Coventry away fans

Anyone know why they have been taken off sale and will nor be available on the day? Apparently Grimsby Safty Advisory Commitee have done it in conjunction with Police!
Surely this will just encourage them to buy tickets for home stands!

I would imagine they have sold their 1900 allocation. They were well on the way to that yesterday.

8k crowd?

Quoted Text

Tickets have this morning been taken off-sale for Coventry City’s away game at Grimsby Town.

The decision to take tickets off sale was taken by Grimsby’s Safety Advisory Group, following consultation from their local police force.

Following this decision, tickets will NOT be available to buy on the day of the game.

Coventry City are disappointed that more of the Sky Blue Army will not be able to attend, despite both Grimsby and Coventry City anticipating on the day sales, but unfortunately this is beyond our control.

Source: https://www.ccfc.co.uk/news/2017/august/news-grimsby-tickets-off-sale-and-not-available-on-the-day/

Strange decision, reading that makes me think they hadn't sold their allocation but expected more to travel that we could accommodate? Or that the police hadn't prepared enough resources for the large away following.

To be fair to Humberside police they don't have the staff or resources to cope with big away followings as it has shown in the past.

Why do they need loads of police tomorrow? Have Coventry got a known force of hooligans? Plus ours only turn up for the big local derby's. Very strange decision. Also with games like this they should open up the main stand for families of away fans, Plymouth have a family stand where both home and away fans are welcome.

It's not even like the force is stretched tomorrow with Scunny away and Hull hosting Burton. Very strange decision unless there is specific intelligence.

Can't get my head round this one...stopping genuine football fans from watching their team play...a bit embarrassing really

If we are now happy to be back in the receiving of good numbers of away fans that had disappeared with most Conference followings, then whatever safety plans that were in place for that league have to be updated and re-appraised for the League followings.

They have to plan for our brilliant following going to their grounds, so why are we any different?

Away fans bring income - we should relish more income going into the coffers this year from bigger relegated teams arriving here !

They've sold 1350.

Coventry are the best supported team in League 2 by a mile why on earth do they have to make life so difficult for travelling fans?I expect this is down to so called police intelligence and previous history from over 25 years ago football fans do have long memories.

We always slapped Coventry silly anyway  

Quoted from lukeo

Why do they need loads of police tomorrow? Have Coventry got a known force of hooligans? Plus ours only turn up for the big local derby's. Very strange decision. Also with games like this they should open up the main stand for families of away fans, Plymouth have a family stand where both home and away fans are welcome.

What shouldn't happen is for town fans to go on the cov message board and suggest they go in the main because the tickets have stopped being sold.

The main stand is home fans only and despite the jokes about it being the "werthers brigade" inviting away fans into it is a recipe for trouble

Afternoon guys...

Was hoping to travel up with the family in the morning but that's obviously been ended now.....very disappointing.

They must have been expecting hundreds to pay on the day....this happened at Crewe a few years ago and there was loads locked out.

I'm sure you will find the majority of Cov fans good natured and contrary to some of the comments I have read, the big club arrogance disappeared for most years ago........we've been through that much s h I t.

Quoted from 1mickylyons

Coventry are the best supported team in League 2 by a mile why on earth do they have to make life so difficult for travelling fans?I expect this is down to so called police intelligence and previous history from over 25 years ago football fans do have long memories.

I suspect it's more down to Sheffield United a very few years ago. The police are not worried so much about inside BP or probably even about Coventry fans in general. It's August. Cleethorpes High Street and the Prom are beckoning the idiots.

Quoted from TheRonRaffertyFanClub

I suspect it's more down to Sheffield United a very few years ago. The police are not worried so much about inside BP or probably even about Coventry fans in general. It's August. Cleethorpes High Street and the Prom are beckoning the idiots.

You may well have a point and yes we have plenty of idiots but even so the planning for this must have been sorted weeks ago.  Cov will bring more than any other club I suspect but had it been further into the season and playing well the demand would have been double and more so very surprised.

Quoted from Cov1

You may well have a point and yes we have plenty of idiots but even so the planning for this must have been sorted weeks ago.  Cov will bring more than any other club I suspect but had it been further into the season and playing well the demand would have been double and more so very surprised.

