Aston Villa 2-0 Albion FA Cup Qtr Final post match thread

[pauliewalnuts]

I hope we don't give up our home fans in the lower north for cup games.Which probably leaves the lower Witton Lane for away fans, maybe with a buffer zone by the Holte.

I can't see the club being allowed to do anything but give the North Stand to away supporters for cup games in the future. Apparently against police advise, we "insisted" on splitting them between the North Stand and Witton Lane. I'd imagine the FA apart from fining us will want to know what measures we have for future games. I can't see a few more stewards being the acceptable answer.

That usual away seats plus NS upper is the same arrangement we've had every time a club takes a large allocation in the cup for ages, I don't see how the police can suddenly advise against that. That was the case for Leicester City, for example, who probably also dislike us, but their fans managed to behave.

One reason not to give the whole North Stand is that you're basically looking at them getting the lower north OR the usual away seats, where there are far fewer seats in the lower north stand, so it's not a like-for-like numbers wise.

There were some arseholes in evidence on Saturday, obviously, but the layout of the away seats is nothing to do with it. Nobody forced those morons to start ripping out and throwing seats.

One of the options on westbrom.com for "what causes the trouble on Saturday" is "the layout of the North Stand", and 15% of respondents have selected it.

Utter nonsense. The layout of the stand you were in caused you to start ripping out and throwing seats?

The worst thing about events on Saturday night is not that they happened, it is the massive volumes of sheer horseshit that have been spoken about it since.

[pauliewalnuts]

Incidentally, if there is one avoidable factor worth looking at for contributing to the problems, then surely it has to be playing a local derby with elevated importance (a cup QF) at 5.30 on a Saturday.

Still, not doing it probably doesn't fit in with the Beeb's new-found enthusiasm for the FA Cup, and they probably thought it'd give a boost to viewing figures for whichever soul destroying saturday night bilge they showed straight after it.

[SashasGrandad]

A couple of quotes from the BBC:

BBC 7th Nov 2014 after Warrington beat Exeter
There's no pitch invasion like an FA Cup pitch invasion. #getcarriedaway

BBC 7th March 2015
FA Cup pitch invasion: Villa Park scenes throwback to 'dark ages'.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/29962863

Even had flares going off on the pitch - BBC commentator waxing lyrical - how wonderful it is to see this.

[Stu]

I wonder if, given the sheer disgust at the pitch invasion from the BBC, they'll begin beeping out "Some people are on the pitch" before "they think it's all over, it is now!" the next time the last 1966 goal gets shown.

We need some guidelines.

1: You are not allowed to invade the pitch after the final whistle in a quarter-final, even if it's against your oldest rivals. No matter the context, it has been agreed by Them that this is Small Time.

2: You are allowed to invade the pitch after the final whistle in a semi-final, but not the FA Cup semi-final - the League Cup semi-final is ok.

3: If you are a lower-league side, you are allowed to invade the pitch at any round because it's romantic.

4: Rule 3 applies to Manchester United at any stage of any competition at any ground.

[richard moore]

Incidentally, if there is one avoidable factor worth looking at for contributing to the problems, then surely it has to be playing a local derby with elevated importance (a cup QF) at 5.30 on a Saturday.

Still, not doing it probably doesn't fit in with the Beeb's new-found enthusiasm for the FA Cup, and they probably thought it'd give a boost to viewing figures for whichever soul destroying saturday night bilge they showed straight after it.

The Voice which I had to suffer as a quid pro quo for insisting my girls and wife watch the Villa. They need regular reminders I am not the only Villa fan in the world, though one of my daughters was chatted up by a Villa fan in a Bristol night club on Saturday. Marry him now was my response!

[pooligan]

Who would have thought a few weeks ago that Villa would be the only team to score in the cup at the week end !

[pauliewalnuts]

This one contains some of the biggest nonsense on the subject.

He's right about the KO time, but as for the rest of it ...

John Homer: West Brom's clash with Aston Villa should never have been a 5:30pm kick-off

West Bromwich Albion Supporters Club chairman John Homer says the authorities made two fundamental errors in the holding of Saturday’s FA Cup quarter-final.

Homer says organisers put the safety of both sets of players and both sets of supporters in danger.

Homer is hugely critical of the timing of the game and the fact Villa placed their own supporters in the lower tier of the North Stand.

The 5.30pm kick-off will have led to some fans consuming alcohol prior to the game.

“The kick-off time was absolutely ridiculous,” said Homer. “West Midlands Police should have insisted that the game kick off at midday.

“We have played the Villa three times this season, two of which were night games - ludicrous.

“Secondly, there is no way in the world that the Villa should have been allowed to have their supporters in the lower tier of the North Stand.

“That should have been populated entirely by Albion supporters. That would have ended the problem of segregation outside the ground because we would have come out in one block.

“They could have blocked off the Witton Road and we would have come out of the North Stand and back onto our coaches back up the road to Witton Station - end of story.”

Homer does not even attempt to defend Albion fans who broke and threw seats from the Upper tier of the North Stand but says to apportion blame misses the point.

“I’ve read something like eight or nine seats were thrown,” he said. “What we have to do is ask ourselves whether that equates to the hassle there was in the corner of the Doug Ellis and North Stand Lower when our fans are saying they were pelted with bottles, coins and flares.

