Anyone seen the piece in The Times about our fans?

I will try to copy and paste

Anything about one of their journalists?

Fair enough if EMT reduce the service after people leaving them in that state.

Quoted from ska face

Fair enough if EMT reduce the service after people leaving them in that state.

Quite. Don’t get me wrong, I like a flare and a line of coke as much as the next man, but I draw the line at píssing my pants whilst sat in my seat. On the way there at the very least…

It gets worse. This has just been covered on Talksport on the Jim White show. It sounded like Martin Keown to me, giving all the details.

Now I will often jump to the defence of town fans when people slag them off, but when you’ve got cocaine involved then there is no argument. Utter c#nts. I think the owners need to go public and state exactly what they think to some of the scum who follow us away for the big  games, they’re an embarrassment.

Love it.

Having a “journalist” lecturing people about cocaine use is a bit rich, mind.

Dont think for one minute its just football fans.. its in all walks of life from the very rich to the  food or a fix end of the scale.  Wonder what its like at some of these music festivals ?

Quoted from Heisenberg

It gets worse. This has just been covered on Talksport on the Jim White show. It sounded like Martin Keown to me, giving all the details.

Now I will often jump to the defence of town fans when people slag them off, but when you’ve got cocaine involved then there is no argument. Utter c#nts. I think the owners need to go public and state exactly what they think to some of the scum who follow us away for the big  games, they’re an embarrassment.

So if they weren't doing cocaine, then trashing a train, intimidating families and disabled people and just generally being anti-social are ok?

It's disgusting and the people like LCL and aldi that make out that football fans are really good in comparison to the population in general are in denial.

Same at horse racing, Sat night city centres. This is not a Grimsby thing

Quoted from pen penfras

So if they weren't doing cocaine, then trashing a train, intimidating families and disabled people and just generally being anti-social are ok?

It's disgusting and the people like LCL and aldi that make out that football fans are really good in comparison to the population in general are in denial.

This. Plenty of people take coke in clubs, pubs, festivals etc...the difference is that in the main, they don't usually smash up trains, terrorise women and young children en masse, in the process. Usually they just drone on, talking shite loudly, with an inflated sense of their own importance, boring anyone within earshot senseless.

As Heisenberg said, this tars us all with the same brush, making us all look like utter cnuts, unfortunately.

Our fans are demonized by the media REEE! Our fans are the best in the country!  ;D

I'm sure somebody will make the argument that it's just random idiots and not our "real" fans but I've seen plenty of evidence on social media that our regulars are exactly the people doing this and leading the next generation of 12 year old junior season ticket holders that also attend all the away games to do the same. Presented as a bit of a "lads on tour" with minibuses except with Nazi salutes and racism mixed with drink, drugs and violence. One young fellow complaining how other fans are playing "hide and seek" so they can't have a fight before the game.

I've been on those trains with fans going to away games and it really is gross, noisy and full of people who can't get through the day without some sort of chemical help.

Copy of article with formatting/images etc.

https://archive.ph/2022.02.10-123200/https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/football-violence-cocaine-and-kids-as-young-as-12-the-new-face-of-hooliganism-rn53v7022

Quoted from pen penfras

So if they weren't doing cocaine, then trashing a train, intimidating families and disabled people and just generally being anti-social are ok?

It's disgusting and the people like LCL and aldi that make out that football fans are really good in comparison to the population in general are in denial.

No, I wasn’t saying that at all, and you know it.

Quoted from RobDef1

Love it.

Yeah I love being treated like a criminal at our next away match because some n0bheads can't control themselves and just want to create trouble.

I've never acted like a twit at a game (even after several drinks), yet I've been treated as if I'm a scumbag by the police on a good few occasions at away games.

I wonder why that is?  ::)

Edit:  Oh, didn't see mariner91's similar sentiments before posting.

Quoted from Bristol Mariner

Same at horse racing, Sat night city centres. This is not a Grimsby thing

And your point is? It doesn’t matter where it happens, it is still abhorrent behaviour and labels the majority of town fans with the same brush as it is national news. Sick and tired of the attitude that it happens everywhere so it is what it is, or it’s not a problem. That attitude will never change anything and I am sure the attitudes would change if it came to your door.

As for your comparisons, if people go to the racing, it is their choice and there is usually a lot of space to move away, if you are out in a city on a Saturday night it is your choice to do so and you will be aware that there will be people drinking, possibly taking drugs and making a noise, again, you can choose to move elsewhere. When you are stuck on a train making an innocent journey in the morning then you have nowhere to go. Must have been very scary for a lot of these people. Whether it’s not a Grimsby thing or not, it is not acceptable, and if people excuse it because it happens all over the place then god help society. We already live in a society where individuals don’t take responsibility for their own actions and just blame everybody else, and as long as people have this attitude society will continue to spiral into oblivion.

Quoted from BenBB

Copy of article with formatting/images etc.

https://archive.ph/2022.02.10-123200/https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/football-violence-cocaine-and-kids-as-young-as-12-the-new-face-of-hooliganism-rn53v7022

Ta. I'll delete my copy and paste job higher up the thread.

We do have more idiots than most other teams, and the number of these is growing. Club allows yobbish behaviour at home so of course it will happen away. For those that disagree, there is definitely a different matchday experience in certain areas of the ground.

Noted the chinese lad photographed storming the disabled area has also been on two matchday moments videos on the pitch when we've scored, yet he's at every home game including Tuesday night. Obviously, he will carrying on acting like this, take it up a level and others will be encouraged to do so. The people causing the serious trouble don't start overnight, it's a slow burner of behaviour that escalates over time. So long as it goes unchallenged, the risk of something more serious will increase.

Shocking discovery by The Times that football fans take cocaine and don't clear up their cans on the train. There's gonna be some poor behaviour when 2500 fans go anywhere and obviously anyone getting racial abuse is completely abhorrent, not defending that. However, they can get to fuck peddling this notion that there was a substantial air of hooliganism about last Saturday. Lumping us in with Leicester fans throwing chairs around. There wasn't a jot of friction between us and the County fans, stewards or police around the ground or in town from what I saw. I've personally not seen any trouble at any Town matches all season. Lazy, sensationalist journalism that will do more damage than good. The writer obviously had a narrative set out for this article before creating it, why else would they have attended police debriefings?

Quoted from Son of Cod

There wasn't a jot of friction between us and the County fans, stewards or police around the ground or in town from what I saw.

Actually, that's not true I remember someone getting ridiculously irate at the stewards because he couldn't go up a stairwell at half time. I don't mean to sound like I'm brushing anything under the carpet either. Just more that Saturday was in no way deserving of this kind of exposé in a national newspaper.

Seems odd at first glance that they led on our fans behaviour rather than Leicester's but I suppose the fan attacking the player on the pitch at Forest was everywhere Sunday night/Monday morning - so the jouno needed a new in for his piece

Well that really does make you proud. Next time your all bleating about heavy handed policing lack of tickets altered match times than refer to this article.

Quoted from pen penfras

So if they weren't doing cocaine, then trashing a train, intimidating families and disabled people and just generally being anti-social are ok?

It's disgusting and the people like LCL and aldi that make out that football fans are really good in comparison to the population in general are in denial.

Pipe down


The irony of journos, from a radio station that has had plenty of issues is clear for all to see…I’m not sure Talksport can condone anyone…

Quoted from mariner91

Yeah I love being treated like a criminal at our next away match because some n0bheads can't control themselves and just want to create trouble.

