Media bias

[richardhubbard]

I really thought this was a non-event. The flare, you'd think, was not thrown at the linesman but the attempt was to throw it at on the pitch after they had scored. No different to our Wigan away smoke bombs. And that's the other thing, 'smoke bomb'. Its not a bomb. It doesn't detonate and send out ball bearings or other shrapnel but is a harmless can with smoke in it. If it had landed anywhere other then the linesman's back it would have been nothing but, "and they can shove their wankey smoke bomb up their arses" type comments.



Really is over the top to see the press response. Just needed something pernicious to be able to report after a very benign weekend, clearly.

Peter were you there as it was clearly not benign to me. Remind me how many seats are there in villa park as it's been a while since you asked such a benign point!

[dave.woodhall]

They're not harmless if they go off near you.

[London Villan]

It's a bit of a tricky one this... the flare was set off... now if it rolled next to you and your nipper what would you do... you can't really move because of the people in the seats next to you, your nipper is getting scared, you can't see due to the smoke so you may think you'd better get it out of the way quick... you can't throw it anywhere else other than the perimeter track... just as the linesman is trotting back to the halfway line...

[sirlordbaltimore]

I don't mind the odd flare at a night game, but throwing them on the pitch is just daft (even though it was a smoke bomb not a flare in this instance)

[Hookeysmith]

I think the stewards were concentrating on making sure you didn't go in the ground with a soft drink with the top on to worry about people with flares etc.

Firstly dont be silly with a comment like that. The whole reasoning for searching bags for cans and removing bottle tops is exactly the reason to remove the risk of items being thrown. Both are items identified by Police as being used previously.

Secondly - Each stand has a flare / smoke bomb procedure which incorperates sand filled "drop boxes" and special gloves to collect the device by stewards - this has been in operation for some years

For all the comments directed at Stewards (and i accept there are some useless ones as there are in any job conducted by many people) VP is considered one of the safest and most organised stadium in the country. We have the one of the lowest Police bills for match day due to the dilligence shown year after year by the well trained match day staff

If a moron or two want to sneak certain small items in then they always have that opportunity as there around 350 match day staff and 40K+ people - thankfully most "normal people" understand the implications of such items being taken into a public place and used so its not a huge issue until some twat does.

Its not all about taking pop bottle tops off people

One thing i would say is fair play to the lino whose reaction was mature and not sensationalist for the papers - that would have been a 100 times worse for the clubs PR dept

[London Villan]

Imagine it hitting a player... they'd still be rolling around on the pitch now...

[Pete3206]

A steward I know was in the Spurs end on Sunday. He described their fans as animals. I could never do that job for the paltry amount on offer, even if it does include watching the match for free.

[Dave Cooper please]

Its not all about taking pop bottle tops off people

Of course it isn't.

But then why DO they take the tops off bottles? Given that I can quite easily (and do) take a spare bottle top in my pocket, and that a full bottle of coke will do less damage than many other things I could quite legitimately take into the ground (my cheap mobile is sharp enough to do a bit of damage), why are bottle tops considered such a danger?

[pauliewalnuts]

Its not all about taking pop bottle tops off people

Of course it isn't.

But then why DO they take the tops off bottles? Given that I can quite easily (and do) take a spare bottle top in my pocket, and that a full bottle of coke will do less damage than many other things I could quite legitimately take into the ground (my cheap mobile is sharp enough to do a bit of damage), why are bottle tops considered such a danger?

They do the bottle top thing because, if you drop a plastic bottle with top on onto the floor, you're risking people injuring themselves on them, particularly in the case of an emergency exit.

It's not to do with chucking them on the pitch.

[Pat McMahon]

Its not all about taking pop bottle tops off people

Of course it isn't.

But then why DO they take the tops off bottles? Given that I can quite easily (and do) take a spare bottle top in my pocket, and that a full bottle of coke will do less damage than many other things I could quite legitimately take into the ground (my cheap mobile is sharp enough to do a bit of damage), why are bottle tops considered such a danger?

They do the bottle top thing because, if you drop a plastic bottle with top on onto the floor, you're risking people injuring themselves on them, particularly in the case of an emergency exit.

It's not to do with chucking them on the pitch.

But is a plastic bottle top more dangerous than a discarded plastic glass? The latter tend to be chucked on the floor in hundreds ( thousands?) and must be more of a potential hazard than bottle tops.

The bottle top focus just seems plain daft to me.

[dave.woodhall]

A full bottle, complete with top, can cause more damage than one with the top off.

[Pat McMahon]

A full bottle, complete with top, can cause more damage than one with the top off.

True. But as Dave Cooper said you can take other items in legitimately which can cause more damage. And that's before you even get close to buying a scalding hot drink which has to be carried through a throng of people.

[pab]

Its not all about taking pop bottle tops off people

Of course it isn't.

But then why DO they take the tops off bottles? Given that I can quite easily (and do) take a spare bottle top in my pocket, and that a full bottle of coke will do less damage than many other things I could quite legitimately take into the ground (my cheap mobile is sharp enough to do a bit of damage), why are bottle tops considered such a danger?

I see what you're saying and I've heard other people say the same thing, but they're trying to prevent something, they can't guarantee against it. Yes, if you want to throw something else, you can. I'm not sure I see the issue with them trying to stop something that they see CAN cause a problem, that they can affect?

[DrGonzo]

A little bored are we chaps? 

[pauliewalnuts]

A full bottle, complete with top, can cause more damage than one with the top off.

True. But as Dave Cooper said you can take other items in legitimately which can cause more damage. And that's before you even get close to buying a scalding hot drink which has to be carried through a throng of people.

True enough, was just saying the reason re the plastic bottles with tops on. I only know because I asked a steward once (as he was taking my bottle top off me).