Derby restrictions lifted

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Albert's Chip Shop

Albert's Chip Shop

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Taken from .com.


Bursting the bubble



Northumbria Police confirm that travel and movement restrictions on away supporters heading to the derby match at Gallowgate on Sunday week have now been scrapped, in a significant rethink of previous policy.

Having backed down on plans to impose "bubble match" restrictions before the last meeting of the sides at SJP in February, the opposite situation will apply this time, with only the club-run, police-escorted bus convoy arranged - and no attempt made to force fans to use it.

No "special" Metro or Northern Rail services have been timetabled, with fans instead able to board scheduled services or make their journey by alternative means.

Gone also therefore is the mass escort from the Central station - replaced by a significant police presence on walking routes to the ground as fans arrive on a more piecemeal basis than in previous seasons.

In addition to the hoped-for upturn in mood between the fans, this seems also to be a reflection of the logistical issues caused by playing the game on a festive shopping day, when thousands more non-match goers than on a usual Sunday will be in the city and on public transport.

As for post-match though, the sheer number of fans in close proximity make it inevitable that closer policing will be required - with the numbers who return on the Metro varying greatly in past years depending on the result.

Chief Supt Steve Neill:

"The fans want the passion of the derby but some of the things that have happened in previous years now need to be consigned to history. The disorder of 2013 reflected badly on everybody concerned.....we are not going out on some sort of battle footing."
 
Recipe for disaster. I congratulate each and every one of the mackems who were heart fully sorry over the deaths of Sweeney and Alder and contributed to the fund. I have a lot of red and whites who are good friends. Do the Northumbrian police think it will be your average sunderland fan walking up from the station? Will it ****. It'll be the arseholes from both sides wanting to kill eachother and don't mind who gets hurt in the process.

I hope to God I'm wrong, but I can see this going very badly.
 
Somebodys pinched my sombrero said:
Recipe for disaster. I congratulate each and every one of the mackems who were heart fully sorry over the deaths of Sweeney and Alder and contributed to the fund. I have a lot of red and whites who are good friends. Do the Northumbrian police think it will be your average sunderland fan walking up from the station? Will it ****. It'll be the arseholes from both sides wanting to kill eachother and don't mind who gets hurt in the process.

I hope to God I'm wrong, but I can see this going very badly.
Click to expand...

One of those situations where the norm is to plan for the worst and hope for the best, with all the extra people in the city centre on the last Sunday before Christmas this is one of those derby matches where you feel there should be tight policing, seems to be a bit of a strange one that they have decided to relax it so much, can only hope that there aren't any major incidents and everyone gets home safe.
 
Unfortunately I can see this ending in tears. The arseholes from both sides will still be hell bent on causing bother.
I'm afraid these t**ts will not give a second thought to the goodwill built up between the two sets of supporters over the magnificent gesture of the Sunderland lads regarding the fund.
 
Lunacy - There will be trouble as the arseholes from both sides will be out in force.

If the Police are letting Sunderland fans travel in on the Metro then that is going to be trouble!
 
You actually couldn't make this up. Not that violence would be the fault of anyone other than the perpetrators, but Northumbria Police need to hope innocent families, kids, shoppers and any other by-standers aren't caught up in the probably breakouts. If they are, the police have to take blame.

Police aren't just there to stop fights between the supporters, they are there to protect the public. I will be at the game and will be on my best behavior, as always. I remember after the 5-1 getting on the bus towards Gateshead and the bus being attacked and we were almost dragged off the bus, by our OWN fans I believe! (although the term 'fans' must be used loosely). There were fans on top of the bus trying to get on it. There were police in riot vans less than 20 meters away taking no action.

I hope we're just being negative here but I'm afraid I don't trust our own or Sunderland fans not to take advantage of this and have a go.
 
Expect a fallout and for it make the national news. Northumbria Police will then blame all fans from both sides for the trouble to deflect the blame.
 
