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Cod Almighty | Diary

Rain

27 August 2018

Trentside Diary writes: Disappointing result on Saturday, but it was always one of those where I didn't expect too much. In my head Newport always feel like a bogey team (to add to Gateshead, Stockport, etc etc). We rarely get anything from them and certainly nothing away.  It's too early to worry and those having a go at the manager should get a grip. We are a team in transition. Looking at the football we have shown at times, this has the potential to be one heck of a season. We need a bit more match fitness and maybe depth in some areas because we don't have enough players to play high tempo when games come thick and fast. Or perhaps we just need fewer injuries and red cards!

What's more concerning is someone in the Town end being arrested for racist comments on Saturday. Well done to the Town fan who called him out. Those then having a go for doing so need to have a close look at themselves. There are many calling for a lifetime ban, and while I absolutely understand their sentiments, perhaps we should look at the bigger picture?

It's depressing that someone who is barely an adult should think this behaviour is acceptable and this can only be a reflection of what they have absorbed over their short lifetime. Maybe there should be some kind of an educational programme by Kick it Out which the perpetrator has to complete to be allowed back after one or three years – a bit like the speed awareness course. If they repeat the offence, yes, ban them for life.

Despite how this looks, my experience is that football grounds are less racist than they were 30 years ago. Unfortunately for the huge majority of people attending, there will always be a small minority who let all fans down.

Similarly with 'trouble' at or around football matches. There are grounds where the policing and stewarding are top-notch. They understand passionate crowds, they defuse anything they feel might be over-boisterous or dangerous with a respectful word, and the only thing affecting a good afternoon is the result. Contrast that with over-zealous behaviour elsewhere: Barnet; Stevenage, for us; and some of the heavy-handed policing seen in videos shared online. Some police forces' attitudes to fans are no more sophisticated than 30 years ago – attitudes that contributed to what happened at Hillsborough.

Yes, a very tiny minority are idiots, can't hold their beer and want to make a show of themselves. But that's no different to Saturday night in most towns and cities, or any cricket or rugby crowd. To lump every football fan together in this way is lazy policing. And when it affects decisions on football at a national level – for example, regulations around safe standing – it's lazy politics too.

Like politicians who believe their own rhetoric, some police forces just don't get it. The tweet from Chief Superintendent C Wilson for the "meet and greet" for Lincoln fans at Grimsby station last week sums it up. A row of least 30 officers in an aggressive stance lined up for the train.

When a few comments were made about this being over the top, she then adds that this was for the first train which had some of the "more lively supporters" on it. Apparently "lots of engagement and conversation facilitated a good humoured football match". Others chip in about what a "hard day's work" it was, for "a team of professionals who are trained in tactics", perhaps implying that they know what they are talking about and we don't. Interesting, too, to note that some fans with children have said they were not allowed to leave the police cordon to get food. From their perspective it was far from welcoming.

Sadly, while some senior officers from Humberside (or whichever force) are trying to raise their social media profile and tweeting such rubbish, they are not genuinely engaging with fans or trying to manage according to risk. They are deluding themselves and this probably looks good at her performance review meeting.

Contrast this with a match I was lucky enough to attend at Hammarby FC in Stockholm this week. A lot of research and work has been done in Sweden so that policing is "welcoming, safe and secure" but has "atmospheric arrangements for all". The emphasis is on genuine liaison and collaboration with fan groups and clubs and police recognise that there is a huge difference between the groups who style themselves as 'ultras' and any hooligan elements.

Inside the ground at Hammarby

At Hammarby they have created an atmosphere in a modern stadium which is just what football should be about. There is safe standing for those who want it, a railing to hang banners so they don't have to be moved to keep advertisers happy, and loud ultras who chanted for the whole 90 minutes. A model for the Fentydome?

More than 22,000 there, no trouble and very few police in evidence. Maybe if our police forces and clubs who pay lip service to the supporter liaison role actually engaged with fans – or, better still, were genuine football fans themselves – we would start to see better policing and a better all-round experience for fans.