Markoasis Posted August 31, 2008 Author Share Posted August 31, 2008 Aside from the lad being flung about by the steward that is what angered me most. The back few rows after the incident remained stood up, yet not one of the stewards dared to venture back up again. Plenty of older, taller lads stood up but none challenged. Strange eh. Experienced jumped up stewards on many occasions before but yesterday was just wrong. that was Diego Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
latic12345 Posted August 31, 2008 Share Posted August 31, 2008 As a Colchester fan I have to say that I am ashamed by the piss poor management of what should have been, lets be honest, a low profile game between two teams which to my knowledge have had no major disagreements in the past. The day had the potential to be enjoyable, with some light-hearted banter between two sets of fans. Yesterday sums up to me the madness that now surrounds the policing of professional football in this country. Both during and after the game me and my mates managed to drink in the Norfolk pub and met a number of Oldham fans, enjoyed friendly conversation and managing to avoid not getting into a fight (note sarcasm.) I believe I actually met one of the group of people who put up that lad in their hotel room last night. I hope someone makes a serious complaint to our club, I know that I will be writing a letter complaining about the treatment meted out to away fans. I noted yesterday that the spineless bastards didnt try and throw you out for standing once they had angered enough people to even up the odds. At the end of the day the stewards represent both our town and the club, what sort of impression have they made. Pissed off. The flip side of that is those in the Norfolk were a credit to your club. Good banter before and after the game. Especially with the Newcastle fan getting angrier and angrier at events from the Emirates. It was a shame, and its also a shame that it became the main topic of conversation after the game when we should have been talking about what ended up being a decent game of football. I think it's great that everyone is rallying round and complaints are being made. I would hope that a copy of the CCTV is received by all parties involved so they can make the correct decision and act in their best interests. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RoytonBlueLad Posted August 31, 2008 Share Posted August 31, 2008 that was Diego I was one of them Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LaticsLee Posted August 31, 2008 Share Posted August 31, 2008 Hi People, Thank You All So Much For All the Support. My Parents Said They Are Definatly Taking It Further, And If Anyone Has Any Pictures Videos Please Send them Me By E-Mail At ThisGuyLeeC@live.co.uk Thanks Alot Lags For The Lift Down there And A Massive Thanks To Rich And The Boys For Letting Me Stay The Lot Note: THIS WILL NOT STOP ME FROM GOING TO TRANMERE ON SATURDAY Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carling Posted August 31, 2008 Share Posted August 31, 2008 (edited) I was one of them So I have set up shop here for the week so I am going to add my two pennys worth. 1. After travelling away on my own from the age of 14 too my grand old age of 21 now I have noticed a direct change in stewards man management of myself i.e. now I am a lot bigger they tend to go about there job with a bit more well manners. I think we can all relate to this statement, most snide stewards are just that, snide and will wil only get mouthy or aggressive with the younger fans. 2. If 5 lads are standing up the stewards will be bouncing about trying to stamp there "authority" on the fans by telling them to sit down, as soon as you get a group of 20 or more lads standing up they realise that annoying them might just be more hassle than its worth. 3. I know the laws of football grounds and I know I have been in the wrong in the past, there normally isnt smoke without fire and whilst having a nice word with them is the best policy, arguing with them will get you no where what so ever except for being chucked out the ground. Follow these three simple steps and you should be fine if not just smash the place up To the lad involved, I aint saying you were out of order anything and I am glad to see it hasn't put you off coming to PP. Edited August 31, 2008 by Carling Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Diego_Sideburns Posted August 31, 2008 Share Posted August 31, 2008 that was Diego Everything is comparative, but I'd never thought of myself as "taller". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest oa_exile Posted August 31, 2008 Share Posted August 31, 2008 there I'll put that typo of your posting style down to trauma Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oafc88 Posted August 31, 2008 Share Posted August 31, 2008 (edited) I know others have put there versions, i just feel il add mine to support, just in case any higher powers or whoever from our club are reading this and need to see how wrong those stewards were by the number of reactions seen on here. From were i was sat basically a couple of seats away, the stewards made there way up to tell this lad to come away. The lad after already being stood (dunno how long he was, id just turned around), tried sitting down (as any would do to try make the stwerads change there minds) yet the stewards came up, and fair play to the lad, he didnt put up any fight and didnt seem to want to cause a nusciance and started going. Then we score, which distracts me from the walk down the stairs. Straight after a quick celebration, i look back to see him still seemingly not resisting being thrown out when all of a sudden, the steward started to become way to aggresive seeming to start to frog march, as such, him out im guessing that the lad might of celebrated the goal goin in yet this was no excuse to start pinning him up against chairs then bringing him round to pin him over the advertising boards, to a lad who was willing to leave anyway, i doubt he would of changed his mind at the bottom of the steps to suddenly start resisting, and didnt seem the kind to do so due to the nature in which he started to leave with no trouble. Que the latics fans near him to run down the steps and argue over the lad being chucked out, and were well in their rights to do so for me, even if some got a bit aggressive as that is what will happen when a near enough assault on a 17 year old lad takes place. I dont care if its all brand new to them, that steward was on a power trip and felt big enough to do what he did, while the rest didnt seem to care and stood by and watched, for me you dont need training to know not to do that. From what ive read, it seems the lad just wants to let it be so fair enough, maybe he didnt feel as manhandled as it looked maybe not, but i feel a bit of injustice here if that steward gets away with this and this lad has some sort of caution and would like to see some form of justice (then again grabbing that late point did wierdly feel like some justice). Just my view, felt i should air it. Rant over lol edit: then again maybe he does just read his post, good on you lad, hope something comes of it Edited August 31, 2008 by Oafc88 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Diego_Sideburns Posted August 31, 2008 Share Posted August 31, 2008 As a Colchester fan I have to say that I am ashamed by the piss poor management of what should have been, lets be honest, a low profile game between two teams which to my knowledge have had no major disagreements in the past. The day had the potential to be enjoyable, with some light-hearted banter between two sets of fans. Yesterday sums up to me the madness that now surrounds the policing of professional football in this country. Both during and after the game me and my mates managed to drink in the Norfolk pub and met a number of Oldham fans, enjoyed friendly conversation and managing to avoid not getting into a fight (note sarcasm.) I believe I actually met one of the group of people who put up that lad in their hotel room last night. I hope someone makes a serious complaint to our club, I know that I will be writing a letter complaining about the treatment meted out to away fans. I noted yesterday that the spineless bastards didnt try and throw you out for standing once they had angered enough people to even up the odds. At the end of the day the stewards represent both our town and the club, what sort of impression have they made. Pissed off. Thanks for your view on the situation. Without quoting your user name, I'll refer to your comments in my letter to CUFC. I appreciate that the stewards are not likely to be Cochester fans - possibly shared with Ipswich, through an agency. Normally stewards don't watch the match. However, you might like to watch the ITV coverage of the goals from yesterday. When Colcheter's second goal went in, the three stewards behind that goal turn away in disgust,. Although it looks quite amusing to me it's not flattering to CUFC to see their agents expressing their dislike of the club in that way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Markoasis Posted August 31, 2008 Author Share Posted August 31, 2008 Hi People, Thank You All So Much For All the Support. My Parents Said They Are Definatly Taking It Further, And If Anyone Has Any Pictures Videos Please Send them Me By E-Mail At ThisGuyLeeC@live.co.uk Thanks Alot Lags For The Lift Down there And A Massive Thanks To Rich And The Boys For Letting Me Stay The Lot Note: THIS WILL NOT STOP ME FROM GOING TO TRANMERE ON SATURDAY you may want them to PM you first so you don't have to leave you email up Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oafcprozac Posted August 31, 2008 Share Posted August 31, 2008 Hi People, Thank You All So Much For All the Support. My Parents Said They Are Definatly Taking It Further, And If Anyone Has Any Pictures Videos Please Send them Me By E-Mail At ThisGuyLeeC@live.co.uk Thanks Alot Lags For The Lift Down there And A Massive Thanks To Rich And The Boys For Letting Me Stay The Lot Note: THIS WILL NOT STOP ME FROM GOING TO TRANMERE ON SATURDAY Lee's Saturday in Colchester with me, Wardle, Punkster and Mark................ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LaticsLee Posted August 31, 2008 Share Posted August 31, 2008 Lee's Saturday in Colchester with me, Wardle, Punkster and Mark................ Couldnt Put It Any Other Way Lmao Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnny punkster Posted August 31, 2008 Share Posted August 31, 2008 Lee's Saturday in Colchester with me, Wardle, Punkster and Mark................ you missed out !!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oafcprozac Posted August 31, 2008 Share Posted August 31, 2008 you missed out !!! Nah mate, that was just you in the 'Bull' LMAO! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CatkinCUFC Posted August 31, 2008 Share Posted August 31, 2008 Dear Sir or Madam, I am writing to you to express my displeasure at the standard of the stewarding experienced by away fans at the WHCS on Saturday. I completely understand that you are bound by the model regulations produced by the Premier and Football leagues. It is undoubtedly an offence to stand whilst in the stadium, and those entering the ground accept that they can be ejected if they persistently stand. It is not the rules themselves that I have a problem with, but the manner in which they are enforced. I was unfortunate enough to witness the events that occurred in the second half in which a young Oldham fan was ejected for standing. As he was being removed his club scored, so understandably he celebrated the goal. I fail to see why this action justified him being dragged from the ground, after being pinned against a railing. It seems that Colchester United have failed entirely to heed the lessons that have been learnt in policing and stewarding techniques since Euro 2000, as summed up by research or Dr Clifford Stott of Liverpool University. To sum up, he argues that crowd mentality is easily influenced, and normally peaceful people can be easily angered and provoked to act in an unnatural way. Emotions are contagious, and a perceived sense of injustice can spread rapidly. The Portuguese and German police and stewards took crowd mentality into account when managing the 2004 European Championships and the 2006 World Cup, and began to take a number of steps to counter this. Essentially, they determined that, while a police presence should be maintained in order to allow a rapid reaction to serious problems, stewarding and policing should on the whole be low-key, allowing fans to self-police themselves. In pinning a single, 17 year old man against a railing and forcefully dragging him out of the ground, the stewards provoked a contagious sense of injustice amongst the Oldham fans. No-one at the ground yesterday could have failed to see the widespread anger that was caused amongst the away fans. I understand that teething problems will occur with the stewarding at the WHCS, but surely the club needs the review the instructions given to stewards. Gradually coaxing someone who had travelled 400 miles to Colchester out of the ground would have seen little or no disorder – however the heavy handed techniques used turned a peaceful situation into one with the potential for violence. I hope you can see the irony in the fact that ejecting one fan for standing led to some 100 fans standing at the back of the South Stand hurling abuse at the stewards. The whole point of stewarding is to nip trouble in the bud and contain it, not cause the trouble in the first place! This leads me onto the second problem caused by manner in which away fans are treated. At the end of the day, the club and its staff represent our town. As I was told on a course recently, one person who has had a bad experience will in turn tell an average of seven people how bad the service they received was. This means that the 400 odd Oldham fans will tell just under 3000 people how disappointing their experience was at the WHCS and in Colchester in general. This information will not just be passed on to Oldham fans, many of whom will now not visit next year, but will also be passed on to fans of other teams, through mediums such as internet forums and word of mouth. It would not take long for the reputation of the WHCS as a bad place to visit to spread. A fall of even 1000 away fans (approx 40 per game) spread over a season would represent nearly £20,000 in lost income, a not insignificant amount (Not including the loss in sales of sundries such as food, drink, programmes and car parking). I would like to think that the club does not want to commit commercial suicide by driving away customers with a poor quality of customer service (yes, football fans do represent customers, even away fans!). Comments such as the following sum up the reputation, of OUR club at the moment – taken from the official Oldham fans message board. • ‘So basically you turned fans with an average of 40 who just wanted to enjoy the game into a group of pumped up angry men who wanted to attack the stewards. At the end of the game all stewards didnt say a word and got a hell of a lot of abuse of me and most other fans leaving the stand. Well done Colchester on your plastic ground,ticket problems and shockingly poor stewards - Last time I'll be going there!’ • ‘As we left our section at the end, we made it perfectly clear what we thought of the stewarding and the way in which it had tarnished the image of Colchester United. We also said that we would be taking the matter further.’ • ‘The removal of fans for standing up was just shocking.... from as soon as I got into the ground the number of stewards was way over the top, everywhere you looked they were there just watching.’ • ‘The stewards asked fans to sit down a few minutes into the game and we all did. Nobody was stood up again for any significate period of time..... I added that I did understand that they are all still being trained (don't think he liked that) but they better learn how to control themselves because if they acted like that against Millwall they'd have a riot on your hands. There was zero chance of any trouble from Latics fans today, yet they still managed to find some.’ • ‘They will rarely have a better behaved away crowd all season, but they somehow managed to create an inflammatory situation. If he was thrown out for persistant standing, the end result of the stewards' actions was that many Latics fans stood for the remainder of the game, with similar numbers then standing in the Colchester end.’ • ‘crap stadium crap fans crap stewards crap run club.’ • ‘To the stewards, well done on turning a fun, mild mannered, banterous atmosphere into a stand off. It's interesting that you picked on a lad who seemed to be 17 / 18 and none of the bigger guys who had been standing as much if not more (though never persistent and on the back rows!!). I wonder why that was? You certainly are going to have fun when Leeds / Millwall are in town. Good luck’’ Many Thanks for taking the time for listening to what is intended to be purely constructive criticism, nothing more. Yours Sincerely Edward Aitken I intend to send this letter to the club, i assume its ok for me to use the quotes from people on here? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oafc88 Posted August 31, 2008 Share Posted August 31, 2008 Excellent letter, well written Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
singe Posted August 31, 2008 Share Posted August 31, 2008 (edited) Dear Sir or Madam, I am writing to you to express my displeasure at the standard of the stewarding experienced by away fans at the WHCS on Saturday. I completely understand that you are bound by the model regulations produced by the Premier and Football leagues. It is undoubtedly an offence to stand whilst in the stadium, and those entering the ground accept that they can be ejected if they persistently stand. It is not the rules themselves that I have a problem with, but the manner in which they are enforced. I was unfortunate enough to witness the events that occurred in the second half in which a young Oldham fan was ejected for standing. As he was being removed his club scored, so understandably he celebrated the goal. I fail to see why this action justified him being dragged from the ground, after being pinned against a railing. It seems that Colchester United have failed entirely to heed the lessons that have been learnt in policing and stewarding techniques since Euro 2000, as summed up by research or Dr Clifford Stott of Liverpool University. To sum up, he argues that crowd mentality is easily influenced, and normally peaceful people can be easily angered and provoked to act in an unnatural way. Emotions are contagious, and a perceived sense of injustice can spread rapidly. The Portuguese and German police and stewards took crowd mentality into account when managing the 2004 European Championships and the 2006 World Cup, and began to take a number of steps to counter this. Essentially, they determined that, while a police presence should be maintained in order to allow a rapid reaction to serious problems, stewarding and policing should on the whole be low-key, allowing fans to self-police themselves. In pinning a single, 17 year old man against a railing and forcefully dragging him out of the ground, the stewards provoked a contagious sense of injustice amongst the Oldham fans. No-one at the ground yesterday could have failed to see the widespread anger that was caused amongst the away fans. I understand that teething problems will occur with the stewarding at the WHCS, but surely the club needs the review the instructions given to stewards. Gradually coaxing someone who had travelled 400 miles to Colchester out of the ground would have seen little or no disorder – however the heavy handed techniques used turned a peaceful situation into one with the potential for violence. I hope you can see the irony in the fact that ejecting one fan for standing led to some 100 fans standing at the back of the South Stand hurling abuse at the stewards. The whole point of stewarding is to nip trouble in the bud and contain it, not cause the trouble in the first place! This leads me onto the second problem caused by manner in which away fans are treated. At the end of the day, the