Thetownend.com

In the Houses of Parliament, evidence was given to a Home Office Select Committee last week on the cost of policing professional football matches. A rep of Wigan Athleitc was complaining that their bill (for the Bill) would be rising drastically for the coming season.

Graham Turner of Hereford United said that HUFC had been relegated as they could not afford the players required to keep them in Lge One. He gave the example of HUFC v. Swindon in the League where he claimed the attendance was 4,006 (it was quoted as slightly higher in the STFC prog). The police bill for the match was GBP16,000 - therefore GBP4 per spectator. He also said that the policing was for outside the ground, not inside. I believe there were just over 700 STFC fans at the game.

Therefore is STFC's away following is reponsible for HUFC's relegation?!?!?!

He also said that West Mercia Police (spit) had quoted a fee for policing HU's matches next season, and that should the club not agree to the deal then the alternative was to increase the fee by three times!!! What is going on. Anyone know anything about the police bill for the forthcoming season at the CG?

I blame nobby for the extra Police that game.  :D

Police forces seem to be taking football clubs for a ride on the grounds that if they don't pay they don't play. Which is a pretty strong bargaining position really.

That's bull shit.  My understanding is the club actually pays for the police on their property, if West Mercia wanted to put another 100 plod in various points near the ground, HUFC should not have to pay for it.

I generally 'like' the Police, but the Milwall match at the end of the season before last just shows how utterly ridiculous they sometime are at football.

Away at Bolton for the LC Semi was well over the top too, felt insulted that they had mounted coppers.

Away at QPR a few seasons ago was a joke, as was Scunthorpe last time.

I am reporting an item I heard on Radio 4 early on Wednesday morning which included a recording of Turner's evidence to the Committee re: the Swindon game.

See this link http://news.parliament.uk/2009/06/committee-looks-at-costs-of-policing-football-matches/ and then click on the Video and Audio: Policing football matches evidence session link.

At 01:16:00 (yes 1hour 16mins!) Graham Turner describes how HUFC are disputing the bill of over GBP16,000 sent to the club by West Mercia Police for the Swindon match which Turner says is not average but an 'extreme case'!

I always remember our league two season when we went there. Police escorted the L&P minibuses to the ground and then frisk-searched everyone on it.

You could tell the police wanted something to happen that day by the fact they kept us penned up at the back of the stand after the game.

That was probably more homophobia than any real anti-football feeling.

It's all sonic's fault

I thought you only had to pay for police inside the ground - I think the problem is they decide how many police at which matches.

I've seen quite a few police inside our ground for certain games when there are not many away fan's, they usually stand there and watch the game, it should be a joint decision between the club and police, a lot of time stewards would be able to handle any problems.

It is a chance for them to get their overtime payments.

Nice subject post.

I'm sure I went to that game, it was a weekday evening affair?

I don't remember seeing one copper...but I like the idea that policing now relegates clubs...

We're going to look back all starry eyed in about ten years time reminiscing over the time that teams got demoted due to being shit at football as apposed to being relegated due to high policing bills and punishing administration point deductions..

Away at QPR in the Prem i will never forget.....that pub got turned over.

In the HU example that works out at £22 ish per STFC supporter. They could of tried paying us to stay away !

ahhhhh Hereford away - when me and Zoe got shoved againist the wall by chavs trying to wind up the police and have a fight

As I understand it. The Police grade each game according to the history of the visiting club. They also  consider the history between the two clubs. General history of the visiting supporters for that season and the projected number of visiting supporters expected.

I know that games have been down graded when ticket sales at the visiting clubs do not reach expectations. This often happens when Saturday games are rescheduled to mid week after weather postponements.

During the week leading up to a Saturday game a briefing is held at the Police Station which I think involves the Stadium Safety Officer who runs the team from the control box at the side of the Town End. I think he can have some say on the level of Policing at this stage - needless to say they don't have to listen to his objections if he believes they have gone over the top.. 

I remember standing outside the Exec Entrance when we played Millwall.. One of their Directors came out with a Exec Area Steward.. He let him know exactly what he thought of the policing levels.. He admitted that it would have been right for Millwall 6 - 7 years ago but not now!

The game at Hereford in the Lge 2 promotion year was absolutely disgraceful behaviour by the police - West Mercia and reinforcements from Cardiff. The crush caused by their mismanagement at the back of the away end meant that young children had to be pulled out over a 8ft high fence to avoid serious injury.

The march back to the rail station ended with Town fans being penned in a very small fenced off area, and even though not everyone was travelling home via Cardiff (me included), they would not let people out to catch their respective trains.

In the end we had to take the law into our own hands by constantly surging at the police blockade until we burst out on to the platform. Up yours copper!

That game should never have been switched to a friday night.

West Murcia dont seem to like us very much.

The game in the promotion year (with the major police incompetence and the rail station incident) was on a Saturday afternoon towards the and of the season and was 0-0.

The game in 08/09 was a Friday night and was very close to the JPT midweek game also at Hereford.

http://www.supporters-direct.org/news/item.asp?n=4735

Its about time..this was the first test case...plenty more are suing now the football fans trust got onside...police will now have to be alot more carefull when treating fans like shit.

As someone once said to me, it's like going to the West End of London to see a show and on arrival the Bill saying 'right, all those going to see Les Miserable go in this pub, all those going to see Joseph in that pub' etc etc and being under the threat of arrest if you don't comply.

yes because theatre goers are always kicking off arent they.

You bin 2 The West End on a Saturday night recently???!!!

That West Side Story lot can get proper tasty

Evil BNP thugs queue up to heckle the ridicule of Nazis in The Sound of Music - which incidentally was filmed in the area where STFC are on tour this summer - did you know they were going to Austria?


To the tune of Eidelweis:

'Dennis Wise, Dennis Wise
Thought going to Leeds was clever;

Dennis Wise, Dennis Wise
Now Leeds are League One forever.'

or there's Climb every League Table

and G for Greer, Gor-don Greer...

any more...

Who in the world is Graham Greer?

My old Maths teacher - u know 'im?

How Do You Solve A Problem Like Midfield?

I Am Sixteen, going on Seventeen (grand a month)

Didn't he write a book called Brighton Rock....a morality tale, in which the anti hero Pinkie Brown...shows how he got his name, by doing traditional Brighton things with a stick of traditional Brighton confectionery.

 

I really liked the film. The opening rollercoaster scene is impressive given it was done in 1947.

Graham Greene wrote Brighton Rock.

Sir Richard Attenborough played Pinkie in the film.