I would imagine we'll take 2k plus to your place and can only imagine the outrage if we were treated the same as you guys have been. Maybe the club and police have their reasons, but to not offer an ounce of empathy or shred of reasoning in their statement is embarrassing. The whole thing smacks of being tinpot, an unfortunate recurring feature of our club's "PR" department.

Police intelligence (oxymoron) no doubt, certainly has been some beef in history with Coventry following a certain jolly hockey sticks outing there a few years ago...on my last trip to Highfield Rd they welcomed us with a low level firework display, free pint glasses and a selection of pool table accessories ....Vauxhall Tavern i think was the pub ??

Quoted from Cov1

Afternoon guys...

Was hoping to travel up with the family in the morning but that's obviously been ended now.....very disappointing.

They must have been expecting hundreds to pay on the day....this happened at Crewe a few years ago and there was loads locked out.

I'm sure you will find the majority of Cov fans good natured and contrary to some of the comments I have read, the big club arrogance disappeared for most years ago........we've been through that much s h I t.

SH!T ??....Have you lost at Chasetown yet during your tumble from grace ? You will know what Sh1t is when that happens  

Every sympathy with you otherwise regards all the off field stuff you have endured.

Do your fans hold any one person in particular to blame for your meteoric descent ?

Quoted from moosey_club

Police intelligence (oxymoron) no doubt, certainly has been some beef in history with Coventry following a certain jolly hockey sticks outing there a few years ago...on my last trip to Highfield Rd they welcomed us with a low level firework display, free pint glasses and a selection of pool table accessories ....Vauxhall Tavern i think was the pub ??

That's the pub.....long gone now but yes I remember.....they only travel now and then these days so who knows.

That made me laugh.... low level firework display  

Quoted from moosey_club

SH!T ??....Have you lost at Chasetown yet during your tumble from grace ? You will know what Sh1t is when that happens  
Every sympathy with you otherwise regards all the off field stuff you have endured.
Do your fans hold anyone person in particular to blame for your meteoric descent ?

All about the owners mate, very well documented and very long.

This together with being one of the most unsuccessful clubs in the football leagues in last few decades has caused major apathy...

Quoted from Cov1

That's the pub.....long gone now but yes I remember.....they only travel now and then these days so who knows.

That made me laugh.... low level firework display  

I can laugh now...at the time it wasnt that funny.....more like WTF !!



We still like to blame ITV Digital for going bust for starting our rot.

Quoted from Cov1

All about the owners mate, very well documented and very long.

Is it still the same ones then ?

Agree with Bigdog, the police call themselves a "Police Service" well that's a joke, ordinary football fans are a pain to them were all holigans wanting to fight cause trouble. Don't get me started on how they deal with general burglary etc, from experience you have to be happy with just getting an incident number so you can claim on insurance but some weeks ago Look Norh had a report of some rare wild flower growing on the roadside that may get picked and there are the police reporting that they look upon this as a high rate crime.

Quoted from moosey_club

I can laugh now...at the time it wasnt that funny.....more like WTF !!

So who's fault is it all ..your current predicament ?

We still like to blame ITV Digital for going bust for starting our rot.

The problems really began back in the mid to late nineties when Cov endured a relatively successful period, the days of Atkinson/Strachan, Whelan, Keane, Dublin, Huckerby etc....

The debt was building as the club chucked bad money after bad in desperate attempts to retain Premiership status.....the relegation and the subsequent failure to return at the first attempt was the other catalyst for disaster.  The new ground was financed and planned with Premiership football in mind obviously.....poor performances saw the crowds drift from 20/25,000 down to below 17/18k and it's been a downward spiral.

Sisu rescued us from administration but have systematically killed the club over the last 5 years, falling out with the council (who owned The Ricoh) and other partners thus driving us into isolation off the pitch.  This together with very limited funding, asset stripping and poor footballing decisions and you have the modern day Coventry City.....I could go on and on.

It's a club with passionate fans, a good away following and yes it's a proper footballing City.....Jimmy Hill must be turning in his grave.

Quoted from Cov1

All about the owners mate, very well documented and very long.

This together with being one of the most unsuccessful clubs in the football leagues in last few decades has caused major apathy...

