Whilst I don't agree with the simply scandalous decision of west Yorkshire police, they have been put into this sort of position by sky who click their fingers and don't give a flying **** about us fans.
Sky haven't put them in any position what so ever. How many games do Sky broadcast at that time around the country over the course of a season? How many result in bubblewrapping? (the term used for the travel arrangements)
WYP are the ones to blame not sky. imo WYP should just have said that IF you want the game Live on the TV then you have to show it at 12.30pm SIMPLES. WYP are totally inept and how that Ged McManus has become a Supt beggars belief. No wonder crime WYP are thought of as they are.
well if hardly anyone shows up and gate receipts are down... the clubs wont want the WYP involved anymore... could the clubs sue for loss of earnings?
Police are to blame, not Sky. If they didn't give a **** about fans, they probably wouldn't show anybody else other than the top 5 every week.
I think the problem is they have no choice. The police forces charge crazy money for what they do and the clubs are obliged to pay it.
I hate what Sky stand for but I dont blame there here. Far, FAR bigger clubs with more intense rivalries than us and Udders (what rivalry?) manage to play evening and night games without these Draconian measures from Old Bill. Do Liverpool and Man Utd do this ridiculous ticket on a coach malarkey? Or what about CL match when thousands of Turks, Dutch or whoever come over?
Just found this interesting article http://www.examiner.co.uk/news/local-west-yorkshire-news/2013/02/21/86081-32850056/
This whole situation was started by Leeds, who refused to pay for the extra policing required outside of the ground. WYP simply had to start imposing restrictions based on a simple formula, previous violence + cost of policing. If the costs can be estimated to be more than the normal requirement of duty personnel, the club face restrictions. There is an alternative. The two clubs pay for extra policing, but neither club wants too as the ticket prices will not cover the cost. It's a lose lose situation for the fans, a win win for the WYP and a neutral result for the clubs. What will Huddersfield actually gain from more ticket sales if the policing costs them more. This post may come across as siding with the Police. I am not. The police are acting like a security firm, they are not a commercial enterprise,. This argument is not about the fans or disorder, it is about who pays. The principle is wrong as is the method employed to counter it. WYP should budget their resources to meet the regular needs of policing local football. They need more money, but it should come from the public purse and not the clubs. The clubs have a responsibility too. My suggestion will not help this match but could help in the future. We need a force of special community police officers, who are funded by the clubs.
Even if technically correct - and I doubt very much Udders would make this up - there is no way in a million years that Sky wouldve gone through with a points deduction. Nearly every sane fan in the football world would cancel a subscription out of protest at the idea of a TV company potentially relegating a team. Smoke and mirrors by Udders and WYP methinks.
In much the same way as Brady & Geraughty got their roles at HCC I would guess, after all they come across as being from the same mould!
So West Yorkshire Police are worried that the Hull City supporters are going to get drunk. If so then the only people breaking the law would be the pub landlords who are serving them when they've already had enough. As they obviously don't care about either individuals (travel restrictions) or businesses (Huddersfield town reduced income) why don't they simply prevent the drunkenness by closing all the pubs and off licenses in Huddersfield on Saturday ?
None of that crap is necessary, It is their job to police the game with minimal disruption. They should be able to control a stadium of non-hooligans some of whom might have had a drink. There really shouldn't be any risk of danger and if there is, the police simply aren't good enough at their jobs.
Should we also call for a boycott of any Sky money if we're promoted? This issue isn't Sky, it's WYP.
What you miss is the justification for the number of Police required. If they could prove they needed the extra officers (which I doubt) any additional expense by the Police should have been accounted for in all the other games where they charged the earth for Officers that weren't needed. Have a look at the North Stand next game. There'll be at least a dozen officers stood in a huddle watching the game. There'll be two in each vomitary, even though they've not been called into action in 10 years.
As I said in another thread G4S where hauled over the coals and eventually had to give back a percentage of the charges when they couldn't handle the Olympics. WYP should get the same punishment and all I have seen them do is sit in their red and white personnel carriers causing an obstruction, which they would nick anyone else for causing.
WYP state it is the previous trouble that sets the target. The Sheffield game did not do us any good did it. Whatever the justification we the fans will pay.