I was actually joking. But for what its worth, Journalist goes on random awayday looking for tomfoolery and drug abuse, finds it, shock of the century.

Quoted from Son of Cod

Actually, that's not true I remember someone getting ridiculously irate at the stewards because he couldn't go up a stairwell at half time. I don't mean to sound like I'm brushing anything under the carpet either. Just more that Saturday was in no way deserving of this kind of exposé in a national newspaper.

We broke a stewards nose and the train carriage is out of action due to the toilet door being pulled off it's hinges and headrests being slashed open..

Identify  them, ban them, fine them ,  we don't need them.

Have a look at the article and the final photo. See the look of distress on one of our disabled supporter's face as some girl private behaves like a girl private. They're a disgrace and the club needs to come out and say so.

Anyone giving it the 'it's the police', 'it's always been like this', 'just get over it' b0ll0x needs to lift their knuckles off the floor and think like an adult and not an immature d1ck. Selfish stupid wnakers, every last one of them.

Would love to go to more away games but taking an adult son with autism isn’t easy given the levels of security that he is anxious about.

Seems like it’s the minority that spoil it for the majority but, whilst most of the majority can cope with the hassle, I’m afraid it’s making it very difficult to go away.

Quoted from Son of Cod

Shocking discovery by The Times that football fans take cocaine and don't clear up their cans on the train. There's gonna be some poor behaviour when 2500 fans go anywhere and obviously anyone getting racial abuse is completely abhorrent, not defending that. However, they can get to fuck peddling this notion that there was a substantial air of hooliganism about last Saturday. Lumping us in with Leicester fans throwing chairs around. There wasn't a jot of friction between us and the County fans, stewards or police around the ground or in town from what I saw. I've personally not seen any trouble at any Town matches all season. Lazy, sensationalist journalism that will do more damage than good. The writer obviously had a narrative set out for this article before creating it, why else would they have attended police debriefings?

Clearly they had a narrative, that's what they were there to report on, but they didn't trash the train or provoke the morons. I feel sick and ashamed watching that disabled supporter scared and being comforted by a steward.

Quoted from Posh Harry

And your point is? It doesn’t matter where it happens, it is still abhorrent behaviour and labels the majority of town fans with the same brush as it is national news. Sick and tired of the attitude that it happens everywhere so it is what it is, or it’s not a problem. That attitude will never change anything and I am sure the attitudes would change if it came to your door.

As for your comparisons, if people go to the racing, it is their choice and there is usually a lot of space to move away, if you are out in a city on a Saturday night it is your choice to do so and you will be aware that there will be people drinking, possibly taking drugs and making a noise, again, you can choose to move elsewhere. When you are stuck on a train making an innocent journey in the morning then you have nowhere to go. Must have been very scary for a lot of these people. Whether it’s not a Grimsby thing or not, it is not acceptable, and if people excuse it because it happens all over the place then god help society. We already live in a society where individuals don’t take responsibility for their own actions and just blame everybody else, and as long as people have this attitude society will continue to spiral into oblivion.

Twit, I made no judgement and cordoned nothing. It’s wide than Grimsby - that’s my point.

Lazy sensationalist journalism looking for an easy win to deliver to the tut tutting classes - Grimsby at Notts County that looks like shoo-in. Unfortunately, we delivered to a certain extent. From what I've heard the disorder was far worse the following day. But smaller scale disorder from a smaller non-league club probably makes football disorder look worse and more widespread - like Forest v Leicester was bound to kick off like say West Ham v Tottenham so we won't cover that as much

We need to clean up our act, but not sure how. I expect repercussions now with Chesterfield KO time and allocation, but the sensationalising of statements like "arriving 5 hours before kick off" I find particularly irritating. Check the pubs at 10 am before any 6 nations game. I expect there are plenty of chemicals around as well but the police won't be checking for it.

I think cocaine use is rife in all social classes. It was a huge factor in that England fixture at Wembley when fans stormed  the turnstiles to get in, and it’s evidently commonplace in parliamentary circles too judging by recent reports.

I like our new owners and how they have conducted themselves so far but for me that statement is a bit limp wristed.

Praising the masses with a gentle ticking off for the naughty boys, whilst also suggesting it’s not their fault they behaved badly, they have issues. Meanwhile the naughty boys snigger in the back row planning their next big shindig without fear of ever being reprimanded.

Quoted from Posh Harry

And your point is? It doesn’t matter where it happens, it is still abhorrent behaviour and labels the majority of town fans with the same brush as it is national news. Sick and tired of the attitude that it happens everywhere so it is what it is, or it’s not a problem. That attitude will never change anything and I am sure the attitudes would change if it came to your door.

As for your comparisons, if people go to the racing, it is their choice and there is usually a lot of space to move away, if you are out in a city on a Saturday night it is your choice to do so and you will be aware that there will be people drinking, possibly taking drugs and making a noise, again, you can choose to move elsewhere. When you are stuck on a train making an innocent journey in the morning then you have nowhere to go. Must have been very scary for a lot of these people. Whether it’s not a Grimsby thing or not, it is not acceptable, and if people excuse it because it happens all over the place then god help society. We already live in a society where individuals don’t take responsibility for their own actions and just blame everybody else, and as long as people have this attitude society will continue to spiral into oblivion.

I was at the Cheltenham festival (paddy’s day) 4 years ago and there was a group of lads doing coke (ironic if it had been ketamine) right in front of the stewards. They couldn’t (maybe wouldnt) do anything as they said it wasn’t their role and the police would have to do it. Half an hour or so later, one of ‘the lads’ was groping some young lass while his mate pretended to ‘do her’ from behind. She was in floods of tears and not one of the stewards would do anything.

So, please do differentiate between the 2!?!?

Quoted from WOZOFGRIMSBY

I was at the Cheltenham festival (paddy’s day) 4 years ago and there was a group of lads doing coke (ironic if it had been ketamine) right in front of the stewards. They couldn’t (maybe wouldnt) do anything as they said it wasn’t their role and the police would have to do it. Half an hour or so later, one of ‘the lads’ was groping some young lass while his mate pretended to ‘do her’ from behind. She was in floods of tears and not one of the stewards would do anything.

So, please do differentiate between the 2!?!?

It doesn’t make it right though, does it? I’ve been at Cheltenham and witnessed drug taking and witnessed disgraceful behaviour from a small section of Town fans. Neither are acceptable or mutually exclusive. We are not a very nice society in general at present.

Forgetting the cocaine and any disruption, panic etc people caused Saturday.
The state of that train alone is an absolute disgrace. If you're going to sniff Coke and drink yourself to death atleast have the decancy to tidy up after yourselves. Even if it's a case of taking a carry bag and wacking all the empty cans into it.. intercourse me. This hurts watching this. All my friends, family and work colleagues down here will see that and for the first time ever illl feel ashamed to say I'm from Grimsby.
That isn't a small minority. That's atleast 100+ people disrespecting and trashing the train.

Quoted from RobDef1

Love it.

Idiot.

What really pi**Ed me off about Saturday was that the 3 carriage 1039 train to Nottingham was already full as it pulled into Grimsby from Cleethorpes. We were jammed in, stood up like sardines all the way there and all the way back. It was ridiculous. Trying for the toilets was a nightmare. The air conditioning couldn't cope and there were no windows on this train. Why was there not more carriages laid on for such a large amount of people? Surely ticket sales and a bit of intelligence would have shown what would happen?
Then again it's only 2022 I suppose!

So here is a question......if police intelligence knew enough to have a full scale operation ready and waiting  at Notts station ......why didn't they be pro active and have an operation at Clee/Gy and on the trains to prevent it ??