Did I hear the other day that Coventry haven't finished in the Top 6 of any Division for something like the last 40 years?

Quoted from Les Brechin

Did I hear the other day that Coventry haven't finished in the Top 6 of any Division for something like the last 40 years?

Correct.

Most don't know that but it's a shocking fact.

Can't see families being an issue mingaling together, the attitude of it not being able to work just proves why rugby fans and players turn their noses up at football

'Information' so clearly intelligence based around the fans...

http://www.coventrytelegraph.n.....tcache=1502463932668

It's pretty obvious to me that this is down to the police, perhaps Kristine could post to put everybody's mind at rest?

Quoted from Cov1

The problems really began back in the mid to late nineties when Cov endured a relatively successful period, the days of Atkinson/Strachan, Whelan, Keane, Dublin, Huckerby etc....

The debt was building as the club chucked bad money after bad in desperate attempts to retain Premiership status.....the relegation and the subsequent failure to return at the first attempt was the other catalyst for disaster.  The new ground was financed and planned with Premiership football in mind obviously.....poor performances saw the crowds drift from 20/25,000 down to below 17/18k and it's been a downward spiral.

Sisu rescued us from administration but have systematically killed the club over the last 5 years, falling out with the council (who owned The Ricoh) and other partners thus driving us into isolation off the pitch.  This together with very limited funding, asset stripping and poor footballing decisions and you have the modern day Coventry City.....I could go on and on.

It's a club with passionate fans, a good away following and yes it's a proper footballing City.....Jimmy Hill must be turning in his grave.

Cheers for the synopsis. The all conquering greed and desire to stay in the Premiership being the driver and downfall of so many clubs and subsequent despair for fans.

I went to watch Muse at the Ricoh, and while  I was there I discovered how the club were being shafted by a consortium which included their own council.

They paid a staggering rent of one and a half million pounds a year to use the stadium. The consortium kept all the match day revenues including car parking at £11 a car.

All the club got was the match day ticket sales and programs.

Clearly unsustainable

I feel for the fans of the club.

So Grimsby can take 4K to Donny, 2600 last week and the local police seem to cope, but Humberside police are panicking at approx 1400 from Coventry, they must be a right mob so tomorrow will look like a war zone by 5 pm.

Hull at home to Burton so HP probably panicking about the huge crowd that'll be there as well

Quoted from Davec

It's pretty obvious to me that this is down to the police, perhaps Kristine could post to put everybody's mind at rest?

Is she the SLO? Hopefully can shed some light on this. Clearly both sets of supporters frustrated by this.

I think it's about time that fans took the police to task over the way they can just change things around at a moments notice, causing major disruption to peoples lives just to suit themselves. They are suppose to serve the public, but when it comes to football fans, they become a law unto themselves without any form of accountability.

A recent example of this was when they suddenly changed the Cheltenham kick off time, for no good reason, and after fans had bought rail tickets which couldn't be refunded, leaving fans out of pocket.

It doesn't happen in any other walk of life, so how do they get away with it when it involves football matches?

I suspect their intelligence ( and I am not 'In the know') indicates a large bunch of fans travelling without tickets. By not selling any more they will then have space to round them up and take them to the game. I would not be at all surprised if several Cov fans do end up paying on the day !  
Total supposition on my part, but can't think of any other reason. Unless of course, it is just Humberside Police  being totally inept???

I did not know our club have so much money that we can afford turning fans away

This is frankly ridiculous, how much money is this decision gonna cost the club in lost revenue,  and what about our reputation with travelling fans.

We seem to take masses on the road game after game and don't encounter this nonsense.

There will be many Coventry supporters who have not seen it on internet or live in area to see it in a news paper that will turn up tomorrow. More than likely elderly or families on holiday in the area. What will happen to them?

Football fans are easy targets for the Police. The Police have to cope if two rival demonstration marches are planned for the same Town or City. They do not have the powers to change times or turn people away or close pubs unless a crime is committed. But they seem to be able to do what they want to football fans.

They know the capacity of Blundell Park, they know the away allocation so why can't they plan how to handle it instead of copping out and turning people away, or changing kickoff times.

Even Football Fans have Human Rights Humberside Police.

