Stimpy 0 Posted September 1, 2010 Author Share Posted September 1, 2010 No, I don't expect people to stay sober, I myself had a few beers despite having one of my hardest finals at strathclyde uni the next day at 9.30, but I saw people walking around at 10 in the morning with crates of 24... each!! I think that rangers fans get far too hard a time for all this, but I still find that sort of behaviour embarrassing, no matter who the group is. Maybe I'm just a bit of a snob, but I do sometimes feel ashamed to be associated with certain fans, will never stop me loving rangers, but will maybe mean I avoid certain situation with certain fans... As much b.s. as it is, this is all the club are doing, to save us the fans and the club any embarrassment and potential ramifications... It's not as if we don't have people waiting to stick the knife in! All good points and none of them point to you being a snob. However, and I'm not sure of the exact amount of games, but we have played more Euro games in our history than most of our rivals - mostly without incident! Villireal, Ososuna, Romania and Manchester are all relatively recent events and apart from Romania, each location never prepared sufficiently or they did not have the infrastructure to handle a large travelling support. Romania can be placed in the bracket of being incompetent arseholes who never listened to our Club's fears when they looked at the ground. Their stewards incited the trouble and the travelling bears acted in a human like way - they defended themselves! We do have morons within or support but we have no-more or less than our peers. I don't think GMP is trying to prevent trouble, they're trying embarrass us because of what went on in 2008 and because it helps deflect their own misgivings. Our fans have 40+ years of following the club across Europe and I don't recall our fans ever being treated like animals. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frankie 8,187 Posted September 1, 2010 Share Posted September 1, 2010 (edited) As Johnny will attest, after arriving by train from Widnes where we were staying, we spent most of the afternoon outside the Piccadilly Gardens where much fun was had with the locals, fellow bears, opposition fans, and fans of other clubs who also wanted to attend the party - as well as police officers who were extremely inconspicuous. We didn't gain entry to the Gardens themselves as it was deemed too busy - which it clearly was - so stood outside a pub right next to it which was excellent. As the day went on and the sun stayed out, more and more people were feeling the effects of the drink but the mood was still superb and the 3 of us who had tickets decided to walk to the stadium (about 30-45mins) instead of taking the free bus due to not enough buses being put on and the glorious weather/atmosphere. We left one mate behind as he didn't have a ticket. Obviously during the game we had no idea of the trouble that had started because of the broken/turned off screens back at Piccadilly. As such, disappointed but still in the mood for a few drinks, we started the walk back into the city centre; again in good weather (though starting to get cold) in the company of thousands of bears in a similar mood. The party atmosphere had subsided somewhat but there were absolutely no signs of trouble until we reached the city centre. We hadn't heard from our mate at Piccadilly because nobody's mobile was working throughout most of the day because of the huge numbers of people. At no point were the police attempting to move approaching people away from the centre or make them aware of issues. Our first inkling that something had happened was when we reached the centre and various police vehicles left an area set aside for them in a retail park - almost knocking over the walking bears in their haste. As we walked closer to Piccaddily, we could hear a less friendly atmosphere and at the end of the street noticed the police had blocked an area while some fans warned us of the bother ahead. Concerned for our mate, we continued on along this long street (don't know its name) towards our initial location at the Gardens where we had arranged to meet and had spoken to a bouncer to gain us entry to the pub we had enjoyed during the day. Because of the blockade (there must have been 50-100 max fans being contained by police), we walked round the block in behind the 'trouble' (mainly people shouting at the police and a few bottles being thrown) back to the square which was incredibly completely dark and empty apart from my mate. Eerie when compared to the thousands there earlier. All the pubs in this area had been closed but away from the very small locus of trouble, others were open as normal and there was no indication of bother whatsoever. Again, no police were around to organise confused bears. We decided it would be best to head back to Widnes by train and just get a drink there but unbelievably all trains had been cancelled and 3 buses put on instead - no idea how people going South or back to Glasgow where to get home; football fans or not. As time went on more and more people became aware of the transport issues and the number of people wanting to use these 3 buses (single deckers - so around 150 seats in total) must have been several thousand. Nonetheless people were largely polite and patient. However, again there were no police and only one steward for the group of people which now huge and unprepared. Because of the queues and no taxis being available we took the risk to walk away from the centre towards Widnes to try and get transport. Luckily we managed to secure a taxi a couple of miles away but had to pay well over the odds for the journey. I'd imagine the account above is fairly typical of most fans' day. Beforehand, the city was busy and, while the facilities too small and struggling to be manageable, there was no sign whatsoever of trouble. Afterwards, yes there was trouble but it was minimal and the police reaction disorganised and unhelpful. Manchester was one of the greatest days of my life and no number of biased accounts from mischief makers will change that. However, I sincerely hope lessons were learned from all concerned - not least Greater Manchester Police. Edited September 1, 2010 by Frankie 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stimpy 0 Posted September 1, 2010 Author Share Posted September 1, 2010 Is that your account of the day, Frankie? 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frankie 8,187 Posted September 1, 2010 Share Posted September 1, 2010 Is that your account of the day, Frankie? Indeed it is mate. Should add, the drive down in the early morning was also fantastic. Never has the M6 been so enjoyable! 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stimpy 0 Posted September 1, 2010 Author Share Posted September 1, 2010 Indeed it is mate. Should add, the drive down in the early morning was also fantastic. Never has the M6 been so enjoyable! Very good mate. Rangers Football Club supporting England's world cup bid? 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frankie 8,187 Posted September 1, 2010 Share Posted September 1, 2010 Rangers Football Club supporting England's world cup bid? You've lost me? 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bluedell 5,356 Posted September 1, 2010 Share Posted September 1, 2010 I don't think GMP is trying to prevent trouble, they're trying embarrass us because of what went on in 2008 and because it helps deflect their own misgivings. Our fans have 40+ years of following the club across Europe and I don't recall our fans ever being treated like animals. The GMP know they cocked up but have blackmailed the club with the threat of releasing more alleged incidents that happened, to ensure that the club don't come out and be overly critical of them. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnnyk 158 Posted September 1, 2010 Share Posted September 1, 2010 Excellently put Frankie, it was a great day, result aside, and one I will always remember....... 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stimpy 0 Posted September 1, 2010 Author Share Posted September 1, 2010 You've lost me? One very influential football organisation will be watching events in Manchester very closely with GMP telling them how they can prepare and deal with a bunch of angry bears! The aftermath of Manchester 2008 had GMP, EFA and The Government talking up the response by GMP and that it was handled well. IMO, we're being used as an example to support the bid and the club hasn't got the foresight to to realise this. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stimpy 0 Posted September 1, 2010 Author Share Posted September 1, 2010 The GMP know they cocked up but have blackmailed the club with the threat of releasing more alleged incidents that happened, to ensure that the club don't come out and be overly critical of them. Probably, mate. The club could quite easily come out and tell the world how poorly the city prepared and give examples. :box: 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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