Enemy fans?.Hopefully our stewards and plod aren't reading your post,you'll be under suspicion for inviting/encouraging an affray I don't see them as any sort of enemy,they're working class people travelling to a different Town/City to support their chosen Football Team,O.K,you've got your Leeds Utd and Millwall thugs but generally these away supporters are having a day out,as we do. The issues I've had were South Stand so no to that and in answer to your other point regarding away stewards being regimented,suspicious and aggressive,no again.
It's surely a sad state of affairs if we have to look to Acun to sort it? As UP says, would love for us to have a song (or two) like that - maybe not that same one but something that is ours. Nearly 120 years on and we still don't have an anthem (no, please, nobody say it). Rovers and FC prove it's not a Hull (& ER) thing, meaning it can be done. We need our own song. No idea anymore how to sort it. One more thing. The club moved the seats around once again to try to help create a singing area and a better atmosphere by giving us back a big part of the North Stand. Surely anyone going in North Stand should be doing so with the intention of singing? That bit is surely a no brainer. If you aren't going to join in then go sit somewhere else. Maybe the club make it even clearer, but do they really have to? Still think something could be made of 'Transit Van From 'ull', but whatever, we need something.
Most overzealous stewarding I’ve ever encountered was at Portsmouth and the worst policing at Barnsley. The most farcical policing was at Hearts, we came out the ground and there were about a hundred coppers blocking the road. I could see my car parked a hundred yards away, but they made us walk the opposite way right round the ground to get to it. It was a pre-season friendly ffs.
I have friends who would love to go to MKM who are the get behind the team and sing brigade, but North Stand is sold out (great thing of course). Its part of their (and my) enjoyment of the game, the experience), but just go to away matches where the atmosphere is 1000% improved on MKM.
I remember going to York in the early 80’s, think it might have been the promotion season from the old 4th division. After the match the police herded us down a side street right into an ambush. Suddenly bottles were raining down on us from a railway footbridge and we were so hemmed in that you could barely get your hands up to protect your head!
Yeah we had all sorts thrown at us in that little town street, straight after the police threatened us with a water cannon for no reason.
4 of us were sat in the last seats in the SW corner against Nantes preseason for a bit of extra legroom. Some “senior” steward(about15 years old) tells an older steward (about 75 years old) to tell us to move more towards the West stand. Us 4 being between 50 and 65 ignored the silly old sod but a couple of lads did move. The old lad looked terrified and shuffled off. Pathetic really.
Same at Lincoln every visit, the coppers herded us down an alley alongside the canal then disappeared leaving us surrounded by an ambush.
SYP did that to me at Hillsborough. We weee parked the opposite side of the ground, they let my dad through the cordon then stopped me and made me walk to the train station.
Lincoln away 1978/79 (I think) City Psycho's double decker bus to the ground. Sincil Bank was crumbling underfoot and the Lincoln fans enjoyed throwing handfuls of concrete at us. Lost 4-2. Bus sets off home - someone chucks a can out of the window of the top floor of the bus - the whole bus is arrested! Local Plod enjoy reminding us of the score before letting the bus go -we get home around midnight.
This is my experience too. I don’t think I’ve ever had an encounter with a steward or copper in the 21 years the stadium has been open. We once had a gobby racist (complete with his six year old child, remarkably) who bought a seat near where my group sit. He was vacating his seat voluntarily within ten minutes of kick off, no stewards required. It must be the case that stewarding is more intrusive in certain parts of the ground.
