It could have been the perfect threesome last Sunday, with us through to the FA Cup fourth round and dirty Leeds and the almighty Man U losing to Cardiff City and Aston Villa respectively. Well, Cardiff managed to pull off the suprise giant-killing that ended O'Leary's FA Cup dreams and aspirations just a little earlier than he had hopes. (Well, he DID say that he wanted to bring his FA Cup campaign to an end in Cardiff...) Man U was nearly knocked out by the Villa, going 1-0 down and then 2-0 down, through a Phil Neville own goal no less! But Villa got complacent and hit cruise control, only to see themselves go from being 2-0 up to 3-2 down in the space of five minutes with the aid of superb goals from Van "Knee-Still-Sore" and United's very own "Super-sub," Solsjakaar. United dramatically proved that even at 2-0 down, they never give up and should never ever be underestimated, no matter how close you think you are to the win.
Unfortunately, even given the latest high publicity court cases of the Leeds duo, nothing could take the place of the scenes from Ninian Park on the back pages of Monday's newspapers. Neither the game at Villa Park nor at Ninian Park passed completely free of incident, but it was the Cardiff City - Leeds United game that was by far and away the worst. Except this time it wasnt the (unproven) drunken antics of Woodgate and Bowyer that made the back page news, in fact, it wasnt any of the players. (Except Smith getting sent off, but that's hardly uncommon, it'd actually make more news if he wasnt sent off, for once.) It was the so-called fans that made the headlines this time, but it doesnt mean that it is anything less of an absolute disgrace for the clubs involved. When you think of a club such as Liverpool, the first names that'd spring to mind would be that of our most high profile players such as Owen, Heskey, Hyypia and Gerrard, but rarely do you think of the fans. We, as the fans, are ambassadors for the club. When the team plays away the travelling fans are the ones that the locals meet and its always good to leave a lasting impression, but only so long as the impression is a good one. Liverpool fans are highly regarded the world over as well behaved, knowledgeable and trustworthy people. (True they havent met the RAWK contingent yet!) In many cities around the world we are warmly welcomed owing to the many years of visiting that has built up vast friendships and traditions that playing other teams time and again has brought. Our fans are known for their expert knowledge of the game, their voices and their compassion and sportsmanship towards the opposition. (Where else expect Anfield would you find the home supporters giving the visiting team a standing ovation, even though the visitors won 3-1?) Also, our links with the Galatasary supporters groups show how involved we are in making the games an enjoyable experience for all involved. But not all are quite like us with regard to the interest in making matches enjoyable for all involved.
Cardiff City havent exactly got the best reputation in the world; in fact, amongst other supporters they have downright piss poor one. Let it be known that I am not taking a shot at the Welsh, merely the Cardiff City supporters, as thuggery and irresponsible behaviour seem to be their "buzz-words". The throwing of missiles towards opposition players and supporters is most definitely not on, and given Ninian Park's layout, the closeness of fans to the pitch and the severe lack of separation between sets of supporters only makes the problem worse. So close that if you supplied a "fan" with a missile, be it a coin or a bottle, they'd most likely find it harder to miss the target than they would to hit it.
And what can be said for the security measures in place there if fans can smuggle glass bottles in? They were thrown onto the pitch, at Leeds players and also their supporters, and at one point play was stopped as D'Urso received treatment to his head where he had been hit by a coin. Security and checks there must have been virtually none existent. This was demonstrated most dramatically at the final whistle where triumphant Cardiff fans staged a pitch invasion and many congregated around the away, what I can only describe as pen, taunting and verbally abusing the Leeds fans whilst the Police and other authorities struggled to keep them under control. Still the coins reigned down, but apart from separating the supporters by use of brute force and batons, the officials appeared to turn something of a rather scared blind eye on the proceedings. The following quote, taken from a national newspaper earlier in the week, for me, says it all: "A load of Cardiff fans kicked off at the end of the game. There were kids attacked, bottles thrown." (I should highlight that that is NOT in reference to the Cardiff - Leeds fixture.) You shouldnt have to go to a ground and fear for your safety instead of being able to enjoy the match. Rivalry is of course entirely healthy, but this was bordering on rioting.