I know it's great to be back and all that, but being treated as human beings in the Conference was infinitely better than being a commodity that can be used, abused and discarded in the Football League?

Looking on Coventry's site there might be a few in home sections, now we could really confuse the police( although that's probably not too difficult) if we welcomed them and spoke to them with no problems at all.

I've been trying all day ringing ticket office no one picking up,can we buy on day

Its a 240mile round trip so I don't want a wasted trip

It's not the police but down to the club.

safety advisory group met yesterday and they imposed restrictions. SAGs always Chaired by local council.

it's the council, that explains a lot!

Why has no one come out and explained why? Really drunk some off. Don't care who's fault it is surely gtfc know the reason why. If they came out and said intelligence has found a hooligan group chat / plan or something then already the genuine fans could kind of get it and understand, although even in that situation why should others suffer.

S.L.O.  WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON .?

Ooh.. I doubt it but I wonder if it's the fact because the home stands are almost a sell out we want the corner of the osmond for home fans?
Pfft yeah right

Ah it's the council, that explains it all now, they think that if they can restrict the size of the crowd than when we get nearer to planning the new ground they can claim that as the crowds are so small than the ground only needs to be small. Simples.

I'm on the SAG as a fan rep but wasn't aware of an emergency meeting until I saw the Coventry tweet so have been trying to find out but know as much as anybody else at the minute.  

Quoted from Kristine

I'm on the SAG as a fan rep but wasn't aware of an emergency meeting until I saw the Coventry tweet so have been trying to find out but know as much as anybody else at the minute.  

Thank you for your response do you feel a little sidestepped ?

Not really thought about it so likely not.  I don't know the procedure in terms of emergency meetings but I will as always find out.  

Its rare it happens so close to a game.  Categories are decided and then meetings take place right up to a few days before, if any new intelligence comes in the category can change which it seems it has here.  The SAG is there (Club, SGSA, Council, Police, Fire Brigade, EMAS and me) to ensure safety of supporters, this has caused a huge wave that they'd all choose rather not to have so you'd have to trust its done in the best interests of that.

That isn't saying however that had it been the other way round that I wouldn't be finding out exactly who attended that meeting and what was said.

What I do not understand is why if there is a risk than why are we still selling tickets surely this is going to cause major problems tomorrow

The potential for trouble, and rumours of a large Coventry  hooligan contingent have been circulating pretty much since the fixture list came out. This last minute reaction is so so typical of the local police and council !! I hope that if any 'sensible Cov fans do end up in our stands they are not picked on.
On more than one occasion I have had to go in home stands at away games Usually sussed within 10 Mins. But never felt threatened.

Quoted from Kristine

Not really thought about it so likely not.  I don't know the procedure in terms of emergency meetings but I will as always find out.  

Its rare it happens so close to a game.  Categories are decided and then meetings take place right up to a few days before, if any new intelligence comes in the category can change which it seems it has here.  The SAG is there (Club, SGSA, Council, Police, Fire Brigade, EMAS and me) to ensure safety of supporters, this has caused a huge wave that they'd all choose rather not to have so you'd have to trust its done in the best interests of that.

That isn't saying however that had it been the other way round that I wouldn't be finding out exactly who attended that meeting and what was said.

Eh? Seems like gobbledegoock, if the SLO can't explain maybe the club should? Both sets of supporters clearly frustrated.

Quoted from Kristine

Not really thought about it so likely not.  I don't know the procedure in terms of emergency meetings but I will as always find out.  

Its rare it happens so close to a game.  Categories are decided and then meetings take place right up to a few days before, if any new intelligence comes in the category can change which it seems it has here.  The SAG is there (Club, SGSA, Council, Police, Fire Brigade, EMAS and me) to ensure safety of supporters, this has caused a huge wave that they'd all choose rather not to have so you'd have to trust its done in the best interests of that.

That isn't saying however that had it been the other way round that I wouldn't be finding out exactly who attended that meeting and what was said.

Regardless of what this weekend brings your doing a great job Kristine, keep up the good work!

