Trouble at Everton home game

[dougcollins]

Guys, just a suggestion; How about aiming for a time when football fans can sit (and stand) together watching the game without any aggression from either set of fans?

I've just read the Accrington Pals/First Day of the Somme thread. If we believe that we won't go to war these days without first making every effort to make peace, don't you think it a great idea to find how we can achieve this with all the people we live alongside, people who enjoy watching the same sports alongside, even if we are fans of "the other" team.

I'm trying not to go for a 'he started it' type of thing here, but I have corporates sat right behind me. The home fans around me are generally meek and mild, and any trouble invariably arises from away visitors who've indulged in too much hospitality.

[HitchinClaret]

I stood (albeit with quite a few Spurs friends) in the Spurs end for the game the other month, not one bit of bother, several pubs asked me to hide my colours just in case which is fair enough. Might have been circumstance, but only seemed to get sympathy from the Spurs fans (and West Ham fans on the train!)

[Rileybobs]

Guys, just a suggestion; How about aiming for a time when football fans can sit (and stand) together watching the game without any aggression from either set of fans?

I've just read the Accrington Pals/First Day of the Somme thread. If we believe that we won't go to war these days without first making every effort to make peace, don't you think it a great idea to find how we can achieve this with all the people we live alongside, people who enjoy watching the same sports alongside, even if we are fans of "the other" team.

I don’t know about you, but when Burnley concede I don’t want the person next to me to be dancing around cheering.

[RHansburyEsq]

Guys, just a suggestion; How about aiming for a time when football fans can sit (and stand) together watching the game without any aggression from either set of fans?

I've just read the Accrington Pals/First Day of the Somme thread. If we believe that we won't go to war these days without first making every effort to make peace, don't you think it a great idea to find how we can achieve this with all the people we live alongside, people who enjoy watching the same sports alongside, even if we are fans of "the other" team.

As a regular attendee at matches for both codes of rugby I would love to believe that this could work in football. And with a nod to the spirit of your comment I genuine hope football does aim for this.

However that day is a very very long way off and that ‘aim’, cannot and should not be used as a justification for the incompetence/ naivety / greed associated with the club opting to plonk a load of inebriated away fans in the middle of the home end and ‘police’ it with a bunch of minimum wage stewards.

[CoolClaret]

Guys, just a suggestion; How about aiming for a time when football fans can sit (and stand) together watching the game without any aggression from either set of fans?

I've just read the Accrington Pals/First Day of the Somme thread. If we believe that we won't go to war these days without first making every effort to make peace, don't you think it a great idea to find how we can achieve this with all the people we live alongside, people who enjoy watching the same sports alongside, even if we are fans of "the other" team.

Whilst I do agree, you won't ever get that sort of panto type back and forth between two sets of supporters and tbh, getting on an away day and winning in a stand full of supporters from your own team is unreal.

I can't help but think some of those famous wins over the past 15 years or so would have been anywhere near as epic in a mixed stand, players celebrating infront of the away end as well - thinking Reading, Chelsea, United, Ewood etc

[Goody1975]

As a regular attendee at matches for both codes of rugby I would love to believe that this could work in football. And with a nod to the spirit of your comment I genuine hope football does aim for this.

The tribal element of football is what makes it unique and the utopia you talk about above is not what I would want.

The powers that be have been trying to dumb down the game for some time and non segregation would be another massive step towards this being achieved.

However does this mean that away supporters in home sections should be lynched if they make themselves known or that home supporters shouldn't be allowed to react if away fans are not behaving in an acceptable manner? Definitely not.

When I was a kid and hooliganism was at it's peak, it was deemed acceptable for away supporters to regularly buy tickets in the main stand at away games, nobody batted an eyelid, never do I remember us getting grief if we celebrated a Burnley goal.

[ClaretTony]

I don’t know about you, but when Burnley concede I don’t want the person next to me to be dancing around cheering.

I can cope, just about, with sitting on my hands when we score but I sat in the home stand at Reading back in 2007 for the FA Cup tie and I couldn’t cope with the home fans prancing around when they scored. They even played Tom Hark.

[Herts Clarets]

I was offered a free ticket for our play off game at Reading in 2009. It was in the home end and via an employee of John Lewis and the condition was that I had to behave myself if we scored. I managed to get a ticket in the away end so declined the kind offer, as I didn't feel that I could keep a lid on it if we scored. Now for those who were there, could you imagine just sitting there as Paterson's long range strike hit the back of the net? I went absolutely ballistic, I had scrapes and bruises on my shins from the backs of the seats in front as i leapt around celebrating, as I did a few minutes later when Thompson put the result beyond any doubt and sent us to Wembley and ultimately the Premier League for the first time.