Saturday my cousin was collared at half time by a steward who said they'd seen him making "wanker" gestures at the Bradford fans.....if he continued this then they were gonna take his season ticket off him....

NO WONDER THE PLACE IS LIKE A FUCKING MORGUE!

-- Anonymous, December 18, 2000

Answers

Gav...get a petition going..I'll sing it ...twice...once for me and once for any part time bastard that needs ALL THE FACTS..

Respect!

-- Anonymous, December 18, 2000

Cousin or not he should sit down , shut up and give some respect to the nice away fans.

-- Anonymous, December 18, 2000

LOL. If anyone is going to get their ST removed, can it be the geezer behind Jonno and me who slags off our players from start to finish?

-- Anonymous, December 18, 2000

Gav..I may even sign it too...singing a petition will make me look a twat...............................(shut it Ken)

:)

-- Anonymous, December 18, 2000

So this is what the worlds coming to eh.....the only person who has any sympathy is a Man Utd supporter....

Not that I'd expect any from a fucking freeloader like Rik....

Fair play LR....fair play.....

-- Anonymous, December 18, 2000

IMHO anyone making obscene gestures/ foul language toward any other fan / player etc should be escorted out, it causes offence to people around and leads to violence outside.

I for one enjoy good hearted banter but kids go to the match and shouldnt be subjected to it.

That said however, stopping Airhorns rattles flags with sticks etc etc is sh1t this is killing the atmoshphere.

-- Anonymous, December 18, 2000

Gav, you take me too seriously sometimes

-- Anonymous, December 18, 2000

Those stewards would have coronaries if they worked at Filbert St. Seemed like nearly all of the home stand nearest the away end were making that gesture last season. And pretty near everyone in the away end did it back.

Seems like there's a lot worse problems than a gesture. I understand the argument of kids being there, but there is a family enclosure and if they're being taken to areas outside that, it's really expected that there will some "colorful" language and gestures. IMO, exposure to it isn't going to damage a kid if the parents are doing a decent job of bringing the child up. Anyway, they'll hear/see the same or worse in schoolyards and streets when away from the parents. To me, it's worse when parents freak out over such things. Kids are more curious and likely to repeat the behaviour just cause it's naughty.

-- Anonymous, December 18, 2000

Bit 'off topic', but the thing that really amuses me is the sight of fully-grown, large Geordie blerks booing the referee as though their pay-cheques depended on it!

-- Anonymous, December 18, 2000

"Gav...get a petition going..I'll sing it ...twice.."

It would be nice if our own fans started singing :-)

-- Anonymous, December 18, 2000

I sit six or seven rows in front of the family enclosure with one of my lads. Behind me is another youngster with his parent. just behind him is a bloke who's language is colorfull to put it politely. He can't string three words together without using the "F" word.

He's "effin" and "Cee" throughout he game and couldn't give a shit about the fact that there are a couple of kids in front of him and Hundreds a few rows behind. He's not the only one, there's plenty of bad language in the area, and like I say it's just in front of the family enclosure.At first I was a bit concerned but like you say, the kids have heard it before, and as long as they don't use it, and I don't have to expain to my eight year old what a fucking cunt is then, I can live with it.The most embarasing thing was when he askedme what kind of job a Wanker was, I said that they were singing the referee's a banker, meaning he's probably taking money from the other team to make decisions against us.... It worked and he regulaly sings the referees a banker.

Mind you I think he's winding me up

Both of the lads looked at me in an embaresssed way the first time the language came out. Now I don't think they notice it. One problem though is that my 5 year old daughter wants to go to a game with me. She is very incquisitive and would want to know what the man meant. So I keep putting her off.

-- Anonymous, December 18, 2000

>>>>the referees a banker

Nice one Rik. And presumably the "gestures" referred to earlier is the action of using one of those rubber stamp thingies to cancel a cheque or something - clever that.

Saturday's ref was something of an aerosol I thought - they're all blind truckers ....

