Rearranged Stoke City Match
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I contacted Club Website to find out the unspecified "operational requirements" that Merseyside Police were using as a reason for putting back the Stoke City fixture 24 hours to Sunday 15th March.
The reply: "Merseyside Police have switched the game to a Sunday due to an event happening in Liverpool City Centre on Saturday 14th March".
I still haven't been able to discover the identity of this mysterious event,
but this certainly serves as an illustration of the contemptuous attitude of the Police towards a mere 35,000 football supporters inconvenienced by this fixture change.
Ian Pilkington,
Adlington, Lancs. Posted 17/02/2009 at 20:44:11
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I heard in the ground at the Villa game it was more akin to the way the Stoke fans had organised for trouble at the away game and a Sunday switch would reduce the drinking involved.
VisitLiverpool website has nothing significant listed for the Saturday so I?d be more inclined to say the old Bill want less trouble. Given they didn?t do their jobs when the scum were throwing items onto the pitch when we turned the RS over in the cup, that excuse is a joke.
I’ve heard that the ’event’ is a march by a well known right wing political party. But the question I would ask is why this event could not be moved rather than the game. I still maintain that had LFC been at home their game would not have been switched.
We were discussing this on Sunday and we thought it strange that the police knew about our game since July but move it due to the dodgy party’s march, which I assume was agreed well after the fixtures list was given.
Move aside for the racists eh? allegedly!!
If the changed date is to ’allow’ a right wing march then I hope that more people will go to protest at that march (I’d be a bit more upfront on what I’d like to do to the right-wingers but I have to be careful !!) and then go to the game on Sunday.
Such events will not be significant when we play in another borough!
Maybe DM should go to the march on a scouting mission as we have the day off.
We?ve had some fine right wingers in the past... Tricky Trev and Andrei Kanchelskis spring to mind.
Iain Latchford, what a shout mate. Made me laugh so much. Serioulsy tho, don?t see why the game should have to be re-arranged to acomadate the BNP or who evers marching through the city. Couldn?t they just ask for extra police support form Lancashire or Chesire police officers?
Maybe it's a Paddy's Day march....
Anthony Millington
Posted 18/02/2009 at 11:00:21
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What a pain, I won?t beable to go now beacuse I?m working that Sunday!
Ivor, won?t take long to tour another borough when we parade a trophy, either.
Don?t know if it is true or not, but I was told it was because the RS are playing away at Utd at 12:45 on the Saturday. I imagine the police will see it as there being more chance of a problem on the trains etc and don?t particularly want so many people mixing in pubs in the city centre especially with the reputation some Stoke supporters have.
I can understand the reluctance to host a game featuring Stoke City. I don?t wish to tar all people from Stoke-on-Trent with the same brush, but the political reality here in the potteries is that the BNP is nearly (not quite) the majority party in SOT local elections. They have a large representation on the local council.
Perhaps the Mersey police are worried that an influx of potentially BNP supporting football fans on the day there is a march might not be a smart idea? Again, I don?t want to cast aspersions at the SCFC fan base, but chances are some will have right wing political sympathies if voting patterns in the local area are anything to go by.
My Dad told me it was discussed on Radio Merseyside. Apparently the BNP have a march in Liverpool on the Saturday. The police say they do not have enough officers to cover the march and the football. The police have obviously known about the game since August, so why tell us to rearrange and not the racists? There was a fellow on the radio saying he had booked plane tickets from the Isle of Man and now he?d have to fork out for new tickets. It?s a disgrace.
Very helpful and informative reply from the club there, Ian!
The facts are that no matter what a game is moved for - police, tv, grand national, etc - no one in authority really gives a shit about any impact on supporters. And with the new deal Sky deal that situation is only going to get worse.
Expect a match in the middle of the night one day to accomodate far east demand. At least the police shouldn?t have too much of a problem with that unless there?s a clash with people spilling out of nightclubs.
Wise up people! Do you think that the police "Don?t give a shit about supporters" as you have put it? This would hardly help them to build links in the community would it? The police often have no other option than to move games to other dates as their resources are stretched too tightly and therefore cannot cover both events at the same time.
The sad fact is the police can do very little to prevent clowns who want to throw things onto the pitch, however CCTV is in use in the stadiums so it is often easy to identify the idiot afterwards. The real problem lies with the mindless minority who still look for a fight at the game. For fuck?s sake people, it?s a GAME OF FOOTBALL!
That?s us told, Steve!
But why move the match and inconvenience supporters? Why not inconvenience racists? If there is no such march, why not simply tell the public why there is the need to change?
That might help build links, as you put it.
That will be the second Sunday game on the bounce as FA Cup match is now scheduled for 8th March k.o 4pm.
Steve
Take it you find it very easy to get to games no matter what the day or time. Try wising up to the long distances that some supporters travel to watch our team in action
I think the main reason the Football match rather than ’political’ (and I use the term loosely) march was moved is that there is quite possibly some constitutional right for political parties to be able to hold rallies when given reasonable notice.
While the fact that ’there’s a football match on’ wouldn’t necessarily be considered sufficient justification to move the march, the march is ample excuse to move the footie match (for which there is less constitutional support).
Am just off to burn the Daily Mail in protest.
The reason for the switch is that the Police feel they can manage the Stoke fans easier on a Sunday as it is a quiter day. When Stoke played the shite there was organised fighting outside the ground.
You're all wrong, it?s because Count Arthur Strong is playing at the Unity in the evening and the police will probably be required to hold back the fans. Now all be quiet and get to bed (your own bed's that is)
"I?ve heard that the ?event? is a march by a well known right wing political party"
"Move aside for the racists eh? allegedly!!"
How can you say a right wing party, (i.e. conservatives, UKIP) is a racist party? Don't you mean the FAR Right?
It's like saying left wing Labour MPs are communists! Get your facts right.
As for the Stoke fans and trouble, pop over to the Stoke board and ask them about it.
I see we have a lunchtime kickoff against the Baggies on 28 Feb. Does this mean the game is on TV or are the other lot having a garden party in Stanley Park which we're not alowed to disrupt?
A BNP spokesman has just said on Radio 5 that the march is off. Therefore, plod have no reason not to allow this match to be played as originally scheduled.
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1 Posted 18/02/2009 at 06:51:08
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