Quoted from moosey_club

So here is a question......if police intelligence knew enough to have a full scale operation ready and waiting  at Notts station ......why didn't they be pro active and have an operation at Clee/Gy and on the trains to prevent it ??

Or , people just don’t behave that way in the first place … 🤷🏻‍♂️

Quoted from goldenfish

Or , people just don’t behave that way in the first place … 🤷🏻‍♂️

Wish I had thought of that one. 🙄

Quoted from WOZOFGRIMSBY

I was at the Cheltenham festival (paddy’s day) 4 years ago and there was a group of lads doing coke (ironic if it had been ketamine) right in front of the stewards. They couldn’t (maybe wouldnt) do anything as they said it wasn’t their role and the police would have to do it. Half an hour or so later, one of ‘the lads’ was groping some young lass while his mate pretended to ‘do her’ from behind. She was in floods of tears and not one of the stewards would do anything.

So, please do differentiate between the 2!?!?

What am I supposed to differentiate between as a matter of interest? Between drunk up teenagers acting like tw8ts on a train, or someone being sexually abused. Think that is a pretty obvious differential.  

I’m interested, what did you do about this horrendous incident that you were witnessing??

Quoted from WOZOFGRIMSBY

I was at the Cheltenham festival (paddy’s day) 4 years ago and there was a group of lads doing coke (ironic if it had been ketamine) right in front of the stewards. They couldn’t (maybe wouldnt) do anything as they said it wasn’t their role and the police would have to do it. Half an hour or so later, one of ‘the lads’ was groping some young lass while his mate pretended to ‘do her’ from behind. She was in floods of tears and not one of the stewards would do anything.

So, please do differentiate between the 2!?!?

I hope you intervened on behalf of that poor “young lass”, but I get the feeling you wouldn’t have.

Quoted from moosey_club

So here is a question......if police intelligence knew enough to have a full scale operation ready and waiting  at Notts station ......why didn't they be pro active and have an operation at Clee/Gy and on the trains to prevent it ??

Cressida D ick was in charge maybe?

Quoted from GollyGTFC

I hope you intervened on behalf of that poor “young lass”, but I get the feeling you wouldn’t have.

How do you know I wouldn’t have? How do you know I didn’t?

It was actually taken out of our hands (a group of 6 of us) by the police getting there first.

And judging by your cynicism, you are probably one of those that thought she was asking for it!


I was trying to make the point that there were no searches on the way into Prestbury park. But as it’s deemed, possibly, as an upper class day out, that maybe it wasn’t seen as important to check people thoroughly (such as at Stevenage)

Quoted from MuddyWaters

It doesn’t make it right though, does it? I’ve been at Cheltenham and witnessed drug taking and witnessed disgraceful behaviour from a small section of Town fans. Neither are acceptable or mutually exclusive. We are not a very nice society in general at present.

Looking at the criminal behaviour of the leader of our society, with cheerleading for him by the local MP, the (alleged) sexual abuse of vulnerable teenage girls by the brother of a future king and the behaviour of some of those at the top of the sport, then I would say no we are not.

For feck's sake no one is condoning the anti-social behaviour of some of the Town following, arrest them and charge them, ban them. At the same time alot of people had a great day out and a few drinks with their mates, perhaps the first after the end of lockdown, caused and saw no trouble. Hopefully I'll be able to arrive by train for my next Town away games more than fours before kick-off without it being 7am in morning...

Seems to me the journalist hoped he was gonna witness mass scale disorder on the Saturday and when he didn’t he cobbled together some crap which occurs throughout society, drink and drug taking. He then stuck 15 seconds of actual football violence which occurred the following day and tarred us with this.

Jesus if you put a few hundred drinking on a small train it’s gonna look like a piece of excrement come the end of it, be that football , horse racing or just on a bender. Not saying it’s acceptable but it’s life.

More sensationalist journalism on what is really a non story. He got the day wrong he should have followed the old bill on Sunday if he wanted real football violence

I hate bullies, they disgust me. I’m fecking ashamed to be associated as a supporter of this football club with the people who left women and children in tears on that train. They aren’t men, they’re not big, clever or funny. They’re selfish and repellant. As others have said if they want to mash their heads on ale and marching powder to the point that they wet themselves go and do it away from decent human society not where ladies and kids can see. For gods sake it could be your Mam or sister sat there scared and crying. I’m no angel I’ve drunk to excess many times but I’ve never felt it necessary to take class A drugs and urine all over a railway carriage. And no matter how w@nkered I am I’d never intimidate women and kids. Have a word with yourselves you arseholes, and if you can’t sort your excrement out intercourse off out of my club you’re not wanted.

Quoted from WesternMariner

I hate bullies, they disgust me. I’m fecking ashamed to be associated as a supporter of this football club with the people who left women and children in tears on that train. They aren’t men, they’re not big, clever or funny. They’re selfish and repellant. As others have said if they want to mash their heads on ale and marching powder to the point that they wet themselves go and do it away from decent human society not where ladies and kids can see. For gods sake it could be your Mam or sister sat there scared and crying. I’m no angel I’ve drunk to excess many times but I’ve never felt it necessary to take class A drugs and urine all over a railway carriage. And no matter how w@nkered I am I’d never intimidate women and kids. Have a word with yourselves you arseholes, and if you can’t sort your excrement out intercourse off out of my club you’re not wanted.

This exactly.

Quoted from goldenfish

Or , people just don’t behave that way in the first place … 🤷🏻‍♂️

Or, we could wish that sexual violence, burglaries, scams etc. didn't happen and put all cops on traffic duty? Bad things have always happened and a civilised society orders it's affairs to limit these things to a minimum. Moosey makes a perfectly lucid point to that end and you seem to dismiss it.

Anyone who follows Town away fairly often soon learns to plan their journey and arrival at the ground carefully. Kristine and others provide helpful info but rarely do we hear from the Police. Advance warning of this operation may have deterred some of these morons from taking the train or ,at least, forewarned other travellers to avoid that train. We have Sat Navs and Traffic updates to help drivers but rail travellers are often treated poorly.

Some of us knew we would be herded like cattle in the station area and made alternative arrangements. Very few of us could avoid the less than satisfactory ticketing policy and failure to allocate enough space in the ground, especially as Notts County had asked us to take LFT's and observe social distancing where possible. Cynical corporate virtue signalling and nonsense. If the Police and others had targeted this game for their operation properly, they should have questioned the stadium manager about his match plan. Comfort and social distancing were for Notts fans only.

It's facile to say people should just behave themselves. Tut tutting is a cop out. Everyone who had a role in Saturday's event, either in planning or execution, should review their outcomes and submit their conclusions to both clubs, Police and Rail authorities. I am ashamed of around 20% of Towns away following but proud of all the rest. I would be grateful if there was a way for the 80% to make a small gesture to any of Notts staff and Railway staff who were injured or upset. I hope that the club statement is only the beginning in this regard.

No excuses for the culprits, however affected by their 'issues', and none for those who's job it is to learn from such debacles and  ensure the safety of travellers and spectators. Simply halving our ticket allocation and changing kick off times will not turn the tide. Nor will banning football supporters from trains. Limiting standing and banning alcohol may help but it does seem that the sniffer dogs were at the wrong station.