-- Anonymous, December 18, 2000

Gav they've been throwing people out for that and less for a long long time now. To be honest - what can they do? Clubs are falling over themselves to boast about what they are doing for families and the 'new' experience. Abusive and racist language will no longer be tolerated. Not that they care about such activities - they just have to be seen to be doing it. Virtually impossible to allow abusive but not racist. Has to be a blanket ban.

When my Dad took me as a kid we could always move on if we found ourselves next someone my Fatha decided was a "nutta". Can't do that now - seats get in the way. Seats are great if you want one and those of us who don't must fall in line.

Until we wrip out (some) of the seats and allow people to stand next to those they want to stand next to, and be able to avoid those they don't then the atmosphere will get worse and worse. The atmosphere at EVERY ground is crap now. I don't even really enjoy the experience any more. Even at away matches I've been asked to "sit doon for the Toon".

Fed up.

-- Anonymous, December 19, 2000

You're right Neil......I can see people not wanting to listen to people shout and swear in front of their wives and kids (although it's always been in the grounds and it didn't do us lot any harm!), but I feel that if people can't give vent to their passion then the atmosphere will continue to die...

And yes I do count people shouting, swearing and waving their arms as supporters and believe that they are getting behind their team!

I think what annoys me most about this is that my cousin isn't one of these red faced screaming nut cases that people are alluding to as trouble makers, he's one of the nicest, kindest lads you'll meet and he just gets a bit passionate when he's supporting his team....

-- Anonymous, December 19, 2000

It's nowt more than another attempt at social control by f@ckwits with pretensions of grandeur. And I refer both to the suits who set the policy and the orang utangs they employ to enforce it in the stands. Getting stewards to try and ban swearing in grounds kills the passion more than Victorian woolly bloomers ever did. I've held back from commenting since my recent trip to the UK, but I was quite embarrassed by the lack of atmosphere at SJP throughout large parts of the Bradford Cup game. And then Softie told me it was as good or better than it's been for most of the season !

I'd draw a huge distinction between swearing on this bbs (usually unnecessary?) and doing so at a footy ground in the heat of a match - note, we're talking football here not the piggin opera. As Gav says we were all brought up hearing all manner of blue language on the terraces yet, presumably, haven't turned into complete delinquents as a result.

The next time someone trots out the line about concerned parents and their kids needing to be 'protected' from the excesses of others, just ask yourself why it's 100% at the expense of those of us who WANT to stand up, sing and swear are no longer ever given the choice to do so.

Social control. QED. There again maybe I'm just a hypocrite cos I'd be singing to a different tune if we were talking about racist comments etc ...

-- Anonymous, December 20, 2000

I am not saying if I agree or disagree but for the sake of a argument, A English guy has just took over one of the three pubs in the village and to give him his due has improved the decor of a pub that was of the real type, none of your plastiky crap. The lounge is now a nice wee restaurant for 25 covers, function room upstairs takes 100, I like the bar, lot o wood etc, trouble is in a village of 1200 inh 2 other pubs and a small RBL are competing for the same pound and like all over the UK, you have the Supa-Market Swalee Brigade. In the first month he has barred a retired council worker for bawling, swearing in the bar, the guy has done it for years , same fellow spends his OAP,Cooncil Pensh and savings on booze, calls me the best Geordie in the village (only one). Its like God Bless You when he swears but his voice may carry to the new breed of customer or family who have not shown up as yet.

Also barred is an Irish American married to a doctor, great guy, we go back a long way., can use the ham sandwich but in a quiet sort of way, if I sell tickets for the football team, never buys one, just puts his hand in his pouch and donates £20/

Lastly he rang up the the local coach company and barred staggers and hennies, too much hassle and bother etc.

I can relate what Gav is saying to the above , who is the guy/club catering for, lot of similarities , atmosphere being one, and when the new breed have had enough and move on what happens then?

-- Anonymous, December 21, 2000

sounds like you agree to me Buff. ;o)

but why the reluctance to say so ?

-- Anonymous, December 21, 2000

On re-reading your piece Loony , yep you have me over a barrell, chalk it up, I would not take offence, the good lady would not take offence, Okay Im with you.

-- Anonymous, December 21, 2000