperbole that the dark days of the 70's / early 80's are back.

Plod are generally far too wise to it now and will move kick off times or flood the area with bobbies to make sure the situation is contained. Plus a lot of the hard core hoolies are now the subject of banning orders so they can't get near the game in the first place.
All seater stadia mean that the club know exactly who is sitting where, plus as has been shown several times recently, everything in and around the stadium is captured on CCTV - if they don't get you on the day they will get you later. You get (at least) a big fine, a criminal record and a 12 month + ban from any sporting stadia. Anyone convicted almost always finds that the club then ban them for life.

Look at it this way - any place there are 30,000 people, many of whom have had a few beers and where there is a clear demarkation of loyalties is going to have the odd spat. If Plod were to arrest 150 people at a game (which is virtually unheard of nowadays), then that is 0.5% of those attending. Hardly a major problem, despite the press filling otherwise empty pages with it.

weasel

The reason why Leeds have been in the headlines this season is that due to us visiting smaller clubs they (or the police in those towns) are not as prepared for trouble as biger clubs would be who would spot the signs earlier and be used to dealing with it.
Near enough every away game has seen a club's biggest attendance in years (someimes ever) and as such the police aren't used to stopping trouble so the troublemakers basically cause trouble and get into the papers.

Personally I find the hooligan films ridiculous. I have watched one and found it boring. Idiots who want to be powerful but don't have the brains to do it so lash out with their fist obeying orders of a gang leader but believing they are their own man.

30 Mill

Here in Melbourne we have a group trying very hard to fuck it up for all of us here in our new fledgling league

As a muticultural city we have all sorts and all sorts of different ways to support our team, which overall about 99% is fantastic

Yet its always the 1% who will fuck it up for everyone

Wankers - dont they understand we are there for the football and not to watch them???

Oz White

Thanks Ravey and Weasel for your insight. It is much clearer to me now.

I saw a hooligan "documentary" once and I thought at the time this has got nothing to do with football and more to do with gangs and that mentality.

Drink will always fuel the testosterone level whether it is football related or not!

Which leads me nicely on to 30 mill and the problem of Racial Gangs in Australia which had almost been wiped out by the changing of club names and allegiances.

Back in the 70s and 80s most games had racial or probably more to the point nationalistic tendencies. Names like Azzurri, Hellenic, Olympic, Dnipro, Germania, Hollandia, Croatia, Serbia leave little to the imagination as what was involved. It was a battle on the pitch but even worse in the crowds. Now the Nationalistic problem has been taken out of the equation as there are only a few teams, and they represent Cities or regions, with no ethnic divides.

All Australian cities are multi-racial and are not entirely free of religious or nationalistic divisions, but by and large it is only a minor problem with the odd outbreak now and then.

Melbourne has the largest Greek population of any City in the world apart from Athens. This diaspora has enriched Melbourne as have all immigrants to all cities in Australia and things seem to be in harmony until someone lights a fuse or fuels distrust.

So, as in England, you have the same problem of the very small minority or attention-seekers who cause the problems.

Cheers

Jailhouse John

From observing the crowds before and after 'potential trouble' games at ER it seems to me that a lot of the serious problems are caused by blokes who do not go to th match at all. They can be seen walking away from ER when the visiting fans have been escorted in and are then are outside the ground before the final whistle in order to try and get amongst the visitors when they come out. They also appear to want to 'take on' the OB in the absence of anybody else.

Nothing to do with being a football fan at all.

Oz White

Talking about "potential trouble" games I can think of few as potentially volatile as the game with Watford at the Millenium with close on 50,000 Leeds and Watford fans and a potential mix of local Neanderthals with an inbred hatred of anything non-Welsh and in particular from Leeds. There was a strong Police presence but nothing overtly confrontational.

I visited several pubs and mixed and had a laugh with Watford supporters and saw none looking for trouble. In the streets there was a lot of shaking of hands and reciprocal good wishes. I know I feature in quite a few family snaps with Watford supporters! That was my experience but then I am not young and looking for trouble and only had a few beers!

It seems that basically there will always be a few nutters but known trouble causers are well known to the authorities and except in isolated cases there is little cause for alarm. Maybe just a beat up to sell a few books?

Cheers