Sounds like a free for all. Obviously they had their end knocked re: the bubble plus there are other side issues away from football with cuts. If its a case of saying "told you so" I'm not sure thats the way to go. There will be innocents who get caught in it (xmas shoppers etc). I don't consider any fan who chooses to ravel in this way as innocent, because you'd have to a moron to think this will end well. Any Newcastle or Sunderland fans who put themselves in the mix don't deserve sympathy.

I'm with BTK. Expect the worst hope for the best. I have had a quick look on some well known idiot forums, people are already relishing the opportunity to make an arse of themselves. Not many of those actually entering the ground to support the team are ever involved in the disturbances. Its the numbskulls.
 
It's only so they can say I told you so over the kick off times row. They're inviting trouble if you ask me. If somebody is seriously hurt or god forbid is killed then Northumbria Police will have blood on their hands as far as I'm concerned.
 
Totally agree that this is the police being irresponsible. It is almost like they want trouble so that they can turn around and say 'we told you so.' If this is the case then they are acting like spiled children and any trouble should bring serious punishment for the people within the police who made this decision.

There is a lot of respect between the fan groups over the way Sunderland responded to the deaths of our two fans on MH17. The problem is we all know that it is not football fans who will cause the trouble. Just as the vast majority of those arrested last time had not been to the game the same will happen this time. It will be dickheads waiting to cause trouble who couldn't give a flying **** about Newcastle or Sunderland.

To this on a day when the town will be full of families and children beggers belief.
 
The Lunatics Have Finally Taken Over The Asylum

When it all goes s***. the Fans will blame Northumbria Police, who in turn will blame the fans.

Various Fans Groups from both sides have got what they wanted.
Personally, I think some of them live in a Sugar Coated World, full of Fairies and Santa Claus.

Should be interesting on the Metro, SAFC fans on Normal Trains, running through the Toon Heartland of Gateshead, with fans trying to push there way onto already full trains. There seems to be some sort of view that Mackems will get off at the Central. Actually every chance that many fans will go onto Monument and Haymarket - another couple of flashpoints brewing.

Of course, knackers like me might be wrong and Santa Claus may really exist.
 
Longleat Safari Park have applauded Northumbria Police's new enlighted view to Policing of the Tyne, Wear Derby and in a show of solidarity have made the Lion and Tigers enclosures pedestrian only, in a statement a Park Spokesperson said "We saw how Northumbria Police were encouring wild animals to interact with the general public and thought this would be a wonderful opportunity to try this ourselves, of course if there are any problems we will be using CCTV to ensure we get all the evidence needed before mopping up the blood".
 
This has the makings of the police making a point, sadly they have gone about in a reckless way. The bubble was the correct decision but the football clubs wouldn't accept it. The away fans walking about to the ground together was causing a lot of problems. Don't think anyone wants to see fans get banned.
Hope all away fans in the future do the sensible thing and get the buses put on offer (which are free for Sunderland fans).
 
I have visions of running battles up St James' Boulevard. This could be very messy. That said there will probably be as many police as normal, they just will line the route rather than doing that human shield thing they do.

If I were a Mackem, though, I think I'd opt for getting an official bus rather than trying to run the gauntlet from Central Station. There will be people hurt as a consequence of this decision and I fear what people have said is true and that the Police are doing this to create 'evidence' for their own agenda.
 
General Lee Speaking said:
I have visions of running battles up St James' Boulevard. This could be very messy. That said there will probably be as many police as normal, they just will line the route rather than doing that human shield thing they do.

If I were a Mackem, though, I think I'd opt for getting an official bus rather than trying to run the gauntlet from Central Station. There will be people hurt as a consequence of this decision and I fear what people have said is true and that the Police are doing this to create 'evidence' for their own agenda.
Click to expand...

THEIR OWN AGENDA. Yes trying to make people get the bus so there is less chance of trouble. More trouble has been caused by the visiting fans getting police escorted to the ground.
I agree the mackems should be going through on the bus and this will probably see more of them getting the bus.
 
The more you hear and read, this just looks shear folly at best.

Now, it appears that we have Mackems attempting too arrange getting here early in large groups, taking over pubs, presumably getting tanked up. You can't tell that isn't confrontational.
 
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