Re: Great away support yesterday
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Canton Kev
I don’t disagree that it would’ve been easier to let fans onto the coaches and I think it was the wrong decision to not allow it. However people are talking as if WMP crammed 2000 City fans into a space for 1000. In reality they didn’t stop anyone from returning to the concourse or even into the stands. There was loads of space behind the packed in fans and common sense should tell you if there’s a police line, pushing and shoving isn’t going to get you past. As for people at the back not knowing about the police line, if the crowd has been at a standstill for 5/10mins then again common sense would tell you there’s a reason people aren’t moving forwards and again, pushing and shoving won’t achieve anything.
If there was a second line of police at the back of the crowd then fair enough, but nothing was stopping people from leaving the crowd/crush.
I don’t know who has a say in running the local trains in Brum so can’t comment on whether or not it was WMP at fault for that.
It was sardines up the front by the police lines and people would have been hurt if some had decided, unnaturally, to turn round and head back down the slope in the dark through our own fans to where they may or may not have been more room.
Around 1700 fans just wanted to leave and were being prevented from doing so. Bunching lead to pushing. WMP could not have chosen a worse place to stop us getting home. I would question the necessity of stopping us leaving and the experience in control and containment of the police officer in charge. Forming a police barrier seemed to be done on the hoof. Thankfully none of the police used their batons although one or two looked a bit panicky and had them out ready. From the temporary staff on duty at Bordesley station, verbally, people arriving were told that the station would be shut, acting on police advice. Buses were rerouted (as always) after the match but some disappeared completely off the timetable. Possibly staff shortages. As one person waiting at the Bordesley station bus stop suggested, if WMP had closed the station, then replacement buses should have been put on take fans back into Birmingham. As it was, sets of our fans were escorted partly by officers on foot and partly by several police vans ( one of which clearly had officers enjoying themselves in the back until someone turned the interior lights out). All in all, poor policing especially the failure to recognise the need to spread matches out over a time when Birmingham was going to be busy anyway and thousands using the one train line.
