Crowd Trouble

[Diablo]

Anyhow, bringing a flare to throw at a football game is a totally demented, highly dangerous act, and not something I thought we'd see at a ground in this country.

Man United fans spoilt Man City's Blue Moon sing along during the League Cup semi final last year. Man City dimmed the house lights, cue a Blue Moon light show, only to go to all that effort and have it spoilt by some nasty red flares.

[peter w]

The 'good' thing about the crowd disturbances is that its taken the 'gloss' away from the win for them. The game is remembered for what happened at the end more than anything and gives us the stick of 'same old Blues' to beat them with. They have lost crowing rights in what should have been a big night for them.

[D.boy]

The Guardian are reporting the flare was throwing into the Villa end.  A blues fan called WM just after 7 this morning saying they're normally searched before most home games, so can't understand why there was no searching going on last night.

I doubt we will ever play them at any other time than Sunday at noon ever again, which is very sad.

We were searched last night, well at least my bag was searched.  I was asked if I had any bottles.  Nobody asked me if I had any flares.

Because you were wearing a skirt?

[villajk]

A skirt?  What's one of those?  I certainly don't 'do' them.

[lordmcgrath5]

I just played back that section of the video a few times (around 3:13) an

The flare definitely came from our end, i saw it light up and saw someone throw it.

Shit, that's really depressing. Though it did occur to me later on that some tit in our support threw a flare (which actually landed within the Villa end) at Slavia Prague a couple of years back.  The only thing I can understand is chucking the thing back if it lands near you - I think it's perfectly natural to want to get rid of it. So the ultimate blame has to lie with the person who brought it in and first lit it. If, as it seems it was, that was a Villa fan, that's a sad state of affairs indeed.

[dave.woodhall]

I cannot understand why the police cordon was lined up immediately in front of the Villa fans. Surely it would have been better for them to be lined up across the penalty area line thus keeping a good few yards between both sets of supporters.  By letting the Blues get so close it made things worse as far as I could tell.

Then the ones who were in the Railway Stand and the corners of the side stands could have got on behind them.

[Mazrim]

From what I can tell. the Police did a good job considering their numbers.

[tauntonvilla]

So what happened underneath at half time?

A large metal shutter seperated the two sets of supporters. Attempts were made to open the shutter, one or two received a slap through intermitant gaps that appeared. Never any danger of the shutter not holding up mind. Sturdy little shutter for sure !!

[lordmcgrath5]

Man United fans spoilt Man City's Blue Moon sing along during the League Cup semi final last year. Man City dimmed the house lights, cue a Blue Moon light show, only to go to all that effort and have it spoilt by some nasty red flares.

Interesting, didn't realise that had happened. There are some aspects of football on the Continent (the prices in places like Germany, terracing, the relatively young demographic that goes to games) that I would love to see replicated in the British game, but pyrotechnics are definitely not in that category.

[fredm]

I cannot understand why the police cordon was lined up immediately in front of the Villa fans. Surely it would have been better for them to be lined up across the penalty area line thus keeping a good few yards between both sets of supporters.  By letting the Blues get so close it made things worse as far as I could tell.

Then the ones who were in the Railway Stand and the corners of the side stands could have got on behind them.

But wasn't there enough police/stewards to prevent this?

[Ads]

I thought the Man United flare looked brilliant. I quite like flares to be honest.

[sheldon nose]

I thought the Man United flare looked brilliant. I quite like flares to be honest.

Yeh but in the hands of idiots and launching them into fans is really stupid...although blues ran onto the pitch two wrongs dont make a right mate....mugs the lot of them..blues and villa....

[Ads]

This fixture brings out the worst in us, no doubt about that.

A couple of pubs turned over in Digbeth and Small Heath run all over the shop after the game too.

[The Situation]

Why did they run on the pitch and start baiting our fans? You've just won and all you can think of is running onto the pitch amd baiting our fans? Imagine what it'd of been like if they'd lost...

[sheldon nose]

This fixture brings out the worst in us, no doubt about that.

A couple of pubs turned over in Digbeth and Small Heath run all over the shop after the game too.

Maybe mate let them get on with it.....but what would you prefer??turn a few pubs over and say we "done them" or beat your rivals and be in the next round......i know what i would prefer mate?like i said they are "mugs"