The vast majority of fans are civilised in my experience. Some get carried away in moments of excitement but scarcely ever with malice. Eons ago, home and visiting fans used to stand together and forced separation is a relatively recent 'abomination'. Nowadays, at away games, and not least because I'm exiled, I generally sit close to the half-way line among the home supporters. I did so at Chesterfield last week, will do so at Stevenage next weekend and probably again at Crewe on Sept 2nd. It's just a matter of showing some discretion and judging the levels of 'animation' in ones neighbours. Frankly, I don't see the harm.  

1)  The club embarrassing themselves again, especially for the poor communication.  They should have made it clear it was a police decision because the police had miscalculated their resources for the day and weren't able to provide adequate cover, then apologised to Coventry City and their fans.

2)  Fenty should use this as an example of how BP is decrepit and not fit for purpose as a modern sporting venue.

3)  Kristine does a great job as SLO, but why was she not informed of this meeting or invited to attend?  The SLO is supposed to be involved in discussions between police and clubs and Kristine should be at these, or at the very least be told by the club that they are going to happen.  There has been a pattern of her not being invited or consulted on a number of occasions and seeming to be blindsided on decisions, often finding out second hand on social media before having to investigate and find out what's happened.

I think the Trust need to, as a matter of urgency, ask for clarification around Kristine's role and certainly ask for the club and JF to apologise for the discourteous way she has been treated over this matter and on other occasions.

Hi all. City supporter here.

It is an absolute joke. The decision has been made by people who don't seem to have a clue. I am one of the hundreds who don't have a ticket yet. I will know by about 10:30 if I am able to go. I have family spread from Immingham and Grimsby all the way to Louth and Skeggy. So was waiting to see if I could make it, and if so was my family able to visit the family for the weekend.

So now I have to decide if I travel and go in the home end. The last time we played at Grimsby it was a winter game. Being a local I knew I wanted the stand between me and the river Humber. I was the idiot celebrating the goal   But today we will have many who will want to get in. It was going to be POTG. To stop this you will have to stop selling tickets to your own supporters. Clubs in Division 4 can't afford to do this.

We are a friendly bunch. We have a few idiots but who doesn't. I can't remember the last time I saw trouble at a game. So if that is the reason someone has got it badly wrong.

Quite a few were making a weekend of the game. Not all had already bought their tickets. Not all will already know we can't get tickets. What happens when they turn up?

So it has gone from a friendly game where we could have shared pubs and had good banter to people being frustrated about wasted journeys and plans ruined. Are they all going to take it on the chin and walk away with a smile on their face?

Just don't forget us Grimsby fans are with you on this, it's rediculous

I know Luke. I have a lad who is a GTFC supporter. I have watched a lot of your games over the years. You are a good bunch of lads. But decisions are made by those who think they know better. It is is supporters that are left to suffer.

This is going to cost your club a lot of money. And nobody will have to answer for what they have done. In all my years of watching Grimsby games I have never known anything like it happen before.

One game I will never forget was away to WBA. Must be over 20 years ago now. Was a very windy day. Suddenly the corrugated roof started falling onto the terrace. They wouldn't let us move until HT. Wr spent the first half looking up getting ready to watch the next bit coming down on us. Does anyone remember that game? If you was there you will.

I can understand why so many pay on the gate as Coventry sell their away tickets via Ticketmaster for some reason, and we all know how exorbitant their admin/postage fees are.

I think that this could all be a reaction from the Sheffield Utd friendly where the police were caught out. I believe there are now rules were the police cannot just turn buses away because 6 lads at the back have form, this tactic was challenged last year by I think Bristol City fans, so the authorities next plan is to make it as difficult as possible to get into games.Once again the minority spoil it for the majority.

But if they only wanted a certain amount of us to go why not just allow us that many tickets instead of saying we could have 1,800 and POTG then take them off sale?

Quoted from Astute

But if they only wanted a certain amount of us to go why not just allow us that many tickets instead of saying we could have 1,800 and POTG then take them off sale?

Because they are clueless and inept at policing large matches.
If there is no trouble, the police will say they got it right. If there is trouble, the police will say I told you so.

They got it badly wrong against Sheffield Utd last year and again against Mansfield.  It would appear that everyone except police intelligence knows where the trouble will be.

What surprises me is that our great club are burying their head in the sand once more no communication with the fans on how they are going to handle the situation with potentially 100s turning up without tickets wanting to purchase home end tickets, do locals need to produce proof of address ?

