Crowd Trouble

[amfy]

Just cos someone took a flare into the sty doesn't mean his first intention was to throw it at them

Yes, he obviously knew it would snow and thought he would have to help a plane perform an emergency landing at Birmingham Airport a la Die Hard 2.

Or maybe he lives up an unlit street and needed to light his way.

That would explain why he took a flare to the match but never bothered lighting it until the very end where he could lob it at fans because he was provoked.

Isn't it just possible that a Villa fan went to the game intending to raise a flare in celebration? I would have thought that more likely than taking something with the primary intention of lobbing it in defeat.

Don't get me wrong, he shouldn't have taken it, & he certainly shouldn't have thrown it, but it's a bit of a leap to assume it was the intention from the outset. 

[ozzjim]

Bit annoyed that the Birmingham Mail site is running the video and condemning villa fans fro wrecking toilets at the game, while there is not a jot of a mention that the blues fans did the same during the league game at Villa Park.

[Villa'Zawg]

Just cos someone took a flare into the sty doesn't mean his first intention was to throw it at them

Yes, he obviously knew it would snow and thought he would have to help a plane perform an emergency landing at Birmingham Airport a la Die Hard 2.

Or maybe he lives up an unlit street and needed to light his way.

That would explain why he took a flare to the match but never bothered lighting it until the very end where he could lob it at fans because he was provoked.

Isn't it just possible that a Villa fan went to the game intending to raise a flare in celebration? I would have thought that more likely than taking something with the primary intention of lobbing it in defeat.

Don't get me wrong, he shouldn't have taken it, & he certainly shouldn't have thrown it, but it's a bit of a leap to assume it was the intention from the outset. 

and perhaps in his other pocket he had a knife, just for protection you understand.

[villa1]

Don't think that's a fair comparison. A flare 'could' have been used to create atmosphere. Unfortunately the twat used it as a weapon. A knife serves no other purpose at a football match, other than being a weapon, self defence or not.

[TimTheVillain]

Bit annoyed that the Birmingham Mail site is running the video and condemning villa fans fro wrecking toilets at the game, while there is not a jot of a mention that the blues fans did the same during the league game at Villa Park.

Me too, how on earth did this get on Youtube ?

Madness all-round.

[Somniloquism]

Isn't it just possible that a Villa fan went to the game intending to raise a flare in celebration? I would have thought that more likely than taking something with the primary intention of lobbing it in defeat.

Don't get me wrong, he shouldn't have taken it, & he certainly shouldn't have thrown it, but it's a bit of a leap to assume it was the intention from the outset.

You go to alot of away matches Amfy, including against Blues. How many times have you seen Villa fans celebrating with flares. I know the same argument can be turned around on throwing them as well but this is the first time in 7 years that we have had a late night, drinking all day match with them.

They are such a rare thing in British football and on being on the recieving end of flares at Milan I always take the worst view on them.

[Dave]

I don't mind flares being used, but only being used in the correct way...

Indicating to nearby boats that you're in need of assistance?

[amfy]

No but it was a big game - How many times have we all hel up claret and blue cards spelling out "The Holte End" before a game? Just the once - the first time we played them at Villa Park.

Maybe I'm coming from a different perspective because I see them during dance acts at festivals all the time, and they are only used to add to the occasion. Of course they are stupidly dangerous in crowds which is why they are rightly banned - but my perspective is that a Villa fan didn't go to that game PLANNING to lose, and if the flare was there for the purposes of trouble, then there were opportunities before then to throw it.

I would say the reason he still had it on him at the final whistle was that it was there to be lit for our winner - which never came. At that point it was only a short step for someone daft enough to take a flare to a football match to decide to throw it at oposition fans who were pissing him off.

[The Situation]

There were flares lit in the North Stand when we beat them last season... done in celebration, not thrown at small heath.

[Somniloquism]

There were flares lit in the North Stand when we beat them last season... done in celebration, not thrown at small heath.

I honestly don't remeber that. Must have left early to beat the traffic. 

[The Situation]

It happened in the Upper North stand just after Milner scored the peno. It was lit with good intentions and the stewards didn't really care lol.

[Lambert and Payne]

It happened in the Upper North stand just after Milner scored the peno. It was lit with good intentions and the stewards didn't really care lol.

Yeah a big claret one. There was also a flare lit and thrown at them outside the ground at VP this season

On another note my mate went to blose chelsea in the tilton and said there fans were horribly racist. Every time malouda came over he was abused. Wont repeat the words on here...

[Dave]

Bit annoyed that the Birmingham Mail site is running the video and condemning villa fans fro wrecking toilets at the game, while there is not a jot of a mention that the blues fans did the same during the league game at Villa Park.

Me too, how on earth did this get on Youtube ?

Ooh, I know this.

Someone uploaded it there.

You know that anyone can upload anything they want onto YouTube?

[Percy McCarthy]

It happened in the Upper North stand just after Milner scored the peno. It was lit with good intentions and the stewards didn't really care lol.

Yeah a big claret one. There was also a flare lit and thrown at them outside the ground at VP this season

On another note my mate went to blose chelsea in the tilton and said there fans were horribly racist. Every time malouda came over he was abused. Wont repeat the words on here...

They were horribly racist (much more so than Villa) in the late seventies, right up until they got a few black lads in their firm that all the racists were scared of.

[Gaztonniller]

Cant see how such eye for an eye guerrilla type tactics

does either club or the image of the City (as a whole) any good at all imo, but suppose someone somewhere will be able to rationally explain it for the masses to understand.