Crawley Pitch Invasion

Quoted from aldi_01

For finding me boring you certainly know a lot about my posts, I mean not even sure what crosses you’re on about, I’m not a 14 year old girl that takes any notice of anything like that but hey, if they make you feel good when you hand them out to film, crack on.

Still haven’t contributed anything of value to the thread though have you…

Pigeon holing again...... please refrain.

Quoted from aldi_01

Can’t we just block these two half wit WUM, they’re neither funny nor contribute anything of value. This thread had the potential to actually have a sensible debate as to how we eradicate the 0.1% of flipping morons from the game rather than ineffective scaremongering and blanket consequences which never actually work…

I would say most threads divert from the heading topic, but to request to block posters as you do not agree with it or like their posts sums you up.

I wade through tons of shite on here but do I want admin to block the poster? No I skim passed it and move on.

You are a typical cancel culture vulture and it’s worrying that you do not have the capacity to let free speech reign.

Quoted from male private Nale

I would say most threads divert from the heading topic, but to request to block posters as you do not agree with it or like their posts sums you up.

I wade through tons of shite on here but do I want admin to block the poster? No I skim passed it and move on.

You are a typical cancel culture vulture and it’s worrying that you do not have the capacity to let free speech reign.

Touched a nerve?

Anyway...

I'm so torn on this whole issue.   There's the purist part of me that thinks there's nothing greater than seeing fans stream on the pitch in celebration after knocking out a far bigger side or achieved some notable success.

I'll never forget the joy of being involved in this and then watching it repeatedly via VHS for many years to come as a young fan.

[youtube]Wjz1IAuWgWg[/youtube]

As much as Cockers' beating the offside trap, as much as him just bundling his way through defenders to force the ball into the net, as much as hanging on after Mark Cooper's strike went in, as much as watching in agony as Murray Jones (yes, the one and only) hit the post with a looping header....this is as much of the memory of that promotion campaign.  Sheer and utter joy and adulation.  The invasion is in the final few seconds of that clip, right at the final whistle, but go back a few seconds and you can see fans are up to the touchline all around the pitch.  

The problem, to my eyes and mind anyway, is that it's just become the norm rather than the expectation in the last 20 years.  Pitch invasions at the end of season games that have no real meaning, why?  It's not as simple as that but a pitch invasion should mean something.  

The issues at the back end of last season were a long time coming.  There's this culture of goading players and staff to get a reaction.  Andy Warhol would have been in his element observing on this moronic need for faux adulation by getting a shaky selfie as you're flicking V's behind the back of the Portsmouth physio.   It's probably because I'm old but I just don't get it.

I don't want to see the joy of celebrating success removed.  As I've got older, I'm less inclined to want to run on the pitch but I get it.  I get it completely that it's a release, no doubt adrenaline and maybe even slightly alcohol fueled, to want to celebrate that success.  But when you get tosspots like the guy who headbutted Billy Sharp getting on the pitch, what can you do?  It was fortune that Sharp wasn't more seriously injured.  But for all the condemnation from the football community, you can guarantee there will be some who saw that happen and think it was great, thinking they can do it too.   Where does it stop, at what point someone get seriously hurt or even killed because some absolute cretin gets the opportunity to do so.

Football clubs are powerless.  Unless they employ absolute shitloads of stewards, who have absolutely no real power, or bring in incredibly expensive policing support they've got no chance of keeping fans off the pitch.  If enough fans want to get onto the pitch, they'll do it.  

Society isn't helping, it's ignoring this as a problem wider than football.  Six-months in jail was what was dished out to Billy Sharp's assaulter, he's probably out now.  

Knowing that clubs can't contain wannabe pitch invaders and that there's always a loose cannon in the midst, there's only one way this is going and that's for us to be penned in behind fences again.  The writing is absolutely on the wall.

Society ignoring its responsibility when it comes towards actions at or around football grounds and then a very hard-line response....this sounds familiar doesn't it?

Quoted from male private Nale

I think we need a further video from our ceo or chairman fully outlining the clubs views on such behaviour, this message cannot be told enough .... fans need to understand and no better way than parrot fashion.

I thought our chairman was treading a very fine line last night when he was championing the raucous singing .... surely he knows what the potential escalation of such behaviour can descend into ? I put it down to his euphoria at losing 3-0 so will let it slide this time , but come on stocky think before texting .

Utm and hopefully 3 points but will settle for 1 on Saturday xx

FFS, will you grow up!

To try and bring this back around to a sensible debate - banning fans who run on the pitch during a game is easy to do and a good deterrent.  Banning 2,000 people running on after the final whistle and being able to actually enforce that?  How exactly can that be managed without incurring ridiculous costs?  And potentially crippling a small clubs finances by doing so....
Ignoring the lack of context (I'd like to see a statistic showing how many players have actually been assaulted in pitch invasions compared to the amount of pitch invasions there have been in the last 20 years) punishing 2000 individuals is destined to fail, but would forcing clubs to play x amount of matches behind closed doors, accompanied by the club officials telling the media how much money has been lost as a result and now we can't sign a striker because of it, drive the message home better?