I don't know why they didn't just make it all ticket for the away fans...judging by how many they sold already, they would easily have sold out the away end. Then the police have exact numbers. Job done. It worked fine for us at Chesterfield just a week ago.

Quoted from sam gy

I don't know why they didn't just make it all ticket for the away fans...judging by how many they sold already, they would easily have sold out the away end. Then the police have exact numbers. Job done. It worked fine for us at Chesterfield just a week ago.

According to les they use ticket master which I suppose will be very unpopular with the fans so perhaps Coventry advised to allow on the day sales,but this seems like a very poor idea allowing the opportunity of our idiots to purchase tickets in there

What an absolute mess. Once again fans being treated like dirt. I hope this doesn't put fans off travelling as I'm sure they will be able to get tickets for the Osmond on the day. Whatever excuses are given it doesn't justify the timing of the decision. If police budgets have been hammered so much that they need to stop fans attending matches because they can't police them then things are even worse than I thought. As for the club I'd imagine they'll lose around 20 grand and even more credibility from this decision.

It is up to the club to share what has happened. I know the reasons but can't say as it's been shared by family member and not been announced by the club for a reason.

If it was the police, don't you think GTFC would have already come out and said that? Yes.

It's not the police at all, it's down to the club and the SAG had no choice.

We are advertising for "Match Day SIA Door Staff" on OS. I wonder if it is the club that do not have enough staff? If so why? Do we pay enough? Makes you think.

The club constantly praises our away support, then denies another club that right. Lot of small minded people in this town.

Quoted from Grantham_Mariner

We are advertising for "Match Day SIA Door Staff" on OS. I wonder if it is the club that do not have enough staff? If so why? Do we pay enough? Makes you think.

No correlation - the advert for SIA is for the 2 guys in the lower which is subject to review after the 1st few games.

Quoted from Kristine

No correlation - the advert for SIA is for the 2 guys in the lower which is subject to review after the 1st few games.

Kristine.

Could you tell us what this decision is actually based on ?
Who has prompted it. The Gy police ? The Cov police ?
Or either club ?  

Just ordered my tickets . Upper and lower sold out . Only pontoon and main stand on sale

Quoted from Civvy at last

Kristine.

Could you tell us what this decision is actually based on ?
Who has prompted it. The Gy police ? The Cov police ?
Or either club ?  

Today's situation?  All I know is that some late intelligence came in which led to the emergency SAG meeting with the outcome being to take tickets off sale immediately.  

So I know no more than what has openly been reported at the minute.

What a joke I doubt they would of sold 1800 anyway was even mentioned on there own forum. so by doing this we now have a potential risk of crowd disorder in the home stand.. what a bunch of clowns.

hope the residents on Harrington street have been briefed to keep their doors locked regarding the Coventry fans... seem to remember them the last time just letting themselves in whilst running scared😂

Not our club. They were told not to sell any more.

We don't cause trouble. And we are used to losing games. Have you got any idiotic hooligans these days?  Someone might have heard something. So maybe they want to keep our numbers down and try and get us in and out ASAP. If so that alone could caused trouble.

http://www.coventrytelegraph.n.....ash-grimsby-13464937

Coventry Telegraph seem to know more. They are the only ones to quote Humberside Police.

Quoted from mimma

I think it's about time that fans took the police to task over the way they can just change things around at a moments notice, causing major disruption to peoples lives just to suit themselves. They are suppose to serve the public, but when it comes to football fans, they become a law unto themselves without any form of accountability.

A recent example of this was when they suddenly changed the Cheltenham kick off time, for no good reason, and after fans had bought rail tickets which couldn't be refunded, leaving fans out of pocket.

It doesn't happen in any other walk of life, so how do they get away with it when it involves football matches?

This is why sport and politics must mix.

Quoted from Les Brechin

I can understand why so many pay on the gate as Coventry sell their away tickets via Ticketmaster for some reason, and we all know how exorbitant their admin/postage fees are.

Another example of someone else's interests over-riding those of the fans. All that matters is that someone makes a profit.

Astute not strictly true is it...Cov have caused plenty of issues over the years so not sure where you have been.