Quoted from lukeo

Forgetting the cocaine and any disruption, panic etc people caused Saturday.
The state of that train alone is an absolute disgrace. If you're going to sniff Coke and drink yourself to death atleast have the decancy to tidy up after yourselves. Even if it's a case of taking a carry bag and wacking all the empty cans into it.. intercourse me. This hurts watching this. All my friends, family and work colleagues down here will see that and for the first time ever illl feel ashamed to say I'm from Grimsby.
That isn't a small minority. That's atleast 100+ people disrespecting and trashing the train.

What c*cks red crosses this?

This is my first (and maybe only) post on this forum, after many years reading and enjoying it as a long term season ticket holder, attending many away games over the years, and of course home ones too.

What has made me comment is that it has been noticeable and recognised by relevant authorities since crowds have returned to football post Covid restrictions, antisocial behaviour has had an upward surge and maybe for some has just become the normal, and acceptable situation to enjoy football.

Of course, this is not acceptable, and to be fair highly embarrassing for all normal, law abiding Grimsby Town fans attending games both home and away.

But, it should be noted, pre covid, whilst still in the EFL, Grimsby Town fans had managed to climb to the heady heights of top five in the table of 92 clubs with fan football banning orders, which looking at our attendances is an unbelievable statistic.

So does that tell us that it has become (or always has been) an acceptable part of following Grimsby Town home and away to have absolute embarrassments amongst us?

But now a journalist has exposed to the nation what deep down we have always maybe known, some on here try to justify as "it happens everywhere"

I'm in my late fifties so grew up through the true football hooligan days, it just seems to me that were trying to go back to or recreate those times, or maybe some have never left them, which cannot be good for anyone?

To maybe put my post into perspective, my season ticket is in the Pontoon, is it only me who has noticed since crowds returned to football, it has now become even more acceptable for grown neanderthal men, who are of course encouraging the next generation to do the same, to run down to the bottom of the stand screaming every known expletive at opposion players, in front of women and young children, at the drop of a hat?

All this, is of course at the same time an increased number of bottles are being thrown onto the pitch at the Pontoon end, aimed at the same opposion players, on such a regular basis, I can only presume we should be grateful the neanderthals who throw them are so drunk they cannot see straight to hit the intended target, which of course is such a good thing, because if they manage to sober up just a little, their aim may become better and we will be in the press again complete with photos of a player laid down on the pitch holding his head, then waiting for the fine, or restrictions it will bring.

The club have made a statement about events at Notts and on trains, which of course is commendable, but to me, the club should also be looking to change the culture and behaviour in our own back yard too, as such behaviour has no place for the owners (or anyone else) wanting to move the club forward at the heart of the community.

Why were the 30+ reported in the article and why weren't the 2,470 ignored and not commented for good behaviour.

A better headline would be "A minuscule(30) of so called fans spoil Majority (2470) day out" This would have put things into perspective.

Quoted from DB

Why were the 30+ reported in the article and why weren't the 2,470 ignored and not commented for good behaviour.

A better headline would be "A minuscule(30) of so called fans spoil Majority (2470) day out" This would have put things into perspective.

Always a better story to report about the small minority than focus on the huge numbers that weren’t flipping morons.

People say that it’s not ok to say it happens at other clubs, but that’s a fact, it’s not a justification, it’s a fact.

The levels of violence aren’t anything close to what we’ve in the past but you only have to do some surface level research and have a surface level understanding of society and then observe the folk, especially the younger lads, getting involved in this to see similarities to the early 80s and society. It’s not a justification but it’s an explanation.

Across Europe there’s been an upturn in football related ‘violence’, namely France, which incidentally had some of the strictest covid rules…you’d be foolish to ignore that.

Interesting that if people put forward varying reasons and ideas, particularly regarding the match day planning and stewarding/policing they’re regarded as sympathisers of hooliganism. It’s odd really, I’ve not seen a single a person disagree that the behaviour that has been seen is moronic. All that level of policing though and it did still happen, surely it shouldn’t?

Plenty of folk taking Bolivian marching powder and drinking strong bow dark fruits don’t smash trains up, equally plenty don’t take the substances and do.

Similarly, manners aren’t expensive. I saw a bloke with his lad asking a steward where the toilets was and if there was an open kiosk. The stewards attitude was flipping appalling and in the end the bloke just walked away. Now some might say the steward was probably mardy because of what allegedly had happened, but sadly, for the steward, he can’t let that affect him. Whether he likes it or not, he needs to remain almost nondescript and courteous. When a kid attacked one of my staff on Wednesday, did the staff member start flipping windmilling back? Absolutely not, did they want to, absolutely yes.

I mean journo goes out looking for bother at a football match, looks hard enough, finds it, sells story and sells papers. Journo attends game and sees 2450 having a great time and losing their minds over a last minute winner…doesn’t sell papers…

Interestingly, I did speak with one of the coppers after a scroat was thrown out, the police didn’t initiate the ejection, nor agreed it would seem and the lad wasn’t arrested nor will receive a ban. Thought it was interesting that the police took a very different view to the steward.

Someone mentioned about people running to the front of the stand to abuse opposition players…funny you should say that, I saw at least 6 giant Middle Ages man babies and folk who would not be regarded anything like a hooligan do exactly that on Tuesday…but to our players. Actually  desperate to give our players a boat load of abuse. flipping bizarre…

I did some calculations over Christmas regarding the number of games I’ve been to, not including games abroad (hard to compare those because of the varying ultras and very different ways stadiums operate) and I think I can count on two hands the times there’s been any genuine hooliganism, not some 15 year old in snide gear bouncing and shouting, acruslly football hooliganism…not a lot really. Morons will attach themselves to football, always have, always will do, authorities have introduced measures to solve issues and the like, May be more needs to be done, who really knows?

Not condoning it in any way but it’s an issue for wider society as well as the football club. It’s not a coincidence that the times of the most social unrest including football hooliganism are when society is most broken. People absolutely need to take personal responsibility but if we had trains where there were enough seats for everyone and people weren’t treated like cattle some of those issues would not have happened

It’s not the Police, steward’s, railway operators fault that people cannot behave, it’s the morons themselves.

Quite frankly some of this behaviour is disgraceful and embarrassing.

However, nothing will change until some of the ringleaders are taken away early doors.

As an Upper season ticket holder, there’s been plenty of times I’ve seen morons at local derbies stood on that upper walkway faces contorted with rage hurling abuse at opposition fans. Take out one or two ringleaders quickly and early, and the meeker ones will soon fall into line.

It shouldn’t be necessary, but until people are made examples of, sadly nothing will change.

So the police found 5 or 6 small bags of cocaine and a dozen pyros, out of 2454 fans, yes I know more would have had them without being caught but innocent until proven guilty, 5 or 6 small bags of cocaine is hardly the same as carrying guns knives and knuckle dusters is it, I liked on the video the reporter said we intended to run on the pitch, no we didn't, total hyperbole and all I saw on the day and on the video was people running to celebrate with the players...

I saw no hint of trouble on Saturday, neither did people who I spoke to last night which included a Notts County fan who actually knows a police officer who was on duty at the game, and he informs me this police officer told him we were mainly well behaved and he has seen more trouble amongst much smaller followings

Quoted from Davec

So the police found 5 or 6 small bags of cocaine and a dozen pyros, out of 2454 fans, yes I know more would have had them without being caught but innocent until proven guilty, 5 or 6 small bags of cocaine is hardly the same as carrying guns knives and knuckle dusters is it, I liked on the video the reporter said we intended to run on the pitch, no we didn't, total hyperbole and all I saw on the day and on the video was people running to celebrate with the players...