It wasnt just Ninian Park that saw trouble, Villa Park was also subject to a pitch invasion, but this time by the Manc contingent. As the Villa gave away their two-goal lead, and slumped to a pretty spectacular 2-3 defeat, a few ManU supporters took it upon themselves to begin some premature celebrations, and ran onto the pitch. Unlike in Cardiff, they were quickly apprehended and removed to allow play to continue. From this it can be seen that although the idiots exist in all the teams supporters, (okay so you didnt need a pitch invasion to tell you that Manc fans are idiots), the Villa Park Police and officials managed to contain the earlier pitch invasion, where as in Cardiff there seemed to be an all out pitch war. But, as I suppose is to be expected sometimes with the Mancs, as the final whistle blew they somewhat lost it and charged en masse onto the pitch, but thankfully the scenes were nothing like those at Cardiff. (Admittedly, and this has to be said, generally Manchester United fans arent that badly behaved, this will probably be a one off incident, but if it becomes the norm like it is at Cardiff then serious action would have to be taken by the FA.)
At a time when the players seem to be rarely out of the news due to their antics, its pretty depressing to see that some fans are beginning to resemble their lesser role models. The kind of example that the likes of Bowyer and Woodgate have set to aspiring young footballers is a disgrace. Although proven not guilty on charges of assault, with Bowyer getting away completely free and Woodgate the lesser charge of Affray, it is hardly good press for the players themselves and the Leeds team as a whole, to have two of their most prominent names associated with something that the FA itself has been trying exceedingly hard to stamp out; Racism. I know that this was never proved and that the charges of racist assault were dropped, but if you tell me that this case didnt have racist undertones I'd wonder what you were on and where I could get some because it must be damn strong stuff.
As for the blame of the invasions themselves, you could lay that at many a doorstep. It could be the Police and officials for failing to effectively manage the situation, the chairman, as in Cardiff, for enciting the fans by walking around the edge of the pitch, the layout of the grounds as there was sufficient space for fans to get onto the pitch and the failure, also as in Cardiff, to keep the two sets of fans separate, which leads me onto the blame lying with the fans themselves. Some clubs in England and Wales have a history of riotous culture and violent behaviour, particularly towards the opposition. This is definitely true of the Cardiff City fans, but not so of the Manchester United fans. (Although they just have the reputation for being downright stupid so you could argue that there is little difference.) Liverpool's fans, like I previously said, have a history of good behaviour with only really one incident to mar an otherwise glowing record. We, the fans, tend to know the game well enough to see when we have out played and been out played and we are respectful enough to show our gratitude for an excellent show of football, such as against Barcelona earlier this season. Inside and outside the stadium we appear to hold a good rapport with the Police, whether we like them or not, and trouble is a very rare occurrence. Thankfully our standards appear to be the rule for football in this country, but there are always exceptions and it is those that the FA and footballing bodies should be seeking to wipe out. And if the wiping out of these exceptions sees the end of Ninian Park then so be it, as it is evidently not an adequate ground for what is expected of it anyway. At Ninian Park the likes of what was seen on Sunday could be described as the norm, at Villa I sincerely think, and hope, that it was a one off from a few mindless idiots. (All the same neither incident should go without punishment, but the problem lies with where to place the blame.)
To be honest U have little or no idea what can be done to prevent the likes of what was seen last weekend. But those that posses the knowledge and understanding of stadiums, their layouts, the fans and their cultures need to get their acts together and do something about it. Fining clubs is fine, but it doesnt mean that it works. Throwing Cardiff City out of the FA Cup for the scenes that took place is a good and swift solution, but it isnt permanent and it wont stop it happening again. I'm not suggesting that every fan entering and leaving is dog-tagged and constantly monitored, nor am I suggesting that there should be a Copper at the end of every row of seats, but the measures in place at present at both Villa and Ninian Parks appear to be inadequate. And where inadequacy in such vital fixtures as these reigns, it is visible and foreseeable that chaos could ensue. But what will it take for real, proper measures to be put in place and vigorously enforced? Dont tell me we need deaths, because at that point it really does become just a game.