club and its staff represent our town. As I was told on a course recently, one person who has had a bad experience will in turn tell an average of seven people how bad the service they received was. This means that the 400 odd Oldham fans will tell just under 3000 people how disappointing their experience was at the WHCS and in Colchester in general. This information will not just be passed on to Oldham fans, many of whom will now not visit next year, but will also be passed on to fans of other teams, through mediums such as internet forums and word of mouth. It would not take long for the reputation of the WHCS as a bad place to visit to spread. A fall of even 1000 away fans (approx 40 per game) spread over a season would represent nearly £20,000 in lost income, a not insignificant amount (Not including the loss in sales of sundries such as food, drink, programmes and car parking). I would like to think that the club does not want to commit commercial suicide by driving away customers with a poor quality of customer service (yes, football fans do represent customers, even away fans!). Comments such as the following sum up the reputation, of OUR club at the moment – taken from the official Oldham fans message board. • ‘So basically you turned fans with an average of 40 who just wanted to enjoy the game into a group of pumped up angry men who wanted to attack the stewards. At the end of the game all stewards didnt say a word and got a hell of a lot of abuse of me and most other fans leaving the stand. Well done Colchester on your plastic ground,ticket problems and shockingly poor stewards - Last time I'll be going there!’ • ‘As we left our section at the end, we made it perfectly clear what we thought of the stewarding and the way in which it had tarnished the image of Colchester United. We also said that we would be taking the matter further.’ • ‘The removal of fans for standing up was just shocking.... from as soon as I got into the ground the number of stewards was way over the top, everywhere you looked they were there just watching.’ • ‘The stewards asked fans to sit down a few minutes into the game and we all did. Nobody was stood up again for any significate period of time..... I added that I did understand that they are all still being trained (don't think he liked that) but they better learn how to control themselves because if they acted like that against Millwall they'd have a riot on your hands. There was zero chance of any trouble from Latics fans today, yet they still managed to find some.’ • ‘They will rarely have a better behaved away crowd all season, but they somehow managed to create an inflammatory situation. If he was thrown out for persistant standing, the end result of the stewards' actions was that many Latics fans stood for the remainder of the game, with similar numbers then standing in the Colchester end.’ • ‘crap stadium crap fans crap stewards crap run club.’ • ‘To the stewards, well done on turning a fun, mild mannered, banterous atmosphere into a stand off. It's interesting that you picked on a lad who seemed to be 17 / 18 and none of the bigger guys who had been standing as much if not more (though never persistent and on the back rows!!). I wonder why that was? You certainly are going to have fun when Leeds / Millwall are in town. Good luck’’ Many Thanks for taking the time for listening to what is intended to be purely constructive criticism, nothing more. Yours Sincerely Edward Aitken I intend to send this letter to the club, i assume its ok for me to use the quotes from people on here? Edward, you may be interestedin adding further info on policing of grounds. I watced "Britain from Above" with Anrew Marr last week. Part of the programme focussed on the policing procedures of the Old Firm games, notorious in the past. Including quote form Senior police about how excessive force can cause serious disorder and now a muhc more softly softly approach leads to much better banter. You can see the episode entitled Untamed Britain. Britain from above Hope this helps Good luck to the lad BTW, nothing gets me going apart from an injustice Edited August 31, 2008 by singe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oafc0000 Posted August 31, 2008 Share Posted August 31, 2008 (edited) Im shocked but not surprised at what I have read on this thread... I really hope the lad involved changes his mind and fights against this clear injustice. Hope everyone who saw the incident writes to the clubs. If the police actually stood by while this kid was assulted, no matter what he had done thats not right. I would be striaght onto the police complaints authorirty. I also can not belive this kid was given a police caution... Edited August 31, 2008 by oafc0000 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Diego_Sideburns Posted August 31, 2008 Share Posted August 31, 2008 I intend to send this letter to the club, i assume its ok for me to use the quotes from people on here? Excellent letter and happy for my quotes to be used. I also watched the programme referred to by singe - you may wish to include the link to it in your letter, as it may help CUFC in future crowd management. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wardlelatic Posted August 31, 2008 Share Posted August 31, 2008 Good man ! Bet Richie was happy with the "Extra" petrol money and board on the way back as well cheeky bugger I didnt charge him a penny.. The poor lad didnt have any money on him has it was an unplanned say over ... We all clubbed together to try and take his mind off the days events, buying him a few cokes has he is only 17 By the way .. Mark did you get ID going into the Bull ???? In regards to the events at the match I'm still to angry to type what I think , but I would like to thank our GMP police liason officer for all his help in ensuring that the Essex police and match day stewards helped and respected our fans and listerned to us !!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'm so happy I pay your wages and help you travel the country while being paid a good over-time allowance !!! The farce yesterday was in a word a Joke - A Jimmy Tarbuck one and not FUNNY !! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leeslover Posted August 31, 2008 Share Posted August 31, 2008 If the police actually stood by while this kid was assulted, no matter what he had done thats not right. I would be striaght onto the police complaints authorirty. I've on that one. As Lee and his folks have decided to go through with a complaint, I've offered to share the work with them, but I am going to raise it as a concerned citizen and witness regardless. Any juicy stuff, please PM me and I'll give you the email address. PS, thanks Edward Colchester Fan. I was out the back of the Norfolk before and after the game (I was the tall guy who you didn't even notice because you were perving at Markoasis' attractive flatmate ), there was not a hint of any trouble with the fans all day. It was no shock to hear that they had thrown a load of you out the week before. At least they are impartial, they are completely arrogant and unreasonable to home fans as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Markoasis Posted August 31, 2008 Author Share Posted August 31, 2008 I've on that one. As Lee and his folks have decided to go through with a complaint, I've offered to share the work with them, but I am going to raise it as a concerned citizen and witness regardless. Any juicy stuff, please PM me and I'll give you the email address. PS, thanks Edward Colchester Fan. I was out the back of the Norfolk before and after the game (I was the tall guy who you didn't even notice because you were perving at Markoasis' attractive flatmate ), there was not a hint of any trouble with the fans all day. It was no shock to hear that they had thrown a load of you out the week before. At least they are impartial, they are completely arrogant and unreasonable to home fans as well. Christ what a first game of English Football for my innocent Aussie house mate and her loved her assesment of the crowd afterwards (she's psychology graduate so she can't help herself) .... P.S Found the concept of a Chicken Balti pie unappealing ... but loved them!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
latic12345 Posted August 31, 2008 Share Posted August 31, 2008 Great letter and more than happy for quotes to be used. A good few of the posters on this thread were in the Norfolk. Thanks to the pub for our hospitality and being able to put the OASIS flag up in the garden later on in the evening. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest oa_exile Posted August 31, 2008 Share Posted August 31, 2008 cheeky bugger I didnt charge him a penny.. The poor lad didnt have any money on him has it was an unplanned say over ... We all clubbed together to try and take his mind off the days events, buying him a few cokes has he is only 17 By the way .. Mark did you get ID going into the Bull ???? In regards to the events at the match I'm still to angry to type what I think , but I would like to thank our GMP police liason officer for all his help in ensuring that the Essex police and match day stewards helped and respected our fans and listerned to us !!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'm so happy I pay your wages and help you travel the country while being paid a good over-time allowance !!! The farce yesterday was in a word a Joke - A Jimmy Tarbuck one and not FUNNY !! *Joking apart* knowing you lads , I have no doubt that you will have looked after him Top Lads * * "GMP police liason officer" I assume you spoke to Cookey about the events ? If I can help let me know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest oa_exile Posted August 31, 2008 Share Posted August 31, 2008 Christ what a first game of English Football for my innocent Aussie house mate and her loved her assesment of the crowd afterwards (she's psychology graduate so she can't help herself) .... P.S Found the concept of a Chicken Balti pie unappealing ... but loved them!!! Will I get the chance to Letch see her ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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