I saw no hint of trouble on Saturday, neither did people who I spoke to last night which included a Notts County fan who actually knows a police officer who was on duty at the game, and he informs me this police officer told him we were mainly well behaved and he has seen more trouble amongst much smaller followings

There were people on trains intimidated by behaviour of GTFC fans, a train taken out of service because of the state it was in, drug taking, under age drinking, offensive weapons etc but it’s ok because you didn’t see anything?

I’m not saying it’s only a GTFC problem. It isn’t, but please don’t condone it. It’s not acceptable.

Quoted from male private Nale

Seems to me the journalist hoped he was gonna witness mass scale disorder on the Saturday and when he didn’t he cobbled together some crap which occurs throughout society, drink and drug taking. He then stuck 15 seconds of actual football violence which occurred the following day and tarred us with this.

Jesus if you put a few hundred drinking on a small train it’s gonna look like a piece of excrement come the end of it, be that football , horse racing or just on a bender. Not saying it’s acceptable but it’s life.

More sensationalist journalism on what is really a non story. He got the day wrong he should have followed the old bill on Sunday if he wanted real football violence

Astonishing assessment in my opinion.

Quoted from MuddyWaters

There were people on trains intimidated by behaviour of GTFC fans, a train taken out of service because of the state it was in, drug taking, under age drinking, offensive weapons etc but it’s ok because you didn’t see anything?

I’m not saying it’s only a GTFC problem. It isn’t, but please don’t condone it. It’s not acceptable.

Absolutely right.

How the some on here can remotely defend in anyway shape or form, just defies logic.

A very sad reflection and will impact on our proper supporters.

A ‘carry on’ statement!!! from the club.

I had the misfortune to take the last train from Sheffield to Doncaster a few years ago, not my plan but the Manchester train terminated at Sheffield.

Drunks on the train, toilets covered in sick, pestered by the drunks and the conductor didn't care. No police at Donny and the rail company didn't care too hoots either.

Every time I've used the railways there has been problems with something. Overcrowding on trains should be illegal but the rail companies don't care. Cattle are transported with more respect than humans.

That’s right , get sucked into the sensationalist journalism..... less than 1% of those attending were arrested ... zero violence between fans but we are hooligans. Some of you obviously haven’t followed town back in 80’s and 90’s.

What did you actually see on that ‘expose’ ... circa 90 seconds of young lads disembarking a train boisterously , town fans chanting we are on the pitch if we score (they didn’t go on). The reality is any trouble was caused the following day but who gets all the attention? We do.  

don’t believe the hype.

Quoted from chaos33

Astonishing assessment in my opinion.

An astonishing opinion in my assessment

A lot of blame going to police , stewards , train operators …. People aren’t very keen on taking responsibility for their own actions these days.  I can’t speak for other teams , but following Town , within our amazing fan base  we do have a idiots ..  What you do to make those idiots behave in a more considerate and lawful way at  , I don’t know .. same as in wider society.It can’t be defended or excused .. nor blame passed to anybody else .

We don’t need to get sucked in by the ‘sensationalist journalism’ there are genuine supporters first hand accounts which tell their own story.

Of course it’s a minority, of course violence occurs at other boozy and chemically enhanced gatherings (and some other ones too no doubt),  of course its representative of wider society and yes It’s been going on for years.

However, no amount of of ‘whataboutery’ should detract from the fact that a sub culture of football ‘fans’ are ruining the experience for other supporters snd a whole lot of other people who have just gone to do a days work.

There is no need to get defensive or tribal about it and we shouldn’t be making excuses for it either.

Quoted from male private Nale

An astonishing opinion in my assessment

I think you’ve conflated issues and missed the point, whilst getting hot under the collar.

Quoted from cardiffmariner

I like our new owners and how they have conducted themselves so far but for me that statement is a bit limp wristed.

Praising the masses with a gentle ticking off for the naughty boys, whilst also suggesting it’s not their fault they behaved badly, they have issues. Meanwhile the naughty boys snigger in the back row planning their next big shindig without fear of ever being reprimanded.

The statement is poor, but they're damned if they do and damned if they don't. When a statement went out that said a minority of fans are causing problems, it caused outrage amongst the supporters as if the club were accusing all fans of being a problem. Of course this was one of many statements taken out of context because they weren't as eloquent as the current owners, but the message was similar whilst being more critical of the problem fans.

That statement basically sounds like they don't really care. It's probably because they're scared of getting more bad press because some people take anything bad said about any small number of our fans as being against the fans. I'd prefer them to take a proper stance though, that's not acceptable and the club should do everything they can to ban these cretins

Quoted from male private Nale

That’s right , get sucked into the sensationalist journalism..... less than 1% of those attending were arrested ... zero violence between fans but we are hooligans. Some of you obviously haven’t followed town back in 80’s and 90’s.

What did you actually see on that ‘expose’ ... circa 90 seconds of young lads disembarking a train boisterously , town fans chanting we are on the pitch if we score (they didn’t go on). The reality is any trouble was caused the following day but who gets all the attention? We do.  

don’t believe the hype.

Just because less than 1% of people were arrested doesn't mean a lot more didn't break the law and a lot more than that didn't act anti social. Watching the yob culture in those videos wasn't a small few culprits.

Quoted from pen penfras

Just because less than 1% of people were arrested doesn't mean a lot more didn't break the law and a lot more than that didn't act anti social. Watching the yob culture in those videos wasn't a small few culprits.

agreed. yes only a minority, but its not like it was 1 person.

very very disappointing to watch,unfortunately the same will happen the next time we have a big away following

Quoted from Bristol Mariner

Twit, I made no judgement and cordoned nothing. It’s wide than Grimsby - that’s my point.

I don't care if it's wider than Grimsby and that isn't the point. This behaviour reflects on our club and supporters. It's human nature to tar us all with the same brush, whether you think that is fair or not. The general consensus around will be that our supporters did this. Quite a lot of clubs get a bad reputation because of a minority of supporters but it sticks - Millwall is a prime example.

Sad to see that the board actually needed to put out a statement - no criticism that they did.

Clearly #GreaterTogether looks a lot better than #GreaterTogetherButNoIdiotsPlease

Quoted from pen penfras

The statement is poor, but they're damned if they do and damned if they don't. When a statement went out that said a minority of fans are causing problems, it caused outrage amongst the supporters as if the club were accusing all fans of being a problem. Of course this was one of many statements taken out of context because they weren't as eloquent as the current owners, but the message was similar whilst being more critical of the problem fans.

That statement basically sounds like they don't really care. It's probably because they're scared of getting more bad press because some people take anything bad said about any small number of our fans as being against the fans. I'd prefer them to take a proper stance though, that's not acceptable and the club should do everything they can to ban these cretins

Jesus wept…..there’s some tripe in this thread. What the hell do people expect/want from the club owners?! They didn’t really need to say anything but have attempted to strike a balance, and some people are just intent on looking for opportunities to bash them. This is f**k all to do with them and there isn’t much they can do about social and behavioural issues.

Now that the dust has settled and heart rates are down to something approaching normal, here’s an interesting point from Owen West - retired Chief Superintendent, Head of Special Operations and specialist in crowd policing -

https://mobile.twitter.com/PolicingCrowds/status/1491840886229057538


It’s always the same discussion on here - ban them, lock them up, midday kick offs, restrictive ticketing, everyone’s a cretin and I shít gold so the punishments don’t matter to me. This despite mountains of evidence to show that those methods don’t really tackle the problem, and in respect of bans and sentencing, football fans are probably subject to some of the most draconian and excessive laws and punishments than any group in society.

