I know that I am going to upset posters on here and possibly further afield but I have to say this and I am deeply sorry for how it will appear, but..... How in hell does anyone think that a letter written as poorly as that will get the message across? I know that I should not judge these things but I am really devastated to see how badly constructed it is and with so many believing in the FSF, I am quite frankly shocked. Reading it has made me angry. The FSF has put its self forward as a voice to be heard, but in order to do that it is important to get the message across in a clear and defined way. I did not and do not want to say it but this letter is a joke. Please feel free to have a go at me if you want. Could I have done better, quite frankly yes, but I am not the FSF. WYP will piss themselves now, laughing all the way, the FSF destroys its own creditablity instead of the WYP. The OSC and HCSS must be disappointed.
If you look at the signatories its had input from OSC and HCSS, and almost all other fans reps.. They all approved the wording. I know there have been negative comments on this aimed at both the club and towards the FSF. The letter is obviously only a response to the restrictions done in a way that WYP have to respond to. If you make demands of a Draconian Police force what can you realistically expect to achieve? Several MP's have been contacted, Clive Betts has been demanding answers of WYP. FSF are backing Lewis Coopers legal challenge, I understand further protests and follow up are planned when WYP reply to the letter. Have a look on the HTSA website as they have been leading joint action supported by several Tigers fans reresentatives in joint actions with FSF. Following the FSF letter Stephen King , HTSA Chairman, was this morning interviewed live on BBC Radio Leeds specifically highlighting the restriction for this game. edited comments have been played in news bulletins since then today. I hope Humberside starts to do the same. After all, this Saturday, 16th. Hull FC play in a Sky live Super League game. ko teatime.. WYP are not restricting the Hull FXC fans movements .. Why ? Tigers fans have no history of trouble I'm aware of in Huddersfield. Didn't Hull FC fans rip down the posts and invaded the pitch after a cup semi at Huddersfield?
Its not the content but the construction. Just a nit picky thing for example, I would have expected that in a letter starting Dear Anyone, "yours sincerely" would have been used not "yours faithfully". The constant use of "We" at the start of paragraphs. I expected there to be clear references and reference points, there are none. This letter will provoke a short reply, when it could have done far more. We had a chance to pin the WYP down on specific points and we have not, they can now fob everyone off. To be quite honest WYP have already won on this. They know that no matter what we may say, the chances are that we would not have sold many more tickets and that they can spout off about safety without any fear. The fact that this action is not balanced and is based on the money issues with Leeds has no impact on WYP other than put them in good stead. They will claim the moral victory no matter what happens. When you choose to fight a battle of words with authorities such as police forces, you must read and disect every word written and spoken. You have to demand response in a clinical manner, with clear and concise questioning and with all references made. It is no good refering to a statement if you do not include the date and who made it. The arguement is lost, concessions have been made and nothing else will happen. It goes like this in the world of the WYP, "if they cant even write a decent letter why should we take them seriously".
I think you giver them far too much credit, the bloke they keep wheeling out to the media strikes me as someone who would having difficulty spelling his own name.
Mel, the letter is only one element in a bigger picture, as is the game being restricted or not. The Police may well 'win' by keeping their restrictions, let's face it, they're not man enough to change their mind, but they've already done untold damage to their own reputation and the action WILL continue after the Huddersfield game. There's no point getting hung up on the semantics of one letter. Just let them know we're liable to be in Huddersfield on the day anyway, and there's absolutely nothing they can do to stop it. That way, their costs are probably greater than they would have been had they just let the match go ahead unhindered by their ineptitude.
Just a daft thought, but what would the effect be if thousands of Hull City fans (under usernames) signed a single letter to the WYP stating that if the restrictions aren't relaxed they will be watching the game in pubs spread right across the whole Huddersfield area. Specific pubs could be mentioned and meeting times would be arranged close to kick-off. None of this would be illegal and at the end of the day no-one would have to go, but the threat to stretch the resources of the WYP much further than they could conceive might force them to negotiate more sensibly.
That's right and if quite a few of the pubs were cassified by the WYP as 'high risk' they would need to allow more police on standby.
No - instead lets all go to the pubs in Huddersfield and watch the game on sky there. The WYP wouldn't know if they were coming or going - not that that's anything unusual
I think the damage is done re. big ticket sales. Taking Away Direct Customers first of all,, From what has been said so far as many fans are rejecting there tickets as those wanting them. It could well be that 1700 tickets will be more than enough. But the principal of travel still remains. Do your own thing whatever that is.
I know someone mentioned the IPCC on another thread. Is this an option? Can we all make complaints to them as well?
No point threatening the wyp with going to pubs in udders as they'll just force every pub to shut. The best thing to do would be to threaten them with a few peaceful protests around the town, one outside the ground, maybe one in the city center, in the towns toughest residential area, and the most prosperous housing area in hudds. That way, not only will footy fans be challenging the police, ordinary residents of Huddersfield will be putting immense pressure on the police to ensure that there is no trouble on their doorstep.
That just won't happen. The police can't force every pub to shut on the grounds that some of their law-abiding customers may support HCAFC. Also all we would have to do is threaten to turn up at every Leeds Utd and Huddersfield Town pub (as well as numerous others) on the day to throw them into panic. Demonstrations have been mentioned on here a lot, but it's all bluster unless one or more dedicated fans make the large effort of organising them.
It is possible Craig. When I lived in Manchester pubs across the city centre and in Didsbury (that I know of) were forced to close on the day of the Man Utd/Liverpool game. When Rangers OldCo were in the Europa League final all pubs were forced to shut, and shops and off licences were forced to stop selling alcohol. The police could well force Huddersfield pubs to close whilst the game is on and reopen later that evening, say 7.30pm so that any Hull supporters could be escorted out of town
If they were to do that, it'd highlight their incompetence even more, especially as plenty are liable to just move to other pubs in the West Yorks area, joining others that would already be there. What a mess WYP have made of this. The local ratepayers should be up in arms with them. If nothing else, it's highlighted the impotence of these expensive new Police Commissioners.
I am a local ratepayer!! I'm wondering if I will get a police escort from my house to my Huddersfield supporting neighbour's house
While you're travelling to and from Hull to catch the coach they're robbing your house safe in the knowledge that you and all the coppers are going to be heading down the M62.
If they're too organised then they will be illegal without the permission of the police, so unless someone fancies trying to be a martyr it has to be done carefully. Guerilla tactics are actually more likely to cause them a problem. A small group here and a small group there is much more difficult for them to handle than a large crowd in a single place, and if they believe it's going to be stretching their resources over too great an area then they will have to back down. btw, back to the earlier discussion, another positive of the club not refusing the ticket is it actually gives fans the opportunity to boycott the game. If the club had rejected them it would be easy for WYP to say that fans wouldn't have been as bothered as the vocal minority were saying they would be but the club denied them the chance to be proven right.