“A lot of pundits and the press are getting carried away with who threw what at who and why, when the real question should be the segregation of the Albion fans with half in one stand and half in another with the Villa fans in between, it was a recipe for disaster as was the kick-off time.”

Homer says referee Anthony Taylor also made mistakes.

“As I understand it it is quite clinical in the law that if you invade the pitch during the game it is a criminal offence,” he said.

“There were people coming onto the pitch during the game and they were being put back into the stand.

"The first hint of any pitch invasion whether it be at the end of the game or during the game the referee should have taken the players off the field.

"The Villa should have put a tannoy announcement on immediately saying: ‘If there’s any further incursion the game will be stopped’.

“The referee is culpable in that as soon as he saw people coming onto the pitch, and it happened after both goals and in stoppage time, he should have taken the teams off.

“We get the Villa fans now saying it was down to exuberance and excitement and I appreciate that entirely.

“There should have been enough stewards to prevent people from coming on and endangering the safety of both sets of players.

“Only when both sets of players and the referee had left the pitch should the Villa supporters have been allowed to celebrate. That would have been fair enough.

“The point is that Villa mishandled the whole affair. Everybody is talking about who threw what at whom. It is reprehensible from both sides of fans.

“Everybody is going on about who is to blame but at the end of the day day if you have a fizzy bottle of pop you have got to put the right top on it.

“The right top on Saturday would have been a 12 midday kick-off and all the Albion fans in the same stand.”

Homer continued: “I didn’t see seats being thrown because I was too far away. It’s obvious from reports - neutral and otherwise - that seats were thrown.

"That’s reprehensible and abhorrent and shouldn’t have happened but what we have to look at is the causation of it all because we can go on all day about whose fault it was, and who threw what at whom.

“The fact is if the Albion fans had been in the Lower Tier of the North Stand it wouldn’t have happened. It gave the opportunity for some of our idiots.

“In the same breath as talking about Villa’s fans being excited and overjoyed at beating us twice in a week and getting through to a semi-final then you have to understand the angst and anger of the Albion supporters and some of them took it too far.

"We are being expected on one hand to understand the exuberance of the Villa fans whilst on the other hand we are being condemned.”

Homer was in an executive box in the Doug Ellis Lower.

“From where I was sitting it was easy to see who was carrying the flares in the Lower Tier because they were illuminating their faces.

"Neither the stewards nor the police went in. But once again we are getting embroiled in the: ‘who did what to who and why?’.

"It all goes back to the organisation and planning of the game: the kick off time and the Albion fans being split between the North and Doug Ellis Stands.

“I heard Villa wanted to break up a ‘bank of noise’ but they have endangered spectators from both sides in placing Villa fans there.

Homer says trouble before the game led to plenty of Albion fans missing the kick-off: “I believe there was a lot of trouble before the game and I believe there was trouble after the match.

“The Witton Road is not that wide. Two banks of police blocking off the Villa fans as the Albion fans leave the North Stand... easy, peasy.

“Some of the fans on the coaches didn’t get into the ground until ten minutes had been played because they were held up here, there and everywhere.

"Villa fans were circling the Albion buses and throwing stuff at them and banging on the doors. I know that because my wife was on one of the coaches and I’ve spoken to another chap who was on another coach.”

Homer also wanted to thank the Villa fans who took the trouble to pay their respect to the Justice for Jeff Astle campaign.

“I’d like to thank the Villa fans who supported the minute’s applause. That was admirable. I could see people standing and applauding.
[
"We should thank the sane and sensible fans amongst the Villa fans for that tribute.”

http://www.birminghammail.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/john-homer-west-broms-clash-8801190

"We can go on all day about whose fault it was" - followed by a long whine telling us it was our fault.

If our fans were excited about winning, we have to understand theirs getting so upset they reacted by throwing seats?

"I heard Villa wanted to avoid a wall of noise" so they seperated the fans. I heard they were doing what they do for every cup match.

[Stu]

Ah yes. We've all been there - so angry that we've kicked a seat off its hinges and then thrown it indiscriminately into an unsuspecting crowd.

[dave.woodhall]

John Homer is one of the most sensible and decent supporters of any club that I know. I'd be amazed if that's what he said in the spirit it's been reported.

[Archbishop Herbert Cockthrottle]

In keeping with the romanticism of the FA Cup, the BBC are filming the Villa Semi final in black and white. The pitch will be ploughed beforehand and all Villa supporters are to wear duffle coats and flared trousers prior to entering onto the field of play.

[Archbishop Herbert Cockthrottle]

Ah yes. We've all been there - so angry that we've kicked a seat off its hinges and then thrown it indiscriminately into an unsuspecting crowd.

If a telling off from the security forces can lead someone to behead hostages then I'm sure a couple of losses against your local rivals is justification for wanton vandalism.

[OCD]

The line about "We can go on all day about whose fault it was" strikes me as someone saying, 'I'm losing the argument, can we change the subject now?'

[usav]

Mascot Cam:

[thick_mike]

Mascot Cam:

Wow!

Wish I was seven.

[PeterWithe]

If he'd have got his wish and Albion had the whole of the North, wouldn't that have meant far less tickets for them?