I wouldn’t say I’m a soft touch but I am reluctant as a matchgoer to concede another inch to the state in the name of reducing “disorder”, given that the state is inherently violent by its own actions.

Surely there’s another approach that’s worth exploring?

Quoted from chaos33

Jesus wept…..there’s some tripe in this thread. What the hell do people expect/want from the club owners?! They didn’t really need to say anything but have attempted to strike a balance, and some people are just intent on looking for opportunities to bash them. This is f**k all to do with them and there isn’t much they can do about social and behavioural issues.

I want the club to say that behaviour like that is unacceptable and we're working on cross referencing CCTV footage and our databases to inform the authorities so that we can punish the responsible and prevent this type of behaviour from happening in the future. At least they're trying to make a deterrent on the sort of behaviour that ends up with early kick offs, dry trains, limited ticket allocations and heavy handed police that affects the experience of those of us that just want to enjoy a day out at the match.

If it's right that a female steward had her nose broken by one of our fans while trying to do her job, no doubt while on minimum wage, the least we could do is have a whip round for her. Let's show Notts County that we're not all scum.

I'm sure someone from the club could establish the facts, if they haven't already, with a quick phone call.

If someone who's more technical savvy than me sets up a fundraising page I'd chip in.

Quoted from Withnail

If it's right that a female steward had her nose broken by one of our fans while trying to do her job, no doubt while on minimum wage, the least we could do is have a whip round for her. Let's show Notts County that we're not all scum.

I'm sure someone from the club could establish the facts, if they haven't already, with a quick phone call.

If someone who's more technical savvy than me sets up a fundraising page I'd chip in.

Nice idea but it doesn’t hide the fact she had her nose broken in the first place. Notts County will be well aware that we’re not all scum but, by the same token, our club’s name continues to get blackened by the behaviour of a few. And then why should the good have to pay for that? Surely they can be identified from on train CCTV, ticketing etc?

Quoted from Hagrid

agreed. yes only a minority, but its not like it was 1 person.

very very disappointing to watch,unfortunately the same will happen the next time we have a big away following

The same will happen with every lower league team with a decent following, it’s not right and it shouldn’t happen but it will.

Quoted from MuddyWaters

Nice idea but it doesn’t hide the fact she had her nose broken in the first place. Notts County will be well aware that we’re not all scum but, by the same token, our club’s name continues to get blackened by the behaviour of a few. And then why should the good have to pay for that? Surely they can be identified from on train CCTV, ticketing etc?

Someone was arrested for it, according to the SLO.

If it was the female steward who i was stood next when she accused a town fan of striking her in the face, then it wasn't even bleeding.
I saw him arrested after the game

Quoted from The_Laughing_Mariner

If it was the female steward who i was stood next when she accused a town fan of striking her in the face, then it wasn't even bleeding.
I saw him arrested after the game

My nose didn't bleed when I broke it. Bloody hurt though

Quoted from ska face

Now that the dust has settled and heart rates are down to something approaching normal, here’s an interesting point from Owen West - retired Chief Superintendent, Head of Special Operations and specialist in crowd policing -

https://mobile.twitter.com/PolicingCrowds/status/1491840886229057538


It’s always the same discussion on here - ban them, lock them up, midday kick offs, restrictive ticketing, everyone’s a cretin and I shít gold so the punishments don’t matter to me. This despite mountains of evidence to show that those methods don’t really tackle the problem, and in respect of bans and sentencing, football fans are probably subject to some of the most draconian and excessive laws and punishments than any group in society.

I wouldn’t say I’m a soft touch but I am reluctant as a matchgoer to concede another inch to the state in the name of reducing “disorder”, given that the state is inherently violent by its own actions.

Surely there’s another approach that’s worth exploring?

Well, whatever the current approach is it isn’t working, I think we can all agree on that. Clearly, this kind of anti-social behaviour needs to be stamped out because if nothing else, all match-going fans will suffer if it isn’t.

Early kick-offs. Reduced allocations. No trains. Away fans banned from local pubs. Overly aggressive policing and stewarding. All things that take the fun out of going to the football.

I work long hours in a stressful job. I try to balance that with spending time with my wife and kids, which in itself isn’t always a stress-free a experience as anyone in a long-term relationship, with kids (important comma there) will know.

Watching Town on a Saturday is just about the only opportunity I get to have time to myself, to let my hair down. If it’s an away game, then invariably I do like to travel by train, meet up with old mates and have a few drinks. Maybe even get ‘drunk’.

But I can do that without being anti-social. I don’t punch or threaten anyone, don’t take class A drugs, don’t cause criminal damage and don’t generally behave in a way that is going to negatively impact someone else’s day. I just like to enjoy the day out, win, lose or draw. I’m no angel, but I can just about conduct myself without being a complete douchebag.

I don’t think I’m unique in that respect. Most Town fans I encounter away from home want to have a good time, get mildly rowdy but within the confines of acceptable public behaviour, and get home safely.

If it’s a minority, and perhaps in this case a sizeable one, how do you solve the problem without throttling all of the fun out of the game?

Broad and soft doesn’t work in my opinion. Changing kick-off times, restricting away tickets etc punishes everyone but solves little - if someone is inclined to be a díckhead they will find away regardless of what time the game starts.

Surely you have to go narrow and hard. That might not even be as simple as banning orders - maybe education has a role to play. Statistics suggest that speed awareness courses are more effective at reducing driving offences than penalty points.

Perhaps it’s fines. You might think twice about acting like a total ársehat at the football if it cost you a couple of grand the last time you pulled that trick. If that doesn’t work, maybe lifetime bans are the way forward.

But don’t punish the masses. This is a minority. That’s not brushing things under the carpet; sensationalist journalism or not it’s evident that there were a sizeable number of people acting anti-socially last weekend. It’s just that chastising regular, match-going fans for the behaviours of those around them will only serve to alienate people and ruin the football experience, all the while achieving very little.

Quoted from MuddyWaters

Nice idea but it doesn’t hide the fact she had her nose broken in the first place. Notts County will be well aware that we’re not all scum but, by the same token, our club’s name continues to get blackened by the behaviour of a few. And then why should the good have to pay for that? Surely they can be identified from on train CCTV, ticketing etc?

Completely agree with you OC that the many should not have to pay for the few but I think it would be a decent gesture to the young lady and would do some good to GTFC's reputation.

Did you notice how much positive, free media exposure Crystal Palace and their fans received after raising money for the Hartlepool manager's wife to receive cancer treatment and to subsidise coach travel for the Monkey Hangers, ahead of their FA Cup match?

I appreciate we're not a Premier League club and in no way can you possibly compare a broken nose to cancer, but it would show we're not just shrugging our shoulders as if to say women stewards should expect to have their nose bust (if correct) when GTFC are in town. Any decent fan should be appalled, as I'm sure you are.

Any way it was just an idea. If there's not the appetite, so be it. Maybe the club should be offering an apology to the steward.

Quoted from Withnail

Completely agree with you OC that the many should not have to pay for the few but I think it would be a decent gesture to the young lady and would do some good to GTFC's reputation.

Did you notice how much positive, free media exposure Crystal Palace and their fans received after raising money for the Hartlepool manager's wife to receive cancer treatment and to subsidise coach travel for the Monkey Hangers, ahead of their FA Cup match?

I appreciate we're not a Premier League club and in no way can you possibly compare a broken nose to cancer, but it would show we're not just shrugging our shoulders as if to say women stewards should expect to have their nose bust (if correct) when GTFC are in town. Any decent fan should be appalled, as I'm sure you are.