Hopefully they won't today.

Well let's just hope it all goes well, without incident and we all enjoy it. The vast majority of fans, that's all they want.

Quoted from NorthseaMariner

Well let's just hope it all goes well, without incident and we all enjoy it. The vast majority of fans, that's all they want.

It's not the vast majority of fans that usually get their way though is it, unfortunately.

Quoted from Lincspoacher

It is up to the club to share what has happened. I know the reasons but can't say as it's been shared by family member and not been announced by the club for a reason.

If it was the police, don't you think GTFC would have already come out and said that? Yes.

It's not the police at all, it's down to the club and the SAG had no choice.

All that we know so far comes from the Coventry Telegraph which directly quotes Humberside Police - see quote below. Seems to say information came from all 3 parties. In fact it explicitly says that the decision was taken by the local authority chair of the SAG. So it seems either Insp Snowden has it wrong or your source is wrong in that it's down to the club.

'Inspector Scott Snowden, from Humberside Police’s Command Support Unit, said: “Following a meeting of the emergency safety advisory group yesterday where information was considered from the local authority, representatives of Grimsby Town Football Club and police, a decision was taken by the local authority chair of the group to withdraw the sale of tickets available to visiting away fans.

“The safety of those attending this sporting event is a priority and a key factor in arriving at this decision.'

SAG can't make decisions only recommendations but all tend to follow these for obvious reasons.

It will come out in the end, I can say no more.

Typically there's nothing on the club site about this. 'Latest News' items are ads for an app and betting. A day after someone on a fan site made a post about it, there's nothing from GTFC.

Then it seems the SLO didn't even get informed of the meeting.

Shambolic communications as usual. It's time something changed within GTFC.

Quoted from Grim74

What a joke I doubt they would of sold 1800 anyway was even mentioned on there own forum. so by doing this we now have a potential risk of crowd disorder in the home stand.. what a bunch of clowns.

hope the residents on Harrington street have been briefed to keep their doors locked regarding the Coventry fans... seem to remember them the last time just letting themselves in whilst running scared😂

You think this is funny? No wonder views about football fans being hooligans persist.

Quoted from Lincspoacher

SAG can't make decisions only recommendations but all tend to follow these for obvious reasons.

It will come out in the end, I can say no more.

So you're saying Snowdon got it wrong in his statement? He explicitly said the chair of SAG made a decision.

Maybe he went to the same school of PR as the club's representative.

Over the years but not for a long time. Mainly when we have been started on. But yes we do have a few idiots. All clubs do. The vast majority of us want nothing to do with it these days.

Don't believe a word from the Telegraph. They get half of their stories from us as we know more than them.

What ever happens the police will come out and say they were right ,

They are scared Coventry fans will be like the Sheff Utd ones who caused havoc last August,

If there is no trouble they will say we stopped the hooligans coming,

If there is any trouble they will say it would have been worse if we had not restricted the numbers,

They have learnt nothing over the years,

Hooligans will travel whether they have a ticket or not,

I hope all the decent Coventry fans manage to get to the match whether they have a ticket or not,

Its about time the police stop treating the 98%/99% of good law abiding fans the same as the few hooligans.

I guess even if they have intelligence its not as simple as wait for the coaches to arrive or wait at the train station to arrest known trouble causers.  They have to be seen to be in the act.  Those with banning orders should turned away.

Its simple really.  Every football fan is given an id card with a barcode that officers and ground staff can scan. If someone has been naughty there id card gets blacklisted and is immediately identified  and arrested.  

Life is so simple sometimes. Lol

I'm surprised no-one's thought of an ID card idea before.

We should all wear armbands with a football on them.

I guess its expensive to implement to those at the FA.  But its quite simple.  If you threw a smoke bomb Abdul but got away with it on the day.  The police might be able to identify you.  Then mark you as blacklisted.  Then the next time you go to a game to gain access through the gates and hand over your ticket etc the gates would not open for you and the police on the seen arrest you.  

Maybe if the fans can make enough noise something like this might get implemented.  

Like Wembley., instead of scanning tickets it scans id cards.

Mmmmmm didn't we try a ID CARD back in the 80s and was not taken up by most clubs