Good points Poojah and DHM.  Politicians and the CJS have always seen football as an easy target.  The authorities or clubs cannot stop pitch invasions even with draconian measures to punish every person who invades the pitch.

As suggested above, the very rare criminal assaults on players or officials should be punished far more severely.  As Hate Crimes are.

Yes pitch invasions have become more common. They have become fashionable and fashions change.  Maybe each club could be limited to a maximum of one a season? Further invasions are punished, but no idea how. The clubs have very little control.  We certainly don't want fences back.  

Quoted from OddShapedBalls

To try and bring this back around to a sensible debate - banning fans who run on the pitch during a game is easy to do and a good deterrent.  Banning 2,000 people running on after the final whistle and being able to actually enforce that?  How exactly can that be managed without incurring ridiculous costs?  And potentially crippling a small clubs finances by doing so....
Ignoring the lack of context (I'd like to see a statistic showing how many players have actually been assaulted in pitch invasions compared to the amount of pitch invasions there have been in the last 20 years) punishing 2000 individuals is destined to fail, but would forcing clubs to play x amount of matches behind closed doors, accompanied by the club officials telling the media how much money has been lost as a result and now we can't sign a striker because of it, drive the message home better?

And that’s really the point. Those incidents were highlighted because  in truth, they’re rare, extremely rare infractions and for everyone’s cryarsing, each culprit was dealt with swiftly and effectively.

Punitive, sweeping measures simply don’t work in any guise. As Poojah says, there are the means and intelligence to hone in on the 0.1% should they wish to. Sadly, for the EFL it was easier to attempt, albeit flimsily, to implement irresponsible and nigh on impossible consequences.

Interestingly, I suspect the level in which they happen determines how much they actually care too. There was a moron at Vale park after their playoff game who went after a player who’d been less than complimentary about Vale after he left, little was really made of that yet there was sheer panic about the Billy Sharpe incident and the Viera one…

As predicted, nothing will happen because sense will prevail, it was a jubilant pitch invasion much like ours at Braintree.

I’m not a fan of pointless end of season run ons, they serve no purpose but much like ours against Spurs or Crawley’s the other night, they’re spontaneous and exciting and create a lasting memory…

Quoted from aldi_01

And that’s really the point. Those incidents were highlighted because  in truth, they’re rare, extremely rare infractions and for everyone’s cryarsing, each culprit was dealt with swiftly and effectively.

I'm not convinced that six months for assault, that let's face it could have quite easily led to significantly more damage than stiches needed in a lip, is going to deter any half-brain from trying it again.

Even still, every incident (as rare as they may be) gives greater argument to the caging in of football fans because 'they can't behave themselves'.  Just like how every incident, again no doubt in the minority, of trouble in and/around football games builds momentum towards the further criminalisation of the every day fan.

The absolute majority of fans who take part in a pitch invasion behave themselves, just like the absolute majority behave themselves on away days.  But as long as the minority cause problems and without a significant deterrent against doing so, it's always going to be a losing argument.

I can't say I saw a single incident or flash point on Tuesday.  Yet it wasn't widely publicised or celebrated, nor should it be really.  But any single incident is met with mass hysteria.  It literally fuels the fire.

The deterrent for the issue that really causes the problem, i.e. the assaults, the trouble etc. needs to be incredibly harsh.  Otherwise it will continue and everyone will suffer as a result.  

Quoted from diehardmariner

I'm not convinced that six months for assault, that let's face it could have quite easily led to significantly more damage than stiches needed in a lip, is going to deter any half-brain from trying it again.

Even still, every incident (as rare as they may be) gives greater argument to the caging in of football fans because 'they can't behave themselves'.  Just like how every incident, again no doubt in the minority, of trouble in and/around football games builds momentum towards the further criminalisation of the every day fan.

The absolute majority of fans who take part in a pitch invasion behave themselves, just like the absolute majority behave themselves on away days.  But as long as the minority cause problems and without a significant deterrent against doing so, it's always going to be a losing argument.

I can't say I saw a single incident or flash point on Tuesday.  Yet it wasn't widely publicised or celebrated, nor should it be really.  But any single incident is met with mass hysteria.  It literally fuels the fire.

The deterrent for the issue that really causes the problem, i.e. the assaults, the trouble etc. needs to be incredibly harsh.  Otherwise it will continue and everyone will suffer as a result.  

Whilst I agree with your first point I can pretty much guarantee that had a bloke head butted someone like that outside a pub on a Saturday night they wouldn’t have received a prison sentence u less they had priors, if they did they’d feel hard done to given the inconsistent sentencing in this country.

And therein lies another issue for me, inconsistency in policing of football. We saw countless examples of that last season. No coincidence that working with fans and clubs seems to be more effective than working in silos.

Articles like the Times/Talksport one don’t help anything and having spoken with friends who police football they tend to agree with us in that they create a hysteria that is unnecessary and actually throw them under the bus as much as fans.