Does it have to be? And what about the young/old women who want to follow football but are made to feel unsafe? Would it not be better being loud and positive and encouraging younger generations to engage rather than pushing them away if there's unsavoury elements? Have no issues with loud passionate support and doing things to encourage that, but turning a blind eye to illicit activity because 'yes they're knobheads but they make noise' is a bit meek.
Speaking from experience here in Aus where a number of Melbourne Victory supporters have been banned for life for entering the pitch and assaulting an opposition goalkeeper, after throwing flares on the pitch, which has been the culmination of the league for a number of years letting supporters groups be the tail wagging the dog due to poor crowds in the league and basically doing as steverico suggested and just letting people do what they want since 'its part of following football'. Look how that turned out. If people can't support their team in a legal and reasonable manner and channel their passion into positive energy through chanting, singing, jumping up and down, etc. then maybe they have a few screws loose that means they don't belong in a sporting stadium. Using the excuse that 'well that's just what being a supporter means' doesn't wash with me.
You know, Mr High and Mighty there’s always one dickhead who does stupid things, happened back in the day, but do you really want to ban a whole section of the fans on the basis that one tossed a smoke bomb on the car, then not seeing another two take it off.
I get what your saying, but our fans don’t sing, apart from those young uns, Tiger Travel fans sit down all day never say a word, like mute dummies unless the say, can you sit down I can’t see, whilst sat on the back row. We’re so in thrall of inclusion at football, that there’s no passion among the fans, it’s all families with kids at away games who shout the loudest when fans chant things they don’t like, and every other miserable mute ****er agrees with them
Again though, I think there's plenty of chants that can be sung without being racist/homophobic/etc. and I think saying "Ah well, it creates a bit of noise, where's the harm" isn't the way to go. I get what you're saying too but also think about parents these days taking their kids along trying to get them bit by the City bug and having flares chucked at them or agressive fans charging into them in a rush to get to the home fans or something like that. I think I saw a story on Twitter about a recent away game where a section of City support sung abusive chants at a Dad and daughter together in the home section, can't imagine that would have been pleasant for any young City girls in amongst it all.
I know conversations online tend to end up with polar opinions being laid out (even when people agree!) but surely you don’t think someone chucking a smoke canister off the middle of a road (a few feet) and it landing on a car bonnet, and another fan taking it off that bonnet and disposing of it, is going to culminate in someone going on the pitch and attacking a player?
Did I say it would? I said allowing people to do what they want in the away end because 'that's just part of following football as a man' is naff reasoning. I then cited examples of what that slippery slope can lead to. You need to put markers down of what is/isn't acceptable behaviour. The standard you walk past is the standard you accept.
We were discussing his comments about the entire away trip, which included the bar being shut for people at HT because of the actions of some of our supporters. OLM also cited the flare being thrown at a kid, so I thought it was a more general discussion about rowdy behaviour. Apologies if we were discussing one very specific incident which is still not great (why let a flare off in the street? Proper weird).
Hard to think amongst all this hysteria that City fans are well behaved compared to many. I can think of grounds fans are wary of going to but the MKM isn’t one of them despite the ridiculous articles you get in the HDM.
I haven't been to an away day this season, but I thought from watching that our fans sounds pretty loud? The away support from us has, for this season at least, been pretty good hasn't it? Is that just the young lads singing or everybody? And I don't think NJ was advocating banning all those people, just the ones that are chucking smoke bombs and stepping over the line. Like OLM said, a kid that got hit with a flare, so chucking them about is pretty daft. I like the pyro stuff and the things you see on the continent make us look tame in comparison (I was lucky enough to see Hertha Berlin play Union Berlin - now THAT's an atmosphere - https://youtube.com/clip/Ugkxa6ONnWLkd1twYoErq-vnKY34SPP4nCZg not my video but I was at that fixture, sat about a billion rows further back than this lad).
Terrible. Only City fans have ever let a smoke bomb, please note a smoke bomb is not a flare, in the open air. Have you not seen far more smoke bombs being let off all over, including protest marches,demonstrations and a host of other things with no ill effects?Or had a look on you tube of fans in Europe, Greece, German, Sweden and Eastern European ones where the whole end of a stadium is a mass of them? No one suffers or dis. I am an old bugger with a host of health problems, including COPD, but they cause me no problems. I would rather have the sort of atmosphere you see at games in the places I mentioned than the soulless, sterile atmosphere we too often have and that some would like to see even more of.
Difference between smoke bombs and flares. So, OK on the continent but don’t want any of that here? No problems with the smoke at tha game? Or aural ones? Anyone distressing young people by drinking beer?
All over Twitter they are, and that’s where the video was first shown, and your words align with them
Exactly my point, not against pyro, standing being loud and proud etc just against people acting like ****ers cause they can’t handle 4 pint.
The throwing of the smoke bombs over the heads of fans is stupid and dangerous, the kid got hit by a smoke bomb not a flare, flares are used in Europe, thankfully not here, when the bombs first started appearing the form was to spark it, and drop it in front of you, no one knew who did it, and I agree no chucking them through the air.