Any way it was just an idea. If there's not the appetite, so be it. Maybe the club should be offering an apology to the steward.

No, I get your point and, in conjunction with sanctions for the miscreants, it would be a great thing to do. I just think that those that cause trouble or are out to cause trouble should get their comeuppance. It's not the fault of the majority that our away support is tainted with a bad rep. It's also noticeable that the further we travel, the less trouble there is. Which, in itself, suggests that the genuine fans who go on the longest trips are not the problem.

Quoted from MuddyWaters

It's also noticeable that the further we travel, the less trouble there is. Which, in itself, suggests that the genuine fans who go on the longest trips are not the problem.

Didn’t we have a week of recriminations on here following matches at Woking and Dagenham? Your argument doesn’t seem to be borne out by the evidence.

Quoted from ska face

Didn’t we have a week of recriminations on here following matches at Woking and Dagenham? Your argument doesn’t seem to be borne out by the evidence.

Difference being at those 2 games it was a group of Muppets scrapping in house with each other..no train wrecking, no drug taking, no assaulting stewards, it happened in the stands..I'm not condoning that behaviour but it certainly was not at the levels of the Notts County issue

Quoted from ska face

Didn’t we have a week of recriminations on here following matches at Woking and Dagenham? Your argument doesn’t seem to be borne out by the evidence.

Surely you can see the difference between a couple of scraps and drug-taking and wrecking a train carriage with urine everywhere?

The Woking threads made specific reference to drug taking.

Again, this is part of the problem. It’s a lazy reference, not backed by anything, making a spurious claim that one set of people are fine and others not based on how far they’ve travelled?

I wasn’t on the train, but it’s pretty easy to see how some seats might’ve had píss on them - not acceptable, but I don’t think it’s a case of people being so drunk that they’ve píssed their pants, or people have just decided to start urinating all over each other. We’re not rugby fans. Overfill a train to a point where people can’t move down the carriage to reach the 1 or 2 toilets which were blocked after half an hour, and people are going to have to píss in bottles or cans.

Squeeze that many people onto a train going to Plymouth and you get the same result.

Quoted from ska face

The Woking threads made specific reference to drug taking.

Again, this is part of the problem. It’s a lazy reference, not backed by anything, making a spurious claim that one set of people are fine and others not based on how far they’ve travelled?

I wasn’t on the train, but it’s pretty easy to see how some seats might’ve had píss on them - not acceptable, but I don’t think it’s a case of people being so drunk that they’ve píssed their pants, or people have just decided to start urinating all over each other. We’re not rugby fans. Overfill a train to a point where people can’t move down the carriage to reach the 1 or 2 toilets which were blocked after half an hour, and people are going to have to píss in bottles or cans.

Squeeze that many people onto a train going to Plymouth and you get the same result.

I was at Woking and there was a couple of the usual crowd snorting coke in the toilets.

I don't think we can massively affect how we are handled by those in control, Police, stewards, clubs etc, but what we (club and fans) can do is call out negative behaviour when we see it and highlight these behaviours and have discussions about it. The more we raise awareness, hopefully, we will get through that it is not acceptable. There seems to be a trend on here and on social media that when an issue is highlighted the first thing they do is attack those who highlight it. The standard lines are wheeled out to divert attention. "It happens everywhere" "it reflects society at large", "it happens at other sporting events", "I didn't see anything, so did it really happen?" "it's only a minority" "it's the police's fault" "it's the train operator's fault" and so on, and it is never the fault of those tiny minority of fans.  My assumption (rightly or wrongly) is that those who do everything they can to divert attention away from the buffoon minority are a part of these groups and are just protecting their own. The kind of behaviour we see from this element of Town fans is not acceptable and should rightly be called out.

I don't care if Leicester were worse than us the following day, I'm not fussed that these issues reflect society (I am but not in regards to watching Town) or that it happens at other clubs, all I want is for GTFC and it's fans to have ZERO of these drunken coke snorting dickheads. If this means we lose 100 fans off of our away and home figures so be it as I don't think they should be welcome. If people want to get...

Quoted from ska face

... absolutely píssed out my box for most of the match so can’t offer anything on the playing side...

... then maybe stay in the pub and don't ruin it for the majority.

And just in case anyone tries to twist my narrative, no I don't think it's all fans.

Quoted from ska face

Someone was arrested for it, according to the SLO.

The same bloke who was stood behind me and racially abused Arjan Raikhy.

For what it’s worth I don’t think GTFC do enough in regards to issues with spectator behaviour.

With regards to the racial abuse I witnessed on Saturday I informally reported the incident on the day to a police officer and filed a report with kick it out. I didn’t request anonymity so all related parties (GTFC, NCFC and police) were given my report with my name and contact details.

I received a phone call from a Nottinghamshire Police officer the next day. But GTFC appear to not be interested. I appreciate they can’t do anything, but a quick call or email costs no time at all and gives the impression that they care.

The Club not appearing to be interested just isn’t true. We’ve/I’ve not contacted you because we don’t know any details, nothing has officially come through from KIO or Notts Police.

It was mentioned to me by our DFO yesterday. Believe the report goes to the home Club/force to investigate initially.

I’ve just literally spoken to our DFO for an update. I’ll DM you now

Quoted from GollyGTFC

The same bloke who was stood behind me and racially abused Arjan Raikhy.

For what it’s worth I don’t think GTFC do enough in regards to issues with spectator behaviour.

With regards to the racial abuse I witnessed on Saturday I informally reported the incident on the day to a police officer and filed a report with kick it out. I didn’t request anonymity so all related parties (GTFC, NCFC and police) were given my report with my name and contact details.

I received a phone call from a Nottinghamshire Police officer the next day. But GTFC appear to not be interested. I appreciate they can’t do anything, but a quick call or email costs no time at all and gives the impression that they care.

Quoted from Kristine

The Club not appearing to be interested just isn’t true. We’ve/I’ve not contacted you because we don’t know any details, nothing has officially come through from KIO or Notts Police.

It was mentioned to me by our DFO yesterday. Believe the report goes to the home Club/force to investigate initially.

I’ve just literally spoken to our DFO for an update. I’ll DM you now

CYTFAIWP

Can you translate from acronyms into words please?

KIO - Kick it Out

DFO - Dedicated Football Officer

Quoted from HerveJosse

I think the way that trains are oversold and the cost is outrageous but I've been on 2 hour + journeys on heaving commuter trains and not once did anyody get urine all over the seats.  

The Times is at it again today front page of sports section someone more competent then me can provide a link. Apparently we were subject to the first targeted drug search operation Operation Wolfgang.

Not condoning bad behaviour, drug taking etc, but if they had done that piece last Saturday on Accrington Stanley away at say Crawley, then there would have been no article to write, they were looking for some sensational headlines from the start, that’s why they picked those 2 games in Nottingham last weekend. PS, don’t call me if Stanley and Crawley are in different leagues, I was just trying to post an example.

I was on the 10:39 train from Grimsby station with my nephew and a couple of his friends (all adults). We were housed in the very end carriage just before 1st class, I say housed, crammed would be a better description. We were stood back to back for the entire journey, as was the same in most carriages. I’m not defending any behaviour at all but the first point must be than East Midlands Trains would have been well aware from Police sources how many Town fans were likely to travel and they simply didn’t offer adequate enough carriages… it was bordering on bloody dangerous the amount of people on each carriage, a disaster waiting to happen that thankfully did not.

I can only speak for our carriage but the atmosphere was very positive. Loud? Yes, Chanting? Absolutely, Aggressive? Not at all. I cannot the say the same for the other carriages mind. We even had three ladies in their 40’s/50’s I’d guess heading to Nottingham on a day trip who joined in the fun and singing and had a great time. At no point did they appear worried, threatened or cautious, as was the Town fans behaviour!

One of the BIG problems, other than the over-crowding was the toileting facilities. There was ONE toilet that could be used separating three carriages as the next one along was out of order. You can appreciate just how problematic the station of hundreds of people, many drinking needing to share or wait for just one facility. There were reports of lads urinating in the aisle or on a seat which I absolutely don’t condone and think is a disgrace, but we were not helped at all by the facilities provided!

If anybody listened to the football forum tonight would have heard the Scunny fan actually defending Town fans when asked by Matt Dean about the Times article and he said, basically that football reflects society and the scenes on the train last week would ha e been no different if it were a music gig or outside any nightclub on a weekend were crowds of people are corralled together!

I also didn’t see any actual trouble on the way or inside the ground, yes the scenes in the concourse were a bit lively but nothing that you would see at most away crowds in my opinion. It certainly didn’t seem to stop or worry the many people who had taken their children to the game, females of all ages etc!

What I saw was lads young and old, drinking a little too much probably and consuming god knows what else and getting a little rowdy but I definitely didn’t come away thinking any less of our fans!

We’re an easy story and target though aren’t we! They make a huge deal of the amount of drugs found and seized… you cannot tell me you wouldn’t have found a similar amount of drugs at away crowds of comparable size at any ground in the country every weekend, this is not exclusive to Grimsby Town fans!

I would also add that I can’t comment on the train home as we were put on one of the replacement coaches, which, aside from the coach running out of power steering fluid and breaking down, conveniently just outside Donny services, the journey was quiet and peaceful. The driver was a little odd though I have to say!

Quoted from Mighty_Mariner

I was on the 10:39 train from Grimsby station with my nephew and a couple of his friends (all adults). We were housed in the very end carriage just before 1st class, I say housed, crammed would be a better description. We were stood back to back for the entire journey, as was the same in most carriages. I’m not defending any behaviour at all but the first point must be than East Midlands Trains would have been well aware from Police sources how many Town fans were likely to travel and they simply didn’t offer adequate enough carriages… it was bordering on bloody dangerous the amount of people on each carriage, a disaster waiting to happen that thankfully did not.

I can only speak for our carriage but the atmosphere was very positive. Loud? Yes, Chanting? Absolutely, Aggressive? Not at all. I cannot the say the same for the other carriages mind. We even had three ladies in their 40’s/50’s I’d guess heading to Nottingham on a day trip who joined in the fun and singing and had a great time. At no point did they appear worried, threatened or cautious, as was the Town fans behaviour!

One of the BIG problems, other than the over-crowding was the toileting facilities. There was ONE toilet that could be used separating three carriages as the next one along was out of order. You can appreciate just how problematic the station of hundreds of people, many drinking needing to share or wait for just one facility. There were reports of lads urinating in the aisle or on a seat which I absolutely don’t condone and think is a disgrace, but we were not helped at all by the facilities provided!

If anybody listened to the football forum tonight would have heard the Scunny fan actually defending Town fans when asked by Matt Dean about the Times article and he said, basically that football reflects society and the scenes on the train last week would ha e been no different if it were a music gig or outside any nightclub on a weekend were crowds of people are corralled together!

I also didn’t see any actual trouble on the way or inside the ground, yes the scenes in the concourse were a bit lively but nothing that you would see at most away crowds in my opinion. It certainly didn’t seem to stop or worry the many people who had taken their children to the game, females of all ages etc!

What I saw was lads young and old, drinking a little too much probably and consuming god knows what else and getting a little rowdy but I definitely didn’t come away thinking any less of our fans!

We’re an easy story and target though aren’t we! They make a huge deal of the amount of drugs found and seized… you cannot tell me you wouldn’t have found a similar amount of drugs at away crowds of comparable size at any ground in the country every weekend, this is not exclusive to Grimsby Town fans!

I don’t see anyone saying it’s Town fans exclusively but saying “it’s not just us” doesn’t make drug taking, underage drinking and pissing everywhere acceptable, does it?

I fail to understand why Operation Wolfgang was conducted at the Nottingham end? Make all trains alcohol-free and confiscate alcohol, drugs and pyros at Clee and Gy stations.

Quoted from MuddyWaters

I don’t see anyone saying it’s Town fans exclusively but saying “it’s not just us” doesn’t make drug taking, underage drinking and pissing everywhere acceptable, does it?

Absolutely not, which is why I said twice in my post that I’m not condoning or defending some of the behaviour that went on.

If they had done the same story on a packed train on the way to a gif or music festival, would they have seen anything drastically different? I’m not sure they would have!

What I would say too, as other have mentioned is that more must be done to try and eradicate the few that do ruin it for the rest and travel to games purely for drink and rowdiness. How that is done is the mystery it seems!

Quoted from Limerick Mariner

I fail to understand why Operation Wolfgang was conducted at the Nottingham end? Make all trains alcohol-free and confiscate alcohol, drugs and pyros at Clee and Gy stations.

This is an excellent point. If drug-taking is highly suspected based on Intelligence, why allow them at least 2-hours in public transport to consume as much as they wanted to. I would hazard a guess too that many of the ‘seasoned’ regulars would have known or at least suspected drug dogs would be in operation so got rid well in advance! Just seems that whole operation wasn’t half as effective as it could potentially have been!

Had a cracking chat with one of our football officers today, did my A levels with the lad. Was interesting getting his take on the story and rationale. What was encouraging was his view that it was a sensationalist story to fit a narrative, failing to celebrate the huge majority that behave and aren’t morons.

They’d received some intelligence that these sorts of reports will be published throughout the year across the country in response to the incidents that happened at the euros final…again though, his take on that was certainly acknowledging that poor planning and stewards taking significant amounts of cash didn’t help anything.

Nothing will be made of it but fair play to the pie of them to front it up so to speak in the pub before the match. As they said, sensationalism like the report don’t help them do their job, just seems to create a bigger divide..

East Mids news on just now - trouble flared at Middlesborough v Derby, numerous city centre incidents and incidences of fans taking drugs. I assume the police concern is the trend of fans snorting coke, meaning fans are more wound up, not sure the police will be too bothered about weed.

Quoted from ska face

The Woking threads made specific reference to drug taking.

Again, this is part of the problem. It’s a lazy reference, not backed by anything, making a spurious claim that one set of people are fine and others not based on how far they’ve travelled?

I wasn’t on the train, but it’s pretty easy to see how some seats might’ve had píss on them - not acceptable, but I don’t think it’s a case of people being so drunk that they’ve píssed their pants, or people have just decided to start urinating all over each other. We’re not rugby fans. Overfill a train to a point where people can’t move down the carriage to reach the 1 or 2 toilets which were blocked after half an hour, and people are going to have to píss in bottles or cans.

Squeeze that many people onto a train going to Plymouth and you get the same result.

People went out of their way to stand in the no standing area at Woking, conveniently in front of the gate so they didn’t have to climb the fence when they wanted to go in the pitch. Including a cöck who looked about 40 with a little boy.

Agree on the point about poor train facilities. It’s pretty much the same in town centres. All the public bogs have been closed, so once you’re out of the pub/restaurant/theatre you have nowhere to go for a slash. It’s not too much to ask for facilities which we had over 100 years ago, yet somehow as a much richer society we cannot afford now.